fxmagazine201106

June 2011 £5.50www.widn.com

The Business of Design

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JuNe 2011

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Presenting a continuousrun of flush-fitting panelsthat seems to float100mm above the floor,ribbon offers uniquestyle and sophistication.Cleverly rebated doorsconceal typically robustaluminium frames andour patented hydraulicclosing mechanism.Careful positioning of the stainless steel footcombines with the neat,flush-fitting, stainlesssteel lock to completethe look, while the rangeof high pressure laminateor timber veneer finishesconfirms the quality.

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With the T50 range, Techo underlines itsreputation for innovative office chairs.The T50’s articulated tilting mechanismand supple yet supportive mesh backrestoffers an unrivaled combination of soundergonomics, comfort and flexibility at a

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Barry Foley is CEO of Techo UK. Please call him on 020 7430 2882Email: [email protected] Website: www.techo.co.uk

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seat covers from as little as £15 each,dependent on fabric.And it doesn’t stop there. If you feel theneed for even greater variety, just askabout other fabric choices stocked bythe factory. The T50 range also offers

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Clarke Rndall.indd 2 07/06/2011 10:59

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WINNER2010

Acting sustainably is what we do. With our beginnings in Australia, for over 26 years now we have been designing and manufacturing commercial furniture products and components for global workplace environments. With sustainability at the core of everything we do, we are dedicated to the minimisation of environmental impact from our products.

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Awards night: 29th November 2011 To enter: Go to www.fxdesignawards.co.uk. Any queries contact Ros Blackmore on07711739300 or [email protected] Deadline for entries: 20th July 2011 To reserve your table or seats: Go towww.fxdesignawards.co.uk or email [email protected] or contact Tony Thompson on 01622 630195

Categories: Projects – Workspace Environment / Bar or Restaurant / Retail Space / Lighting Design / Public Space /Public Sector / Hotel / Eco Project or Product / Leisure or Entertainment Venue / Museum or Exhibition SpaceProducts – Office Furniture / Best Advertising Campaign / Surfaces / Lighting Product / 2011 Product of The Year /Workplace Seating / Public, Leisure or Workspace Furniture / Special awards – Breakthrough Talent of the Year / Product Designer of the Year / Interior Design Practice of the Year / Outstanding Lifetime Contribution to Design

DPS/FX JUNE 2011 27/5/11 13:43 Page 6

Entries Close 20 July!www.fxdesignawards.co.uk

DPS/FX JUNE 2011 27/5/11 13:43 Page 7

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ContentsJune 2011

FXmagazine.co.uk June 2011 29

Regulars

Diary ...............................................................31

ForuM Your letters .........................................32

heaDliner Margate goes for fine art, with Turner Contemporary now open ..................35

news Teen cancer ward wins prize; ACID moves to safeguard IP; Zaha Hadid’s ‘Glasgow Guggenheim’ opens; Nigel Coates quits post at the RCA ..................................37

top 5 Pick of the best new products ..............41

Business BIG practice leads winning group for major Islamic centre; architecture inspires interiors for London City offices ..................43

proFile The name behind innovative lighting installations, Bruce Munro...............46

one to watCh Furniture designer Edward Robinson ..........................................................51

iF only... we could express ourselves beautifully, says Giles Miller .......................154

eye witness In this new photo feature, the marketing communications group Engine puts the flexible into flexible working ...........80

Projects

raiFFeisen Bank, zuriCh A new design statement is made by NAU Architecture .......52

azure oFFiCes, kiev Sergey Makhno and Vasily Butenko put Ukraine on the design map with their intriguing office scheme .......58

getty iMages Bluebottle Architecture and Design reworks the offices of photo agency Getty Images, using the company’s own picture archive to great effect .......................63

Features

Festival oF Design In 1951 the Festival of Britain celebrated the end of post-war austerity, and today’s designers can’t get enough of the Fifties’ aesthetic, says Pamela Buxton ............66

think pieCe Aidan Walker finds a forum that promotes business success through eco responsibility and belies the belief that Italians don’t care about sustainability .........................83

speak easy A new design language is evolving that reflects the breakdown of boundaries which defined the industry sectors, says Sharon Turner of Swanke Hayden Connell ..............77

FX Focus

Flooring 24 pages are devoted to the flooring sector, with design consultancies challenged to create an alluring lobby through flooring for a new make-believe hotel group, and designers and architects giving their views on the psychology behind choosing specific floor coverings ...................87

Tech Spec

teCh speC Ergonomics expert Levant Çaglar puts the new Herman Miller task chair Sayl through its paces ...........................................112

light + teCh Student lighting designers haven’t lost their creative edge, despite lessons in manufacturing realities, if entries to the latest LA Student Lighting Design Awards are anything to go by, says Jill Entwistle .....114

Materials From villain to hero – there are plastics that are more eco-friendly, says Annabelle Filer ..............................................118

Cover story: Page 52 NAU Architects celebrates Zurich’s famous residents through its largely white and textured

interiors for the city’s Raiffeisen Bank

F06-029-CONTENTS-ph3.indd 1 02/06/2011 12:05

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Basque Living20-21 JuneEuskalduna Conference Centre, Bilbao

In its second year, this event brings together architects, consultants, designers and media specialists from leading home, office and contract design & supply companies in the Basque region of Spain, to create business opportunities and strengthen bonds with their European counterparts.basqueliving.com

Design Inspiration14 July 1.30pm-5pmCivic Centre, Gateshead

Architecture critic Hugh Pearman and contemporary developer Nick Johnson will be looking at trends, fashion and the impact of eco targets on style in the session, for this RIBA CDP, as well as reminding architects of why they joined the profession in the first place.architecture.com

Worktech 11 North27-28 JuneBBC Media City UK, Manchester

With the assistance of expert speakers from the fields of architecture, design, executive management, property and technology, Worktech 11 North will provide an insight into the latest strategy and technology trends in the workplace. unwired.eu.com

Show RCA 201124 June-3 July Royal College of Art, Kensington Gore, London SW7

This culmination of RCA postgraduate work in design, art, art, architecture, communications, fashion and textiles, fine art and humanities will showcase simultaneously, for the first time since 2007, the work of more than 400 graduate students.rca.ac.uk


W e have some big hitters for you to read about this month, not least

the Festival of Britain marking its 60th anniversary and the current design surge towards all things mid-20th century brings.

We take a look at the work of the Festival’s contemporaries - not least Robin and Lucienne Day, whose work is the subject of a posthumous exhibition this summer – and garner opinion from contemporary designers on the merits and influences of the Fifties on their work.

Next up is Bruce Munro, that lighting designer who has brought us such extraordinary pieces as Field of Light, seen at the Eden Project, and Water-Towers for Salisbury Cathedral, to name just two. In a profile interview we learn how he literally dreams up his pieces. We wouldn’t expect anything less from such a unique talent.

More a big picture than a big read, but no less intriguing for it, is Eye Witness, in which we see staff of Engine putting the flexible into flexible working - you’ll just have to have a look!

Our Focus on flooring, in which architects and designers talk about the psychology behind flooring choices and design consultancies take on a brief for a make-believe hotel, is not to be missed, as indeed is the rest of this issue.

Theresa DowlingEditor

Welcome

Diary

whErE to go this month

Free Range31 May-25 JulyThe Old Truman Brewery, London E1

This gathering of design talent is a great place to spot the latest trends and new designers, as this show acts as a launch pad for the careers of design-course graduates. Now in its 11th year, Free Range has become the largest show of graduate work in Europe.free-range.org.uk

F06-031-DIARY-ph2.indd 1 27/05/2011 10:10

Forum

Editorial:Editor Theresa [email protected] editor Pamela [email protected] editor Jamie Mitchell / 020 7336 [email protected] Anna Lewis

dEsign & Production:Art director Wes MitchellProduction manager Clare Ovenell Production administrator Steve Buchanan / 020 7336 [email protected]

advErtising:Group sales director Joe Maughan / 020 7936 [email protected] manager Alistair Fitzpatrick / 020 7936 [email protected] Sloan / 020 7936 [email protected] managersCraig Jones / 020 7936 6867 [email protected] New business manager Dean Cassar / 020 7936 6838 [email protected] projects Sam Dennis / 0207 936 6865 [email protected] sales Daniel Kamli / 020 7936 [email protected] researcher Sophia Sahin / 020 7936 [email protected]

gEnEral:020 7936 6400Chief executive Russell Milburn Editorial director Theresa DowlingPublishing director Mike Callison

subscriPtions:FX customer services: [email protected] hotline: ++44 (0)845 155 1845Email: [email protected] (include postal address and telephone number)Subscribe online at: www.getthatmag.com

Single issue price: UK £5.50; EU €19.50; US $28.50One year: UK £60; EU €135.50; US $235; ROW $245Two years: UK £105; EU €240; US $419; ROW $434Digital edition: £46 (Worldwide price, subscribe at www.getthatmag.com)

FX is published 12 times a year by World Market Intelligence, John Carpenter House, John Carpenter Street, London EC4Y 0AN. All calls may be monitored for training purposes. The paper used in this magazine is obtained from manufacturers who operate within internationally recognised standards. The paper is made from Elementary Chlorine Free (ECF) pulp, which is sourced from sustainable, properly managed forestation. Printed in England. All rights reserved: No part of FX may be reproduced or stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form, electronic, mechanical, or photocopying, without prior written permission of the editor. ©2011. ISSN 0966-0380

FX supports the aims and objectives of ACID (Anti Copying In Design)

June 2011 / Issue 207 Stated average audited circulation, July 2009-June 2010: 12,068FX is a part of the World Interior Design Network

Boundary House, 90-92 Charterhouse Street, London EC1M 6HR. www.fxmagazine.co.uk

INTERNSHIPS: EXPLOITATION BY ANOTHER NAME?

As a recent graduate in interior design who really loves this contract industry, I am

shocked to only be able to find employment if it’s free of charge for the employer.

It has been over two years since I graduated, and ever since I’ve been continually ‘employed’ as an intern, but thanks to some generous companies who pay travel expenses I don’t have to find my own bus fares. Big deal.

This American fashion for interns is surely another byword for companies dodging paying the minimum wage. Don’t get me wrong – I’ve been grateful for the hands-on practical experience after college. Well, certainly to start with, but surely there’s a point when I can earn money?

So far I have done two three-month placements and one ongoing 12-month placement, all of which I can certainly say I have mostly enjoyed and benefited from, with practical experience on interior design projects.

I’m not after a fat pay cheque and I’m grateful for the recognition that all the companies I’ve ‘worked’ for have provided.

It’s not that I’m left to do menial tasks of filing or admin or fetching coffees; the companies concerned have allowed and trusted me to work closely with their valued clients and to project manage suppliers, and liaise with contractors. And they’ve been good enough to mentor me and appreciate me.

But isn’t what I’m doing the same as what a (paid) junior interior designer does? How

Write in If you have something to get off your chest, email tdowling@ fxmagazine.co.uk or write to: The Editor, FX, Boundary House, 90-92 Charterhouse Street, London EC1M 6HR

32 June 2011 FXmagazine.co.uk

can these companies continue to use my free labour knowing they are earning an obvious profit off the back of it, yet not pay me?

My parents live in London and have been generous enough to support me by providing accommodation and food. But it’s a lonely life without enough funds of one’s own to even finance more than one beer with friends.

And this internship lark is, as deputy prime minister Nick Clegg mentioned recently, becoming the preserve of the sharp-elbowed and the middle classes. Now the middle classes are being exploited, like the poor Victorian inmates of the workhouses of yesteryear? Would they, I wonder, be called junior interns today?

Some of my colleagues from college are working in menial jobs outside the industry if they can’t get a design role as they need to pay their way and are not as ‘fortunate’ as me, living in London and having parents still able to support me. Most ‘catering roles’ are peopled by graduates waiting for a proper job as far as I can see.

I’m not sure that these circumstances are either unusual or indeed brought about by the current economic situation. It seems that they are more driven by exploitation and profit – and shouldn’t the professional arm of interior designers be outraged that we interns are taking their jobs for no pay? How has this ever come to be legal and acceptable in this industry? I want a wage, minimum or otherwise.Name and address supplied

Some design graduates are finding they have to do catering jobs just to earn some money while they try to get a job for which they trained, and those who take on internships can find themselves working for long periods without being paid, says our correspondent

F06-032-FORUM-ph2.indd 16 27/05/2011 10:11

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A very differentview onpartitioning

The superb Polar Glazed Partitioningrange from Komfort Workspace givesthe feeling of style, space and freedom like no other. With the designchoice, planning, support and knowhow, you would expect from the market leader, Komfort Workspacebring fresh ideas to any interior space.

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Designed by internationally acclaimed architect David Chipperfield, winner of the 2007 RIBA Stirling Prize and RIBA Gold Medal for Architecture, Margate’s new Turner Contemporary gallery is one of the largest and most important spaces for art outside London.

Named after the artist JMW Turner, who spent much time painting in the area, the gallery will always have examples of his work on display alongside revolving exhibitions from international artists. This new national monument of a building is located on the seafront, on the site of a guesthouse where Turner used to stay.

Having been appointed in 2006 to the project, David Chipperfield Architects’ main goal was to develop something that resembled an artist’s studio rather than a traditional

gallery, while using the location’s sea views as inspiration for the extensive use of broad windows and skylights.

‘We developed the design to take maximum advantage of such a dramatic setting with its extraordinary views,’ says Chipperfield. ‘Our building looks out to the sea, connects itself to the town and captures the same unique light that inspired Turner.’

Positioned on a plinth to protect it against flooding, the building consists of six interlocking rectangular forms and has a strong sculptural presence.

The ground floor houses a double-height gallery and a large events space with an external terrace. The first floor is also gallery space but offers a ‘learning space’ as well, and sees northern light flowing through the entire floor through windows and skylights.

Lighting was an important element for Chipperfield after he stated he wanted to recreate the type of natural lighting that Turner himself would have enjoyed while painting in this area.

The behind-the-scenes elements to the gallery – offices and storage – are positioned at the back-of-house on both floors, along with workshop space.

‘The brilliant thing about Turner Contemporary is that it has given people hope that things are going to change here and also has put Margate back on the map,’ said artist Tracey Emin, who grew up in the Kent seaside town and who opened the gallery alongside musician Jools Holland on 16 April.Words by Anna Lewis turnercontemporary.org

Turner ConTemporary opens beside The seaside

reporternews p37, 39Top 5 p410 business p43, 45 profile p46-48 one to watch p51

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News

The Teenage Cancer Trust unit at Birmingham Children’s Hospital, which featured in FX in last month, is among 57 projects to have been recognised by the Civic Trust Awards at a ceremony held at the People’s History Museum in Manchester.

The TCT Unit, with an exterior and interior by architecture practice Lifschutz Davidson Sandilands, was one of 24 ‘commendation winners’, which the Civic Trust Awards define as projects that make a considerable contribution to the quality and appearance of their environment.

The other categories were ‘community regional winners’, projects that ‘make a positive social, cultural, environmental or economic benefit to the local community’; ‘special award winners’, which included awards for restoration and refurbishment, and ‘award winners’.

The V&A Medieval and Renaissance galleries by MUMA and Julian Harrap Architects received a special award for sustainable design.

The Civic Trust Awards was established in 1959 to recognise the best in architecture, design, planning, landscape and public art, with awards given for projects that make a positive cultural, social or economic contribution to the local community. A full list of winners can be viewed on the Civic Trust Awards website. civictrustawards.org.uk

The ACID (Anti Copying in Design) organisation has launched a new web-based file transfer system designed to protect against the theft of design drawings and other intellectual property sent by email.

The IP tracker will monitor emails sent to third parties by giving the sender confirmation of delivery, while ACID will retain records of the correspondence.

Launched on World Intellectual Property Day on 26 April, the IP tracker is billed as ‘a simple, cost-effective digital method of tracking delivery of IP-led and confidential information’.

The service automatically acknowledges delivery of information, and the recipient is required to confirm their acceptance and agree to the terms of confidentiality of intellectual property.

The ACID IP Tracker will cost £3.50 per transmission for ACID members and £5 for non-members.acid.eu.com

Furniture designer Tom Dixon has published a new book, entitled Extremism.

Produced in collaboration with global paper manufacturer UPM and edited by design writer Laura Houseley, the book contains seven image-led chapters focusing on the ‘extremist’ design that inspires Dixon’s own work. It also features the latest Tom Dixon collection, which premiered at the Milan Furniture Fair in April.tomdixon.net

acid test for ip email safety

teeNs’ caNcer uNit wiNs awardproject commended by civic trust

Nigel Coates is to leave his post as head of architecture at the RCA in London after 16 years in the job.

Throughout his tenure Coates has been active as a designer, architect and writer, and is leaving to concentrate on his own design practice.

Coates is perhaps best known for designing the Body Zone at London’s Millennium Dome and the National Centre for Popular Music in Sheffield. He is also a prolific furniture designer.nigelcoates.com

The V&A in London has named German academic, curator and professor Martin Roth as its new director.

Currently director general of the Dresden State Art Collections, the 56-year-old was appointed by the museum’s board of trustees and the Prime Minister. He will take up the post in September.

Roth replaces Mark Jones, who has led the V&A since 2001, and who leaves to become master of St Cross College, Oxford. vam.ac.uk


teens’ unit recognised as making a

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News

Glasgow’s new £74m Riverside Museum of Transport, designed by Zaha Hadid Architects, is to open to the public on 21 June.

The 11000 sq m venue on the banks of the river Clyde will be Hadid’s second completed building in Scotland and her third in the UK, and will house the city’s transport collection that was previously displayed at the Kelvin Hall exhibition centre.

The new development, which has been called Glasgow’s Guggenheim – a reference to the outpost of the Guggenheim Museum which has helped to reinvigorate the Spanish city of Bilbao – comprises three interwoven galleries clad in 24,000 zinc tiles, which were made on site.

The building itself is described by the architect as ‘a tunnel-like shed, which is open at opposite ends to the city and the Clyde’.zaha-hadid.com

Indoor Garden Design clinched a bronze medal at the Chelsea Flower Show last month for its Living Workstation garden scheme. The company’s creative director Ian Drummond crafted the design for the scheme to show how plants make office interiors more looked-after and clean. ‘I wanted to create an aesthetically pleasing and stimulating work space that improved mind, body and soul,’ he said. The judges obviously agreed.indoorgardendesign.com

3rd opeNiNg for zahahailed as a ‘guggenheim’

The National Trust has appointed Nick Bell Design to create an exhibition space at Chartwell in Kent, the former home of Winston Churchill.

The specialist exhibition designer pitched against three other practices for the job, and will lead a design team including Nick Coombe Architecture and exhibition contractor The Hub.

The new exhibition will add to the existing Chartwell experience and provide biographical context for the house and its collections.nickbelldesign.co.uk

A Maggie’s Cancer Care Centre in Cheltenham, designed by MJP Architects, has won a civic award from Cheltenham Borough Council and the Cheltenham Civic Society.

Presented by Angela Brady, president elect of the RIBA, the award promotes ‘good design in a historic environment’.

Day Building Contractors also worked on the project, which has Pietra Serena sandstone floors and oak furniture.maggiescentres.org


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Contract furniture specialist KI has contributed furniture and design expertise to a refurbishment project at University College Dublin, led by architect 3KA.

KI’s Concerto Auditorium Seating was used in two new lecture theatres, built to accommodate 250 students in the University’s Newman building.

KI’s also helped to convert two 50-seat classrooms into a 144-seat lecture theatre and installed KI’s Sequence Lecture Room Torsion Seating.ki.com

F06-037-NEWS-ph2.indd 2 27/05/2011 10:14

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Ploum sofA by RonAn And eRWAn bouRoullec foR ligne RosetThis settee has a shape that naturally turns people towards each other around a common centre. A frame of steel tubing, wire and mesh is covered with polyester padding and a woven fabric cover. ligne-roset.co.uk

CwTCh seATiNgby AngelA gidden foR oRAngeboxThe Cwtch system comprises five modular units as high or low-back singles, two or three seaters. Linked by brackets, it allows the system to be moved and reassembled. Available in a wide range of colours and patterns. orangebox.com

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Business

Architecture practice Bjarke Ingels Group (BIG) is to lead a team of six practices in the design of a new 27,000 sq m Islamic cultural complex in Tirana, the capital of Albania.

The group, including lighting design specialist Speirs + Major, engineering firm Buro Happold and architecture practice Gensler, won an international competition initiated by the mayor of Tirana to design the complex. With two recently completed churches in the area it will cater for Albania’s three main religions of Orthodox Christianity, Catholicism, and Islam.

BIG’s design, comprising a mosque, Islamic centre, a museum of religious harmony in three separate buildings, outside space for public prayer and a minaret, beat

proposals by architects including Zaha Hadid and Andreas Perea Ortega.

The design incorporates subtly twisted buildings, which allow the upper floors to line up with the city grid while the lower floors face Mecca.

Speirs + Major is responsible for the way in which natural and artificial light is used in the complex, and will draw on its experience of designing the Grand Mosque of Abu Dhabi. Thousands of small apertures in the buildings’ concrete facades will allow daylight in, and will glow with artificial light from the interior after dark.

Speirs + Major will also design a large chandelier as a focal point for the interior of the mosque. big.dk


Furniture company Steelcase donated four of its Amia chairs to be used in a new production at a theatre in Battersea.

The chairs were the only set used in Sold, a comedy written by Suzie Miller and set in the office of a fictional estate agents.

Set designer Garance Marneur said: ‘We really wanted to capture the modern, iconic office look, and needed high-quality chairs as they are constantly in motion [during the play].’

The chair was designed by consultancy IDEO and Steelcase.steelcase.com

Product designer Moritz Waldemeyer has created a 2.8m-tall obelisk made of Corian to display a new jewellery collection by designer Hannah Martin.

Built for the window of Dover Street Market, a designer retail space in Mayfair owned by fashion label Comme des Garçons, the display is made of black Corian and surrounded by beams of red light created by LEDs. It holds a pyramid- shaped ring by Martin at its centre.waldemeyer.com

Some of the UK’s top architects exhibited one-off installations in shop windows on Regent Street last month.

Organised by the RIBA, the Regent Street Windows Project involved 10 architecture practices. It included Ian McChesney Architects, which created a sculpture inspired by water and made of more than 100 pairs of Levi’s jeans for the Levi’s flagship store.

Scott Brownrigg and Marks Barfield Architects were also involved.architecture.com

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F06-043-BUSINESS-ph2.indd 1 27/05/2011 10:18

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Business


Interdisciplinary design practice BDP is celebrating its 50th birthday. Celebrations, announced by BDP chairman Tony McGuirk, began in May with an exhibition at the RIBA London of the firm’s work from the past 50 years. It will move on to the Manchester’s Cube Gallery in October.

The practice will also publish a book, entitled BDP 61\11 Continuous Collective and written by architecture critic and commentator Hugh Pearman, and release a film by director Camilla Robinson called Five Cities, Five Places, One Day.

Last month the company held a bike ride in memory of Joanna Yeates, the murdered landscape architect who worked for BDP. The event involved 200 employees, who between them cycled between all of BDP’s studios in the UK and the Netherlands to raise money for the charity Missing People.

Founded in Preston by George Grenfell Baines in 1961, BDP employs more than 1,000 staff in the UK, Ireland, the Netherlands, India, China and Abu Dhabi. bdp.com

Retail design consultancy HMKM has begun work on phase two of a project for Selfridges in Manchester.

As part of a £20m redevelopment, HMKM has redesigned five floors, the atrium and the glass facade.

The store’s lower ground floor, which previously housed a food court, will now be a beauty department called Destination Beauty.

This final phase of the project is due to be completed in September.hmkm.com

Buckinghamshire-based Scandia Furniture is now the sole distributor in the UK and Ireland of Dutch furniture brand Magnus Olesen.

Martin Long, previously MD of chair manufacturer Interstuhl, founded Scandia Furniture in January and announced the deal with Magnus Olesen in April.

Founded in 1937, Magnus Olesen produces home and contract furniture by leading designers including CF Møller Design.scandiafurniture.co.uk

Pernille Stafford has joined architecture, interior design and town planning practice TP Bennett as a design director.

Stafford will be responsible for growing the firm’s interior design business and brings a wealth of experience from her 20 years in the business.

Most recently she was design director at Scott Brownrigg, where she worked on projects for many high-profile clients including Google, Green & Blacks and British Telecom.tpbennett.com

architecture inspires interiorsdesign for new offices references features of richard rogers building

Fit-out specialist The Interiors Group and Scott Brownrigg Interior Design have worked together on the interior of new offices in London for Russian financial services provider Otkritie.

The two companies took their inspiration for the scheme from the strong architectural features of the Richard Rogers-designed building in the City, which has distinctive diagonal bracing on its facade. In the reception, for example, Scott Brownrigg Interior Design set several diagonal, seamless slot lights by Via Bizzuno into the ceiling to mimic the pattern of the external bracing.

The reception and a boardroom are designed with muted colours and clean lines so as not to detract from impressive views over the Barbican development and the City.

Computer terminals previously on the trading floor have been moved to a central communications room to improve space efficiency; this also reduces the amount of energy required to cool the office. The trading floor also now has access to a roof terrace, which will serve as a breakout area with illuminated dining and lounge areas.interiorsgroup.co.uk / scottbrownrigg.com

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Profile

The creator of amazing lighting installations, some on massive scales, some in cathedrals and some bound to bemuse aircraft pilots, tells Jamie Mitchell about how his lighting dreams have literally become reality

Bruce Munro

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Profile

In 2006 two Chinook helicopters flying over Wiltshire at dusk observed a strange phenomenon on the ground below: they

circled a couple of times, watching thousands of tiny globes of light pulsate across the darkening landscape. And then, suddenly, the lights went out.

‘I had to laugh,’ says lighting designer and installation artist Bruce Munro, the man behind the mysterious apparition. ‘They must have thought aliens had landed!’ Munro had been testing his first major lighting installation, Field of Light, a public artwork made of thousands

of acrylic stems containing fibre-optic cables and lit by metal halide projectors.

But confusing the military was never the point. Field of Light was the realisation of an idea conceived when Munro was in his 20s and travelling across Australia. ‘The landscape was so powerful,’ he remembers. ‘It felt like electricity was coming out of the ground.’ He wrote the idea down in his notebook (his most valued tool) where it stayed for 19 years, ‘nagging at me. It just had to be done’, he says.

Having studied fine art at Bristol Polytechnic Munro had been living in Australia for several years, briefly trying his hand at advertising before stumbling upon the material he would use to make his first ‘light sculpture’. Passing a shop window one day, he noticed a kind of plastic that glowed when irradiated with ultraviolet light. He bought a load of it wholesale and started making lights, using cardboard boxes and painting them black – ‘very basic stuff’, he says. He was doing a course with Saatchi and Saatchi at the time, and the agency commissioned one of his lights for an awards dinner. More commissions followed, and eventually Munro was able to start a small lighting company of his own.

But his epiphany came later, when after selling his company he and his fiancée decided

to return to England. ‘We were doing a bit of travelling before we went back and I thought to myself: “Right, Bruce, you’ve really got to have a go at the things you love to do”.’

As well as keeping a notebook, Munro has always painted. And although he describes himself as an ‘atrocious painter’, the medium has played a surprising role in his success.

Back in London he found work with Kevin McCloud, who was also then working as a lighting designer. ‘Kevin was doing these really quirky chandeliers and he looked at my dreadful paintings and said: “I think you could handle

the finishes for them.” Then one day I was in my studio and a friend asked about one of my paintings. I told him it was an idea I had for a field of light and he said: “Oh, you’ll never do that.” Well, that was like a red rag to a bull. I said: “Right, you bastard – I will do it”.’

In essence, Munro spent the next few years building up his own lighting design company, creating schemes for luxury houses including ones in the Caribbean and France, as well as making bespoke pieces. But the more artistic and sculptural ideas in his notebook still nagged at him.

The breakthrough finally came with a commission to create a window display for the department store Harvey Nichols in London, which then evolved into Field of Light. ‘My wife and I had just moved into a house in Wiltshire and it had its own field. I suddenly thought: ‘There’s the field I’ve been looking for all this time.’

The project was a big success and Munro was asked to create another Field of Light at the Eden Project in Cornwall.

CDSea (see previous page), a shimmering surface made of 600,000 unwanted CDs donated by the public, followed. It lasted only 10 days before the grass began to come through and the effect was lost. ‘I like that,’ says Munro, ‘the fleeting nature of the work.’

Munro now employs trained lighting designers to look after more of the commercial stuff, leaving him time to explore his artistic interests. ‘I’ve never stopped dreaming up my installations, and thank God that’s all now starting to come to fruition,’ he says.

There’s an ethereal quality to Munro’s work that makes it perfect for religious buildings, and last year he was commissioned to create two installations for Salisbury Cathedral.

The first, to mark the beginning of Advent in November last year, was Light Shower, an installation of 1,984 optic fibres ending in clear teardrop-shaped diffusers. It looked like thousands of illuminated raindrops that had been frozen as they cascaded from the cathedral’s spire crossing.

The second was Water-Towers, an installation of 69 towers, each made of 216 illuminated plastic water bottles. They line two sides of the cloistered walkway and change colour in synchronisation with a musical score.

The Water-Towers idea had been in

Munro’s notebook in one form or another since he was 21. ‘I had read a novel called Gifts of Unknown Things by Lyall Watson, which describes a young girl who possesses the gift of synesthesia – seeing sounds in colour,’ he explains, ‘and I’d always wanted to explore that idea in my work.’

Nowadays Munro has more freedom than ever to explore his own ideas. He’s currently working on an exhibition for next year in Philadelphia and is also hard at work on what is literally a dream project. ‘I was in the Caribbean and I had a dream about a building with light coming through the walls,’ he says. ‘The point of the building is that it’s lit by daylight and candlelight – no electricity – and it would be a place where people could go to meditate, though it’s not to do with religion at all. I’d love to do that – in fact I will do it.’

Thankfully for Munro, his growing reputation means it no longer takes decades for him to see an idea come to fruition.

‘The time lapse between thinking of an idea and actually being able to do it is shrinking and that’s really exciting,’ he says. ‘People are starting to ask me what I would like to do as opposed to telling me what they’d like me to do, which, after all these years, is a really lovely thing to be able to say.’

Above, Water-Towers, at Salisbury Cathedral

Light Shower, also at Salisbury Cathedral

Above, Field of Light, at the Eden Project, Cornwall

F06-046-PROFILE-ph2.indd 3 27/05/2011 10:20

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One to watch

EDWARD ROBINSON 1. Harbour chairThis chair, with its wing-like protruding arms, is made of aluminium coated in a soft, rubberised paint and has upholstered cushions. The large arms incorporate storage space and the user even has a place to rest their head.

2. SSB ChairThis handmade lounge chair from 2009 comes with a footstool and open-weave cushions. From a single sheet of laser-cut stainless steel, the main form is folded – no bends or score lines – and sits on a strong, white beech frame.

WHO: Furniture designer Edward Robinson graduated from Northumbria University’s furniture and product design BA in 2009 and quickly set up his own studio at home. He exhibited his SSB lounge chair, Spun Stool and Spun Vase at New Designers in 2009, where he met product and furniture designer Thorsten van Elten who then put his very � rst product, Spun Stool, into production.

In 2010 he featured in the Wallpaper* Graduate Directory and went on to produce the Ikebana Vase for Petite Friture. He also showed several new products at 100% Design 2010, including the Bramcote shelf and Harbour chair.

3. Spun StoolShowing an appreciation for simple form, craftsmanship and traditional skills, Robinson worked with a Birmingham-based metal spinner to manufacture Spun Stool, now produced and distributed by Thorsten Van Elten.

WHY: Robinson’s furniture, which is often made using innovative production processes, would be equally at home in a commercial or residential setting – it just demands to be put somewhere special, he says.

WHERE: edwardrobinson.org

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Raiffeisen Bank // A long-time centre for banking, Zürich is now forging ahead in bank design, with a striking all-white creation that not only delivers 21st-century services but also makes an emphatic design statement... Client: Raiffeisen Banking Group // Design: NAU Architecture; Drexler Guinand Jauslin Architects // Size: 400 sq m // Completion time: Two years

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Designer banks are still a rarity, but it should come as no surprise that Zürich – a city synonymous with banking and renowned for its high standards of living – is the place to find one.

Located in the fashionable quarter of Niederlassung – once home to some very famous writers, artists and intellectuals, including Albert Einstein – this flagship branch of the Raiffeisen banking cooperative turns traditional banking design on its head with an ultra-modern, minimalist interior by Drexler Guinand Jauslin Architects and NAU Architecture.

The use of modern technology, such as touch-screen monitors, allows the banking infrastructure to be largely hidden from view: employees access terminals concealed in bespoke furniture, while the use of a robotic retrieval system allows 24-hour access to safety deposit boxes.

All this allowed the designers to break free from convention and design something that feels more like a high-end retail space than a hallowed hall of banking.

The main open-plan space has a bespoke reception desk in white Hi-macs that wouldn’t look out of place in a fashionable boutique or a designer office. Except for its terrazzo floor, every surface of this room is white – a colour chosen to emphasise the clean, uncluttered look.

To the left of this space, an anteroom contains a touch-screen kiosk with integrated bench seating in Corian. Designed by NAU Architecture and created in conjunction with technology company Iart Interactive, the touch screen allows customers to check their accounts, catch up on the news, and even learn about the history of the locale. It also acts as an informal area for clients and bank staff to meet before deciding whether they need to move to one of the adjoining meeting rooms for more privacy.

The bank’s minimalist design perfectly suits its location in a new mixed-use building by Kyncl Schaller Architekten, but the designers also wanted to reference some of the many famous people to have lived in the city, including architect Gottfried Semper, Heidi author Johanna Spyri, and Einstein.

Collaborating with architecture consultancy Rippmann Oesterle Knauss, NAU Architecture and Drexler Guinand Jauslin Architects created feature walls made of panels of Hi-macs, which have been precision milled by CNC machine so that triangular cut-outs in their surfaces create abstract portraits of these and other famous Zürich residents.

‘It was a very interesting and challenging design process,’ says Jean-Lucien Gay of NAU Architecture. ‘We made various tests regarding the type of openings, the material and the colours, trying out as many variations as possible.’

Described by the designers as ‘a membrane mediating between the open public spaces and intimately scaled conference rooms’, these decorative walls also play a practical role: according to Gay, they have been carefully planned to control views, creating different levels of privacy while maximising daylight throughout the scheme.

Gay says that creating a balance between open-plan design and providing the privacy

PROJECT 1

Previous page, triangular shapes were milled out of Hi-macs panels (detail above) to create images of Zürich’s famous residents. Below, a change to a warmer colour in private meeting rooms, where lighting by Tom Dixon adds an extra homely touch to the space

F06-052-PRO1-ph2.indd 49 27/05/2011 10:25

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PROJECT 1

Above staff work stations are discreet set into bespoke furniture, with leather chairs and desk inlays matching those in the private meeting rooms. Below, a touch-screen monitor set into a bench seat in Corian sits under a dynamic ceiling of curved and perforated gypsum board

expected from a bank was one of the most challenging aspects of the project. ‘The main difficulty was to reconcile the idea of the open bank – a contemporary floor plan without barriers – with the more traditional characters of the bank, especially the need for discretion and a certain sense of representation,’ he says.

The portrait walls instantly grab the attention, but the ceiling is also a stand-out feature of the design: made of gypsum board, it has perforated panels to improve acoustics and curvilinear ceiling troughs fitted with fluorescent tubes. ‘I think the ceiling works very well as a design element,’ says Gay. ‘It ties the whole bank together and adds dynamism to the various spaces. It also invites the visitor to follow the lines made by the lights, and to discover the various areas of the bank.’

The meeting rooms have been given a slightly softer treatment as a foil to the stark minimalism of the open-plan area. Here, bespoke tables in white Hi-macs have leather inlays and powder-coated steel bases and are paired with Wilkhahn chairs upholstered in mid-brown leather. Pendant lights by Tom Dixon add a more homely look – though automatic doors by Dorma make it feel like a spaceship.

It’s no surprise to see Switzerland at the vanguard of banking design, but with new technology such a touch-screen computers allowing banks to go interactive – not to mention fierce competition for customers – isn’t it time we all had a designer bank on our high street?Words by Jamie Mitchell

Main suppliers Acoustics: Braune Roth brauneroth.ch // Ceiling: Rigips rigips.com // Digital media: Iart interactive – iart.ch // Digital production: Rippmann Oesterle Knauss rokarch.com // Electrical: Mosimann & Partner mopa.ch // Furniture: Wilkhahn wilkhahn.com; Arper arper.com; Dorma dorma.com // Flooring: Walo walo.ch; Ruckstuhl ruckstuhl.com // Lighting: Sommerlatte & Sommerlatte sommerlatte.com; Tom Dixon tomdixon.net; // Mechanical: PGMM Schweiz pgmm.ch // Site supervision: Archobau archobau.ch

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Azure office, Kiev // The intriguing use of surfaces and colour for these offices breaks new ground for interior design in eastern Europe, with a traditional office seeming to lurk behind a surreal new skinClient: Azure // Design: Sergey Makhno and Vasily Butenko // Size: 126 sq m // Completion time: Twelve months

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Ukraine may not be the first place you’d look for great interior design, but as this project in Kiev by architect, designer and artist Sergey Makhno and his design partner Vasily Butenko shows, the axis of European design may well be shifting.

Makhno’s career as a designer has been somewhat unconventional. After graduating from Kiev National University of Building and Architecture and the Academic School of Design in Moscow, Makhno worked as a karate instructor and later as a writer and furniture designer before founding his eponymous design practice in 1999 and teaming up with interior and furniture designer Butenko.

Makhno and Butenko often use contrasting materials and design styles in their work, and the Azure office is no exception. The scheme blends wood, concrete and Corian to create a surreal, almost Daliesque, interior which is both practical and fantastic.

The walls and ceilings are clad in blue Corian, which peels away in places to reveal wooden storage units underneath – almost as if a more sober, traditional-looking office is trapped inside an azure monster.

The walls and ceilings are slightly convex, which adds to the surreal effect of the scheme, while a trio of fluid, teardrop-shaped pendant lights by Benjamin Hopf and Constantin Wortmann gives a further Daliesque twist.

Much of the furniture comes from Butenko’s own range, including wine-red Origami chairs, which are set around a simple white table in the smallest of the meeting rooms. Above the table, three black Silly-Kon pendant lights by Ingo Maurer hover like stylised birds.

Butenko also designed the comfortable blue sofa in the main meeting area and the black Blobby chairs, which have been paired with simple wooden desks in the private offices.

Surreal though it may be, the Azzure office never feels like a case of style over substance. Furniture has been chosen for practicality as well as to make bold

statements. According to Makhno, the most successful thing about the scheme is the way it represents the company’s fun, almost eccentric, side on the one hand and its serious, business-like nature on the other.

‘Azure wanted the space to reflect the main characteristics of the company, which produces design accessories,’ says Makhno, ‘so the office interior communicates to both its employees and clients an interesting design concept told through two different stories.’

It’s this subtle interplay between synthetic materials such as Corian and natural ones, including nut wood, and between the bold, curving forms of Butenko’s furniture and the sober, straight lines of the desks, tables and storage units that really makes this scheme work. Words by Jamie Mitchell

Main suppliers Furniture and lighting: Stylepark stylepark.com //

Previous page, Corian walls peel away to reveal wooden storage beneath. This page, clockwise from top, Bobby chairs are used in conjunction with simple slab desking and suspended strip lighting; rippling walls and ceilings add to the surreal effect; Origami chairs are designed by Butenko; concrete and a trough sink give a utilitarian aesthetic to a washroom

PROJECT 2

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Getty Images // If a picture is worth 1,000 words then this tower of Getty archive images, created as the centrepiece of a radical makeover of the company offices, speaks volumes about designClient: Getty Images // Design: Bluebottle Architecture and Design // Fit-out: The Interiors Group // Size: 2,000 sq m // Completion time: Eight months

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When Bluebottle Architecture and Design and The Interiors Group were asked to inject a bit of personality into the London office of stock photography company Getty Images, inspiration was close at hand. ‘There’s such an incredible database of images to draw from,’ says Bluebottle Architecture and Design’s David Bishop, ‘so the starting point for the project was asking how to use that imagery in a sophisticated, timeless and intelligent way.’

It was decided early on that pictures from the company’s image library would feature prominently in the design, but the office needed more than just a face lift – services were positioned on the perimeter of the office space, blocking natural light from the windows, so the designers decided to strip out all of the existing ductwork and reposition it in a central bulkhead in the ceiling.

The main office floors are furnished with desks and task chairs by Bene and have grey carpets from Interface FLOR. Large-scale pictures from the Getty Images library are applied to walls though, on the whole, these spaces are deliberately understated.

‘We concentrated most of the design on the central staircase, which links the office floors and the reception area,’ says Bishop. Here, walls have been painted dark grey and the focal point, occupying the centre of the stairwell, is a 16m-high light box, covered in a mosaic of 5,000 photographs selected by the Getty Images creative team.

Parts of the grey walls are clad in panels of MDF spray-painted in the company’s corporate colours of fuchsia, green, blue and yellow.

The other main area of interest is the reception, which is visible from the street and functions as a kind of marketing tool for the company.

‘We wanted to display Getty Images’ moving imagery, which is a growing part of the business, so we created a media wall – a 108in plasma screen, placed at portrait orientation, which is visible to passers-by and displays Getty’s moving image stock,’ says Bishop. The screen is mounted on a glass wall, which separates a meeting room from the rest of the reception. A long desk, with a white Corian top, and a smooth white-tiled floor provide a subtle backdrop to the media wall.

Getty Images’ senior facilities manager Zelda Hogg has called the office ‘an engaging environment that truly reflects our products and culture’. But, according to Bishop, things didn’t always run smoothly. ‘The client was worried that we painted the stairwell dark grey to highlight the light box,’ he says. ‘But they loved it in the end.’

For Bishop, the light box is unquestionably the highlight feature of the project. ‘It was a monster to build but I think it works really well,’ he says. ‘Every time I visit, I notice a new image and I have to stop and look at it for a moment. That, for me, is what this project is all about.’ Words by Jamie Mitchell

Main suppliers Furniture: Bene bene.com // B&B Italia bebitalia.it // Lighting: Deltalight deltalight.co.uk // Modular modular-lighting.co.uk // ALD aldlighting.com // Flooring: Interface FLOR interfaceflor.com // Light Box: Passion Graphics passiongraphics.co.uk // Media Wall: Standard 8 standard8.com

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This image and right, a long reception desk topped with white Corian sits on a white tiled floor, creating a subtle setting for a media wall. Right top, images from the company’s archives naturally dominate large wall spaces

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The end of post-war austerity was celebrated by the Festival of Britain

in 1951. Sixty years on today’s designers are lauding the design that was a hallmark of the festival and the Fifties era. Pamela Buxton reports

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id-century design, specifically that of the Fifties, is having something of a moment, with the celebrations this summer of the 60th anniversary of the Festival of Britain and a new exhibition on the work of Robin and Lucienne Day. The famous Skylon and Dome of Discovery may be long gone but the imagery and influence of the 1951 event lives on.

There’s festival-themed wallpaper from Mini Moderns, wall paint with newly issued Fifties paint colours from Fired Earth and mid-century nostalgia at Wayne Hemingway’s Vintage event in July. But this trend hasn’t popped up out of nowhere.

For the past decade, the appeal of post-war design has been steadily growing, so much so that what was once considered quirky retro is heading for the mainstream. And in the auction houses, mid-century design has become increasingly collectible as interest in Victorian and Edwardian-era furniture has waned.

At the time, the Festival of Britain offered a fresh, colourful and optimistic outlook to a country of rations and austerity. Instead of the heavy, upholstered furniture of previous decades, work by young designers such as Robin Day and Ernest Race seemed light and jaunty in contrast. Textiles by Lucienne Day and graphics by Abram Games were colourful and lively, and the architecture was exhilarating.

‘Every single person that went to the Festival of Britain enjoyed it. There was a sense of fun – think how unusual that was in life,’ says festival expert Paul Rennie, head of context in graphic design at Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design. His personal collection of festival ephemera formed a recent exhibition, Tonic to the Nation.

‘Most people were looking for a glimpse of the future. It wasn’t necessarily that they wanted to live in it then,”’ he adds. ‘It’s taken 60 years for people to become comfortable with that idea of modernity.’

Cherrill Scheer, whose family (of Hille furniture fame) collaborated with Robin Day for decades, attended the event as a child. ‘It was forward-looking and offered a whole new feel for design after all the austerity… it was simply good design,’ she says.

Core to the spirit of the festival was the desire, personified in the subsequent work of the Days, to showcase work that was well designed and could be mass produced for a wide audience. This was something,

adds Scheer, that is very much needed today. Use of innovate materials and techniques such as that demonstrated by Day’s Polyprop chair required considerable investment.

‘The tooling was very expensive… Robin was very focused that he wanted to bring good design that was accessible for everyone wherever they were – schools, hospitals, sports grounds,’ says Scheer. It paid off – Polyprop was licensed in 40 countries around world and sold in millions.

While the Festival of Britain and the work of designers such as the Days have been topics for design and architecture students ever since, it’s taken the broader public audience longer to embrace the particular brand of British modernism that emerged from the event.

Lucy Ryder Richardson has been co-running the Midcentury Modern selling shows for the past eight years and has seen the appeal of that era of design soar and widen in that time: ‘Our audience has grown. Originally it was architects and designers but seems to have expanded to a middle market, even expanding into the Home Counties. Where people would normally have bought Victoriana, now they’re mixing styles.’

She reckons the appeal of mid-century vintage has been fuelled by the recent recession, that people feel more secure with the pieces they grew up with in their homes. ‘Nostalgia gives us a feeling of security,’ she says.

‘There’s definitely something fresh and attractive about the Festival of Britain,’ adds Rennie, who has also seen a surge in interest in the Fifties, particularly recently, with the era seeming to have recession-chic appeal.

Another issue is sustainability, especially for the sort of consumer who is tired of buying short-lived furniture, and instead is looking at investing in more lasting pieces such as those from the mid-century modern era.

‘It [mid-century modern] appeals to the eco-generation. They don’t want to buy landfill,’ says Ryder Richardson, who is excited by a new wave of designers such as Zoe Murphy who are up-scaling mid-century pieces to create reworked furniture.

Meanwhile, the growth of interest in mid-century design shows no sign of abating and the anniversary celebrations this summer should further broaden appreciation of the era. Here we talk to contemporary designers about the continuing appeal of mid-century design and how it has influenced their work.

AnniversAry of the festivAl of BritAin until september 4southbank Centre, Belvedere road, london www.southbankcentre.co.uk

vintAge At southBAnk Centre July 29-31www.vintageby hemingway.co.uk

roBin And luCienne dAy: design And the Modern interior until June 26Pallant house gallery, 9 north Pallant, Chichester, West sussexwww.pallant.org.uk



Mid-century modern has mainstream appeal among people who appreciate design. It mainly appeals because it’s stood the design test of time so well. It has longevity and timelessness plus British quirkiness. It’s bright and cheerful without being cheesy. Was it optimistic or just good design? Good design is just good design.

A lot of furniture designers today are creating art rather than something you can be comfortable with – unlike in the Fifties, when it wasn’t just about making an artistic statement. At the time, Robin Day was a quiet name.

Design is one of the only industries where you don’t think you should look back – it’s accepted that in music you take something great and turn it into a new, 2011 musical genre. These celebrations are keeping great design alive.

Wayne Hemingway design consultant and organiser of Vintage,

southbank centre, londonAbove, furniture and textile work by Robin and Lucienne Day is on show in Robin and Lucienne Day: Design and the Modern Interior, at Pallant House Gallery, Chichester until 26 June. Included is Herb Antony Yellow screen-printed cotton (1956), Olive Calyx screen-printed linen (1951), and Festival Hall armchair (1951), all pictured left

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Chris Eckersleyfurniture designer

I’ve always looked back to the past and used it as a feeding ground. The Fifties is a period that’s important to me, but not the only one or the most important. When I was at art school, the Festival of Britain was talked about a lot but I thought Fifties design was pretty ugly. I liked art deco. But later on in my working life I began to appreciate the Fifties more. It’s hard to know why people identify with a certain period at a certain time. I think it could be nostalgia – there’s definitely an appreciation of the Fifties, Sixties, Seventies right now – and it does seem to help people’s appreciation of modern design. Maybe the appeal is an imaginary view of what the Fifties and Sixties were like. We look at these things with distorted views. There must have been a lot of optimism around but it was pretty tough in the Fifties. For me, Robin Day isn’t a visual influence but I have respect for his achievements as someone who was successful in design in Great Britain.

Matthew Hiltonfurniture designer

Retro-looking sideboard, by Chris Eckerley

I don’t think many designers are deliberately setting out to make ‘retro’-styled pieces, it’s just that many of the pieces we admire date from the Festival of Britain era, and so sometimes work comes out with a mid-century feel. It’s not always a question of styling, it’s just that if you accept the tenets of the Design Council, and its predecessor the Council of Industrial Design, you will naturally want to design furniture that is honest, uncluttered, forward looking, and well made. It’s also desirable that pieces are designed with ease of manufacture in mind so that good design is available to as many people as possible.

I’m not convinced that the current popularity of ‘mid-century modern’ is due to a similarity between post-war austerity and post-credit-crunch Britain; I think it’s more that in a better-educated and better-informed society the modern movement has finally achieved the popular approval it deserves.

Mid-Century Colours by Kevin McCloud for Fired Earth is a paint palette inspired by

the Festival of Britain and launched to coincide with its 60th anniversary

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One of the many reasons I feel a personal relationship with the Fifties era is that all my inspiration comes from my home town of Margate, and Margate’s heyday was in the Fifties and Sixties. It’s super-interesting that everyone is so into the Fifties at the moment. It was a very optimistic time, especially in the USA in the Kennedy era. There was room for growth, and it felt like a time to do things properly and freshly. We can relate to it now, when we find ourselves in a time with involvement in foreign wars, and having to tighten our belts in a recession and rein in consumption. The Fifties were like that too, and the era is something we can look back to when the family was important and people were still making most of their own clothes and cooking meals from scratch. In my work, I like to reuse furniture from the Fifties and Sixties such as G-Plan or Uniflex. This was the last time that things were really well made, screwed together not glued together. I print or paint retro-inspired imagery on to pieces in bright, optimistic colours.

Zoe Murphy designer

There is definitely a boom in mid-century design, albeit cherry-picked from that period. There was a real air of optimism surrounding the Festival of Britain and maybe we need that at the moment. Today there’s a real appreciation of craftsmanship and well-made, beautifully proportioned pieces. A lot of what was coming out of the mid-century period was to that brief.

Mid-century design has always appealed to me. There were genuinely some amazing designs. I’d hate for our work to be seen as Fifties but there are obvious [mid-century] influences. The bits that appealed to me are where the sculptural meets the practical. The sculptural isn’t domineering, but is quietly engaging, like Ernest Race’s chairs at the Festival of Britain. There’s also the craftsmanship. We like to make in the UK and expose the maker’s mark, and a lot of our furniture is handmade. That sort of thing came naturally in the mid-20th century.

Russell Pinchof furniture designers Pinch design

Margate Drawers, created by Zoe Murphy from restored retro furniture reworked with imagery of Margate and patterns inspired by Formica cafe colours on the front

Shown here is Pinch Design’s Pendel two-seater with Clyde side table in elm and walnut. Below, Imo folding stool in elm and walnut

MID-CENTURY DESIGN



KS: We’ve always loved the Fifties and are avid collectors of Festival of Britain memorabilia. We started in the Eighties when it was considered kitsch. I think it’s an enduring style. The Festival of Britain is an influence because of the optimism after post-war austerity and because of the new British designers. The festival was about a very British slant on modernism. It gave birth to a lot of pattern designers when much European and American design wasn’t so pattern based. With the introduction of hire purchase, new design was available to everyone. There are also parallels with the new austerity. MH: There’s been a hard-core of real design aficianados interested in a pure form of Fifties design for some time. Now the appeal is more mainstream. The spirit of optimism, when things were bright and purposeful, is something we’re really desperate for after a decade of design icons and trophy purchases. Perhaps the interest in the Fifties is a move back to good design principles. People want to invest in things with some longevity. Items from that era are established as the new collectibles. The bottom’s fallen out of the ‘brown’ furniture market and dealers are looking at post-war onwards.

The Festival of Britain has always been a central influence in our work – we are influenced by the optimistic mood. We wanted our Festival wallpaper range to look like it was commissioned for the festival and used traditional production methods. It’s the fastest-selling wallpaper we’ve ever done. In July we’re introducing a Festival tea service.

Keith Stephenson & Mark Hampshire of Mini Moderns

Ercol’s Chiltern nest of tables (right) designed in 1956 by Lucian Ercolani, returns in 2011 as the Celebration nest of tables, in patriotic colours (left)

Mini Moderns has produced Festival wallpaper, plus rug and cushions, shown here in grey, inspired by the Festival of Britain

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Boundaries on design for the sectors of retail, workplace, hotel and hospitality and residential are blurring and it is now converging into a design language that translates for all, says Sharon Turner

DESIGNESPERANTO

I recently watched back-to-back episodes of Mad Men and, like many designers, revelled as much

in the graphics, interiors, clothes and product design as in the storyline itself.

It’s all so stylish, so coolly formal and so full of design symbolism. There are very different design characteristics in each space type – the offices, the bars, the restaurants, the hotel rooms. Only three things prevail in each of these settings – alcohol, smoking and the casual sexism.

For an office designer it’s a fascinating visual reminder of how design captures the essence of a

particular period of time – from what is worn to the office, to the types of workspaces, to the materials and finishes – and of the total absence of information technology. The private offices are the great status symbol of corporate hierarchy, denoting the occupant’s rank and importance. They are confidential and personalised places, and their boundaries are closely guarded by loyal secretaries.

This slice of design in time has all the hallmark characteristics of office design of the period – the solid walls, the very private spaces, the demarcation in finishes, the executive

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SPEAK EASY

aspects of office design are now integrated into hotel design – early attempts, the ‘business centre’, are now mainly deserted by guests in favour of their own rooms.

Hotel designers now recognise that people do actually work in their rooms and have adapted the traditional design characteristics accordingly. The inexplicably oversized furniture has been scaled down for laptop use. The chair arms now mostly slide under the desk space. Power sockets no longer take feats of agility to reach and wireless connectivity is commonplace.

From retail design office designers have borrowed the highly visual and branded characteristics of the high street. A defining feature of retail environments is how quickly they are redesigned as trends, materials and colour palettes continuously change.

The use of large-scale photographic imagery and megagraphics are now commonplace design features in office space, with the choice of imagery often being themed around the business activity. This inexpensive, high-impact and easily changed solution is replacing the traditional approach to artwork in offices.

Technology is providing a further convergence as the moving images and messages so successfully deployed in transport systems and the high street are being used as graphic and communication tools in office design.

The huge popularity of coffee bars has blurred the boundary between ‘working and socialising. Practically every office has borrowed in some way from the high-street retail coffee bars – the wireless access, the choice of seating styles, the colourful, buzzy atmosphere. Some larger companies now outsource their office cafe / breakout spaces to the retail operators. Such ‘brand concession’ retailing was once the proviso of departments stores but now is a feature of the contemporary office.

Our familiarity with, and reliance on, IT systems in the office is now permeating the design of retail outlets and local services. In many cases, this is a less successful design transition as it relies entirely on faceless electronic instructions.

The supermarkets are investing in new store design and specifically self check-out. Assuming that we are all so comfortable transacting with a computer screen, this new development will improve the shoppers’ experience and the stores’ profit margins. However, witness the queues at the only staffed check-out, huddling in collective defence of being served by a human being.

At the self-check-out two types of

shopper are evident – the brave soul cowering from the repeated electronic slap on the wrist as the tortuous ‘bloop’ announces their incompetence at placing things in a plastic bag. The second? The smug one.

Residential design and office design have also been borrowing from each other. The ‘home office’ is now sold flat-pack from catalogues, allowing us to extend our office space into our houses and flex our working day. Our home offices are subject to health and safety checks, and compliance with corporate guidelines. But we can personalise them. Unlike many offices that have a strict clear-desk policy, the home office allows us to blend our domestic preferences with the design themes of the office. But even that is beginning to change.

The vast and serried ranks of open-plan desks are beginning to be replaced with smaller scale, more individual environments. The aspect of personal choice is becoming a more predominant design theme. We are not all the same – we have preferences – we work better in the types of workspace that suit not just the activity but us, ourselves.

Domestic themes are converging with the office with work settings called ‘the kitchen table, dens, and lounges’. Personality is being expressed in a less overtly corporate way – picture galleries of the kids, walls decorated with hand prints, choices on materials and finishes rather than mandated from above.

In office design I think a version of the private office will make a comeback, although not as a traditional symbolism of corporate hierarchy but recognising the need for periods of privacy, concentration and analysis.

I constantly hear people saying that it is getting harder to get anything done when they are in the office. It is commonplace to see people with headsets on, and with that all the changes of etiquette involved – to disturb or not disturb by waving, tapping, coughing? They are a barrier as effective as a traditional office wall and a door.

As all these design sectors converge through the choices technology has enabled, office design will be less specific and will loose its reliance on acres of open plan. Our houses, hotels, shops, restaurants, will have a more streamlined and similar design language which will be translated across all these sectors.

Sharon Turner principal, workplace consulting & interior design, Swanke Hayden Connell Architects

residential

HOTEL

washroom. It reminded me how contemporary

office design has cast off so much of this formal design language. Putting open-plan workspace aside, the office-design sector now heavily relies on design characteristics borrowed from other design sectors – retail, hotel and hospitality, and residential.

Sector-based interior design is now less structured, less clear-cut. The edges are blurring as technology and mobility enable the traditionally separate design sectors to converge into a sort of design Esperanto.

Approaches to office design were at their most polarised during the dot.com boom. The new trail-blazing business revolution led by small companies had a teenage confidence and brazenly non-conformist approach. Not for them the conservative culture and design language of office design in the past but a radically different and determinedly young and personalised response to office design.

Although bring your dog to work and dress down everyday have faded from memory, the dot.com boom period was influential in changing our attitudes to what work was and where it could be done.

Then, and for some time, we have had the almost wholesale adoption of open-plan working supported by the ubiquitous break-out space. In too many cases this results in soulless workplaces stuffed to the gills with serried ranks of desks on over-dense floorplates. These environments reduce the costs of real estate but they are not conducive to analytical tasks, high levels of concentration, problem solving, creative thinking or individuality.

With 24-hour communications, workplace mobility and individual choice all playing a part in the future design of the office, there is a convergence of design styles emerging… a set of design characteristics that translate across sectors instead of being specific to them.

Aspects of contemporary hotel design are being incorporated into office design and vice versa. Office reception design is now more akin to the high quality of welcome and front-of-house services in good hotels. It’s about recognising the visitor as a guest and providing a level of ‘customer experience’ by providing concierge-type services, a business lounge, access to showers and luggage stores. In some cases overnight accommodation is being provided within commercial office space.

The reciprocal swap is where

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GET THE BALANCE RIGHT Staff at marketing communications group Engine put the � exible into � exible workspace by taking part in yoga classes, held in the Auditorium at its London headquarters. The Auditorium forms part of the group’s new Innovation Labs, designed by Jump Studios, used for workshops, social functions, brainstorming and both internal and client-facing presentations. It features a stepped seating ‘dish’ as well as a series of translucent display cases, which allow glimpses from and into the world outside. It also provides the perfect setting to meditate on how to achieve the one-legged king pigeon or cow’s face poses without tearing your Lycra. BY GARETH GARDNER / PHOTOGRAPHY + JOURNALISM / WWW.GARETHGARDNER.COM

June 2011

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THINK PIECE

Ididn’t go to Milan this year. The whole #milanuncut Twitter thing passed me by, not least because

I can’t see a whole lot of sense in hammering on about designers not getting paid enough in royalties. We all know that, and always have.

It’s worth upsetting people if you have a solution; if not, it’s not. And to say it was Milan’s main story, as some commentators have, is little more than

self-promotion, if we’re honest; it was those very commentators that punted the story in the first place.

While we’re being honest, although a number of practical hurdles got in the way (including £250 a night hotel rooms), I didn’t go mostly because I’ve kind of lost the urge to gawp at yet another chair. I quoted Alice Rawsthorn on this subject a year ago (I was saying ‘do we need another

chair?’ 10 years ago, but I doubt Alice reads me, so we’ll give her the benefit of the doubt.)

She, with the insight that typifies her commentaries, was saying that it’s in the design of digital devices where the really interesting thinking is going on, not coming up with yet more things with four (or three) legs that you sit on or eat off. Which is, to my mind, absolutely true, and also which,

Aidan Walker discovers CLASS, a multinational forum with strong links to the textiles industry,

which promotes establishing high-level eco-sensible credentials to create new business opportunities

class act

F06-083-THINK PIECE-ph2.indd 1 27/05/2011 11:10


let’s hope, can lead us directly to the other main issue in design, the one I’m always ranting on about, largely because there isn’t anything more important, in my view. You know. The ‘S’ word.

I have to resort to quoting Naomi Cleaver, a lovely woman, good mate of mine, excellent designer, eloquent writer and sharp thinker. She went to Milan and she didn’t enjoy it. ‘What was striking about the entire event,’ she blogs at naomicleaver.typepad.com/naomis_notes_on_design ‘was the paucity of intellectual rigour in many of the exhibits and groups thereof: not just a failure, but a kind of stupid determination to completely ignore the enormous conflict that exists in design when it comes to sustainability, in terms of both environmentalism and the sort of high-quality, enriching aesthetic that can be cherished for years to come.’ Got both senses of sustainability in there Naomi, nice one.

Last year in Milan, I was faintly encouraged by some hints of eco-awareness, but it is a familiar feeling, and one that I have also experienced looking at student graduate work, that so much of this stuff is entirely missing the point. If it isn’t design’s job to fix

THINK PIECE

our problems of habit and habitat, what the hell is it?

I’ve been reasonably convinced for a while now – based on my limited knowledge – that you’ll find more, and more mature, thinking and designing around eco issues in northern European countries, including the UK, than you do in Italy. But I’m having to reconsider, because I recently met Giusi Bettoni, who runs CLASS, in Milan, London and New York, with collaborators in each country, notably Emma Tweedie of Teacake Tuesday in London.

Their work, which is rooted in the textile industry, seems to indicate that there is eco-thinking in Italy that is a good way ahead of the UK, in both the design and industrial contexts.

As far as I understand it, CLASS is a mixture of advisory body, business consultancy, materials library, campaigning institution, and a marketing and communications organisation. I don’t know of anything quite like it in this country.

Bettoni, who started as a marketing and communications exec in the Italian version of the International Institute for Cotton in the early Eighties, has served her time in big textile companies such as ICI and DuPont, and now has created a hub of expertise and information that benefits not only the fashion but also the furnishing industries. Note I say ‘furnishing’, not ‘furniture’, because the former is textile based, and that’s where Bettoni’s core knowledge comes from.

Her colleague Emma Tweedie claims ‘Europe in general is much further ahead with “eco” across both fashion and interiors than the UK. Fashion is leading the way but the interiors element is much quicker at adopting the technological advances in some instances.

‘Many of the technologies are born from fashion know-how but in some instances its easier for the interiors industry to translate them.’

I’m not sure I entirely agree, but we’re still debating. What is certain is that Bettoni’s work, and indeed the said technological advances of the textile manufacturers (not all of them Italian), puts these forward moves in a much bigger industrial context than we are so far accustomed to in the UK.

That’s not to say cool eco fabrics aren’t being made here, but the indigenous UK companies doing it tend to be small and craft-based, while the multinationals, with bases in Europe and the USA, already have a great deal of serious technological and commercial development behind them.

Bettoni puts her finger on it when she starts talking about

communication. ‘There are all sorts of fascinating and innovative materials,’ she says: ‘ICI Tactel [micro-fibre from 25 years ago], DuPont’s hi-tech materials; scientists and designers make the product together, but people don’t know how to use or market them. Communication skills are required. It’s not enough to show the material. We have to translate the message from upstream to downstream.’ From making to using, essentially.

To this end, CLASS collaborated with the national fashion bodies of five Scandinavian countries – together calling themselves the Nordic Fashion Association – in a fashion design competition in December 2009, using high-tech natural, recycled or renewable materials. The clothes look fab, and they are just about as eco as you can get.

All good so far, and that’s even without the business angle that Bettoni and CLASS push so hard. She claims it’s a new way of doing business.

‘The eco agenda (in fashion) started with active wear,’ she says. ‘It lasted three or four years. Talking about green has always been there, but that is mostly marketing; it wasn’t for companies to make as a commercial proposition. About five years ago it became more serious for furnishing, because interiors last longer than fashion.

‘The green idea is all about being long lasting, sustainable – but that is not an ideal concept for fashion! Sustainable is not sexy. CLASS says you can be glam and sustainable at the same time.

‘It has to be attractive, seductive, to have eye appeal. It has to be innovative – no one wants to go back. And perhaps most importantly, it has to be responsible. This is what makes it attractive to the contemporary consumer.’

Thus the competitive advantage for companies becomes based on their ethical and eco responsibility, not their quality or quantity of product.

CLASS is a centre for new business dialogues, brand development and connecting all areas of the supply chain, bringing together like-minded companies and brands to amplify their own eco-credentials through their synergy. And, as Tweedie claims, ‘We are finding groups of manufacturers starting to work together for a greater good rather than an old style of working competitively.’

Sounds wonderful, and potentially debunks the ‘Italians aren’t eco enough’ idea. Let’s hope we see more of this new business behaviour surfacing in the UK.

Below, former marketing and communications exec Giusi Bettoni runs CLASS, a textiles forum to create business opportunities through innovative and responsible eco-sensible products being designed

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DESIGNERS’ CHALLENGE

PSYCHOLOGY OF FLOORING

88

98

Contents Johnny Tucker sets a fl ooring challenge for the lobby of a make-believe hotel, while designers and architects give their views on the sub-conscious effects of fl ooring

FLOORINGFOCUS

Follow the footprints set in concrete in the lobby of Sleep London, in a scheme conceived by Marta Nowicka

Sponsored by:

F06-087-FLOORING FOCUS-PH3.indd 1 08/06/2011 09:42


SHH / Stay Madridthe red and white colourway for Stay Madrid is inspired by the city’s own flag (red with white stars), while the Spanish tradition for using mosaic (including Gaudi’s work) influenced the design treatment, especially for the flooring. the most important starting point for our design language, however, came from the dynamism and space-age futurism of cars from Fifties’ USa, brought to mind by the logo, and in particular the use of chrome – a material that remains iconic – as a datum line or edging for key elements of the scheme.

Hotel lobbies should provide an

Stay Europe

CREATIVE

Three consultancies took up our challenge to design the foyer – with an emphasis on the flooring used – for a fictitious new self-service hotel opening up in three European cities

ThE BRIEf: Flooring for a new chain of independent budget hotels with design aspirations called Stay. You will come up with a scheme for the unmanned lobby areas that will be replicated in sites around the UK and the rest of Europe. Each lobby will be about 15 sq m. There will be the entrance from the road and a security door leading to the rooms. There will also be a machine at which guests can check in and get the card keys for the security door and their room. The target audience is young (25-35) urban professionals on city breaks. The identity has a Fifties’ futurist feel and the client would like the identity, which also features the name of each city, to be incorporated into the flooring. The colours of the identity (except the word ‘Stay’) are intended to change to reflect each location, while staying within an unspecified ‘Fifties palette’. You choose the colours for the identity and floor depending on which location you are designing for. Also provide two colour options for the walls, which will be painted for ease of maintenance and refreshing. The flooring material must be easy to maintain and have longevity.



For Stay Madrid, a red and white colour scheme was selected by SHH to echo the city’s flag, while the modern mosaic flooring treatment continues up the walls to enhance the Fifties’ American car theme

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instant hit of high impact and this lobby certainly does that. An evolved ‘Stay’ logo announces the hotel at the main entrance, while the word ‘Madrid’ is inlaid into the floor within a mosaic version of a welcome mat. The visitor’s eye is drawn straight to the back of the space, where an interactive wall with touch-screen technology for checking in, along with hotel and local information, is housed in a chrome installation referencing Fifties’ car grilles.

The ceiling and upper section of the walls are in white, while the flooring features a mosaic chrome circular tile set into black grout for a strong contemporary look, which is also robust. The flooring treatment continues up the walls, mirroring Fifties cars’ two-tone datum line. The full Stay Madrid logo also appears on the back wall, while a wall display of clocks, styled to match dashboard instruments, shows the times at other hotels in the group and alerting customers to the brand’s presence in other European cities. Lighting and lobby chairs are in clean white spherical shapes, with both a retro and a space-age feel.

Pricing for flooring: in the region of £110 per sq m, supplied and fitted.

Top and inset, the main logo is at the main entrance, with the location set into the flooring as a mosaic welcome mat.Here, a wall of chrome clocks echoes the retro theme while underlining the brand’s presence around Europe


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BDGworkfutures (Hanneke van Der HeijDen) / Stay amSterdaman unmanned lobby presents two main challenges – how do we ensure that it is comfortable, welcoming and efficient for hotel guests, and yet not a place that the general public would want to linger. the design solution needs to be durable and create ‘sense of place’ and continuity, depending on which city the guest is in.

BdGworkfutures has specified Graphic Concrete, which allows the imprinting of patterns and images on to the surface. the result is a contemporary, hard-wearing finish with imprints of tulips, clogs and canal houses, a clear reminder that you are in amsterdam.

the lighting solution is by Flos Soft architecture and seamlessly integrates with the ceiling. each light is circular, creating a vertical connection with the imprints on the floor to highlight this feature. In addition, an Led lighting system is low maintenance and cost effective over a period of time.

In keeping with the Fifties’ futuristic ‘space-like’ feel, the walls are painted in soft pastel hues of cool blue, which provide a neutral backdrop to allow the logo to stand out.

the overall ambience of the space is attractive and efficient for the visitor to pass through to their room without tempting them to spend any length of time in the space.

Main image, ceiling lighting by Flos Soft Architecture seamlessly integrates into the ceiling, while walls in soft pastel hues of cool blue reflect the futurist-Fifties palette required. Right, top row, images of Amsterdam will feature as graphics in concrete flooring. Right, bottom row, examples of flooring by Graphic Concrete


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WHITE OAK FLOOR ‘EXTRARESISTANT’

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Marta Nowicka / Stay London

the floor of the lobby is a fine, smooth in-situ concrete floor.

the Stay logo has been made as a stamp in varying sizes, which once pushed into the wet concrete floor will leave an imprint.

the Stay logo is directional, leading the guest towards the self-check-in doorway and beyond to the bedrooms.

to make the flooring very city specific the person doing the imprints of the logo will have shoes that are site specific – for example in London the person will be wearing dr. Martens. In Madrid they’d be Camper shoe imprints, in Barcelona, bare feet, and so on!

they would walk through the doorway making imprints, then have to wait there till the concrete dries as the logo leads In only. the concrete floor will be finished off with a sealant.

For the walls a Fifties’ pattern has been printed on to vinyl at an enlarged scale and papered to the wall – onward display at 84 Berwick Street, London W1F 8tt can print from artwork and hang it.

Certain colours from that print have been selected for the other walls – in this instance two colourways of Farrow and Ball’s Hay 37 and dead Salmon 28 have been used.

the black-clad check-in doorway has been angled towards the space, It is constructed from plywood laminated in Black Gloss Polyrey, and has back-wash lighting illuminating the edge and soffited ceiling.

the Stay logo points to the entrance where the visitor just swipes their credit card for access and a room number.

Informal seating in the lobby is provided by the Harry Bertoia chair model number 420C, proposed to be hung from the ceiling rods, minus the base as a playful twist.

From top to bottom, directional logos lead guests to the self-check in; one wall is papered with a Fifties pattern, with colours from the artwork picked out for paint treatment on the opposite wall – namely Farrow and Ball’s Hay 37 (shown middle) and Dead Salmon 28 (shown right)


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DPS Oversized (230x300).indd 2 08/06/2011 12:33

Wood Floor Surbiton Ltd

27‐29 Brighton Road

Surbiton

Surrey KT6 5LR

(t) 020 8390 2120

Wood Floor Surbiton

21 Woodbridge Road

Guildford

Surrey GU1 1DY

(t) 01483 304888

Wood Floor Surbiton is passionate about

hardwood flooring and our aim is to introduce

you to the many possibilities that wood flooring

creates.

Since our foundation we have built a reputation

for offering a high quality product range,

installation and customer care.

We support the development of responsible

forestry and increased use of certified products,

by offering hardwood flooring that complies

with P.E.F.C. & F.S.C. requirements.

We would like to welcome you to our new

refurbished showrooms with our Ted Todd

display for Architects & Interior Designers, to

discuss your wood flooring project.

We look forward to seeing you soon.

A Hardwood Floor is the foundation on which

many great interiors are built . . .

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enq 140

DPS Oversized (230x300).indd 3 08/06/2011 12:35


Walk this way

analysis

From vinyl to the finest marble, the feel under foot of different types of flooring says a huge amount about everything from the interior environment to the brand. Over the next seven pages six designers and architects working across a wide range of projects discuss the importance of the subliminal messages flooring sends out

n any environment the flooring treatment can directly affect how people interact and use a space.

When designing a commercial interior, it is imperative to consider the reasoning and apportionment of all

surface treatments and how they are intended to be used.

The approach to flooring can often

be the anchor point from where to express an overall design concept. It is the one surface of any space that requires a level of robustness and longevity while providing visual interest to strengthen and support a broader design framework.

Such treatments enable an opportunity to better connect other built elements, as well as provide a gentle guide as to navigating and using a space, how to interact or behave in it – such as whether to pass through or

I

Rosie MoRleyInTerIor deSIgner, WoodS BagoT



linger, or to engender a sense of privacy.

The break-up of floor pattern can delineate locations for both built and loose elements, to define movement through a space. Often it is about interpreting a material’s various textures and capabilities to express your intentions for how a space is to be occupied, whether that be with differing pile heights, construction methods or how contrasting finishes interface one another.

Baldwin Spencer building, MelbourneThis is something we have aimed to explore with the Baldwin Spencer project at the University of Melbourne, Australia; a playful burst of abstracted forms, which act as an exaggerated version of the elements that sit on it.

It is intended for users to feel free to inhabit the space in an informal manner, within its comparatively formal architecture. With restraint underpinning the learning and exhibition areas, the student lounge provided the opportunity

to celebrate pattern and colour. Throughout the rest of the building these textiles and patterns occur in smaller, singular palettes in very specific pockets of space. In the student lounge we dared to bring the palette into collision. The palette provides a total immersion in colour, a contrast to the seriousness of the learning spaces.

With this we were able to create direct contrast of extreme colour and texture against a minimal, monochromatic architectural setting.

fx focus


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Craigie Stockwell.indd 1 07/06/2011 12:30

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Nicola osborN director, MoreysMith

looring in a commercial environment sends out many messages about the company, the client and the brand. It also sends signals regarding the intended use of the space (for example if it is for concentrated work, informal presentations, a

cafe or a free-time breakout) and how visitors and employees are expected to behave.

The floor covering is usually the most expansive finish feature specified. In receptions it will instantly give an impression and signify the quality of the building, brand and company. This is not always what you might expect – high-gloss does not necessarily mean high quality, and concrete does not always signify a budget fit-out – MoreySmith has used concrete in high-end projects to create a raw, industrial feel. In the office environment, while carpet is traditionally thought of as the floor covering for meeting rooms MoreySmith installed Marmoleum to a

Fcreative media company’s boardroom. Carpet would just be the wrong representation of this company.

Many finishes are labelled according to the perceived effect of their physical qualities, for example stone is often described as creating a cold feel, whereas carpet is warm. But stone can be a ‘warming’ floor finish when the correct texture, colour and size is used, and carpet can be harsh and cold.

Floor covering can define areas and give messages regarding the use of the space. MoreySmith’s design for the Red Bull reception/bar features different sizes of textured slate tiles; these sit next to reclaimed timber flooring in the Red Bull lounge. In the office exposed-metal raised floors contrast with neutral carpet in the open-plan work space. Each floor covering signifies arrival in a different area and creates the appropriate atmosphere. These materials may have traditionally been seen as ‘hard’ floor finishes, but this does not mean the environment is harsh, indeed the opposite is true due to the lively atmosphere and warmth created.

200 aldersgate, london ec1Refurbishment often goes hand in hand with working with existing floor finishes while meeting the brief to change the image and psychology of the space. The 21-storey building 200 Aldersgate is a case in point, where existing stone floors in the reception areas and first-floor podium were largely retained.

We created a business lounge and cafe at the podium level. In the cafe we changed the flooring to a matt white porcelain floor finish. This leads to striking Bisazza mosaic tiles in the cafe window seating area, differentiating this space from the servery and the main cafe circulation areas. Both changes successfully reduce the scale, define the spaces and change the perception of the existing stone. The result is a vibrant environment with the feel of a high-end brasserie.

In the business lounge large rugs were laid on the existing stone, softening and warming the space and adding a hotel lobby feel. The impression achieved is of calm – perfect for informal meetings or laptop work.


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fx focus

he choice of flooring in retail space can say a great deal about the brand and the triggers that appeal to their target customer.

The large granite slabs in Apple, often dry jointed and laid with such precision, define

the brand as one that cares about detail, longevity, a substantial brand with long-term ambitions.

By choosing this as opposed to a less substantial vinyl, Apple is saying it is the opposite of cheap, adequate, good enough... that it is real, quality, appropriate and solid.

Psychologically, the floor plays a key role in defining brands. The sometimes random-looking specifications are often based on an agreed strategy that dictates every material choice should support the brand ambitions and create a unique combination for the brand in that location.

In recent years we have seen a shift from ubiquitous limestone of the past decade into a more dramatic, more

textural solution reflecting the trend for concretes and honed slates, the opposite of the light, reflective stone options they have replaced.

We have gone from an optimistic, white box architecture where fitting in was paramount, to a more flexible approach, where to select a darker, richer, moodier floor can symbolise fashionability, attitude or confidence.

This move to darker floors has reflected a generally darker interior trend, epitomised by the moody interiors of Abercrombie, Hollister and even Tom Ford.

Our message to clients has been clear: light the stock, not the floor, and don’t be afraid of the dark.

This has led to a certain homogenisation of the high street, where every brand wants to have a dark grey floor, thinking that is a formula for success. The recent award-winning Topshop Oxford Circus development uses that monolithic grey floor as a unifying element in a very eclectic and lively environment. All colours and finishes look stunning against this backdrop.

TSuperdrugOur challenge now is to find suitable alternatives that deliver the desired effect with an element of ownership, a distinct personality.

This has led to a rediscovery of timber, mid to dark-toned, in real or vinyl form.

Superdrug in Wimbledon (inset) recently launched with a rich, dark vinyl timber plank that brings a humanity, a natural tone to an otherwise sharp, monochrome concept.

The reassurance of a timber texture and colour lets the customers know this is a concept for them. It would be so different had it been white ceramic or dark granite. The concept is far from domestic, but the timber gives that feel to the space.

John Lewis Oxford Street (main image, above) womenswear delivers a very premium look and feel with a mid-tone ceramic floor that really lifts the offer. No walkways, a natural flow to the space and a very appropriate floor spec has made it almost a neutral supporting element that makes no statement, and yet it just works.

DaviD Dalziel creative Director, Dalziel + Pow


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NEW RANGE OF FLOORING EXCLUSIVE TO LATHAMS

As part of its extensive range of solid and engineered wood flooring, James Latham’s new dedicated flooring division is now offering PAR-KY® on an exclusive basis.Using long boards and the distinctive bevel, PAR-KY® veneered floors by Shinnoki, maintain the look and feel of solid wood flooring, but because they use 25 times less wood than solid wood flooring, as well as no formaldehyde during the manufac-turing process, plus environmentally friendly hardened lacquer, they offer significant environmental benefits. PAR-KY® is also easy to care for and install. Its ‘uniclic’ jointing system means you can fit the boards yourself without the need for glue. PAR-KY® also uses a layer of cork to produce the feel and sound of walking on a solid wood floor.PAR-KY® by Shinnoki prefinished real wood veneered MDF panels are also available in a range of species to match PAR-KY® flooring.Paul Latham, who heads Latham’s new flooring division said, “We now deliver a more rounded and comprehensive offering to architects, designers, flooring con-tractors and flooring retailers and the addition of this latest exclusive product to an already impressive range of solid and engineered wood flooring , coupled with the fact that we carry information about adhesives, screeds, underlays and liquid DPM, means that our flooring customers are extremely well catered for.”

For more information please phone: 01708 681700, fax: 01708 252381, email us at [email protected] or visit our website at www.bausen.co.uk

James Latham.indd 1 08/06/2011 09:32

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NightiNgale associates

t Nightingale Associates, we strongly believe that in our healthcare, education, science and office refurbishments that first impressions are lasting impressions.

The choice of flooring we use, unique to the overall interior design

scheme, helps us to create a strong and cohesive bespoke design. We are involved in several public-sector projects currently, each with its own mandate on flooring design and products.

Floors have helped us to sculpt and define areas, colours and textures bringing greater awareness to space and function.

Sustainable and responsible floor coverings are now the norm as we seek to find innovative designs that don’t cost our clients the Earth.

Our healthcare work poses the greatest of challenges. Infection control,

rigid cleaning regimes and health and safety issues, all compound the need for greater quality and resilience. Our recent project at St Francis Hospice in Havering focused on a floor covering which enhanced the quality of the place and provided the client with a floor that was easy to service while still maintaining a more domestic quality.

executive Business centre, Bournmouth UniversityIn our education sector, the Executive Business Centre (EBC) (above) at Bournemouth University used its flooring to define learning spaces and create a dynamic fusion between elements. The ground floor of the EBC is a cafe environment, which provides a dynamic central hub for all users of the building, used linoleum flooring to generate a ‘wave’ feature which creates a clear delineation between the public cafe and the private study space, while minimising physical and psychological barriers.

The innovative use of flooring, running from the ground and seemingly up and over the walls, has proved successful in promoting a practical workhorse of an open-plan environment that remains both effective and inviting.

As a component of office design, flooring is important for the first impression made on a visitor or client when arriving in a space. The choice of flooring, woven into the overall interior design scheme, can set the tone for the company or organisation; whether it be fun, relaxed and inviting or more serious and corporate.

For example, large partnerships of lawyers or barristers will fit-out their boardrooms in plush, contemporary carpet tiles, giving off a sense of professionalism, verging on austerity. On the other hand, the Googles of this world will rely on their flooring of fake grass and comical imagery to tell a story and sell the space as the fun, contemporary working office that it is.

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looring performs a major role in influencing the psychology of shopping. The fascination for me is how the performance of the surface which customers are walking on can offer so many subliminal messages which also

influence all of our senses.An intelligent choice of flooring can

dominate so much of how an interior performs, from the choice of colour, pattern and tone to communicate the brand, through to the sound which it makes when customers walk across it. Quite simply, the texture underfoot controls the pace of how customers engage with a retail environment.

For instance a highly textured, hard flooring in the entrance or feature areas of a retail space will slow customers down and encourage them to engage with the merchandise in a more receptive state of mind. A timber or stone floor can signal a more

natural and warm feeling to the space. Timber floors give the added benefit of producing sound from customers walking on it as well as a positive scent from the polish used to maintain it. Polished tiles communicate exclusivity and cleanliness, while carpet creates a more intimate and hushed feel.

The choice is endless and as wide as your imagination, from resin and polished concrete, to rubber, parquet, mosaic or Helen Yardley handmade rugs. In my view the flooring choice is the most important ‘silent partner’ of any interior design.

Yet despite the immense choice available when sourcing materials for a scheme, for me the opportunity to ‘up-cycle’ an existing floor inherited from a previous tenant is always one to relish. There is nothing more satisfying than bring an existing timber or stone floor back to life and making its inherited charm the hero of the design scheme.

It does happen occasionally and it is a joy when it does.

FLakeland and Harriet KelsallBefore starting my own company I was creative director of two recent design projects that demonstrate how an environment is influenced by the flooring. Lakeland Kingston (top left), the kitchenware retailer, had 4237 sq m of flooring to consider, while jewellery designer Harriet Kelsall (above right) in Cambridge is located in a more compact space of 83 sq m.

Lakeland’s highly regarded product range requires a mix of high-volume merchandising combined with more considered purchasing, so the flooring is a mix of new Kahrs Oak timber, green/grey Brazilian slate tiling to table display areas, and high-wear carpet Donegal Twist from Ulster Carpets in olive to the feature staircase.

On the other hand Harriet Kelsall sells bespoke jewellery and the interior was created as a studio setting to give the space a more intimate feel, using a Polyflor timber effect of dark, brushed oak combined with a shaggy carpet in ‘chinchilla’ from Christy Carpets.

CaLLum Lumsden FOUnDer, LUmsDen



fx focus

Steve thomaS Creative ServiCeS Manager, Sheridan&Co

looring is a key element in retail design and part of the overall experience you give the customer. it is one of the visual planes that define the retail space. after the retail display, furniture, walls, ceiling and lighting, the floor can

be considered the extra dimension.and just as colour, texture, material

and so on in fixtures and fittings sends out overt and subconscious cues and messages, so the same applies to what is underfoot. Whether in a standalone store or when used to define the threshold of a concession or shop within a shop, to subtly reinforcing a brand’s USPs flooring is at the heart of the retail design mix.

What flooring we designers choose depends on the overall concept and practicalities of the site. ideally we create and lay a floor to enhance and complete the experience.

one example is the flooring for a Clarins pop-up shop we designed and installed. it was fresh, light and bright and therefore in tune with the brand’s testing of its daily energizer concept.

a different emotional response was delivered by a carpet we specified for a temporary display for the Urban decay beauty brand. Woven with our design, the carpet was edged in rubber and was easily rolled up for transporting to more than 20 venues across europe.

Using flooring that stands out in its setting can be powerful, such as when we used metal tread plate for the absolut rock limited edition vodka when it toured airport retail. to walk on that metal flooring amid the carpet tiles of airside retail immediately communicated some of the absolut brand via the soles of the feet.

We’ve also used fake turf (for a golf-related whisky promotion) and have sealed tennis balls under acrylic for a walk-on stand at the atP tennis tournament at the o2 arena.

FClarins pop-up shopa Clarins pop-up shop (above) occupied the insight store, Sheridan&Co’s experimental retail space in London’s West end, for two weeks at the beginning of 2011.

Clarins was testing its daily energizer range, aimed at older teenagers and young women, ahead of a wider launch later this year. the pop-up was designed to immerse early adopters and opinion formers among consumer groups and the media to create a buzz and expectation ahead of the full launch.

the Clarins floor was a printed vinyl that could normally be permanent but in this case was only in situ for four weeks. it was cut to shape and coated with an anti-slip laminate.

Printed with the Clarins logo, the flooring communicated the fresh, light and bright feel which the pop-up shop was presenting to its young 20-something visitors, a new demographic for Clarins.


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Bespoke Design ServicesWe offer a wide variety of services to our clients from custom made stone basins, baths and shower trays to unique marble floor centre pieces, murals and custom cut floors. We also create custom made stone staircases and vanity tops and we can source rare stones.

Natural Stone Collectionmarble, limestone, travertine and granite collection

Porcelain & Ceramic TilesIn a variety of elegant and modern styles & mosaics

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Exterior StoneOpus sets and paving in a wide range of stone

Terrazzo FlooringA hard wearing solution that can add design interest

Reclaimed BricksAchieve the genuine feel of an original exposed brick wall

Ancillary ProductsEverything you need for your design project

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Introducing the stunning new luxury contract tile programmeIntroducing the stunning new luxury contract tile programme

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All you need to know about everything from ergonomics to materials to lighting, with three experts in their own fields, plus nine pages of the best products around

The experTs

Tech spec


Annabelle FilerCreative director, SCINAnnabelle calls herself an ‘architectural deviant with a passion for materials’. She is the creative director for SCIN, the materials sourcing and research company, and prefers to spend her evenings snuggled up to Plastics Federation Monthly and the like, much to the dismay of her family and friends.

Jill EntwistleEditor & writerJill is an editor and writer who specialises in architectural lighting, following 12 years as editor of Light magazine. She has authored two Designing with Lighting books: Hotels, and Bars and Restaurants, and is an affiliate member of the International Association of Lighting Designers.

Levent ÇaglarErgonomics consultant, FIRALevent heads the ergonomic unit at FIRA (Furniture Industry Research Association), one of Europe’s top three furniture technology centres. He is recognised as the key UK ergonomics expert in office and school furniture, and has worked with designers to create some iconic furniture pieces.

Test Bench 112Levent Çaglar puts Herman Miller’s new Sayl task chair to the test, and gives details of three rivals

Light & Tech 114Student lighting designers’ creativity has hardly been dimmed by financial realities, judging by their entries into the LA awards

Materials 117Annabelle Filer takes a further look at the more friendly members of the plastics family

PRODUCT CATEGORIES122, 123, 125, 127, 128 Flooring focus;

131 Surfaces; 133 Office furniture; 134 Contract furniture; 137, 139 Kitchens and bathrooms; 140 Lighting; 143 Doors

and partitioning; 145 Stop press

Page 114, The Reverse pendant, created by a

Swiss student, has a flip base to allow either

directional light or diffused illumination

F06-111-TECH SPEC COVER-ph2.indd 1 09/06/2011 09:21

?? June 2011 FXmagazine.co.uk

This new chair, designed by Yves Béhar for Herman Miller, was launched at Orgatec in October. Ergonomics expert Levent Çaglar puts it through its paces, and compares its performance to three main rivals

SAYL WORK CHAIR BY HERMAN MILLER

F06-112-TEST BENCH-ph2.indd 4 27/05/2011 11:18

Test bench

GENERATION BY KNOLL INTERNATIONALMany design features promote very dynamic, comfortable sitting in multiple postures. Elastomer net on backrest frame, the top of which can fold over as an armrest when sitting sideways. Seat pad tilts in any direction. Good lumbar support. Lightweight and sustainable.

MONEYPENNY MESH BY BOSS DESIGNChair with wide, high, mesh backrest on frame, giving thoracic support and comfortable dynamic motion. Lumbar support from upholstered pad. Waterfall effect at front of seat pad; optional forward tilt. Fits all heights of users well. Sustainable.

ARA BY ORANGEBOXComfortable with good ergonomic features. Wide backrest from more rigid elastomer with a frame. Firm lumbar support even without the optional lumbar pad. No forward tilt but forward-sloping front third of seatpad. Soft, wide armrests. Highly sustainable.

THE RIVALS

DYNAMIC SITTINGIn forward tilt mode, you can bene� t from the full range of Sayl’s dynamic potential, although the tension may need to be adjusted. The chair becomes alive, supporting your full back whether leaning forward or reclining. You do not feel that you are slipping forward or that the backrest is pushing you too much, so are inclined to make the movements that reduce pressure on your abdomen and keep your back in a healthy posture. There is a good reclining range and, when using forward tilt, you can limit this at several positions. Even when selecting an upright limiting position, some recline is provided. When not using forward tilt, the most upright sitting position may be too reclined for some users, though reclined postures are comfortable.

SUSTAINABILITYSayl’s eco-friendly design minimises the use of materials, incorporating hollow plastic components and no PVC. More than 90 per cent of the chair is recyclable but only 10 per cent of its components are made from recycled materials.

DESIGNSayl has been designed to be ecologically responsible and comfortable at an affordable price. Designer Yves Béhar has minimised the use of material to provide a chair with no backrest frame, reminiscent of a suspension bridge in the way the elastomer backrest is hung from a Y-shaped central column. Viewed from the side, the elegant curvature of the elastomer formed by its innovative link to the seat base and armrest posts givesthe impression of a sail. You can choose from a range of matching or contrasting colours for backrest, seat pad and arm pads.

ADJUSTABILITYSayl can be adjusted to � t a wide range of users. Controls are easy to reach and operate. The movements of the levers and knobs are intuitive, but you do have to remember to lean back in order to engage the forward tilt. You may need a few attempts to get the right height for both armrests, which use a ratchet system for adjustment. The slim armpads are comfortable and recline with the chair so, if you tilt forward, they point downwards and your arms may slide off them.


BACKRESTThe varying size of holes and thickness of the elastomer web provides greater tension in some areas and � exibility in others, promoting dynamic sitting. The elastomer deforms according to body weight and provides good support when leaning back. When working upright, users may � nd it does not support their upper back unless they choose the forward tilt. The backrest’s lumbar protrusion is not very pronounced and some users may � nd it rather low. The optional lumbar device may be suitable for those who want greater support, as may be the upholstered backrest option. The backrest shape allows you to move your elbows back and open up your chest for more oxygen and alertness. Together with the lack of frame, this gives you good sideways dynamic movement.

VERDICT Sayl provides a comfortable, affordable chair that is easy to use. It promotes dynamic sitting well, particularly in the forward tilt mode. Some users may prefer a higher or deeper lumbar support, which the optional lumbar device could provide. Sayl’s very distinctive design, especially in translucent white elastomer, gives a light and airy feeling despite the size of the chair and its mechanism housing.

F06-112-TEST BENCH-ph2.indd 5 27/05/2011 11:19

?? May 2011 FXmagazine.co.uk?? May 2011 FXFXF maXmaX gmagma azine.co.uk

Financial realities of manufacturing and marketing may have reined in the more exuberant ideas by student designers, but they still haven’t lost that joyful knack of coming up with highly creative ideas. Jill Entwistle looks at entries into the LA’s latest Student Lighting Design Awards

Where lighting is concerned, student entries for design competitions are less radical than they used to be now that colleges are dinning into

them the realities of manufacture and marketing. Freewheeling thought processes were always a joy

though – it is still dif� cult to shake off the image of the giant knobbly condom affair conceived by a past student for the LA’s Student Lighting Design Awards. But as the latest crop of iF student lighting entries shows, creativity has not been crushed by commercial constraints, just tempered a little by pragmatism. In most cases.

BRIGHT TYPES

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Light + Tech

The Hanover-based 2011 iF competition for young design talent attracted more than 8,000 student entries – almost twice as many as last year – from 52 countries. A jury of international designers, professors and lecturers filtered out 300 finalists. In a second round, a second expert jury selected the Best 100 – including these lighting concepts – as the winners of the iF concept award 2011. The 12 most outstanding entries shared prize money of 30,000 euros.For the full winners list see www.ifdesign.de/awards_concept_index_e.

3. Never FiNishedDesign: Yung-Hsun CHen, national taiwan universitY, taipei, taiwan

Entirely about aesthetics rather than breaking new technical ground, Never Finished was inspired by the prototype of a tubular lamp. It does not include a lampshade and is designed to encourage the creativity of the user, who can add any type of cloth to create a lampshade and decorate it in their own style. Additions and changes can be made to the lamp whenever the mood takes.

1. reverseDesign: saraH Huegin, universitY of applieD sCienCes nortHwestern switzerlanD (fHnw)

The Reverse pendant is a universal, compact lighting system designed for limited spaces that combine working with living. The disc base can be simply adjusted to provide either diffuse or degrees of direct light according to mood or task.

2. Bus CrosswalkDesign: Jung Hoon lee, Ki sang Yoon, Jung eun Kim, su min Jung, samsung art anD Design institute (saDi), seoul, soutH Korea The Bus Crosswalk is designed to increase the safety of boarding and leaving buses after dark, where the bus is not stopping curbside. It is installed in the bus and projects a light out, first with a sign that spells ‘stop’ in red letters to alert any traffic. It then switches to a green crosswalk, so that passengers can safely exit the bus.

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Light + Tech

4. MoonDesign: Won Chul hWang, saDi, seoul, south Korea

Moon is a floating balloon light made of lightweight, resilient rubber material filled with an LED light and helium. It can be recharged with solar power in a recharger cradle. When charged the light can be released anywhere in the house. A switch on the line allows the light intensity and the lighting time to be adjusted.

7. GyMDesign: DaviD saupe, aaron rauh, College of fine arts (hfBK), hamBurg

The main point of Gym is its ability to be bent into any shape, where it will remain. It can be set into any number of positions to provide light (from LEDs) exactly where it is needed. It apparently has a highly complex interior based on a patented magnetic grid connection which controls all three swivel joints of the modular system. As a result, the arm sections can be set in any position and locked securely.

5. DayliGht reflectorDesign: felix WilDen, lunD university, sWeDen

The reflectors of the lamp redirect the daylight streamed indoors by highly reflectant surfaces – with a reflection factor of 98 per cent – outside the window. As in conventional daylight linking, a sensor registers when daylight levels fall, bringing on LEDs which can also simulate changing daylight colours.

6. GuarDian laMpDesign: Bo mai, xin Chen, Wu lin, haifei yao, south China agriCultural university, guangzhou, China

The Guardian Lamp is a night light for children. In itself not a radical concept, but it literally has an energy saving twist. The base of the light is turned to adjust the time it’s on on the calibrated dial. The lamp stays lit for this time, gradually diminishing in brightness so it doesn’t disturb the sleeper. Once the time has elapsed, the light automatically switches off.

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?? May 2011 FXmagazine.co.uk?? May 2011 FXFXF maXmaX gmagma azine.co.uk

Annabelle Filer takes a further look at plastics that are considered more eco friendly than their generally revilled cousins

P lastic, to many environmentalists, is the devil incarnate. Research into the holy grail of eco plastics

continues unabated and many see bioplastic as the answer.

This is a plastic from plant-based sources, which marks a return to its roots. There are questions though about its pedigree however: Is it really more energy ef� cient to produce than synthesised from oil? What impact does this biopolymer have on our agricultural food production? Exactly how biodegradable is it?

The sad fact is that any product degraded using the wrong process, biobased or otherwise, is ineffective in its degradation. Indeed, certain bioplastics are not biodegradable whereas certain oil-based ones, with the use of particular additives, are.

There is no doubt that plastics and their effect on the environment is a complex, contradictory situation.

This month we take a look at plastics that are regarded as more eco friendly, for a number of different reasons.

DEVIL PLASTIC TURNS ANGEL

F06-118-MATERIALS-ph.indd 4 27/05/2011 11:21


Materials

Microkinetic MaterialsResearch in conjunction with developments in hybrid materials throws up theories about the potential to work on the structural composition at sub-millimetre level and for the designer to control the structural reinforcing geometry.

Early on, using high-precision rapid prototyping and composite lay-up techniques, Sarat Babu created a elastomer-polymer hybrid. He was able to alter the elastic properties of the silicone and elastomer, thus creating different responses when the material was stretched, compressed or flexed.

While current work is more product orientated, a material structure has been created that can dynamically create surface texture when pulled, ‘which had some quite bizarre haptic opportunities’, says Babu. There was also a joint research project with Gennaro Senatore, a fellow UCL researcher and architect for Expedition Engineering, which looked at scaling up the technology to control the pattern of steel reinforcement in concrete for a conceptual pavilion at Athens.

Research: Joint programme between UCL and Bread. Applications: Architectural and surface, products from bike helmets to new interfaces, including medical. breadltd.com

XorelThis dye-coloured, woven polyethylene has been around for 30 years but it is still considered to be groundbreaking, while having the advantage of proven track record. Time, after all, is a commercial asset.

This textile, with the right backing or material partner, is robust enough to be used in many surface areas. It is a material chameleon and can go from textile for upholstery to wall covers to worktops, and it has excellent light reflectivity.

Xorel is an environmental alternative to vinyl; it is free from chlorine, plasticisers, heavy metals, toxic dyes and ozone-depleting chemicals, and is low in volatile organic compounds.

It may be recycled and will not release toxic gases if incinerated. In addition it is dimensionally stable, stain and fungal-resistant, strong, breathable and inherently flame retardant.

You can almost forgive this one for being plastic.

Manufacturer/distributor: USA. Size: Made to order. Colour and range: 40 patterns and 500 colourways, thickness ranging up to 12.5mm. Applications: Wall covering, upholstery, panels, and with Xorel, surfaces – retail display, counters and dividers. Other: Cradle to Cradle Silver certification. xorel.com


www.kieurope.com [email protected] Tel: 020 7404 7441

As part of ongoing refurbishments and modernisation at the UCD campus, KI have provided Concerto Auditorium seating at the Newman Building and Sequence Lecture Hall seating with Torsion chairs at the newly constructed Quinn School of Business.

University College Dublin

Concerto Auditorium Seating

Sequence Lecture Hall Seating

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Materials


Carbo e-thermWarmth is considered an expectation by many in the West, not as a luxury, and the ceramic floor tile is a material which taints our haptic experience when it is cold underfoot.

Future-carbon, a specialist in carbon nanomaterial manufacturing, has developed Carbo e-therm, an acrylate and water-based coating system containing carbon nanotubes that may be heated, using a low-voltage system, to 100 deg C.

This coating may be applied to redefine a surface as a thermal conduit, delivering quick and evenly heated areas.

The advantages other than it uses 12/24 voltage, is that this coating may be rapidly applied, similar to paint, over surfaces of many material finishes and reliefs. On a more mundane level, Carbo e-therm is useful in mould prevention; it simply heats, and therefore dries, damp spots.

Manufacturer/distributor: Germany. Colour & range: Carbo e-Therm LT for temperatures to 100 deg C; Carbo e-Therm HT to 250 deg C;Carbo e-Therm UHT to 500 deg C. Size: 4 sq m. Applications: Laminate and ceramic floor finishes and wall treatments including wet areas; frost protection; stone worktops. future-carbon.de

eCo-resin Flow ChairPlastic is a natural ally for creating organic shapes, and its thermoplastic properties were born for experimental use. The Flow Chair is one such example of plastic’s fluidity, and yet its material content lends credence to the fact that waste (through a material interface) can be desirable and striking.

The chair is made from Varia Ecoresin, a co-polyester resin composed of 40 per cent re-ground, post-industrial material. It does not contain plasticisers or stabilisers and, due to additional reinforcements, surface textures and colour ranges, it plays a leading role in the visual success of the chair.

Creator Jennifer Trans played with the malleable state that heated plastic becomes, producing free forms, and her studies evolved into a more functional piece in which material familiarity became integral to the final product.

Manufacturer/distributor: USA/UK. Colour & range: Seven surface finishes, six ranges – organics, moderna, play, texture, colour and graphic. Size: 122 cm x244cm, 122cmx305cm and some ranges in 152.5cmx305cm from 1.6mm to 25mm gauge. Applications: Furniture, interior panels. Other: Contributes to LEED qualifications and has Greenguard Indoor Air Quality Certification. jennifer-tran.com / 3form.co.uk

syntrewoodWhen can a carrier bag be a comfy seat? Answer: When it’s Syntrewood.

This is an ‘immortal’ plastic, owing much to all that discarded plastic as it contains between up to 95 per cent recycled polyolefin, a composition of polypropylene and polyethylene.

Manufacturer Lasentiu is one of a number of companies that have deserted more traditional raw materials to make products that already have had a service life. With Syntrewood, thei aim is to reuse discarded post-consumer plastics destined for landfill or the furnace. In Spain, plastic use has been increasing and in its first year (2004) Lasentiu processed 2,000 tonnes of waste, 0.013 per cent of the annual plastic generation. The figures are impressive given that the company was new, and it demonstrates the impact we have have even very early on. Most importantly, Lasentiu has simultaneously made an environmental and commercial contribution.

Syntrewood is a rare breed, a substitute material that matches in terms of practicality as the woods, plastics and laminates it was intended to replace.

Manufacturer/distributor: Spain/UK. Size: (980mmx660mmx190mm). Colours & range: Shades of grey. Applications: Urban furniture, but open to requests. lasentiu.com


122 June 2011 FXmagazine.co.uk For a comprehensive product library go to www.widn.com

To be included contact Sophia Sahin on 020 7936 6856 or [email protected]

TarkeTT Marley The Metro Radio Arena in Newcastle, the largest concert and exhibition venue in the North East, and ranked the 10th busiest music venue in the world, called on Tarkett to provide the new flooring. Around 175m2 of Tarkett’s ID Premier light oak vinyl planks were specified, as Paul Tappenden, Marketing Director for SMG North East explained: “We chose this product to replace the old slotted wooden flooring because it had the look we wanted, but was more hard-wearing and resistant to spillages for this busy area.” www.tarkett-commercial.com enq 300

DorseT WoolliscrofT The vast range of Dorset Woolliscroft flooring solutions presented by Designworks offers fully vitrified slip resistant tiles for both internal and external use. Offering exceptional performance and safety standards within industrial, commercial, domestic and leisure markets, these tiles have been developed with specific areas of usage in mind and can be confidently specified for use in the most exacting of installations. The range also complies with all industry standards.Designworks is Original Style’s dedicated contracts team. Original Style is one of the UK’s leading manufacturers and suppliers of tiles, mosaics, glass and natural stone for all commercial and residential projects.www.dorsetwoolliscroft.com enq 301

Junckers Junckers are launching an entirely new look. Their new Design Collection features tactile brushed finishes and appealing colours – both natural tones and brights.Junckers have developed their new floor by using a special, hard brushing technique to remove the softer wood from the surface of the plank. This leaves the grain of the timber more prominent and gives the wood that coveted hand-finished look to a solid hardwood floor as opposed to engineered boards.The Texture & Colour Design Collection is available on 20.5mm thick solid Oak planks in Junckers’ three Wide Board widths: 129mm, 160mm and 185mm. www.junckers.co.uk enq 303

nora® nora® rubber floor coverings are ideally suited for the contract market, recent projects include Ideas Store, Whitechapel, Heathrow and Gatwick new airport terminals, Marks and Spencer Flagship stores and City of Westminster College. Over 200 standard designs and colours makes design possibilities almost endless, nora® rubber floorings are environmentally compatible PVC free and BREEAM ‘A’ rated (913 mix). nora® rubber floorings provide superior underfoot comfort and fatigue reduction, they also have excellent sound absorption qualities. nora® rubber flooring are highly durable and provide excellent slip resistance. Because of its high durability and ease of maintenance, rubber is an excellent choice for high foot traffic and public areas. www.nora.com enq 304

Flooring focus

cfs carpeTs The Tredline collection from CFS Carpets, one of the UK’s largest floor covering specialists, offers a modern linear heavy contract carpet tile in 9 colours to satisfy the design needs of any installation. Tredline is a loop pile tile made using 100% Xentrys Nylon 6, giving long-lasting appearance retention and excellent soil hiding properties. Tredline also comes with a 10-year guarantee and is suitable for most commercial spaces. All colours are stocked in large volumes by Carpet & Flooring, which offer a 24-hour delivery service in the UK. www.cfscarpets.co.uk enq 302

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For a comprehensive product library go to www.widn.com

de Christo de Christo have supplied and fitted oak flooring and walls for the refurbished, grade-II-listed farm buildings of High House Production Park in Purfleet, Essex. The Royal Opera House has moved its production department to the new development, which also provides facilities for the adjoining Royal Opera House Workshop. de Christo worked very closely with architects The Regeneration Practice, working for Thurrock Thames Gateway Development Corporation. The oak floors are fitted with black polyamide filling and a lacquer finish give an authentic rustic look. The walls are of mixed-width oak with an oil finish and hard-wearing sealant. www.dechristo.co.uk enq 305

Karndean When considering flooring for office interiors MG Group Interiors recently specified Karndean’s latest portfolio addition, the Opus flooring range, which was specifically developed to meet the needs of the commercial market. MG Group Interiors have 25 years of experience as specialists in interior solutions, and due to expansion have relocated to offices on the Vesty Business Park in Merseyside. MG Group Interiors wanted their office space to demonstrate to clients what their company could achieve, and chose to demonstrate this with aesthetically pleasing and practical stone effect flooring from Karndean’s Opus range. www.karndean.co.uk enq 306

antron Carpets made with Antron® carpet fibre can have up to 40% lower energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions (expressed as CO2 equivalents) than the majority of competitive carpets, maximising “first life” performance, according to combined life cycle analysis and performance testing results.The data was derived from real-world performance testing of Antron® carpets versus competitor carpets. These results were then combined with an eco-profile of Invista’s manufacturing processes developed by a recognised third-party expert in environmental life cycle evaluations. The eco-profile of the combined life cycle analysis and performance testing was developed in accordance with ISO 14040 standards.www.antron.net enq 307

Kährs Kährs has received FSC (Forest Stewardship Council) certification for 13 wood floors produced throughout its range, reflecting its long-term environmental focus. They include eight oak floors from its Original and Linnea Ranges and all sports floors from its Activity Range, available in a choice of wood species.Last year, 73% of all wood used in floor production came from Swedish forests surrounding its 40 hectare manufacturing site in Nybro, Sweden. During production, tree bark waste that is recovered from Kährs sawmill is used to provide district heat for its 75,000m² plant, neighbouring homes and businesses. www.kahrs.co.uk enq 308

Burmatex Innovative flooring manufacturer Burmatex has completed a refurbishment project with design and build company Claremont and their client, US marketing company Acxiom, who recently relocated their UK operations to a warehouse in Hatfield, London, previously occupied by Granada Television.The design brief was to deliver a positive user experience for staff through colour, space and layout. Loop pile carpet tile Sector was specified for the building’s main areas in Acxiom’s corporate colour, and bright colours in tufted cut pile tile Axis and linear loop pile tile Scan were used to define breakout areas and meeting rooms. www.burmatex.co.uk enq 309

Flooring focus


Call +44 (0)20 7421 8107Email [email protected] online at www.aegistra.com

Parade chair by M

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Pause chair by M

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Opus chair by M

agnus Olesen

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Burlington’s highly skilled stone engineers craft a diverse range of luxurious and signature natural stone products that exude the ultimate in opulent quality and permanence.

Using a natural stone source laid down in the English Lake District over 450 million years ago, inspiration comes in the form of standard product lines and truly bespoke pieces, and is limited only by the imagination.

Add into the frame a choice of five sumptuous stones and two sublime limestones, together with a range of smooth and textured finishes, and it becomes clear to see why Burlington’s stone products represent the ultimate interior and exterior finishing statement.

BURLINGTON SLATE LTD Cavendish House Kirkby-in-Furness Cumbria LA17 7UN t: 01229 889 661 e: [email protected] www.burlingtonstone.com

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Vorwerk Carpet The influence of organic growth that defined Japan’s avant-garde metabolism movement can be found in the design and colours of Arata Isozaki’s design for Vorwerk Carpet, which combines complexity with astonishing simplicity. Produced on tufted nylon cut pile velour, the broadloom carpet is available as part of Vorwerk’s Object collection for corporate environments. RIBA Gold Medal architect Arata Isozaki has created buildings such as the Museum of Contemporary Art in Los Angeles and the Qatar National Library, and is recognised as the head of Japan’s architectural family. www.vorwerkcarpet.com enq 310

Milliken Paste Up is the latest performance carpet tile to be manufactured in the UK from Milliken. Designed by Todd Van Der Kruik, the Paste Up collection consists of five modular carpet designs inspired by street art, in particular the layers and textures formed where paper and glue meet the uneven surface of a wall.The collection features complex neutral colours, as well as impact colours such as rich aubergine, bright turquoise, vibrant tomato and the latest shade of chartreuse. Paste Up is PVC-free and can be supplied with the bio-based TractionBack® adhesive free installation system to eliminate off-gassing and VOCs. www.millikenportfolio.com enq 311

Forbo Flooring SySteMS The extraordinary breadth of design and colour in Forbo’s Flotex flocked flooring portfolio can now be seen in an integrated brochure which brings together Classic collection favourites, vibrant HD designs with superior aesthetics, the avant garde Sottsass collection, Flotex Tiles and Flotex Artline. With so many aesthetic styles and a unique combination of performance benefits, Flotex provides an ideal solution wherever hardwearing, attractive and hygienic flooring is needed, combining the hardwearing and washable characteristics of resilience with the warmth, comfort and acoustic properties of carpet. All Flotex floor coverings have BRE global accreditation.www.forbo-flooring.co.uk/moreinfo enq 312

atkinSon & kirbyThe desirable and distinctive appearance of Platinum Fineline flooring from Atkinson & Kirby has been achieved by rotating the grain 90 degrees to show the true colour variation of the wood. Available in a variety of species, ranging from the classic White Oak to the exotic Doussie, Platinum Fineline flooring creates an ultramodern, contemporary feel for any high-end design project. With a 15mm x 190mm x 2100mm engineered board as its foundation and a 3.6mm hardwood wear layer, Platinum Fineline has been manufactured to last. www.akirby.co.uk enq 313

DeSSo Desso’s Cradle to Cradle® certified Scape carpet tiles have been specified by Nightingale Associates for the new seven storey development of Bournemouth University Executive Business Centre. Joanna Ackah comments, “As a designer it is important to me to specify products which are not only aesthetically pleasing but have as little environmental impact as possible. I know that Desso make the environment a priority. The fit out at Bournemouth University Executive Business Centre was over seven floors and I needed a product that I knew would perform for years to come and would prove cost effective.”www.desso.com/businesscarpets enq 314

Flooring focusTo be included contact Sophia Sahin on 020 7936 6856 or [email protected]


www.sway-sway.com

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Flooring focus

FLOORING CONCEPTSLeading floor specialists Flooring Concepts, the exclusive partners for Bolon in the UK, unveil the brand new ‘Artisan’ collection.Winner of this year’s internationally renowned Red Dot Design Award for Product Design, Artisan has been inspired by traditional handicraft, fused with today’s technologies using a proprietary developed fibre to create unique style flooring.Developed to be hard wearing, for use in large, high traffic areas, suitable for the workplace, retail and hotel spaces. The range is available in a rich palette of craftsman-like colours – from burnt clay to dark blue, ultramarine to smoky red. Available as carpet tiles, sheets and planks measuring 216 x 648mm to create a parquet-style floor. www.flooring-concepts.co.uk enq 316

WHITE & WHITE LONDON With clients such as Harrods, Royal Festival Hall, Victoria & Albert Museum, The Ritz Hotel and Buckingham Palace, White & White London is a unique flooring company that embraces luxury floor design with an unrivalled level of customer service, from consultancy through to final installation. Visit White & White London’s stunning showroom to discover their outstanding selection of wood, natural stone, porcelain, composite, carpet and soft flooring. The company’s team of design professionals are all leaders in their respective fields, and can offer guidance and advice on the best flooring for each individual project. www.whiteandwhitelondon.com enq 317

REED HARRIS Feel like a giant walking over this new range of porcelain tiles designed by Diego Grandi. This bold range of stylised street maps can cover floors and walls turning them into your very own bird’s eye view. Made with 40% of pre-consumer recycled materials, this collection adds to the growing number of eco- conscious products available from Reed Harris. www.reedharris.co.uk enq 318

TuTTOPARquET Less is often more – this also goes for flooring. Great power lies in the simplicity of Admonter White Oak knotless flooring. The finish highlights the natural beauty of wood and meets the practical and functional requirements of any project.The flooring features 3 layer construction, micro bevelled edges and top and bottom layers of oak for improved stability and balance. It is suitable for under floor heating and available in various widths, up to 240mm. The tuttoparquet range of floors is not ordinary building material, but furniture for the floor. www.tuttoparquet.co.uk enq 319

GASKELL MACKAY Metro Stripe is a new tufted range aimed at the hotel bedroom market while the just released Vogue collection is a stylish addition to Gaskell Mackay’s existing stock Axminster ranges.“Gaskell Mackay has worked with the hospitality sector for many years and has a really good understanding of what the industry needs and requires when it comes to floorcoverings,” said Gaskell Mackay’s sales director, Stephen Donlan. “Both Metro Stripe and Vogue have been developed with this market in mind. They are very different products but bang on the money for where the hospitality industry is right now.” www.gaskell.co.uk enq 315




Forbo Single-malt scotch whisky brand Glenmorangie has a new state-of-the-art bottling plant and offices in Livingston West Lothian, incorporating a selection of Forbo Flooring Systems’ products across its project vinyl, carpet tile and safety flooring ranges.Forbo’s Tessera Atrium loop-pile tiles were used throughout the office annex, finishing the main open-plan office areas, while Effect Linea project vinyl and Safestep Grip safety vinyl were specified for the canteen area. Both products provide a durable surface that maintains their aesthetic properties, whilst Safestep Grip provides a slip resistant-finish, meeting the project’s brief in terms of durability, aesthetics and BREEAM specification needs.www.forbo-flooring.co.uk enq 320

Kährs Kährs Oak Nouveau Snow has been specified for use in the refurbishment at Fenwick Department store, in Tunbridge Wells. The one-strip wood floor features a brushed surface, distinct bevelled edge and durable white lacquer pre-finish. All flooring was installed by De Witt Floors and supplied by Lambeth Dixon.The recent refurbishment at Tunbridge Wells included the upper ground floor, with Kährs flooring installed floating throughout 310 square metres. Crafted in Sweden, from sustainable timber, Oak Nouveau Snow features Kährs award-winning, eco-friendly multi-layered construction, patented by Kährs in 1941. www.kahrs.co.uk enq 321

Antron INVISTA’s Antron LegacyTM carpet fibre, featured in Christy Carpets’ Spice Route broadloom carpet, has been fitted in the main study area of Oxford University’s Doctoral Training Centre. Joining a custom colour carpet tile also from Christy Carpets, the multi-tonal stripe of Spice Route is ideal in areas such as the 400m2 study area, adding visual interest while helping to minimise the appearance of soiling. Antron Legacy™ fibres have maintained Environmentally Preferable Product Certification in North America, where they are manufactured, since 2002. antron.net enq 322

AMtICo Amtico International is embarking on its biggest and most radical product launch in its history. Over 50 per cent of the 2011 collection will be made up of striking new designs. The 2011 product range is grouped according to shade or tone. Designers and specifiers can now choose from Wood, Stone and Abstract ranges.“The powerful new range of designs, formats and cutting options opens the door even wider for designers, enabling them to express their creativity in a more daring way,” comments Lorna Williams, Design Manager. www.amtico.com enq 323

InterFACeFlor For this year’s Clerkenwell Design Week, InterfaceFLOR transformed its London showroom to reflect an edgy interpretation of classic fables, providing a dramatic backdrop for the launch of its “Once Upon A Tile” collection.To launch the new collection, InterfaceFLOR joined forces with design and trend specialist agency Checkland Kindleysides to provide a thought-provoking insight to the inspiration behind the imaginative designs. Reflecting the trends of the moment, whilst evoking nostalgia for all things past, the latest collection includes a wide variety of colours, textures and installation techniques, allowing customers to create an ultra-modern interior with a certain timeless quality.www.interfaceflor.com enq 324

Flooring focus


FLEXEBeech wood from 100% sustainable sourcesLeather by Elmo using water based dyes100% recyclable aluminium frame

So when you buy Burgess furniture you not only have quali ty, innovation and value for money, but also peace of mind.

+44 (0)20 8894 [email protected]

We are doing everything we can to minimise our impact on the environment

Beech wood from 100% sustainable sourcesLeather by Elmo using water based dyes

So when you buy Burgess furniture you not only have quali ty, innovation and value for money,

We are doing everything we can to minimise our impact on the environment

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l The Newest Rangel London Showrooml ‘Try Before You Buy’l Commercial Use Guaranteel FREE Space Planning Service

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Hunter Douglas Ceiling contractor Gyplok have recently installed 452m2 of Hunter Douglas Luxalon 300A closed ceiling system for the lecture theatres and concourse areas at the Edinburgh University’s Adam Ferguson Building.Luxalon 300A panels, available as standard in 0.6mm stove enamelled galvanized steel strip or from 0.7mm thick pre-painted stove enamelled aluminium strip, are both lightweight and strong and are also fully recyclable. They can be supplied in any length up to 6000 mm (as standard) and are free spanning up to 2400mm length. Aluminium carriers in combination with aluminium panels and a special locking clip can also be used for exterior applications. www.hunterdouglascontract.com enq 325

aBet PizzaExpress’ restaurant in Richmond, Surrey, has been reinvented with colourful laminates from Abet Laminati. Ab Rogers Design (ARD) transformed the restaurant into a ‘Living Lab’ using experimental design, restaurant acoustics and an energised approach to display and service, achieving an atmosphere inspired by Naples’ open food stalls. ARD used a variety of laminates, including brightly coloured gloss HR LAQ for counterfronts and booths, and black and white striped core Stratificato for tables and shelving. Laminates from Abet Laminati exceed European and British performance standards for resistance to wear, heat, moisture, impact and scratching. www.abetuk.com enq 326

ParaPan®

4mm acrylic Parapan® is now being used for a variety of commercial applications. Designers are realising the versatility of this highly practical material and specifying it to create feature walls and decorative panelling.The high gloss of Parapan® — now available in 23 colours from sophisticated neutrals to vibrant brights — offers UV-stable brilliance and consistency of colour that will not fade. Tough and lightweight, 4mm Parapan®

can be cut to size, thermoformed to create any radius of arc and then simply adhered into place. It won’t warp, rot or delaminate, and minor blemishes can be fully repaired.www.parapan.co.uk enq 327

nevamar By PanolamNevamar Armored Protection (ARP) is a tough laminate finish that resists scuffs and abrasions. ARP’s patented manufacturing process blends hard aluminum oxide particles with clear resins. The result: a laminate that is harder than most everyday materials and does not compromise on design subtleties and depth. Furniture and fixtures using ARP maintain their original gloss, color and feel far longer than products made of conventional laminates. ARP has proven first-class performance in punishing environments such as airports, hotels and hospitals, and can do the same in homes. ARP exemplifies Nevamar’s commitment to innovation, creative design and the highest quality. www.nevamar.co.uk enq 328

CaesarstoneHart-Woods Signature Kitchens, located in Prestbury, Cheshire, is a magnificent showroom which boasts style and sophistication. When they required new kitchen displays which would uphold their excellent reputation, they turned to CaesarStone.Jon Hart-Woods, owner of Hart-Woods Signature Kitchens and award-winning designer, commented, “For us, CaesarStone was the perfect choice. Their range of quartz worktops are not only aesthetically stunning, but are significantly practical too. One of our displays features the 13mm range in 4170 Black Rocks, which not only complements our contemporary showroom, but also durable and hard-wearing.” www.caesarstone.uk.com enq 329

Surfaces


Door Controls Glass Fittings and AccessoriesAutomatic Movable Walls Service

DORMA presents the very best in interior design, by highlighting how it is possible to modernise your interior with DORMA glass fittings.

Elegant and functional, glass offers a stylish alternative to the traditional refurbishment possibilities and will add light and breadth to a confined space.

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Office furniture

EBORCRAFT The latest project commissioned from office furniture manufacturer Eborcraft demonstrates how slight modifications to a basic design can transform the appearance of the final build. The featured reception counter was constructed using modules from Eborcraft’s flexible Fusion range, combining curved and rectangular units. A black line inlay and aluminium trim enhanced the counter’s contemporary appearance, while a bullnose edge detail softened its lines. The counter was designed to accommodate a central DDA unit and high-level counter tops were specially modified to conceal large computer monitors. www.eborcraft.co.uk enq 330

BBIFacilities support company Beacons Business Interiors (BBI) has completed a high quality £140,000 refurbishment of the reception and atrium area in the prestigious One Kingsway building in the centre of Cardiff. The refurbishment provides an impressive welcome to the six-storey building, which is owned by financial services group Canada Life. The reception is now stylish and colourful, with sculptured polished plaster panels, a vending desk, large curtain heaters, and a new ceiling and lighting system. The refurbishment was logistically complex, and required specialist knowledge and equipment to complete. www.bbi-uk.com enq 331

THE INTERIORS GROUP The Interiors Group has implemented Scott Brownrigg’s design for the expansion and relocation of the new offices of Russian financial services providers Otkritie in Wood Street, City of London.The ethos of the scheme was to use contrasting materials juxtaposed with the strong design lines already present in the building. The office is a spring board for further expansion to wider markets and one Otkritie are proud to call their London Headquarters. The Interiors Group understood that the speed of the project was essential and completed it within three months from the initial instruction to the designers.www.interiorsgroup.co.uk enq 332

MAINE OFFICE When Halcrow relocated to new corporate headquarters in London, they specified Maine storage and filing for their new premises. Halcrow chose the Maineseris31 range to adapt seamlessly to its open-plan offices and provide a functional yet stylish storage solution. The range’s open top units allow for quick and easy access to files, and also benefit from secure filing below. Maineseries31 is one of the most flexible storage and filing solutions on the market, utilising a wide range of heights and widths to adapt to different working environments. www.maine.co.uk enq 333

VIASIT Scope, a complete family of seating, embodies the Viasit philosophy in its purest form and is the result of a collaboration between designer Martin Ballandat and the company’s own product development team.The unique swivel conference chair, available with a mesh or upholstered back rest, combines good design, clean crisp lines, style, stunning beauty and unparalleled levels of comfort. www.viasit.com enq 334





Ki Lyra from Ki is a new range of fresh, modern and visually compelling seating comprising club and lounge chairs, stools, sofas and tables suitable for a variety of environments including office, educational, health, hospitality, leisure and government reception areas.A preformed veneered plywood back in beech, maple or natural walnut is available on the Lyra club and lounge chairs, and the KI Lyra club chair is also available with a painted wood back. Bases include a steel sledge, an automatic return disk pedestal base in a chrome or painted finish, and a wood base. www.kieurope.com enq 335

Jennifer newman Specialists in hand-made aluminium furniture, Jennifer Newman Studio provide architects with the opportunity of customising products to suit their schemes,resulting in individuality at affordable prices. All Newman designs have a timeless simplicity and are built for long-life, giving the products strong sustainability credentials. Jennifer Newman herself is an acknowledged colour expert and her input is part of the service offered by the studio. A totally bespoke service is also available for architects wanting unique products, and prototypes can be produced to order. High profile architects such as Swanke Hayden Connell Architects, Dyer and Schmidt Hammer Lassen are working with the studio for clients such as Imperial College, Westminster College, 02 and the BBC. www.jennifernewman.com enq 337

morgan The Manhattan Collection, designed by Morgan Design Director Katerina Zachariades, is a versatile modular system with clean lines and a contemporary style, with a steel leg or show wood leg detail. A multitude of configurations can be achieved incorporating chairs, sofas, bench seats and seating booths.The system is based on three main elements: seat module, screen and plinth. These create the main assemblies onto which arms, legs and headrests can be added. www.morganfurniture.co.uk enq 339

Contract Furniture

CouCh Potato ComPany Couch Potato Company, the sole UK and Ireland distributor and retailer for Stouby, have introduced the new Frost chair, designed by prize-winning Danish duo FurnID. Frost is made from a solid foam exterior and soft foam interior, all upholstered in either fabric or leather with natural oak or beech legs in a range of finishes. This combination gives the chair both a classic and futuristic look which sits well with older design classics as well as modern furniture, making Frost equally suitable for private homes or commercial situations such as waiting areas and hotel rooms. www.couchpotatocompany.com enq 338

sCandia Designed by the Busk and Hertzog, Danish furniture manufacturer Magnus Olesen, through its exclusive distributor Scandia Furniture, is pleased to present its Session wooden framed stacking chair to the UK market. Session is a beautifully designed, high quality, well proportioned chair that can stack up to 10 chairs high. Available in a variety of solid timbers and stains, including Beech, Oak, Maple and Cherry, the Session chair subtly enhances any area that it is placed in. Session has also been designed to link in rows and has an easily detachable seat pad. Please contact us for more details.www.scandiafurniture.co.uk enq 336


80:80‘free address’ system by Tangent

T 0845 071 4698 E [email protected]

8080’s unique power and data distribution systembrings substantial savings over conventional floor box installations

We think beyond the looks

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Shape your Acoustics with Metal Ceiling & Wall Solutions

ARMSTRONG’S METAL RANGEArmstrong now offers a large selection of design and customised metal ceiling solutions. Play with different perforations, shapes & sizes to create stunning designs. Express your creativity, animate the ceiling and breathe new life into a space, whilst improving acoustics and visual comfort.

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PartitionsStainless steel, solid plastic, powder coated steel, phenolic, color-thru phenolic and plastic laminate partitions.

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To be included contact Sophia Sahin on 020 7936 6856


AIR UNOThe latest trend in kitchen design is to make your extractor an intrinsic part of the decor. With Air Uno’s new Aida hood, you can discreetly hide away the extractor behind elegantly frosted glass panels that conceal a shelving unit. The unit is powered by a separate remote motor which is placed in the ducting and cleverly takes the noise away from the kitchen. www.airuno.co.uk enq 340

ROcA H&H is a brand new furniture range from Roca designed to offer maximum choice when it comes to storage solutions. Developed to complement the Hall and Happening basins, H&H comprises eleven modular, square base units in varying sizes and formats together with a coordinating wall-hung column unit. All units come with the option of legs allowing them to be wall or floor mounted providing greater flexibility for installation. Drawers feature soft and self-closing technology for ease and added luxury, and have integrated chrome handles. The units are available in three finishes: Walnut; Gloss Anthracite Grey and Gloss Beige. www.roca.com enq 341

JIS EUROpE JIS Europe of Haywards Heath has launched a new heated towel rail, The Alfriston. It is manufactured in an elegant round section shape, with nine horizontal rails and a stylish 90-degree angle on the top rail, giving an appearance of refined luxury.The Alfriston rail can be used in central heating, electric or dual fuel formats. It is durable and hygienic, manufactured in 100% stainless steel, pressure-tested to 12 bar. It is available in a polished finish with a brushed satin finish also available to order, and comes with a 25-year guarantee.www.sussexrange.co.uk enq 342

LG The HI-MACS® bathroom design from the “Private Space Furniture” collection, which is designed by Jannis Ellenberger, is just a step away from well-trodden paths. The design offers true innovation with HI-MACS®, and the bathroom includes a washbasin, two-level worktop, a towel rail, and racks for toothbrushes and other small items such as jewellery. www.himacs.eu enq 343

SchELL The angle valve offers a simple way to cut off water for tap maintenance or to save resources by supplying a regulated flow of water. Angle valves have been used on the Continent for years but are a recent visitor to the UK. Schell, one of Europe’s leading suppliers of bathroom hardware, has supplied angle valves for over a year and now introduces a range of four competitively priced angle valves to complement basin or bath taps. The SONO, PINT, WING and 4WING styles all have a quality chrome finish over a brass body. www.schell.eu enq 344

Kitchens and bathrooms


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Castello Castello baths proudly unveils our new “Oceanus” therapy bath. A truly spectacular bath in its own right we have added to this bath our new technologically advanced air injection system supplied by Koller whirlpool.Our unique design enables us to incorporate the complete system inside the bath. The silent air jet system covers the base of the bath allowing for vertical massaging and relaxing bubbles across the full length and width of the body. The invigorating hydrotherapy experience relaxes, massages and soothes the body muscles... a truly blissful experience! www.castellobaths.co.uk enq 345

lG Hi MaCs The unique Marosi kitchen island is the result of dedicated research and product development from Miton. The island unit includes nearly 200 different pieces, all made from HI-MACS® acrylic stone – a new-generation solid surface ideal for the preparation of food – in Alpine White. The central part of the structure may be raised electronically and then returned to its ‘resting’ position back inside the worktop to create a smooth surface. This revolutionary product allows designers to quickly change the look and feel of a kitchen, while always maintaining its modernity and originality. www.himacs.eu enq 346

Cifial Ideal for wetrooms, Cifial’s 300mm concealed Shower Light and Spectral Light shower heads are available in round or square options. The Shower Light has a clear LED light trim, whilst the Spectral Light version is a chromotherapy multi-coloured light head which runs through a sequence of colours starting from green, then orange, red, purple and ending on blue, then repeating the cycle. Each head is supplied with a sturdy fixing frame and wiring for a separate light switch. www.cifial.co.uk enq 347

Geberit Geberit has introduced a new mint finish to its award-winning Monolith sanitary module for wall-hung WCs. Ideal for converting a floor-standing WC to a wall-hung version, the Geberit Monolith is a slimline sanitary module with integrated cistern that can be connected to existing plumbing work just as easily as a close-coupled toilet, without the need for chiselling or retiling. With its clean lines and high-quality materials, the Geberit Monolith is a compact and attractive alternative to conventional visible cisterns. Also available in white and black glass with brushed aluminium sides and lid. www.geberit.co.uk enq 348

bristan Leading taps and showers expert Bristan has announced the launch of ‘RARE by Bristan’, a new range of showers, taps and shower accessories.Featuring seven new co-ordinated jewel-themed ranges (Peridot, Amethyst, Rubellite, Sapphire, Coral, Aquamarine and Citrine), the RARE collection offers distinctive yet affordable designs that represent a range of contemporary bathroom style trends from across the world.Every product within the RARE collection comes with a 15 year guarantee and the backing of BristanCare, Bristan’s dedicated after-sales service. A separate range of accessories is also available. www.rarebybristan.com enq 349

Kitchens and bathrooms




Zumtobel Zumtobel’s new Panos Infinity LED downlight range makes tomorrow’s lighting quality, efficiency and design available today. From May 2011, the square Panos Infinity Q model and various LED wallwasher versions will be added to the downlight range.With a minimalist design and a luminaire efficiency of up to 77 lumens per watt, high-quality LED technology is now outcompeting traditional compact fluorescent lamps in terms of efficiency and lighting quality – the LED downlight is more than 70% more efficient than downlights fitted with conventional compact fluorescent lamps. The luminaire range is available with three output levels.www.zumtobel.com enq 350

iGuZZini The new iGuzzini Reflex Easy LED range of luminaires provide high luminous efficiency and constant chromatic quality of light. The body of the Reflex Easy has been designed to efficiently dissipate heat, ensuring the maximum chromatic stability of the light source over time, achieving a class beating L80 performance. The luminaires come with a variety of optics for wide usage and flexibility, especially the double asymmetric for corridors such as hotels and retail aisle applications. Reflex Easy luminaires can be connected to a DALI management systems to reduce the light output for considerable energy saving such as daylight linking.www.iguzzini.co.uk enq 351

Hamilton litestat Decorative electrical wiring accessories and lighting control manufacturer Hamilton Litestat has launched a new crystal clear range of switch plates and sockets. The stylish new Perception range, which features completely concealed fixings, has been designed to blend subtly against walls, allowing the wall covering to be visible through the clear plate. The snap-on front plates allow simple fixing onto paint, or wallpaper, for which a template is provided for a seamless finish. The switch and socket inserts are available in a range of colours and finishes to complement all types of wall coverings, from traditional to contemporary. www.hamilton-litestat.com enq 353

Jay Watson Casting an ethereal spell of shadow and diffused light, Anemoi pendant uplighters by Jay Watson exploit the energy-efficient elegance of LEDs and the malleability of Corian to beautiful effect. The decorative ceiling-hung fittings are available in a choice of five translucent Corian ‘Ice’ colours and three sizes from 45øx18cm to 71øx30cm (or as clusters configured on request). The shade is removable for easy cleaning and the exposed metalwork is anodised aluminium. Fully dimmable on standard systems, the high-brightness LEDs offer a colour temperature of 4000k and are rated up to 100,000 hours. Delivery is six weeks to order. www.jaywatsondesign.co.uk enq 354

Lighting

Dernier & Hamlyn Dernier & Hamlyn has extended its extensive lighting range with the addition of this beautifully subtle candle wall light. Like most of our light fittings, it can be manufactured to any materials specified and in a variety of sizes to suit the environment in which it will be installed. Shown here with a bronze finish, this fitting can be wired to accept either a standard tungsten lamp or a four pin 18 watt compact fluorescent lamp. Globally recognised designers and manufacturers of historic lighting, Dernier & Hamlyn has built a reputation for highly skilled craftsmanship and service. www.dernier-hamlyn.com enq 352


summitchai rs.com/piano

PianoThe Piano modular seating system

provides high levels of comfort dressed

in a bold, architectural style. The diversity

of the range allows an infinite variety of

configurations to be created.

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Call 01296 658755 or visitwww.hardrockflooring.co.uk

Delivery to the UK & throughout Europe

Jerusalem Gold

Beautiful stone from around

the world

digitally printed fabrics create the differenceTo find out more about digitally printed fabrics Tel: 0845 521 2139 | Email: [email protected]

www.coralcolour.com

t. 01482 329691 f. 01482 212988w. www.swedecor.com

architectural tile + mosaicarchitectural tile + mosaic

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Formica Constantly used, often abused, doors can take a great deal of punishment. Formica® High Pressure Laminate (HPL) is a material perfectly suited to use on interior doors, with decorative qualities and inherent performance properties to meet the rigours of any interior environment. Hygienic, stain, wear and impact resistant, Formica laminate provides the perfect quality finish for all types of performance doors, and its low-maintenance properties mean that it will continue to look good with the minimum of effort. Formica ColorCore® is a particularly robust material suitable for areas prone to scratching and impact. The Formica Doors range offers a selection of the most popular, practical colours and designs for door construction. All are available in a sheet size ideal for the majority of standard doors to reduce wastage. Additional sizes are available for large door dimensions. www.formica.com enq 340

Planet PartitioningPlanet Partitioning, the UK’s largest independent partitioning specialist, has completed a prestigious fit-out for the Sunderland Royal Hospital as part of its newly built, four storey wing housing a state-of-the-art ICCU (Intensive Coronary Care Unit). Planet harnessed the latest in liquid crystal glass technology with its Spacelite product for the facades, doors and dividing walls of the 18 single bed rooms within the ICCU; and also constructed a double glazed 30/30 fire-rated window, with integral blinds, in the rear wall of each room. An intuitive in-room control system allows each wall and blind to be individually operated, providing privacy and dignity for patients at the flick of switch. www.planetpartitioning.co.uk enq 341

oPtima Architects TP Bennett, have helped O2, the communications company, develop a stylish new building connected by a glass link to its Slough headquarters. With careful attention to detail and to ensure a productive working environment, TP Bennett specified a range of partitions from Optima Products to create offices and the main boardroom. www.optima-group.co.uk enq 342

SaS international Manufactured by SAS International, System 8000 can be installed in single or double fully glazed partitioning systems, providing acoustic performance to 49dB and up to 60 minutes fire performance (integrity and insulation). It is constructed with aluminium, hardwood or steel head and base profiles. Used in conjunction with SAS International’s award winning C-Joint a clear yet robust finish for jointing both fully single and double glazed partitioning can be achieved. Saving vital time on site, the C-Joint is installed at the same point as the partitioning glass. As a solid extrusion it provides a consistent 1.5mm compression joint between glass modules to create the appearance of butt jointed glass. www.sasint.co.uk enq 343

Solarlux Solarlux’s versatile horizontally sliding walls are thermally insulated individual glass panels. The SL60-HSW is suitable for shops, shopping malls, hotels, restaurants and the leisure industry, or any location where variable openings are required.The SL60-HSW is a top-hung system with maximum panel sizes of 1,200mm wide x 3,500mm high. A flush floor track allows barrier-free entry, or raised when a barrier to the weather is important. As many panels can be opened as required, and others locked in place with a 24mm throw bolt. An entry/exit panel can be integrated into any position in the completed installation. www.solarlux.co.uk enq 344

Doors and partitioning


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Armstrong Ceilings Armstrong Ceilings have produced an animated robot to advise architects and interior designers on acoustic ceiling and wall solutions.Alph-E features in Armstrong’s new acoustic mini-site, www.acousticalceilings.co.uk, which shows how the correct use of ceiling and wall solutions to optimise acoustics means building users can be understood but not overheard or disturbed and explains how the manufacturer’s portfolio of three dedicated ranges of ceiling tiles meets these individual requirements. Armstrong’s portfolio includes medium-density ceilings, its dB range of higher-density ceilings and the OP range of lower-density ceilings. Other Armstrong products featured include mineral, wood and metal tiles and canopies. www.acousticalceilings.co.uk enq 345

FrAnke sissonsThe new Portsmouth Cruise and Ferry terminal has achieved a BREEAM rating of “very good” replacing the previous 1970’s building. The terminal is in the style of an airport with check in desks and an arrival /departure area, while a mezzanine area offers views from the bar and cafe. The green achievement for the £16,5m facility has included the use of sea water in the washroom with the installation of Franke washroom products.Individual Franke Sissons stainless urinals are used in the terminal’s washroom facilities where savings are secured though the use of electronic water control valves specifically for sea water use. Stainless steel adds to the environmentally beneficial building as it is fully recyclable. www.franke-sissons.co.uk enq 346

roCA Akvaton, a leading Russian bathroom manufacturer, has just been acquired by Roca. This acquisition marks a very important step in Roca’s consolidation in this strategically important market, and at the same time strengthening its leadership position worldwide. Roca will now be able to satisfy increasing internal demand in the Russian market currently being driven by strong economic growth. Roca recognised the exciting potential for substantial growth when it first entered the Russian bathroom business in 1990 and the company intends to build on its presence with the ultimate aim of becoming the market leader in this country. www.roca.com enq 347

nCs ColoUr The NCS Index shows 1,950 colours in hue and nuance order. It is the best selling reference to the NCS System. The colour range can be used for specifying many interior and exterior products: paint from all major companies, hard flooring, laminates, ceramic tiles, carpets, kitchens, radiators and much more. For exteriors: paint, render, cladding and powder coating. The NCS Index has a sturdy cover and is a handy size to keep on the desk or take on site. The stripe card layout is useful for edge to edge comparison. A4 and A6 sheets can be ordered when larger samples are required. All products can be seen and ordered online. www.ncscolour.co.uk enq 348

strAtA tiles Throughout the month of June Strata Tiles will be exhibiting our fantastic STSVerde collection at our renowned Clerkenwell showroom ‘Studio 62’. Strata Tiles are dedicated to protecting our environment – in an industry traditionally known for high amounts of wastageEco- friendly without compromising on style, STSVerde offers a stylish palette of tones with up to 95% recycled content. By offering cast aside materials a new life, STSVerde works to conserve our planet’s resources – with a sleek and chic finish that designers crave. Available in pitch black, stormy greys and earthy browns, STSVerde will provide you with effortless style and low environmental impact. www.stratatiles.co.uk enq 349

Stop press



Classified To advertise here contact Ade Rufus on 020 7936 6840 or [email protected]

GRAPHICS enq 303DECORATIVE HARDWARE enq 301

DISPLAY UNITS enq 302AUDIO VISUAL/SECURITY enq 300

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To advertise here contact Ade Rufus on 020 7936 6840 or [email protected] Classified

BESPOKE WALL MURALS enq 306

BESPOKE WALL MURALS enq 307

HIGH GLOSS ACRYLIC enq 304

Telephone: 0113 201 2240 Web: www.parapan.co.uk

Installation by Retail Plastics Plus

….THE MATERIAL OF THE MOMENT

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• Waterproof • Bespoke Sizes • 23 Colours

JOINERY & METALWORK enq 305

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LED LIGHTING enq 311

By offering a bespoke linearsolution, Oldham Lighting is

cementing its position as oneof the worlds leading bespokelinear lighting specialists andhanding back the design flair

to the designers.

Oldham Lighting Ltd+44 (0) 1372 459999

[email protected]

LUXURY SHOWER ENCLOSURES enq 313

LIGHTING enq 310

Kemps ArchitecturalLighting Ltd

Unit 2 Matrix Court

Middleton Grove

Leeds LS11 5WB

Tel: 0113 271 5777

Fax: 0113 271 5666

[email protected]

www.kempslighting.com

LIGHTING enq 309

Energy Saving Lighting Controls

With energy prices forever going up and

demands to reduce consumption increasing,

we have real solutions to decrease your carbon

footprint and ultimately save you money.

Tel: 01442 865388Email: [email protected]

Warehouse/Halls

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Meeting Rooms

Using built-in microwave detection to reduce consumption in unoccupied areas

To find out more about energy saving luminaires with presence detection, or request a full catalogue contact us

LIGHTING enq 308

Winner of bestenergy savingproduct at the2011 LightingShow designawards.

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fx0611 7/6/11 12:42 Page 148


To advertise here contact Ade Rufus on 020 7936 6840 or [email protected] Classified

VISION PANELS enq 316

North 4 Design Ltd Tel : 0208 885 4404

Architectural Vision Panels

Easy installation in doors & walls

Complete pre-assembled units

Variety of glass finishes

Custom etching/signage

30 min fire integrity option

Bespoke design service available

Web: www.north4.com

E-mail: [email protected]

New Website

www.North4.com

New range online

now! !

For Doors & Walls

Visit our website for more information and priceswww. l a p o r t a . c o . u k

Laporta Office Furniture Ltd. The Pipeworks, 26-30 Prescott Place, London, SW4 6BU Tel: 020 7720 6006

C H A N T A LDesigned by Pergentino Battocchio

Stunning high gloss feature armchairs lacquered in black,white or red with that Made in Italy style and quality.

SEATING enq 317

MOSAICS enq 314

Tel. No. (01474)747202e-mail: [email protected]: www.finemosaics.co.uk

For more information contact us by phone, e-mail or visit our website

Suppliers of finest stone artwork tiling.Beautiful handmade, quality marble and stone mosaics for wall and floor tiling. Mosaics made to your bespoke design requirements for work and living space.

Fine Mosaics…inspired by elegance.

NATURAL STONE enq 315

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WOODEN FLOORING enq 322

• Sustainable SVL Oregon pineengineered flooring

• Totally unique look

• Available as wall board andsolid structural section also

• New product -Class A fire rated SVL wallboard and ceiling board

ROGER WILDE LTDChareau House1, Miles StreetOLDHAMOL1 3NWTel: 0161 624 6824Fax: 0161 627 3770

www.rogerwilde.com

Have a different perspective on

Hardwood Flooring

22/6 Multi-Layer

15mm Engineered

Unfinished Solid

Pre-Finished Solid

Custom Manufacturing

Ormskirk Sales: 01695 573234

London Sales: 0208 577 1100 Over 100 years of Manufacturing Experience


SIGNAGE SOLUTIONS enq 320

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from theORIGINAL24 hour chair

range from

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Internet: www.kabseating.com

contact us for details of current promotions

D I R E C T O R


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To advertise here contact Ade Rufus on 020 7936 6840 or [email protected] Showcase

Philip Watts DesignT: 0115 926 9756www.philipwattsdesign.com

enq 329

Lee FiltersTel: 01264 366 245www.leefilters.com

enq 326Johnny HawkesTel: 01672 562878www.sphelix.com

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OMK Tel: 020 7631 1335www.omkassociates.com

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OMKSTAK STACKING CHAIRwww.omkassociates.com

MorganTel: 01243 371111www.morganfurniture.co.uk

enq 328

DecospanTel: +32 (0) 56 52 88 00www.shinnoki.com

enq 330

Turnstyle Designs LtdTel: 01271 325 325www.turnstyledesigns.com

enq 324

VitrA UK LtdTel: 01235 750 990www.vitra.co.uk

enq 331

North 4 Design LtdTel: 020 8885 4404www.north4.com

enq 327

Vision Panels for doors & walls

fx0611 7/6/11 12:43 Page 151

Showcase To advertise here contact Daniel Kamli on 020 7936 6857 or [email protected]

152 April 2011 FXmagazine.co.uk

AXIOM BY FORMICA®

Lustre captures the translucent effect of natural quartzparticles, emulating the look of softly polished luxury stone. It combines tactile features with visual ones, reflecting light

to create a subtle shimmer which creates depth andintensifies the surface.

T. 0191 259 3478

enq 333 www.axiomworktops.com

C:SCAPEc:scape is a workplace system composed of 4 elements:

desk, low storage, mid storage and screens. c:scape’s clean and light design is harmonious and innovative.

c:scape removes the barriers to great connections andencourages collaboration.

STEELCASET. +44 (0)20 7421 9000

enq 334 www.steelcase.co.uk

The e2 infinitely height adjustable load bearing system is nowused in industries like Office Furniture, Bespoke Furniture,

Shop Fitting and Shelving to name but a few.

Used on projects from BSI, Lloyds Bank.

ETHOS:W. www.rfs-e2.co.uk

T. 01908 216466

enq 335 www.e2-ethos.com

THE NEW SL97

A super efficient folding glass door from Solarlux combinesfour core elements that enable the door to achieve a

U value of 0.80Wm2K. Suitable for luxurious private homes,high-quality rented or owner-occupied flats.

SOLARLUX:E. [email protected] T. 01707 339 970

enq 336 www.solarlux.co.uk


Showcase To advertise here contact Ade Rufus on 020 7936 6840 or [email protected]

Bespoke is a modular open lighting system with recessedchannel, suitable for housing accent and indirect-lighting

fixtures. The system minimises the presence of the fixtures in the space by incorporating all the components.

Two spotlights are available - small body for 100mm openingsand large body for 180mm openings.

Overlapping connections are possible for the fluorescenttubes in order to achieve continuous lines of soft light

IGUZZINI:E. [email protected] T. 01483 468 000

enq 338 www.iguzzini.com

HIGHLUX 100 LEDIMPACT IN A NEW DIMENSION

Winner of Best Energy Saving Product – Lighting Design Awards, Interiors 2011

Illuma introduce the HIGHLUX 100 LED, featuring the latestLED technology from Philips. Only 100mm in diameter, this33W LED downlight combines a discreet aspect with high a

high output of 60+ lumens per watt and an IP44 rating.

[email protected]. 01332 818 200 F. 01332 818 222

enq 337 www.illuma.co.uk

FRAMELESS GLAZING

• Virtually seamless finish

• Single and double flush glazing

• Various joint options

• Fully demountable and relocatable

• Tested to the highest British Standards

PLANET PARTITIONING: T. 0800 3289561

enq 339 www.planetpartitioning.co.uk

THE MISCEA HAND HYGIENE SYSTEM©

Full touch-free operation • All-in-one tap and dispenserNo cross-contamination • Efficient and economical

A new standard. A revolution in hand hygiene.

CLOAKROOM SOLUTIONS [email protected]

T. 01245 490333

enq 341 www.cloakroomsolutions.co.uk

Westin are the only UK Company to manufacture and supplycustom-built domestic kitchen extractors, providing a

bespoke service without the designer price tag. Come andtalk to Westin at KBB 2010 - stand F15.

WS WESTIN LTD. Phoenix Mills, Leeds Road,Huddersfield, HD1 6NGE. [email protected]

T. 01484 421585

enq 340 www.westin.co.uk

fx0611 7/6/11 12:48 Page 152


To advertise here contact Ade Rufus on 020 7936 6840 or [email protected] Recruitment

ARC01892 554717dan@austinrecruitmentconsultants.comwww.austinrecruitmentconsultants.com

ARC are "THE Recruitment Consultancy" for the Interior Design & Build andArchitecture & Design sectors. We have years of experience in these fieldsand are proud to work closely with many of the industries leaders.

Careers In Design01920 486 [email protected]

Design recruitment specialists for Interior Designers, Space Planners, CAD Technicians, Specifiers, Furniture, Product, Exhibition, Lighting and3D Designers, Visualizers, Bathroom/Kitchen Sales Designers.

D4D Designers 4 DesignersLondon: 0203 174 0352 Brighton: 01273 501050info@designers4designers.co.ukwww.designers4designers.co.uk

D4D Designers 4 Designers is an interior design recruitment consultancybased in London & Brighton. Whether you're a company seeking designersor a designer looking for a new job, we look forward to hearing from you.

Studio0203 174 [email protected]

We recruit top talent for all your Studio vacancies. Studio specialises in recruiting for Interior Design Consultancies, supplying contract andpermanent staff for your design teams and office support workforce.

Morgan Glover01892 520 [email protected]

Morgan Glover is a professional recruitment consultancy specialising ONLY within the Interiors/ Systems Furniture market place. The core ofMorgan Glover is to provide a quality service by their consultancy methods.

Eden Brown020 7422 [email protected]/interiors

THE Interior Design specialists! 15 years recruiting for Designers, CADTechnicians, Visualisation, FF&E, Space Planning and Exhibition. Call for afriendly, professional approach with rapid results.

Park Recruitment01892 535 [email protected]

Park Recruitment has specialised in recruiting for Systems Furniture and FitOut Markets since 1980. Industry experts successfully match candidatesand clients throughout Europe.

On Target Recruitment Ltd020 8335 [email protected]

On Target Recruitment Ltd has been successfully placing high calibre salespeople with all the leading companies within the office furniture andinteriors market for over 14 years.

Ref: V02410, Essex/London£24,000 - £27,000This company offers a wide selection of office designsolutions and are moving to Essex and seek InteriorDesigner who is proficient in AutoCAD, Vectorworks andPhotoshop and preferably Sketchup with relevantexperience and a good knowledge of Building Regulations.

Ref: V02409, Dorset£Neg This exhibition design and build company need a CADExhibition Stand Designer with at least 3 years designingcreative and innovative modular exhibition stands of varyingsizes and fully conversant with AutoCAD and with Studio 3-D Max (or similar).

Ref: V02408, London£25,000 + car This bathroom, kitchen, paint and tiles specialist seek aDesigner to raise the profile of the Bathroom DesignService. You will need at least 18 months experience inbathroom design and sales, CAD literate and excellent timemanagement, customer service skills and a clean drivinglicense.

Ref: V02406, Essex/Herts£NegThis premier designer and producer of contemporarydomestic and hotel lighting seek a talented individual with imagination and ambition to take designs through toproduction. With 2+ years product design engineeringexperience you will need a good knowledge ofmanufacturing processes, literacy in Solidworks (or similar)and good technical skills. Lighting Design experience wouldbe an advantage but not a necessity.

fx0611 7/6/11 12:44 Page 153

if only... we could express ourselves beautifully


says Giles Miller of Studio Giles Miller

With my studio’s recent focus on the development of wall coverings for architectural and interior projects, the starting point for this happy imagining was a wall. After scouring London we found a wall that is not only magnificently large, but also well placed to share our message. The wall in question is the large and forbidding one that surrounds the bank of England.

Giles Miller Surfaces, part of Giles Miller Studio, develops materials that display imagery through the medium of light reflection and texture rather than more-traditional methods of using colour. These materials are made to order, and some even allow the user to draw their own patterns.

The Prince’s Street Mural would be a large-scale brass installation, from which millions of tiny brass flaps protrude, ready to be manipulated in varying directions to display imagery.

I would draw English roses, but I hope that the more accessible areas of the wall will be exploited as a medium for communication and creative expression.

The location of the mural on the side of the Bank of England may make it an appropriate context for messages – perhaps it could a way for passers-by to voice their frustration over the banking crisis, or just be a place where pretty patterns could help us to look on the bright side.

Giles Miller Giles Miller studied furniture design at Loughborough University and helped found the design collective Farm before doing an MA at the RCA and founding London-based Giles Milller Studio.

The studio designs furniture, interiors and surfaces for clients that include Bombay Sapphire, Stella McCartney, and London’s Design Museum. It also recently launched a range of innovative surface finishes, and its work can be found in design stores, galleries and museums around the world.www.gilesmiller.com

If you have an If Only vision you’d like to share – it doesn’t matter how extraordinary or far-fetched it seems – email details to the editor at [email protected]

We ask designers and

architects what they would create if they had carte

blanche

F06-138-IF ONLY-ph.indd 2 02/06/2011 12:03

01384 481396 | [email protected] | www.komac.co.ukPart of the Boss Design Group

Layouts_Options_Komac_Q_FX_270411.indd 1 27/04/2011 15:36

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INNOVATIVE BUILDING SOLUTIONSTe l : +44 1706 647 333 E -Ma i l : s a l e s@wed i . co .uk www.wed i . co .uk

wedi creative building systems. One Source - Endless Possibilities

A comprehensive range of modular components and systems are available

Imagination is a far more powerful tool than a hammer and nails.wedi creative building systems provides a comprehensive toolbox with which to create

new, contemporary and inspiring ideas for wet rooms and bathrooms.

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