Iain Watson
To mark his 35 years at David Collins Studio, darc’s editor Sarah Cullen sits down with Iain Watson, CEO, to discuss his time at the company and how it has remained a consistent name in the interior design world - producing some of the UK’s most iconic retail and hospitality venues.
Interior design practice David Collins Studio (DCS) was founded in 1985 by the late David Collins. The London-based studio, and its team of 60 interior designers and architects, works globally across hospitality, residential and retail projects as well as maritime in the last five years, designing parts of Cunard’s latest ship Queen Anne.
Iain Watson joined Collins’ team in 1988, following a summer helping for a few months during a busy period where they worked from Collins’ living room. This successful experience evolved into Watson becoming a business partner and co-founder of the studio we know today. Sadly, Collins passed away in 2013 and it was then that Watson stepped into the role of Chief Executive Officer, supported by Simon Rawlings who heads the studio’s creative vision as Chief Creative Officer, David Goodman as Chief Operating Officer, and Design Directors Lewis Taylor and Ros Keet.
Keet leads the FF&E department, and a dedicated residential design team is led by Associate Director Siobhan Kelly. In addition to the interior designers, the studio also employs several architects, furniture and product designers, and a business team with in-house PR and marketing.
This August, Watson celebrated his 35th anniversary at David Collins Studio. darc’s editor Sarah Cullen sat down with the CEO to find out more about his career journey and how he has seen the world of design and decorative lighting evolve over the last three decades.
“I grew up in Glasgow, on the West Coast of Scotland. I moved down to London to study Business and Economics, but I’ve always had a great passion for design, art, architecture, and fashion – I’m still obsessed with fashion – and all manner of creative things,” he says. “When I was younger, I was encouraged to choose a commercial degree rather than an arts degree. But as it’s played out, I’ve ended up where I belong and love.
“Glasgow is a cultural city and famous for architect Charles Rennie Macintosh. Not only was he known for creating incredible buildings, but he also did interiors, designing everything down to the last spoon, teacup, and curtain. I was always taken by this wonderful world of detail he was creating.
“As a teenager, during my holidays I worked at my father’s factory where he made leather goods. It was interesting to see the processes of how things are designed, built, printed, stitched together, manufactured, and distributed.”
Watson tells darc how he was also exposed to the textile industry during the late 70s and early 80s, when he lived in the Outer Hebrides of Scotland with his grandparents. His grandmother made traditional Harris tweed by hand using the original foot-pedalled techniques at home.
During his time studying in London, Watson became well versed with – as he refers to it – ‘his triangle route’, walking along Sloane Square and down to the Habitat store, where he would study everything in the shops along his route, learning prices of items off by heart and developing his love for luxury items and interiors.
“I first met David Collins by chance,” he tells us. “He was wearing the same Dries Van Noten jacket as me, and at that time you could only buy them in a specific shop in Glasgow. It was a total fluke!
“David was a trained architect, and he had worked in commercial practices, but his passion was for interior architecture. He had designed famous London restaurant La Tante Claire in 1985, as well as private homes and a men’s fashion store. These collective experiences on projects from different sectors were the foundations the studio was built on.
“That continues today, albeit now on a global scale with an incredible range of projects. We might be designing retail spaces in Harrods London and a Nobu Hotel Portman Square in Marylebone. Private homes are also part of the mix along with commercial residential developments.
“Wellness is a bit of a personal passion of mine, and I’ve seen it increase in popularity in the interiors’ world. Wellness is more than having a gym at the end of the corridor. It’s about the quality of the air, the lighting, paint hues, what the paint is made of, and materiality. It’s interesting to see this wellness brief entering projects more.”
In the early days of the studio, Watson spent a lot of time in Paris with Collins, visiting flea markets and auction houses sourcing furniture and artwork. The design process for projects would always involve research into local cultures, materials, and craftsmanship as well as higher levels of inspiration from galleries, for example, to give the project a sense of place.
“David loved all things Art Deco, 1920s, and Hollywood. Spaces that were elaborate, overscale and generally over the top like a film set.
“The studio has worked in more than 25 countries, which is inspiring in itself,” continues Watson. “You embrace all the experience you’ve gathered, find local craftsman and artisans.
“In our studio of sixty-five people, we currently have 12 different nationalities, which enriches our understanding and appreciation of cultures and continues to inspire us and our work.
“Something we feared as a repercussion of Brexit was the potential that our cultural mix in the office would gradually be eroded over time, with less international students coming to study, live and work in the UK. But we hope this isn’t the case.”
Looking a little closer at the studio’s aesthetic and approach to projects, Watson explains that they steer away from trends and instead blend a unique mix of references, whether through historic periods, techniques, or theories. “Obviously, we are inspired by the architecture of a space and its sense of place,” he explains. “Often, people refer to our interiors as timeless and I feel as a studio we demonstrate this very well. We did an assessment of the lifespan of our bar and restaurant projects, and the average is currently 18 years. The Wolseley will celebrate its 20th anniversary later this year, one of the most successful restaurants in London, and it’s still serving 1,200 covers a day. The Connaught Bar, also in London, is 15 years old and is still winning awards for best bar in the world. I like to say that we are the antidote to ‘being on trend’ – longevity and quality are at the centre of all our designs.
“The hallmark of our projects is that they are incredibly well resolved from an operations standpoint. We always push to get great quality and integrity in our materials that age beautifully. Hospitality venues work like machines and it’s important to understand exactly how a space is used. It’s that thinking that underpins the experiences, so from the moment you cross the street and approach a building - the signage, the arrival, the lighting, the acoustics - all this needs to be curated.
“Further to this, a project’s timeless quality also relies a lot on its concept and research that goes into each. The sense of place, the customer’s journey, the type of building it’s in, the cuisine or cocktails if it’s a restaurant or bar. Everything is so detail-oriented that it is perfectly placed for where it is needed.”
An example of where theatrics can play a role in DCS’s interior design can be found at the aforementioned Wolseley in London. The client requested a sister venue to be designed using the same theme and concept. However, the location, rather than a grade II listed building, was a blank concrete box. “The perfect complement we received was guests questioning whether the building used to be an old bank. We had created this sense of familiarity using slightly aged marble – not distressed, just softened – which led people to think it was a converted historic building, when in actual fact it was pure theatre.
“Similarly at Harrods department store in London, people were amazed that they had never been to a certain section of the store before, when actually, we had transformed it from the original staff canteen into a 14,000sqft Shoe Heaven that looked like an original Harrods’ store experience. It was just a carefully curated design that felt like it had always been there, drawing heavily on the store’s archives and executing the design to the highest standard.”
It is apparent David Collins Studio prides itself on its close working relationships with clients and end-users. Taking a leaf out of Charles MacIntosh’s book, the dedication to the smallest details in the design scheme are fundamental to a project’s success.
A challenge the team comes across most frequently is ever shortening design programmes, and the short cuts that are suggested as a result of this. But, according to Watson, education is key to the client achieving their goals and them understanding the design needs to go through a process to guarantee the highest level of refinement. Especially when it comes to product design - prototypes are not to be skipped. “We choose our clients based on shared values in terms of commitment to quality, operations and budgets,” he says.
Another challenge the team has had to overcome arose in 2010 when they were commissioned to design the new build Mandarin Oriental hotel in Doha’s Msheireb Downtown. “The hotel had numerous rooms, huge male and female spas, restaurants, and bars – it was an incredible job. But the client wanted to work to LEED platinum certification - a very high standard. LED lights weren’t what they are now and the ones we were given were cold and unflattering that weren’t suitable for a restaurant. In the end, we delivered gold certification, which is still a high standard. It was a bit of a baptism of fire and a big challenge, but in turn we were well placed for future projects that came with LEED or BREEAM certification briefs.”
When it comes to decorative lighting in a DCS project, custom and bespoke plays a big part.
“We have some lighting manufacturers and partners that we specify fittings from, but more often than not we create fully bespoke decorative lighting and furniture for our clients as we believe this adds value to a project.”
Club Lucca in Hong Kong is a recent project that demonstrates some custom lighting the team created using alabaster. The fittings were considered at the initial stages of the concept, during the creation of mood boards with textiles, metal finishes, marble, and alabaster. The outcome was a beautiful family of lighting, with subtle differences depending on the room they were fitted.
Watson reflects on the first project he worked on with Collins, Marco Pierre White’s first restaurant, Harveys, that received three Michelin stars. The interiors followed a 1920s concept with the space realised in a white-on-white palette. “The common thread for the design of this restaurant was plaster. Everything was custom made for the space, from the wet plaster carved wall murals to the wall sconces and chandeliers. It was another challenge for me working with the fiery Pierre White, but we ended up building a continued working relationship with him, completing designs for another 20 of his restaurants.”
As well as having a strong bespoke offering, the team also collaborate with decorative lighting brands to specify off-the-shelf products as well as create pieces. Watson references their partnership with Lobmeyr, which supplied a re-issued vintage chandelier for The Bryanston Show Apartment, London, a project the studio worked on in 2022. Prior to this, they collaborated on a fixture for a villa on the Côte d’Azure in 2006. The challenging aspect of the product’s design was connecting the individual parts of glass and metal for the light fixture without any visible screws. The original design, with 13 lights, combined a nickel finish for the body with plates of dark-nickel brass and smoke-grey glass for the shades. The design went on to feature in the London Hotel in New York as well as in Collins’ own home in the UK.
“For the project in New York, the client bought six floors of an apartment building, with the top four floors made into a quadruplex apartment and the floors below made into a duplex. One of the ideas we had was to make a cubist chandelier, quite geometric, but we made it to go four floors up the building in a central staircase. That’s highly technical in terms of weight, safety, how to clean it, there’s lot to think about. So, certainly Lobmeyr’s skills and how to do that were needed.”
In addition to product design collaborations, The Studio also works closely with lighting consultants such as Lighting Design International (LDI) for projects that need the elevated technical lighting support. Simon Rawlings gives creative conceptual direction to the team at LDI - as well as other lighting consultants - to ensure certain elements are highlighted. The fresh food hall in Harrods is a prime example of the successful teamwork between DCS and LDI, where technical lighting had to be tested on site with the fresh produce to guarantee colour temperatures, for example, were correct to enhance the look of the fresh produce. “It’s an exacting process, testing and piloting. When I’ve seen some of the technical details in most of these spaces, there are three or four layers of lighting that they must weave together. The lighting is so magical.
“It’s also fundamental to the success of hospitality environments, to aid in daily transitions from breakfast through to evening. The mood and atmosphere need to evolve throughout the day.
“We always push clients to have a lighting consultant. As I said earlier it’s about educating clients, it’s the same with lighting. They might not be aware that it’s such a specialism, and really requires that technical knowledge that we don’t have in-house. Lighting design and consultation needs to be given the importance that it deserves on a project. We’re always championing and putting forward the lighting consultants to work with us.”
One of Watson’s stand out projects in the studio’s portfolio of work is the Criterion Restaurant in London, another for Marco Pierre White, that was completed in 1995.
“The room was so intimidating because of its grandeur. We lined these beautiful Fortuny Italian, hand-painted silk lights down the side of the room, which lowered the lighting levels and made the space feel more intimate. We couldn’t fix anything to the walls, so these lights were freestanding floor lamps that added a touch of magic to the room along with sheer large, draped curtains.”
Another of his favourite projects was for an installation at Kips Bay Decorator Showhouse in New York, where the team created The Collins Room entrance hall based on the studio’s famous Blue Bar at The Berkley Hotel in London, which was completed in 2002. The six-week installation in 2016 featured semi- custom versions of the Lutyens Cardinal Hat pendants that took inspiration from the chandelier used in the original Blue Bar scheme. The original design from the 1920s used plates of glass, which were updated to alabaster in the new installation.
Looking ahead, environmental, social and corporate governance (ESG) is on everyone’s minds at David Collins Studio. Circularity and repairability are avenues the studio are keen to explore, as Watson keeps an eye on other industries to see how they tackle these challenges and what might filter into the interior design world. “As the CEO from Hermes said, ‘luxury is an item that can be repaired’.
“There isn’t so much a system in place for the end of a project’s lifecycle, but more recently we have been made aware of items of David Collins Studio furniture and lighting being sold at auction to give them a second life.”
Technology is also becoming a more prominent focus for decorative lighting and something Watson isn’t convinced by. “For us, technology must be intuitive and discreet. We’ve seen complicated lighting systems, and in the residential market people might want all kinds of bells and whistles, but the reality is sometimes they’re not very easy to use and very expensive to reprogramme.”
It’s evident the experts in design longevity, luxury furniture and bespoke lighting design are quickly making a name for themselves as a British icon in the interior design world. And, if the studio continues to create projects the way they have for the last 38 years, there’s no doubt we will see their designs standing the test of time for many years to come.
Triqis
During this year’s London Design Fair held at the Truman Brewery, London, darc’s editor Sarah Cullen hand-selected some of her favourite designs and new brands to explore a little further. She caught up with new-kids-on-the-block, Triqis to find out more about the studio’s inception.
Triqis is a newly established design studio based in London, with its manufacturing base in the West Midlands. Co-founded by Kwaku Boateng and Erwan Louis, the pair first met while studying industrial product design at university. darc first came across the new studio during London Design Fair and were impressed with the level of standards and finishes the duo were producing as young product designers.
“After being in London for some years we noticed that in the world of design there were many leaders producing high quality furniture and lighting from many other countries, however little to no British representation,” says Boateng.
“Another thing that we noticed was the lack of diversity in the space,” adds Louis.
“This is what drove us to found Triqis, as well as providing an outlet to express ourselves through design,” says Boateng.
The two designers come from very different walks of life. Boateng was born and raised in London before moving to Trinidad for 13 years of his childhood then returning to the UK. Louis on the other hand is originally from Brittany in France but emigrated to Iceland with his family during his teenage years before heading to the UK for university.
“Kwaku’s years of experience in contemporary design and leading growth for some of London’s most successful tech companies, has played a massive role in our design, processes and growth of the studio,” observes Louis.
Whereas Louis brings a wealth of experience with some of Italy’s top lighting brands, which Boateng believes gives them “the edge that shines through the execution of our designs”.
“Our solid education in industrial design for manufacture, mixed with our immersion into the contemporary design world is what really sets us apart,” he adds.
“Design for me has always been my happy place where I can create and express myself freely, so the vision was always to start my own studio.”
Something Louis agrees with: “Yes, I’ve also always wanted to start my own studio, however I also wanted to gather some industry experience to figure out what I wanted to focus on as well as get a taste of what the world of contemporary design was like as it differs from industrial.”
Boateng adds: “I guess you can say it was always in the plan, it was only a matter of time.”
Bringing products to the design industry that are proudly British made is key to the studio’s ethos. “Having spent years residing and working in the design industry, most of my experience being in Italian lighting, along with our different walks of life was something we believed should be part of the studio,” says Louis. “We also identified the pure need for high quality uncompromised British, and moreover local products, and this was one of the main driving points towards owning aspects of our manufacturing and operating here in the UK.
“Developing our own manufacturer was a logical step, first for the transparency in terms of product provenance and the benefit it has on our socio-economic surroundings. As well, it helps in developing local know-how and enhancing our clientele’s experience in dealing with us on projects.
“Our polar opposite backgrounds could also be considered a key characteristic of Triqis, which is something we want to express through our current and future designs. This is what design is about, storytelling.
“Quality of product and light specification is what we are proposing with no compromise. We aim at covering the entire interaction with light, whether it is the quality of the light itself, how it interacts with spaces and the way the user interacts with it. This can be as simple as the way it is switched on, such as on the Lorraine lamp.”
Boateng adds: “We want to provide the industry with something new in the 21st century, something fresh, high-quality and exciting yet sophisticated, considered and well-designed out of the United Kingdom.”
Despite the duo’s unwavering enthusiasm, starting a new business is never easy and they have faced a number of challenges along the way. This, however, is what has helped build the foundations of who the designers and the brand are today.
“What went wrong? In the beginning… so much!” reflects Boateng. “But that is a part of the journey you just can’t avoid, especially when developing a high-quality product and brand. It took us some time to figure out how our design styles and processes complimented each other as well as defining our processes. Logistical, supply and design problem solving, resulting in many sleepless nights in the studio that have all been crucial aspects towards the Triqis you see today.
“In the early days of running the studio from affordable artist spaces, we’ve had nightmares where the studios have been requested to be evacuated with little to no notice in the middle of projects and operations.”
“We laugh about them now, but at the time it was anything but funny,” adds Louis.
“Off the back of all that, our manufacturing capabilities are something that have come a long way and that I’m proud of, as it allows us to ensure the quality, sustainability, and ethical practices that we provide.”
What can we expect from the young studio over the next year? More lighting! “During the show, we unveiled our collection of decorative lighting pieces. Moreover, you can anticipate the addition of some innovative technical lighting options to our range in the upcoming year,” explains Louis.
Boateng concludes: “We’ve been thrilled by the industry’s positive response since launching our products at the London Design Fair. Currently, we’re working on some exciting interior projects too, so stay tuned.”
Italian brand Henge unveils sculptural lights collection
(Italy) - Henge reveals its new collection of lights created through long-standing collaborations with esteemed designers Massimo Castagna, Ugo Cacciatori and Yabu Pushelberg. Each designer has created new pieces through combining historically sought-after ‘Made in Italy’ craftsmanship with modern technology.
During Milan Design Week, Castagna presented ‘Spyder X’. The pendant lamp consists of a set of fluted borosilicate glass cylinders, finished at the ends by rounded bumps in burnished brass, arranged horizontally and vertically.
The collection also includes Cacciatori’s design ‘He-She”, a hybrid table and light crafted from marble blocks, revealing the alchemy of hidden textures and veins through the soft beam of light.
The ‘Maple’, designed by duo George Yabu and Glenn Pushelberg, mirrors the seeds of a maple tree expanding its stems. The pendant lamp expands its stems in black burnished brass, sprouting blown glass buds creating refined plays of light.
‘Chrystal Evo’, by Castagna features long rods that move through the air displaying choreographic compositions, alchemies of light and arabesque textures. Castagna also designed the ‘Superb-All Horizontal’, made from fibreglass spheres creating interplay of geometry and gravity via tapered stems of burnished brass and metal.
Decorex 2023 highlights
Decorex, one of Europe’s leading high-end design shows, made its return for the 2023 edition on the 8 - 11 October. darc’s newest member of the editorial team, online content creator Ellie Walton, attended the show for the first time to soak up the latest the design industry has to offer. She walks us through her full day at the event.
Upon arrival was a maze of new products and innovative brands beckoning its visitors in every direction with a spectrum of colours and materials. I was positively giddy about the innovative and stunning decorative lighting I discovered. But no need to fret if you couldn't make it, because I've cooked up a nifty highlight reel of our favourite exhibitors for darc’s Instagram (you can catch it on @darc_mag). Plus, here’s a round-up of some of my favourites from the show.
Curiousa, a tribute to the allure of Vanessa Belle
Starting off strong with Decorex’s trail winner is, Curiousa. Esther Patterson, founder of the British-based company, has established an iconic brand over the last 13 years. In her lighting pieces she pursues colourful textiles and bubble-like shapes in her bone china lighting. Amongst the eye-catching glass blown pendants and lamps was the Maya collection making its debut. The collection marked Patterson’s return to her ceramicist roots to create a fusion of light and ceramic in a playful and design-led collection of table lamps.
Inspired by Aztec and Mayan graphic fabric patterns and architectural motifs, the stepped geometric shapes of the Maya collection evoke the silhouette of iconic ancient Mayan temples. These shapes were translated into bone china components through a creative and organic process from clay on the wheel to slip-casting before being carefully curated with glass. The Luna lamp pieces on display at Decorex were hand painted by Esther as an ode to the Bloomsbury Group and painter Vanessa Belle, whom hand painted everything from their walls, tables, and curtains in their Sussex home, Charleston House, in a freestyle poetic way that Patterson wanted to imitate. Patterson discussed that she would be looking into selling the hand painted versions as a limited edition of the collection.
Soho Lighting’s recycled sea waste pendants
Established in Soho London, but originally hailing from Cornwall, Soho Lighting showcased two eco-friendly collections each with compelling conservation narratives behind them. One being The Ocean Collection, which ingeniously repurposes discarded material gathered from Cornwall’s coastlines. These pendants are made from salvaged or broken fishing nets and various shoreline detritus such as plastic bottles, bottle caps and straws due to beachcombing efforts involving the local community. Students are collaborating with Soho Lighting taking part in beach combing and are then tasked with designing their own lamp shade. The winners will have their design added to the collection.
Soho Lighting take plastic waste and melt it down into pallets before creating pendants via 3D printing. The resulting colours depend on what kind of plastic is salvaged from the shores – making each one-of-a-kind. The dark green shades for instance, are especially rare as they come from waste that has made its way from India, while the teal shade is created from the fishing nets.
Soho Lighting also offered a second sustainable collection, ‘The linen Collection’ which was the winner of sustainable product of the Year at Decoex’s. This is collaboration with Salvation Army’s waste. The product was a huge success and risk for Soho as they weren’t sure how the lamp would look on arrival to the show, according to one of Soho’s founders Jason, however the shade created a beautiful diffusion of light and even looked like porcelain when stood further away.
Soho Lighting also offered a second sustainable range, The Linen Collection, which was the winner of Sustainable Product of the Year at Decorex. This is a collaboration with Salvation Army’s waste. The product was a huge success despite being a risk for Soho as it wasn’t sure how the lamp would look on arrival to the show however, the shade created a “beautiful diffusion of light” and even looked like porcelain when stood at a distance.
Lutron’s dimmer installation
Neighbouring the Boudoir exhibition Lutron had a dreamy installation on its intelligent dimming system. Founder of Lutron, Joe Spira, is the creator of the first rotary dimmer for homes in the 1950s. Its Decorex installation presented how Lutron controls and adapts to light whether that’s artificial light or natural light from the sun through automated window treatments.
The tour featured a cluster of bubble-like pendants, all hanging at various lengths creating an almost cloud like feature. The piece demonstrated Lutron’s perspective that instead of lights switching on and off, they should dim down, however not in the way where dimming simply lowers the illumination. When white tuneable lighting is dimmed just by its illumination it feels unnatural and unnerving for our bodies. Therefore, instead the light not only dims its light but also its colour temperature to warm. The system is meant to represent the circadian rhythm of the day starting with dim warm lighting and as the day gradually progresses it glows to a brighter shade.
The Lutron system features intelligence to know where you are in the world and what time of day it is, and therefore also reflects the colour temperature and light according to that geographical daylight rhythm. Alternatively, the light can adjust to improve circadian rhythm for countries such as the UK, when the seasons change, and the days get shorter so that the body isn’t subjected to harsh LED lighting but instead creates an illumination that mimics those longer and brighter days.
J.Adams & Co’s synergy of sophistication and artistry
A notable mention goes to J.Adams & Co’s Strata collection, a minimalistic yet stunning design that plays with light refraction. This remarkable product features two slender reeded glass tubes running parallel, linked by rounded brass endcaps crafting the illusion of a continuous loop. Suspended from a brass core, the 1.5-metre pendant dazzled as it hung at the centre of the exhibitor’s stand above its working desk, casting inspiration for the beholders.
The reeded glass surfaces created a delicate glow complimented with a practical strip of lighting at the bottom of the pendant making it versatile for residential projects such as hanging over kitchen islands, dining tables or, for more commercial projects over bars or counter tops. The Strata pendant offers flexible arrangements in rows or grouping, with the added bonus of bespoke options in length, and it comes with four different metal finishes to choose from.
For a more subtle touch, the Strata is also available in 600mm or 900mm wall lights, illuminating a warm decorative light from a singular tube of reeded glass. This design is said to have bathrooms and bedrooms in mind for its use. According to J.Adams & Co. the Strata is already being well received especially from Decorex with interest from some exciting projects on the horizon.
Pooky’s preview’s
As expected, Pooky did not disappoint those of us who love quirky lamps and chandeliers. The majority of the Pooky stand was a treasure trove of unreleased products making their debut at the show. One eye-catching piece was the Old Field Chandelier, made of crystalline clear tubular glass, creating an almost trifle-like shape. The one that caught my eye at first was in a magnificent peach colour; however, its sister came in crystal clear, offering a more neutral option. The Old Field is yet to be launched, but Pooky has hinted for admirers to keep an eye out around Christmas, with suggestions of a variety of other colours to be offered, with amber being a potential contender.
A shout-out should also go to Pooky's fabulous range of cordless portable lamps. Many featured the recent lampshade range with GP and J Baker, a design paying homage to the classic Ikat weave, in style with the Baker’s recognisable touch of colour and geometry. Hiding among the lamps was an unreleased piece named the Puffer, small and aptly named with its spiky round stand. The Puffer offered a rock’n’roll edge to its mostly cutesy counterparts.
CSI Design Expo Europe releases CPD- certified curated programme
(UK) – CSI Design Expo Europe has released its full schedule of content for its event held on 29 – 30 November at London ExCeL. Design leaders from Europe’s esteemed cruise lines and design firms will be sharing their knowledge, insights, and experience through a series of CPD-certified panel talks and discussions.
The programme, curated around today’s ocean, river, and expedition cruise market, delivers a range of topics and case studies covering concepts and inspiration behind designs, project management, storytelling through design and brand identity, the future of marine interior design, and designing for adventure.
The speaker line-up includes Gianluca Gugliotta, Director, Vessel Refurbishment - Norwegian Cruise Line; Aida Lora, Senior Design Associate - Royal Caribbean Group; Bob McGowan, Head of Operations - Ambassador Cruise Line; Sandra Correia da Silva, Architect - Mystic Cruises; Alexander W. Höfling, Managing Director - Meyer Re; and Kristian Englund, Senior Architect - YSA Design and CEO - Ship Planner.
The conference and workshop programme is CPD-certified allowing professionals across disciplines to further their learning activities and gain developmental hours from attending each accredited session. CSI will also be debuting new formats with keynotes and workshop sessions taking place predominantly on the second day and held on exhibitor stands around the show floor.
Stand-out sessions include the opening keynote, ‘Inspiration for beautiful design: Case studies in materials & spaces’ delivered by leading interior designers and attendees will be guided through a showcase of projects across newbuild and refurbishment portfolios.
Those looking to gain insight into the changing shape of expedition cruising, CSI recommends ‘Designing for adventure: Spotlight on expedition cruise interiors’. This session sees industry experts dive into the impact the sector’s growth has had on designing for functionality, while still giving guests an authentic and luxurious experience.
Alongside these curated panel discussions, the event offers visitors additional learning opportunities at the Meet the Brand Q&As and Project Management Lunch. These focused sessions give attendees the chance to get to know the design and procurement professionals and learn how to navigate a successful project from concept to delivery.
Register for a free pass www.CSIDExpo.com
Original BTC launches Blossom at Decorex
(UK) - Original BTC, has launched a new lighting fixture ‘Blossom’, making its first appearance at the 2023 Decorex Show in London. This is the British manufacturer’s first ever portable and cordless fixture.
Developed with functionality and flexibility in mind, the compact design allows it to be transported from room to room, while its versatility means it is suitable for any environment in the home from living room, hallway, garden, or in a restaurant or hotel lobby.
The design is inspired by the national flower of Taiwan, the plum blossom, hence its fluted bone china shade offers petal-like outlines topped by a satin brass detail. Offering three brightness levels allows a choice of illumination: from a soft, warm glow to sufficient light to dine or entertain. The solid and powder coated stem with a metal base comes in three different colours: olive green, puty grey and rusty red.
While the shade is crafted by hand in Original BTC's Stoke-on-Trent pottery, the LED light source is designed and engineered in Oxford by Beadlight. Charged via USB-C, Blossom has seven-hour run time on full brightness, extending to 20 hours on the lowest setting.
The Blossom is now available online, discover more about the fixture at at www.originalbtc.com
Martin Smith, Gaffer and Chief Lighting Technician
Lighting is everywhere. But our industry focuses a lot on the real world and lighting environments we can all experience, from residential to commercial venues. However, lighting also plays a massive role in our entertainment.
The idea to do a feature called Lights on Screen was sparked during lockdown when I found myself with more time to binge-watch Netflix series’ during the winter months. I kept seeing lots of beautiful decorative pieces featured in new dramas and Hollywood blockbusters.
Alongside some of our manufacturer case studies that highlight their products on set, I sat down with a couple of industry lighting experts, or as they’re known, Gaffers, to find out more about the complexities of lighting on location or on set, and the teams behind creating that on-screen magic.
Martin Smith is a freelance Gaffer and Chief Lighting Technician based in the UK. However, as we all know, films take us all around the world, and Smith is part of the crew that follows the global productions.
Smith’s interest in all things electrical began when he left high school. Initially, he wanted to work as an airline engineer and had sourced an apprenticeship with British Airways, but unfortunately this fell through last minute. “I was only 15 when I left school,” he explains. “My uncle had an electrical firm and asked me whether I should do an electrical apprenticeship. So, I did. I completed a three-and-a-half-year electrical apprenticeship where you do a day release at college and the other four days you’re on the tools working for a supervisor or electrician’s mate. I spent about eight years in the electrical industry where I’d mainly work on fire and security system programmes.
“From this, I developed a passion for working in the electrical industry. My career direction started to shift when I was running quite a large job and I had a lot of guys working for me. It was here I learned a lot of management skills, how to budget, how to service, and the logistics of running a job. My girlfriend at the time’s dad was what’s known as a gaffer, and I thought that sounded interesting. He was going to work on location and going abroad, which all seemed like an exciting lifestyle. And so, I asked him, ‘Why am I going to work the same place every day for the last year, and you are flying off to Australia and Kenya?’
“Back in 1995, when I was 20 years old, he took me onto a film called Twelfth Night, directed by Trevor Nunn, that was shot in Cornwall. I went for one week’s work experience. As an already qualified electrician, I was allowed to work on set, but only as a trainee. But, I really, really enjoyed it. We worked on a week’s worth of shooting on location where we were in interiors and exteriors. It was the first time I’d seen film lights and practical lights [decorative lighting fixtures] being used together. Because they were shooting on film at this time, they needed to enhance the practical lights [prop lights such as table lamps] by changing the bulbs to gain more light output than a regular 40W lamp. They would upgrade them all to 275W or 500W light sources. Then they’d use other film lights to enhance what that practical fixture was doing.
“I got really interested in lighting there and the excitement of working on a movie at that young age that, but it fizzled out for a while, and I went back to my normal day job. “Unfortunately, I then split up with that girlfriend. I think her dad was keeping me at arm’s reach during the relationship because the whole time he knew what a volatile career working in film can be. I think he was being protective, but once the relationship ended, he said ‘Look, if you want to get into it, you need to go and work in a lighting rental house. You’re an electrician but go and learn the equipment’.”
In 1999, Smith got a job at AFM Lighting, which provided an in-house trainee scheme for electricians. Here, Smith worked for two years in the warehouse, learning the equipment, servicing, and maintaining it, and learning about the power systems, distributions, and generators, and earned his HGV license. Essentially, gaining as much knowledge about the film industry and the practical skills to safely run its lighting equipment.
“After the two years, they started sending me and a colleague that was also training out on jobs. We’d get up at 4:30am to take the equipment truck down to a location. You’d meet the gaffer and the electricians, and you’d rig for the day on a commercial set or on a small movie, setting all the lights and generators up.”
Smith continued in this role for another four to five years, building relationships with gaffers and understanding the set etiquettes and processes of a film productions. He worked on commercials and small features until his big break on the first Harry Potter movie being filmed in London.
“That’s where I really started to learn about lighting practicals,” he says. “The flambeaux, the big fire lights on the staircases and wall sconces, didn’t produce enough light because again we were shooting on film. So, we had to add practical lights to the base of each flame. They were safe from the fire, but they enhanced the light with 10KW and 5KW light sources in each. I just found it fascinating that there was a department dedicated to doing these practical elements of lighting. We were responsible for rigging huge lighting elements for the windows in the Great Hall as well as there being a department of six people building bespoke lights for the sets, whether it was the light on the end of a wand or a handheld lamp that would glow.”
Smith’s career began to develop from this point onwards, working on feature films and commercials, establishing his name in the field, working hard as an electrician, and progressing onto the role of a best boy, which is second in command of the lighting and electrical department.
“I worked on a Bollywood film called London Dreams as a gaffer, and that had the most amazing practical lighting elements on it. It was a big, colourful film that we rigged coloured festoon lights around London for big dance scenes and created environments for the bar and club scenes; it was a big job, but I had a great practicals crew working for me.
“The practical lights on films started off, for example on Harry Potter, as quite raw and ready but nowadays it’s turned into roughly 50% of the set, which fill with practical fixtures that develop into these beautiful production designs. Much like you would now if you were doing any building design, we design our sets with architectural lighting to the same high standards, and we want them to look fantastically beautiful and detailed.”
Smith then went on to meet Fraser Taggert, a cameraman, or as they’re known in the film industry a cinematographer or director of photography, and who are essentially the boss of the gaffer. “We did our first film together, a second unit, which does all the action sequences, called Your Highness in Ireland about 10 years ago, and it really took off from there. I’ve since worked with Fraser on other features including XXX.
“It’s taken me about 25 years to work on these huge Hollywood features. I’ve got a hell of a lot of experience and knowledge over the longevity of my career, which puts me in a good position to now run these huge features where we have up to 100 electricians working at any one time.”
What became evident when talking with Smith is that a lot of the “practical” lighting fixtures are created from scratch for set. The gaffer has a close working relationship with the set decorators, cinematographers, and directors of film productions, and together they work on bringing the story’s vision to life. As Smith describes it, it’s like “painting a picture with light”. Gaffers play a huge role in the creative interpretations, bringing physical solutions to the visions for the story. And with that, they design and build lighting fixtures in workshops to fit the story’s brief alongside purchased or rented decorative fixtures.
Smith has Practicals Head of Department Joe Took on his team, or as they are known in the US, a Fixtures Supervisor. Took looks after all the practical lighting fixtures and prop fixtures and set decoration pieces that are seen on screen in a movie. Depending on what has been discussed between Smith and the production’s set decorator, production designer, cinematographer and director will depend on the look, style, and concept for how the lighting fixtures are going to look on set or on location. Took will utilise the production sketches or discussion notes and gather all the lights that have been brought in by the set teams and convert them all to LED with wireless controls. These will then be installed on set ready for the lighting team to go in and organise the pre-lighting for filming.
“It’s all discussed early on, and they’re designed fully conceptual. Then we can measure up and see how many LEDs or type of practicals are going in. Sometimes we still use some of the older tungsten lighting fixtures, it all depends on the period of the film,” he explains. There’s a huge variety of creations Smith and his teams work on using LEDs, but sometimes the old options are still best. “We can create any look with LEDs, but sometimes you want that old tungsten filament lamp or candle flicker. It could also be a huge pendant over a table, or a thousand lights in a submarine that all need to come to life with gauges and dials. Or it could be the most beautiful architectural lighting in a building.
“It’s a very wide range but the practicals cover all lights that are seen in shot as opposed to our bigger lights that are out the shot, which we use for added filler light.
“The practicals department has grown over the years from two or three people, whereas now I’ve got 10 guys working for me full-time.”
A recent example that Smith and his team worked on was the decorative lamps for Mission Impossible VII: Dead Reckoning Part 1. “We had over 100 hanging lanterns arrive as just glass boxes that we had to fit with LEDs and wireless controls. Our practicals team also recreated 30 exact copies of Venetian streetlights, with the help of the props team, that we had moulded. This allowed us to move them anywhere around the Venetian alleyways that were a bit dark or create our own alleys.”
The lighting team will work with a head programmer on a production who will aid in setting up wireless transmitters and receivers that they can remotely programme from their lighting desks. The majority are set up with batteries, but the set is also always hard-wired to power supplies, which allows for the lighting controls and dimmer circuits to be controlled back to the light desk and then on an iPad.
“It’s a real team effort on a big film. It’s the same on a commercial or on a short pop-promo, just a smaller scale.”
When it comes to balancing the decorative lighting fixtures (practicals) with the larger set lights and diffuser boxes, the team do this is all done manually rather than in post-production.
“We take colour temperature readings and balance our lights to match the practicals, but a lot of the time the set and actors can be lit with the practicals and enhanced with some soft light,” Smith explains. “If you’ve got big windows on a set and you’re trying to create a daylight interior, then we’d use bigger lamps as sunlight combined with some big soft lights just to push light in, otherwise the effect is too contrasty. It all depends on the vision of the director and the cinematographer, the emotional content in that scene, and how we want to portray it with the lights. It’s almost like painting a picture in my opinion. You hear it said sometimes, but the more you think about it, it really is. You’ve got the story and with that there’s got to come pictures, and it’s how we paint that picture using our lights for a different variety of looks or feel, and the tone of the story. We could be depicting a party, rave vibes, or the total opposite with calming dappled light through trees or a dark room that’s just candlelit. It all revolves around the lighting. Without that, it’s just a radio programme, isn’t it?
“99% of the time, gaffers get creative input with the directors and cinematographers on the bigger productions. Sometimes you work with those that want to do it their way, but that’s quite rare these days. They might just give you some guidelines of the style and the look, and then you’ve really got to dig deep into your knowledge base and figure out not only how to do that creatively speaking, but also logistically with certain restrictions such as weight, height, or budget. You also need to consider the availability of certain types of lights at any one time, because when it’s busy, you can’t always get your first choice of your complete list of lights, so sometimes you have to think outside the box.
“There’s a lot of gaffers and ring gaffers that own a certain number of lights and bits of equipment, but the bulk of the lights will be hired from lighting rental houses. Practicals are normally purchased, whereas the rest of the set lights are normally rigged as more of a temporary installation. We also hire all the various distribution lighting control. We also have a separate department that works under us to scaffold riggers, who construct the scaffolding and truss and motors for the lights to hang on.”
At the end of a production, the teams are conscious to make sure the practicals aren’t wasted. The wireless control elements are removed, and the fixtures are sent to a props warehouse. Anything hired is returned and any cables will be reused where possible on other productions.
Looking at new technological developments in film lighting, Smith notes the vast improvements in LED capabilities. “It’s come on leaps and bounds, going from just bicolour to six channel, six colour LED. Also, the ways of controlling it and the size, plus we can get beautiful, almost laser-like COB LED now that has seamless joins and a beautiful little pocket of diffusion that it sits in. We’re using that for a lot of detailed work now. You can also get LED pads and panels; you can get LED arrays printed that fit into certain lights that we’re now 3D printing our own LED bases and PCBs with our own LEDs that we’re fitting into all our own lighting fixtures. Having 3D printers is a big step in the right direction.
“We manufacture a lot of our own circuitry and code for certain hand props and practicals. It’s not only having the right kit, but some fabulous people around us that can do those jobs.
“We just made all our own underwater lights for a scene on Mission Impossible VIII: Dead Reckoning Part 2. We created over 1000 lights to go into different sections of a submarine with boards that house LED strips. We’ve had a resin tested over the last six months that is clear and creates a lovely watertight containment for the LEDs. It makes it pretty much non buoyant, so it doesn’t put any stress on the weight of the set that’s going under water. We’ve got our own water sensors, heat sensors, cameras, ingress for moisture, all within our battery boxes that we can monitor on a computer in our workstation. It’s a whole world of creativity.”
During the Covid-19 global pandemic, the film and TV industry ground to a holt with the uncertainty of how productions could continue through all the restrictions. But the strong sense of community and team bonds that were fostered among the lighting crews over the decades led Smith and some fellow gaffers to establish the International Cinema Lighting Society. Smith, co-founded the society with gaffers Michael Bauman and Rafael Sanchez with a few informal zoom conversations on a Saturday night with a group of international gaffers to discuss various Covid protocols around the world to find out who was doing what, and which productions were shutting down. “It was very, very informative,” he explains. “I, Mike, and Raffi said ‘Look, there’s something here. We don’t have a society for lighting, gaffers, or programmers.’ We decided to develop it officially and that’s when Bea Patton got involved. She headed up the formalisation of the society with our help and a lot of amazing members, who became the founding members forming committees. We set up a membership committee, a corporate membership committee for manufacturers, and an accountant committee.
“It’s mainly just gaffers, programmers, and rigging gaffers and practicals heads of departments that have access to the full membership category. Then we have an associate membership for aspiring gaffers or programmers, best boys, and anyone that’s interested in the industry like colour scientists, projectionists. Then we have an observer membership, which is for the lighting technicians and people that are just starting their careers in the industry. The reason we can’t have lighting technicians in straightaway as full members is because we wanted to keep a certain pedigree of the best at the top that can inspire, educate, and mentor the younger ones coming through. And unfortunately, if we included light technicians as full members as well, there’d just be too many applicants and we wouldn’t be able to handle it.
“The society is run entirely by volunteers. Bea left us a year after setting up and structuring, and we’ve now got our Executive Director Ediola Pashollari who is our first fully paid member and is responsible for setting us up with our nonprofit status in the US.
“Now we’re having a huge website re-design and are sponsored by roughly 30 manufacturers, and we’re up to about 600 members across 40 countries around the world.”
Fundamentally, the aim of the society is to provide a community and platform for sharing knowledge and expertise among fellow colleagues in the industry. Much like many roles within the freelance television and film industries, sharing of information and skills is uncommon, in Smith’s opinion. “It was kind of a closed shop and people were worried about losing out on work if they shared too much of their expertise. Through ICLS, we flipped that attitude on its side, and everyone is sharing information not just about safety but about new technology and new protocols and certain rigs, etc. We have zooms every week with presentations from individuals who have worked on certain movies as well as from manufacturers that are trying to promote their new lighting products. What’s more fabulous for us is manufacturers coming to us with their prototypes rather than us going to shows. They’re coming direct to the end-users who will be hiring their lights and getting their expert advice before they even put money into manufacturing something that might not be suitable.
“We also run events and attend lighting events or expos and have live ICLS gatherings to promote and mix and generally be a community and meet people face to face. We don’t talk about people’s individual rates or negotiate on rates as we’re not a union. We’re just a society of happy and very proud individuals that needed to become more of a team, which we have achieved.”
The society also utilises Discord with 120 channels covering various topics from products to rigging techniques and day-to-day insights.
Looking ahead, ICLS wants to establish educational and mentorship classes, whether online or face-to-face events. The team wants to grow its global reach and diverse membership and is looking at setting up individual regional meetings to avoid time zone clashes, allowing conversations to be more accessible for all.
“We want to spread the word of lighting safely but informatively and build some momentum behind the society, which then gives us the money to invest into the educational channels and mentorship schemes. It’s very tricky because first and foremost, it’s electricity and there’s different codes of conduct globally. We must be mindful of how we educate in the UK as that won’t be correct for the US, which in turn won’t be right for India or Asia. But the principles of lighting remain the same and can be taught. Everyone in the society sharing their knowledge is really helping to get the different techniques and technologies out there to those that might not have had the conduits to it.”
Smith concludes with parting advice for those wanting to get into the industry or begin a career as a gaffer. “We need to look at this sensibly,” he says. “I always tell anyone that wants to get into the industry to go get an electrical qualification first. It’s important because we’re working with electricity first and foremost, and you need to have the ability to work with it safely, install a distribution system, maintain, and not overload a distribution system, and have the general knowledge of electrical safety, installing, testing, and certifying electrical installation. I wouldn’t have anyone on my practicals team that wasn’t a fully qualified electrician.
“We have trainees who do an electrical qualification while working with us for up to three years. Those that are coming out of film schools need to take a step back and get a full electrical qualification first.
“Then it’s time to do the exciting bit and learn about the lighting because you’ll have built great technical knowledge, but you’ll also have much more respect within the industry because we know you’re safe and you’re going to work safely with others.”
He also believes that it’s all down to building a strong network. “Reach out to as many individual gaffers as you can find. There’s plenty on Instagram, reach out to studio productions like Netflix, Amazon, and Apple, which have entry routes and apprenticeships with colleges that allow you to work alongside a team as a trainee.
“Alternatively, you can go into a lighting rental house as I did, and work with them and learn the equipment. You really must fight for it and get your name out.”
www.iclsociety.com
Light Pollution within our Workspaces by Sarah Dodsworth
When we look at lighting in the UK, especially compared to other European countries, it’s hard not to think we have an obsession with over-lighting. From the proliferation of motorway and streetlights to the chaotic myriad of illuminated building signs, we seem to believe more is more at every stage. Then, when we get inside buildings, the mania reaches a whole other level.
There’s obviously a wider discussion to be had here about light pollution, human health and the impact of over-lighting on wildlife and the environment, especially seeing how much wildlife returned to our built environments during lockdown. Some areas of the UK are notably starting to introduce measures right now to protect the environment through a dark skies policy. From the point of view of an interior designer, however, I’d like to focus on how we use light in building interiors. The workplace is especially moot as a subject area, given hospitality offers a much cleaner canvas in terms of freedom to design around the creation of mood and ambience.
My greatest frustration, as a specialist in the workplace arena, is how hard it is to influence schemes when there’s already a huge trail of custody in place before we even get to the briefing stage. What we’re always looking to achieve overall is a unique, tailored and special office environment that expresses the precise culture of a particular client or business. When it comes to lighting, we seek to layer schemes with fittings of differing visual styles and types that address all planes of an interior space – the ceilings, walls, floor and surfaces. Our focus is on lighting the actual workspace rather than the whole space, not only as a practical response to how and where light is needed, but also to embody a sustainable approach. Excess is simply not justifiable at any level!
As our understanding of people at work evolves, we also now look to deliver schemes that support agility, work missions, personality types and neurodiversity. All of which takes us in the same direction – towards specific designs offering specific solutions to specific challenges. Social and high energy spaces need to be punchier in terms of illumination levels, for example, while quiet, focussed areas should be more subdued, with neat integrated details and more often than not a task lamp the user has the choice to use - or not. It all sounds rather simple, doesn’t it? And yet we are still at the mercy of so many factors that limit our ability and imaginations.
What lies in our path? First, the fact that building technical lighting design solutions in Cat A projects remain heavily influenced by engineers who design solutions that conform to building regulation standards and CIBSE guidance. Not their fault, of course. These are the standards developers and clients are advised to adhere to - and statutory ways always seem to win out. We acknowledge totally that there are a huge amount of technical considerations to resolve, but often the end result is over lighting, with too many fittings in a strictly regimented format, leading to a stark, flat and generally uninspiring interior. Not only is this uninviting, but it can create an overwhelming experience, visually and sensorially. As a person who suffers from migraine auras, this is particularly pertinently-felt.
If building regulations clip the wings of possibility, ceiling heights are the compounding frustration. When we start on a scheme in a new-build environment, it’s incredibly difficult – not to mention very off-message commercially and sustainably - to suggest a complete strip-out of perfectly good, recently-installed CAT A interior infrastructure, which unfortunately often includes built-in ceilings.
Where is the space for change? The biggest change needs to come in the domain of building regulations, so this is our call-out first of all for amendments in favour of a clearer understanding of progressive, creative solutions that reflect contemporary thinking around wellbeing, sustainability, ways of working and creative excellence.
Secondly, we need more comprehension and willingness to experiment on the part of developers. The good news is we are beginning to see just that, especially in London, where, in spite of my Northern pride, I have to admit the waves of change often begin! Of course, developers need to show potential Cat B clients something a little more literal and indicative than a shell and core environment sometimes, just as a show flat sells empty residential apartments. If a developer only fits out one or two floorplates of a larger building, however, they can still achieve this, while at the same time creating a freer creative canvas for interior – and lighting – designers to work their magic and fulfil a huge variety of micro interior workspace briefs.
A clearer vision of how natural and artificial lighting can work together in an optimal way can be seen by taking a trip elsewhere in Europe – particularly to Scandinavia. Having viewed a number of excellent schemes there recently, most particularly in Copenhagen, I was struck by the subtlety and balance of workplace lighting designs, with 50% of light outputs shining upwards to bounce off the ceiling plane, allowing the required amounts of light across the workplace to be implemented in a much more diffuse way. When a pendant is introduced to define a breakaway setting - or an attractive linear fitting suspended a little lower over a coffee island unit - the impact is really effective, defining the space as somewhere a little different and not competing with an already-over lit and visually-fussy space.
We love nothing more than working with amazing decorative lighting designers to respond to culture, function and mood - and being able to use portable task lighting to individualise space even further in a move away from generic and mass effects too. The only problem when task lighting is too good, however? People steal them! Darn - there’s always something, isn’t there?
Vogue Hotel, Canada
Montreal-based Sid Lee Architecture was mandated to redesign the common spaces of Montreal’s five-star Vogue Hotel, located in the heart of Golden Square Mile, following its mid-pandemic acquisition by Artifact Group. The renovation of the hotel’s lobby, lounge and restaurant areas brings a brand-new hospitality experience for Downtown Montreal.
Speaking with darc about the project are Martin Leblanc and Jean Pelland, both Architects and Principal Partners at the architectural firm. “Despite the context, the new owners believed in the attractiveness of our beautiful city and wanted to transform the institution to offer Montreal a novel experience that is inspired by their cultural heritage, yet remains connected to its neighbourhood, in the heart of the Golden Square Mile,” says Pelland of their initial involvement in the project. “We first got involved during fall of 2021 and delivered the project during spring of 2023.”
The new aesthetic for the hotel’s spaces is inspired by the grand hotel cultures of Asia and the Middle East. To achieve this, the design team opened up the ground floor areas, which are constructed along a classic colonnade running the length of the hotel. The food and beverage spaces are holistically integrated into the open space, complemented by high ceilings evoking a grand hall atmosphere. Lemay Michaud redesigned a floor-to-ceiling glass façade that floods the space with natural light from the street. There are a number of Turkish design elements integrated as a nod to the hotel’s new owners and also linking in the East-meets-West aesthetic. "To strengthen the ties between the hotel and its neighbourhood, we've relied on a seamless connection between the interior and the exterior. Strategically placing the F&B offering along the glass façade increases opportunities for people to mingle. A user-centric approach, paired with the integration of work by local artists, allowed us to create a unique experience that is as attractive to Montrealers as it is to tourists," explains Leblanc.
Lighting played a key role in the hotel, from the washes of natural light to the statement decorative fixtures. Pelland elaborates: “We crafted the interiors with light as our medium. By softening hard corners and embracing endless free flowing lines, light brushes over the textured surfaces like oil paint on raw canvas. By day, this effect lifts the ceiling with a distinct airiness while at night, warm light emphasises the space's curved sensuality. In this perspective, walls also become objects of light. Whether it be from its form or from the light that it diffuses, lighting allows us to craft ambiances that evolve throughout the day. The lighting programme is part of the initial concept for every interior project on which we work. To create an ambiance, we believe lighting is as important as finishes.
“Dynamic light fixtures highlight the textures and craftsmanship woven into the hotel’s plush interiors, with custom tubular wall sconces designed by Sid Lee Architecture illuminating every corner and curve of the space. The lounge area also features two sculptural light installations from local studio Lambert & Fils' Sainte collection that have been designed to a sizeable scale in collaboration with Sid Lee Architecture. These installations are visible from the street; a local reference that further connects the establishment to its neighbourhood.”
Leblanc continues: “The tubular chrome sconces are found throughout the hotel’s public spaces to link the different areas together. These spaces were designed holistically to offer guests a seamless journey through the ground floor.”
The Sainte collection by Lambert & Fils was originally created in collaboration with Canadian designer Rachel Bussin. The collection reimagines the archetypal rectangle in coloured glass, creating a beautiful floating sculpture suspended by nylon ribbon. The brand describes them as a “collection about the forces that anchor us—a suspension light in dialogue with gravity.”
In each variation of the Sainte design, an aluminium box sits inside transparent glass, casting light up or down depending on the desired mood. The form can suspend from any angle and height, and in multiples.
Speaking of how the decorative lighting works alongside the architectural fixtures, Pelland says: “They both work together to highlight the texture and colour of the meticulously selected materiality and the curls and curves found throughout the public spaces.
“We are used to working with creative collaborators and artists, but the lighting design of the Vogue Hotel was done in-house. That said, we did collaborate with Lambert & Fils Studio, which we also have done for several other projects. Namely, the Sid Lee Biosquare and Hiatus at Place Ville Marie. Their technical expertise and extensive lighting knowledge are extremely beneficial when it comes to custom designing decorative pieces for a project. Moreover, working with a local studio is a great way to keep an establishment linked to its community and create an experience that is as interesting for locals as it is for tourists.”
The outcome of the project was deemed a successful one, despite some of the challenges the team had to face during the Covid-19 pandemic.
“The pandemic created breaks in supply chains which made it difficult to source materials, so we had to come up with creative solutions to find finishes that matched our vision and the client’s desires,” says Leblanc.
“The final design is strikingly close to the initial vision. Looking at the renderings and photographs side by side, we are quite proud to have delivered this level of quality with a strong attention to detail despite the pandemic-related challenges we have encountered in the process.”
Pelland adds: “Sid Lee Architecture works at various scales, from urban design to architecture to interior design but always with a user-centric approach. The Vogue Hotel is no exception. That said, the renewed establishment brings Montreal a novel luxury hospitality experience, one that is inspired by the grand hotel cultures of Asia and the Middle East as a nod to the heritage of the new owners.”
www.sidleearchitecture.com
Kaija Wuollet joins Reddymade as Principle
(USA) - Reddymade has announced that Kaija Wuollet has joins New York-based design studio as Principle.
Wuoletts’s role will include managing design work and clients, fostering company culture and mentorship, and continuing to build the strategic business vision.
As the former Director of City Building at WXY architecture, Wuollets’s client portfolio includes Amtrak, Empire State Development, City of Dallas, New York City Health and Hospitals, New York Power Authority NYPA, and NYC’s Mayor’s Office of Climate and Environment.
Suchi Reddy, Founding Principal of Reddymade comments: “I’m delighted to welcome Kaija to the team. Her exemplary strategic vision and experience with community building will amplify the Reddymade ethos of - form follows feeling.”
Wuollet adds: "At the core, Suchi and I are both makers and thinkers. From individual objects to large environments and unique experiences, we're driven by a vision to cultivate spaces that drive human engagement, potential, and wellbeing. As a longstanding admirer of Reddymade, it's invigorating to be joining the firm during such a pivotal chapter."
Lee Broom presents newly expanded showroom and lighting editions for LDF
(UK) - Lee Broom launches new lighting collections in its recently expanded showroom in Shoreditch during London Design Festival 2023.
The showroom extension marks a further expansion of the brand, which first opened on Rivington Street in 2010, before taking over the whole store frontage 16 years after the company was founded.
The interior has been redesigned to display a wide selection of Lee Broom furniture, lighting, and accessories, in celebration of the most iconic designs in the last 16 years including Lens Flair, Orion, and the Hanging Hoop chair.
Alongside the new pieces, Broom’s acclaimed collection, Divine Inspiration, is prominently displayed within the showroom, with Pantheum now exhibited in the showroom’s extended shopfront.
The limited-edition Requiem Hoop and Globe lights, designed in editions of 15 to celebrate the brand’s 15thanniversary, are also hung within the space, as well as a curated display from the collection including Hail and Vesper, and new editions including Altar wall lights and Chant surface lights.
Lee Broom says: “I opened my Shoreditch showroom in 2010, three years after I founded Lee Broom, and so the connection between the brand and this iconic building on Rivington Street is a special one, especially given Electra House’s history as an electro plating factory for designer furniture including Conran back in the day. We look forward to this next stage of our growth with this esteemed building, and it has been great to celebrate another edition of London Design Festival within the space.”
www.leebroom.com
10 year anniversary by Akari-Lisa & Motoko Ishii, Maison&Objet fair
https://youtu.be/mvE9450aqPI?si=Ba4aPENiPPbQ-PmP
This year's show followed the theme 'Enjoy!' that drew an overall mindset of enthusiasm and excitement among the professional community of the design, home decor and lifestyle industries.
Exhibitors and the numerous programmes (xx) were curated by Maison&Objet to create unique experiences and inspire visitors that have led buyers and brands to develop new business trends, thereby supporting the market towards the end of 2023.
As a part of Maison&Objet, the Lighting Trend exhibition by famous Franco-Japanese lighting designers Akari-Lisa Ishii and Motoko Ishii celebrates its 10th anniversary. Follow the video to explore the state-of-the-art artistic installations and its reinventions.
