Panel Discussion: Blurring the Design Lines in Hospitality

Panel discussion: Blurring the Design Lines in Hospitality

Excerpt from Hotel Designs

Debate, discussion and challenging conventional approaches to design are always an integral part of a design event like Clerkenwell Design Week. With this in mind, Hamish Kilburn, Editor of Hotel Designs, in association with Table Place Chairs, brought together a panel of creative minds from across the hospitality and design spectrum to discuss the design blurring of lines, the need for flexibility and also share thoughts on collaboration.

On the panel:

Arun Rana, Head of Design (Northern Europe), Accor
Tina Norden, Partner, Conran and Partners
Ben Webb, Co-Founder, 3 Stories
Nasim Koerting, Head of Design, The Office Group (TOG)

While there is no doubt that design boundaries have indeed blurred, the question of how to address the need for more flexible spaces creatively came under the reflected spotlight. It is not only the role of the designer but is something that needs to be addressed across all layers of hospitality – from the concept developed by the designers through to implementation by the managers and brand owners. Spaces can no longer be dealt with one-dimensionally as functions merge. With F&B and wellness clearly leading the pack when it comes to mega trends, and with clients and guests having increased design expectations, augmented hospitality becomes key.

”To bring people back we need to rethink our spaces and understand what people actually need and want from those spaces,” said Aran Rana, Head of Design at Accor in the Northern Europe region. “It is important, as designers, we are constantly looking at how to challenge those boundaries, how we can improve things and how we can do things differently,” added Tina Norden, Partner, Conran & Partners.

Flowing through the whole discussion was of course, the F-word. ‘Flexibility’ has become the holy grail of hospitality design, as a hotel room is no longer just a place to sleep, an office is no longer simply a place to work – being able to provide well-designed multi-disciplinary space is now a necessity. “All designers are problem solvers,” added Nasim Koerting, Head of Design at The Office Group (TOG). “We want to use design thinking to solve the world’s problems.”

Interestingly, the ‘blurring of boundaries’ has also resulted in a shift of thought more broadly and a greater democratisation of space within hospitality. As the demands on a well-designed space increase, those overlapping circles within the Venn diagram of hospitality would appear to become both more common and more convoluted. “When you start a job you need to cast the creative net quite wide,” said Ben Webb, Co-Founder, 3Stories. “Especially if you are working on a completely new concept, you need time to develop and research new ideas – this is a process designers need to go through.”

Watch the full panel discussion here.

Click here to read complete article at Hotel Designs.