ABOVE: Michael Bedner entertains the audience TOP RIGHT: Jonas Ögren sets the scene with STR Global data on hotel performance in Asia RIGHT: Raefer Wallis presents GIGA
Chairman of Hirsch Bedner spoke of his 45- year career in hospitality design. With more offices in Asia than the USA, and a wealth of projects including Hotel Indigo Shanghai on the Bund, Fairmont Peace Hotel Shanghai, The Fullerton Hotel Singapore, and more recently Four Seasons Shenzhen, HBA is particularly strong in the region. In an entertaining session, Bedner reminisced about the early days of his career and paid tribute to the firm’s founder Howard Hirsch, with whom he credits for establishing the industry. Although Bedner has taken a step back from day to day operations, he admits that he still “dabbles” in design for his all-important long-standing clients. With 80% of HBA’s business being in Asia, the audience was keen to get Bedner’s take on how the region fares. “I believe that for the next 20 years, this region will be leader of all new growth,” he announced, adding: “If I were 20 years younger I’d move to India.” Back by popular demand, The Sustainability Session made its return on day two of the event. Raefer Wallis, co-founder of A00 Architecture and principal founder of GIGA,
presented alongside Professor Dr. Michael Braungart, the brains behind the ‘Cradle to Cradle’ philosophy. Cradle to Cradle is a framework based on eco-effective practices that not only seek to minimise the negative environmental impact of a business, but support the positive impact on human health and the natural world. Based on this concept, Wallis’ GIGABASE examines the lifecycle of materials with the aim of empowering specifiers with the knowledge to use greener products to create a cleaner and healthier future. HI Design has embraced this practice by highlighting GIGA-certified members Dedon, Grohe, Geberit, Formica, and Roca, in its event directory. Following a table-top showcase that enabled the likes of The Natural Carpet Company, LEDS-C4, Laufen, and Bolon to display their collections, the final seminar of the day was a lively debate between specialists and generalists. The panelists, specialists Adria W. Lake, Founder and Managing Director of A.W. Lake Spa Concepts, and Hernan Zanghellini, Managing Director at F&B specialists Zanghellini & Holt Architects
went head-to-head with generalists Stephanie Clift, Director of Interior Design at DESIGN Duncan Miller Ullmann, and Jose Olivares, Principal & Studio Director at DiLeonardo Hong Kong, to debate the benefits of using a specialist designer versus a one-stop-shop. Olivares commented: “One of the things that a generalist can bring to the table is the planning of space and where to put the spa, for example,” while spa specialist Lake argued: “What we bring is all the research into treatments, wellness and senses.” After much gentle sparring it became clear
that there was a place for both generalists and specialists with the former admitting that within their generalist design firms, each member of staff had their own specialism. As the event drew to a close with a
networking event at Ho Chi Minh’s Bin Quoi Gardens, organiser Jonathan Needs of Atticus Events concluded that a total of 1,558 scheduled meetings had been conducted between delegates, not to mention the unofficial meetings that took place during lunch breaks and late into the night at the bar. Once again, another prosperous HI Design.
WWW.SLEEPERMAGAZINE.COM JANUARY / FEBRUARY 2012 099
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