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responds to and respects its environment,” Reardon laid into the current obsession with ‘sustainability’ – a “Pavlovian box- ticking exercise” he claimed no-one had ever been able to satisfactorily explain to him. A brief run-through of current Reardon Smith projects followed, including Porto Montenegro, the practice’s first masterplan where it has painstakingly studied other coastal towns to come up with a “mosaic of idioms” appropriate to the low-rise development. Echoing Thomas Emanuel’s identification of Baku as a development hotspot, ReardonSmith has six projects on the go in the Azerbaijani capital, including the Four Seasons – a hotel designed in the style of a late 19th century Parisian building. Reardon also paid tribute to the influence
of I.M. Pei – “the master of monumental simplicity, and my mentor” – on his work. A slideshow of design classics concluded the discussion, underscoring Reardon’s belief that sustainability equates to longevity, and that “timeless design does not require replacement”. Examples included the VW Beetle, Eames chairs, the Zippo lighter, the Bic pen, the Seagram building in NYC and Harry Beck’s London Underground map. More one-to-one meetings were followed
by a buyers-only networking reception, prior to an evening drinks reception at Split Art Gallery where guests could participate in guided tours of the gallery’s collection. The following morning’s conference session
saw a presentation on “Nanotechnology and Interior Design: Breakthroughs & Precautions” by George Elvin of Gone Studios – a pioneer of zero-waste, zero- energy manufacturing. Elvin examined how the design of materials at molecular scale is changing the face of interior design. Luminous nanofilms mean walls and ceilings can become lightsources, whilst nanoparticle coatings make the once futuristic concept of the self-cleaning building a possible reality. The final session was a panel discussion looking at the evolution of hotel schemes from ‘Vision to Reality’, featuring George Scammell, Vice President Global Design for Wyndham Worldwide, Yves Kerihuel of Paris- based Ertim Architects and Julia Dempster, Managing Director of Interior Motives. Scammell explained that in the franchise model followed by Wyndham, the ‘vision’ is that of the owner – their approach was ‘non cookie cutter,’ with flexible brand standards to accommodate the needs and desires of different franchisees. “No two
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projects are alike,” he said. Julia Dempster believed the designer’s job was to “push the boundaries of brand standards” with operators policing the process to ensure those boundaries weren’t pushed too far. The debate moved on to address the areas of keenest interest to the suppliers in the audience – namely how the specification process worked in their projects. Wyndham has a ‘Preferred Vendor Programme’ said Scammell. “We will give on pattern and colour,” he explained, “but not on performance.” Dempster said that her company tried as far as possible to ensure their specifications were followed through to the final project but said she could not always control the quality of the final materials or products chosen. “We have a constant battle with owners on [inferior products being supplied more cheaply by] Chinese manufacturers.” All agreed that procurement should be brought into the project as early as possible since the final specifications were often dictated by delivery and availability timeframes.
The next HI Design EMEA will take place from 9-11 May 2013 at the Hotel Las Arenas, Valencia, Spain
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