THE JOURNAL
THE LIFE
What is it really like running an international hospitality design firm? Te co-founder of Muza Lab explains why hotels need to be tactile, engaging and memorable, and reveals a few of her most valued showrooms on recent a sourcing trip to the Design Centre
M
uza Lab’s name was aptly chosen. “Design studios sound so serious, whereas in a laboratory you try and test things,” says co-founder Inge Moore, “I think design is like that – experimental.” With Nathan Hutchins she set up the award-winning firm in 2016, and together with a 25-strong
team, and 49 people working in production, their extensive portfolio ranges from hotels to superyachts, trains to safari lodges, restaurants and bars all over the world. Pushing boundaries and redefining what it means to create memorable guest
experiences, Muza Lab’s work is surprisingly soulful and tactile. From their Notting Hill base, they research the history and the culture of a place and then blend them together with the client’s profile and brief to create a bespoke design narrative. It is far from cookie-cutter design. Spending an afternoon with Moore at Design Centre, Chelsea Harbour, it is apparent that the showrooms are a great resource, particularly as a love of texture sits at the heart of her design philosophy. For Six Senses Southern Dunes, The Red Sea, a luxury oasis in Saudi Arabia, the
brief was to capture the romance of the remote dune- scape. “The desert is just one of the most exquisite places,” says Moore. A description she discovered by explorer Gertrude Bell – “to wake in that desert dawn was like waking in the heart of an opal” – kickstarted the whole design concept. Inspired by rolling dunes, Bedouin tents and Nabataean traders, the luxury resort celebrates the desert's organic contours, proving a harmonious connection with the environment. Design elements are crafted from wood, stone, marble and leather, accented by terracotta, amber, blue and sage tones. Fabrics used include those from Zimmer + Rohde, Altfield and Romo, alongside Samuel & Sons trimmings and wallcovering from Phillip Jeffries and Elitis. “For me, being tactile is one of the most important things, because it's all about
Always on the look-out for great craftsmanship, Moore spotted a glazed ceramic
“ITʼS SO IMPORTANT TO SEE EVERY PIECE YOU SPECIFY IN PERSON. PEOPLE WHO JUST LOOK AT THINGS ONLINE DONʼT REALISE THE SCALE OR PROPORTION”
mirror and a hand-cast lamp in the Porta Romana showroom for a new project she is working on in Portugal. “I think it’s so important to see every piece that you specify in person,” she says. “More and more people just look at things online. They don't realise the scale or proportion of things, and it’s a big evil to have everything online,” she adds, pleased to hear that both pieces are available in different painted finishes. For hospitality spaces, standard sizes do not always work, so bespoke options are vital. “We really like working with the original suppliers to make the adjustments,” says Moore. For Tamuda Bay, lamps too big to put on a nightstand were scaled down by Porta Romana, and Pierre Frey had a palm tree motif redrawn and embroidered on to linen. Wherever you go with Moore, she is joyfully
greeted by specialist contract managers, who have an in-depth knowledge of the firm’s requirements. The Dedar atelier is another favourite spot for fabrics, where great attention is paid to yarns and artisan techniques, with many textiles conforming to strict regulations governing flammability and
what you touch and feel,” she comments while visiting the Pierre Frey showroom. “In hospitals, everything feels flat and the same, but in a hotel, you want things to feel different, and beautiful materials create luxuries,” she says running her hand over some graphic embroideries. In the showroom she is also drawn to natural fabrics – bouclé wools, linens – as well as the bespoke options of Le Manach’s woven textiles. On the Mediterranean shores of M’diq, Morocco, the Royal Mansour Tamuda Bay
luxury resort is garnering worldwide admiration. “Walking on the beach, we found these amazing shells which no-one had thought anything about. I was totally enchanted, and we just had to bring them into the project,” says Moore. Thousands were collected, washed and graded and became an extraordinary mural in the lobby. The palette of these shells, from ivory and terracotta to coral pink, is carried throughout, from the floor mosaics to the natural linen curtains by de Le Cuona. Products were also sourced from Paolo Moschino Ltd, Schumacher, Casamance, Robert Langford and Sutherland.
resistance. The Italian brand is renowned for plains in every shade, along with those with an irregular surface texture, and Moore was quick to pick out alpaca and velvets in rust and terracotta. Muza Lab’s success can be partially credited to Moore’s intuitive creativity, but she always knows everything needs to work and be practical. For example, she comments that “nobody wants to sit in the middle of a restaurant” – and in the Tamuda Bay restaurant, every table has a breathtaking panoramic view, “so that everyone feels like they have the best space.” Moore’s career began in her hometown of Johannesburg, where she was responsible
for the first post-apartheid museum in collaboration with Museum Africa. After working in hotel and casino projects, she headed for London. During her career, she has seen changes in the industry, particularly around wellness. “Years ago, we just did spas, but today it is about ‘whole health’, with consultation and infusion rooms, and spa food in the restaurant.” With the business going from strength to strength, Moore is constantly travelling,
but she paints, reads, hikes and spends time with family in her holiday home in Cape Town. New work on the horizon includes projects in The Maldives and Albania and a gorilla lodge in Uganda. With that, she heads back to her journey of design discovery.
OPPOSITE, CLOCKWISE FROM TOP: The lobby at Muza Lab’s Royal Mansour Tamuda Bay, which features a mural made from thousands of shells from the local beach, plus curtains in linen from
de Le Cuona; Porta Romana’s Francesca Smyth (on left) shows Muza Lab’s Inge Moore (on right) the showroom's latest ceramic lamp bases and mirrors; layered with texture, a scheme for one of the prestige villas at Royal Mansour Tamuda Bay; specifying a few favourite fabrics in Dedar; Moore illuminated by Porta Romana’s lighting; the upstairs terrace of the Alboran Club, Tamuda Bay. ABOVE: Tactility is a key quality that Moore seeks out, such as the hand embroidery on Pierre Frey’s ‘Qillqay’ fabric she has pulled out here
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