Categories
| Work The Space |
| Written by Wong King Wai | |||||||||||||||||||
| Tuesday, 01 December 2009 00:00 | |||||||||||||||||||
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The three designers take three different routes to deliver their product
The art of designing interiors has evolved over the centuries, from drawing on the walls of cavernous caves to doing up majestic mansions. This evolution has created a great body of work to inspire the current stable of interior designers, many of whom use varying philosophies and methods to deliver the final product. For Virtuals Space Sdn Bhd, it is the “10 golden rules” devised by its creative leader Ed Mun. These rules were born out of several years of interior design research mixed with feng shui principles and mathematics. For design company DB&B Design Sdn Bhd, it is telling a story, where the space flows from one zone, say, the reception area, to another, like the meeting rooms. The design approach of Singapore’s Poole Associates Pte Ltd, meanwhile, is founded on a strong IT base that enables it to turnaround projects quickly with a headcount of only six. Turn the page to find out more about these companies. Poole Associates This company believes in having an efficient system that enables everyone to work effectively. This came about when the company’s founder and managing director Ed Poole decided, in the 1990s, to change from drawing by hand to computer-aided design (CAD). He devised a special way to label all CAD files so that anyone in the team would know at once if they were looking at an old or revised one. Initially, the change caused productivity to drop but after a few months, Poole found that his team was able to work faster.
1. Vietnamese splendour in the dining room Such solid foundation allows Poole to let his creative juices flow. His design approach hinges on two simple rules: never outsource and never stop learning. A recent project he was involved in is the Blue Ginger Vietnamese restaurant in New Delhi’s Taj Palace Hotel, which opened in October 2009. The furnishings are inspired by the classic Ruhlmann furniture seen in the Bao Dai Palace in Dalat, a popular highland town that is a short flight from Ho Chi Minh City. The motifs are complimented by lush textures and rich sombre colours throughout the restaurant — not your typical Vietnamese restaurant but one fit for an emperor.
5. A view of the Blue Ginger Vietnamese Restaurant While doing the project, Poole realised something. “I’ve been to Vietnam many times, and Marie Bogart, a Poole Associates director was born in Vietnam, but we still needed to do research on the French colonial era,” he said on getting the design elements just right for the restaurant.
Virtuals Space
The rules cover all the basics, like understanding the corporate background and understanding the needs of the clients and areas like studying the people — be it employees or customers — and how they engage in the space.
2. The well-lit entrance to the bank Mun looks at the flow of operation from the moment people walk through the door until they exit. The right furnishings are installed for better productivity and the ambience must please the targeted audience. Ultimately, the space created must tickle the senses yet is functional and practical.
After receiving a design brief, DB&B Design’s creative director Frank Chin puts on his storytelling hat and weaves a tale that flows through the space he is commissioned to decorate. Chin believes the most important factor in his design approach is the story; how it takes a person from one point in the space to another seamlessly. There is need for focal points in the design, areas that are seen and have to make an impression, much like the reception area in a hotel because it has to impress the guests who enter the hotel.
2. The reception area of Boehringer Ingelheim, with its clean lines and unique 'piano key' strips 3. One of the main office spaces bathed in natural light 4. The chill-out area is separated from other spaces by a lattice design 5. The passage way to the meeting rooms and offices boasts dark floors and translucent strips that let in light 6. Another view of the passage way leading to the reception area In a recent project for pharmaceutical company Boehringer Ingelheim, Frank started his story in the reception area and moved through a central passageway to the meeting rooms and offices or the chill-out area for casual discussion and snacks. Both the reception area and passageway are focal points as they provide a visual feast. The company’s central passageway, just behind the reception area, is outfitted in black flooring and translucent strips for light to come through. This is complimented by blue neon lighting above. The overall effect make the clients and employees feel warmly received. Another focal point is the hip-looking chill-out area that is separated from the other spaces via a lattice design. The abundant natural light coming in through the windows a boon. Indeed, a happy ending to a story. This article appeared in haven, Issue #40, Dec 2009 + Jan 2010, the deco and garden publication of The Edge Malaysia
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When it comes to analysing a space, Virtuals Space’s CEO and director of design & space analyst Ed Mun uses his space utilisation analysis (SUA) diagnostic tool. Based on knowledge gained from research into all things interior design as well as a geomancer and mathematician, SUA comprises 10 areas of focus or what Mun calls golden rules.
DB&B Design 
