Designing in the age of Instagram
Nikita Chellani, interior designer at Roar, on how social media is influencing the designs
In this day and age, social media is an important tool for design, but it is not the sole performance of what we do. It is incredibly difficult to imagine a personal and professional life without social media. But also, why should we? The reach platforms such as Instagram gives designers, retailers, and the like offers support towards brand recognition and connect your target audience with your trade and services – what is not to love as a business? For interior designers, social media is not only a place to virtually showcase their creativity and ingenuity, but also expand their network to connect with like-minded individuals. Instagram has, without a doubt, become an e-commerce conduit, making it imperative for interior designers to have a strong presence on their channels.
Here are some key indicators to spot an admired designer on Instagram:
– They post visually interesting content that shows off their work
-They don’t shy away from giving credit to their sources of inspiration simply by tagging the user, page or website
– They give insightful tips to their audience in their caption section
– They respond to comments below a post, further engaging with users who are potential new clients
Just by creating compelling content, you visually entice your audience to click on the link, either to get more information on the product or even browse the entire range. You can direct them to your website, where they can find exactly what they are looking for, and at the same time learn more about your business, design philosophy and the clients you work with. Specialists expect short-form content like Instagram Stories to become increasingly popular, as studies show users’ attention spans are becoming shorter. They are the perfect podium to display lighter content meant to showcase your personality, interests, or design details you come across spontaneously that you would like to share with your followers, giving them a quick snippet of what you are and what your style is.
Individuals working in this industry need to not only stay active and relevant on social channels, but they must be aware of which sites to focus on and how best to attract their target audience. While it is always rewarding to have people browsing through a designer’s work or get inspiration, these visits only benefit the industry when the visitor turns into a paying customer. To every benefit, there is also a downside. It is not unusual for some clients to prefer privacy when it comes to the designs they have opted for, hence are displeased by a designer’s extensive use of social media. We, in the industry, need to be very sensitive as to what type of content we are posting and whether a client has given permission to have their space published.
Another disadvantage is through the rise of the social media revolution, designs are very easily being replicated and imitated to recreate the look, leading to original designers sometimes being deemed as unimaginative. As per anecdotal research, 4 out of every 5 interior designers have and maintain a presence on several social network platforms, Instagram being the most widespread. Nevertheless, only 17% of designers state that social media has been of help in promoting their business. In contrast, 85% of designers report word-of mouth advertising has been of great help to them. However, we shouldn’t forego the way that word-of-mouth publicity is conducted. When a satisfied client tells a friend about a designer’s work they have experienced, it is quite possible that they would, to understand the designers’ aesthetic, browse through their social media pages and website.
Despite the growing power of social media, a company website is still a crucial tool for those in the industry. It is quite plausible to believe that social media is a great catalyst for driving traffic to your website, especially in the design industry, where a company website is of more benefit than social media to cater to large-scale portfolios. Ultimately, social media has become a powerful marketing device, which cannot be ignored, but which also cannot be the end goal when designing a project. Design should be about people, about creating beautiful and effective spaces for people to live well in. And whether it ends up on the grid or not!
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Patterns of life: Designing with nature
Lead image: Fab Tree Hab by Terreform ONE
Article by Odette Kahwagi, Creative Lead, BNC Publishing
Biomimicry- or biomimetics- is an applied science that derives sustainable solutions for human challenges by observing and replicating biological design strategies and patterns for clean, efficient technologies.
The earth’s biological materials and the processes through which they’re generated are the results of successive improvement through natural selection. By emulating life, biomimicry favours choices tested by nature for the past 3.8 billion years: what we see around us today is the key to survival.
Architects have long been inspired by nature, and early signs of biomimetic architecture can be found in the work of Renaissance architect Filippo Brunelleschi. After studying the strength of eggshells, Brunelleschi designed a thinner, lighter dome for his cathedral in Florence, completed in 1436. In 1883, Antoni Gaudí transcended mainstream modernism and opted for an organic style- after taking over the design of the Sagrada Família, the world-renowned Catalan architect got rid of all straight angles and designed his masterpiece to represent nature, in which bone-like columns twist their way to the ceiling, branching out from ellipsoid knots and reaching upwards, defying common construction practices and carrying on the character of a living organism. Casa Batlló, Gaudí’s second masterpiece, has a similar organic quality with more visceral and skeletal attributes, which is why it is also known as Casa dels Ossos, i.e. House of Bones.
Beyond shape, human bones make for great architectural models, as they’re made from a composite, a 50-50 combination of calcium and collagen. In an interview with the American Society of Landscape Architecture, scientist and author Janine Benyus, co-founder of the Biomimicry Institute, explains how research in bone structure led to a software programme that lightweight structures. “One of the major optimising technologies for buildings right now is a software called OptiStruct, which is based on a bone algorithm,” she said. “The technology mimics how bones lay down material where it’s needed along lines of stress, and take the material away from where it’s not needed. These bone algorithms are now seen in bridge and building beams, and they were used to lightweight Airbus’ new rib and wing assembly by 40%.”
Benyus, who popularised the field in her 1997 book Biomimicry: Innovation Inspired by Nature, suggests looking to nature as a “model, measure, and mentor,” and emphasises sustainability as the main purpose of this cross-disciplinary approach. With new technologies available to help recreate complex structures found in nature, biomimicry applies today to several aspects of the architectural and engineering field, and can be seen at three levels: the organism, its behaviour, and the ecosystem. Here are few notable examples of architectural construction fully generated by algorithms based on the biomimetic approach:
TERMITE MOUNDS
as a model for green air conditioning
/ BEHAVIOUR LEVEL /
The Eastgate Centre in Harare, Zimbabwe, uses a passive energy-efficient mechanism of climate control by employing a temperature regulation approach inspired by the self-cooling mounds of African termites. The termites create a system of adjustable convection currents in which air is sucked in at the bottom of the mound, and then is vented up to the top through various channels in the mud. The ventilation system of Eastgate Centre functions in a similar way: outside air that is drawn in is either warmed or cooled by the building mass depending on which is hotter: the building concrete, or the air. It is then vented into the building before exiting via openings at the top.
CORAL REEFS
as inspiration for carbon-neutral cement
/ ECOSYSTEM LEVEL /
Oceans absorb vast amounts of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, some of which is then extracted and turned into solid calcium carbonate by coral reefs and marine microorganisms called coccolithophores to create their exoskeleton. After studying how coral reefs are formed, scientists developed a way to form calcium carbonate by capturing the carbon dioxide and dissolving it in seawater.
In architecture, biomimicry is often used to seek sustainable measures by understanding the principles governing the form, rather than replicating the mere form itself. According to Michael Pawlyn, author of Biomimicry in Architecture and founding principal at London-based Exploration Architecture, biology would “solve the problem of climate change by making a lot more stuff out of atmospheric carbon.”
Atmospheric recyclable carbon materials could very well be used for construction to help tackle pressing environmental issues. The Biorock Pavilion, Exploration Architecture’s most ambitious project to date, plans to do just that: grow a building from minerals through electro-deposition of minerals in seawater- using the BioRock technology developed by Wolf Hilbertz and Tom Goreau.
In an interview with the Biomimicry Institute, Pawlyn explains how BioRock allows for “greater control of the forms that you can create. It’s a way of growing structures in seawater using electrodeposition of minerals. It’s mainly calcium carbonate and magnesium hydroxide. And it’s simple– you put a steel frame in the seawater, you pass a very low-level electric current through it, perfectly safe for wildlife, and you get fairly rapid deposition of minerals on that steel frame. After about a year, it can be 20-25mm thick, and it can be as strong as reinforced concrete. So, we’ve proposed growing a whole building that way.”
Another highly ambitious undertaking by Exploration Architecture is the Sahara Forest Project, which sets out to create new architectural spaces in harmony with the desert, by combining salt water-cooled greenhouses (inspired by the Namibian fog-basking beetle) with solar power energy and desert revegetation technologies.
In 2012, the firm managed the construction of the first built version of the project: a one-hectare pilot facility in Qatar including a parabolic trough concentrating solar power (CSP) collector and a photovoltaic array. The next stage is proposed as a 20-hectare test and demonstration centre, with the greenhouses having achieved productivity levels equal to commercial greenhouses in Europe, with half the amount of fresh water of conventional approaches. A facility with 60 hectares could provide all the cucumbers, tomatoes, peppers and aubergines currently imported into Qatar.
Exploration Architecture jointly initiated the Sahara Forest Project in 2008 and assembled the initial group of collaborators, which later became formalised as a stand-alone company, Sahara Forest Project AS, based in Oslo. Pilot projects in Jordan and Tunisia are also being initiated now. Pawlyn founded Exploration Architecture in 2007 to focus exclusively on biomimicry. In 2008, Exploration Architecture was shortlisted for the Young Architect of the Year Award and the internationally renowned Buckminster Fuller Challenge.
BACK TO BASICS
The golden ratio
/ ORGANISM LEVEL /
The idea of mimicking nature in man-made inventions is not new.
One of the most recognisable structures on earth, the Aldar headquarters in Abu Dhabi, is the world’s first circular skyscraper. It relies on a diagrid to transfer the weight of to its foundation. The key challenge in bringing the massive circular concept to life was to find the two points where the building should pose on the ground– and for that, the development of the volume began by using one of the oldest rules in architecture: the rule of proportion based on the golden ratio, or phi (Φ).
Known also as the Fibonacci sequence, this ratio has been used by mankind for centuries in architecture: from the Pyramids of Giza to the Parthenon in Greece, architects leveraged phi to create balance between structural elements.
To apply the golden section ratio to the circular façade of the Aldar headquarters, the circle was divided into a pentagram, which then had Leonardo Da Vinci’s Vitruvian Man juxtaposed on it, with the head and four limbs at the five points of the geometric shape. Accordingly, the architects were able to locate the two points of stability thus creating the perfect balance.
Developed by Marwan Zgheib and his Lebanon-based firm MZ Architects, the circular skyscraper, voted as the Best Futuristic Design of 2008, has also been inspired by the shape of a clamshell. Using grids of steel shaped in a diamond framework to create a curved glass skin, the building was completed in 2010.
CUSTOMISED COOL
/ BEHAVIOUR LEVEL /
Adaptive architecture
Adaptability in nature is the ability of organisms to cope with the changing climatic variables such as temperature and humidity. In adaptive architecture, parts of the structure manipulatively change and transform at certain times of the day to manage the variation of climate.
The galanthus nivalis flower, also called snowdrop, has special mechanisms of cooling. Physiological and morphological attributes of the petals have been mimicked to design retro-reflective building facades. This is the principle that Aedas Architects used to design a double façade system for Al Bahar Towers in Abu Dhabi to avoid the blazing sun of the UAE desert. The exterior facade is kinetically designed to open and close in response to the movement of the sun, dropping solar gain by up to 50%. The folding motion of the facade system panels is inspired by the adaptive snowdrop flower, as well as the mashrabiyas as a shading screen.
DREAMS COME TRUE
The living treehouse
/ MULTI-DISCIPLINARY LEVELS /
Terreform ONE brings a fairy tale perspective to the concept of sustainability: for Fab Tree Hab, three MIT designers, Mitchell Joachim, Lara Greden, and Javier Arbona, came up with a radical concept of creating a home from a tree, and the trio have found ways to create a symbiotic relationship between the house and the surrounding environment.
“Pleaching,” a gardening technique in which tree branches are woven together to form living archways, has been used to build the arboreal frame. Trees such as elm and oak bear the heavier loads, while vines, branches, and plants shape a lattice for the walls and roof of the house. The interior walls, consisting of packed straw covered by a smoothed layer of clay, create a moisture barrier from the outside.
But the house’s idea of sustainability goes beyond just the structure- a gravitational eco-plumbing system collects and distributes rainwater throughout the home. Wastewater would be purified in an outdoor pond with bacteria, fish, and plants that consume organic waste- and the trees that form the frame and the plants that grow on the external walls are meant to provide sustenance for the inhabitants and other living creatures who interact with the structure.
Buildings account for 25-40% of the world’s total carbon emissions, and this number is expected to rise dramatically in the next decade. So, in a way, this childhood dream turned into a living treehouse could be a path to true sustainability, after all.
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Designing the future – Design Middle East
Jamal Salem, DLR Group’s Middle East Regional Director, talks to Jochebed Menon about his experience in the region, plans for the firm, challenges, and design trends in the region
Tell us about DLR Group and yourself.
DLR Group is an American firm that originated in the Midwest over half a century ago and has recently set out on a mission to become a global firm. In 2013, we established our Asia office in Shanghai, followed by our Middle East office in 2017 based out of the energetic Dubai Design District. Our goal in becoming a global firm was to share the great knowledge we have accumulated across various sectors, through positively impacting the design society and significantly contributing to the construction and real estate sector. We seek to elevate the human experience through design.
As for me, architecture and design fascinated me. When it was time to decide my career path, architecture was the obvious choice. What drew me towards that decision is strongly linked to my dream of designing my own home. I moved to the US and earned a bachelor’s degree in architecture from the University of Houston. After my graduation in the eighties, the global recession hit the economy but despite the situation, I was determined and fortunate to kick off my career in architecture by working across several major regions in the US. I eventually settled down in the Northwest. During, my spare time, I worked on a conceptual house exploring minimalism in response to how I would like to live, and to who I am. I did not settle in the US as I thought I would, and I have not built my own home (yet) as I thought I would, instead I moved and settled in the Middle East and contributed to a wide range of projects that I am humbled to have been a part of and witness their influence on the built environment responding to the lifestyle of a new generation representing their needs and who they are. I initially came to Dubai on a two-year assignment and it has been 15 years since. I fell in love with this region and wanted to be a part of creating history. Very rarely is one involved in creating cities from scratch, and I was not going to let these opportunities pass.
What is on the horizon for DLR Group’s Middle East Dubai Studio?
Over the past three years, we have successfully grown our portfolio of work, our client base and our outreach has grown to include new markets like Saudi Arabia and Egypt. Our Middle East team members are active contributors to the AIA Middle East chapter. Our Middle East practice leader, Stephanie Kinnick was elected as the chapter’s vice president for 2021. We also support young talents by being open to internship programmes from a variety of regional design schools, and by assisting the community through our design leaders support of academic researchers. Our ambition in the coming years is to continue to expand our portfolio of clients, set-up an office in Saudi Arabia, and continue supporting the design community, as well as the real estate and construction industry.
What does ‘elevate the human experience through design’ mean?
‘Elevate the human experience through design’ is our firm’s promise to the world and it has multiple levels, one that is visible with direct contact with the user such as the interior of spaces to the design of buildings, landscape, public realm all the way up to urban design and master planning. The other is nontangible and is related to the environment whether indoor or outdoor climates and individuals’ comfort level. Putting people first starts by designing environments that react and adjust to contemporary needs that elevate the wellbeing of individuals in a manner that contributes to their level of happiness.
What are some of the popular trends in the design space?
There is an increase demand for outdoor lifestyle destinations. In fact, we are seeing this trend growing in Saudi Arabia where developers are asking for designs that incorporate the outdoors in their shopping and leisure developments. Another trend is creating environments that are future proofed with a high level of flexibility that can absorb future changes. Millennials and Gen Z form 63.5% of the global population and much of the future hotelier client base. They are the most ethnically diverse generation, involved in environmental and ethical causes. They have a greater awareness of sustainability and are interested in supporting environmentally and economically cautious projects. They are more likely to visit, stay and purchase properties that are sustainable. What we have also noticed is how the experiential travel trend continues to influence holiday destinations. Wellness as a lifestyle is also being appreciated more widely, as user health and comfort both physically and mentally are becoming more valued.
What are the key challenges the design industry is facing in this era?
Obviously, the pandemic has impacted every aspect of our lives from the way we live, work, and play. The impact has not only taught us to work differently, but to design differently to accommodate the change which we believe is here to stay. Another challenge we are facing is earning inadequate fees due to the widespread competition that stretches the limits of ensuring quality deliverables that are market ready. Also, in this hyper competitive market, developers are racing against time leading to rushed design thinking and design decisions.
How is the Middle Eastern architecture and design industry faring compared to the rest of the world?
We strongly believe the Middle East has successfully carved a unique and distinguished position for itself when it comes to global design and architecture trends. In the past few decades, architects and designers have experimented on a large scale to develop attractive metropolitan cities that can compete as world destinations. This, I assume, is obvious in the diversity of architectural vocabulary that is dominating our cityscapes; the traditional character that is unique to every region has dissolved against what is now defined as ‘contemporary’ design/architecture trend. There is no doubt that with globalisation, the world has become a small village and contemporary architecture has become a worldwide trend. However, the successful interpretation of contemporary has varied globally from one region to the other through understanding and rooting ‘contemporary’ to ‘locally’. In the past decade, we have touched upon increased awareness and demand to transition towards regionally influenced contemporary style.
What makes DLR Group stand out?
One of the most important elements of our success is that our clients see us as their partners who understand their business objectives and have the capability to guide them through their investment decisions which is why 90% of our customers are repeat clients or referred by an existing satisfied client. We are an 100% employee-owned firm, meaning that every DLR Group employee is invested in the firm and its success and this resonates well with our client partners. DLR Group is a passionate advocate of sustainable design. We are an early adopter of the Architecture 2030 Challenge, and an initial signatory to the AIA 2030 Commitment and the China Accord and which resonates and aligns with the vision and objectives of our forward-thinking partners.
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Designing a safer future – Design Middle East
How food & beverage and hygiene technologies can help accelerate change while retaining a positive customer dining experience
BRINGING TECH TO THE TABLE
It’s evident that COVID-19 has an enormous impact on the food & beverage industry. F&B investors and operators around the world were forced to close down for weeks – if not months – only to be faced with long lists of precautionary measures to implement when they were ready to reopen as lockdown restrictions eased, to safeguard the health and safety of their diners. These new precautions touched every aspect of their operations, from seating arrangements to enable social distancing, mandatory temperature checks and increased cleaning and sanitisation protocols, to digital menus, contact tracing capabilities and employee PPE equipment, and PCR testing. Operating a restaurant in this new normal is unfortunately far from normal, at least for now, but even when a vaccine becomes available one thing is clear; the F&B sector will need to evolve quickly and effectively to ensure its long-term growth and sustainability.
Over the past few months, we have come together as a collective of consultants in the UAE to look at learnings from this global pandemic to develop ‘future proof’ recommendations and solutions that address not only the current back-to- business requirements, but also the changes needed in the design and best practices for future F&B developments to be prepared for other health crises that may test the F&B industry. In doing so, we looked at critical areas such as design and material specifications, front-of-house flows and spacing, back-of-house design and functionality, as well as hygiene and cleaning protocols. One element that’s at the core of effective redesign and enhanced F&B operations is technology.
CONTACTLESS ALL THE WAY?
Contactless technology has become a top priority in hospitality as a way to regain consumer confidence. If we look at a diner’s journey, technology can be used at most touchpoints; from thermal imaging cameras, bio sensors to detect airborne pathogens and digital wayfinding, menus and cashless payments, to automated handwashing stations and sanitisation tunnels, restaurants can bring tech to the table to take an important leap forward in providing a healthy and safe environment while retaining a positive customer dining experience.
As COVID-19 appeared, so did many technology companies with new software that can help manage a business safely and efficiently according to local guidelines. Some of this technology has been around for years, like cashless payment systems, but their importance has come to the forefront during the pandemic. More and more restaurants are now deploying cashless payments, which are typically available in three formats: RFID technology, mobile payments and credit cards.
Digital ordering systems using QR codes are also becoming increasingly common in both casual and upmarket dining outlets. Admittedly, this may not be suitable for every type of restaurant, but we see it becoming the norm even in the finer dining establishments. What’s interesting here is that the dining experience can be enhanced, even with less human interaction, with the advantage of cutting down on order taking time as guests can place their kitchen order and pay directly from their phone. Moreover, a recent study showed that the average spend per head is 10-30% higher with mobile ordering, allowing restaurants to boost their revenues.
TECH IN THE WORKPLACE
These are all examples of visible, front-of-house technologies, but the use of tech also plays an important role in back-of-house operations to ensure kitchens are equipped to plan, manage and monitor the stringent requirements they need to comply with. Incorporating technology to control hygiene and food safety inside kitchens is a big step forward towards a safer F&B environment.
Monitoring is often the most challenging aspect of this in F&B as it demands trained and dedicated personnel available in all areas of a facility at all times, but companies like Jolt, I-Auditor and MeazureUp offer a wide range of digital solutions in this space. It can also be made easier by using technology that identifies malpractices around the workplace. Artificial Intelligence is now being introduced in software to identify individuals that are not following hygiene guidelines, to measure physical distancing and to calculate how often staff members wash their hands-on a given day. This data can be used to rectify problems and retrain personnel to optimise food safety.
With technology advancing at an exponential rate, it can play a much larger functional role in F&B, and as the demand for innovation grows, companies will invest in R&D hence new solutions will emerge. It will neither be easy or quick though and the development of effective solutions will demand hard work, careful thought, substantial investment, sufficient time and rewriting of the rule book in many cases. It will require the collaboration of owners, consultants, contractors, suppliers and even customers, to chart a path that meets the needs of all.
Over time, confidence in the market will be restored, customers will return, and the sector will rebound. As with everything in hospitality, however, it is important to strike a balance between the maximum utilisation of technology and retaining the benefits of human interaction.
This article is based on the Industry white paper on the topic: ‘Designing a Safer Future – How the Food & Beverage industry can be better prepared for another pandemic’ by development consultants RBnH Solutions , boutique strategy & design agency Limelight, and project development and MEP consultants CSQ.
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