EMOTIONAL
“Soft qualities” like empathy, understanding Berlin-based architect Jürgen Mayer H.’s
EVOLUTION
The ability to feel and express emotion is one of our most human
characteristics, and, according to more than a few of the world’s
top designers, the spaces we live in and objects we use are set to
appeal even more to our inner states of mind in the coming years.
seem to smell things better, your glass of
and compassion are steadily gaining value in
Western society. Corporate marketing has
long known this, with successful companies
paying heed to Saatchi & Saatchi CEO
Kevin Roberts’s idea that there is some-
thing beyond brands. His “lovemarks” –
products that command respect, passion,
commitment, loyalty, sensuality and a host
of other attributes that are strongly tied
to the user – represent a revolution in
understanding the emotional side of why
people buy (and show why Apple has done
so well in recent years). Design plays no
small role here. As the movement’s mani-
festo states, “A poorly designed object
cannot be a lovemark”.
The relevance of emotion is even entering
the sciences. According to German
biologist Andreas Weber, author of Alles
Fühlt (Everything Feels), even the field of
biology is about to undergo a paradigm
shift, as it considers growing proof that
evolution has had far more to do with an
organism’s emotional states than with the
Darwinian idea that beings are essentially
small machines that evolve only for
efficiency’s sake.
So – mechanism or mood? The cool,
superfunctional “modern hotel” aesthetic is
already falling by the wayside and is set to
continue doing so. As recently as ten years
ago, many would have scoffed at the idea of
ambient music, programmed, indirect
lighting or the soft whiff of an aromathera-
py-based scent in a hotel or public space.
(Or they at least preferred the ubiquitous
minimalism and utter efficiency of the
1990s to such “esoteric” stimuli.) Now,
however, it is far more common to engineer
spaces not only to appeal to all senses and
create ambience but also (or even) to
generate deeper mood shifts. What is more,
soon spaces not only will create well-being,
but will react, and consequently interact,
with the people occupying them.
heat-sensitive chairs and chaises, which wine is nicer, your senses become more
hilariously display an exact imprint of the alive. It’s about senses.” Heightened, even
sitter’s body in a lighter colour (the material extreme, emotions will always be desirable
turns lightest where the body is hottest), are when people travel, for release or escape.
just the beginning, as are Dutch industrial
designer Bas Kools’s chairs that twist But the predominant mood of the future
around their sitters in a kind of hug, or the in hotel design will likely be calmer, kinder
popular small home appliances and kitchen and more tactile. High touch meets high
tools that sport faces and feet to appear as concept indeed. New interiors might
if they have funny personalities. represent even more of a respite from an
accelerating world than they do now,
dominated by an increased sensitivity and
"Design, stripped to its concern for our fellow man and the earth
essence, can de defined itself, along with the everlasting search for
as the human nature to meaning.
shape and make our envi- Design scholar John Heskett claims that
ronment in ways without “design, stripped to its essence, can be
precedence in nature, to defined as the human nature to shape and
serve our needs and give make our environment in ways without
precedence in nature, to serve our needs
meaning to our lives." and give meaning to our lives.” In an age of
JOHN HESKETT
great prosperity coupled with the world-as-
we-know-it on the edge, looking for that
meaning becomes more important, even if
it means finding it in a kitchen appliance or
a resort space whose space is perfectly in
In the not-so-distant future, extrapolations sync with both its surroundings and the
on these technologies will create interiors feelings of the people in it. _«
that can “perceive” and personally interact
with their users’ states of mind – not on
command but by measuring heartbeats,
breathing rates or brainwave frequency, and
consequently dimming or brightening the
lights or infusing the air with a calming or
invigorating fragrance.
And what emotions will future travellers
look to experience? It could be the heady
euphoria of an innovative, almost sculptural
space such as Ron Arad’s Duomo in Rimini,
Italy (see page 290), taken to another level,
or the lusty dusk of Vincenzo de Cotiis’s
Hotel Straf in Milan (see page 270) times
ten. Says Gerard Glintmeijer of Amster-
dam-based design team FG stijl: “Some-
times you go into an environment and you
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KARIM
RASHID
New York-based, Egyptian-born
Karim Rashid is one of the most prolific
and eloquent designers of the modern era.
His design oeuvre ranges from quirky small
appliances to mind-bogglingly flashy hotels, like
the Semiramis in Athens, Greece. The Semiramis
(see page 238) is a prime example of Rashid’s
exuberant signature style.

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CARLOS
COUTURIER
Carlos Couturier is one of the four founding members
(the others are brothers Jaime, Moises and Rafael
Micha) of Mexico’s groundbreaking hotel group
Grupo Habita. The group’s madly innovative
properties Condesa df, Habita, Básico, Azúcar
and La Purificadora have seismically shifted
Mexican hospitality’s landscape.
(See hotels on pages 066-092.)
NIMH-LAB.COM
Mankind will be more sensible and
sensitive about its surroundings in
the next 15 years. Respect, tolerance
and solidarity will influence the way
obj ects, spaces and technology are
designed.
People will want comfort but peace
of mind AS WELL. Wealth, luxury but
basic experiences. Independence.
Hubs for social interaction. Isolation.
The independent, isolated individual
will demand beauty. Design will have
to provide this beauty. Search for
perfection will rule the next 15 years.
As long as there is world peace, the
coming 15 years will be the most crea-
tive and innovative in human history.
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ARMIN
FISCHER
Armin Fischer is the founder and director of Augsburg,
Germany-based 3meta, an interior design firm whose
vision has come to fruition in private residences,
restaurants, public spaces and hotels like Hamburg’s
25hours Hotel (see page 208).

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COLIN
SEAH
Architect and designer Colin Seah is founder and
design director of the Singapore-based Ministry of
Design, which was instrumental in creating the
interiors for Singapore’s New Majestic Hotel
(see page 630), an eclectic property whose look and
experience relies heavily on local influences and back-
stories. The multi-award-winning Ministry’s mission
is to “disturb, question and redefine the fundamental
elements of Space, Ritual and Perception.”

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FG
STIJL
FG stijl is an Amsterdam-based design studio
headed by Colin Finnegan and Gerard
Glintmeijer. For the past 12 years, the duo
has created innovative interiors for shops,
offices, restaurants and hotels such as
Do & Co in Vienna (see page 126) and The
Dominican in Brussels (see page 138).
NIMH-LAB.COM
What kind of stories do you think future design will tell?
That of individuality and a sense of space. We are all individuals. I like the idea of walking into
a room and being able to simply say “could you change this colour to purple for me?”
Technology will give us a lot of great benefits – but technology has to stay human. When you’re
a guest in a hotel you don’t want to have to be taught to use everything!
How will technology change design?
Design has to be open to technological advances. It’s through computers that amazing forms
of architecture are possible; with them, you can build dreams and fluid forms. It’s even
possible to use natural materials in a different way.
What does the future mean to you, as designers?
You have to be flexible: to go into the future and keep the concept, but change with time.
When you open a restaurant or hotel, techniques change, entertainment changes, ideas of
comfort change. We always try design an interior that you can add on to – there’s a degree of
flexibility. In design you have to be ready for the future.
Will people still travel at all?
The travel issue will be solved within 15 to 20 years – people will travel more and more.
Mankind has always solved its greatest problems so far!
What will the world look like then?
We foresee fluid cities. Like in the Middle Ages, with small alleyways and everything curving
in a naturalistic way. Things were never in a straight line. The environment let people walk.
The future will perhaps return to the speed of walking. We recently saw a model for an
amazing Chinese city for three million people, but everything was within a 15-minute walk.
Hopefully people would build new cities, anyway! We keep making the mistake of thinking we
have the best, greatest ideas and tearing down parts of old cities. Or we build our greatest
ideas next door to the old ones. We’ve made this mistake very often.