Desso : carpets

Desso is a company that provides carpeting for commercial interiors. Based in the Netherlands, Desso has a client list that spans the globe. Their commitment to sustainability makes the company a stand-out among its competitors. Desso is the first carpet manufacturer in the Environmental Protection Encouragement Agency to adopt the Cradle to Cradle design. The company has incorporated sustainability in every aspect of the carpet production and product. Satisfied customers include Le Meridien Hotel in Chiang Mai, and Hilton the Hague in Holland. Both received custom designs for public area carpets. Other clients in the hospitality sector include the Radisson Indianapolis, the Hilton Disney, and Virgin Atlantic Airways.

Our philosophy is founded on five key fundamentals:

1. a commitment to delivering superior products in terms of quality, durability and design through continuous innovation. To achieve this Desso works in cooperation with key specifying and purchasing decision makers, including architects, designers and project developers.
2. a dedication to making life easier for customers through a simple, common sense approach to business and greater flexibility of service.
3. a commitment to Cradle to Cradle^® Principles where products are made from pure components that are easy to disassemble, in order to create new products (= up-cycling) in both the biological and technical cycles.
4. a belief in manufacturing products that foster pride in the workforce, and the promotion of open communication within the organisation to ensure everyone is working towards a collective goal.
5. investment in production facilities to ensure the quality of tufted and woven carpets and carpet tiles, along with artificial grass. The long-term aim is to reinforce Desso's reputation as a leading manufacturer in all four segments.

Visit their site at desso.com

Design Trend : Cultural Context

A current trend in design is relating to the cultural environment of the project. Designers bring in cultural context in a variety of ways, from artwork to design strategy, to programming. Relating to context helps ensure the longevity of the project and increases acceptance by the community. In line with the trend of lifestyle hotels, designing to reflect the context allows for a truly unique experience for the guests.

Le Meridien hotel in Chiang Mai, Thailand is an example of design that takes cultural context into account. The carpets of the hotel were inspired by historical maps of the city. Artwork displayed throughout the hotel in a variety of ways are products of the local culture.

[lemeridienhotelchiangmai.com]

Hotelier India

hotelierindia.com. This site, run by ITP Group in Dubai, brings together information about various aspects of hospitality design. It features pertinent information on people, products and services, analysis, news, and special reports. I like this resource because it gives insight into the hotel industry worldwide. My last two posts were from the site, and there is a wealth of other useful infomration available.

Completely Floored

Like everything involved in hospitality design, public area flooring is expected to visually communicate and embody a brand while also creating aesthetic interiors. Add to this considerations such as uniqueness, eco-consciousness, cost-effectiveness and low hassle, as well as the need to bring in a hint of local flavour, suddenly the business of public-area flooring commands a good deal of attention to detail. Compared to in-room flooring, those in public areas need to be sturdier to withstand higher footfalls and, in some cases, weather conditions. So the thickness — or grammage, as some manufacturers call it — of the carpets need to be higher and tiles must be heavy-duty.

Carpets
      The carpet in Hilton The Hague, in Holland, was designed by Angelika Kok of Barzileye Concept & Design. Her brief was to bring local personality to the hotel, and she combined two design solutions. The first was inspired by aerial footage from the city and its rural surroundings: the design team at Desso, a Netherlands-based international specialist in carpets for the hospitality sector, translated these images into a carpet design for corridors and meeting rooms.

     For her second component, Kok pixilated a small portion of the Panorama Mesdag, one of the most iconic paintings from the Netherlands, which was again translated into Axminster carpet by Desso for the hotel’s Mesdag Ballroom.
Incorporating a city into a hotel is a relatively newer trend and carpets are the first canvas for this. Desso’s recent projects for boutique hotel brand citizenM in Amsterdam and Scotland include working with images of each city centre for corridor carpets.
      The Le Meridien in Chiang Mai, Thailand, used a map of the historic city as the key design inspiration for their carpets. “We understand the importance of branding in the hospitality sector, and have a long experience of working with hotel operators and design teams to creatively bring brands to life,” said Roland Jonkhoff, MD of Desso’s hospitality, marine and aviation division.
      Architects and designers share their creative briefs with carpet manufacturers who then translate these ideas into the carpet. This isn’t always a cake-walk as public-area floors involve many more complicated components than beds and couches, as is the case in guest rooms.
      Patodia Contract is credited with creating the public-area flooring at the Aman New Delhi and the ITC Gardenia in Bangalore, among numerous others, and is currently working on the Shangri-La Mumbai and the JW Marriott New Delhi Airport. The company developed a black metallic carpet using Lurex, which is metal yarn made for designers, to render the metallic look for the Blue Bar at the Taj Palace, New Delhi.
      Among their recent projects is hand-woven carpeting for the 15,000 sq-ft Durbar Hall at the Taj Palace, New Delhi. Director Pranay Patodia says: “We finished the carpet as a single piece. At our workshop, a special area of over 15,000 sq-ft was created for the latexing and finishing it.”

Tiles 
      It is only a matter of time before customisation also extends to tile-manufacturers who are keen to create products specifically for
the industry. Sudhir Malesha, CEO of RAK Ceramics, says: “Hotels are opting for tiles that look like they have been made from natural materials such as marble or stone. Digital methods allow us to print images on tiles. Anything that can be captured in a photograph can be printed on the tile.”
      A superlative in process is seen at the recently opened Grand Hyatt Goa. “Our hotel has a palace design, so this flooring was needed to reflect that. The technology used involved small, handmade marble biscuits. The marble and concrete mixture had to be polished nine times for the final finish. It is very labour intensive but our contractor, GA Design from Mumbai, has done a fantastic job and the finish is perfect,” says Stefan Radstorm, the property’s general manager.
      The sheer number of materials used in various parts of the hotel, related to each area’s traffic and requirements is impressive. At the Marriott Pune City Centre, at least five different flooring materials have been used across public areas. “There is a mix of sandstone and marble on the porch, lobby and coffee shop areas, wooden flooring at the restaurants and banquet pre-function areas, unfinished granite at the swimming pool and some of the porch areas, and sleeper wood at one of the outside areas near Banyan Tree,” says Heena Srivastava, director of rooms at Marriott Pune City Centre.

Who’s the boss?
      This is perhaps the one area in which a third party’s word tends to trump that of the hotel owner. Architects tend to call the shots, basing their selection on several parameters. Srivastava confirms this, saying that in Marriott’s case, it was the interior designer who would select materials for public areas that would suit the decor of the area.
      Patodia says: “While a manufacturer may meet an owner’s demands, which are usually quality and maintenance-focused, designers and architects want to see who can provide maximum customisation, quality translation of their idea into a carpet and whether they will provide efficient developmental support.”
Another carpet manufacturer, Venjara Carpets, has found that the decision rests with architects and the operating brand. The company’s Manoj Jagwani says: “Most demands and instructions are about adhering to brand design, colours and trademarks.” Venjara has experienced work on two Sun-n-Sand properties and several three-star hotels.

Green times
      Patodia says that green is increasingly popular. “The big demand is definitely green certification, which is given by the carpet CRI in the US. Handmade carpets don’t come into their ambit but are in any case eco-friendly as they use cotton and wool, which are bio-degradable.”
      Handmade is said to be the most popular among Indian hotels in smaller public areas, such as receptions and lobbies, due to texture and finishing limitations with machine made carpets. Patodia says: “Hand-made carpets are usually of Thai, Chinese or Indian origin and of the three, Indian manufactured, hand-made carpets offer the best price.”
However, machine-made carpets have a different set of benefits. “We would opt for machine-made. They are economical and long lasting,” says Srivastava.
Jagwani says other demands are for fire resistant flooring materials that are easily vacuum cleanable.
      A downside with handmade carpets is that they take longer to create. “We can deliver a hand-made carpet ex-mill within a minimum of eight weeks if it is not too complicated but it can take 16 weeks for very complicated, intricate designs,” says Patodia. He has even seen some projects that demand a year’s lead time. Desso’s carpet at the The Renaissance Vinoy Hotel in Florida took 500 hours to design.

Faux natural
      There is also the growing trend of giving a supremely natural feeling to floors and walls that that is becoming increasingly popular among hotels. This look can achieve the effect of bringing the outdoors in.
      The Marriott Pune City Centre has implemented this. “The extensive use of the wooden surfaces is unusual,” says Srivastava, speaking of what has been done differently at her property.
      In order to better cater to hotel the prime industry needs of time and scale, tile manufacturers are working on enabling larger-sized tiles with natural prints.
“Computer prints tend to be on smaller tiles but now we have already graduated to tiles of 75x75 cm and we’re all in the process of getting into 1x1 metre so then we’ll be able to serve hotels even better,” Malesha adds.
      Tiles work well for hotels that want to save time as against natural materials. “When it comes to marble and stone, it may take time to source perfect matches. Very rare types of marble may need to be imported again resulting in time lapse. Tiles do away with all these hassles,” Malesha says.
Laminate wooden flooring, although less exotic looking than its natural hardwood counterpart, is better for public areas that are alfresco because natural hardwood tends to expand. Similarly, engineered wood is manufactured by binding wood particles together with adhesives, and are easier to assemble as well as maintain.
      Brands such as Nitco target hotels looking at tiles for their public area flooring. Customisation to brand design and colours is an obvious promise: they are keen to make known that mosaics are possible with pre-designed formats or brand centric ones.

[hotelierindia.com]

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Profit by Design

In a world where the bottomline is always an influencing factor, can design be a tool that influences profits? Hotelier India gets three leading Indian architects to scope out the truth behind the role of design in the hospitality scenario.

Can you indeed, ‘profit’ from your hotel’s design?

PREM NATH: Yes, hotel designs can be one of the factors of profit element. A good design can lead to efficiency in space planning, utilities and service management, which cuts down maintenance cost. Bad design will lead to inefficiency, frequent break-downs and recurring cost of replacement, all heading to dissatisfaction.

ABHAY KULKARNI: Hotel design in totality has various aspects and all of them are equally important, iconic design can be used as a marketing tool as well as to impress guests.

It is primarily visual information that the guest absorbs. The second factor is comfort of the guest, whether it is the lighting, the furniture or the amenities, which make the guest feel comfortable. The third factor is service, which is important for the guest experience that is directly dependent on the quality of service.

RAJIV KHANNA: Profit is two-fold: first comes customer satisfaction and second is energy efficiency. Hotel design is a synergy between the following elements – spatial, which includes front zone, the back office, public and private areas, service and aesthetics. One can indeed profit by synergising these elements in the right format.

What are the challenges you face?

PREM NATH: I will be voicing the opinion of not just myself but all architects and owners of projects, that the biggest challenges are pertaining to rules, regulations of various sanctioning departments, NOCs, clearances etc. Restrictions and limits put by excise department, health department and many more can become real impediments.

These days, new challenges lie in maintaining a top notch security in the hotel to make the guest comfortable. The rising global terrorism issues are a big threat.

ABHAY KULKARNI: The main challenge would be to get a good consultant who has the right amount of exposure to the culture of the location, is very creative and knows how to handle the operational part of things to make a good product.

Also, in urban areas, especially tier one and two cities, there are constraints on land size. Getting land is a challenging process.

RAJIV KHANNA: Challenges lie in optimisation of the previously mentioned elements vis a vis the local by-laws and financial inputs.

What elements of a hotel’s design are most important? How can you make them more efficient?

PREM NATH: Public areas of the hotel are most important like lobbies, restaurants, recreational areas, etc and the back of house services like engineering services and such, need to have inbuilt invisible efficiency.

Internal backup, new technology in terms of energy and resource efficiency should form part of the planning criteria. Energy is the largest expenditure in the hotel and efficient utilisation can result in exceptional cost savings.

ABHAY KULKARNI: The most important factor is the guest’s experience. The guest’s comfort is the primary objective. It starts from the guest’s arrival and goes on to the service, the room ambience, etc.

Hotel design should revolve around the guest. To make things more efficient, you have to look at things from a guest’s point of view and keep in mind their needs whether the property is in the luxury, upscale or budget segment.

RAJIV KHANNA: The energy zone, which is the back of house and the comfort zone, which is the rooms and F&B, are the important elements of a hotel’s design. By better anthropometrics and incorporating the energy planning, the earlier mentioned elements can be made more efficient.

How do you work out how much budget to allocate for your hotel’s interior design?

PREM NATH: Hotel interiors play a very important role in visibility and comfort impact on the guest/customers. Good hotels should normally have 15-20% of overall outlay of the hotel cost, which is also influenced by the overall theme of the hotel.

RAJIV KHANNA: The interior budget of a hotel is maintained firstly by keeping the classification in perspective and secondly, the look and feel that is desired.

What are the key design areas that need to be addressed when planning a hotel?

PREM NATH: Any hotel has two key design areas, firstly the lobby/reception lounge and secondly the guest rooms and bathrooms, which the customer should find welcoming and comforting.

The lobby/reception lounge is the first points of visual contact for the guest in a hotel and therefore creates the first impression. The grandeur or simplicity and theme speak volumes of what might be in store during their stay.

As for the guest rooms and bathrooms – when the most basic yet overlooked facility is taken care well it creates lasting memories and this brings the guest back over and over again. Anything else is just an add-on.

ABHAY KULKARNI: All the areas are of equal importance. I cannot afford to have any area compromised whether it is the rooms, or the public areas or the back of the house. One cannot isolate any area of planning, right from the traffic planning to the public areas.

RAJIV KHANNA: The key design areas that need to be addressed are front office, public areas, and private zone such as the rooms, back of the house, the energy systems and the aesthetics.

What part of the design process is crucial to a hotel’s success?

PREM NATH: Site selection, theme, branding and budget is crucial to a hotel’s success apart from the hotel’s business model, the celebrity quotient, tariff etc.

Site or location of the hotel dominates the designing and planning as it should be sustainable. The theme of the hotel/resort designing may also be influenced by the local culture/environment.

ABHAY KULKARNI: The concept and the schematic stage are very important when planning the anatomy of the building. So is the distribution of the spaces. The crucial elements are detailing and execution.

The detailing is very important and has to be executed very carefully. Even if the owner spends a lot of money and gets the best of the materials, without quality execution, it can all become a waste.

RAJIV KHANNA: The right facilities planning vis a vis energy is the part of the design process that is crucial.

With catchphrases like ‘green’ and ‘sustainable’ of prime importance these days, how easy is it to incorporate these concepts in a hotel’s design?

PREM NATH: Green and sustainable has become part of life. For engineering projects the world over, sustainability is the most important aspect.

People have become conscientious about their usage as well as conservation of resources. It is not a question of easy or difficult, green and sustainable characteristics are mandatory now. Most importantly for a hotel, which operates 24x7, it saves a lot of water and energy reducing the overhead costs.

ABHAY KULKARNI: If you talk of them as design concepts they are not difficult, one just needs to have a conscious design to achieve this. The cost factor is a concern though because sustainable buildings help to recover the operational costs with savings in the long run.

It has to be thought over well in advance. If you do it as an afterthought, it becomes difficult to accommodate changes in the design.

RAJIV KHANNA: Even though it undertakes initial cost, we are conscious of creating energy efficient and self sustained hotels and make an effort to incorporate the energy concepts with reference to water and power.

What role does design play in a hotel’s overall image?

PREM NATH: A hotel is perceived to a great extent just by its design. Design creates a visual image of the hotel. Some of the good hotels are marketed in the media with the help of their design visuals alone.

A hotel’s elevation, décor, theme should be able to make a statement.

ABHAY KULKARNI: Everything is important. What I want to emphasise is that design is not just visual. It has to be a thought out process.

For me, design comes from all aspects. The superficial visual needs to be supported by the actually functional aspects of the hotel.

RAJIV KHANNA: Design is an integral part of a successful hotel and its overall image. The design format evolves the elements, which blend together to create the desired image, both visual and functional.

What are the trends in hospitality design right now?

PREM NATH: Hotels are places of attractions and therefore should have a special appeal. Hospitality designing is becoming hi-tech in appearance and function.

There is inbuilt efficiency in terms of space designing, usage and consumption.

The new generation is well acquainted with the latest in technology, art, even architecture and engineering and this expectation seeps down to their expectation of a hotel in terms of the design - to be modern, contemporary as well as lavish. These bases have formed the trends of today.

ABHAY KULKARNI: Friendly, clean, luxury.

RAJIV KHANNA: Minimalistic aesthetics, functional and comfortable such as sleeping systems, energy efficient with a stress on mood lighting, and electronically savvy.

What are the challenges of creating designs that are sensitive to the culture and location of a hotel?

PREM NATH: A hotel’s location and culture can be suitably exploited to bring in the saleable theme. But this requires in-depth study and representation so that it becomes universally acceptable for multifarious customers/clients.

This can be achieved through local art /artefacts, dress codes, cuisines, also cultural activities etc.

ABHAY KULKARNI: The major challenge is the owner and the designer need to be at par as far as sensitivity is concerned. Matching an efficient consultant and responsible owner is a challenge. We have no dearth of talent and quality in India.

RAJIV KHANNA: The hotel design process revolves around the five elements and juxtaposes with location, the climatic reference and culture such as the material aesthetics.

The cultural ethos of the location has its own idiosyncrasies and is blended within the designs for the discerning traveller or tourist. The challenge of creating a wholesome hotel experience lies within the subtlety of this blend, which though challenging, is achievable.

Abhay Kulkarni
REGIONAL DIRECTOR, TECHNICAL SERVICES, HILTON WORLDWIDE

He has worked as chief architect for Hotel Leela Venture Ltd for Leela Projects such as Leela Palace Bangalore, Leela Palace, Goa, and Leela palace, Udaipur. He then joined K Raheja Corp, Mumbai and worked on Westin, Marriot, Renaissance and Four points by Sheraton.

Presently working with Hilton Worldwide, as Regional Director, Projects, Technical Services since Jan 2009, he is involved in all the Hilton brands coming to India.

Prem Nath
ARCHITECT, PREM NATH ASSOCIATES

A gold medalist from JJ School of Architecture, he heads Prem Nath And Associates, a total design group that has received recognition for having maintained a high standard of design from an aesthetic, environmental, energy-efficient and utility point of view for over 40 years.

He has achieved success in a wide array of projects in residential and commercial complexes, IT/SEZ Parks, large integrated townships, starred hotels and resorts, malls/multiplexes, high-end residential villas and celebrity homes.

Rajiv Khanna
MANAGING DIRECTOR, GRID PLC

An architect from IIT Kharagpur, he is the MD of GridPLC, a leading architects firm based in New Delhi.

In its 18 years of existence the firm’s portfolio is into hospitality, commercial and housing projects pan India with clients like DLF, Parsvnath, Bestwestern, Choice, and NBCC to name a few.

 [hotelierindia.com]