DI: What is the main principle, idea and inspiration behind your design?
CM : We were asked to create the branding, interior design, signage and oversee the fit-out of the offices of the new CREST (Centre for Renewable Energy & Sustainable Technology) Offices in Enniskillen, Co Fermanagh, N. Ireland. The brief was that the Centre needed to represent the ethos of Crest not just visually, but also in it’s use of energy and materials.
DI: What has been your main focus in designing this work? Especially what did you want to achieve?
CM : While our part of the project, and therefore this award entry, relates to the sustainable design of the interior of the CREST offices “The Hub”, we have also included information about the CREST Project itself, both to further outline the commitment to environmental credentials within the partnership between Crest and ourselves, and to illustrate the green values the client insisted we, as a design company, worked within.
DI: What are your future plans for this award winning design?
CM : CREST are also building a pavilion to exhibit sustainable technology, and we are going to be heavily involved in the interior design of this new centre.
DI: How long did it take you to design this particular concept?
CM : Approx 2 months from start to completion.
DI: Why did you design this particular concept? Was this design commissioned or did you decide to pursuit an inspiration?
CM : The inspiration, and indeed, challenge we set ourselves for this project, was to create a modern, functional and visually outstanding office design which would be ideal for the purpose of the end user, low cost, and, most of all, created and carried out with the upmost commitment to the environment.
DI: Is your design being produced or used by another company, or do you plan to sell or lease the production rights or do you intent to produce your work yourself?
CM : The design is used by another company, CREST.
DI: What made you design this particular type of work?
CM : We wanted to use what we could find and source easily in the local area, while also being inventive in the use of those materials. The ideal scenario at the outset of the project was that everything - yes, everything - in the centre would be either repurposed, reused, recycled or, at the very least, heavily recyclable at their end of life.
DI: Where there any other designs and/or designers that helped the influence the design of your work?
CM : We carried out through research, and inspiration came from a variety of sources.
DI: Who is the target customer for his design?
CM : CREST provides the expertise for businesses and entrepreneurs to bring innovative ideas to reality. The key to business innovation is a culture of experimentation and risk-taking. Through cutting edge R&D we are nurturing innovation, driving technological development and building management practice to solve industrial problems.
DI: What sets this design apart from other similar or resembling concepts?
CM : The materials included repurposed scaffold planks and scaffold poles from a local bridge building project, reused scrap pine flooring from an ongoing college refurbishment project, recycled brick, slates, pipework and radiators from a recently demolished 19th century building, slate mined from a local quarry by hand, and a selection of highly recycled and recyclable furnishings. Our techniques for coming up with the design were to first look at what was available and utilise it for it’s best purpose rather than design first and source later.
DI: How did you come up with the name for this design? What does it mean?
CM : It is very straightforward - it is what it is!
DI: Which design tools did you use when you were working on this project?
CM : Quark, Illustrator, Photoshop.
DI: What is the most unique aspect of your design?
CM : Throughout, all materials used were sourced locally and either re-used, repurposed, recycled, or heavily recyclable.
DI: Who did you collaborate with for this design? Did you work with people with technical / specialized skills?
CM : Being a technical college, much of the design was specified by us, and then completed in house.
DI: What is the role of technology in this particular design?
CM : Fairly small!
DI: What are some of the challenges you faced during the design/realization of your concept?
CM : The challenge throughout was to ensure environmental credentials of every piece within the centre, while aligning it to a small budget more consistent with a traditional office design. Of course, building regulations, flame retardantness, disability access laws, thermal insulation and even life span and maintenance had to be taken into account, as well as the challenge, already alluded to earlier, of the production of many of the pieces themselves which were bespoke and one off - and no template or precedent existed.
DI: How did you decide to submit your design to an international design competition?
CM : When it was finished it was work we were very pleased with.
DI: What did you learn or how did you improve yourself during the designing of this work?
CM : I learned a lot more about sustainable technology, and how items which would normally be destined for scrap can be reused to great effect.
