Interactive, Integrated and Inter-operable: 3 ideas for hotel design

A few weeks ago in this blog I asked "When will technology really disrupt the hotel business?". 

As I observe how hoteliers are exploring the possibilities of evolving the paradigm in which hotel operations are based, I have identified 3 key elements that are needed to implement successfully any technological advance: solutions must be interactive, integrated and inter-operable.

This means that technology must:

• enhance the experience through an enticing connection between the guest and the physical space
• be perceived as a seamless part of the guest experience, and not just a layer applied on the conventional operation
• it must increasingly permit information exchange with the guest's own personal devices

The market is full of examples of technological upgrades, but I've recently come across a few experimental and conceptual ideas that push the envelope and that I believe will leverage further the hospitality user experience when they are ready to be applied in commercial spaces.

The Nest Thermostat

Nest Thermostat

The Nest Thermostat is an ingenious invention developed by Tony Fadell, an Apple alumni who had a key role in the Ipod creation.

This device re-invents our relationship with the appliances that control human comfort, in this case thermal comfort. It has an innovative capability to learn the user patterns in order to create optimal living conditions, as well as to provide energy savings.

What I find particularly interesting is a design that embeds artificial intelligence so discreetly in the product's DNA, and that permits a innovative interaction with the user.

Adaptive environments that learn how to adjust the conditions of a living space to its occupants will be a quantum leap from our existing systems. And Nest might be about temperature only, but once this concept expands it can be applied to all sort of adjustments in moisture content, barometric pressure, air velocity, acoustic issues, and then even further to manage visual comfort through daylighting and artificial lighting controls, eventually media content, and who knows maybe even physical comfort through fine adjustments in upholstery firmness.

It is truly a new product, and I envision a time when people can carry their own "comfort intelligence" in digital form, and then transfer that information in advance to the room where they will be staying. We will then be able to have a hotel guestroom, or an office space which customizes its properties to accommodate each unique user's needs.

The customization of spaces will be further enhanced with evolved TVs which will allow us to "launch" our tablet customization on the screen just by placing them on the side and swiping them in the direction of the TV. At this point all our own media (music, video, whatever entertainment apps) will immediately become available in the room. Portable comfort, and portable media-impact devices will meet the interactive, integrated and inter-operable requirements.

SLEEP ART: A robot that paints your sleep

Accor's Ibis brand is testing an original interactive experience, with a robotic arm linked to sensors placed on bed mattresses, which transfer sleeping patterns onto a canvas. I find it to be such a daring use of technology! And it provides a novel connection of guests to the hotel in ways that we can only begin to imagine.

Whether the result is true art or not isn't really the issue (watch the video and decide for yourself), but this use of technology pushes the boundaries of human interaction with technology, and integrates it not only in the physical space, but also creates a very unique form of engagement with the hospitality product. And the enrollment via Facebook provides an additional layer of positive entanglement with the brand.

For the cynics and pessimists, you can have the consolation that even if this experiment doesn't really catch on, it will for sure have taught hoteliers and designers where some of the boundaries are.

Immersive Cocoon / Step into the Future

This is a highly conceptual product developed by design collective NAU. More than a product, this object reminiscent of Kubrick's monolith, is an interface. The concept is that the space enclosed within the sphere can provide infinite digital freedom where the entire body interacts with sensors to re-create reality. It is a unique sensory experience inside a very controlled environment, in a way that until now was the object of science fiction. 

This concept contradicts in some ways the basic notions of integration and inter-operability, because it is a device so independent from reality, but I was drawn to the idea that an interface might not need to be a screen and it can be anywhere we want it to be.

Where I see the disruptive potential is not necessarily from the product in its pure form, but the ability to expand the notion of interaction and apply it to real spaces to improve living environments and comfort.

I am thinking for instance of a smart wardrobe where the mirror can allow the user to "virtually" try the clothes before getting dressed .... or falling asleep with the kind of warm summer breeze that makes it so easy to drift away at the beach ....

So these 3 examples of innovative creativity in product design point to a direction where we can carry our own comfort as a digital signature, we can interact physically with spaces, and we can extract elements of virtual experiences to increase the quality of living spaces.

And the more we talk about the possibilities, the more we realize that these inventions will intersect and trigger exponentially increasing options to re-design the hotel experience: the room sensors can detect what the user's exact mood and feeling is, and by using the "learned intelligence" adjust the comfort conditions and transform the perception of the room ambiance and decor to suit the guest.

Creative and talented inventors are providing us with the tools we need. Now it is up to hoteliers, designers and entrepreneurs to put them to use, disrupt the market and impress their guests.

When will technology really disrupt the hotel business?

A few weeks ago, I wrote about hotels of the future, which expressed essentially thoughts about comfort. Another aspect of the evolution of hotels is connected to technology and how it has become key to brand strategy differentiation. Technology is a catalyst for increased building efficiency and it is becoming a key element of disruptive market strategies by hotel owners,operators and the designers that support their vision.

The recession limited the comprehensive modernization of hotel systems, but it also coincided with an incredible growth in interactive technology, and particularly its ability to impact the guest experience.

As renovation budgets become more robust and new construction accelerates, we’ll increasingly see the deployment of integrated systems that improve hotel performance and also enhance the guest experience. A few successful examples of hotel concepts that are already pushing the envelope are YOTEL and CITIZEN M.

Yotel in New York is the most recent outpost of the brand:

Yotel New York - Entrance 

Yotel New York - Lobby

Yotel New York - Typical Guestroom

And Citizen M opened the first of three London hotels in July 2012:

Citizen M (website)

Citizen M London - Typical Guestroom

Citizen M London - Guestroom Control tablet

The focus of end-user technology varies across market segments:

• Upper-upscale and luxury hotels have had a greater ability to add high-end technology to enhance the entire experience from concierge services to entertainment.
• The upscale segment, and in particular business oriented hotels, have deployed technology to improve check-in, to achieve some customization of guest relationship, to offer advanced meeting space functionality and to provide some in-room amenities.
• The economy to mid-scale segments have focused more on the implementation of building management systems looking at cost control and operational sustainability, with a more incremental use of technology in public spaces and in-room technology.

We are starting to see state-of-the-art technology in all hotels, from tablets to 3D TV, from digital art to smart keys. But when will we begin to see a truly integrated approach to technology deployment?

The reality is that the conventional operation model has not changed much, and the use of technology in hotels is essentially a layer applied on top of the traditional services, and issues affecting equipment reliability and inter-operability have discouraged owners and guests alike about the validity of turning technology as ubiquitous in hotels as it is in homes and offices.

I believe that this will only come through a re-concepting that merges the hotel operation, the asset management and the guest experience through solutions that address simultaneously service, comfort, entertainment and amenities.

A more seamless hotel experience is one that will bring together the human, physical, personal needs of the guest and the capabilities permitted by technological innovations.

I am sure that behind retina-scan access doors at the HQ of large hotel companies there are very smart people wielding state-of-the-art tablets and thinking about what the hotel of the future will be.

I wonder if these are the questions they are trying to answer:

• Can a hotel become an intuitive experience that anticipates the guest’s needs within a very efficient operation?

• Can we make a hotel react to the guest?

• Can a hotel ever become an extension of the guest’s own personal environment?

Right now, there is an opportunity for hotel owners, operators and designers to re-think radically the role of technology and how it can catalyze a deeper integration of interactive capabilities in the hotel physical space.

Who will take us on this journey first?

Do historic hotels dream about their past? Some thoughts on the renovation of iconic properties.

Hilton Worldwide, owner of the historic Waldorf Astoria hotel in New York city has begun a phased upgrade and much needed renovation of the crown-jewel in its portfolio. This iconic hotel is not only the quintessential urban luxury hotel, but it is also the flagship property of the company's luxury brand.

On the tail-end of a recession that hit the luxury segment particularly hard, hospitality executives have worked hard to re-tool and compete in a market that has blurred the lines between luxury, lifestyle and boutique. Defining a clear vision for the luxury experience and communicating a compelling brand narrative have become the keystones of renovations, especially when the buildings carry such weight.

The plan to bring the Waldorf Astoria into the 21st century has been carefully considered, and will be implemented over the course of years to come. The Park Avenue Entrance is setting of the tone for the rest of the hotel renovation, which will be overseen by New York based designers Champalimaud and BBG. This area re-opened recently with a few architectural modifications, a renewal of furnishings and lighting, and a focus on the existing murals and flooring pattern. 

So what do we see upon entering?

Gone is the Starbucks which offered a confusing welcome to guests even before they got to the main lobby. Gone is the mezzanine that lowered the ceiling height and removed any sense of greatness upon arrival. Gone is the chandelier that seemed so out-of-place in the Art Deco inspired building. Gone is the characterless carpet. In fact, gone are many layers of decor that were added over the years in vapid refurbishments that did nothing for the space except to hide the natural aging of the building. The designers have been careful in de-layering the existing space and restoring it to a grand, elegant look and arrival experience. The Waldorf is, in the words of its designers, "modern again".

 Park Avenue Lobby - Before                                                                                                             Proposed Design - Courtesy of Champalimaud 

                                                                                       Waldorf Astoria New York 

We can't underestimate the challenge involved in renovating an 80-year old, 1200-room urban hotel running at permanently high occupancy rates and with one of the busiest function businesses in the city. And although the hotel interiors are not landmarked, there is a need to deal with the reaction, not always positive, of the community at large towards any kind of improvement or modification.

There are many parallels to be drawn between the renovation of the Waldorf Astoria and other emblematic hotels in cosmopolitan centers. Aside from this project, I was closely involved in the renovation of hotels that have been key destinations in their cities for at least two generations, and I have gained a significant understanding in to how to best approach these projects. 

The projects I have been involved with include the full renovation of the Hotel Bel Air in Los Angeles (California), the re-branding of the oldest luxury hotel in China, the Astor Hotel in Tianjin (Starwood Luxury Collection property), and the phased re-energizing of The Dorchester in London. These distinct properties in three continents interestingly have had many aspects in common through the renovation process. 

Hotel Bel Air - Typical Guestroom (Before and After - Image courtesy of Champalimaud Design)

Hotel Bel Air - Lobby/Reception (Before and After - Image courtesy of Champalimaud Design)

Hotel Astor Tianjin - Exterior (Old Building and Renovated Building)

It is interesting to notice that the perceived history of the buildings by the local community and current guests tends to be a somewhat exaggerated view of the truth, and it often veils a serious acknowledgement of how much the hotels need to be renovated. This is true both in terms of the quality of the building's architecture and interiors, as well as the stories and myths inspired by popular culture. Often the most vocal disagreements towards any renovation come from people that haven't really set foot in the building in a very long time. Although time-consuming and sometimes devoid of any real substance, dealing respectfully with these subjective aspects of a renovation is an important step as they can add extraneous uncertainty to the project, and are often key to generate the right buzz around the hotel's re-opening.

While the subjective variables are very important elements, there are also very tangible aspects of historic hotel renovations that designers must address thoughtfully as they work with the Owner to deploy the investment successfully. I find that some questions must be answered very objectively as they are determinant in the programming phase: 

• How extensive must the renovation be to achieve a measurable increase in the property's competitiveness?
• How much "newer" must the hotel look like after the work is completed?
• How will changes affect the hotel's ability to provide increased guest service?
• What to keep and what to change when it comes to art, furniture, memorabilia, etc...?
• What investment is required in technical services such as lighting, HVAC, guest technology and entertainment, to increase the guest comfort and experience?

Answering these questions will help focus the efforts and I've compiled here a list of lessons learned, to-dos and not-to-dos when it comes to historic hotel renovations. This is by no means comprehensive, but it touches on a few significant aspects that should be taken into account:

• Before the concept is developed, a good deal of research should occur. Investing this time wisely will definitely be valuable . In this research there should be interaction with the community that includes existing guests, local residents and any parties that hold a stake in the hotel's future. There are many different reasons why people feel attached to historic hotels, and it isn't always style or function. It could be memories, and it might just be the fact that they are used to seeing it in a certain way. It is very often a question of perception and of emotion. Displaying a respecting for those emotions is easy to do and has a huge pay-off.
• Every aspect of the current plans must be questioned. Older hotels tended to have large public spaces with no services associated to them. Activating public areas with F&B service, lounging, informal meeting areas or retail can impact the operations very positively and increase the ROI of the project.
• Avoid giving the new spaces a room-set feel. Hotels with history have too much authenticity to become mere vignette spaces. They need to be imbued with personality: they need to be a child, or a grand-child of the original, but never a distant cousin.
• Pastiche should be avoided. Re-creating the original is never a good idea, it often appears fake, and no space can ever live up to what it once was, even if the look before was out-dated. The obvious trick of using old photos and memorabilia never really seems to create the connection it intends, and seldom provides a historic link. Curating a high quality collection could work, but it must be done in the right framework (for more on this, read my post "Is curated overrated?")
• Seek to re-juvenate, re-energize and do not sacrifice comfort for look. Paying proper attention to selection of furnishings and uphosltered goods is critical.
• Choose a limited number of vendors rather than spreading specifications over a large number of suppliers. Chances are adjustments will be needed as we near installation, and vendors that feel involved in the process are more likely willing to help. Every vendor likes the idea of being involved with a property that stands out in their credentials and they will go the extra mile on this.
• Lighting is very important, but traditionally is has never been a feature in itself in more historical interiors. Lighting should enhance visual comfort and perhaps a few key interior architecture features, but it should not be too visible a layer. It must be like the pause in music: without it it is not the same, but you never really know it's there.
• Avoid thinking that major infra-structure investments are restrictive aspects of the renovation. Technical services are often out-dated and must be upgraded or modified to achieve essential comfort and improve building efficiency. However there are very effective retro-fitting solutions for air conditioning and lighting that should be explored. These are not always clean-cut solutions, and might require additional surveying costs, but they can have an impact in overall investment and save valuable dollars that can be directed to the guest's visual experience.

These are just a few key thoughts that should be kept in mind, but my most important learning has been that the renovation of a historic building is most successful when there is adequate time to develop a comprehensive, holistic approach to the building in one effort, even if the implementation will be sequenced across a longer schedule. Soft-cost investment to bring all the consultants on-board early and the allocation of adequate concepting and planning time by owners and operators is bound to yield high returns later in the process. The best approach in my experience is to work on a game-plan that addresses the building deficiencies, that listens to the community concerns, that focuses on the appropriate variables that will increase the hotel's performance, that provides a vision that will create the right product and that sets a clear framework to guide the key decisions by all stakeholders. Then the schedule can be fine-tuned, and the budget can be properly allocated, but it is important that all essential questions about the hotel's identity are asked and answered before the renovation begins.

Even a brick wants to be more ...

On October 24th 2012, New York will have a new park, a new memorial and at last, a design by Louis I. Kahn: The Franklin D. Roosevelt Four Freedoms Park.

New York is a city that glorifies the pursuit of passions, with art and architecture being key among those. With the inclusion of Kahn's posthumous sculpture-cum-architecture masterpiece, the city's rich register of places to visit will now have another destination. 

In this serene and contemplative place, the memory of a Man and of a Presidency will be preserved and celebrated with dignity. The meticulously planned and thoughtfully designed edge of the island points forward like a ship’s prow, but also provides a safe sanctuary within its hull. It is sober and austere but also elegant, dynamic and full of Kahn’s considered details.

Image copyright Four Freedoms Park LLC

Franklin D. Roosevelt Four Freedoms Park

View of the East River: Roosevelt Island and Manhattan  East Side

Louis Barragan's once told Kahn that his piazza at the Salk Institute was like a ‘facade facing the sky’. Perhaps these words have not been as relevant since. Yes, New York has a new monument, and one that people will talk about. Whether it is the 36-ton granite blocks that sit side-by-side separated by inch-wide slits where the polished sides create an unusually reflective view through them, or the gently sloping paths that connect water and earth, or even the copper beach trees planted in angular rows to reinforce the perspective towards the Statue of Liberty.

I love having an opportunity to write about Louis I. Kahn. His work has influenced me so much: I admire his strict and solemn designs, I marvel at his unusually perceptive understanding of light, and I appreciate the rationalization in his building concepts. His remarkable designs are full of maturity and are layered with intuitive inferences about the impact of buildings on the natural order of the world.

Kahn was in his 50’s when his designs became centerpieces to the architecture of his time. He defined a grammar of construction and extended his concepts into his own philosophy of space. Educated on the crest of the Modern Movement, he broke the linearity that conditioned the thought of his peers. He searched the nature of architecture, and he framed the steps that led him to its understanding. During his intellectual evolution, he developed an enormous interest in natural light, and in the enhancements it could bring to architecture.

You can say that the light, the giver of all presences, is the maker of a material, and the material was made to cast a shadow, and the shadow belongs to the light.                                                       (Silence and Light lecture, Zurich 1969)

He relied on instincts, on preliminary ideas and concepts that were not constrained by the practical considerations of construction. Maybe for this reason, it was so easy for him to work closely with the immateriality of light. It became for him a defining element of the architecture, as important as any other physical material.

Kahn’s designs have to be felt. They are the expression of a personal philosophy that sought to understand how knowledge could allow architects to create spaces where a sense of community exists and where a respect of natural order is ever-present. Louis Kahn’s architecture was built on his own orders: an order of Movement, an order of Winds and an order of Light. Continuously re-visiting the basic post and lintel structure, ‘when the walls parted and the columns became’, he sought to define structures that were conducive to human interaction, that were shelters, but also enhancers of man’s knowledge and achievements. For him, light was not an element of architecture and well-being, it was also the luminous inspiration driving his creative mind.

The power of Kahn’s words is often overwhelming. The fact is that Kahn’s sensitivity and vision allowed him not only to see the built structures in his mind, but also to test the reality of his ideas. With each design, thoughts were refined, descriptions were sophisticated and his views became clearer. 

Experiencing his spaces can leave us in awe but it also energizes us, and leaves us full of hope.

Looking at the Four Freedoms Park, I can't stop thinking about his most exalted words:

               A brick wants to be something.
               It aspires.
               Even a common, ordinary brick ... wants to be something more than it is.
               It wants to be something better than it is.
               Even a brick wants to be something.

Entrance to the Four Freedoms Park Memorial

  

Can hotels become super-brands?

Throughout the past year, Apple has been rolling-out a make-over of their stores. I visited the 5^th Avenue flagship store when it re-opened and at first glance it seemed to be more of an upgrade of the company’s successful retail operating system rather than a re-invention of the i-device’s sanctuary. But as we so often have experienced with Apple products, god is truly in the subtlety of details:

• The cube is more transparent, with a new lightweight structure that is ever more inviting to discover what is underneath.

• The lighting is crisper, creating greater visual comfort in the daylight-starved space.

• Store staff seem to be more efficient, and I am sure that the back-office has had as many upgrades as the front-of-house to ensure an increasingly seamless experience.

These stores are a fascinating part of the Apple story. Not just because they were a visionary aspect of the strategy that turned it into the most prosperous business on earth, but because they have so successfully addressed key challenges of modern retail. They expose the importance of the human layer in brand-building: they apply a seduction strategy, they provide the vehicle to consummate the relationship, and they offer prospects of life-long happiness.

I once read that the conceptual research behind Apple stores had included extensive analysis of hotel spaces, particularly those that create positive dynamic interaction with guests. I later heard a hotel executive express how important Apple stores had been in his own research to re-conceptualize hotel public spaces and to build their hotels awareness as user-friendly destinations. 

Whether we focus on the notion of brands as platforms, or whether we focus in understanding the levels of engagement and interaction that are required to create an appealing product, the reality is that successful branding strategies are the result of a multidimensional layering of experiences that, metaphorically, seek to make every interaction feel like an ever-lasting first kiss.

Creating a desirable product or service in today's dynamic market requires an understanding of how this layering applies to each business and to each industry. High-performance will increasingly come from selling "deeper" services or "stickier" products, or a combination of both. I like to think of the companies that achieve this as "super-brands". It a promise delivered even before payment is made. More than being desirable, these are products and services that are forever tempting.

Apple is an obvious super-brand, but in my dealings with the hospitality industry I have seen companies that are building similarly layered experiences. There are many lessons to learn from the way they are packaging their experiences, so I'll focus on two examples that I find intriguing. One is a hotel brand that seeks to offer broad yet authentic travel destinations, and the other is a retailer that aspires to harness the unique product attributes that hotels possess.

Starwood Hotels & Resorts 

Under its current leadership, Starwood has successfully transitioned the hotel company from a property-centered business to a brand-centered business. With a wide range of experiences offered in its portfolio, which includes Sheraton, Westin, Aloft, Le Meriden, W Hotels, Luxury Collection and St Regis, the company has at its disposal a multi-generational, economically, geographically and aesthetically diverse product offering that provides the opportunity for long-term relationships with its customers, both at a corporate level as well as at a personal level.

It is also a brand that relies strongly on the value of contextual elements in a hotel stay, ensuring that even the shortest stay can be memorable. Starwood strives to provide each property with a story that starts before the arrival and continues after the departure. As an operator that relies on real estate developers in disparate settings, ensuring the fluidity of the experience is a problem that presents a particular set of challenges, but through a disciplined approach to the definition of standards for aesthetics and operations, the brand has been strengthening its delivery well beyond a basic awareness of an experience–centric product.

IKEA

A manufacturing powerhouse, IKEA has impacted urban living environments in a very significant way. The layering of experiences in its product range includes the sense of economy, the commitment to being ecologically and socially minded, the appeal of a modern simplicity, the possibility of buying “living solutions”, and a sense of independence. A product that found its original competitive advantage in the efficiency of packaging has grown to become itself an efficient way of living, and in the process it deploys the basis for a consumer community: IKEA sells an ideal of Scandinavian culture and design at affordable prices, and provides enough opportunities for customization to keep open the opportunity for something unique.

  

Bigger Storage Ideas - Advertising Agency: Ogilvy Frankfurt, Germany

IKEA has recently announced its intention to move into the hospitality space. Interestingly, they do not have plans to furnish the hotels with their own furniture, but rather to apply the tenet of “good quality at a reasonable price.” Rather than offering the expected room-sets, Ikea is applying a new layer to the brand experience: to unify the philosophy behind the brand and expand the product base through sound company values. By expanding the brand within the same constellation and applying effective strategies of social media consolidation, IKEA activates the feedback loop that continues to enhance the super-brand.

How much does your building cost, Mr. Designer?

I recently watched the remarkable documentary: How much does your building weigh, Mr. Foster?

Led by a singular vision and determined rigor, for the last 30 years Norman Foster's practice has been at the nexus of innovation and aesthetics in architecture. Not only has he grasped with unusual clarity the multi-dimensional problems raised by modern urban development, but he has also consistently delivered design that is aligned with his client's goals.

In the movie, as we marvel at his mastery of the design process and his use of new light-weight materials at the Sainsbury Centre for Visual Arts, we are caught in a wonderful twist when Buckminster Fuller, the Yoda of the built environment, asks the Architect one of his incisive questions: "So, how much does your building weigh, Mr. Foster?".

Sainsbury Centre for Visual Arts (Norwich, UK - 1974-78)

The Architect did not have the answer, but once he found it, this insight was incorporated into his process and became another critical variable of design: an additional element of value to clients that seek his firm's expertise.

As I watched this, I thought of another critical question which so often turns designers and building consultants into masters of evasion:  "So, how much does your project cost, Mr. Designer?"

I do believe that it is the role of the design professional to challenge the Client's assumption, all of them, without exception. Clients, whether they are owners, developers or investors allocate a portion of their budget to hire talented and experienced consultants with the expectation that they will contribute to achieve or exceed the project return on investment. The perception of value will be ever greater the more the client feels that the consultants are sitting on his side of the table, looking at the problem with the same set of eyes, although with a different set of tools.  

It is a reality that increasingly fragmented technical disciplines dilate costs estimates to wide intervals that leave too much uncertainty in the project, and result in extensions of the decision-making timeline. This in turn increases the project costs for the consultants and initiates a spiral of negative value sometimes as early as the schematic phase of the project.

Integrated Project Delivery (IPD), a collaborative process between all consultants to optimize project results, is beginning to address this problem, but it is taking time to reach the base of the design services pyramid. Even in robustly managed projects, I have seen design solutions advance well beyond design development before cost assessments become an objective element of project management. Why do I think this happens?

• Maybe the client feels that it might constrain the creative impulses of consultants while they are focused on the conceptual aspects of the project?

• Or maybe project managers believe that strong concepts can always be budgeted down, but that budget-conscious designs can't be upgraded successfully?

• Or maybe designers are all too aware of the fact that when design documents are sent out to bid they will be inevitably simplified, and they pursue high-level concepts regardless as long as someone else is paying for their time?

• Or maybe the coordination of work between disciplines during the schematic phase is always seen as too time-consuming and ineffective?

These are all issues that PMs commonly address as part of project risk management, but in reality they are also the result of each consultant's very narrow view of their own scope and financial performance on the project. 

Until IPD becomes more commonly used, I believe that managing projects with a higher degree of effectiveness can begin with an improvement of communication and the implementation of a simplified set of tools. None of these notions are new for seasoned professionals, but I find that they often elude decision makers and less discerning consultants. An increased effort to communicate them can vastly improve project efficiency, especially in property renovations where the sequencing of activities presents more complex challenges than in new construction.

These are a few initiatives that I believe can improve project cost management:

• As many consultants as possible should be simultaneously involved at a very early stage, instead of staggering the appointments based on when the information will be  needed. This will reduce scope gaps, and eliminate empty layers of accountability. It requires some front-loading of soft-costs, but the impact in ROI is more likely positive than not. 

• Designers particularly must develop an ability to communicate the value in pursuing alternative solutions and in exploring innovative ways of approaching the building problem. This can result in constructive discussions with the client in regards to the deployment of project funds, and replace the often inaccurate use of benchmark percentages in budget allocation with more rigorous scope-specific budgeting.

• Explore collaborative platforms to manage communication and documentation. The cash-flow limitations that prevent many firms from investing in robust technologies, as well as the numerous international projects that integrate first world consultants collaborating in emerging economies with local partners mean that the use of full-blown BIM to achieve documentation consistency is still some time away. There are numerous cost-effective cloud-based technologies available to increase the intensity, timeliness and depth of communication between consultants. Setting-up project-specific media rich networking tools based on existing social media platforms, coupled with equally inexpensive video-conferencing tools is not complicated. But it does require a disciplined process and the implementation of strict quality control and quality assurance guidelines. I also find that this is an area where the millenial generation can become extremely valuable, and where their intuitive understanding of these tools can be leveraged to increase their sense of accountability and commitment to projects and to professional services firms.

• Transparency in project cost analysis. The complaint from Clients about consultant's inability to stay on budget is as common as the complaint from consultants that they don't have access to the project's evolving budget. In an age where business intelligence is so pervasive to most organizations even with the most basic accounting applications, it surprises me that so few projects have real-time budget dashboards. Regular updates of budget allocation by discipline with high-level values and reviews via web-conferencing could easily allow consultants to adjust their designs and documentation in real-time, before too many hours are spent proceeding in abortive directions, which consume both the client's and the consultants resources unnecessarily.

By implementing a few of these principles, and mostly if appropriate time is applied to communicating their importance to the project team, I think consultants will be in a better place to answer the dreaded question, and probably their projects will be more profitable. 

Color blocking: trendy or timeless?

I lived this year's Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week in a particularly intense way as my wife covered the Jason Wu for Brizo Collection for her blog Dec-a-Porter. As I browsed through photos of the new collections, it struck me that color-blocking seems to make a comeback with some regularity. It is almost originally predictable. I wonder if color blocking is a recurrent trend, or rather a timeless fashion statement? There is no doubt that when used well, it can be very elegant and effective, but we have also seen the easily forgettable cases of simplistic adaptation.

                                                                                              BCBGMAXAZRIA

Drawing a parallel with my world of interiors and architecture, I tried to remember when I have seen it used effectively in the built environment, and when it has fallen short of what solid colors can achieve when used with talent.

A recent Dezeen feature on the Hotel Modez in Arnhem came to mind, where the ubiquitous QR-codes were used as decoration, framed by blocks of black and white. I am not sure if this is the kind of room that Philip K. Dick might have had in mind when he wrote about the way androids dream, but it must be close.

                                                                        QR-Code Hotel Room by Antoine Peters 

Beyond this unusual example, my mind wandered towards images that have been more inspirational to me, and bursts of my favorite abstract expressionist painter popped-up. I have always been captivated by Rothko's pulsating canvases, and if they are not entirely the result of pure blocking, those large juxtaposed color spaces are both mesmerizing and soothing.

                                                                                                                                      Mark Rohtko 

Luis Barragan achieve the same serene tension in his interiors with the use of color to define surfaces and architectural elements, and I think he created unmistakably timeless spaces that recurrently provide inspiration for the newer archetypes.

                                                                                              Casa Gilardi (1975) - Luis Barragan

On a more artistic level, the use of sharp, well-defined color blocks to influence human interaction with the urban world has been a theme in the work of artists like Christo and Jeanne-Claude, which illuminated another New York catwalk with their Central Park The Gates project in 2005. New Yorkers that were lucky to experience this site-specific artwork will probably never again see the color orange in the same way.

                                                                                          The Gates (2005) - Christo and Jeanne-Claude

I think color is a crucial element in the creation of the visual environment, and if the richness of layered spaces can often be key to achieving comfort, a wise and talented use of color in its simplest form can achieve simultaneously a fashionable and timeless quality that so many designs aspire to.

Some great examples are:

The work of Karim Rashid, in particular his Semiramis Hotel in Athens, where blocks of colored glass not only define the spaces, but they also influence the way guests transition from one to the other.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      Semiramis (Athens, Greece)

The Saguaro in Palm Springs is a colorful oasis, where all the side-by-side hues achieve a visually striking effect that flows from exterior to interior.

Architects Peter Stamberg and Paul Aferiat infused local color into the building around a palette of 12 vibrant tones found in native desert wildflowers.

The colors adorn each balcony and patio, enlivening the indoor areas and spilling to the outdoor public spaces. The color set follows the light spectrum, which in turn creates different perspectives of the hotel according to the time of day.

The Saguaro Palm Springs

And finally, a hotel that I wish I could call my regular hang-out, the Gramercy Park Hotel. I love how the blocks of varying tones of red color punctuate the spaces, and define this intriguing and fashionable New York sanctuary.

                                                                                                             Gramercy Park Hotel - Lobby