Guardian
Group (6 people)
6 months
Furniture
2020
Melila
This project took place during my Master's degree course, as part of a module whereby we got the chance to work with real clients.
Atomic Interiors wished to draw inspiration from Scandinavian Design, as well as from the Hotel Boutique aesthetic movement, to inform the development of a set of luxury student apartments in Nottingham. The style sought was one with a soft modern, high-end feel.
The team was to focus on designing unique, value-adding indoor or outdoor pieces of furniture, as well as lighting features and other decorative or functional elements to be included within the new build.
Read the team's full work here.
1.
The
brief
Luxury Student Accommodation at Boulevard Wharf
Atomic Interiors wished to draw inspiration from Scandinavian Design, as well as from the Hotel Boutique aesthetic movement, to inform the development of a set of luxury student apartments in Nottingham. It is worth noting that the apartments were aimed for students of any age and nationality, although the expected demographics would mostly consist of students from overseas.
The style sought was one with a soft modern, high-end feel and quality to it. The team was to focus on unique, value-adding indoor or outdoor furniture, as well as lighting features and other decorative/functional elements to be included within the new build.
2.
The client
Atomic Interiors
Atomic Interiors is a furniture, lighting and interior design company based in Nottingham, UK. With over twenty years of experience in the business, their vision is modern and refined, as they commit to working with only the best quality brands worldwide. Some examples of these include B&B Italia, Bontempi, Enea, HAY, Knoll, Moooi, Pedrali, String and Vitra, amongst others (Atomic Interiors 2020).
3.
Methodology
Co-Creation Methodology
The Co-creation methodology was chosen as it is known to improve the efficiency of group work, unifying team effort in a way that is suitable for a culturally diverse and multi-disciplinary team like the one at present. It encourages team members to create and innovate together by establishing an elaboration process that fosters a feeling of unity and co-consciousness (Artway of Thinking, 2001). This process is divided in four stages:
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Observation: in which members systematically explore knowledge claims to gain joint inspiration.
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Co-generation: in which the team jointly explores the emotional relations that may affect the project, fostering empathy with the user and amongst themselves.
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Action: in which the concepts explored in the previous phases are realised, paying closer attention to the bodyly and material resources available.
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Integration: in which innovation becomes a tangible product, whose potential is fully explored and applied to the real-life setting in which it will be placed. 1
4.
The team
Liyao Wu
Junyan Ai
Anchistha
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Yanxi Wei
Anisha
Lucía
5.
Trend Analysis
6. Brand
Analysis
Understanding Atomic's style
Atomic’s headquarters in Calverton were visited by the team, to further understand Atomic’s brand and the type of contracts, styles and price ranges they normally perform under. The findings were as follow:
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As a company, Atomic values quality of design over price or prestige. They choose pieces that last, designed and built with great attention to detail and a simple, refined look.
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The pieces are also practical and easy to install, especially for contract jobs like the one at Boulevard Wharf.
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Atomic’s showroom had an overall modern feel with vintage touches, somewhat following current trends — which they admit they are only prone to follow if these fit their vision. This look was accompanied by accent lighting pieces and luxury finishes in velvet, gold and wood. All pieces were created with great craftsmanship and care.
8.
Primary Research
7.
Market Research
Studying competitor accommodations
Having understood the client, it was time to investigate the market. Who is likely to book accommodation at Boulevard Wharf? What do they value? What other factors are worth considering?
Further more, market research was undertaken to understand the Luxury Student Accommodation scene in Nottingham and provide a benchmark of the services, price ranges and styles offered by Boulevard Wharf’s competitor companies. Since value for money was found to be important to students, this too was compared in order to identify Boulevard Wharf’s biggest competitor.
9.
Personas
Understanding the user
In order to visually represent the findings reached through primary research, a series of personas were developed. Similarly, the daily routines of such personas were mapped out in accordance to the primary research findings.This also allowed the team to predict how the residents of Boulevard Wharf will likely use the spaces within the accommodation.
10.
Site Visit
Becoming acquainted with the space
A visit to Boulevard Wharf’s construction site too place on February 28th. The visit was informative and useful, as the team got a real sense of the space available and the building’s character. Another essential aspect of the visit was getting to understand the surrounding environment of the complex, which lies right next to Nottingham’s canal, thus doting indoor and outdoor spaces with natural views worth highlighting.
11.
Mood boards &
Inspiration
12.
Ideation
13.
Concept Generation & Evaluation
14.
Concept Refinement
The birth of Melila
Following the client’s feedback in the concept evaluation stage, the highest ranked concepts were combined. Merging them provided the team with a functional and unique mixture of ideas from which to create an innovative final piece
Several visualisations of these concept combinations were created, using CAD alongside some preliminary material renders. These more finalised concepts were presented to the client, who helped the team decide on a series of table tops, bases, seating and ergonomic heights to take forward.
16.
Material Selection
15.
Technical
Drawings
Nailing down the details
The pieces were finalised and technical drawings were produced for future manufacturing purposes.
Additionally, a library of suitable materials was gathered alongside the client. Three areas of focus were kept in making this selection:
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Creating interesting and innovative texture combinations.
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Ensuring material and manufacturing viability for production.
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Ensuring safety in a Pandemic situation: naturally antibacterial metals and easily disinfectable textiles were favoured.
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Ensuring a sustainable material cycle and sourcing.
17. Business Aspects
Understanding Melila as a business opportunity
The costs associated with the materials needed to build the set were calculated. Several BOMs (Bills of Materials) were accurately produced and presented to the client.
A sustainability plan for the whole product life cycle was drafted in order to ensure the product was: easy to repair and maintain, multi-purpose, recyclable at the end of its life and waste efficient at the end of it.
Lastly, a proposal for the product branding and its packaging was designed, to explore its commercial potential beyond the Boulevard Wharf project.
18.
User Story Boards
Final product
A unique set of modular furniture that elevates the look and feel of the communal areas within Boulevard Wharf, adding aesthetic and functional value to its student residents while adhering to the luxurious, yet modern, boutique hotel style of the property.
