Meet John Williams, an interior designer based in Manchester who is the Founding Director of SpaceInvader Design, a studio with a single-minded purpose: to transform the way organisations use space and motivate people through their environment. With this approach, John and his team have created some impressive – and unconventional – design narratives, which Editor Hamish Kilburn explores on this episode of DESIGN POD. As well as taking a look at the people and projects that have helped to...

Meet Neil Andrew, an interior designer based in London. As well as being a skilled craftsman in his trade, – and with the aim to deepen design's meaning in hospitality – Andrew and his team at Perkins&Will are on an honest and, at times, unapologetic mission to operate in a net-zero landscape. In 2022, the studio announced that it will be net-zero embodied carbon) in all its projects by 2030. Cutting through the noise somewhat, the studio launched its Net-Zero Now: Hospitality report. In...

Meet Alessandro Munge, the Founder of Studio Munge; a visionary, interior designer and magician when it comes to transforming spaces. The design from Toronto joins as Editor and host Hamish Kilburn’s special guest for episode 32 of DESIGN POD, sponsored by Geberit. Munge, who has helped to redefine spaces around the world, using a human-centric approach to design, first met Kilburn when he was a guest on the Travel By Design podcast, by Marriott, where the two explored the fabrics and design...

Welcome to Africa, where nature unapologetically rules! In episode 31 of DESIGN POD, Editor Hamish Kilburn meets Dereck Joubert, a wildlife photographer and filmmaker who for his whole life, while working with the likes of National Geographic, has campaigned to protect wildlife conservation in Africa. To part-fund his and his wife Beverly's selfless journey, they created Great Plains, a cluster of luxury safari camps dotted across the continent. But these aren't just any camps. Each one tells...

Meet Pallavi Dean. She is an interior designer and architect based in Dubai. Since setting up her own studio, Roar, in 2013, Pallavi and her team have completed more than 80 projects. But here's the thing that sets Pallavi aside from other designers. She is not just designing high-end residential and commercial projects. She is also 'making it roar' in the metaverse. In this episode of DESIGN POD, the design podcast for all design and architecture enthusiasts, Pallavi joins Editor Hamish...

Meet Wren Loucks, a designer who 'creates spaces that stimulate wellbeing and purpose'. The interior designer, who is the CEO and Creative Director of Be-Kin, works both physically and spiritually. She joined Editor Hamish Kilburn on DESIGN POD, the design and architecture podcast, to discuss how sensory design became her narrative, and how holistic thinking in design can unlock new opportunities. Loucks joins the podcast following her involvement in Geberit's Hotel Guest Experience Report,...

Meet Mark Tweedale and Michael Curry, both lighting designers from DPA Lighting, who are bringing interiors to life through innovative lighting solutions. In this episode, Hamish Kilburn, Editor of Hotel Designs and host of DESIGN POD, meets the duo to discuss circadian lighting – lighting systems designed around the proven cycles our bodies’ follow each day, based on the position, the angle, and the colour of natural sunlight at any given time. So, will circadian lighting in design change...

Meet Richard Holland, Co-Founder and Director of Holland Harvey Architects, who is pioneering a new era in socially and environmentally designed buildings. Some of the studio's recent projects, explored in this episode of DESIGN POD, are, put simply, changing the game in this new era of meaningful hospitality, design and architecture. The episode, hosted by Hamish Kilburn, sponsored by Geberit and produced by Mel Yates, explores the significance of working with hospitality brands that truly...

Our engines are still warm for the final episode of series 3 of DESIGN POD, where we meet Lorraine Stoutt Griffith, Director at Twelve Architects, who is responsible for bringing to life a new contemporary hospitality development at Silverstone, the home of the UK Grand Prix. Editor Hamish Kilburn, host of DESIGN POD, speaks to Griffith about how the development will position Silverstone as a luxury destination, beyond motor racing, while also discussing how the design nods to the location's...

Karen Stonely, artist, designer and the Co-Founder of SPAN Architecture, creates wellness and wellbeing experiences in all landscapes – from a retreat in Maine to a high-rise 'oasis' that is exciting, exuberant and 'something fresh and future-thinking for a hotel in the heart of the city that never sleeps'. This episode of DESIGN POD, sponsored by Minotti London and hosted by Hamish Kilburn, Editor, Hotel Designs, explores unconventional materiality, evoking unconventional sense of place and...

In this episode, sponsored by Minotti London, we take a glimpse into the studio doors of Messana O'Rorke, specially to meet Co-Founder, Brian Messana. With permission from podcast host Jennie Becker, the Founder of the original podcast Sliding Doors, who editor Hamish Kilburn met while reviewing a hotel in the Douro Valley in Portugal, this episode was all about the 'sliding doors' moments of Brian's professional and personal life. Brian trained under architects Richard Meier, Thomas Phifer,...

This episode of DESIGN POD, sponsored by Minotti London, explores the design and hospitality concept of 'lean luxury', which Ruby Hotels is built on. Editor Hamish Kilburn speaks to Matthew Balon, Head of Design at Ruby Hotels, to understand what this looks and more importantly feels like. Balon, who joins the podcast (from bed) inside one of Ruby's many hotels around Europe, gives an insight into how he approaches each project he works on – from public areas to guestroom details and check-in...

This episode of DESIGN POD, sponsored by Minotti London, is all about understanding the DNA of contemporary British design. To do this, editor Hamish Kilburn welcomed Sue Timney onto the podcast to look back at some of her greatest design work, including homes for the McCartney family and transforming a former water tower in London into a modern abode, a project that was featured on Channel 4's Grand Designs. Timney, who recently became a judge for The Brit List Awards 2022, also discussed...

Holly Hallam, Managing Director of Design LSM, put together her knowledge and experience in marketing and branding and combined it with a passion for design to help grow Design LSM. Using a 360-degree approach to design, the studio's portfolio includes The Alchemist (Manchester), Kiss The Hippo (London), JiJi (London), 100 Queen's Gate Hotel (London) and recently Heythrop Park (Oxfordshire). Hallam joined Hamish Kilburn, Editor of Hotel Designs on the podcast to discuss a new era of...

Episode 20 of DESIGN POD, sponsored by Minotti London, will explore a hotel concept that Hotel Designs has been interested in since its early conception. Hot off delivering a Ted talk about creating the world’s first energy-positive hotel, developer and former designer and architect Ivaylo Lefterov, while on a whistle-stop tour, joined Hamish Kilburn live in the Minotti London showroom to discuss how SVART, the latest hotel set to join the Six Senses portfolio, will break down boundaries when...

Episode 19 of DESIGN POD, sponsored by Minotti London, is an exclusive interview with Nils Sveje and Kyoko Inoda, the Founders of INODA+SVEJE, which was one of few protagonist studios behind the 2022 collection by Minotti. The pair joined Editor Hamish Kilburn on the podcast sofa just one week after Milan Design Week to record the episode where they discussed how their latest products – Yoko, Lars and Sendai – went down with the design and architecture community when they launched during the...

Danish architect Stine Gam and Italian architect Enrico Fratesi, the Founders of GamFratesi, are masterminds of crossing cultures, bending tradition and producing stunning furniture pieces.   In this episode, sponsored by Minotti London, Hamish Kilburn caught up with the designer duo ahead of their latest unveiling to explore how the process of creating some of their most iconic pieces for Minotti changed their perception in design and architecture. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and...

Simon Kincaid has more than 20 years’ industry experience and knows better than anyone else the value of flexibility in an industry that is ever-evolving. Kincaid has worked across residential, hospitality and retail sectors, and brings a great understanding of consumer lifestyle trends to the communal and public areas of all project typologies, often to engage with the wider neighbourhood, as well as creating well detailed desirable homes, hotels and experiential retail experiences. And he...

Ed Murray is an accomplished associate and architect who has led a wide range of projects for independent owners and international brands across the entire hospitality spectrum, including luxury hotels, banqueting and conference venues, resorts & spas. The latest of which is Westin London City, which he and his team are working on renovating a history-riddled property elsewhere in London.    For this episode of DESIGN POD, sponsored by Minotti London, Murrary joins Hamish Kilburn and...

If anyone understands the evolutions in luxury design it’s interior designer Jo Littlefair who has worked on high-end luxury projects, such as The Mayfair Townhouse, Villa Copenhagen, Hilton Imperial Dubrovnik and Gleneagles. In 2019, Littlefair earned the title of Interior Designer of the Year at The Brit List Awards.   She and her team, co-led by Martin Goddard, are currently working on the Mandarin Oriental Vienna (and a few other extra-ordinary projects that not even we are allowed to...

It’s probably easier to tell you about the hotels and luxury residences that interior designer Guy Oliver has not touched in Mayfair, London. His portfolio includes, but is not limited to Claridge's, The Connought Hotel and The Princeton Club in New York – making him, arguably, the most qualified to discuss the topic of blending old with the new in hotel design. In this episode of DESIGN POD, sponsored by Minotti London, Oliver joins Hamish Kilburn and co-host Harriet Forde to discuss the...

Hen’a Yadav, Principal at Studio Carter, is an award-winning interior designer and creative director for spectacular projects across the world – from royal palaces in the Middle East, to a boutique lifestyle-driven projects in Western Europe and Southern California.   The visual storyteller who prides herself in creating unique lifestyle driven hospitality experiences joins Hamish Kilburn and co-host Harriet Forde to explore the largely unwritten world of materials in luxury and lifestyle...

In a career geared towards growth, Timothy Griffin has taken a single site hotel and crafted a globally renowned hospitality brand. Griffin, who was the Managing Director of Ennismore in the United States, recently with a handful of former colleagues set up his own hospitality brand – and hasn’t looked back since.   His team’s latest labour of love, LEVEN, is a hotel brand that has launched with a rather infectious personality. Its first hotel is located in the heart of Manchester,...

In episode 11, sponsored by Minotti London, Hamish Kilburn and co-host Harriet Forde meet Rachel Hoolahan from Orms. A pioneering example of someone who is putting forward innovative and honest initiatives that will encourage the industry – and the wider world – to work towards a circular economy, Hoolahan recently become the studio’s sustainability coordinator. She joins the podcast while the studio’s latest project to breathe new life into the former Central St Martins Building in London –...