AND…. It’s Paul Schell

July 16th, 2012

What was the brief/ approach for the design of AND?

The Brief was to create an entire new identity for the property, a former nightclub space. There were some key constraints: a moderate budget and a need to address acoustic into the surrounding environment.

AND’s design was to challenge consumers’ expectations of a nightclub, blurring the lines between venue and large format, interactive art installation. The space was to engage patrons at all time with its tactility, inviting them to touch and play with the built environment. As such, almost every detail in the property is bespoke. When a limited budget is in play, ingenuity and creative use of materials is the order of the day.

Big Rig Diner

How does the design of the venues you’ve worked on represent the particular brand and appeal to a particular audience?

Complete authorship and a high level of consistency [are important] – from design, product offering, name, identity and marketing.

Each project needs to be relevant to the time and place that we are in, especially economically. For example, when I did De Nom in Sydney (in 18th Century French Salon style), it was pre-GFC, it was ok in people’s eyes to be ostentatious with a fit-out so over-the-top and opulent. At the moment, such design could be considered in poor taste.

De Nom

Ruby Rabbit

What makes a successful bar/club/restaurant interior?

An entertainment property must do just that… Entertain. People get enough of real life at home or in their day-to-day lives. A good bar, restaurant or club, must have a sense of wonder and a spirit of adventure to deliver people more than real life.

How does your background/experience give you an edge when working on new venues such as AND?

I never approach an entertainment space as a designer first and consumer second; it’s always visa versa. If I work on a concept and then go ” I would love to see that” then we go for it, designing backwards from there. My job is to imagine first and then worry about how the hell we make it happen.

Big Rig Diner

Paul Schell

schellconceptworks.com

AND

andwhatever.com

INDESIGN is on instagram

Follow @indesignlive

The uncharted plate: Ivan Brehm’s pursuit of crossroads cooking with Gaggenau and human connection.

In this candid interview, the culinary mastermind behind Singapore’s Nouri and Appetite talks about food as an act of human connection that transcends borders and accolades, the crucial role of technology in preserving its unifying power, and finding a kindred spirit in Gaggenau’s reverence for tradition and relentless pursuit of innovation.

Cooking from the heart, designing with precision: Chef James Won and Gaggenau’s culinary partnership

To honour Chef James Won’s appointment as Gaggenau’s first Malaysian Culinary Partner, we asked the gastronomic luminaire about parallels between Gaggenau’s ethos and his own practice, his multidimensional vision of Modern Malaysian – and how his early experiences of KFC’s accessible, bold flavours influenced his concept of fine dining.

An untethered design for a fluid workplace: Joel Sampson discusses the Bay Work Pod

How can design empower the individual in a workplace transforming from a place to an activity? Here, Design Director Joel Sampson reveals how prioritising human needs – including agency, privacy, pause and connection – and leveraging responsive spatial solutions like the Herman Miller Bay Work Pod is key to crafting engaging and radically inclusive hybrid environments.