5 Mins with Tina Fox
Interior Designer Tina Fox is a new addition to Scott Carver, having joined the team in February this year. Tina’s design journey started as an Architect, running her own art and design consultancy. It wasn’t until later in her career that Tina discovered her love for interior design and in particular, hospitality design, shifting her focus from Architect to Interior Designer. For Tina, hospitality design is not only challenging but also incredibly rewarding. A self-confessed ‘art and gallery junkie’, Tina is inspired by the relationship between art and hospitality design, creating spaces which are less about hanging art on walls, and more about art as inspiration to enrich a design concept. We caught up with Tina to find out why she’s not a big fan of minimalist design, what ‘good’ design means to her and why she has a passion for creating meaningful spaces.
Hi Tina, tell us a little about your background – how did you get to where you are as an Interior Designer at Scott Carver?
I was born in the UK and studied architecture in London at the Bartlett school UCL and the University of Westminster. Both schools were heavily influenced by the ideas of the 60’s Archigram Group - this is where my blending of people, art and architecture really began. I went on to qualify as an Architect and furthered my interests in art by completing a Master’s degree in ‘Art in Architecture,’ which was a course designed to explore the relationship between art and architecture. I ran my own public art and design consultancy with a friend for a couple of years in London before moving through a variety of different architecture practices, trying to find my groove, from designing shopping centres to prisons! After taking a break for a few months to travel around Australia with my husband to be, I landed a role back in London at a small practice which included interior architecture for hospitality clients including Hard Rock Cafe, and all the big casinos and bingo operators in the UK. This would turn out to be a big turning point in my career as I moved away from architecture and into interior design. It was from here that I developed a love and fascination for hospitality design.
In your opinion, how does a design differ for a hospitality space to a residential space?
I find hospitality design to be very complex, yet incredibly rewarding. We talk about architecture being machines for living in, but nowhere is this more apparent than in hospitality design, where a venue really has to run like a well-oiled machine. Getting the operational requirements right is just as important as getting the right ambience and finishes to fit the brief. I find hospitality has two sides - the private back of house areas where the hard work happens, and the front of house, which the customers experience. Every hospitality design is a balance between getting these two facets right and the balance and requirements are different for every client. Hospitality is constantly evolving, which means you really get to flex your creativity and create unique experiences.
hospitality design is all about breaking the rules and blurring the boundaries between typologies
What are the latest trends in hospitality design?
These days, hospitality design is all about breaking the rules and blurring the boundaries between typologies such as hospitality, retail, workplace and hotel. Even cinemas, conference and function venues, childcare, play areas and residential are all getting intermingled with food and beverage offers. This creates huge potential for exciting and innovative spaces and designs, and we’re finding more and more that clients are open to viewing their briefs and projects through a hospitality lens.
What are you most passionate about?
I’m most passionate about creativity and art and design. I think this is how we evolve, by being creative, by trying new things, travelling to new places and challenging the status quo.
What brand values do you admire the most at Scott Carver?
Scott Carver is an incredibly respectful place where everyone’s views are valued and taken seriously. Prima donnas with large egos need not apply! This makes it a great place to work at and flourish in, but also means that we respond with a similar respect to our clients.
What projects are you most proud of during your time at Scott Carver?
I’m super excited to be working on the new Hotel Indigo in Auckland, New Zealand. The project has a great client and operator, and an excellent location in a diverse and cultural city. Scott Carver have been appointed to develop the architecture and interiors which includes the lobbies, restaurant, bar, and 225 hotel rooms. It’s an incredibly complex project within a very small floor plate, but the Indigo brand and the developer, 94 Feet, are open to bold and creative design solutions which means the end result is going to be pretty spectacular and unique.
What does ‘good’ design mean to you?
Great question. There are so many ways that you can evaluate good design! Most importantly, does it meet the brief and is the client happy? A large part of our design process is doing the research and making sure that we’re developing the right brief in the first place. Each project is different and there can be no standard cookie cutter solutions. Good design however, also means good realisation. By that I mean design doesn’t stop at the concept stage. Making sure that you can communicate and draw your design to a builder or client is just as important. Without good detailing, technical skills and communication, a great concept can turn into a poor design in reality.
You have a passion for creating meaningful spaces - how do you create a meaningful interior?
To create a meaningful space you need to be able to consider the potential user carefully and really try to imagine yourself walking in their shoes.
What projects are you most proud of during your time at Scott Carver?
I’m super excited to be working on the new Hotel Indigo and 51 Albert in Auckland, New Zealand. The project has a great client and operator, and an excellent location in a diverse and cultural city. Scott Carver have been appointed to develop the architecture and interiors which includes the lobbies, restaurant, bar, 225 hotel rooms and 10 floors of high end apartments and penthouses. It’s an incredibly complex project within a very small floor plate, but the Indigo brand and the developer, 94 Feet, are open to bold and creative design solutions which means the end result is going to be pretty spectacular and unique.
Has learning from a mistake ever led to success?
All the time! Design is very much about learning from mistakes. As Edison once said, “Success is 10% inspiration and 90% perspiration.” Good design only comes with experience and the ability to blend creativity with technical skill. And experience is all about the good and the bad.
When it comes to design, what are you most passionate about?
I learnt very early on to question everything. Why do we do things in certain ways and what are the biases and assumptions we hold onto? I’m interested in all aspects of design and even considered studying fashion, graphics, film, art or textiles at University. In the end, the spatial dimension of architecture won me over, but all these disciplines are interconnected and have a visual and spatial language. I find it very odd whenever I encounter designers who don’t have broad interests! I think you need a variety of references and experiences to draw from when you design. I’m also not a fan of minimalism. It always seems like a lack of imagination to me. As someone once said... less is a bore!
What do you like to do in your spare time?
I moved to Australia to experience the great weather and outdoor lifestyle, so in the summer you can find me camping, bushwalking, swimming in the ocean and kayaking with the family. In the winter, I will be tucked up with a hot water bottle doing some crochet!
Tell us a little about your love for art?
I find true bliss when great art and architecture combine. Seeing amazing art at The Carriageworks, on Cockatoo Island or at the White Rabbit gallery is always an uplifting and inspiring experience. Colours, textures, forms, spaces and ideas are in endless conversation with each other and the viewer, creating a much richer experience than a ‘white cube’ gallery. I’m a bit of an art and gallery junkie and try to visit as many places as often as possible.
How can art change a space?
For me, art in hospitality design is more about using art as inspiration, a source of ideas, materials, techniques and aesthetics to enrich a design concept, just like any other design influence.
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