On this episode of the Lead With Purpose podcast host, Tze Ching Yeung talks to David Chenery to talk about sustainable interior design and architecture and the differences and similarities between the two.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

• We work with existing buildings. In the hospitality world, which we serve, the average space gets fitted out every 5-7 years. We need to look at that in terms of our duty as designers to avoid as much waste as possible and limit the environmental impact of that change.
• Sustainability and circularity weren’t discussed in this industry for many years because the job is hard enough with pleasing the client, meeting budgets, deadlines and building control regulations, sometimes you’re just trying to get through it. We focused and dug into sustainability about 5-6 years ago because we wanted to hold ourselves to account as well as attract clients that are interested in that agenda too. The industry has got better and there are people doing good things, but I’m also aware that we’re not really representative of the whole industry.
• The first thing we look at with a fit-out project is what will be demolished or removed and how can you keep as much as possible and make best use of the space there. Then we look at low-impact design to make the least number of design moves you can, bringing in the least amount of materials, optimising the layout for efficiency, using ethically sourced materials. We also have to design for end of life so that we minimised the waste and impact of the disassembly process.
• Does sustainable design cost more money? It depends how far back you go in the design process. 80% of environmental impact is baked in at the design stage. Rather than build a cupboard from more expensive FSC-certified plywood, could you build a set of shelves? Yes, you should, because you’ll be using 20% less material which will cost you less than a cupboard made from cheaper, uncertified plywood.

BEST MOMENTS

‘Restaurants can open and fail within 2 years, all the material, energy and effort involved in getting that open is then wasted.’

‘A lot of people think about carbon and NetZero when they think about sustainability, but in the fit-out world carbon is measurable and can be important, but it’s not holistic enough.’

‘When you throw something away there is no ‘away’, it has to go somewhere, can you donate materials to charities or break it down and process the materials in a genuine recycling way to avoid landfill?’

‘The deeper we get into it the more interested I am in the principles: What is the least we can do to be excellent?’

ABOUT THE GUEST

David Chenery is the founder of Object Space Place, a sustainable hospitality design studio, working across architecture, interior design and branding. He also co-hosts the “Hospitality and the Infinite Game” series with Michael Tingsager.

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ABOUT THE HOST

Tze Ching started her entrepreneurial journey back in 2007 with the launch of a sustainable clothing & home furnishing ecommerce business. Next, she created a sustainable fashion brand.

In 2019, she launched a social enterprise to help raise awareness about the negative impact of fashion at schools & colleges.

Through the 15-year journey, she learned so much, but easily the most meaningful lesson learned was about the importance of marketing. She now focuses on channelling those insights to help others succeed through We Disrupt Agency, a business coaching, mentoring & digital marketing company.

Tze Ching’s mission is to create a community of global change makers and to contribute to positive change in both people & planet.

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