Lee Nellis is managing partner and director of XBD Architecture at award-winning design firm XBD Collective, who have a presence in both London and Dubai.
According to Lee “The architecture and design industry will always adapt and overcome short term challenges, however, the pandemic will definitely have a long-term effect in how we think, create and develop.”
He says that his team have made changes to the way in which they design social and communal spaces to consider social distancing and that there are changes for the home as well. “Many clients are seeking alternative solutions which have been influenced by the pandemic. With our in-depth knowledge and expertise in luxury private residences, we have noticed a significant increase in the need for home offices, we have many requests to design a functional and tranquil space for clients to work from home. We are also looking at provisions for multipurpose areas. For example if the client has two dining rooms, one for family and one for guests, the latter could be converted into a conference room when required. The focus on family time and outdoor spaces has become much more apparent.”
As for the future, he sees a continuing trend towards sustainability, “We endeavour to create bespoke designs; this is our specialisation and is one of the main reasons why our clients gravitate towards our designs. We have begun adding sustainable solutions to some of our projects which is the way we would hope to design more in the future. We always suggest the possibility of using sustainable solutions in our builds as we like to push the boundaries of architectural design and hope to influence others to do the same.”
