60 | CRAWFORD
Swarovskij. Through her company, Studio Ilse, she has also designed a spa in England. Ilse Crawford has written books in which she takes up her thesis on incorporating human elements in design. One basic furnishing tip she often gives is to mix handmade and mass-produced so as to form a link between our different values. She speaks of togetherness and the unexpected consequences of change. “I once had an employer who thought that everybody should have a piece of stunning furniture in their office to inspire them. Having something inspiring and human around us rather than mass-produced is important I think, a space in which to retreat. Not everybody needs to be an eye-catcher; most people congregate in small groups in the corners not in the middle. One needs to be for oneself at times, that’s natural. And the rocking chair you are sitting in is a beautiful piece of furniture and makes you feel better.” So when you see meeting rooms that all look the same it spurs you on? “Great challenge, isn’t it? These rooms seem to have the task of spreading unease. As everybody’s so nervous these days, these rooms should really have the task of balancing as much as possible. They should be able to bring out the best in people and bring them together, not separate them. We have really thought out how this should be done. It’s about bringing people together so they can’t just sit on their chairs. I think it’s fascinating.” But what do the rooms that Ilse Crawford design really look like? “I’m not sure how they will look because we’re still working on it. But I know what they’ll feel like. I hope that they make people feel as relaxed and secure as possible. I want to remove hierarchies. For me meetings are about sharing ideas, removing MEETINGS INTERNATIONAL No 2 2009
the hierarchies that normally exist at a workplace.” “A meeting is where people gather. Take for example Beddington House, a hotel I worked on in 1998. I discussed it with the owners at length but the didn’t accept my ideas. He wanted a large table, that kind of thing. They may have used it, but I put the table in the library where I thought it belonged. And the room where it stood before was transformed into something gentler and more pleasant,” she says and underlines that not everybody sees the financial aspect of having an inspiring meeting room. “It was a hell of a job convincing my clients, but as their room had stood empty for three months they were prepared to try it.” Ilse Crawford does not think that safeguarding the human aspects of design makes her unique in any way. She agrees that her stance is unusual, but it is becoming more and more contemporary. “It feels like people have been forgotten in the design debate, but I think that will change rapidly. In the beginning we were struck with wonder over the power of design, but as we’ve got used to it we’ve realised that design is a tool and it depends on who is holding it.” Ilse Crawford thinks it is important to have some sort of contact with nature because we sit in a room for such a long time. Being in an enclosed room for a long time can be quite devastating and bring on numbness after a while. “It’s interesting that people always prefer to sit by a window. It’s a natural human reaction. Light needs to be human and not overwhelming. We nearly always use too much light, which is not natural for a place where you spend most of the day. We treat it like the TV series The Office, a place to feel aversion for. A place