As part of our Dezeen Jobs: How We Recruit series, Anna Liu, director at Tonkin Liu in London, explains what the practice looks for when it hires new staff and the impact of technology on its recruitment process.

Anna Marks: Please can you talk me through Tonkin Liu’s work and current projects?

Anna Liu: At Tonkin Liu we deliver buildings, artwork, landscapes, bridges and sometimes master plans, so we’re quite versatile and diverse. The current big project for the studio is delivering a pair of buildings for York Minster Cathedral, which is the Centre of Excellence for Heritage Craft.

Here we’re developing two workshop buildings that include an apprentice workshop and accommodation; a community of rooms around a courtyard. As a member of the public, you can look into the workshop and see the masons working. And that’s one of the client’s intentions – to express and inspire interest in what the masons are doing and attract future generations of craftspeople to join the workforce.

We’re also working on a project that encompasses a landscape and buildings on the Thames Riverfront and an artwork project in Toronto. We’re very fortunate that we generally have landscape, building and artwork projects in parallel at the same time. The studio has a really nice variety and considers architecture as holistic entities of buildings, nature, and identity.

Anna Marks: In comparison to 10 years ago, are there any skill sets that you don’t need candidates to have in light of technological advancements?

Anna Liu: Definitely not. Architects always need more skills, not less because it’s such a broad career and it’s what makes it really exciting – you not only have to be an artist, you also have to be very technically minded. You have to be quite practical, always be thinking three-dimensionally and be a good communicator.

We need someone who understands what good design is. You can see it from the quality of their work and the way they think about a project – it has a certain level of development and refinement. It’s not just about nice, beautiful images, there is a kind of rigour in the way they think, develop and look at a project.

Anna Marks: What impact has AI and technology had on your recruitment process, if any?

Anna Liu: AI should be neither feared nor put on a pedestal as a magic tool. We have found that if introduced too early in the process, it clouds our judgement and design instincts – instincts that could have drawn on a lateral, sub-conscious connection, or an experience from a precedent-building visit.

At a later stage, where the process is iterative, AI introduces a level of speed and efficiency, but will still look to us to choose “which one?” We are not a young practice, but we do embrace digital tools such as Rhino and Grasshopper alongside working with our hands.

I think the future is an ideal marriage of AI and ‘the hands’, because hands are very intuitive and they lead you to much more interesting answers than if you were to solely rely on AI. Drawing on a computer or relying on the machine cuts you off from the ability to think intuitively, and to choose, from the myriad of AI options, the most holistic design solution.

Anna Marks: Looking into the future, where do you see architecture recruitment heading?

Anna Liu: I feel like it’s going to become a more personal approach. We’re probably going to come across some tough times, a convergence of environmental, planning and rising labour and material cost issues. Things are going to be quite tough for clients and for architects. To build something of integrity and quality, a project will need to recruit architects who are committed, resilient, and perseverant.

Anna Marks: Do you have any positions that you wish your practice had?

Anna Liu: The first thing that comes to mind is an inventor. In the last economic downturn, we did a lot of research and invented things that came out of trial and error, and that was good in that it was made possible through quiet times. Rather than waiting for projects to turn up, we should be observing and recognising gaps in the needs of our world and creating projects that don’t yet exist.

Anna Marks: What advice would you give someone who wants to join your practice?

Anna Liu: We would prefer that people do not work beyond 9 to 6pm, but we would love for them to be an “archivore” which is a term I invented to describe people who “eat” see, live, experience and dream about architecture in the broadest sense of the architecture. Most people’s definition of architecture is far too narrow. All you have to do is go for a walk and there are lessons of architecture to be had – spotting geometry in a leaf, congregation patterns on the street corner, rust patterns on the wall…it’s not about efficiency or capability and software skills, it is about how much they see architecture as part of life.

Anna Marks: Why do you recruit through Dezeen Jobs?

Anna Liu: It is definitely more targeted. In our ads, we try to describe the project so that candidates know exactly what they’ll be working on. As a multi-disciplinary practice, we may be more likely to find candidates who think in a multi-disciplinary way through Dezeen.

Dezeen Jobs: How We Recruit series

This article is part of Dezeen Jobs: How We Recruit, a series of interviews to mark Dezeen Jobs turning 15, which explores changing hiring practices and future recruitment needs for companies around the world.

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A few years ago we wrote about Ascento, a robotics company that developed this self-balancing two-wheeler:

We opined that the technology might be useful for powered wheelchairs. While that application wasn’t pursued, the company has evolved their product into the Ascento all-terrain patrol robot.

Watching their latest demo video, I was struck by how…endearingly cute the thing is:

So why am I getting suckered into finding a collection of metal parts with no soul nor morals cute? I’ve narrowed it down to a few of the design elements. First off the designers have borrowed a trick from animators, and given it big, expressive (albeit minimalist) eyes. They make the thing blink, twice in a row, giving the impression of a slightly dim person.

Secondly the overall form factor. With its short stature and awkward wheeled legs, the Ascento ‘bot looks harmless. The hunched-forward posture recalls a gentle elderly person.

And the form factor of course determines its movement style. When it falls over and struggles back to its feet, there’s an endearing feebleness to the act.

Thirdly, the programming. They ostensibly dump a bucket of water on the thing to demonstrate it’s waterproof, but that’s not the real purpose of this scene. Look at the innocent-puppy-like body language the ‘bot demonstrates during the act (watch the eyes, too) and the way it shakes off afterwards.

What the designers/programmers have done there is impressive. They’ve captured a canine cuteness that the Spot robot, which is actually shaped like a dog, does not possess. (That the Spot ‘bot lacks eyes doesn’t help.)

Fourthly, the form of mobility. Because the Ascento is wheeled and must balance, its movements aren’t precise, but are by necessity wobbly and janky. (And again, look at what they do with the eyes.)

This makes it look unthreatening. Picture RoboCop stopping on a dime, versus the Ascento ‘bot making a sudden stop.

Humanoid robots may or may not wind up being more useful, but they’re always going to creep people out. Robot designers seeking to produce robots that people are okay having around their kids should note what Ascento’s doing.

The Entrepreneur in Residence and retail maven shares some backstory on the Africa Fashion exhibition shop

On view since June and closing at the end of this week, Africa Fashion has been featured at the Brooklyn Museum and celebrates more than 70 years of global influence through a display of over 180 pieces. Originated by the V&A, this has been the first North American presentation of the show and is the global debut of ALÁRA, a Lagos-based concept shop offering fashion, design, cuisine and culture. Brooklyn Museum’s Entrepreneur in Residence, STORY Founder and CH hero Rachel Shechtman is responsible for bringing this partnership together. We caught up with her about working with ALÁRA founder Reni Folawiyo, her son Sayo and the the teams from Brooklyn Museum, V&A and ALÁRA to create an extraordinary example of museum retail.

You’ve added museum retail and experience to your repertoire somewhat recently. What aspects of it are new and different from your past experience?

While the function and role of a cultural institution and that of a retailer is quite different, I am continuously surprised by how much they are similar. From operations to opportunities to challenges, it is interesting to see similar patterns and shared experiences. I guess when I think of it, retailers and institutions share an important goal—getting attention from visitors and consumers. 

In terms of thinking of specific differences on the nuts and bolts of traditional retail vs museum retail, it shows up the most in merchandising. In addition to trend, audience and vision driving the assortment, there are additional layers to curate and create a merchandise mix in the store that simultaneously relates to the museum’s brand, to the ethos of its permanent collection and then its rotating exhibitions.   

What are the untapped opportunities you have observed of museum retail?

I have been wondering why more museums don’t collaborate with each other?! Seems like there could be some institution and exhibition specific collaborations across various museums that could be very interesting. Beyond that I feel like in general museums have the ability to pull from their broader community in terms of location—how can museum stores go beyond being a platform for the museum itself and broaden its engagement with its community through its shop? 

How did the retail experience for Africa Fashion at the Brooklyn Museum come to be?

In early 2022 I received a Linkedin note from my now friend Sayo Folawiyo introducing himself and his mother’s company ALÁRA, a Lagos based concept shop that features an impressive range of African brands alongside European luxury brands like Christian Louboutin and YSL. Sayo was interested in speaking as he wanted to explore new opportunities for his mom’s business. Very long story short, we stayed in touch and I ended up going to Lagos in October 2022 to meet Sayo and his mom, ALÁRA Founder Reni Folawiyo. I instantly felt inspired and engaged with the local creative community and when I went to ALARA for the first time I was speechless—it’s such a special place.   

By this time, I had just joined the Brooklyn Museum as Entrepreneur in Residence and knew we were bringing the V&A Africa Fashion exhibition to NYC. It seemed like the perfect fit, inviting ALÁRA to have their global debut as the exhibition shop for Africa Fashion at the Brooklyn Museum. What better way to bring authority and authenticity to an exhibition about Africa Fashion than to have a leading African Fashion Concept shop come to Brooklyn—fast forward, and it happened!

How did you approach complementing the exhibition with the store?

We worked very closely with the curatorial team, led by Sills Foundation Curator of African Art Ernestine White-Mifetu and Bard Graduate Center/Brooklyn Museum Postdoctoral Fellow, Arts of Africa Annissa Malvoisin, to ensure the direction and the assortment was a fit with their vision. We wanted to ensure we were working in lock step, so as details evolved, they would also update the retail team. When new designers like Christopher John Rogers were added to the exhibition, we were informed so we could then include them in the shop—in this specific case, we sold the same dress in the shop that was featured in the exhibition!

Since we wanted to maximize the amount of Featured Exhibition Designers in the shop itself, we shared the assortment and all details up until the final hours. Annissa collaborated on each individual piece of signage we created for the store. And, when it was all complete, we overheard many people sharing that the store felt like an extension of the show—so it was nice to see the collaboration materialize and resonate with others.

What were some highlights of the Africa Fashion retail store experience for you?

The best part of the overall experience was discovering so many new brands that Reni Folawiyo and her ALÁRA team curated—from ceramics to teas, from t-shirts to skateboards, there was an impressive mix of over 70 new brands. 

It was great to be able to see designers I met while in Lagos, like Patience Torlowei, who were both in the exhibition as well as in the shop alongside select US brands. We featured Jeff Staple’s Myles magazine whose creative director is Nigerian-born NY based photographer Ike Edeani, who I also met on that trip. And lastly, it was great to support independent brands and businesses like Res Ipsa who recently opened a store in Nolita featuring their signature collection made in Morocco.

Where do you go from here for the Brooklyn Museum?

I am excited and focused on learning and doing more beyond retail experiences; I am exploring visitor experience related opportunities around the Museum’s 200th anniversary coming up!  So stay tuned…

Interior designer Akram Fahmi has revamped the Etch restaurant in Hove, East Sussex, creating black and white interiors to reflect its minimalist menu.

Located in a space that was originally a bank, Etch was first renovated and opened as a restaurant in 2017.

It has been reimagined by Fahmi, the founder of interiors studio London Design House, with an open kitchen and subterranean speakeasy bar.

Fahmi chose the simple colour palette to echo the approach of the restaurant’s menu, where most of the dishes are comprised of just two ingredients.

Wide-plank chalk-washed timber floors and white walls contrast black banquette seating and timber framing.

“We identified, and tried to achieve, three key principles in the design; refinement, texture, and locality,” Fahmi told Dezeen.

Rough quarry tiles, matte-finished stone and sinuous stretched-fabric lighting were chosen to reflect the textures of the nearby South Downs, the coastline and the urban landscape.

“The balance in texture and tone is key to the guests’ journey through every space in the restaurant and bar,” Fahmi explained.

The renovation involved merging two ground-floor units together and uniting a single space that is flooded by natural light from five arched windows.

The studio kept three original Victorian arched windows on the corner and added two further full-height arches with modernised detailing to create a uniform facade.

This was further united by painting the whole ground-floor facade charcoal grey.

“You want to feel as though the architecture and interiors that you journey through are as curated and elegant as the food in front of you,” Fahmi said.

Internally, cast iron columns from the old bank were retained and suspended ceilings in the main spaces were stripped out to expose the original high ceilings.

Fahmi worked with the local council to find solutions for extract routes and plans that would “retain and respect the fabric of the historic building as much as possible”.

The studio used passive devices, such as tinting the glazing to reduce solar glare, to help control the internal temperature more efficiently.

New external planting troughs soften the austere facade and hard pavement. The studio chose plants, herbs and grasses that would be suitable for the local coastal environment.

London Design House also worked with local craftspeople and suppliers on the project to reflect Etch’s ethos of sourcing its produce locally and seasonally.

“I wanted the restaurant to feel like an extension of the food and service we offer, which I would describe as British contemporary, but also minimalist  – mainly using two quality ingredients,” Etch’s chef and owner Steven Edwards told Dezeen.

The monochrome palette “gives a slightly nordic minimalist feel that works completely with my food style,” he added.

“I think the relationship between the food you eat and the setting you eat it in is really important. It’s not just about the food – although it’s hard for me to say that being a chef!”

Other restaurant interiors recently featured on Dezeen include Studio Becky Carter’s “distinctly New York” interiors for Cecchi’s and Otherworlds’ transformation of a Goan villa into restaurant.

The photography is by Justin de Souza and David Charbit.

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Tech companies must move away from hype-chasing annual product releases in order to drive meaningful design innovation, writes Sarah Housley.

The economic shifts of the past 12 months have changed the context for innovation and could help both the tech and design industries move towards a less hype-fuelled, more considered process for product development.

It has been said that we are at “the end of free money”. Where venture-capital investment used to flow to tech start-ups and scale-ups, spurring innovative products to market and creating many of the platforms that now enable digital culture, this year has seen interest rate rises and bank collapses that have changed the landscape considerably. While this period of “sobering” reshapes the tech industry, it also provides the wider creative sectors with the chance to change how we approach innovation – for the better.

There is increased pressure for breakthroughs to happen more quickly, and for the next big thing to appear

Unfortunately, so far that has not been the reality. According to industry tracker Layoffs.fyi, tech companies have laid off 242,481 employees so far this year. Companies have been busy streamlining: cutting down on employee perks, cutting risky or underperforming products and limiting funding into unproven research areas. There is increased pressure for breakthroughs to happen more quickly, and for the next big thing to appear.

Against this backdrop, the tech hype-cycle is spinning ever-faster, and the big ideas offered by the tech industry have ever-shorter lives as a result.

The recent history of technology is littered with visions that are now perceived as having failed because they were hyped beyond all reason and then didn’t immediately live up to the expectations created. The biggest example is the metaverse, an idea that was blossoming across tech by 2020 but crystallised into a mainstream bet when Meta‘s name-change was announced in 2021.

In 2022, McKinsey valued the metaverse as having the potential to generate $5 trillion by the end of the decade. Global interest in the concept soared and companies across sectors announced chief metaverse officers and full metaverse teams, despite few convincing use-cases having been developed. By May 2023, following a lack of consumer adoption, business magazine Insider had declared that “the Capital-M Metaverse is dead… the latest fad to join the tech graveyard”.

With the metaverse and related Web3 ideas such as NFTs now largely in the rear-view mirror – for the moment – the same overinflated hype-cycle is being applied to AI, which is forecast by PwC to be worth up to $15.7 trillion to the global economy by 2030. What these bubbles have in common is that the technology, what it offers, and how it could be applied to products, is kept purposefully vague and broad so as to attract as much excitement and investment as possible.

Even as creatives strive to understand the capabilities of AI and how they might effectively and equitably work with the technology, the bubble is starting to wobble. Semafor’s technology editor Reed Albergotti wrote in August: “I was a little surprised last night when a venture capitalist told a room full of tech journalists that AI was already in a ‘trough of disillusionment’ and that it was hard to find promising start-ups in the space.”

Science and tech are reliant on the moonshot ambitions of billionaires and charitable foundations

All this comes at a time when calls are growing for governments to re-commence significant national support of scientific, technological and creative innovations. In the absence of the kind of broad and deep governmental support that led to many of the breakthroughs of the 20th century, science and tech are reliant on the moonshot ambitions of billionaires and charitable foundations, and this is leading to a narrower view of where progress is most important.

A steady-state model of innovation based on continuous, long-term investment would alter the dynamics of the hype-cycle considerably. Research and development teams would be less reliant on gaining the interest of venture-capital funds and more reliant on demonstrating widely-applicable, socially useful research over a longer time period.

This more considered cycle of innovation would create useful friction, allowing time to evaluate the ethical implications of a technology or product in more detail, including its environmental and social impact. Too often, this work has to be done in the aftermath of innovation – as is now happening with generative AI – as ethics-focused researchers work to catch up to implementation. It would also open up time for the design of products and services to move beyond minimum viable product, to become higher-quality experiences that meet the needs of more diverse groups of people.

For designers, slowing product release cycles would make room for meaningful advances rather than putting pressure on brands to either hype up iterative updates as revolutionary progress, or forcing teams to come up with something ostensibly new and exciting for the sake of filling a press event.

Smartphones are a prime example. According to a 2023 Deloitte study, 3 in 10 smartphones in the UK are now at least 30 months old, suggesting that the upgrade cycle is slowing, even as tech brands continue to launch new devices every year and introduce new formats, such as foldables, to maintain consumer interest. Andrew Lanxon, editor-at-large at tech website CNET, has called for brands to release new phones less often in order to lessen their environmental impact and “make phones exciting again.”

Brands have started to adjust their approach, but the economic incentive of an annual release cycle makes it difficult to break entirely. Notably, at Apple’s September launch event the iPhone 15 received a grand unveiling but the event’s other big headline was the company’s sustainability update, which included the announcement of a carbon-neutral Watch.

For much of the 21st century, tech has owned the idea of innovation in the eyes of the public

The tech industry, as epitomised for the past few decades by Silicon Valley, has built its reputation on introducing exciting new ideas that shape how we see the future and how we want to live our lives. For much of the 21st century, tech has owned the idea of innovation in the eyes of the public, and brands may see moving away from the hype-cycle completely as an existential threat.

But over-accelerated hype-cycles are creating a bubbly and unstable innovation landscape in which meaningful advances are overshadowed, sustainability is sidelined and design approaches that value long-term positive impact are swept aside. It’s time to rethink the cycle, and invest time and resources where advances really matter.

Sarah Housley is a writer, researcher, consultant and speaker specialising in the future of design and ethical innovation. She is former head of consumer tech at trend forecaster WGSN.

The photo is by Rayson Tan via Unsplash.

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