"No shoes, no makeup, no pants"
Is embracing informality the key to creating beautiful, commercially viable spaces?
If that subject line pinging merrily into your inbox didn’t grab your attention, I don’t know what will. As far as quotes go, I rather like it. And not just because I am the one who said it.
Time for a little context perhaps.
In over 20 years writing about and reporting on the wonderful world of real estate, I don’t think I have ever told anyone, firmly on the record, what I actually think of the sector. Until now.
In a rare turn of the tables, I recently found myself answering rather than asking the questions in an interview with fellow human-centred design evangelist and impact-driven developer Tom Larsson for his brilliant Grow Places podcast.
We talked about everything from how far attitudes towards well-being within the built world have come over the past two decades to why there is no shame in wanting the creation of spaces that support and nurture that well-being to be commercially viable. We discussed how the real estate sector has the power to reach people “on a visceral level” - something many of us don’t fully appreciate despite being the industry’s ultimate end-users on a near 24/7 basis. And, as the headline of this Well-Placed post suggests, we talked about shoes, makeup and pants. Or, more accurately, lack thereof.
Flippant though it may appear on first reading or listening, that “no shoes, no makeup, no pants” comment (which, I must confess was actually a joint effort of a quote) turns out to be quite pertinent. Not least because it neatly encompasses everything I believe human-centred design can be; real, natural and relaxed.
Perhaps it’s a personal preference but in all the years I have been touring buildings and public realm around the world, nothing makes me happier than seeing how good design can work on the most informal and stripped back of levels. Quite literally in the case of the building I was talking about in the clip below, the incredible Lӧyly Sauna in Helsinki which I have written about in more detail here.
If you want to hear more about some of the places and people transforming the world we live in who have inspired me over the course of my career - effectively a mission statement for what I have set out to convey and showcase through the launch of Well-Placed - please do check out the full podcast on YouTube or Spotify. In the interim, here is one final snippet to whet your appetite.
Enjoy and keep an eye out for my next post where I will bring you the story of the developer with ambitions to convert disused multi-storey car parks across the UK into a new generation of homes. The style? Post-apocalyptic nature takeover.
Has he been met with a barrage of naysayers? Of course he has. Is he going to crack on regardless? Of course he is.
Trust me, if you are not already signed up, this is one you are going to want to hit the subscribe button for (conveniently positioned directly below this very paragraph for ultimate ease) to make sure you don’t miss out. Go on, you know you want to.
Emily Wright is a real estate, architecture and design journalist freelancing for titles including The Times, Wallpaper*, The Spaces, WIRED and GQ. She is also Head of Content at CREtech.