< PreviousInterior design graduate Ayah Maklad proposes a concept space for the modern nomads of the UAE – the country's community of truck driversRouted in design commercialinteriordesign.com June 2020 32Routed in design 33 June 2020 commercialinteriordesign.com Born in Syria and raised in Dubai, Ayah Maklad began supporting her family at the age of 15. Now the interior designer graduate has turned to her family for inspiration. Her latest project, ROUTED, was inspired by her uncle, Hazaa Al Shater, a truck driver in the UAE. Ayah developed the idea of ROUTED from a conversation she shared with her uncle. He told Ayah that to him, home could be several things, but spending countless nights on the roads, having to walk long miles in extreme weather just to look for a restroom was not it. In this project, she pays tribute to all the truck drivers who live their lives in exposed steel structures, like a nomadic tribe who have no place to truly call their own. The project focuses on providing truck drivers with essential physical needs. Ayah has created designs for expandable spaces that would make a living in trucks more comfortable for the drivers. Her thesis project also creates a museum-like experience that serves as a space for their self-expressing art. Ayah says: "In today's fast-paced world, we tend to drift away from social design, and instead we design the most luxurious and eye-catching interiors. "The result is spaces that are not affordable, convenient, or accessible to most people. ROUTED, a socially designed senior thesis project, exposes the truth of the undermined truck drivers’ society, people who live under their trucks, hoping to create change. Inspired by my own uncle, an external transport truck driver, ROUTED was formed. "The fi rst four months of research were challenging because little or no information was found online; this pushed me to physically go on site visits and interview my audience, the most reliable source, to come up with personal observations. "I visited two truck rest areas, solely designed for truck drivers to rest during peak hours when they have to come off the road, natural disasters, or tiredness. Ayah Maklad graduated with a degree in interior design from Dubai's American University. She's passionate about designing for unheard voices, as her thesis project ably demonstrates... Routed in design commercialinteriordesign.com June 2020 34 "I found a community of truck drivers living in surprising conditions. They slept in the back seat of their trucks, showered underneath their trucks, and cooked near their trucks. "Since space was an obvious limitation, they transformed a small box on the side of their vehicles into livable spaces. That was a factor to challenge: how to make space from space itself? "Their ability to adapt to their realities and come up with ideas was interesting, and this thesis project takes the same route, challenging the idea of space by using expandable shipping containers to create more space. "Presenting my concept, at fi rst, was diffi cult because it is distinctive and there are not any previous examples to support it. Most of the replies I received were promises that truck rest areas will be facilitated in the future. This brought another challenge, creating the structure from scratch. "To understand how shipping containers can be combined, visits to engineers and architects were needed. In a meeting with Arjun Menon, the managing director at Smart Box, I was able to present my idea and his team reviewed my preliminary drawings.It became easier to start the next phase: translating data into design. "Along with the guidance of my mentor, Kevin Mclachlan, founder of NOMADK Design, this project came to life." "After the fi nal site visit to the rest area, I realised that it is not enough to only provide these homeless drivers with basic living conditions. Many drivers had hidden Routed in design 35 June 2020 commercialinteriordesign.com RoRoRoRoRoRRoRRoooooutuuuututuututed in design talents that they could not develop due to long work hours and shortage of facilities.I translated the psychological data and found the need to create a museum along with the residential building. However, it is an unconventional museum, the museum itself is exhibited. It is designed to expose the drivers’ suppressed emotions and allow the public to share an experience of light out of darkness. "Around 90% of truck drivers speak either Arabic or Hindu, and the only common factor between both languages is diacritics. The confi guration of the four spaces in the living building is inspired by them. The fi rst diacritic “fat-ha”, meaning “open”, opens the kitchen containers to allow residents to interact while cooking/eating. The second diacritic “kas-ra”, meaning “break”, breaks the showermand laundry containers, providing private spaces. The third diacritic “dha-ma”, meaning “connect”, connects the living containers, hence, connecting residents together. The fourth diacritic “su-koon”, meaning “tranquil”, separates the bedrooms from the other containers. The exposed residential building has a void in the middle with an infl atable structure expanding from the underground museum all the way up to the residence. Inside this structure, a steel staircase allows residents to move through fl oors and enjoy the structure. "This journey has changed my design perspective. It opened my eyes to current problems, using design as a tool to spread awareness on social design. "As designers, we need to tackle complex human problems, placing social issues as the priority. "My next step, as a fresh graduate, is to create a more inclusive conception of design and make change in the undermined societies." """"""""""""""""DDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeesssssssssssssssssssssssssiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnneeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeerrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrsssssssssssssssssssssss,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, nnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnneeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddd ttttttttttttttttttttttttttoooooooooooooooooooooooooo tttttttttttttttttttttttttttaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccckkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkklllllllllllllllllllleeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee hhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuummmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaannnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnn pppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppprrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrroooooooooooooooooooooooobbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbllllllllllllllleeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeemmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmssssssssssssssssssssss""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""Special Report commercialinteriordesign.com June 2020 36 SPECIAL REPORTSpecial Report 37 June 2020 commercialinteriordesign.com A NEW VIEW What the future holds for offi ce spaces OFFICE SPACE PAGE 38 Trend focus: The changing face of offi ces PAGE 42 Swiss Bureau Interior Design's offi ces for Hira Industries PAGE 44 Inside the new regional Jotun headquarters by Styled Habitat Design PAGE 48 A look at Bluehaus Group's work on The Founding Father's Legacy Offi ce Special Report commercialinteriordesign.com June 2020 38 As offi ce spaces start to re-open with social distancing in place, experts debate what the future holds for workplace design. Nicholas Maclean, managing director CBRE MENAT global real estate company, predicts that COVID-19 will accelerate radical reimagining of the workplace and the boundaries of what an offi ce is will be pushed. So how will this translate into what we see in offi ce interiors? Cem Kapancioglu, CEO, CK Architecture Interiors, predicts an "open space playground for designers", where spaces will be smaller, technology will be prevalent, innovation will be omnipotent, and design and functionality will be decided by algorithms Eric berchtold, USM USM supplies modular furniture systems for offi ces. Eric Berchtold, sales director Middle East, Africa & India for the Swiss brand explains how the brand is adapting design to create distance in common spaces. "The process of changing spaces to meet social distancing needs to be approached with a certain level of familiarity. "With such recent disruption, elements that feel recognisable can help to settle people into a new environment, allowing for the same level of usability, just in a slightly different format. It's also worth exploring designs that are multifunctional." As well as furniture, designers need to consider the role of lighting in the socially-distanced offi ce. Jaspal Bal, Light link The lighting fi rm's founder says: "Human centric lighting, and its role in productivity, has been a hot topic over the last couple of decades. We're now taking a broader approach, looking at overall health and wellness with a focus on WELL Standard practices through energy-effi cient lighting solutions in commercial spaces. "WELL practices will become more common as employers strive to support staff from a holistic perspective, post-pandemic. "LED technology has evolved signifi cantly, and as these changes slow, it will be the lighting control area where we see the next big shift in technological development. Particularly in regards to POE (Power Over Ethernet) for connected lighting in smart buildings, which can be used to upgrade systems, save money, increase effi ciency, and drive sustainability. "Internet of Things integration will also be crucial due to the increased need for businesses to collect data related to capacity and spacing. Light fi ttings can be equipped with sensors that detect room temperature and movement (including asset tracking and footfall), meaning offi ce use can be studied and understood in more detail, and intelligent lighting functions can learn the habits of users. "Another advantage of PoE is that it gives staff direct control of the lighting from their own devices rather than using wall switches or keypads. "Clients who are looking to reopen their offi ces want to minimise touching surfaces as much as possible, meaning conventional light switches and key pads "Employers will strive to support staff from a holistic perspective" Offi ce lighting by Light Link for SnapchatSpecial Report 39 June 2020 commercialinteriordesign.com Modular furniture from USM MEET THE EXPERTS Jaspal Bal Founder of Light Link lighting suppliers Farid J. Noufaily Partner, LS Design Architecture and Interior Design Eric Berchtold Sales director for USM, Middle East, Africa & India Thomas Herd Senior RIBA architect at ANARCHITECT could be a thing of the past. We're already used to using Alexa-type virtual assistants to control home lighting without a physical switch to operate, and smart functions will soon become the new norm at work. "Previously, POE has been deemed an expensive luxury by clients, or they didn't believe it was viable. In the current climate, we expect more will be willing to invest, while at the same time, suppliers and manufacturers will look to develop more cost-effective options. "Light fi xtures are incorporating a lot more functionality, such as sensors, acoustic properties, and air handling, and the COVID-19 outbreak is likely to result in demand for light fi xtures offering air fi ltration systems using UV lighting to kill germs. There will be a spike in wellness product innovation with companies racing to solve problems and assuage people's fears. As always, the quality will vary, but initial products offering this technology look well-designed.Next >