With a resolutely ‘internationalist’ viewpoint, Concept i Design has evolved over the past decade to offer innovative design services to the marketplaces of the Middle East, Far East and South East Asia. RLI speaks to Principal/Managing Director Geoff Morrison about the practice's portfolio and its plan for the future
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Concept i is a unique design company with offices in Bangkok and Shanghai and associated bases in London and Dubai. Established in Bangkok in 1996, the practice has evolved into a powerful design house, with an extensive pool of creativity, talent and global design insight.
Says Principal/Managing Director Geoff Morrison: “We formed 11 years ago, when the ‘Asian boom’ attracted our core directors into the marketplace. Our core backgrounds and experience rested in retail, leisure and entertainment projects, from around the world. From the very beginning we were a dynamic and energetic design studio dealing with retail, leisure and everything in between.

“We are proud of our internationalism,” he says. “It is has always been at the root of our company name (Concept International Design Ltd) and working ethos. As a result, I believe Concept i offers a very special and creative design resource for our clients.

“We strive to stay on top of global design trends and inject fresh thinking into each and every project; we believe each project, each environment and human experience that we design has it’s own distinct personality. Each project is ‘alive’ — living and breathing with human characteristics.”
The company now works across the greater Asia/Pacific Region, from the Middle East to the Far East, and throughout South East Asia. This part of the world demands specific knowledge of cultural sensitivities combined with an aggressive drive to deal with accelerated economies, lightning speed development schedules, and the non-standard requirements of new markets.

Concept i is currently active on retail and commercial projects in Jeddah, Istanbul, Dubai, Kuwait, Singapore, Taipei, Beijing and numerous other cities. Three of its newest retail interior design projects are currently under construction in Beijing, leading up to the 2008 Olympic Year. Concept i’s refurbishment of Capitol Mall, Istanbul, won the ICSC International Merit Award in 2006. Recent commissions include the refurbishment of Akmerkez, Istanbul’s renowned 180,000sq m, mixed-use fashion centre, which involves a complete re-imaging of the project, including architecture, interiors, graphics and lighting. The practise is also masterplanning mixed-use retail, office and hotel projects in Chengdu, Ankara, and Istanbul.
“We are very excited by the opening in September of Seasons Place, Beijing’s newest mall, in the western financial district. The architecture is by SOM, with Concept i carrying out the interior design and retail planning,” says Morrison.
The mall, anchored by the Ritz Carlton Hotel, is known as a high-end, first-line brand centre and Louis Vuitton has just opened a fantastic new flagship store.

Also, in Jeddah, Concept i is designing the interior retail and leisure environments for the new 100,000sq m Central Mall project, located on the city’s old airport redevelopment site. “The project is quite remarkable,” says Morrison. “We are fusing sophisticated interior spaces together with an extensive, 20,000sq m indoor family entertainment centre.”
Concept i is completing designs for the Taipei Station project, a 120,000sq m intensive retail development at the heart of Taipei’s downtown transit hub. The project is well under construction and will open next year.
So what are the company’s objectives for the next couple of years?

“Our corporate plan is to grow our ‘triangle’ of offices between Shanghai, Bangkok and Dubai to properly service the Asia Pacific marketplace,” says Morrison. “The wider region of Middle to Far East is one of the hottest growth areas of the globe; demands run high and providing innovation and exciting design solutions is essential.
“I believe there are two important aspects to staying fresh,” he says. “Firstly, we shy away from the notion of ‘house style’; there are many variables that we fuse together to define new projects and fresh directions. By blending the wealth of skills of our designers, and many creative disciplines working side-by-side, new ideas and approaches are limitless.”