Design Date with Jane Lawrence

Jane Lawrence is interior design director at Conran & Partners, a post she has held since 1996. She is currently overseeing design for a 48-bedroom boutique hotel in Viennaʼs first district.

She is a panellist at the professional practice seminar, ʻHospitality Design in Emerging Markets: Focus on Asiaʼ held on Monday 12 March at 11.30 am.

What made you choose a career in interior design?
I had always intended to do fine art and this still has a significant impact on my interior design work from both a conceptual perspective and from the physical communication of an idea through drawing etc.

Career highlight?
In project terms probably working with the same client on the Das Triest Hotel, followed by Café Drechsler and the new hotel we are doing in Vienna’s first district. This highlights the mutual respect for the client-designer relationship.

Design watchword of the moment?
Craft: I can see a return to respecting the beauty of crafted objects and interiors (etching, embossing, marquetry etc), something I find very encouraging.

How do you draw inspiration for a project?
All manner of ways, but I do believe that there should be a central thrust to the design, whether it’s context or narrative driven. A concept that is always referred back to, that drives the design.

In terms of hospitality design, what are your ultimate creature comforts?
Space, defiantly. Space for me is one of the definitions of luxury. Space with very little in it. Space to clear one’s mind.

Conversations in Design Ticket Information:
Booking Hotline 020 7352 1900 www.dcch.co.uk Professional Practice Seminar: £15

www.conrandpartners.com