Ligne Roset hosted a midday design dialogue on June 10, 2019 at its Chicago showroom (440 N. Wells Street). Julia Monk and Tom Polucci, two HOK senior principals, newly elevated into the International Interior Design Association (IIDA) College of Fellows sat down with John Czarnecki, Deputy Director and Senior Vice President of the IIDA, to discuss current industry challenges and global design insights to a rapt audience of over 85 architects and designers. This is the 3rd annual Ligne Roset talk during the week of NeoCon, steps away from the Merchandise Mart, and each year the audience grows larger.

During the discussion, Julia Monk – FIIDA, FAIA, Director of Hospitality, HOK Hong Kong – talked about transformative design as the future. She also noted how important it is to tailor the approach cross-culturally and went into detail on the opportunities for intersectionality in design across markets – including for airports, hospitality, healthcare and the workplace – and emphasized how designers can do much more when they bring in learnings from other segments.

“In airports and transportation, it’s all about circulation, it’s all about moving people from their car all the way to their gate and then off. And then the same process in reverse once they land in the city that they’re going to. Hospitality was really looking to create a guest experience, really focusing on how to make that a special journey for them,” said Monk to the audience, “So, in taking all the basic elements of each one of these different markets and overlaying them with one on top of another, along with the trends that are being pursued in each one of those markets we’re able to find ways to create a more sophisticated design than what existed if it is kept in that narrow column of what that singular market is offering.”

When asked about driving change through design, Tom Pulucci – FIIDA, AIA, Director of Interiors, HOK New York – discussed how important conversations and involvement with leadership are to making a meaningful impact for the organization. “We need to understand at the highest level what are the goals and aspirations for the leadership team so we can work collaboratively with them,” answered Polucci.

At the end of the conversation, Monk and Polucci were asked to describe the future of design in three words. They alternated responses of: transformational, cultural, global.

Ligne Roset knows all about transformative, cultural, global design. The French furniture manufacturer and host of the talk excels in the contract market by listening closely to what the client’s goals are, what they need, who will use the furniture they create and why. Ligne Roset embodies this mindset as host of these design talks – year after year, the architect and design community comes together with the brand through inspiring, exploratory conversation on the current landscape and the future of the design industry.