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Interview with Quark Studio Architects |
Home > Designer Interviews > Quark Studio Architects |
Editor Frank Scott (FS) from DesignPRWire has interviewed designer Quark Studio Architects (QSA) for A’ Design Award and Competition. You can access the full profile of Quark Studio Architects by clicking here.
FS: Could you please tell us more about your art and design background? What made you become an artist/designer? Have you always wanted to be a designer?
QSA: That's kind of a natural process, yes always wanted to be a designer. Being excited while looking at challenges and, asking ourself "why not?" and enjoying the process is what defines us as designers.
FS: Can you tell us more about your company / design studio?
QSA: A young architectural company founded by 3 architects of totally different cultures. United by the common desire to design and flavored by the different approaches originating from different cultures is our strong point.
FS: What is "design" for you?
QSA: It is a planning which is sustainable, carefully thought, and beautifully executed. The design is a response to a challenge and each designer is tasked with bringing a solution to many challenges we face anytime.
FS: What kinds of works do you like designing most?
QSA: At Quark, we’ve worked on numerous projects within a broad range of industries. Our expertise allows us to quickly understand the requirements of your product and help you save resources. While our experience is extensive, we work particularly well with residential, hospitality, and commercial buildings.
FS: What is your most favorite design, could you please tell more about it?
QSA: A villa in Sardinia, because simple is beautiful. Our approach is to find elegance in simplicity. We think that simple is refined.
FS: What was the first thing you designed for a company?
QSA: It was a residential, summer house. A villa.
FS: What is your favorite material / platform / technology?
QSA: Hand sketching on iPad. As an architect, we all know that the design is a process, where one has always a lot of comments, better ideas, and revisions to implement. Being able to quickly sketch and send them to relevant departments is making our lives easier.
FS: When do you feel the most creative?
QSA: At nights, that's mostly because the chaotic nature of the daily life ceases and a more calm environment starts to flourish after a certain hour. Focusing is a must to do good design, and fewer interruptions help it a lot.
FS: Which aspects of a design do you focus more during designing?
QSA: We always think that if a design is needed, there is a challenge to be faced. So we first focus on the challenge. And to see how we can solve it in the best way.
FS: What kind of emotions do you feel when you design?
QSA: Excitement, contentment, and self-realization are the ongoing feelings we often experience in the process.
FS: What kind of emotions do you feel when your designs are realized?
QSA: Fulfillment and self-realization are the most obvious feelings. There is nothing more that can satisfy an architect from contemplating his design executed and to have positive feedback afterward.
FS: What makes a design successful?
QSA: Happy people. If the design is responding to all the challenges initially present that is a very good outcome. Plus if you have happy people using it that's the ultimate.
FS: When judging a design as good or bad, which aspects do you consider first?
QSA: Sustainability, in-depth thought, aesthetics. For sure, a design should respond to its initial challenge. Otherwise, it's not a good design.
FS: From your point of view, what are the responsibilities of a designer for society and environment?
QSA: Designers are pioneers, they should dictate for the best of the society and environment the standards of sustainability.
FS: How do you think the "design field" is evolving? What is the future of design?
QSA: Its sustainability and BIM. Sustainability seems to be a future saver by itself. On the other hand, BIM is a great way to handle projects above a certain size to be able to minimize errors, therefore, raising the efficiency.
FS: When was your last exhibition and where was it? And when do you want to hold your next exhibition?
QSA: None. We have never held any exhibition.
FS: Where does the design inspiration for your works come from? How do you feed your creativity? What are your sources of inspirations?
QSA: Observation and intense travels. We believe that most of the answers we seek are already implemented in nature. So we just have to observe carefully and notice them.
FS: How would you describe your design style? What made you explore more this style and what are the main characteristics of your style? What's your approach to design?
QSA: We do not follow a particular style. We try to focus more on the unique aspects, the needs of the client, and the environment, and therefore our designs are shaped around this criterias rather than following some strict styles.
FS: Where do you live? Do you feel the cultural heritage of your country affects your designs? What are the pros and cons during designing as a result of living in your country?
QSA: Istanbul, yes we do feel it. Istanbul is an interesting joint where eastern meets western, culture-wise. So it's like "a bit from everything" place. Of course, that is reflecting as well on the design tradition.
FS: How do you work with companies?
QSA: Agreement based. They mostly find us from the recommendations of previous clients or simply from the internet.
FS: What are your suggestions to companies for working with a designer? How can companies select a good designer?
QSA: Checking portfolios and focusing on details rather than the big image. Needless to say, when judging a design it's necessary to understand which challenges are faced and how effective is the designer's response.
FS: Can you talk a little about your design process?
QSA: It's a chaotic process that starts with brainstorming to see the whole image at first and then zoomin in and in while always keeping in mind core values such as efficiency, sustainability, and challenge-response.
FS: What are 5 of your favorite design items at home?
QSA: iPad, Apple Pencil. Being able to digitally sketch with such ease has its noticeable effects on the well-being of the final product.
FS: Can you describe a day in your life?
QSA: Wake up, answer emails, go to the office, regulate, regulate, regulate, and then regulate more.
FS: Could you please share some pearls of wisdom for young designers? What are your suggestions to young, up and coming designers?
QSA: Prepare for teamwork, design is a teamwork, organisation is the key. And the key of an organization lies within its efficiency. So being open-minded about new technologies is a very important matter.
FS: From your perspective, what would you say are some positives and negatives of being a designer?
QSA: Starting from 0 for every project is a negative point, But its also a positive point becuase every time is a different journey, so its fun. In other words, designing can hardly be described as a commercial activity since you can not mass produce it and its hard to scale. It's more like a craft.
FS: What is your "golden rule" in design?
QSA: The organization in the data flow. It is so easy to be lost among all that data that flows back and forth. So a good organizational structure is the key to efficiency. Which, at the end of the day clears up more time for the design itself.
FS: What skills are most important for a designer?
QSA: The organization, communication, attention. And never forget that the design has lot of aspects and it can be hardly described as a one-person work. So cooperation and teamwork are musts as well.
FS: Which tools do you use during design? What is inside your toolbox? Such as software, application, hardware, books, sources of inspiration etc.?
QSA: iPad, Apple Pencil, BIM, 3D for Max modeling. Those are for creating the designs. Inspiration mostly comes from nature and the environment the design is situated in.
FS: Designing can sometimes be a really time consuming task, how do you manage your time?
QSA: By co-designing and by using task management software as much as we can. We try to implement the core structures of teamwork in every aspect of our workflow.
FS: How long does it take to design an object from beginning to end?
QSA: It depends on the project. Sometimes weeks, sometimes months or even years. Here, the client's needs and how clearly they are expressed play a major role as well.
FS: What is the most frequently asked question to you, as a designer?
QSA: "Are you a designer or an interior designer"
FS: What was your most important job experience?
QSA: LUX Resorts and Residences interior design work. It's a multi-functional project which hosts a hotel, 72 villas, restaurants, SPA Centers on a plot which is almost 85.000 sqm.
FS: Who are some of your clients?
QSA: LUX resorts, MYC Partners, Dijlah Village, Deva Maria Hospital.
FS: What type of design work do you enjoy the most and why?
QSA: Hospitals. Because healthcare architecture is a very specific nice in the design industry and it has lots of specialized knowledge implemented in. The design process of a healthcare facility involves a lot of learning as well and we like it.
FS: What are your future plans? What is next for you?
QSA: Using more technology to manage all the gathered data. And after being able to manage those, we will be trying to make use of this data ina more meaningful way.
FS: Do you work as a team, or do you develop your designs yourself?
QSA: We work as a team we believe in co-design. Teamwork is a must in every project.
FS: Do you have any works-in-progress being designed that you would like to talk about?
QSA: We have a number of ongoing projects which are confidential for marketing purposes, those include a hospital, some residential buildings, and a boutique hotel.
FS: How can people contact you?
QSA: Through company email or phone numbers. We are always available for those who would like to drop by and discuss about their projects while having a cup of coffee.
FS: Any other things you would like to cover that have not been covered in these questions?
QSA: None.
FS: Thank you for providing us with this opportunity to interview you.
A’ Design Award and Competitions grants rights to press members and bloggers to use parts of this interview. This interview is provided as it is; DesignPRWire and A' Design Award and Competitions cannot be held responsible for the answers given by participating designers.
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