2017 Women in BUILD Awards

Build 2017 Women in BUILD Awards 8 Currently the firm has a number of fascinating projects which is keep- ing it busy, as Hilary highlights. “At the moment, at FIG, we are working on a 32,000m2 Five Star Club Med in the Caribbean on the Dominican Republic. We are very lucky to be working for Club Med who really appreciate our creativity and strong use of colour. We are designing the entire resort which includes 350 guest rooms, with 4 different themes including private contained villas for couples. There are also seven restaurants to design, three bars, a luxury spa and a coffee shop and other retail areas. This project is due to open in December 2018. “Alongside this, we have also just completed a 25 room Boutique Hotel in Amsterdam, which we also named and branded. This project was a conversion of an old bank that had been occupied by squatters for many years. It is two old canal buildings joined together so it has a lot of history. We retained many of the old beams to conserve the character. “The theme of this hotel is the mischievous Prince Hendrick, who had a number of illegitimate children, so his love of women is a subtle theme running through - such as on each door there is a woman’s name as well as a number. Also, to honour his devoted and only legit- imate daughter, we had oil paintings that we hung above the fireplace in the lobby. The overall style is fun and quirky. The bookcase in the lobby is a real feature that displays antiques related to shipping and Dutch life, which we collected to represent items that Hendrick may have collected during his travels when he was in the German Army.” Having achieved phenomenal success in this male dominated market, Hilary is proud to share her advice to other women seeking to make a name for themselves in the interior design space. “Women need to be tough in most industries and particularly in the construction industry. Reaching the top of a design firm requires a strong sense of leadership, a collaborative approach to working in a team and a diplomatic way of dealing with clients. It can be tough to handle those who disparage you or simply wish to waste your time, but you have to develop a thick skin and simply move on in order to move yourself forward.” Overall, the future looks bright for FIG, as Hilary seeks to continue growing the firm and building upon its current achievements, whilst also seeking to connect with other women in the interior design space, as explained in her concluding comments. “Looking ahead, at FIG we will continue to focus on resort design as well as any urban hotel projects that come our way. We are currently working on some serviced apartments in London and are planning to start on more luxury apartments in London. Our team in Barcelona is focusing on picking up projects in the Mediterranean. “It is fantastic to see women in construction connecting more and more as the industry grows. I am proud to be a woman in this industry and while it can be tough to succeed, women naturally support one another. Since I won the award last year women across all areas of the industry have been reaching out to me for networking opportuni- ties and I hope this year the award and this article will inspire more business women to do the same.”