BUILD April 2017

20 BUILD / April 2017 , Improving Your Lifestyle Aiden T is a boutique full-service interior architecture and design firmbased in Singapore. The company, a recent Innovators in Design award winner, was founded by ArjanNijen Twilhaar a Dutch born interior designer who has worked in Europe, US and all over Asia, who we profile in this special feature. With a keen interest in hotels and restaurants, Arjan started his career in the hospitality industry. After about 2 years, he joined a NASDAQ listed IT firm, based in Boston. He was sent to Hong Kong to open offices all over Asia – not only taking care of the ID, but also setting up basic sales and marketing efforts prior to the launch of each office. He moved to Singapore in 1999 and after setting up offices in South East Asia, he started his own firm in 2001. Arjan’s ambition was to integrate branding and ID as a turnkey solution. His focus was mainly on lifestyle retail, wellness and hospitality. In 2004 he won an award for most innovative retail concept. In 2006 Arjan started to focus on residential projects, which now take up the bulk of his work. With a compact team, Aiden T offers a dedicated service to each project – so owners work directly with the designer not only on the design, but on the implementation of each project as well. This synergy helps to create homes that reflect the owner’s personality and lifestyle. The services are based on three components: • Space planning and interior design; • Detailing (like technical drawings, sourcing for materials, fittings, furnishings) and; • On-site management and overseeing the contractors to ensure the design is executed per specifications. In Singapore, 80% of the homes are public housing. Aiden T takes pride in converting these government built homes into high end condominium style homes, with unique features and design elements. In addition, Arjan writes for several magazines, focusing on the impact of interior design on people’s well- being and daily living. Innovators in Design Aiden T are honoured and proud to be chosen as one of your Innovators in design. Over the years, Arjan has been trying to develop methods to integrate western style design into a tropical climate. Due to the constant high humidity, a lot of materials are not suitable for building purposes. Most design firms have a similar approach to design, as they just work with tried and tested materials – but Aiden T takes pride in exploring new construction methods and introducing new materials in our design. Aiden T were one of the first companies locally to be able to create shaker style cabinets made from solid ply and with a laminate finish. Solid plywood works best in our a tropical climate (MDF of chipboard does not work well with our the humidity – and solid wood has too much expansion and contraction during environmental changes). Aiden T adapted to using Quartz countertops when most companies still used solid surface or laminate tops as well as experimenting with new materials and features. Much of Aiden T’s design approach seems to be ahead of the curve – things that they have introduced became mainstream five years later. This goes for design styles as well as space planning. Since Aiden T consists of a compact team, they handle limited projects each year. Being recognised as an Innovator in Design helps to put them on the map as one of the leading design firms in Singapore and strengthens their position to push boundaries in design approach, material use and execution. Thoughts on interior design For Arjan, interior design needs to tell a story and evoke an emotion. When designing a residence, his aim is to create a home, not a showroom or an aspiration place. Especially in Singapore, where people work long hours in offices and their city scape is mostly densely built-up, the home needs to be a place to unwind and calm the mind. To Arjan, subtly integrating traditional elements helps to create a distinct difference between work and home. This helps to quiet the mind and feel more relaxed at home. Our lives become more-fast paced and we are losing some valuable traditions – like having family dinners or entertaining at home. When designing homes, these are the things Arjan would like to bring back – a time to switch off from technology driven lifestyle - and focus on interacting again with family and friends face to face. Most designers in Singapore focus the design on the TV – creating feature walls that incorporate the TV as the focal point of the home. Arjan would like to go against the grain and bring back the focus on the people living there. In Arjan’s home, he has a dining room so when friends come over they all gather around the dining table – with no TV in sight and no mobile phones on the table. “We can share a simple meal and just talk or play board games” he explains. For commercial projects, Arjan takes a branding approach to the design. “Especially in commercial projects, you can break away from the norm and really transport costumers to another platform” Arjan shares. That is 1703BU04