Summertown Interiors

Ready made furniture is designed, engineered and manufactured to the highest standards by in-house or sometimes external designers from well known furniture manufacturers from all over the world. These designers get the support of a designated team to take their design from design stage to final product.

Of course there are many advantages of using in-house resources: they have available tools, such as factories and staff, to manufacture a long lasting product which will also be available in their portfolio for the future. The end product meets, and in most cases exceeds all relevant test criteria for strength, stability, environmental friendliness and ergonomics, ensuring fitness for purpose.

With ready made furniture, you will receive a warranty period of 1 or 2 years on some of the parts. However, they state very clearly, that their standard warranty on seating products is conditional upon the seating being used in a normal office environment and subjected to normal usage of, on average, 40 hours per week. But, you can always order extra spare parts to maintain the products to their best. There are some Dutch furniture manufactures which have been using the same superior products for over 30 years, with some minor spare part changes, they can even last that long!

For example Ahrend has proven this with their Mehes collection, which was used by Fosters & Partners for the HSBC Headquarters in Hong Kong in 1984 (the furniture is still been used today). In the year 2002, Fosters & Partners have again used the Ahrend Mehes collection to refurbish the HSBC Headquarters in London.
This means, if you ever plan to expand your office, you do not need to go for a totally different look as far the furniture is concern. You just need to give ONE call to Royal Ahrend and you will have your second order, matching your first order!! Isn’t that fantastic!

Custom made furniture is generally designed and manufactured by a local company in your country. This process will allow you to work closely with a designer (hand in hand) to design the ideal furniture piece that will fit the room, resulting in a custom made piece for your office/house/boat, etc.

Most probably, there will be only 1 piece manufactured and that is for you only! Unlike the ready made furniture, which you can find in every brochure/magazine and showroom, custom made is unique with your specific chosen finishing details.

Of course this will also be well designed, engineered and manufactured in a factory with experience and knowledge. However, usually only 1 year warranty is given on their products. The damage control with custom made furniture is lower than with ready made furniture. Because of the used materials!

In my years of experience within the industry I have found that a combination of using standard desking/seating/storage plus bespoke pieces at the reception areas and/or conferencing areas will result in a great office lasting many years and is a great solution!

We’ve recently moved to our new headquarters and showroom at the in the Jebel Ali Free Zone Authority, and what a ‘move’ this has been!

We are now all stationed in an office space that is among the first in the UAE interior design and fit-out world to be eligible for international LEED gold certification, based on green standards that we already offer to our clients.

This was not an easy task, I must admit, but the benefits of becoming a leader in the eco-conscious building industry has definitely been worth the effort. There were some initial challenges…

Designing in accordance with the LEED rating system was a steep learning curve for us all. The greatest challenge was to design within set LEED and budget parameters while maintaining the functionality of the interiors and without compromising on the look and feel of the office.

The second challenge was working with the interior designers and project team to execute the office interior fit out in terms of finding suppliers and sourcing materials that adhere to the strict LEED specifications. And finally there is the preparation, compilation, and submission of LEED documentation for final review by the US Green Building Council prior to award of LEED certification.

In saying all of this, our team now feels ‘at home’ in the office space and we have never looked back! We now have central building management control system, we use LEED certified furniture and products as well as materials with high recycle content. Our premises now has water efficient fixtures to reduce water consumption by more than 32%, and building lighting energy has been reduced by about 54.98%. To create a healthier working environment, ventilation has been increased, providing about 30% more fresh air than the minimum specified in the standards.

Most importantly, I feel like the office environment that we now work in is much more positive… the lighting that we use now is less harsh with an abundance of natural light and open space which I have no doubt, has increased our productivity levels.

All wood used in the project was certified by the Forest Stewardship Council, in keeping with the responsible management of the world’s forests. We have also designed the whole workplace to have easy access to public transport as well as provide bicycle storage spaces with changing room facilities for all of our members of staff. We have even introduced car pooling to our staff to help reduce pollution and the strain on the local infrastructure.

Having energy and environmentally friendly interiors is extremely important to Summertown and we hope to spread the word about the opportunities that are available in Dubai. If Summertown, as an interior design and fit out contractor, is to design and execute green interiors for others than we ourselves must ‘walk the talk’ and LEED by example.

Imagine that a dry wall partition is carefully erected from the floor slab to the ceiling. This dry wall partition has an isolated stud frame which has been filled with acoustical insulation and finished with multiple of layers of dry wall. During construction work an electrician/plumber uses a claw hammer to run a conduit/sprinkler pipe. You then notice that there are gaps and that the dry wall partition no longer fits properly so you issue an instruction to fill all the gaps with insulation.

At this stage it should be noted that insulation does provide sound absorption but does not provide a barrier to sound transmission through and around the wall. Although a ¾ inch gap along the top of a 10 foot wall represents only 1 square foot of an opening, filling it with insulation instead of sealing the gap can limit the walls overall performance by more than 10dB.

The most important aspect of facility design and construction is balance. There is no point installing a good quality door in a poor quality interior wall or vice versa as you will not achieve the required results.

It is crucial to note that in order to optimise acoustical performance, how the materials are put together is often more important than what materials are selected as when sound isolation requirements of a room increase, the effect of an acoustical weak link becomes more and more devastating as each of the components must meet the required performance or they will fail collectively.

At Summertown International we are dedicated to providing our clients with good quality materials thus reducing sound transmission and ensuring customer satisfaction.

With aesthetically pleasing designs at the forefront of everyone’s minds, it is no wonder that the health and safety of office employees is often overlooked.

Neck pain, shoulder pain, backache and headaches are common complaints amongst office staff that spend most of their working day sitting behind a desk.

These common complaints often arise due to poor quality office furniture and inadequate workplace design, which does not take into account the working practices of the company or the individuals.

Unlike the UK, the UAE does not have regulations in place protecting the health and safety of office employees. The regulations in the UK state that it is the responsibility of the employer to ensure that the working environment does not cause ill health to its employees. This is often achieved through the use of individual risk assessments of workstations i.e. identifying the potential risks of the workstation to the employee. Measures are then taken to reduce the identified risks by ensuring the workstation is conducive to the work being carried out and that the working position of the individual is not harmful to their health. The correct working position for a workstation is:

• Legs are at 90 degrees with feet flat on the floor (footrests may be used).
• The back of the chair should support the back of the individual (chairs should be adjustable – seat height and back of chair).
• Arms should be sitting horizontal to the desk (some chairs have armrests which support the arms – armrests should be adjustable).
• Eyes should be level with the top of the computer screen (monitor stands may be used).
• The keyboard and mouse should be within easy reach to avoid overstretching.

With the above in mind, Summertown Interiors are dedicated to providing their clients with office interiors that reflect their ability to understand their clients business needs whilst ensuring the health and safety of the employees by specifying good quality ergonomic furniture increasing both wellbeing and productivity.

Lately, there have been many reports on the lack of health and safety precautions taken in Dubai’s construction industry. Stories of unfit building sites, careless construction and unsafe disposal of building materials are sadly not uncommon in our burgeoning city. A few days ago we all were made well-aware of the potentially devastating affects of slipshod ways may have on our lives with the report of a crane collapsing on Sheikh Zayed Road. Luckily, a road sign broke the crane’s fall and no-one was injured, but it certainly did give us all a bloodcurdling wake up call. Sometimes, getting a city built at such a crazy pace can have its draw backs; short cuts can be taken and people’s lives can be put at serious risk.

Although for the most part we all try to do our part to ensure we create a safe environment for our employees, there are those who choose not to always implement those rules and regulations set in place. Yes, accidents do happen that are beyond our control, but measures need to be taken to limit those occurrences.

As the old adage goes: Knowledge is power, none more so than in workplace safety where risk and safety assessments are key. One easy way to help keep things in check and people safe is to establish regular “toolbox” meetings. These provide a great way to outline onsite safety procedures and can prove to be an invaluable allocation of time and energy. Implementing this approach will certainly improve day-to-day operations which can result in: Fewer injuries, reduced risk of lost time or damage to equipment or materials and an increased commitment from the building team.

Being a corporate interiors specialist, we also approach health and safety from a design aspect as well. With that in mind, all work environments designed need to take into consideration the user and their space. In space planning, interior detailing and interior specifications, we make sure that all accessibility codes and guidelines have been met. Designs that are based on public welfare, which involves, among other things, employing environmentally-friendly materials and practices where ever possible, are put into place to ensure a sustainable environment for future generations.

Even if a city is getting built at warp speed, time must be taken to ensure that everyone (by-standers included) feel safe and in fact are safe, and not just by the stroke of luck.

We’ve noticed that our employees’ extensive commuting time is becoming more and more frustrating, therefore we’ve (Summertown Interiors) recently introduced several opportunities to reduce commuting time. For example, the introduction of flexible business hours; which gives employees the possibility to start early and finish work before the traffic jam begins. Or work one day 8 hours and the next day 10 hours, which also give employees the possibility to avoid traffic jams on certain days and reach home at a decent hour. Or carpooling in a Summertown car to avoid public transport which take much longer.

Does anybody have other suggestions how to reduce commuting time? Should we only hire new employees living nearby the office? Which is a little difficult since we’re based in Jebel Ali Free Zone!! Should we oblige new employees to move nearby our office location? Should we employ staff who only have their own cars? Should we move our office? Of-course some of these ideas are out the question as they are completely impractical, however it gives a platform where we can start looking for real options to save time and have happier employees.

Well, for those of you who have been diligently reading our blogs know that Summertown Interiors is committed to being a leader in green interior design initiatives. Our new headquarters and showroom, which is up for gold LEED certification, will be a tangible sign of that commitment!

Keeping the momentum going, Summertown Interiors was recently nominated for the prestigious Environmentally Sustainable Design of the Year Award at the annual Commercial Interior Design Awards held a few weeks back on December 1st.

Sharing this nomination with two other renowned firms is a great feat as is being recognized as a leader among the region’s leading commercial interior designers, contractors, developers and construction industries. We strive to continue to move with the times, merging superior interior design with environmental consciousness! Keep reading this space and we’ll keep you posted on our progress.

“Going green” has truly emerged as a hot new trend these days. Everyone seems to be jumping on the green bandwagon, from companies adopting virtualization technology--a green computing initiative for those non-techie types (which sadly includes me!) -- to the more accessible use of compact fluorescent bulbs and recycling in our everyday lives. We all can do our little bit to help conserve energy, be more energy efficient and reduce our collective carbon footprints (another hot term being thrown around).

When it comes to die-hard corporate green consciousness, green building initiatives take the cake with its extensive energy efficient practices that are typically fully-incorporated in a corporate space. From adopting specific material selection that lends itself to a healthier outdoor/indoor environmental quality to power-saving technology, these steps are becoming all the more common internationally and more interestingly, regionally and locally.

LEED certification -- short for the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, which is an internationally accepted benchmark established by the United States Green Building Council – has finally made its way to our neck of the woods! Various UAE corporations have taken notice of this new LEED Green Building Rating System –which is divided into four categories: certified, silver, gold and platinum—and have adapted their offices to get this rather difficult certification. We are proud to say that we currently are the only interior design specialist that have recently applied for gold LEED certification for our new showroom that is set to open its doors in March 2009! This is as a testament to our on-going green values.

Although this is fast becoming a trend, this may be the first time you will hear me say I sincerely hope this trend actually sticks (unlike parachute pants and rubber platform shoes, good riddance!).

I was reading an article on the CNN website dated 15 September 2008, about the 3 biggest mistakes business travelers make. It was so nice to see that finally people are realizing something, which I’ve been noticing for some time now.

This article is talking about the ‘corporate travel managers’: which most big well known companies work with. Business travelers should not believe them. I used to be a corporate travel manager for Shell in The Hague and I can totally agree with him. There are rules to be followed in the travel world, for companies to stay profitable.

This article also informs us about business travelers who like to complain, the so-called frequent criers and that you shouldn’t believe in the frequent fly programs most airlines have.Of course it is up to you whether to believe them or not!

The biggest mistake airports DON’T DO is hot-desking for these frequent criers. We are already familiar with the lounges, the break out areas and the wireless – Internet access along with an endless list of little perks that aren’t really used by the majority of the travelers anyway.

But what about an idea that isn’t only green but also a great benefit for the actual individual? An ergonomically, environmental friendly fitted out business centre for these very tired and busy businessman and women??

Dubai is so modern and everything is so well thought out that I believe the new Dubai airport should provide this facility and become the first in the world to introduce this fantastic concept.Dubai has been the leader in many great ideas so I hope that this one will also follow in the near future!!

Check out the link: http://edition.cnn.com/2008/TRAVEL/business.travel/09/15/business.travel.mistakes/index.html