Form and function

PriestmanGoode’s ascension into the cruise business isn’t the most conventional. “A cruise executive was enjoying travelling in one of our first-class seats on an aeroplane and thought, ‘I wonder if the people who made this space could do a cabin on a ship?’” explains Paul Priestman, designer and co-founding director of the UK and China-based company. “He sought us out and got in touch.”

Just like a ship, the airline business is all about making the maximum use of small spaces and this is where PriestmanGoode has honed its trade – developing skills that lend themselves perfectly to the intricacies of cruise design.

“Sustainable luxury on mass transportation products can be a challenge,” admits Priestman. “But luxury doesn’t have to be soft and fluffy products with a short shelf-life; for me it means a design that exceeds passengers’ expectations. If someone has paid £10,000 for a first-class cabin on an aeroplane and they see a scratch, expect them to complain. Just like a cruise ship, the interior has to look and perform beautifully every single day. Luxury means an intuitive design that considers everything from the look and feel of the cabin to the way a light switch feels to the touch. Our background as a company is in product design, so we keep the user at the heart of everything we do.”

In his own words, Priestman describes his company as being about so much more than interior design. “We’re experts in crafting beautiful mass transportation interiors where space is precious, within the budgetary boundaries and for the audience profile that our clients stipulate. Our experience working across different sectors also enables us to bring innovative design solutions that are more profitable for our clients.”

“We’re not interior decorators; we make things better,” he explains. “I couldn’t design a room that has a bedside lamp that looks nice but where you have to turn on the main room lights to read. I don’t like superfluous stuff, things that make you wonder ‘why’s that there?’ Every item should serve a purpose, especially onboard a plane or a ship where space is at a premium. This doesn’t mean the design has to be austere and minimalist. Luxury and quality are inextricably bound together through practicality, and the transportation industries understand that through need. Importantly, our designs are made to be efficient to run and maintain. For example, on one project we measured the time it took to clean a round mirror vs a rectangular mirror. The round mirror was a few seconds quicker, as there are no corners. While a few seconds may not sound like much, when you consider the hundreds of rooms on a cruise ship, any savings in maintenance that you can make are hugely valuable.”

The breadth of projects that Priestman and his team have worked on means they are equally happy working on high end luxury suites as at the budget end of the spectrum. “For Motel 6 we delivered a great design solution that enabled a build cost of just US$8,000 per room, for the whole room, including the TV and soft furnishings.”

Really, he says, it’s about delivering the best that is possible within the budget that’s available, reflective of the price that you’re charging for the space. “A first-class suite can cost £2-300,000 to build and then another £50,000 for the inflight entertainment system – but the cost of that seat is covered in a month of £10,000 flights.”

Aside from delivering challenging projects on time and within budget, what Priestman finds really fulfilling about design is when, beyond problem solving and final delivery, someone goes into one of their rooms and says, ‘I like this.’ “That’s the simple desired outcome from the sum of all of our work,” he explains. “It’s hearing that first positive reaction – that joy is intensely motivating.”

And this joy is something Priestman and his team got from working with Norwegian Cruise Line a few years ago on Norwegian Epic. “We were brought in to look at the introduction of single occupancy cabins, one of the most difficult design challenges on the ship, where space becomes an even more critical commodity. Our starting point was to ask ourselves how we could create appeal for the product with an audience of single cruisers and let then let those answers influence our design choices. One of the solutions we employed was to take out the minibars and coffee machines, and install a bar at the end of the hall – this had the dual benefit of releasing a lot of space in the cabin as well as creating a meeting place for that area. Guests wander down the hall in their dressing gowns to grab a coffee and have a chat; friendships are made and people arrange to catch up later in the day. A community is born and passengers aren’t single cruisers anymore – if they don’t want to be.”

PriestmanGoode also added new corridor portholes (an industry first) that Priestman believes have helped to instil a greater sense of community onboard the cruise ship. “The portholes have another added benefit. The studio cabins, located in the middle of the ship, had the least amount of light of any cabins. The portholes, designed to mirror daylight, have significantly helped passengers feel more connected to the rest of the ship.” Since their launch in 2010, the award-winning studio cabins have revolutionised the industry for solo travellers and helped create new revenue streams for the operator.

Making the most of the available space onboard the ship is an ongoing challenge that will keep PriestmanGoode pushing the boundaries of innovation.

“Space is revenue so there is a prerequisite to make the best possible use of it, to question everything. And this approach leads to new solutions, like the virtual balconies on Quantum of the Seas. They’re a device like a mirror in a restaurant, making the room look bigger. Here again, connecting the room to the outside of the ship was a key factor. The virtual balconies are connected to cameras on the outside of the ship, mirroring the view. This essentially means that every room on the ship can now be a room with a view. That perception of space and a link to the outside positively changes your mental state,” he says.

When designing for small spaces, Priestman explains that their rule is that everything should do at least three things – “like the wardrobe doors on Norwegian Epic that enclose the sink and are also sliding doors to the bathroom.”

It is the little design finishes like this that allow Priestman to rest easy at night, knowing that they’ve achieved the optimum use of cabin space. “I honestly don’t think we could have squeezed another millimetre out of these projects. But on the next job we will find new solutions, perhaps to different problems, but definitely exceeding the goals of our brief.”

Of course, designing for the space alone isn’t the only prerequisite in a job. “There are so many factors that must work in harmony to evoke the disposition you’re trying to achieve – materials, light, colour, acoustics, space, temperature all play a role, as do the expectations we set ourselves when we enter a room,” says Priestman, adding that both the mood of the room and consideration to the type of service being provided there are equally important.

“Good hospitality design must always consider the type of service on offer. If your aircraft service dictates that a bottle of water is offered to everyone as they settle in to their seat, you have to create somewhere to put that bottle without inconveniencing the passenger or flight staff. Fifteen-years ago the Virgin Train ticket inspectors used to do their job and then disappear into their little cabin for the rest of the journey. We installed a glass door and put a computer in the office and the part-time policing job becomes a full-time customer service role at the same cost.”

While PriestmanGoode’s solo cabins could not accommodate any extravagant grand design gestures or flourishes, just imagine the impactful display that they’ll create when commissioned to deliver larger suites or public areas like a theatre, deck or atrium at sea.

“We have a lot of ideas for some of the bigger spaces or areas of the ship with currently unsolved problems,” says Priestman. “Take the challenges associated with disembarkation, for example. We want to find an elegant solution to reduce or remove queues when a ship docks at a port of call. And within that solution create another multi-functioning environment: by day a piazza with bars, cafés and boutique stalls spilling out of the ship and onto the dock, blending the ship seamlessly with the sea and destination experience to come; by night a club that plays the soundtrack of the destination recently departed. Our cover illustration plays with this concept but it’s not an insurmountable leap to reality. No one likes to queue. We’ve worked on countless aviation and transport projects, including airports and stations, so have lots of ideas for improving embarkation areas.”

Priestman is also sure that his company’s expertise plays to other passenger ship types too. “Our strengths certainly make river cruise ships and ferries an appealing market for us to look into – the design principles are the same. There are so many new solutions that we’d like to find for these ship types, to make a significant contribution to improving the passenger experience. The company is in a good place having received such good feedback for our maritime projects – we’ve enjoyed our shipping work to date. There is great scope for innovation in passenger shipping, so we’re excited to help drive the future of this industry.”

Expect their atrium centrepiece to perform at least three hitherto unknown essential functions that will improve service productivity and passenger satisfaction ratings. In the interim, operators should form an orderly queue down the not so small length of Great Portland Street to secure their services. Entertainment will be provided.