Official Bespoke October / November issue
Word count: Total 1,000
Contact: mirahawa@yahoo.com
Title: Natural Distancing
Born and bred in Lebanon, Rana Nasr manages Bleu Design Consultants out of a small Beirut apartment. Her hotel credits include Six Senses hotel in St. Kitts and the refurbishment of Six Senses Zighy Bay in Oman. Right now she is heading up the design of Six Senses La Sagesse, Grenada in the Caribbean due in 2022.
Founded just over a decade ago by Rana Nasr, Bleu’s portfolio is rapidly expanding. The growing company is predominantly female design consultancy - 90% of the staff are women is a diverse team and the design consultancy a now embracing the new norms in design with fervour and passion.
Official Bespoke: Tell us about the beginnings of your Beirut based design company.
It all started with Pierre-Yves Rochon, my mentor whom I worked for in Paris and Beirut. He encouraged me to open an office to assist him locally and projects followed. Our team have proudly been in full gear and unstoppable ever since.
Official Bespoke: You developed the Six Senses hotel in St. Kitts and the refurbishment of Six Senses Zighy Bay in Oman, what was it like collaborating for a third time?
We love Six Senses and deem it rewarding third time around!
The operator’s design, food and beverage and spa specialists team flew in for Bleu office workshop in December 2018.The exchange was intensely engaging, dynamic and ideas driven, an unforgettable stimulating and challenging experience.
We worked 16 hours days; had design competition to produce the best plans. Ever since then Oman has been visited and we have enjoyed a treasured close-knit collaboration.
Official Bespoke: You are a small design company based in the Middle East - why do think that Six Senses chose for this project?
We love what we do and are firm believers in our talent. Our enthusiasm, hard work and devotion coupled with being a boutique design company no doubt played a part. Our approach is to work hand in hand with our clients; envisage the project coming alive and breathing. We do it wholeheartedly and with conviction as our clients mean the world to us.
Kamal Shehada of Range Developments an award-winning developer of ultraluxury resorts spotted us in Beirut trusted his intuition and put Bleu forward for St Kitts. An introduction to the Bangkok operator followed and then a recommendation for the Oman project.
Official Bespoke: What makes the location of Six Senses La Sagesse, Grenada stand out as a destination?
Its truly heaven on earth.
With just 100 guest rooms spread over 28 acres. On the bluff adjoining the hotel, will be a collection of the most luxurious villas to be found anywhere in the Caribbean
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Six Senses is not only a holiday destination it is a holistic approach to being. Their wellness programs; Eat with Six Senses, Sleep with Six Senses conditions us to approach life in a new way, stripped from all the materialistic objects - to shift perspective and work on ourselves while vast spaces and natural distancing creates the perfect backdrop.
The villas and cottages are laid out using the natural topography of the site to create separation and complete privacy all looking out to the blue Caribbean over lagoons and white sand beaches.
Official Bespoke: How did you come up with your overall design goal for Six Senses La Sagesse, Grenada?
Design had to be contextual. Accentuating materials, colors and the natral simplicity of the island and embracing the Six Senses DNA to deliver a complimentary caring design with our touches was core.
In food and beverage, we design by food; in the spa we invited the island serenity inside to promote purity of wellness.
Official Bespoke: Reinvention of the hotel function with respect for local culture and traditions is a signature of Six Senses La Sagesse; how did you manage to integrate this into your design?
Our team researched extensively to fully appreciate Grenada its surroundings and the fabric that constitutes the nature of the island and invited the outdoor to indoor spaces. We “lived it” and weaved in the design around the people, place cultural richness- to tell the stories of pirates, cacao, rum and apothecaries.
Official Bespoke: What type of materials did you use and why?
We strove to integrate the outdoors to indoor spaces and used locally made, raw found materials; driftwood, bamboo poles and washed wood to bring the feel close to nature and sourced rattan, jute, and seagrass from the local market. Staying clear of marble, leather, and materials not loyal to the geographical context also played an instrumental part of our design thinking.
Official Bespoke: How did you manage to respect the new norms post COVID 19?
The land is consciously underdeveloped (approximately with a 20 percent built-up ratio) so that privacy, social distancing when needed is built into the DNA of the resort.
The natural distancing, avoiding big groups runs through into the restaurants which have been oversized to allow separation. Broken up “Village” configuration of the public areas with the reception a small counter for two where the guest is greeted and whisked off the “lobby”.
Whenever possible air conditioning is avoided in public spaces so that the natural Caribbean keeps the air fresh.
Peace of mind with no communal corridors, limited usage of rugs and carpets, with priority given to local natural raw materials.
Touchless fixtures and ironmongery in communal areas with a priority on detailing and skirting adopting a virus sensitive approach.
Official Bespoke: Managing a project based so far away from home is not an easy feat at any time; how did you overcome this challenge?
This is what we do! From Seychelles to Morocco, Tanzania, London, Paris, Egypt, UAE, KSA, Oman to Istanbul.
We love the thrill and embrace the challenge each time eager to discover new worlds, embark on a new love affair to design and translate the story of the place, people and why clients should stay in that particular hotel.
Official Bespoke: What do you do when you feel the need to find inspiration?
We gather playfully and get seriously creative! Our driven and passionate team from diverse background sparks vibrant design thinking.
The entire team is exposed to different cultures and we encourage travels to exhibitions all over the world: Milan, Paris, Dubai encouraging cultural exchanges to bring back fresh perspective and inspiration.
We have created a weekly “inspirational design” game storming approach internally to share ideas and get buzzing! We always welcome international suppliers to showcase new materials and design object to stay ahead of the curve.
Official Bespoke: And, finally, you are based in Lebanon - in 2020, how do you stay motivated and resilient when faced with adversity?
Our quest is clear, it is about our team. We proudly reside in Beirut and glow to the world. We have worked passionately to establish ourselves on the international luxury scene by delivering uncompromising quality and continuously striving for more. Bleu’s approach is holistic, and our strength is our togetherness.
We stay united through thick and thin and strengthen each other when times are tough! In the aftermath of 4 February our resilience turned sheer determination to show the world that we deliver quality no matter what!
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