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GROUPN publishes articles once or twice a week reviewing, postulating and forecasting trends in the world of entertainment and lifestyle design.
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5 Signs It’s Time to Hire a Commercial Architect for Your Club Renovation
Running a successful club in today’s competitive hospitality landscape takes more than good music and drinks. If your venue looks tired, lacks flow, or doesn’t attract your target audience anymore, it might be time for a professional intervention. And no, we’re not talking about another quick paint job. We’re talking about a full architectural…
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Maximise Gaming Revenue with Design
In our recent articles, we’ve discussed many of the issues facing the Club industry and what Clubs can be doing to reinvigorate their offering. In Pubs vs Clubs 1, we touched on how pokies provided a financial windfall that helped propel Clubs to significance in the 70s, 80s and 90s and the recent competition from…
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Innovative Club Design for Modern Venues
In our last article Pubs vs Clubs 2 – The fight for hospitality supremacy… we discussed what members of the Club industry thought was holding them back and what they could be doing better. One of the key issues raised was the perceived stigma of going to a Club. We discussed how there is a…
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Pubs vs. Clubs: Understanding Key Differences in Venue Design
Back in January, we wrote an article entitled Pubs vs Clubs – why Pubs are streaking ahead and what Clubs can do to close the gap…
The article was widely discussed and circulated within the industry and became the topic of many a conversation when we’ve been doing our rounds.
The article was intended to be a bit controversial and provoke a reaction from Club Management and Boards – and that it did! -
Is Your Venue Insta-Worthy?
In our article THINK_2019 we discussed the year ahead for hospitality and entertainment design. We looked at what’s in and what’s out in 2019, and how to position yourself to be relevant without being a victim of design trend-setters. In an earlier article, Pubs vs Clubs, we looked at the recent strength of the Pub and…
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Preventing Budget Blowouts: Top Costly Mistakes to Avoid
In our previous post, we looked at how cost plans should be used as a tool in the design process. We discussed how cost plans should be undertaken at pre-determined milestones and that if the project is over budget, affirmative action should be taken to bring the project back on budget by making changes to…
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Preventing Budget Blowouts: Smart Planning Strategies
In previous articles, we’ve looked at a famous example of a flawed business case and flawed briefing processes. In this article, we’re referencing an even more famous piece of Architecture – The Sydney Opera House. Today, the Sydney Opera House is considered one of the most successful examples of civic Architecture; it is known globally;…
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Functional Hospitality Design & Refurbishments
In our last post we looked at the year ahead for entertainment and lifestyle design. We led with a discussion about Instagram-ability and how it’s become a huge thing. In today’s Instagram and social media-driven world it’s easy to think that the aesthetic design decisions are the elements of a refurbishment that will have the biggest…
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THINK_2019: Innovative Design Concepts for the Hospitality Industry
As we exit the 4th week of January most people have returned to work. So we thought this was a good juncture to discuss the year ahead for entertainment and lifestyle design. Last week we touched on some of the broader challenges facing the Club industry when we discussed Pubs vs Clubs – why Pubs are…
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Pubs vs. Clubs: Design Strategies for Distinct Hospitality Experiences
Prior to 1997 Clubs had a big advantage over pubs – revenue from poker machines.
Together with entertainment on a grand scale, when Clubs hosted big bands and shows in the ’70s, ’80s and early ’90s, pokies provided a financial windfall that fuelled growth in the industry. -
Avoid Design Problems in Hospitality Projects
In our previous article, we discussed business case; the importance of projects proceeding based on numbers, not gut feel; and how to avoid ending up with a white elephant. This week we discuss the designers Return Brief; why it’s the most critical part if the design process; and why the return brief is such an…
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The Importance of Business Cases in Design
Architects and Interior Designers love designing. It’s our passion, and it’s what we’re good at. But more often than not ‘good design’ doesn’t start with design, drawings or pretty pictures! Good design is only as good as the design brief, and the design brief is only as good as the business case that has informed…
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Key Factors in Effective Hospitality Design
Recently, on a popular national radio show the comedian host shared the story of having visited a local café with his children for breakfast. Upon receiving their meals they requested tomato sauce only to be told that the café didn’t offer ‘sauces like that’. The hot topic threw open a range of discussion themes –…
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Hospitality Design on a Limited Budget
Big changes for small change… Putting in place a long term Strategic Development Plan (or Masterplan) is critical to steer any business toward ongoing success. However, grand visions can take time to execute and budgetary limitations often mean that they’re rolled out over a period of years or sometimes decades. Whilst it’s easy to get…
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Layering in Hospitality Design: Warm & Inviting
Have you recently completed renovations to your venue and have a sense it is missing something? Or perhaps have the feeling that your spaces are not as warm and inviting as they could be? Fourteen seasons of the reality television show ‘The Block’ have ticked by (where does the time go?!) and it is safe…
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Zoning in on Hospitality Design: Optimising Space for Functionality
Today, going out to socialise is about more than just the food; the drinks; the entertainment; or even the company. It’s also about the experience and how it makes people feel. Customers expect great food and drinks, but they also expect to be ‘wowed’ by an inspiring venue whilst feeling comfortable and at ease. One…
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Taking Hospitality Design on the Road: Mobile Venue Concepts
The journey to making your venue the next ‘hot-spot’ can be long and arduous. We’re often asked… “where do we start?” Our response is usually to recommend hitting the road and doing a venue tour to see what others are doing well to create a frame of reference. Venue or research tours can range in…
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Stress-Free Hospitality Projects: Expert Tips
Clarity and certainty are the keys to success for any project. When guided by these principals the results set the scene for lasting design partnerships. If your venue is currently undertaking or contemplating development or refurbishment, this may be a good junction to review your formula for building an optimum design partnership. Most hospitality venues…
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Designing for the Third Age: Retirement Living
By Marc Nicholas Our ability to live longer than in any other time in history is fuelling a re-think in the design and construction of architecture for aging. Those aged over 55, a period now known as the Third Age, have higher expectations than previous generations in terms of innovative design and features in senior…
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Vertical Villages: Sustainable Urban Hospitality Design Solutions
Connectivity and flexibility have historically had little to do with retirement living, but vertical villages are slowly changing this model. The emerging niche – medium or high rise apartment buildings specifically designed for urban retirees – is fast rising within the $28 million aged care sector, and we’re starting to see developments appear by major…
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Designing Family-Friendly Dining Experiences
Nothing brings more joy to any family than shared fun filled and exciting experiences. No matter whether it’s primarily for the benefit of the children or the family as a unit, it’s the shared lifestyle experience and joint participation that counts, that brings growth and happiness. Contemporary families have expectations of restaurants and hospitality providers…
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Catering to Baby Boomers: Insights for Hospitality Design
“What you are is where you were….when you were being value programmed” was a video that accompanied Dr. Morris Massey’s book ‘The People Puzzle’ published in 1979. It identified generations according to age and ‘Baby Boomers’ became the phrase to identify children now middle aged. The life values of this post-war group are quite specific:…
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