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Collective thinking
President-elect of the International Federation of Interior Architects and Designers (IFI) and critically-acclaimed designer, Shashi Caan talks to Selina Denman about good design, and the untapped potential of the Middle East.
Shashi Caan is a woman dedicated to design. Having worked at some of New York's most prominent design firms, before setting up the Shashi Caan Collective, her own, uniquely-structured architectural and design practice, she takes the discipline of design - stress discipline, not profession - very seriously indeed.
A recent four-year tenure as the chair of interior design at Parsons, the New School for Design, and her current role as president-elect of the IFI is ample evidence of her passion for the practice.
But throw three textiles collections, office furniture and carpet lines, and then her research, written, teaching and lecturing work into the frame and it becomes clear that she is intent on guiding the evolution of the industry.
Commercial Interior Design spoke exclusively to Caan about her work and experiences and, in light of the upcoming IFI General Assembly and Congress being held in the region, her slant on the Middle East.
How did you end up in the industry?
My entry into the design industry was something of an accident. Art and design were not a consideration for me until I turned 15 and decided that I much preferred creativity and the intuitive arts than areas concerned with a linear logic. It was then that I decided to explore the possibility of going to art school.
At that time, I couldn't even draw matchstick figures and consequently spent every spare minute of my final year at secondary school studying art and learning to draw. A year later I was accepted into the Edinburgh College of Art for my BFA, which was both a shock and a thrill.
Even then, I fully expected to study painting and drawing but, in my second year of Art College, I discovered the applied arts, which challenged and provided greater meaning to me than the fine arts. I studied printed and woven textiles, along with furniture and spatial design.
I became increasingly intrigued and concerned with the human habitable environment, which led to me studying further for a MS in Industrial Design and then a second MS in Architecture. However, designing interiors continues to be my passion today.
What do you love most about design?
I love that design could be an object or void space, as well as a process and a potential strategic outcome. I am inspired by the possibility of making an improved difference in our lives and for our wellbeing.
I love interiors most of all because when considered substantively and appropriately, with a greater focus than simply on trend and style, interiors can freshen, enliven and enhance our behaviour and activities.
These days, I am involved with helping to determine the core essence of design. I would like to see interior designers garner an equal respect and stature to the engineer, the architect and the doctor.
After a great deal of research, I now believe that interior design is to the built world as psychology is to the world of science.
While architecture and interiors have a symbiotic relationship, I believe that they are distinct and individual professions - just as a medical doctor (dealing with our physical health) is distinct from a psychologist (dealing with the emotional, perceptive and behavioural health).
To this end, we have a lot of know-ledge to identify and education to build. The process and representation of interior design also needs to be redefined.
You recently worked on a new building for the Edinburgh College of Art (ECA). Did the fact that you are an alumni of the university impact the design?
Designing a very public and significant space for the ECA was an extraordinary experience. I was thrilled with the opportunity to help spatially articulate the future vision and the deep creative and intellectual heritage and legacy of my Alma Mater.
This was certainly an emotionally-charged project in as far as it challenged me to become very conscious of the adult and creative talent that I have become. I was humbled by the respect and responsibility that was given to me and our office by the ECA.
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