Anouska Hempel’s drawing board
The veteran designer and luxury hotelier lets Bazaar in on the secrets to great interiors
“Refine every design. Design, refine, and repeat.”
Anouska Hempel, or Lady Weinberg, as the British aristocracy knows her, is a woman of many talents. Ranked amongst the top 100 architects in the world, a renowned interiors designer, hotelier, and actor, you could say Hempel has done it all. Even so, the 71-year-old Londonbased designer believes there are still plenty things to work on. Create a citadel, for one. “I would love to create a whole city, complete with restoration of time and ancient living. And, I would love to do a hospital.”
A force to reckon with in the design pantheon, Hempel was recently in India to participate in the India Design Forum as a speaker, alongside the biggest names in the sphere. In her career spanning over 30 years, Hempel has designed Louis Vuitton’s Paris flagship at St Germain des Pres, stores for Van Cleef and Arpels, the ‘couture’ hotel Blakes London, and the interiors of Beluga One, a traditional 85-ft, 10-berth Turkish gullet amongst others (the list truly is endless). Her philosophy, is simple. “Refine every design. Design, refine, and repeat. It’s a good thought to follow. As artists, we do wander off, but it’s essential to try. Whatever you do, do justice with it.”
It’s an ideology Hempel followed to the hilt when working on the design of Blakes London in 1978, her most ambitious project till date. An award-winning property created as a world’s first luxury boutique hotel, it is today a hub for the city’s film stars, musicians, and top designers. “It was started on a shoestring budget. We didn’t have an architectural design practice then. But there were many good ideas, since those were the great, early years. We were very lucky with the little knowledge we had, and the management.” However, there are still challenges she struggles with to date. “It’s if I have to design by committee, try to be diplomatic while striving for perfection and considering others’ opinions. You have to compromise and win eventually.”
Currently working on a project in Warapuru, Brazil, an exotic villa-hotel set in the rainforest, Hempel admits it is her most daunting work till date. “A raw, glorious rainforest, and a world heritage site with stunning architecture, it has 3,000 men on site every day. It has involved huge logistical planning and is incredibly detailed on a design level. It’s not finished yet. Does any Indian want to come to Brazil?”