Boutique Design - September 2019 - 10

THE BUZZ

When a firm calls Tel Aviv home and Amsterdam's
HQ number two, it's fair to presume major multinational cultural literacy. Life-and-business partners
Alon Baranowitz and Irene Kronenberg, cofounders
of their eponymous architecture and interior design
practice, not only travel more often than they're at
home, but they've melded the people-smarts gained
from those passport stamps with their signature
layout-focused design approach. Read on for their
best practices for crafting interiors whose functionality is as tailored to its market as its styling.
WHAT IS THE BACKBONE OF YOUR PHILOSOPHY
FOR CREATING CULTURALLY SENSITIVE SPACES?

Irene Kronenberg: Being anthropologists of sorts, we
observe, listen and absorb wherever we go. We focus
on never being judgmental or having preconceived
ideas or personal preferences for how things should be.
This mindset allows us to infuse ourselves seamlessly
in any culture and get the very essence of it, turning it
into a platform from which we develop our design.
Each of our designs is made to measure. Every
culture has its own unique spatial considerations,
effective traffic flow and physical and social needs.
But as the world becomes "smaller," different cultures
find themselves sharing the same space. It's our
job to make sure the projects we design are flexible
enough to embrace a multitude of social norms.
YOU'RE A RELATIVELY SMALL FIRM. WITHOUT NOT
HAVING AN OFFICE IN OR NEAR EVERY PROJECT,
HOW DO YOU GLEAN DETAILED INFORMATION FOR
DESIGN THAT HAS THE RIGHT FUNCTIONALITY, NOT
JUST THE RIGHT LOOK, FOR ITS MARKET? JUST THE
RIGHT LOOK, FOR ITS MARKET?

boutiquedesign.com SEPTEMBER 2019

BY ORIANA LERNER

Alon Baranowitz: Understanding the sense of
personal space is key, as it varies between cultures.
We can never assume ours to be supreme. With
each project these norms are being revisited and
evaluated subject to the target audience, and our
design follows accordingly. It is a multifaceted
realm where the well-being of the end-users should
prevail. In some places around the world designing
a sharing table for 8-12 people would be a wasted
table because people seek out a more intimate experience. In other destinations, it would be incredibly
popular. The spatial arrangement of restaurants
and public areas should allow for an all-day shifting
of seating arrangements to accommodate changes
in people's mindsets and moods. The best experience we offer is one that allows for flexibility giving
people the choice to follow their intuition.
YOUR WORK SPANS THE WORLD. HOW DOES
YOUR TEL AVIV HOME BASE AFFECT YOUR
OUTLOOK?

Baranowitz: Who we are and the place we come
from is the undercurrent that defines the way we
interpret the essence of place and celebrate it. We
come from a place where necessity is the mother
of invention, where people are direct, daring and
seize the day every day. We were brought up to
question everything, to take nothing for granted
and allow ourselves to imagine without the weight
of tradition.
Hospitality is currently booming in Tel Aviv.
Both the high rollers and the upcoming young
entrepreneurs are finally realizing that in order to
thrive as much as our high tech, biotech or culinary industries are doing, they need to walk off the

RENDERING OF W IBIZA, SET TO
OPEN THIS MONTH.

IRENE KRONENBERG AND
ALON BARANOWITZ
BARANOWITZ + KRONENBERG

beaten path. International brands are hitting Tel
Aviv as a prelude to what will be the golden age of
hospitality here.
SINCE THE CONVERSATION IS SO MUCH ABOUT
SPACE, HOW DO YOU GIVE EACH OTHER SPACE
AS COFOUNDERS AND A COUPLE?

Kronenberg: Alon runs the creative side of our office,
initiating design strategies, spatial concepts and then
breathes life and meaning into it all. He is a great fan
of building details, construction methods and materials and constantly looking for the new and the next.
Baranowitz: Irene graduated as an interior
designer and has a bird's eye view, constantly
zooming out and able to foresee the unforeseen
and send the office in the right direction. She is
a natural psychologist with a unique sensibility
for understanding human situations, a virtue
when designing for people. She elevates anything
sensory: colors, textures and materials.
We always say that 1+1 should = 11 which has
great value and symbolizes a true synergistic mode
of operation. We're living the cliché, "find your
passion, make it your profession and you'll never
work a day in your life!" £

COURTESY OF BAR ANOWITZ + KRONENBERG ( W IBIZ A); SHARON DERHY (BAR ANOWITZ + KRONENBERG)

GLOBAL PRACTICE,
LOCAL UNDERSTANDING

http://www.boutiquedesign.com

Boutique Design - September 2019

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Boutique Design - September 2019