Material Source

For our latest seminar in London, we brought together two seemingly opposing themes. AI, and sustainability. The notion of one supporting the other perhaps seems, on the surface, unfathomable. The questionable credentials of technology in terms of energy and water usage have remained no secret. But on closer inspection there’s more to the conversation than we possibly initially believed. To truly understand the gargantuan nature of the topic that emerges when these two themes collide, our panellist Dr Phil Tetlow, a technologist and socio-technical thinker whose work spans IT architecture and data ecosystems, suggested that we must first ask ourselves: what does sustainability mean in the age of AI? While considering AI as a “second order” tool, with humans being the primary one that’s driving unsustainability. Fellow panellist, Will Arnold, Head of Sustainable Materials, Useful Simple Trust & Technical Author, UK Net Zero Carbon Buildings Standard, concurred. AI is fundamentally neutral and should be treated as a tool - useful, but not decisive. The climate crisis is driven primarily by human choices and structural incentives. The age-old saying “a worker is only as good as their tools”, sprang to mind. So if AI is simply a tool, without influence, what can we do to change and sustain our future, as the humans that are using it? Read the write-up of the key discussion points raised by our panellists, in conversation with Material Source Director, David Smalley via the 🔗 in bio - ✍️ by Material Source Editor, Laura Connelly. Audience questions are featured from: Diego Correa, Creative Director, Diego Correa Interior Design; Blair Boyle, Associate Workplace Designer, Savills; Timna Rose WELL® AP, Founder & Creative Director, Studio ATARA; Steven Gale, Portal Architects; James Coop, Make Architects; Paul Dare, Dare Design Studio. Thanks to them, and everyone who joined us. Thanks also to our supporters for this event, @aguafabrics @cupa.pizarras  - both Partners at Material Source Studio. 📸 Andrew Lunn 🎥 @valeriaschumann Rosso #AI #Event #Seminar #Insight

🚀 In Practice: With @manaloandwhite London. Wapping Wall is the home of architecture practice, Manalo & White. And it has been for some time, Brian Greathead, Founder & Director, shared. 14-years to be exact. Founded back in 1999, Manalo & White comprises a “diverse and cohesive team of designers collaborating on architecture and interiors, weaving pragmatism with playfulness to create rigorous, inclusive and joyful places.” Fostering collaboration, inclusivity, and a good-humoured collective approach over individual ambition, in addition to being purposeful and practical, all underpinned by a focus on user needs over spectacle and showmanship, Manalo & White applies this approach to a wide range of sectors. Recently taking Laura Connelly and David Smalley from the Material Source team, alongside Katie Hill and Karl Reeves from @parksidetilesuk , for a walking and talking tour of the space was Brian Greathead, Founder & Director, alongside Lauren Li Porter, Associate Director, Manalo & White, giving us the stories behind every detail that bring the workspace to life. ➡️ Read our article, and join us on the tour via the 🔗 in bio. A huge thanks to the Manalo & White team for hosting us at your HQ. And thank you to our supporters for this instalment of In Practice, PARKSIDE Architectural Tiles – Partners at Material Source Studio London, Manchester & Glasgow. 🎥 Valeria Schumann Rosso #InPractice #London #Tour #Workspace #Workplace

Material Moods: Belonging Design trio for the day, Emily, Interior designer at Kin, Bethany, Interior designer at Kin, and Eleanor, Student at MMU positioned their palette as a spatial metaphor for community itself. A neutral centre branches into three distinct zones, each with its own character, yet all bleeding seamlessly into one another - much like the individuals that make up a group. @friends_of_kin @ma_interiors_mmu 🎥 @l.marlowefilms #Belonging #InclusiveDesign #MaterialSourceStudio #ConnectingCreativeMinds

Material Moods: Belonging Conceived from Ella’s final year project of a destination for cultural music exchange amongst migrants, this palette is both conceptually and practically comforting. Even the tile profiles are deliberate: curves are selected over hard edges for softness. A palette designed to make everyone - from every background - feel at home. @we_are_74 @msoa_interiors 🎥 @l.marlowefilms #Belonging #InclusiveDesign #MaterialSourceStudio #ConnectingCreativeMinds

Material Moods: Belonging ‘Unity’ and ‘functional comfort’ are how team members Quentin and Tasnia described ‘belonging’. For them, it’s a meeting point of inclusivity, comfort, and function. @claremontgroup @salforduni @msoa_interiors 🎥 @l.marlowefilms #Belonging #InclusiveDesign #MaterialSourceStudio #ConnectingCreativeMinds

💡 Will architects & interior designers be replaced by AI? Find out what answers the panellists at our recent seminar in Manchester gave by clicking the 🔗 in bio. Featuring insight from: 💥 Jason Taylor - Senior Lecturer in Digital Education & AI Leadership, Manchester School of Architecture (MSA) 💥 Dr Phil Tetlow - Visiting Professor, Author & IT Architect, former IBM ...who shared their thoughts in conversation with Host, Material Source Studio Director, David Smalley. Shout out to our supporters for this event, @aguafabrics @autexacoustics @sixteen3_ltd – all Partners at Material Source Studio Manchester. The conversation continues… 🎥 Mateusz Trzeciak @matahayaph #AI #ArtificialIntelligence #Event #Architecture #ConnectingCreativeMinds

Material Moods: Belonging. 10 creative expressions. Take a deep dive into our group’s interpretations and resulting creative expressions at Material Source Online - 🔗 in bio. Featuring: Practices: @we_are_74 @axi_studioinsta @bdp_com @chapman_taylor_architects @claremontgroup @friends_of_kin @m1ntstudio @sheilabirdstudio @studiotaitt Universities: @ma_interiors_mmu @msoa_interiors Partners: @altro_limited @autexacoustics @crownpaintsuk @cduk_ltd @forboflooringuk @ilivstudio @muraspec @parksidetilesuk @sylanwashrooms @russwooduk 📸 @timainsworthphotography #interiordesign #moodboards #colour #inspiration #design

Through our Belonging workshop, the latest edition in the Material Moods set, we asked both design professionals and emerging next generation designers to interpret ‘belonging’, translating it through creative expression into a palette for an interior design scheme. Together, we set out to explore how physical environments can influence human emotion, and what that sentiment might look like aesthetically. Discover more via the 🔗 in bio. Featuring: Practices: @we_are_74 @axi_studioinsta @bdp_com @chapman_taylor_architects @claremontgroup @friends_of_kin @m1ntstudio @sheilabirdstudio @studiotaitt Universities: @salforduni @ma_interiors_mmu @msoa_interiors Partners: @altro_limited @autexacoustics @crownpaintsuk @cduk_ltd @forboflooringuk @ilivstudio @muraspec @parksidetilesuk @sylanwashrooms @russwooduk 🎥 @l.marlowefilms #interiordesign #moodboards #colour #inspiration #design

💡Belonging: What does it mean to you? Posing the question to a brilliant group of design professionals from @we_are_74 @axi_studioinsta @bdp_com @chapman_taylor_architects @claremontgroup @friends_of_kin @m1ntstudio @sheilabirdstudio and @studiotaitt alongside emerging, next generation designers from @manmetuni and @salforduni - together they creatively interpret and express the concept of ‘belonging’. Visit Material Source Online for more details. Practices: 74, AXI, BDP, Chapman Taylor, Claremont, KIN, M1NT Studio, Sheila Bird and Studio Taitt Universities: @ma_interiors_mmu @msoa_interiors Partners: @altro_limited @autexacoustics @crownpaintsuk @cduk_ltd @forboflooringuk @ilivstudio @muraspec @parksidetilesuk @sylanwashrooms @russwooduk 🎥: @l.marlowefilms #interiordesign #moodboards #colour #inspiration #design

💡 EDI & Belonging: Culture or place? is the question we posed to two wonderfully experienced panellists: Kevin Kendrick, Operations Director, Morton Fraser MacRoberts LLP, and Gillian Duthie, Director Facilities Management & Workplace Experience, BlackRock, at our recent seminar in Glasgow, hosted by Material Source Studio Director, David Smalley. Our first of 2026 in Scotland, and the third seminar in our EDIB series, taking us to London, and Manchester prior to that. With practicality and reality in mind in terms of how EDIB looks - and performs - we put the focus on the sharp end of the inclusive design conversation with our panellists, responsible for promoting positive employee experience, collaborating closely with architects and interior designers, all while keeping an eye on the bottom line. You can now read our write-up via the 🔗 in bio - scribed by Material Source Editor, Laura Connelly. A huge thanks to our panellists, and to our guests, including: John Amabile, Interior Designer; Rachel Wright, Senior Interior Designer, MLA; Shannon Conway, Co-founder, Picture This; Nick Walker, Director – Built Heritage & Townscape, Iceni Projects; Jade McKenzie, Studio & HR Coordinator, Collective Architecture; Alison Stobie, Part 1 Architectural Assistant, BDP (Building Design Partnership Ltd); Kevin Fitzpatrick, Principal Architect, BakerHicks; Jo Rees, Architect, 3DReid Ltd; Lucy Galloway, Associate, MLA - for their thought-provoking questions. Thank you to our supporters for this event – @autexacoustics and @crownpaintsuk – both Partners at Material Source Studio Glasgow. Something to add to this discussion? Let us know in the comments below. 🎥 Lewis Nicol 📸 Lewis Cannon #interiordesign #insight #inclusion #belonging

💡 For our first seminar of 2026 in London on the topic of Equity, Diversity, Inclusion & Belonging (EDIB): Workplace saviour or some way to go? we invited the brilliant Stephanie Kyle, Associate Architect & Inclusive Design Consultant, @floydslaskiarchitects , to join Host, Material Source Studio Director, David Smalley, on stage to unpick as much as an hour would allow in relation to this complex theme. ➡️ You can now read the full write-up via the 🔗 in bio - with key takeaways on audio 🎧. A huge thanks to all who joined us and asked thought-provoking questions, including: Ali Sanuk, Architectural Technologist, Chapman Taylor; Sharan Kaur, Country Manager UK & Ireland, Orac UK; Tony Kho, Senior Technical Project Leader, Trehearne Architects; Jonathon Osborne, Graphic Designer, iDEA; Mike Lambourn, Design Lead, PriestmanGoode; Megan Grace, Specialist in Contract Fabrics at ILIV; Misha Stefan-Stavrides, Principal at SCRarchitects. And thank you to our supporters for this event: @orac_uk , @crownpaintsuk , @ilivfabrics - all Partners at Material Source Studio London. The conversation continues at Material Source Studio Glasgow tonight - 18 March - with EDI & Belonging: Culture or place? Head to our What’s On page for your free ticket. 🎥 Valeria Schumann Rosso 📸 Andrew Lunn #EDIB #Equity #Diversity #Inclusion

💡 EDIB: Too complex, or just considerate design? This is the question that kicked off our 2026 seminar series with the biggest audience we’ve ever had at Material Source Studio Manchester. You can now read or listen 🎧 to our editorial covering the session’s key talking points on materialsource.co.uk When it came to answering the question, perhaps most telling was that even our experienced panel members and some of those in the room weren’t all aware of the addition of the ‘B’ to the acronym, making it Equity, Diversity, Inclusion & Belonging (from Equality, Diversity, Inclusion previously). And while it was agreed the sentiments of EDIB are very much central to their discussions when it comes to workplace design, the acronym itself is rarely brought up, shared panellists Nargis Treherne - Workplace Strategy & Design Lead at Deloitte; Rachel Kerwin - Head of Property & Facilities at TheAA; and Mark Bradshaw - Director at iPWC Ltd Workplace Consultants. It was wonderful to welcome so many of you for this discussion chaired by Host, Material Source Director, David Smalley. Thank you for joining us. And a huge thanks to those of you who shared your own comments and questions throughout: Thomas Whettingsteel, Architect, @fletcherraearchitects ; Neil Bowker, Associate Director, @inside_atkinsrealis ; Ash Wilson, Interior Designer & Founder, Sculpt Design Studio; Atul Bansal, Founder & Co-owner, @sheilabirdstudio ; Gary Wolstenholme, Associate Director, @dmwr_architects ; Matthew Gavin, Associate, @fletcherraearchitects ; Jenny McVey, Founder, ingo interiors ltd; Richard Olver, Sales Director, @vepauk Thanks also to our supporters for this event, @millikendesign , @sylanwashrooms , @vepauk - all Partners at Material Source Studio. Do you have something to add? Let us know in the comments below. 📸 @timainsworthphotography 📽️ Ashley Povall #EDIB #Workplace #Events #MaterialSourceStudio #ConnectingCreativeMinds