A little trip to Actiu in Castalla Spain
What a brilliant idea that was! When we were brainstorming about a suitable location to film a particular scene for our new company video, someone here in the office (sorry Sam that you were too busy to go yourself:) suggested to ask the lovely people of furniture designers and manufacturers Actiu if we could do that in their offices and gardens.
The particular scene was dependent on good weather and although we love it up here in Scotland the weather is, in fairness, hard to predict..
Castalla has a lot in common with Scotland. It reminded us of Stirling but then in the colour beige.
Actiu, always on the move
Always on the movie? Not quite, but when it comes to visual appeal we here at Amos Beech in Scotland had to include them in our little film. The visual appeal doesn't only apply to their products though:
Architecture and sustainability at the technology park in Castalla
You don't suddenly wake up and start producing stunning design furniture. You live it and breath it and when you look at Actiu, they certainly do! It therefore doesn't come as a surprise to us that Vicent Berbegal, the president and founder of Actiu, has been awarded 'European Entrepreneur of the Year 2017' at the European Business Awards (EBA) ceremony, during a gala in Dubrovnik (Croatia). We have seen many factories, showrooms and offices over the years, but Actiu is certainly up there with the best. The design of the Actiu Technology Park, created by José María Tomás LLavador, was based on sustainability and the self-sufficient use of natural resources right from the outset. Rain water is collected from the roofs and stored in cisterns for irrigation and industrial use. It is also worth mentioning that Actiu is in fact an energy plant as it supplies 6 times more electricity into the grid than it needs itself.
Biophilia
Biophilic interior design (meaning love of nature) focuses on mans' innate attraction to nature and natural processes and brings elements of nature into the built environment. We have used this in our designs a couple of times and are currently working on a stunning idea for one of our clients (watch this space!). Actiu however, is at the forefront of it in their own offices:
One of the indoor gardens at Actiu
Biophilia suggests that we all have a genetic connection to the natural world built up through hundreds of thousands of years of living in agrarian settings. It is a term popularized by American psychologist Edward O Wilson in the 1980’s, when he observed how increasing rates of urbanisation were leading to a disconnection with the natural world. Biophilia is of ever increasing importance to our health and well-being in the built environment.
Our film
We are sort of halfway through the making of the Amos Beech video and can't reveal it just yet, as only the final end result can communicate what it is supposed to do. In that sense it is a bit like an interior fit out project:)
The film crew from Iris Media discussing and finalising the shots
(the film will feature two of Actiu's stars Christina and David)
The Amos Beech film will explain what we as an interior design, fit-out and furniture company are about, using what a colleague here in the office calls 'moving stills'. All of this in the attention span of an average internet user...
Serious stuff!
Careful planning and advice by the Actiu team meant that we were saved from the real burn that was expected shortly after midday.
Text on the wall outside the company gym @actiu
We tend to underestimate the power and heat of the sun. Some of us even set of to Castalla without suncream, shorts and slippers!
Actiu: Thank you very much!
Update: we have now (27-06-2018) launched our videos! You can see them here:
All Images by Photographer Zwolle
New branding, new website, well new everything!
At Amos Beech we pride ourselves in creating unique interior solutions tailored to the specific needs of the customer. As no customer is the same no interior designed and build by Amos Beech, is a copy paste. In the 27 years of our existence we have seen a tremendous change in the office workplace. The same is the case here at Amos Beech and today we launch our new branding:
Amos Beech branding 3.0
Using a mix of bold colours like purple and magenta combining the calm stability of blue and the fierce energy of red into harmony and balance, our corporate colour is spontaneous and impulsive, yet resourceful and organised.
Up until today we have used a variant of the colour in our beechnut logo for over 12 years. You can read more about the history of Amos Beech here: History.
CREDITS
Just like creating great office interiors, a re-branding exercise is teamwork. And for this we would like to say a massive THANK YOU to:
the members of the public at Princes Street Gardens in Edinburgh and the gardeners of Edinburgh Council
the members of the public on George Square Glasgow and the workmen cleaning the Sir Walter Scott monument who joined us during their coffee break
the management and fishermen of Frandy Fishery that were braving the weather just at the start of the fishing season
Nina James, Val Rennick and Dorien Hartman, family members of the 'actors' Roy, Fiona and Vincent, that were drawn into the production also with hardly any notification or preparation
The 'actors' Roy, Fiona and Vincent for stepping outside their comfortzone into the unknown world and fame of the film industry
Brockwell James for lending his bike to us
Gerry and Jim from Vision Sign & Digital for the great job they did in the manufacture of our 'freestanding' fingerprint beech tree
Ernst Wijnands and Jaco Schuurman of Iris Media, video production company, for their creativity, technical skills and ability to deal with an 'organic production' on short notice
Roné van der Vliet from Catapult creëert, for his graphic design and conceptual skills
For more information on what we do, please click here: Interior Design and Fit Out.
Team portrait drawings
Above you see the winning portrait drawing of operations administrator Emma Skirton by Project Coordinator Liam Symes.
Team portrait drawings
Every now and then after a team meeting we play the Jenga game here in the office. The person that knocks it over has to come up with an idea to improve the general performance of the company or like in this case a suggestion of a different kind like a competition of some sort. When our designer Deborah McAulay knocked the tower over with a very daring move of one of the blocks, she called a team portrait drawing competition. We each had to draw a name from the fishbowl and draw their portrait. A week later everybody had to vote for their favourite portrait. The portrait with the most votes would win the honour of the competition.
Apart from great fun, it is an excellent way to explore unknown talent among team members. The winner Liam Symes joined our sister company Incognito Heat Co earlier this year as a Project Coordinator, so we knew he was talented. However that this tough ex military-service man had such great talent in drawing came as a pleasant surprise to all of us! So Liam, congratulations and we hope to see many of your drawings in the future!
Sarah Harper by Deborah McAulay
The second prize went to Deborah for the portrait of Quantity Surveyor Sarah Harper. A pleasant and joyful person who doesn't miss a penny in project calculations!
Liam Symes by Sam James
The third prize was for Sam James for the portrait of the winner of this competition Liam Symes.
Andrew Skirton by Emma Skirton
In this portrait made by Emma Skirton of the Incognito Sales Director Andrew Skirton, Emma captured the true a-symmetric character of this hands-on underfloor heating expert!
Roy James by Cigdem Ozluk
No surprise of course that creative talent Cigdem Ozluk comes with this portrait of Project & Operations Director Roy James. She managed to visualise his gimlet eyes and 'on the ball' character very successfully.
Simon James by Fiona Rennick
Also here it is clear from a distance that this portrait of founder and Finance Director Simon James comes from a member of the design team: Fiona Rennick. A free interpretation of the sincerity and experience of one of our senior team members.
Gavin Anderson by Ross Skirton
Ross Skirton managed to display that Business Development manager Gavin Anderson finds it hard to disguise his friendly face, however hard he tries.
Deborah McAulay by Vincent Hartman
Some artistic license loosely applied to portraiture by Vincent Hartman in this digital portrait of Interior Designer Deborah McAulay.
Chris Fielder by Grant Ker
Grant Ker really tried his best with this portrait of Accounts Administrator Chris Fielder. There is some resemblance but fortunately we haven't met him grumpy yet!
Andrew Robertson by Chris Fielder
Chris on his turn drew this transparent and recognisable portrait of Plumbing Trainee Andrew Robertson, of Incognito Heat Co. Prior to his arrival in the office early in the morning is always the unmistakeable noise of his motorbike.
Cigdem Ozluk by Andrew Robertson
Our young and bright plumbing trainee Andrew drew this portrait of Interior Designer Cigdem Ozluk. Very well executed and recognisable, but fortunately Cigdem is a joy to have around.
Fiona Rennick by Robert Milne
We could more or less say the same about this portrait of the then current Design Manager Fiona Rennick, drawn by Robert. She really does come to work in a car and fills the office with warmth and professionalism.
Julian Fielder by Andrew Skirton
Andrew took on the task to draw the portrait of Project Leader Julian Fielder. In all fairness, we had to look twice but it really does seem to be Julian! It looks like Andrew drew it very quickly and shows of a bit to make it look like easy to him, but we do expect him to have put in way more hours than he is willing to admit.
Sam James by Gavin Anderson
We are unsure who Gavin had in mind when he drew this portrait of Sales Director Sam James. We all know Sam James very well and surely this is not him!
Vincent Hartman by Simon James
An easy task for Simon to draw the lines of egg-headed Marketing Manager Vincent Hartman. Spot-on indeed, but what about that saloon car in the back ground?
Robert Milne by Roy James
Story teller Roy must have missed the brief about what he was supposed to be doing here. He came up with a cartoon of Installations Team Leader Robert Milne who is apparently spreading Australian Genes in the Scottish population?
Grant Ker by Sarah Harper
And last but certainly not least is this sketch by Sarah of our Managing Director Grant Ker who will tie the knot in December and seems a bit distracted the last few weeks...