Tell us something about your background
Valentina: “My background lies in architecture, which I studied in Austria, where I originally am from. In my previous role as a retail designer at Ace&Tate, I was responsible for concept, design and realisation of retail environments all over Europe. During that time, we developed a new retail concept to make Ace&Tate’s strategy future-proof by focusing on circular and sustainable principles - while staying true to the brand’s distinct graphic and bold signature look.
Photo: Valentina and Creative Director Rene Toneman | Photographer: Jordi Huisman
Following that, I joined Silo as a spatial designer, which is now soon three years ago. My motivation was to deepen my knowledge of the synergy of architecture and brand integration, and gain experience across a wide spectrum of disciplines and clients. My expertise lies in concept development and maintaining the overarching narrative and coherence throughout projects.
In my approach I focus on creating meaningful spaces with a positive social and environmental impact, connecting people with each other and the built environment.”
What project are you currently working on or have you recently worked on?
Valentina: “We just recently completed a project for Nationale-Nederlanden, renovating their offices in Rotterdam and The Hague, where we created a spatial brand experience for project spaces as well as an event space.
For me, it was one of the most rewarding, as well as one of the most challenging projects, as we were largely working with harvested material and had the goal of reaching zero-waste and a minimum environmental impact.
Photo: Spatial brand experience Nationale-Nederlanden | Photographer: Mike Bink
Trying to apply circularity within a linear system requires a certain amount of flexibility and keeping an open mind for adaptations - which is not always easy to navigate. Taking these learnings, I am currently looking into developing a toolkit to integrate these principles more easily into our everyday practice. The design process tends to get messy and complex along the way, so I’m interested in questions like how can we keep an eye on the goal, but do it in the most sustainable way, so that in the end we all benefit from it.”
What makes it fun to work at SILO?
Valentina: “I like the diversity of projects and clients, but mostly that as a team, we bundle a broad range of expertise and we collaborate a lot with each other. Everyone brings a unique background and distinct specialisation to the table, and personally I find that incredibly inspiring. We learn a lot from each other and I noticed that I started approaching things from different perspectives. As a creative, this helps me grow and evolve.”
What do you do to keep your knowledge up to date?
Valentina: “By nature, I’m a curious person and always eager to experience and learn new things. Therefore I like to join festivals like the Dutch Design Week, meet like-minded people through platforms like Ladies Wine Design and in general support and exchange within the architecture and design community.
Photographer: Jordi Huisman
But I am also a strong believer in cross-pollination and stepping out of one’s ‘bubble’ to get inspired. Currently my interest is very strong in how future living can look like. What will our cities have to offer, how are we going to live together, what role are concepts like the share economy and the doughnut model going to play in this? Especially the momentum of regeneration and its developments within nature restoration and regenerative agriculture are fascinating to me and I think there’s a lot to learn from, across disciplines.”
What is your favourite design?
Valentina: “My favourite design is design that thinks about its impact and adds something that people will benefit from. We have more and more complex challenges to tackle, so therefore it’s important to focus on creating purpose and added value.
I think the best design is not only beautiful, but also sustainable, efficient and socially responsible. We have to shift the reasoning of our practice from convenience to impact and be more considerate about what we put out there. After all, most impact is determined during the design phase.”
Besides design, what else makes your heart beat faster?
Valentina: “As already mentioned, I am originally from Austria and back there I used to do beekeeping. Since this year, I am continuing my beekeeping journey here in The Hague, in a lovely vineyard right in the heart of the city. I really like the way this hobby expanded my perspective on our surroundings and the eco-system we live in.
I started noticing the subtle changes in season, started being more conscious about which flowers blossom and which insects would be the first ones out in spring. Overall it made me a more mindful and observant person. And besides, I always have tasty honey for breakfast at hand.”
Read more
Photo above: portrait Valentina Lovric | Photographer: Dana Romina