EAT GOLF! spoke with Stan Colders, founder of a new company with a vision to promote and build modern clubhouses.
MIND:STYLE creates a complete experience for passionate golfers. Attention is given to everything from the green, to the lounge, to the suites. The aim is to seamlessly fuse a guest's experience in the fairway with the rest of the club facilities into an all-encompassing restorative experience.
What is Mind:Style Concept Architecture?
Mind:Style Concept Architecture is a growing network of creative talent – architects, designers andartisans – dedicated to building outstanding golf resorts, clubhouses and driving ranges. Most Mind:Style members also have their own businesses, but for each project we specially select a team of highly creative minds, generating radical synergies and ideas.
What are your design philosophies?
Every detail of a Mind:Style design integrates the golfer’s personal experience and creates a seamless transition between the inner and outer experience of golf, so there is a perfect balance of mind, body and soul. In practical terms, that means designing more efficient driving ranges to train the body and inspiring clubhouses to relax the mind. Combining this with the importance of individual wellness and healthy environments for all, we create organic designs that blend into their urban and natural environments.
What has been the reaction to your company’s design concepts?
Very positive. So many of today’s resorts, clubhouses and driving ranges look the same, as if they have come off a production line. More astute developers and golf industry professionals are beginning to realise that a successful golf business requires inspiring spaces and buildings to enhance the visitor’s experience, effectively creating golf sanctuaries. Of course, there are also many people who don’t want change – but we are young designers with a strong sense of the future of golf.
What advantages do your concepts have over traditional designs?
Our concepts are forged from specialist teams of well-known architects and interior designers with wide ranging experience and a variety of cultural backgrounds – so the designs and ideas are powerful and original. We allow potential clients to visit brainstorming sessions with the professionals, which can result in a unique debate about details. That’s fun. We are not limited to design, though. Our network allows us to test concepts in different areas, such as environmental, social, business and marketing. We think about the brochures, website and dress code of the operation staff, if necessary. This is important for the consistency of our design philosophy.
