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In Profile:
COOOP.co

In Profile:

by COOOP.co

Shortlisted: 2 categories

The International Hotel & Property Awards 2025

Name: Callie van der Merwe
Company Name:  COOOP
Position Within Company: Creative Director. Chief Envirohacker
Website: www.cooop.co
Tell us a little about your background in design (education, experience, etc)

Callie van der Merwe a registered Australian Architect and founder of COOOP, is a pioneer in design-driven behavioural design within the built environment. Head quartered in Sydney, with global reach through offices in Dubai and the Netherlands, COOOP is a multidisciplinary design studio that redefines the way we experience spaces.

Callie’s career trajectory, from early 90s architecture to 2000s interior architecture, has been marked by award-winning projects worldwide. His signature approach, “design-for-behaviour,” challenges traditional design methods by prioritising the science behind human interaction with space.

In 2024 Callie and his team introduced the concept of “envirohacking” as a way to describe the infusion of neuroscience and environmental psychology into design in order to create environments that are not only functional but also emotionally resonant and sustainable. They have found this approach to be highly effective in nudging guests towards certain desired behaviours like dwell time, footfall and social engagement etc.

Key aspects of envirohacking include:

Evidence-Based Design: Using scientific research to inform design decisions.
Tailor-Built Environments: Creating spaces that cater to specific needs and behaviours.
Positive Human Responses: Designing spaces that promote well- being and productivity.
Environmental Sustainability: Incorporating eco-friendly materials and practices.

MEMBERSHIPS
• IID. (Institute of Interior Design) Serve on the Board of IID 2011
• IID. (Institute of Interior Design) Vice President 2012
• Registered Architect Australia. Registration no 11896

AWARDS
• Corobrik Best National Architecture Student award 1991
• Style Design 1st place (Professional Product Design) 1989 and 1991
• PG Bison 1stplace 1994
• SA Institute of Architects, citation 1997
• Cube award. 1st place. Corporate: 2004
• Cube award. Award of excellence: 2004
• Cube award. 1st place Hospitality: 2004
• Cube award 3d place. Retail: 2004
• Architectural Review. Shortlist for Deli Shopping Centre 2009
• RDDA Award. Best Shopping Centre Upgrade. Sunnypark Pretoria. 2009
• RDDA Retail design award 1st place: 2012
• RDDA Retail Design award 1st place: 2013
• RDDA Retail Design award 1st place: 2014
• Loerie awards. 2nd place. Silver : 2015
• International Property Award. Periphery winner. 2016
• RDDA Award. 1st Place. Best restaurant. 1st Place: 2017
• International Design Awards Finalist. Yacht & Aviation. Italy: 2017
• RDDA Hospitality Design Award 1st Place: 2018
• RDDA Retail Design Award 1st: 2018
• Restaurant & Bar Design Awards. Shortlist:. 2018
• Middle East & North Africa Awards. Silver award. 2018

JUDGING PANELS
• Judge. Pg Bison Student Design 2006 – 2017
• Judge. Prof. RDDA awards. (Retail Design and Development awards) 2012 – 2015
• Judge Loeries . Communication 2011
• University of Pretoria External examiner. 2012 – 2015
• Greenside Design Centre External Examiner. 2013 – 2015
• QSR Media Awards, Australia 2019
• BDAA Awards, (building Designers Association of Australia) Australia 2022-24

How would you describe your personal design style?

Each design journey has a beginning in the mind of a client we probably yet have to meet, long before we draw the first line and a story that continues unfolding long after the final coat of paint dries on the wall. No one builds anything lasting or meaningful without a dream or a vision far bigger than the simple exchange of currency. We are grateful to be part of every story as we all journey towards a collective outcome far beyond our individual abilities.

Where does your design inspiration come from?

I am inspired by people. As Franck Chimer famously said, People ignore design that ignores people. We can not design in the way we have been taught. In fact to create the best human centred outcome we have to put design last. We have to observe what people repeatedly do within certain environments.

In what direction do you feel that design is moving towards in a general sense?

With sound collaboration between architects, designers, psychologists and neuroscientists we can now finally start to design buildings and spaces based on how the brains of the occupants and users work. Whilst many of the design outcomes in the past have been based on anecdotal and theoretical responses, we are now increasingly beginning to understand the exact impact of various spatial and architectural typologies. Those that encourage or hinder certain emotions and behaviours. This helps us to arrive at design solutions that can achieve very specific desired behavioural responses whether it be places of eating, drinking, healing, learning, playing or working. With tools such as electrocardiograms*, electroencephalograms* and sweat sensors we can now finally begin to objectively measure how our minds and bodies react to architectural and spatial stimuli.

Name five key themes to consider when approaching design in the future.

1. The latest findings from neuroscientists and behavioural psychologists in terms of the kinds of spaces that trigger people both positively and negatively.
2. Politics. We live in strange political times. Politics that may impact how we feel about certain spatial typographies and other people. Lately politics seem to divide more than unite. Political inference and references that impact how we think and behave.
3. Design as social lubricant. People are the most lonely they have ever been. Despite the intention of technology to bring us together people are the loneliest and the most isolated they have ever been. Spatial design can help correct that wrong by triggering people to engage. This most often can be done with layout, volume, colour, texture lighting and the correct acoustics.

If you could offer one piece of advice when it comes to designing, what would it be?

Put people first and fashion second. Understand the ever shifting environmental triggers that impact how we feel. spaces can heal or harm us. Protect us or expose us. Science now proofs all of this to be true. Space has the power to help us fulfil our true human potential

How important are The International Hotel & Property Awards?

It would be good to see what kind of projects are rewarded. Those that make a difference and positive impact to society or those that are simply following trends.

What projects are you currently working on?

1. The first privately owned Brewery In Dubai.
2. Private hotel in Brisbane.
3. Repositioning of 2 international coffee chains

What was your favourite project to work on and why?

This one that we entered here. Meat & Wine Safari. We were shooting a TV documentary whilst we were busy with the design and build process. The client also allowed us to explore concepts around human behaviour and execute on certain design outcomes that were not tested before. The reulst however is that collectively we managed to create the most popular and most financially rewarding restaurant in his group of 55.

What was your most challenging project to work on and why?

It was most certainly Meat & Wine Safari

Because we decided to question everything and drive the design mainly from a scientific point of view it took much longer to find our way back into design and the applications that we needed to test to see if they will have the emotional and behavioural triggers that we desired.

Over the last 30 years we have learned a tremendous amount about how people behave naturally and intuitively within social environments like restaurants, hotels, cafes, clubs and bars. With over 400 of these successful venues under our belt and years of research and observation into the qualities that make spaces successful we can attest to the fact that the approach to responsible hospitality design lies simply in understanding our repetitive generic human behavioural responses and needs first. We have learned that the most successful restaurants are those that go far beyond simply serving great food. That they are a beautiful magical blend of everything from the location, the atmosphere, the aesthetics, the service, the people, the moments and so much more that all contribute in varying measures to creating memorable transcending human experiences that linger long after we have left.

In this application we were the most true to these intentions as we were granted the time (16 month) to excecute on these theories

Additionally we had massive restrictions and doubt from all sides wether the restaurant would actually work. The primary reason for this is that in this application almost 75% of the usable seating is outside. In other words exposed to wind and rain. The seating sits under a 5 story undercroft of a modern city sky scraper and we could not obtain the rights to enclose it with glass. the only ohysical protection from the outside is a 5 storey high steel mesh curtain.

To counter the psychological barriers of this disadvantage we had to find untested ways to create warmth as it was impossible to aircondition such an open space. One of the ideas we tested was to build seat warmers into the bench seating. similar to what we find in the automotive industry. It has worked beyond our wildest expectation.

Which products/services could you not live without when designing? E.g. Lighting companies, furniture companies

I don’t think there is a few that we can single out. Its different for every project. what i can say for sure is that there are many people in the design process. its never just one person. it was never just me in this project. Otgher designers include Roberto Zambri who did a lot of the heavy lifting and Calvin van Vuuren that helped to conceptualise the idea. We had amazing wall finishers, lighting specialists, tiling hand made out of South Africa, incredible upholsterers that made walls to look like hand moulded clay and a furniture maker that created all the samples and the final built huts. In other projects we cant do without stine masons, traditional carpenters and landscape designers. Its always different for every project and every commission.

What are your aims and goals for the next twelve months?

1. To witness the documentary, Designing for Dining coming to live.
2. The release of our book, Designing for Dining
3. we have just moved into our new warehouse where we build full scale mock ups for our clients. almost going old school again.The 1st one was a massive success. We want to explore a lot more here.

Your most treasured possession?

Time. So grateful for all the time I have had here on this rock hurtling us into the universe. There will never be enough
Your favourite holiday destination? : Kruger National Park

Your favourite hotel, restaurant & bar?

Hotel: Heron Island on the Great Barrier reef
Restaurant: Meat & Wine Safari. Bisteca
Bar: Analog in Balmoral

Your favourite book, film & song?

Book: Places of the Heart by Collin Ferrel
Film: Schindlers list and Where the Crawdads sing
Song: Many Rivers to Cross by Jimmy Cliff

Your favourite food and drink?

Food: Wagyu with 12 marble (BMS)
Drink: Negroni

Your favourite way to spend an afternoon?

On a boat with family and friends
If you weren’t in this sector, what would you alternative profession be?

Traveller

COOOP.co has been shortlisted for 2 categories in The International Hotel & Property Awards 2025.

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