Burdifilek is a Toronto based interior design studio co-founded by Diego Burdi and Paul Filek in 1993. Its design and production are highly complex and creative, but more inspired by the fun adventure of travel and the attention to art and craftsman spirit. They are willing to cooperate with talented creatives, with a unique design aesthetic, reflected in the communication and interaction with customers.

In this open class, the co-founder of Burdifilek, Diego Burdi, shared their design philosophy under the theme of Simple Complexity. Diego started the class by the analysis of a Hyundai store in Korean, then he continued with analysis of many projects of different types. Diego put the focus on how to make environments that are suitable for the brand or the client; how to explore the possibilities of space; and how to transform our ideas into functionality and uniqueness of a space at the same time. For Burdifilek, concept is the start and core of the project, we designers should know how to turn concept into the foundation of the projects and stimulate everything to happen.

Yinjispace：There are various blocks and segmentation in your work. How do think their proportion? And what do you think of the Golden Ratio?

Diego Burd：We did not follow the golden ratio. We first observe the overall environment to determine whether it is suitable to design according to the golden ratio. In fact, the golden ratio is not necessarily important. We do not tend to design the golden ratio but pay more attention to the functionality of space.

Yinjispace：Have you ever met with the situation that your treatments of different materials could not be implemented into real life?

Diego Burd：Usually, our designs and plans are the same, and we have never been disappointed with the finished design. If people use other techniques to execute our design, we will learn from them, and the final results will always surprise us. It's like we make the menu, but we're not responsible for cooking. We are happy to seek advice from those involved in the project and engage in friendly and open communication with contractors, artists, and other parties during the construction process, in order to try to avoid problems that may arise during the construction process. Our design execution has never encountered a serious conflict issue because we know how to lead the direction, seize opportunities, and judge whether some designs can be different from the original plan. By exploring different opportunities and adopting different methods, we could complete the design.

Yinjispace：What is the starting point when you think a project’s material and what is the most important factor that drives you to decide on the use of a material?

Diego Burd：Design is like a journey, it doesn't always go smoothly from the beginning. We design from a conceptual perspective and observe the whole. Designing a space requires considering many aspects, such as functionality, spatial location, culture, social interaction, luxury, popularity, hospitality, etc. We are also constantly learning and researching the entire project during design. If the design is a performance within the hall, then the project stands on the worldwide stage, not just on a national scale, because people from all over the world will come to see the design. Design involves many elements, such as decoration, details, colors, etc. This is the design process. Sometimes we also set goals, understand them, and then may move on to other design directions. In summary, we don't really like to stick to the rules. The entire journey was not completed overnight, but gradually progressed as a whole. During this process, we will communicate with different teams and express our opinions; Customers will also express their ideas. So there is no fixed formula for design, mainly based on the project and space to have a complete journey.