This week on Space by Stansons, Guy sits down with Aaron Sanderson, Project Designer at Peldon Rose and one of Mix’s 30 Under 30 Rising Stars for 2026, to talk about career ambition, giving people choice, and designing offices that stand the test of time.
Aaron shares what the Mix award means to him and why he sees it as the start of his career rather than the finish line. He explains how a supportive employer, hard work and enjoying what you do have helped him progress. His next goal is to lead a project all the way from pitch to site.
Turning to workplace design, Aaron says the industry has moved past gimmicks like office slides and into a period of reflection: it’s not what’s new, it’s how we improve where we’re at. He explains why choice and flexibility sit at the heart of wellness, from wellness rooms and acoustics to neurodiversity-led design. He also warns against “wellness wash”. Aaron makes the case for timeless design over short-lived trends, because offices are often designed for a five-to-ten-year lease. He and Guy also discuss why ceilings are so often overlooked, stainless steel’s comeback, clay paints, and why moss walls may have had their moment, though plants will never be out.
In this episode:
- What being named a Mix 30 Under 30 Rising Star means, and why it’s only the start.
- Hard work, ambition and the support that helps young designers progress.
- Why the future office is about improving what we have, not adding gimmicks.
- Choice, flexibility and neurodiversity as the foundations of workplace wellness.
- Designing for a ten-year lease rather than short-lived trends.
- Learning to ask “why” behind every design decision.
- Why ceilings deserve more attention, and value engineering should mean alternatives, not omissions.
- Stainless steel’s comeback, clay paints, moss walls and why plants are here to stay.