The 2019 Round Up

The gratuitous year-end round up of the eye candy, the spaces, and the design studios that provided me with visual inspiration this year.

HOSPITALITY

The Hoxton Hotel in Southwark, London by Ennismore’s in-house design team. (Design Milk, 2019)

Il Palazzo Experimental Venice Hotel by Dorothée Meilichzon (Karel Balas, 2019)

Yaffa Restaurant in Copenhagen by Frama (Sergio Lopez, 2019)

Bourne & Holingsworth Garden Room in London, England, by Box 9 Design. (B&H, 2019)

Via Porta in Melbourne by Studio Esteta (Studio Esteta,2019)

The 10th floor renovation of Hotel Palace restaurant in Helsinki by Note Design Studio (Romain Laprade, 2019)

Dalina in Vancouver by Studio CM (Dalina, 2019)

Como Taperia in Vancouver by Ste Marie Design (Conrad Brown, 2019)

The Albie Restaurant in Southwark’s Hoxton Hotel (Dezeen, 2019)

WORKPLACE

The Wing London by in-house design Letitita Gorra (Tory Williams, 2019)

PwC Experience Center Office in Paris by Vincent & Gloria Architectes (Arnaud Schelstraete, 2019)

x+why coworking space in London by Squire + Partners (James Balston, Tony Murray, 2019)

Bakken & Bæck HQ in Oslo by Kvistad (Dezeen, 2019)

Marketing Firm KNSKB+ by Parat (Office Snapshots, 2019)

The Wing in Soho by Alda Ly (Tory Williams, 2019)

The Equinox and Industrious co-working space in Hudson Yards, by the Industrious in-house design team. (Dezeen, 2019)

The office of architecture firm, Techne, in Melbourne (Techne, 2019)

The Wing SF by Alda Ly (Tory Williams, 2019)

Healthcare

Parsley Health LA by Alda Ly (Trevor Tondo, 2019)

SeenSkin Clinic by GOLDEN in Melbourne (GOLDEN, 2019)

Bond Vet Clinic in Brooklyn’s Cobble Hill by Islyn Studio (Read McKendree, 2019)

The Scottish Rite for Children Orthopedic and Sports Medicine Center in Frisco, Texas by HKS (Garrett Rowland, 2019)

The Chemothermia Oncology Center in Istanbul by Sonraki Architecture and Design (Umit Okan, 2019)

Parsley Health flagship in New York by Alda Ly (Reid Rolls, 2019)

Retail

Leo Nail Salon in San Diego by Katie Gebhardt (Amber Thrane of Dulcet Creative, 2019)

The Standard Dose by SR Projects in New York (David Mitchell, 2019)

Imarika fashion boutique in Milan by Marcante Testa (Carola Ripamonti, 2019)

The Storey Showroom in Melbourne by face Studio (Sean Hennessy, 2019)

The Artedomus Showroom byThe Stella Collective (The Stella Collective, 2019)

Third Love by Alda Ly (Bilyana Dimitrova, 2019)

FIG in Vancouver by Scott & Scott Architects (Olivia Bull, 2019)

St Agni in Brisbane by We are Triibe (Cieran Murphy, 2019)

Forte Forte in London by Giada Forte and Robert Vattilana (Forte Forte, 2019)

Are Open Office Plans Terrible for Women?

Betsey Mikel writes at Inc.com on a study published in the ScienceDirect journal that reveals more complaints about the open office plan.

We know open office plans can be difficult for introverts, maintaining privacy, and noise pollution. It turns out women are finding unique difficulties, as well. One law firm that converted their office to an open space plan saw changes in the way women dressed and which routes they took to walk around the office.

The study also revealed that women felt pressured to stay later in the open office plan due to a fishbowl effect. Instead of being recognized for their output, they felt how visible they were was informing their employer’s estimation of them, creating unnecessary, additional stress.

This must be an impediment to productivity for women, which begs the question: is the enclosed office a better solution to support women in the workplace satisfaction and climbing the ranks in the workplace?

Food for thought! Read more about it here.

The Ergonomic Workstation + The Woes of Remote Work

I recently went to a lunch and learn hosted by Aura Office Environments called Tenant Talks: Remote Workers And The Modern Office. The panel discussed the rise of remote workers and hiring free-lancing independent contractors, and what that meant for the ever-evolving office. As the panel spoke of the pros and cons of remote work, I pondered in sadness contemplating this shift.

Here’s why:

1. I’m currently in a distance learning program and am a remote worker. I am single and live alone. While my dog Lucy is an excellent companion, I long for a water-cooler chit chat.

2. Mentorship. While the panel discussed ways to support the training of junior employees, which included setting daily hours of availability for video-conferencing, I don’t see how a connection that would foster real, big-picture, long-game guidance can be developed in 2-minute face-to-face increments between 10 and 2.

3. Almost my entire work experience thus far has been working for mom-and-pop shop type companies where I have never had the privilege of a desk, benefits, or paid holidays. Not having to pay out of pocket for dental hygiene or using my personal phone as my work phone are personal goals of mine. In my experience, I always end up paying hidden fees to work from home.

4. Working from home means I’m always working. There’s no such thing as leaving my work at work, it’s 4 feet away from my bed. (Studio apartment.) Even if I had a room with four walls to separate my work from my living, I would still have that issue. Which brings me to the next point:

5. I really don’t have a good set up. The lighting is wrong (on the warmer side of the spectrum). I’m pretty sure my open-shelving DIY consisting of unfinished plywood is poisoning my lungs with formaldehyde. Where I eat is where I work. My desk is a dining table and my desk chair is from IKEA, and no offense to IKEA (seriously, I love IKEA), but the whole situation is not ergonomic.

Okay, that’s a wrap on the whining.

In an attempt to at the very least appease my physical discomfort, I went hunting for the appropriate information on the WELL Resources website, and came across an article called Working WELL Anywhere. The graphics below by EWI Works (Ergonomics, Wellness, Innovation) show the guidelines for workstation ergonomics. Click to expand.

View fullsize

(EWI Works, 2019)

View fullsize

(EWI Works, 2019)

Things I have doing wrong:

Besides being short on a sit-stand desk, I also was short a footstool under my feet, and a pillow behind me for lumbar support. I also should be getting up more and working at the kitchen counter with my laptop on a pile of books.

I highly suggest taking a look at the article to discover solutions for your unique workstation woes.

Personal Inspiration: Loren Bergmann, Designer and Workplace Strategist

Last year at the 2019 Vancouver Buildex, I attended the Interior Design Keynote called The True Measure of Space and How It Makes Us Feel V2. There were four thought-provoking speakers on the panel that broadened my understanding of the role of the designer. The panel consisted of Sally Mills from Kasian, Sara Remocker from DIALOG, Leanna Cheung from SSDG, and Loren Bergmann from CBRE.

Loren Bergmann spoke of the humbling experience of pitching an architectural project for Google‘s Mountainview Palo Alto Campus, and not getting the contract. She shared why this pulled her from being a highly conceptual designer to a workplace strategist. What she learned from not landing the contract with Google was that her superficial judgment of the ‘basic design’ (based on its use of primary colours) was driving her goal of incorporating ‘high design’, Louis Pulsen’s Artichoke light in tow. What she had failed to consider, let alone prioritize, was human-centricity. She conceded that in that moment, a valuable lesson was learned; the wellbeing and happiness of the employees are paramount, as we are spending more waking hours at work than we do with our families.

She then read us a passage from Work Rules by Lazlo Bock:

It’s natural to look at Google and focus on the physical spaces, the nap pods for catching a quick snooze, or the slides connecting the floors. As Adam Grant, the University of Pennsylvania Wharton School’s youngest tenured professor once told me, “People interpret strong cultures based on the artifacts because they’re the most visible, but the values and assumptions underneath matter much more.”

Bergmann’s concept for Google hadn’t really addressed their values of human-centricity. Her vision was beautiful, with nap pods to boot, but she admits that not only had she missed the mark, she missed an opportunity to serve.

Designers are called on to create the shift from what matters less to what matters more, and while many of the changes would be operational to shift the culture, she argued that advocacy in design requires asking three fundamental questions:

1. Have I discovered the key factors to affect positive change specific to this group of people?

2. Have I advocated effectively to propel that positive change?

3. Have my recommendations helped this business to thrive?

“Clients don’t know what they don’t know,” stated Bergmann. Education is a big piece in advocating with the C-suite, so designers must be bolstered by the data. The pre-design process should involve research, research, research, and aesthetics to follow.

This was a completely mind-blowing way of thinking, that has categorically changed the way I look at the job of a designer and will continue to inform my decisions throughout my career. Not all that glitters is gold. Interior Design is a service, and we are serving the people.

“I really hope we see more and more people really, and I’m going to say ‘fighting the good fight’ for the employees out there. [...] Why are we doing this? It isn’t about [specifying] the most beautiful carpet tile or colour or wood veneer. This is really important work.”

— Loren Bergmann

Reference

Bergmann, L. (2019, February 14). The True Measure of Space and How It Makes Us Feel V2. Vancouver Buildex 2019. (J. Busch, Moderator)

Loren Bergmann, (CBRE, 2019)

Google’s chosen Mountainview Campus design by Heatherwick Studio and BIG (Inhabitat, 2015)

Louis Poulsen’s PH Artichoke (Poulsen, 2019)

Renée Storey-Lussier, WELL AP ✔️

I am proud and excited to share the news of my passing of the WELL AP accreditation exam. I am now a WELL Accredited Professional (WELL AP), and can work on getting projects WELL Certified by complying with the WELL Building Standard (“WELL”), created by the International WELL Building Institute (IWBI).

What does all that mean?

The International WELL Building Institute (IWBI) is leading the movement to promote health and wellness in buildings and communities everywhere. It delivers the cutting-edge WELL Building Standard (“WELL”), and a professional suite of tools to empower our global community of leaders to match their convictions with their careers.

The WELL Building Standard (“WELL”) is the premier standard for buildings, interior spaces and communities seeking to implement, validate and measure features that support and advance human health and wellness. It is a performance-based system for measuring, certifying and monitoring features of buildings and communities around the globe that impact the health and wellness of people. The WELL v2 pilot, the second iteration of the WELL Building Standard, focuses on 10 categories of building performance:

1. Air

2. Water

3. Nourishment

4. Light

5. Movement

6. Thermal Comfort

7. Sound

8. Materials

9. Mind

10. Community

It is grounded in evidence-based research that demonstrates the connection between the buildings where people spend approximately 90 percent of their time and those buildings’ health and wellness impacts on those who use them. The WELL Community Standard™ pilot takes into account the interconnectivity between buildings and their surroundings and the overall impact on human health. The WELL Building Standard and the WELL Community Standard are administered by the International WELL Building Institute and third-party certified by Green Business Certification Inc. (GBCI).

“Keep fighting the good fight for the employees.”

— Loren Bergmann, Managing Director, Workplace Strategies, CBRE

(Hult, 2017)

My Professional Manifesto

The UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) issued a report in October 2018 that was written by 91 authors, and 40 review editors. It featured 133 contributing authors, with 6,000 scientific references. It was subject to over 42,000 expert and government reviews prior to publication. There are a few things we know for certain from the report that has been reviewed by over 42,000 experts: Climate change is man-made and post-industrial revolution issue, and we have now roughly 12 years to prevent the temperature increase of 1.5° C (McGrath, 2018), after that, we will eventually reach a tipping point where we will unable to backtrack from the Anthropocene epoch, which could lead to a 6thmass extinction. (BBC, 2015) This is an issue we can no longer ignore. As my green design idol, Eric Corey Freed of OrganicARCHITECT, once said, “the good news is that it is statistically possible to prevent the temperature rise.” (Freed, 2017)

The rapid changes we need in our society are in energy generation, land use, cities, and industry. (McGrath, 2018) Buildings and building construction account for nearly 40% of the planet’s energy usage, (UN, 2017) (Petkar, 2014) and the building construction sector contributes to 38% of the greenhouse gas emissions. (Ritchie & Roser, 2018)

The primary responsibilities of an interior designer are to promote health, safety, welfare, and to enhance the human experience. As an interior designer, the decisions made are impactful on the environment, dictating the electrical load and how much water a building will consume in the appliances and fixtures specified. If we are working on a project in a community that relies on non-renewable resources for energy, then our decisions matter even more. We can either select materials with a high embodied footprint or a low one. 

We have a clear role to follow ethical practices and being stewards of the environment and the planet's finite resources. Being part of the solution looks beyond energy consumption. Not only will it be good for the environment, but it will make us healthier, we will have happier communities and despite misleading information circulation, our economy will continue to thrive.

This manifesto is my declaration of my commitment to the sustainable design principles listed in The Philosophy of Sustainable Design, by Jason McLennan. There principles I will explore are:

• The Biomimicry Principle: Learning from natural systems.

• The Conservation Principle: Respect for energy & natural resources

• The Human Vitality Principle: Respect for people

• The Ecosystem Principle: Respect for place

• The “Seven Generations” Principle: Respect for future

• The Holistic Principle: Systems thinking

The Philosophy of Sustainable Design

Qorner by Safdie Architects (Inhabitat, 2018)

Manifesto | Respect for Wisdom of Natural Systems | The Biomimicry Principle

“Biomimicry is an approach to innovation that seeks sustainable solutions to human challenges by emulating nature’s time-tested patterns and strategies.”

— The Biomimicry Institute

As mentioned in the previous post, the building construction industry is one of the greatest contributors to greenhouse gases and much of what we use to in them is making us sick. (Freed, 2017) We need a transformational approach to how we build, and there is much to learn from nature’s innate technology. Biologist Janine Benyus explored the learnable functions of the planet’s systems. It runs on daylight, which is free, and is energy efficient. It recycles everything it creates, is cooperative, and thrives from diversity. (McLennan, 2004)

• Nature runs on sunlight.

• Nature fits form to function.

• Nature recycles everything.

• Nature rewards cooperation.

• Nature banks on diversity.

• Nature relies on local expertise.

• Nature curbs excesses within.

“Biomimicry ushers in an era based not on what we can extract from nature, but on what we can learn from her. This shift from learning about nature to learning from nature requires a new method of inquiry.”

— Janine Benyus, Biomimicry 3.8 Co-Founder (McLennan, 2004)

The LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) rating system, while it is supporting better construction practices and making buildings less energy consumptive, it has a lot of room for improvement. The Living Building Challenge examines ways to employ the principles of Biomimicry and is planting the seeds for a revolution in building construction. (Living Future Institute, s.d.) The requirements are that the buildings harvest their own energy and water, that it is adapted to its climate and place, and that it operates pollution-free. It is comprised of integrated systems and promotes our overall health and well-being. (McLennan, Living Buildings for a Living Future | TEDxBend, 2015)

“You could look at nature as being like a catalog of products, and all of those have benefited from a 3.8 billion year research and development period. And given that level of investment, it makes sense to use it.”

— Michael Pawlyn (The Biomimicry Institute, s.d.)

It is a budding industry, living buildings, and with the continued study of synthetic biology at MIT, we will continue to be informed of the evolving best practices. (Freed, 2017) As an interior designer, I can do my part by committing to continued learning from the case studies of The Living Building Challenge of the Living Future Institute, respecting passive solar strategies, employing greywater when possible, continuing to grow my understanding of the natural sciences and systems, and when appropriate, partaking in innovative biomimicry design charrettes. I will familiarize myself with the products with the Declare Label and avoid those on the Red List, so that when disposed of, the products and materials that have been specified can either be reused or decomposed without toxic ramifications.

The task requires designing with curiosity and humility, seeking to emulate, but the rewards will outweigh its costs. (McLennan, 2004)

“Nature does nothing uselessly.”

— Aristotle

The Biomimicry Institute (Biomimicry Institute, s.d.)

AskNature.com

Biomimicry 3.8

Manifesto | Respect for Place | The Ecosystem/Bioregion Principle

“We shape our environment, thereafter, they shape us.”

— Winston Churchill

Respect for place is about recognizing and honouring the sanctity of a place and exploring sustainable patterns of living there. This includes following passive solar design principles and harnessing solar and wind energy. It is about protecting the existing biodiversity, and “that which is not yet visible.” (McLennan, 2004) It is about preserving our cultural heritage, both the craftsmanship of the past, and the environment. It is about reusing the structure that is already in place, and not building beyond city limits, and building for the long game. 

“When we neglect to bring forth that which is unique and beautiful in our surroundings, we degrade ourselves and diminish our potential to communicate that which is unique and beautiful in our culture.”

— Jason McLennan

Respect for place is about designing with the question in mind of what can be done to improve this place? How can it improve the vitality of the community and restore what is already there? It is important to protect the connection with the natural world because without it, we lose empathy for the plight of environmentalism. 

I aim to abide by this principle by facilitating the connection to the natural world trough barrier-free access to biophilia, without encroaching on the life that already exists. I aim to endeavour the challenge of heritage restoration, and simply maintaining and honouring what is already there, adapting without misusing. 

Manifesto | Respect for People | The Human Vitality Principle

“Sustainable design is as much about people as it is about the environment.”

— Jason MacLennan

Designing buildings and spaces is a service rooted in empathy. In order to achieve a successful design, we must consider the user experience, how people relate to and interact in the space they are in, how it affects us both physiologically and psychologically. If we fail to serve the people we are designing for, it becomes failed design. To truly take a human-centric approach to design, it requires careful consideration of functionality, flexibility, and the durability and longevity what we are specifying, from materials to fixtures and furnishings. It is about ensuring safe indoor air quality, drinking water, contact to daylight and biophilia, and minimizing exposure to toxins. It is about limiting stress on the human bodily systems, and providing olfactory, acoustic, ergonomic and thermal comfort. It is about supporting physical and mental health. In short, it is about supporting human vitality.

“Sustainable design endeavors to create the healthiest most nourishing places possible for people without diminishing the ability of nature to provide nourishing places for the rest of creation and for our own species in the future.”

— Jason MacLennan

I intend to become a WELL Accredited Professional this summer, inaugurating my commitment to designing for the human-health, happiness, productivity and overall wellbeing; however, I will need to dig deeper than the WELL Building Standard to really be of value. For decades, we have been designing with little regard for how buildings affect out health, in many cases, manifesting into ‘sick buildings’, buildings that cannot offer healthy indoor environments. (McLennan, 2004)

Since the 1950s, over 80,000 chemicals are currently being used in the United States, of which only under 200 have been tested for potential side effects, and only 5 have removed from production, as reported in the Toxic Substances Control Act.  In one study, they found that 232 chemicals were found in the umbilical cord samples. Babies are now being born with targeted immune systems and studies are linking this to higher infant mortality rates, a trend in lower IQs, and a rise in allergies, to list a few concerns. (Perkins + Will Transparency, s.d.) 

Along with familiarizing myself with Declare Label Products and The Living Future’s Red List, I aim to develop my understanding of toxic chemicals in building materials by following Pharos, and The Precautionary List, on Transparency,  “a gathering point for resources, news, and data supporting the open and honest disclosure of building material ingredients,” (Perkins + Will Transparency, s.d.) provided by architecture and planning firm, Perkins + Will, in collaboration with the American Cancer Society in service of the shared human vitality goals.

This principle also extends to social justice issues, and synthesizes with the next principle, Respect for place. It is important to protect the communities that are affected by building material manufacturing. Are safe and ethical practices being observed? It is about considering the factory workers that manufacture the products. Will the disposal of the products specified affect the health of the communities and their environments? It is about selecting wood that is sustainably retrieved, without impacting the wildlife. It is about protecting the diversity that we all benefit from.

Manifesto | Respect for the Cycle of Life | The “Seven Generations” Principle

“There is a teaching that is found within many indigenous cultures that talks about the Seven generations, the need to consider our impacts on each other, on our environment, and for those faces who have yet to come.”

— Ron Deganadus McLester (McLennan, 2004)

Except for materials created in modern society, nature has always been able to break down materials. As mentioned in the Human Vitality Principle, many of materials used in the built environment carry negative health implications. Seeing as nature metabolizes what we leave behind, the illnesses from these materials will also be passed down to the people and environment of future generations. (McLennan, 2004)

“Nature operates according to a system of nutrients and metabolisms in where there is no such thing as waste.”

— Bill McDonough and Michael Braungart (McLennan, 2004)

The life we have been privileged enough to enjoy on earth will likely change dramatically in the century to come. The United Nations issued a report May 6, 2019, stating that 1 million species are at risk of extinction, largely because we are eviscerating their habitats by removing their homes, food or poisoning their water, to meet our own goals. (Trompiz, 2019) This not only impacts the landscape of the planet we know and love, but it will threaten our quality of life, our food security, and most certainly the economy, expecting to shrink America’s GDP by 10%. (Irwin, 2019)

This principle seeks to teach and learn from the 7 generations we share our lives on earth with, from our great-grandparents to our great-grandchildren. It goes beyond the desire for adequate disposal methods. Bill McDonough and Michael Braungart wrote a book, Cradle to Cradle, that explores the concept of regenerative design, the reusability of materials as new resources, and understands that much of what is manufactured today is designed without consideration for its degradability. (McLennan, 2004)

I aim to abide by this principle by prioritizing products and materials that employ the closed-loop model for materials, making new products out of waste materials, and referring to a product’s Life Cycle Assessment. I also will aim to restore as much as possible, and design with the awareness that I am responsible for what I leave behind. 

“ Waste = Food”

— Paul Hawken (McLennan, 2004)

Manifesto | Respect for Energy and Natural Resources | The Conservation and Renewable Resources Principle

The resources available to us on this planet are finite; we need to treat them as finite, not an afterthought. The industrial economy would flounder without the employ of natural resources.  (McLennan, 2004) We have the responsibility to consider the embodied energy of the products and materials we use, and aim to minimize the use of materials, as long as it doesn’t impede meeting a project’s goals or quality. (McLennan, 2004)

I aim to specify plumbing and lighting fixtures, and appliances that have reduced water and energy loads. 

I will also endeavour to select materials either with high-recycled content, or is salvaged or reused, or when sourcing raw materials, to select minimally invasive (certified wood) and with a minimal embodied footprint. This includes understanding the process of resource extraction, the emissions of manufacturing, and transportation and assembly. It considers the maintenance requirements throughout its use (does it require a toxic cleaner or constant exhaust to reduce the effects of continuous off-gassing), and through the (potentially selective) demolition process. It means from the very beginning, considering its opportunity at the end of life. (McLennan, 2004) (Binggeli, 2013) I look forward to having a well-developed library of trusted green materials and products.

Green Wall Facade (Therapeutic Gardens, 2018)

Green Wall (Therapeutic Gardens, 2018)

The 1000th Well Certified Project by EDGE Technologies and BuroHappold (IWBI Twitter, 2019)

Manifesto | Respect for Process | The Holistic Thinking Principle

This principle acknowledges that it is in order to truly revolutionize the building industry, , it requires changing of the process by which we design, which is it a team effort. It requires an agreement and shared goal among all the professionals, architects, engineers, designers and contractors. (McLennan, 2004)

This principle has six sub-principles:

1.     A Commitment to Collaboration and Interdisciplinary Communication

2.     A Commitment to Holistic Thinking

3.     A Commitment to Life-Long Learning and Continual Improvement

4.     A Commitment to Challenging Rules of Thumb

5.     A Commitment to Allowing for Time to Make Good Decisions

6.     A Commitment to Rewarding Innovation (McLennan, 2004)

I plan on completing my LEED Accredited Professional Exam next summer so that I can keep abreast of the last best practices, and further my commitment to sustainable design.