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:
Have I discovered the key factors to affect positive change specific to this group of people?
Have I advocated effectively to propel that positive change?
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.”
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)