2012 Contract Magazine Interiors Awards Breakfast

1.30.12 | As an industry tradition, Contract magazine’s Interiors Breakfast has become a valuable barometer for what we can expect the rest of the year to hold for the A&D industry. This year, being the public debut of Contract’s new Editor-in-Chief John Czarnecki, many among the audience looked forward to Mr. Czarnecki’s stamp upon the event following the many successful years of his predecessor, Jennifer Busch, currently Vice President of A&D Market Development for InterfaceFLOR.

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Research Design Connections: Working in an Open Environment: A Case Study

1.30.12 | Varlander has reviewed the workplace experiences of employees of a Swedish firm that implemented an open space office design. Data were gathered using interviews and by observing at the firm.

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KI’s Deborah Breunig Discusses Evidenced-based Design and KI’s Role

1.23.12 | Much to our embarrassment, our review of healthcare products at NeoCon 2011 did not include KI, which has been a long-time prominent player in this area. We were therefore grateful to mitigate our deficiency through an opportunity to speak to Deborah Breunig, Vice President of Healthcare at KI. Ms. Breunig was happy to give us additional insight about KI’s perspective on the healthcare field, which appears to be leading the interior design profession into a new day in which designers will be required have a very good handle on the outcomes that can be expected from their efforts and their client’s investments.

A&D Firms >>, Companies >>, Interviews >>

Research Design Connections: Arise From That Chair!

1.23.12 | British psychologists have learned that all that time we spend sitting at work has repercussions beyond the size of the posterior we’re sitting on. Dr Myanna Duncan, Mr. Aadil Kazi and Professor Cheryl Haslam from the Work & Health Research Centre, Loughborough University, presented their workplace-based research January 13 at the British Psychological Society's Annual Occupational Conference.

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2011 Year in Review

1.16.12 | It was a good year, right? Perhaps not a great year, as we in this industry have known it, but, sequentially, quite a good year for the those creating interior environments. Employment, one of the key drivers in the interiors economy, has been spotty, yet pent up demand and the every-changing workplace has cut the purse strings, freeing some of the stored profits of major corporations, all to our benefit. Organizations are even more focused on productivity and related efficiencies, causing workplace redesign and furnishing as they pursue more effective use of their real estate, having lived through the second traumatic recession in a decade. At the same time, the scattered rays of economic sunlight have turned organizational minds toward staffing needs and the twin demands of retention and recruitment.

So, for many it was back to making hay, putting aside the difficult tasks of redesigning their business to correct the shortcomings that are so easily swept beneath the carpet during the good times.

Here is a glancing overview of the events that we covered last year.

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A Visit To Orfield Labs

12.19.11 | I have never returned from an Orfield event without the feeling of having my eyes re-opened. I call it the Applied Brilliance for the Built Environment. The Lutron-sponsored two-day program, User Experience Across Multiple Building Types, was the latest for the Open Plan Working Group and the recently created Architectural Research Consortium. Interestingly, although Orfield’s focus is on user experience and its relationship to building performance, a fair amount of the discussion dealt with the experience of clients with architects and designers as they, the clients, try to markedly and systematically improve building performance and user (referring to the ultimate user) experience.

A&D Firms >>, Events >>, Project >>

AIA Gold Medal to Steven Holl

12.19.11 | As the 2012 recipient of its highest honor, the Gold Medal, the American Institute of Architects has wisely named Steven Holl of New York. Like most winners of the AIA Gold Medal, Holl is in fact several years overdue, having received a variety of honors at home and abroad over the past decade. (Unlike last year's overdue Gold Medalist, Fumihiko Maki of Tokyo, Holl hasn't yet won the Pritzker Prize, and he's overdue for that too.)

A&D Firms >>, Competitions and Awards >>, People >>, Prof. Associations >>

Research Design Connections: 2011 Livable Buildings Awards

12.19.11 | The Center for the Built Environment at the University of California Berkeley conferred its 2011 Livable Buildings Award on the Enermodal Engineering Headquarters building (Robertson Simmons Architects Inc.) in Kitchener, Ontario. The Kresge Foundation Headquarters and the Tahoe Center for Environmental Sciences won honorable mentions in this contest. The Livable Buildings Awards “showcase buildings that excel in design, operation, and occupant satisfaction.” The 2011 projects singled out for recognition were described as “projects [that] meet the highest standards for providing healthy and productive indoor environments, and also represent best practices for sustainability and overall design.”

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Toronto IIDA Leaders Breakfast 2011

12.12.11 | IIDA Leaders Breakfasts in Toronto took place for the first time at our newest five-star hotel, the impressive (wit, elegance and a hint of glitz without going over the top) 53-storey Ritz-Carlton. The honoree was Susan Wiggins (See officeinsight June 10, 2010), executive director, Interior Designers of Canada. Janice Price, President and CEO, Luminato, was keynote speaker.

A&D Firms >>, Events >>, Prof. Associations >>

Research Design Connection: Another Argument for Onsite Fitness Centers

12.12.11 | Researchers at the University of Exeter have completed research that supports including fitness centers in corporate campuses and similar complexes. Adrian Taylor and his colleagues determined that walking briskly for 15 minutes can reduce snacking on chocolate by 50%.

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