2.8.10 | IA Interior Architects, a multi-branch, international firm, is one
of just a few large firms that have made a world-class reputation based
largely on their work in interiors. Recently, the firm has been making
news because of its recognized projects, and because of the personnel
developments in its coastal offices, NYC and LA, both of which have had
stumbling points in the recent past.
A&D Firms >>, People >>
2.8.10 | For some designers, furniture may be an afterthought, but this appears to
be an artifact of process and inconsistent with the holistic approach
required for the best design. The same can be said for the artificial
separation between the many aspects of the built environment from urban
design through architecture, interior design, furniture design and the
integration of technology.
Competitions and Awards >>
2.8.10| Haworth announced last week that its 2009 global sales were $1.11
billion. What's really amazing is that we no longer question that Haworth
is among the industry leaders, not only in size, but in importance
(although it still has not solved the NYC problem).
Business and Finance >>, Manufacturing >>
2.8.10 | Location, location, location is still the rule in real estate
matters, even though no capital expenditures is what we have been
hearing most frequentlyfor the past 15 months. And for sure there is
nothing like a change of venue to mess up a good thing. Look what
happened to NeoCon West after it moved from its original
convention center location into the LA Mart. Sad or pathetic – pick your
adjective – but for sure, we miss a West coast show.
Events >>
2.1.10 | Contract magazine’s official 50th Anniversary Issue
will be published in March, but the festivities got started last Friday
morning at the Annual Interiors Awards Breakfast at Cipriani
42nd Street. Unless they were among the lucky ones who could
just roll out of bed from the Hyatt Hotel across the street, attendees
had to set their alarm clocks for “extra extra” early and brave an
arctic blast to enjoy coffee and conversation at the 7:30 power
reception. Breakfast and awards were served at a more manageable 8:30
am.
Competitions and Awards >>
2.1.10| I am overcome with a certain amount of guilty pleasure each year as I
bound up the few steps to Cipriani 42nd to begin a new year’s
round of self-celebration at the annual – this year the 31st –
Interiors Awards Breakfast, which coincided with Contract
magazine’s 50th anniversary. If just half of the A&D and
contract furniture adulation evident in Contract’s introductory
anniversary film translates into contributed projects and advertisement,
there will be at least another 50 years ahead.
Events >>, Random Walk >>
2.1.10 | There’s no denying the beauty of the finished product, but despite tile’s
ability to transform ordinary spaces into award-winning ones, the
manufacturing process is a dirty business. It starts with a messy mixture
of sand, feldspar clay and water that can yield considerable amounts of
wet waste or “sludge.” “[We used to] collect, put in trucks and send to
the landfill approximately 6½ million pounds of wet waste a year,” says
Tim J. Bolby, Director of Technical Services, Crossville
Inc., a manufacturer of porcelain, metal and glass tile based in
Crossville, TN, and privately held by The Curran Group, based in
Crystal Lake, IL,.
Environment >>, Manufacturing >>
2.1.10 | John Berry speaks softly but carries a big portfolio as he continues his
role as an ambassador-at-large for design. He’s classically trained with an undergraduate degree in design from
Indiana University and a master’s in fine arts from the Cranbrook Academy
of Art near Detroit. He’s put in a solid stint for Herman Miller as Vice
President of Corporate Communications, and maintains his connection with
the company as liaison with the Eames Office and as the author of the
Rizzoli coffee-table book, Herman Miller: The Purpose of Design.
Manufacturing >>, People >>
2.1.10 | The idea of cognitive ergonomics is relatively
new, and one that Kimball Office has spent years
studying. However, in order to fully understand
how the mind works at work, we must first
appreciate the office environment we work in, and
understand how workplace dynamics complement the
mind. This column aims to identify some the
variables in an office setting, and the impact
they can have on how the mind works at work.
Product >>, Research >>
2.1.10 | Spacesmith developed the new New York City Police
Department Building for two clients: the Brooklyn Navy Yard
Development Corporation and the New York Police Department. The design,
certified by the USGBC as LEED Gold, sets a precedent for operations
facilities; it is part of an overall campus that includes an auction lot
and parking fields.
Project >>
01.25.10| 2010 is off to a decent start, if for no other reason than it’s no longer
2009 . . . and hope springs eternal. Of course we have all just had a big wake-up call – not that wake-up
calls ever really wake up anyone for long. Nature’s tragedies strike when
and where they want as the earth shucks and shuffles and twirls along its
trajectories. The recent example of ghastly proportions in Haiti reminds
us of the vital importance, and danger, of the built environment and its
relationship to our survival, individually and as a species.
Random Walk >>
01.25.10 | Edmonton is nearer than you think. The capital of Alberta, Canada’s
oil-rich Western province, is home to the head office of Stantec,
one of North America’s largest integrated architecture, design and
engineering firms. With 10,000 employees operating out of 130 offices
throughout North America, Building Design and Construction’s 2009
Giants 300 Report ranks the firm 7th among America’s top 50
architecture-and-engineering companies. In size and practice area, it
occupies an overlapping niche among Canadian design competitors, between
Toronto-based IBI Group, with 2,600 architects, designers and
engineers; and Montreal engineering and construction giant
SNC-Lavalin, with 23,000 staff.
A&D Firms >>, People >>
01.25.10| Imagine the dashboard in your car. As you see in the following image,
you find tools for measuring various aspects of automotive travel
including: a speedometer (indicating your velocity) an odometer
(measuring the total milage of your automobile and, with a submeter
measuring the estimated progress to your destination), a gas gauge
(indicating fuel reserves), perhaps a mileage barometer (indicating your
average MPG, energy efficiencies), warning lights (reminders of
priorities for required actions), and comfort controls (personalized
adjustments for heating, cooling, and sound), and an assortment of more
advanced metrics regarding mileage to empty GPS (time and gas savings
through driving efficiencies), etc.
Environment >>, Technology >>
01.25.10| Aluminum, it's everywhere: in our cars, trains, airplanes, buildings,
soda cans, antiperspirants, dyes and right on our kitchen table in the
form of food additives and kitchen utensils. Not a day goes by that we
don’t depend on aluminum. Considering it was discovered only about 200
years ago and available at commercially reasonable prices only for the
last 60 years, it is amazing how intimately connected it has become to
our lives. The most prevalent non-ferrous metal, aluminum is strong and
lightweight, recyclable and to many people, indispensable for modern
living.
Environment >>
01.25.10 | Several years ago a prescient planning decision was made that has proven
to be a valuable and cost effective strategy to manage the utilization of
Class A real estate in an extremely challenged economy. In 2001,
consistent robust growth compelled the law firm of Moore & VanAllen
to consider bold action in the renovation and expansion of existing
offices within a high-rise corporate center in Charlotte, North
Carolina.
Project >>
01.25.10| Now that the holidays are behind us, New York’s A&D community can
concentrate on what really matters: friends, fun, food, drinkand CEUs.
More than 100 designers packed the Versteel showroom at the New
York Design Center on January 20 for an interesting presentation
titled “Informing the Next Generation of Healthcare Designers” by Dale
Allen Greenwald, Associate Principal, Interior Design Director at
Cannon Design.
Events >>
01.25.10 | Environmental psychologists have known for some time that the ability to
personalize a workstation increases employee job satisfaction and
performance. In his doctoral dissertation, Craig Knight established a
value for this effect when basic information processing tasks are being
carried out. When individuals participating in Mr. Knight's experiments
could select and position plants and plant photographs in a test
workspace, their productivity increased 32%.
