Design Manifestos: Travis Anderson of Placetailor Inc.

Travis Anderson joined Placetailor Inc. located in Boston, Massachusetts in 2012 as a Designer / Builder and now serves as Placetailor’s Design Director. In 2015, Travis became an employee/owner in Placetailor’s Co-op. Along with the Placetailor team, he has designed and built New England’s first certified multi-family Passive House and multiple other passive house, high performance and energy positive developments in Boston. His commitment to design build has led to working on projects throughout the United States, including Seattle, Pittsburgh, Brooklyn, the Yakima Reservation in Eastern Washington and hopefully someday his own backyard. Modelo spent some time learning about what inspires Travis and about his current role at Placetailor.

On becoming an architect
I grew up in rural New Hampshire in a family of self starters. My Dad had his own landscaping business and worked in the golf industry. My Mom painted murals in old New England farmhouses and had an antique store. Between watching my Mom paint and my Dad craft landscapes, you could say I was exposed to the creative process and built environment early on. I ended up going to art school at Alfred University for undergrad and concentrated in printmaking. While there, I became enamored with the process of creating and reproducing prints. Looking back, the physicality of the medium which required layering images and colors, running the presses, and experimenting with materials was very much like building. There was a base layer, a foundation, that everything was constructed off of. It wasn’t until much later, after working for artists and as a carpenter, that I realized architecture was my path. By that point I had been exposed to building and remodeling houses and helping artists realize their vision through both analogue and digital platforms. The notion of melding my artistic background with my skills as a carpenter was very enticing and I decided to apply to graduate school to advance my skills in the profession.

On discovering his voice as a designer
I attended a Yestermorrow Community Design Build course as a trial run before applying to graduate school. That is where I met Steve Badanes and Jim Adamson, both founders of Jersey Devil, and Bill Bialosky. Steve and Jim really took me under their wing and exposed me to how craft heritage and design can intersect with community, environmentalism and outright creativity. I ended up attending the University of Washington to continue working with Steve and because of UW’s strong reputation in the field of sustainable design. While there, I also had the opportunity to work with Rob Pena, kind of a silent guru in terms of building science, and learned how to calculate energy loads long hand…thankfully now we have WUFI for that. The combination of Steve’s heavy community/design/build focus and Rob’s commitment to high performance buildings definitely influenced my holistic approach to design.

On joining Placetailor
I finished graduate school during the housing crash in late 2009, so finding employment was tough. My wife and I decided to move back east to be closer to family and to be in an area where we could cast a larger net to find a job. We ended up in Boston (she found a job first) and I ended up starting my own design/build company doing additions and remodels. Pretty soon thereafter, I began volunteering with Archventures, a small community based nonprofit that worked with other nonprofits on design and construction of capital improvements. I ended up co-operating Archventures and we taught a small class at the Boston Architectural College using Archventures as a platform. Long story short, Archventures was founded by Simon Hare who also started Placetailor and Placetailor’s now Director attended the BAC… small town. When Placetailor launched Powahouse, the first multi-family passive house in New England, I decided to apply. Placetailor basically embodied everything I studied up to that point: environmental and community focus, design/build, building science and was a worker owned Co-op to top it off. To this day we continue to push the envelope as much as we can in terms of our commitment to Passive House design and construction, innovative building process and celebrating the community around our projects…I learn every day on the job.

On specific principles the firm strives to adhere to
Challenge. We typically look for projects that are nuanced and that we can learn from in some capacity. Whether it’s attempting to develop 40 units of energy positive housing, helping to train Union carpenters on Passive house construction, doing a deep energy retrofit to a community center with volunteers or finding a more efficient way to trim a window. Often times what seems like the most mundane task leads to the most creative process. Be it a formula in a spreadsheet or a saw cut, we continuously question how we work and the way we work.

On his role at Placetailor
Until recently I had been a Project Manager at Placetailor which meant I was involved with projects on multiple levels from design, energy modeling, and scheduling to running the crew and managing subs. Actual design was about 30% of what I did, a majority of the time I was on-site and in the field. As we continue to grow as a company, we have been pushing architecture more as a part of our practice. Many people still view us as the “green guys” and we want the public to realize that Placetailor is quite multifaceted.

My new role has been to heavily focus on design and bringing projects to fruition. Internally how we manage and structure the design process had been crafted over time amongst our team and now it’s up to me make sure our workflows run smoothly. We are a small company so the need to wear multiple hats is still there and I do see this role evolving some as we take on more design work and bring on more designers in the coming months. It will become more important for me to make sure we adhere to our baseline principles of taking the environment and collaboration seriously while still having fun and pushing creativity.

On recent projects that represent the firm’s unique approach
We start every project with a charrette, either internally as a team or with the community/client if it calls for it. While this is not entirely unique, what helps distinguish us early on is our knowledge of building science and background as builders that we bring to the table. We approach every project with performance, budget and site context in mind from the start. We often create the construction budget while in design development and spec materials early on as well. This ensures that we can build to our performance standards while still maintaining creativity in the design. Often times the moves are simple, like an asymmetrical roofline, window patterns or repurposing materials, but the results are often unique and generate a positive response from neighbors. We like to think of our projects as “contextual modern”.

On his design toolkit
We use a variety of tools to create. We still sketch ideas by hand, but we definitely jump to revit and sketchup at the beginning of the process. That said, creating a 3D model is integral to how we work and bring projects to fruition, our work flows are very much centered on designing in 3D. When it comes to presentation we often take a step back and work more in Illustrator and Photoshop as well as integrate some hand drawings. We work directly with community groups quite often and have found a flashy render sometimes can be a turn off as many people think that is an absolute and it leaves little room for collaboration and design discussion. The 3D model also gets used throughout the construction process. As a design build company, we often are testing new details on site that continuously get added to the model. The model allows us to refine or “tweak” a detail a bit before actually constructing it. It is a nice reciprocal relationship between the site and office in creating assemblies.

On the state of design software
When I was in graduate school, SketchUp and Revit had just hit the market and you could really see the transformation in what people were able to produce. 3D modeling was suddenly becoming very accessible and the shift from 2D to 3D software was exciting and challenging to be a part of. The most exciting thing, currently, is the advancement of Augmented Reality and how that will begin to shape the industry and make architecture even more accessible to the public and other designers. As 3D and BIM modeling become even more robust and intuitive, my hope is that energy modeling software will also soon follow suite. Imagine an AR experience that allows you to see the performance of your building envelope… whether or not a space will become overheated, be too cold or not have the right air circulation. WUFI is getting there with its integration with SketchUp but it still has a steep learning curve to really use it to its fullest and I hope to see it become more accessible.

On the AEC industry in the next 5–10 years
Our hope has been that the industry will start building more high performance buildings that rely less on putting a bunch of solar panels on a project or using “green materials”. There are certainly firms out there pushing the envelope in terms of performance, but unfortunately the housing market is still saturated with builders and designers that do the bare minimum. I do think in 10 years the industry will be producing much more efficient buildings as metrics like Passive House or Living Buildings become more a part of the public understanding of how architecture can and should be. Climate change will also play a massive role in the next 5–10 years to help push more high performance buildings to be constructed. We also will start to see new ways in which buildings create/consume energy, ie. the battery backup systems for PV coming on the market. I don’t think there will be a dramatic shift by any means in 5–10 years, but I do think municipalities will start to implement and reshape policies that will push the industry toward new ways of how buildings are tied to the grid and how much energy they consume. We have already started to see this with “stretch codes” here in Massachusetts, but overall they have a long way to go.

On Placetailor in the next 5–10 years
Placetailor adheres to a triple bottom line, People, Profit and Planet, which very much informs our decisions as we look to the future. As the cost of housing increases, the next step will be making new buildings more affordable and accessible so everyone can have a happy, healthy home. I think we will start to become more involved with the tech sector in terms of how buildings are constructed and how materials are brought to the site. We have already begun to think about how a home can be built with various types of labor by partnering with Homebuilt, a “build-it -yourself platform”. We are also exploring ways in which the co-op structure can inform housing initiatives and ways to remove homes further off-grid.

On advice he would give himself
Sleep more.

Design Manifestos: David Reid of Gould Evans

David Reid is a Principal at Gould Evans in Kansas City, Missouri. David’s excitement about all things educational is contagious. He excels at helping clients envision a more compelling future condition: broadening their conceptions about the transformative power of great design.

David’s drive to create learning environments with real educational outcomes is reflected in his design process. His natural curiosity and patience engage clients and collaborators in a deeper understanding of a design problem, unlocking design solutions with meaning. Recognizing that the greatest innovations often emerge from constraints, he loves taking small projects and elevating them into major impacts that support a client’s mission. David is a leader in the firm’s research efforts into emerging 21st century pedagogies and how they interact with the built environment. Modelo spent some time learning about what inspires David and about his role at Gould Evans.

On becoming an architect
My mother is an artist, and my father is an architect and former professor of architecture at Kansas State University. He also taught furniture design and had his own woodworking shop in our home basement. These influences obviously exposed me to the joy of artistic and design expression at an early age, not to mention having access to high quality artist’s materials that make the act of creation more enjoyable. That access wasn’t always sanctioned, but the risk was well worth it.

As I got into middle school, I began to pester my parents for ways I could earn money. Hence, my first architectural contract; an architectural model for my father — a small office building. I was 12 years old, and I earned a whopping $20! My passion grew from there. I never questioned what career path I would follow. This felt so natural.

On discovering his voice as a designer
I was given some great opportunities to lead design early on in my career, but I can’t say I found my voice until much later. We were taught in school what good design is and isn’t, and looking back, the approach often resulted in trendy and dated design. It tended to be object-oriented rather than experience-oriented. To this day, it’s evident that many designers are consciously, or subconsciously influenced by the notable work that’s going on around them. It wasn’t until I started asking deeper questions about the social and humanistic opportunities inherent in design that I started moving toward more meaningful work.

I’ve also found more of a personal voice through our firm’s post-occupancy efforts; seeing how students value the opportunity to shape their own learning environment, and the level of engagement that ensues when they are allowed to do so, reminds me of my own childhood and my most memorable learning experiences. As a kid, I often used the scraps from my father’s workshop to fashion creative and dangerous constructs; a treehouse, a number of experimental rafts (that I should have never taken onto the lake), precarious rope swings, forts, and more. In reflecting back on those projects, it helped me realize the power of our environment to transform our experiences. Our firm’s education design work aspires to spark students’ imaginations and empower them to shape their learning habitats, in order to affect their personal learning experiences.

STEAM Studio, which is an experimental learning space for Science, Technology, Engineering, Art and Math located within our architectural studio, has been a powerful incubator for ideas. It’s also helped our design teams develop more empathy for teachers, and our education clients in general. Great teachers are heroes, but seldom do they get adequate recognition! And even more seldom do they get the guidance in designing learning spaces that can transform their teaching & learning efforts. This is where I find my passion as a designer — helping teachers to envision effective instructional environments that they have never considered, which better support blended learning and other changing pedagogies that they are being asked to adopt. We even get in the school’s business of teacher development and training, which is critical to successful adoption of a 21st century pedagogy and space.

Perhaps through all this, I’ve found my “inner teacher” — that dormant piece of DNA that I inevitably picked up from my father, the architectural professor.

On joining Gould Evans
Other than working with my father as a youth, my first job was with Gould Evans. I’ve worked elsewhere since then, but rejoined the firm 16 years ago. Since my father and Bob Gould, one of our firm’s founders, worked together at TVA in Knoxville back in the late ‘60’s, Bob and I go back a long way. In fact, I was probably 2 or 3 years old when I first “met” Bob. I’m sure I left a great impression on him at that time, but certainly the relationship has led to a lot of trust, and thereby opportunities to foster my professional growth.

I think the evolution of my approach is like a lot of architects…as you mature, you no longer feel the same urgency to use every crayon in the box on each project. The hand of mediation is an important asset in good work, to boil things down to their pure essence. Simplification. And seeking solutions that are driven by user needs, the user experience, and much less about form-making for form’s sake.

On specific principles he strives to adhere to
I’d say that I’m overly nerdy about how learning happens, which has piqued a deep and ongoing curiosity about the biology, neurology, psychology, and sociology of learning. Gould Evans strives for an evidence-based approach to our education design work, and we’ve found great value in the engagement of unconventional collaborators such as anthropologists, psychologists and industrial designers.

We also focus on developing more effective tools of engagement with our clients. Despite having a deep passion for and experience base in education design, we try to avoid making assumptions with each new client. We take a deep dive at the outset of each project; coming to understand the client’s culture, their student demographic, the unique aspects of their community, and their specific approach to this thing we call 21st century learning. This is the most powerful part of the process — the most likely place to innovate. And personally, the most enjoyable and entertaining part of my job. Teachers are such a blast to hang out with — they have their own brand of humor which has often been characterized as a survival strategy. I love it!

On his role at Gould Evans
My role is one of advancing our firm’s thinking about education design and adapting to the needs of tomorrow’s learners. We cross a wide breadth of education markets, from pre-kindergarten through higher education, and even life-long learning. It’s challenging, but also valuable since ideas cross-pollinate across grade levels, and it gives us broad insight into ideas from anywhere on that spectrum which help evolve education design forward.

On recent projects that represent the firm’s unique approach
I feel like we bring a unique perspective to the user experience of architecture. A great example is a renovation project in which we’re transforming what was originally intended to be a temporary hospital structure into a state-of-the-art campus for the Kansas City University of Medicine and Biosciences in Joplin, Missouri. The existing building is a kit-of-parts designed and built in 3 months after a tornado destroyed the city’s primary hospital. There was no attention spent on the human experience of its occupants. On top of this, medical programs are incredibly rigorous, and the incidence of depression among medical students is extremely high. So we asked ourselves how can we create a hyper-restorative learning environment that leverages design to help mitigate this phenomenon. This took us directly into discussions with psychologists who quickly translated their research on natural cures for depression, and helped us prioritize strategies such as community making, amplification of daylight, creating multiple scales of connection to the natural environment, creating “decompression spaces”, and providing a broad palette of spaces to support biological rhythms of students who are all on different sleep schedules.

Another example is a new STEM building for American River College in Sacramento, California. Their student base is diverse in academic ability, ethnicity, socioeconomic status and age. The campus is also host to a vital LGBTQ community. We asked ourselves what this diversity means to the ongoing discussion about design inclusiveness — how can we use architecture to help overcome many stereotype threats persistent among these groups and create positive outcomes for student success? Again, this sent us on a unique research path that led to ideas about neutralizing the hierarchy of classrooms, invigorating the interiors with inspiring graphics and vibrant colors, placing the entry level math labs in some of the best real estate in the building, and integrating the entry level programs with the advanced programs such that all students can see what options are out there and better relate their current efforts with a future path — and a future dream.

A third example is the Missouri Innovation Campus in Lee’s Summit, Missouri — the nation’s most accelerated college degree program. MIC places heavy emphasis on internships for credit and career readiness of their graduates. During the design process, we spent considerable time talking with business partners (internship hosts) to understand what career readiness means to their organizations, which we used to inform a series of design strategies that foster such skillsets in the campus setting. The result is a unique new facility where the faculty are challenged to be as progressive as the space that supports them, and where learning space looks like the workplace.

On his design toolkit
We live in a world where our clients have grown up playing video games and watching hyper-realistic animated movies. They’ve become very demanding in their expectations of visual representations, and are more expectant of looking at design ideas in 3 dimensions. The architecture profession is still playing catchup to other industries, and there’s no one single tool to get the job done. Within our firm, we use a crazy cocktail of programs in order to meet these client expectations. Our mainstay software programs include Sketchup, 3D Studio Max, Revit, and Rhino.

Collaboration across our large complex teams is another demand that drives our choice of tools. Recently, we had team members on three continents collaborating on the same project — it’s actually quite highly common to have team members scattered across three or four time zones. Getting all these associates to share the same model, and advance concerted ideas quickly for our fast-paced project schedules is incredibly demanding.

On the future of architecture in the next 5–10 years
Societal norms are changing rapidly compared with the past century. The expectations of Gen Y and Z youth are causing disruption everywhere: in education, in the workplace, and in the formation of society at large given their progressive attitudes about social equity and environmental issues. Architecture is being forced to respond to these changes.

These same pressures are going to affect certain markets quite heavily. Take the workplace for example: 72 percent of today’s high school students want to start their own business, and 65 percent of today’s grade school students will end up in jobs that haven’t been invented yet. The specific impact this will have on the workplace is up for anyone’s prediction, but it’s a topic we’re researching at Gould Evans.

Decision making is becoming more data driven and data justified. For example, in the design of workplaces: now that the negative health and productivity effects of open office environments are being published, we’re seeing a correction towards spaces that offer each employee more self-determination. We’re seeing more workers with nomadic careers, and we’re seeing an ever growing freelance workforce. The flexibility and “hackability” of co-working spaces for freelancers has influenced more traditional workplace environments.

In our schools, Roger Martin makes a great point about the creativity imperative for the future of capitalism, and how important creativity and entrepreneurialism are as a part of the education experience. Similarly, the International Center for Leadership in Education cites statistics about the reduction of mid-level jobs, and the necessity of empathizers and creatives to fulfill needs in the high-skills job markets.

On the future of Gould Evans in the next 5–10 years
At Gould Evans, we continue to broaden our circle of collaborators, bringing outside perspectives to the table to help us solve the complex challenges facing our clients. Our planning process is also becoming more complex and multi-disciplinary, as we are extending our role and guiding clients from earlier phases of project planning — earlier than architects traditionally get involved — in order to have more lasting impact.

On advice he would give himself

• Find people you really love to work with. Culture is everything!
• There’s a lot you can do as an architect, but at the same time, roles within the profession are becoming more specialized. It’s more and more difficult to be an effective “Renaissance Architect”. Design your path wisely to get you where you want to be, which may require seeking diverse experiences early on so you know what part of our profession best suits you.
• This iterative approach develops skills and patience that can be applied to career opportunities well beyond traditional paths in architecture.

Design Manifestos: Kevin Kudo-King of Olson Kundig

Kevin Kudo-King began his career and nineteen-year tenure at Olson Kundig in Seattle, Washington as an intern architect and was named an associate in 2004, a principal in 2010 and an owner in 2015. Kevin works across a broad range of project types including private residences, museums, resorts, and mixed-use and institutional design. His projects extend from the firm’s home base in Seattle to work across the nation and around the world such as India, Mexico and Taiwan to Costa Rica, Europe and Australia. In addition to design leadership on projects, Kevin oversees Olson Kundig’s marketing and business development initiatives and serves in a leadership role on the board of trustees of Artist Trust, an organization that supports artists in Washington State. Modelo spent some time learning about Kevin’s professional journey as an architect and about discovering his voice as a designer.

On becoming an architect
I had an interest in sketching and building things from a very young age. I can still remember drawing sections of airplanes and structures and simply imagining how people might exist inside of them―it really interested me. Remarkably, I see the same thing with my own kids today, so architecture might be in their destinies too.

By the time I reached high school, I knew I wanted to be an architect and decided to attend the University of Arizona in Tucson. It’s a great place to learn about architecture because you can’t ignore the desert. It tells you what it wants and what it needs from you to build there.

On discovering his voice as a young designer
I developed my design voice in Arizona, when I would go out into the desert and basically think about what it means to be there and how humans can exist in that extreme environment. In order to do so, you need to build thick concrete or heavy walls; you need to dig down in the earth where it’s cool; you need shade. The light is so strong and dramatic, and there are inspiring views of the surrounding desert, mountains, and hills that need to be considered along with solar orientation as you design.

My education in Arizona really pushed me to think about “place” beyond the actual physical place, which is so important―it encouraged me to think about what it feels like to be in a particular location on a spiritual level. That philosophy guided my interest early on. It took a couple years in school―this was the 1990s―to wade through the external influences of the moment in order to focus on concepts that were more timeless. Some early influences for me were the Salk Institute by Louis Kahn and the work of Luis Barragán.

I joined Olson Kundig directly out of school. It was the place I wanted to work. Prior to that, I had spent a lot of time in the shop and had started making furniture out of steel. I had also worked in construction, which I feel all architects should do. I ended up at Olson Kundig because I valued the firm’s focus on materiality and the cornerstone principles of craft, site context and integration with nature. Olson Kundig was known for interweaving materials and details in a fashion similar to masters like Carlos Scarpa; they allowed the hands of the craftsperson to be expressed in their projects and celebrated the collaboration with the builder as part of the design process. This foundation was instrumental in allowing me to discover my own voice.

The development of my architectural voice was also rooted in the firm’s focus on the integration of art and architecture. I was introduced to the work of James Turrell and later worked with him on one of our houses. I will never forget being in a dark room with him at 5:30 in the morning while he adjusted the light in one of his pieces―it felt like I was inside of a painting, as it was being painted. We’ve done work with Richard Serra, too, and his sculptures have also influenced me. Although we haven’t worked with Hiroshi Sugimoto, I have seen his photos and pieces during trips to Japan and they are really amazing―they’re about capturing these perfect, abstract moments in time, which is what architecture can do, too.

My wife is from Japan, so we go there every year and have done so since 1997. That has been a huge influence on me not only because of the architecture and craft but also because of the experiential aspects of how things unfold in Japanese architecture and gardens.

On joining Olson Kundig
In school, we were taught to do everything ourselves. When you get out into the real world, however, you realize that it’s actually a team effort. At Olson Kundig, collaboration is especially important. At our practice, we work closely with builders, craftspeople, and artists.

When you get out of school, it hits home that architecture is a service profession, especially in the work that we do which focuses on residential architecture. I find residential design to be exceptionally fulfilling because people are coming to you to fulfill their personal dream of building their own home. It’s rewarding to see them moved by what we create together.

On specific principles he strives to adhere to
We work around the world, and in particular, I do a lot of international work. Right now, we have a project in Sydney that I’m working on with Tom Kundig and a project in London that I’m working on with Jim Olson. They are in two completely different places, but both of them are about creating architecture that fits into a specific context. By bringing our design values to a specific site and a client’s set of determinants our work continues to evolve.

We always prefer to work closely with the builder early in the design process and we value a very collaborative process during construction. We do not feel the design process ends when construction begins. Leaving enough latitude in the design to allow changes and contributions by the builder means we create something together that reflects all involved―it is something greater than we could have achieved separately or with a less collaborative attitude.

On his role at Olson Kundig
I focus a lot on residential and international work. I also work on hotels and cultural projects. For example, we recently completed a visitor center for the Bellevue Botanical Garden outside Seattle, Washington, and an art museum in Tacoma. It’s important to us that we remain a strong regionalist practice, which we have been since Jim founded the firm in 1966, even though we also practice nationally and internationally.

My concentration is project-focused. On some projects, I am the design lead, while on others I work in collaboration with Jim Olson or Tom Kundig. I also oversee our marketing department, who are a great group of folks and don’t really need much overseeing, but that is part of what I do.

On recent projects that represent his unique approach
We do have a unique approach―we believe in constantly reinventing ourselves. Every project is somewhat of a prototype because it needs to be about the place in which it is built, and about the people who it’s being built for, the combination of which is always completely unique.

One project I’m working on now is the Upper Garden at Leach Botanical Garden in Portland, Oregon. The property was owned by a couple who is well-known in the horticulturist world. They gave the property to the City of Portland in order to create a new public property at the west end of Portland for everyone to enjoy. The concept we proposed is inspired by traditional lath houses―in this case, we have designed a wooden lath structure and a building that floats inside of it. The buildings incorporate vegetated roofs and alpine roof gardens into the structure that are both architecture and exhibit. They are about education, experience, storytelling, and are beautiful structures.

I recently worked on the JW Marriott Los Cabos Beach Resort & Spa with Jim Olson, which opened last November. For that project, we wanted to create a resort focused on the horizon. When you enter the open-air lobby, you are greeted by views of the ocean and expansive infinity pools, creating the illusion of the ocean merging with the property. It is reminiscent of Sugimoto’s photographs of the horizon. We wanted to create an experience of unfolding―you enter the resort on a high elevation, then descend down into the earth, but eventually every path leads to you to the top of the dune, looking out over the ocean, where you feel like you’re practically at the end of the earth.

On his design toolkit
I came into the profession at a time when we were still taught to draft by hand, but we were also using early versions of AutoCAD, where you would type in all your commands. I’m glad I learned both. The computer is useful because you can study lots of variations and move things around easily, but its disadvantage is that you’re in this virtual world and you don’t really have a sense of scale.

In general, I start with hand sketches and drawings in a sketchbook, then I move to laying out the parts and pieces diagrammatically on the computer and, finally, I print those out and go back to hand drawing over the computer drawings. I move back and forth between the two because the act of putting pencil to paper allows you to feel the spaces you’re creating. We use physical models a lot and always have; I did the same on all my school projects as well. This also allows for a very direct tactile understanding of the project.

Nowadays, renderings and 3D modeling are amazing, but they still don’t take the place of being able to review a physical model. The client can hold it up, look inside, turn it around and understand the scheme at a more direct and tactile level. It is still less abstract than what the computer can produce.

On the state of software today
I feel the best tool an architect has is his or her imagination and training as a problem solver. We use Revit to produce construction drawings. My impression of it is that it’s not an extremely intuitive tool. What you can potentially do with it is amazing, but it has a very complex interface.

Ultimately our digital tools are going to become more intuitive and immersive, and they’re going to get better and better just like AutoCAD did. You used to have to type in commands to be able to draw, but then everything became more icon-based, more visual, and more intuitive. I’m sure Revit will head in that direction as well.

On the future of the industry and Olson Kundig in the next 5–10 years
Our practice is expanding and we recently dropped “Architects” from our name. We were previously “Olson Kundig Architects;” now we’re “Olson Kundig.” We do exhibit design, interior design, landscape architecture, furniture and gizmo design, and we even do videography. We use video to explain our kinetic work, which naturally lends itself to moving pictures. Video allows kinetic architecture to unfold in front of the viewer so they can truly experience it.

Phil Turner, who previously worked with us as a consultant, has been in-house since 2012, and he is simply a genius! Before he joined us he fabricated the kinetic designs we created. After he sold his company, he joined us to help with our kinetic designs. The profession of architecture is changing in that it has broadened and architects are finding new roles for themselves as designers of many things beyond buildings.

I also believe it’s become a smaller world. We’re doing work all over the world at the moment, and as architects based in the United States, we have a level of creativity that we can take elsewhere in the world. I hope that it will be easier and easier to do that. We could travel less when the digital technology and tools catch up; they work now, of course, but they are somewhat counterintuitive much like Revit is. I believe they will only get better and more immersive, and ultimately, less expensive and as the mass market embraces them.

For a long time now, people have been becoming more aware of sustainable design but I think it’s going to become more deeply embedded in our process more as architects. We have a member of staff solely focused on R&D and high-performance building technology―he ensures our projects are even more sustainable. We have always designed and built projects to last 100 years or more using local craftspeople and materials that respond passively to the climate. Now we’re going to take it one step further and be able to do the metrics and analytical work to make sure that they are aggressively energy efficient and incorporate the latest technology that carries them far into the future.

On advice he would give his younger self
This is a tough question. I look back and I realize I was very lucky to end up precisely where I wanted to be. However, if I consider whether that calculus class I took in college was useful, I would probably have to admit I didn’t really need to take it―even though I enjoyed it! In retrospect, I should have stuck with Spanish. We’re doing a lot of work in countries where people speak multiple languages. My wife speaks multiple languages, yet here I am, able to speak only marginal Spanish, some very bad Japanese, and only okay English!

Design Manifestos: Lauren Collier of SSOE Group

Lauren Collier, Associate AIA serves as Virtual Design and Construction (VDC) Manager at SSOE Group, a global project delivery firm for architecture, engineering, and construction management. With 11 years of industry experience, she is a leader in SSOE’s VDC initiative and champions corporate BIM/VDC standards and develops innovative new technology strategies with her team. Her creative passion lies in developing constant improvements and innovative model/data use solutions for SSOE’s design and construction operations. She leverages technical tools for improved efficiency, performance, and quality in project execution. Lauren holds a Master of Art and Architecture from Savannah College of Art and Design and a Bachelor of Architecture from Miami University. Modelo spent some time learning about Lauren came to join SSOE and about her current role as VDC Manager.

On becoming a Design Professional
Early on, as far back as high school, I excelled in art but also in math and science. It was before STEM was being promoted as heavily as it is today. I had several excellent teachers that helped guide me in the direction of architecture and engineering. After visiting a couple schools I realized that the architecture curriculum aligned well with what I enjoyed. That came down to problem solving. The architecture career is about problem solving for the built environment. You’re able to use your creativity skills to provide solutions for your clients, be that for hospitality or commercial or industrial. Each one of the building types have a different solution. I studied at Miami University for my undergraduate. I went to Savannah College of Art and Design for my Master’s. After college I actually worked for a healthcare firm and did healthcare architecture for some time.

SSOE was my first big internship when I was in undergrad. They called me up in the spring of 2007, after having graduated with my master’s the previous year, and asked if I was interested in a technology position. It had to do with the introduction and the implementation of BIM technology throughout their organization. They knew that I already had a connection with the architectural department from my days as an intern and many of the same staff members were still there. That took me down this technologist avenue. When I came back to SSOE, my main responsibility was the implementation of BIM in the architecture department and providing them unique solutions to meet the demands of the clients.

Since then, I’ve continued to stay connected to architecture. But I would say I moved on into the project execution realm. When I say project execution it goes beyond just using BIM. It’s developing processes, using other technologies, and syncing them with BIM and other modeling techniques to improve our overall efficiencies. Right now I have a team of other technologists with diverse backgrounds and our main responsibility goes back to coming up with creative problem solving solutions to deliver our projects. We develop a project execution strategy and we find the right technology to enable that strategy.

On discovering her voice in the profession
For the first couple of years my main responsibility was technology and processes for the architectural department. I quickly grew out of that role and into leading people in that execution. I attended many technical conferences, I also joined the USACE (United States Army Core of Engineers) Industry Consortium where we defined standards for their BIM deliverables. It was exposing me to a lot of general contractors, other design firms of varying sizes, and expanded my experience and network. I decided that it was time for me to have a discussion with our Chief Strategic Officer about an idea that I had been developing. This idea had to do with going beyond using the model just for design documentation and was about pushing it into estimating, preconstruction, procurement, and construction. The design and construction industry had the potential for dramatically increasing productivity and eliminating waste by integrating our delivery model.

We needed to be on the leading edge of this movement. I soon submitted a very rough preliminary business plan and research. We had lunch and discussed the plan in detail and I was given the green light to move forward.. He not only got behind this idea but offered to be my executive sponsor. After that opportunity, additional opportunities presented themselves. Through this process, I realized that even though I was a young professional, that didn’t mean that I had to keep my ideas quiet, I had a voice and it was being heard. It boosted my confidence. Since then I’ve gone from being a team leader, to a section manager, and I now just recently got another promotion to manager of our Virtual Design and Construction (VDC) department, and as nervous and excited as I am about this promotion, I realize that I’m doing all the right things.

On her role at SSOE
Our vision for our department, we have about six people, is focused on technology and processes to help influence project execution. Our team is focused on our EPC/M projects within our construction arm. EPC/M is engineering, procurement and construction/construction management. We have more skin in the game and they’re higher risk projects. We’re doing the construction management and we’re buying the equipment — -and sometimes the project through commissioning and start-up. The use of technology is helping us drive huge efficiencies. Initially, we had been focused on pilot projects. Over the last year, those pilot projects have created some proficient standard processes that we are now implementing at an organizational level.

One of the technologies helping drive efficiencies is reality capture. I would define reality capture as using laser scanning or photogrammetry technology to capture existing environments. What we’re doing is taking this point cloud data and manipulating it and integrating it for our renovation work. This goes with using traditional LIDAR scanning equipment, drone data, and we even have a handheld device that takes a series of photos that we stitch together into a point cloud. We’re using all three types to capture existing conditions.

With these technologies, the accuracy is no longer a guessing game because we know what we’re building and where. It’s starting to change the way our documents look, how we communicate with contractors — — how we communicate with our design team — -and we’re pushing that technology to the limit. We’re very excited to see what comes next in this realm. That’s been a very big win for us over the last couple of years. We’re now going into integrating the model with estimation databases. I have a data scientist, even though that’s not his job title, who will help us integrate that big data within the model and try to drive efficiencies with that. We are a bunch of mad scientists working together to solve our projects’ needs.

On specific principles that SSOE adheres to
Project planning is extremely important to us. We have integrated not only technology into early project planning, but we’re integrating estimating and safety. We want to make sure that we’re going in with a good plan in place on how we’re executing projects so that there are no surprises. No surprises to us, no surprises to our client, and no surprises to any of the other players in the game.

Quality is a big and having a good plan going into the project matters. During execution, we take that solid plan and it helps us in the execution of the technology so we’re not lagging behind. For instance, if we know we’re going to be doing certain types of modeling or we need to be scanning, we’re executing those things before people are waiting on them. When that’s done, it’s set up correctly, and the design team doesn’t have to worry about any type of glitches because they have the confidence that it was already set up properly. Our vision statement is about project delivery. “World Class people, delivering world class projects, to world class clients, and we are going to be innovative in how we do it. We need to be agile and flexible. Things happen and we need to be able to adapt to that.

On recent projects that represent SSOE’s unique approach
Most of our team’s projects are confidential, industrial clients so they have a lot of proprietary information to protect. On a recent project, we had to adhere to a very tight, very aggressive schedule. The timeline we were given was very short to integrate an equipment installation. We had to perform demolition, rearrange production lines, and install three large pieces of equipment. The building was dated. There wasn’t relevant documentation. We had a rough floor plan from the client. We decided to scan the facility. With that scan data, we realized that the initial design of these large pieces of equipment wouldn’t fit because the columns were off in the floor plan and the existing roof steel was too low during a design review.

Upon 3D model review, we realized that the height of the equipment wouldn’t work, so we had to work with the vendors to adjust the sizes for installation. These three pieces of equipment were long-lead items and if they didn’t show up on-time, correct, and ready for installation, we would miss our tight window for installation. If this were to occur, the client would not be to start production and therefore would miss production deadlines. Due to our technical strategy and overall execution, we were able to finish the project a week and a half ahead of time resulting in extra money saved back to the project. We planned the technology, we planned the project execution, we handled the construction management, and we found the critical issues ahead of time so that they could be addressed. It was a very successful project on the backend.

Another example is beginning to estimate quantity take-off in construction before the design is complete. On this project, we were tasked with replacing roof equipment while the plant was operational. Going into it, we knew that we needed to align the support systems below the roof to be able to hold this new equipment so we scanned and modeled a scenario. We quickly estimated the quantities, realizing that we could reduce the amount of steel based on the platforms, so we came up with another design solution. We were able to calculate that with our quantity kick-off methodology, allowing the client to benefit from these design savings realized as a result of us performing a rapid design scenario. We are currently in the execution phase.

On her design toolkit
You want to use the right tool for the project. Sometimes you don’t need a nail gun, you just need a hammer, as my co-worker always says. We are very fortunate to have multiple BIM and CAD tools here at SSOE. We have our standard ones that we use regularly. We use a lot of AutoDesk products. At the beginning of a project we have to identify what the needs are for the client and project. In order to do a lot of our VDC processes, we need that BIM model it is our virtual design platform. It is a standard practice on large and small projects here at SSOE.

We are modeling all disciplines: architectural, structural, mechanical, electrical, process, and civil because we are using those models not only to create construction documents but we’re using them for planning, coordination, quantity take off, and 3D design reviews with the client. It’s not just about looking at a set of drawings or 2D documentation when we’re reviewing. It’s about immersing the client and the project team in the design. We’re continuing to push and improve that concept.

The next step is moving the model beyond design into the fabrication level and that’s where you’re able to get the construction level coordination that you may not get if you’re just doing design. When you get into construction, you’re starting to put the pieces and the parts together. That’s where I’ve seen a big opportunity for software companies. It’s about integrating all fabrication level models because in this stage you’re getting into the different model platforms. One platform doesn’t do it all well. And that’s when you have to rely on other software to aid in interoperability. It is extremely important that this federated model be accessible. It’s starting to introduce ideas like cloud platforms. It’s making it easier and acceptable for all of the project team to look at it globally.

We’re at a certain point where some of our clients will allow us to use that type of technology and computing power, but we have a lot of proprietary clients where we can’t. Their information isn’t allowed to be off of our servers or encrypted drive. We continue to push our 3D world, but now we’re coming to a point where the infrastructure that we’re utilizing is bringing us to a fork in the road. We want the infinite computing power that cloud applications can offer us, but a majority of our clients aren’t yet comfortable with this. Finding opportunities to use cloud computing and demonstrate data security for our clients will give our teams and projects great advantages.

On the future of the AEC industry in the next 5–10 years
You’re noticing a change in the delivery method of projects, from traditional design projects to design-build. A more recent trend we are starting to see are called joint ventures or IPD (integrated project delivery). These create shared risk and reward for all parties and the benefit is better decision making and quality, and a lot of 3D technology is the collaborative nature of it. The ability for all disciplines to collaborate with all design players, coming together to make better decisions, to build a better project so that we can reduce schedule and reduce risk for the owner is a game changer. You’re going to see that technology is going to continue to drive a lot of those efficiencies.

The biggest change in the construction industry will be for the players that can stay above the strategy curve in project execution and can use technology as a strategic advantage to execute those strategies; they will be the firms on top. I do believe one day that there will be a 3D deliverable. Code officials and permitting agencies across the country and in different states are starting to allow us to submit 3D models for permitting. Eventually, I see owners requesting that our deliverable be a model with these standards. We are going to have to adjust our ability to check and verify this 3D deliverable.

Currently, we have a client who requires scanning at the beginning and the end of their projects because they want to capture the existing conditions at the beginning and the existing conditions at the end. They know that the model isn’t going to stay up-to-date throughout the construction process. They want to have the data available to them in 3D. The industry is shifting. I still think we’re a couple years out.

Not only within the AEC industry, but across the industries we serve, I foresee big data becoming the next trend. It’s not just putting all of this information in BIM, it’s integrating those model elements into other databases so that we can capture vital information for reporting and asset management. Right now, a lot of people are focused on building everything in this model, where I really think that the model is integrated into multiple databases. We just need ways of using that information. That’s going to be another change that’s on the horizon and the companies that are paying attention and are a little paranoid about falling behind are the ones that are going to move ahead. SSOE has made a commitment to innovation and technology resulting in the creation of my department and is allocating resources to stay ahead of the curve.

On advice she would give herself
Advice I would go back and give to myself would be, don’t be intimidated to stand up for what you believe in. It’s ok to push boundaries because you don’t know what opportunity can come from it. Failure is ok because it can be the best way to learn. It took me a while to believe that and understand that. If I would’ve known these things eight years ago, who knows what success I could have found sooner?

Design Manifestos: Matthew Krissel of KieranTimberlake

Matthew Krissel is a partner at KieranTimberlake, an award-winning architecture firm recognized for its environmental ethos, research expertise, and pioneering design and planning. He has completed projects for Cornell University, Dartmouth College, and Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and is currently working on projects for the United States Department of State and New York University. In addition to his design responsibilities, Matthew leads KieranTimberlake’s Digital Design Visioning Group, an initiative dedicated to digital innovation, visualization, and knowledge sharing within the firm. Modelo spent some time learning about Matthew’s journey through the profession and about his current role at KieranTimberlake.

On becoming an architect
As a kid, my exposure to architecture was limited to the traditional suburban landscape that dominated my small hometown in New York. By the time I was a junior in high school, I had never even met an architect and, truthfully, had no idea what the profession entailed. But I had also already completed all the art classes offered at my school, so I signed up for a technical drawing class which, incidentally, was taught by a local used car salesman. Inspired by the didactic drawings from Popular Mechanics Magazine, I spent hours in the school basement drawing gears and sprockets using donated T-squares and triangles (this was 1992, after all). I loved the challenge of bringing clarity to complex problems through drawing and representation. After visiting a local architecture practice during a career fair and learning a little more about what an architect was, I kept coming back to the field as I considered college and a future career.

On discovering his voice as a designer
When I graduated high school, my grades and the financial pressures faced by my parents with multiple kids already in college led me to start my higher education at a two-year technical college. While I was enrolled in an architecture program by name, I really was being trained to be a draftsman. I learned how to see and interpret the physical world, as well as how to annotate and construct two-dimensional and three-dimensional drawings by hand through traditional architectural representation. My success in the program translated into my acceptance into the University at Buffalo’s Architecture program, which offered me an entirely new perspective. Unlike my previous training that focused on depiction, my education at Buffalo centered on learning how to think and create like a designer.

After graduating with my bachelor’s degree from Buffalo in 1997, I boarded a bus with two duffel bags and moved to New York City. I spent my formative years there, in a city that was saturated with creativity and ideas and where everything was always on a big stage. My time working at Skidmore, Owings & Merrill, and then later at Kohn Pedersen Fox, exposed me to great design talent and urban living. However, it wasn’t until my time in graduate school at the University of Pennsylvania that I discovered the other facets of design in ways I had not yet imagined.

I was at UPenn from 2003–2005, right in the middle of a pedagogical transition towards the digital. It was a special time in our field’s collective history, and one that I am grateful to have participated in while in school. Seeing design and design methods shift so dramatically away from the analogue was critical for me, especially since I had the advantage of being educated on both sides of this history of architecture. Learning design and making by hand as well as through advanced computation and digital fabrication allowed me to discover my own voice within the design world.

That voice then came into focus at KieranTimberlake, where so much of what I had discovered in school could be put into practice and cultivated in an environment that truly enables experimentation and holistic thinking. While challenging workflows and rituals of practice, I began to see and think differently, which led me to realize that to do great design work, we often have to engage in practices outside of the traditional boundaries of architecture. The elastic process of designing at the firm built on my strengths and taught me the value of understanding my limits in a place where collective intelligence is encouraged and people are empowered to imagine and create.

On joining KieranTimberlake
During my first semester at UPenn, my Visualization Studies professor worked at KieranTimberlake and offered me a summer job while I was finishing graduate school. It was a wonderful experience, and when my wife and I decided to stay in Philadelphia after my graduation, I joined the firm full-time. Working at KieranTimberlake was so different from my previous experiences working in New York City, and the firm’s unique approach to design created an environment and space in which I could build and explore. The culture, leadership, and expectations were a framework that I knew I wanted to build on.

When I first started, the firm had only 35 employees and each one was challenged to operate with purpose and grit. I enjoyed working at a place where ego is shelved, moxie thrives, and opportunities to discover new ways of working abound. When I arrived, three-dimensional modeling was nascent and therefore slow. Consequently, it was used more for representation than iterative design. Over time we developed new workflows and expanded the training and tools available into the practice, enabling more people to engage with advanced modeling and simulation. This mindset helped us to imagine and model faster and in more exploratory ways. The timing was fortuitous as rapid advances in hardware and software capabilities allowed us to leverage these emerging tools and layer them in a place that was bubbling with ideas. Ultimately, the profound change in methodology amplified the practice and helped me see that having a positive attitude toward change can lead to great design. Those attitudes start with leadership and are driven by culture.

On KieranTimberlake’s approach
At KieranTimberlake, our mantra is “fail fast” which is as much about learning from mistakes as it is about working iteratively. We know that the path to making exceptional work is not always clear, mistakes will happen and the process may get messy. But those kind of setbacks are essential to creating great work. That’s why we constantly question ourselves, our practices, and remain open to change.

On principles KieranTimberlake applies across projects
We are a restless community of curious designers who actively seek problems to solve, and we consciously put ourselves in unfamiliar territories so we can search for answers. Each one of our projects begins with a question that we answer through deep investigation and collective intelligence. While we work on projects we are also pursuing ideas that push design forward.

On his primary focus at KieranTimberlake
As a partner, I design buildings as well as platforms for thinking and making. I create knowledge networks, and help design new work flows, software, and hardware. I am also involved in hiring new staff, which I consider one of our ultimate design challenges. I’m proud to help build a research-centered practice and promote a culture of experimentation.

On his design toolkit
I am rooted in the tactile experiences I had in my youth working with a pencil and a mayline, and I studied architecture during the transition to digital making, simulation, and representation. I think that many architects in my generation straddle the divide between two modes of designing; they don’t prioritize one over the other. Too often as architects mature and start to manage a project or even lead a practice, they lose touch with the contemporary toolset. I try to stay connected to drawing by hand as much as I continue to use modeling programs like Rhino and Revit. This allows me to see the work develop, lead teams, and communicate differently.

On the future of architecture in the next 5–10 years
There are three areas that I see for change in architecture in the next 5 -10 years: communication across teams, computation with purpose, and redefining design.

One of the most frustrating aspects of architecture today is the disaggregation of tools, workflows, and expertise across the industry. Architects still have to turn 3D models into 2D drawings for contractors to build much of what is made today. This one example speaks volumes about the disconnect that exists at many levels across the Architecture, Engineering, and Construction (AEC) profession. Even while our tools are developed at a rapid pace, the AEC community remains slow and inconsistent to adopt them. As technology evolves rapidly, it is difficult to remain on at the forefront of every new tool or software developed, creating a natural skillset gap among people and entities. To close the gap, we need more inclusive ways to share and interact with each other’s work. Web-based tools are inherently easier to learn as they build on people’s familiarity with the internet while creating real-time connectivity, suggesting one way towards democratizing our tools. Collaboration is about developing generative ways for experts and non-experts to add value to the discourse and contribute to the design and fabrication process. While there will always be a place for complex software and processes that require expertise, I’m excited to see more accessible tools emerge, and I believe it is an important leap forward for design. In the next 5–10 years, I hope we will all share a more common language and drive to embrace this evolution.

Second, while computational tools have the potential to extend design withconviction and purpose, they are not always leveraged in truly meaningful ways. On one side is computation used gratuitously, backed by architectural whimsy and form-fetishizing devoid of real acumen. On the other side is sterile, data-obsessed design that is devoid of atmosphere, mood, and narrative. Architects have become very good at capturing data that can be described objectively and represented through descriptive geometry, but they should not lose sight of the intangible or intrinsic qualities of architecture to meaningfully articulate place and culture. I want to see us as a profession move past the simplistic seduction and novelty of computation inputs to design and leverage this coiled spring towards the big and small challenges ahead.

And finally, in the next 5–10 years, architecture will be challenged to define the trajectory of digital modeling, simulation, sensors, automation, artificial intelligence, contextual programming, cultural and social data, and more. These advances inherently change not only what we make, but also how we make it. In response, we must change how we define a project, think about what a design practice can and should be, and push our capacity as designers to bring together strategic thinking, curiosity, and creativity, and increase our ability to contextualize information with the tactical acuity of computation: its speed, precision and expanding capacity.

If we evolve our mindset, processes, and tools into a truly relational framework, we might overcome the myriad of issues that keep us from designing holistically. This includes improving our ability to see and interrogate what is possible with greater clarity and fluidity across platforms, and mature ideas across multivariate problems over time. We are beginning to see how immersive environments, interactive data sets, advanced visualization and analysis, simulation, and dynamic analytical environments, can help reach that goal. But it’s imperative that we overcome the knowledge silos across design. I hope that in a few years, digital practices are so pervasive they aren’t considered specialties, but core competencies.

On advice he would give his younger self
Be comfortable with uncertainty and failure as a young architect. Resist the seduction of early design concepts, cast a wide net, and remain patient when cultivating ideas. Find a place that supports query as a design tool. Develop question-asking as a skill and use it to reframe problems, draw out insight, and build ideas. Designers must be capable of developing solutions as well as challenging the underlying symptoms. Design is more than tangible products, buildings, and environments. It also includes scrutinizing policy, entrenched stasis, and infrastructure, and taking them on as design parameters. In doing so, you can achieve more meaningful change by altering the underlying dynamics as much as the design of spatial outcomes.

Design Manifestos: Ramón Hone of 5+Design

As a design principal, Ramón Hone approaches design as a wide-ranging exploration of ideas, where virtually anything is possible in the search for creative ways to respond to client needs, site context and budget restraints. Ramón leads his design teams throughout the design process, encouraging collaboration on necessary changes while maintaining the integrity of the original vision.

Born and raised in London, Ramón received a postgraduate diploma in architecture from the University of Greenwich in London and a postgraduate diploma in computing in art and design from Middlesex University in London. Before joining 5+ design in 2012, Ramón worked as design director at Manser Associates in England and at Gensler, The Jerde Partnership and WET Design. He is an architect licensed in Great Britain and a member of the Royal Institute of British Architects. He is also LEED accredited by the U.S. Green Building Council. Modelo spent some time learning about what led Ramón to pursue a career in architecture and about where he is today.

On becoming an architect
I drew a lot as a child and my parents suggested that it might be something to think about. At the time I was thinking about art school but my parents convinced me that I was more likely to make a living as an architect than an artist, I haven’t regretted the decision.

On discovering his voice as a designer
I don’t know that I have found my ‘voice’ or even if I have a ‘voice’ as such. I believe that there is a rigor, logic and creative approach to solving problems and that architecture falls into a place where the art and science of design come together in sometimes unexpected ways to suggest solutions. Being open to those opportunities rather than pursuing a path or direction that is somehow my ‘voice’ is a more exciting and educational process. If anything my ‘voice’ is one of curiosity and discovery.

On joining 5+Design
I knew the partners from my time working at Jerde where they each worked before setting up 5+design so we were familiar to each other. I was traveling in Korea with my previous firm and I ran into Tim Magill (one of the founding partners), we were staying at the same hotel, we got talking, then met up again back in the US and subsequently I left my last firm and started at 5+design.

As someone who is more senior at the firm I do bring my own approach to design but given an overlapping history this meshed well with the firm’s own approach.

On specific principles he strives to adhere to
Early in my career I worked at The Manser Practice in London, here under the guidance of Michael and Jonathan Manser I was taught the importance of honesty, sincerity and rigor in design, lessons that have stuck with me throughout my career. When I moved to the US I spent time at the Jerde Partnership working on large scale projects each strove to develop the idea of public experience, the space around the building being as important as the building itself.

Architecture as a profession is a process of continual education — developing your approach through experience; learning from colleagues both young and old and utilizing new and developing technologies. But the early lessons stay with you, they change and evolve but they still remain a guide through the chaos.

On his role at 5+Design
As a design principal my role is to lead design teams on a number of projects, it’s also to advise and mentor younger people in those teams. As a young professional I was fortunate to have worked with and learned from many good architects and so there is a responsibility to do the same for those coming up.

On recent projects that represent the firm’s unique approach
Many of our projects are complex urban mixed use projects and we provide a unique and experiential solution to those problems. There is no specific style but there is an approach that strives to provide the users be they occupants or the public with an out of the ordinary experience.

Retail projects which form the core of our business are complex projects it is a rapidly changing typology that is experienced and used very differently by different generations and income brackets. As retail has evolved it has become more of an experience the public areas are much more than circulation spaces. The space in-between has become the architecture of experience. This becomes more valuable as cities become denser and public space is eroded.

On his design toolkit
3D modeling is essential these days, not just as a design tool but also as a way of producing documentation and communication with clients. In our office we develop most projects in Revit for documentation but we supplement the design process with Sketchup, Rhino, physical models and sketching amongst others. As an international firm we also rely on web meetings that allow us to workshop with clients and design teams in other countries, showing drawings and models.

The role of the architect at its most basic is the same now as it was 100 years ago, that is communication of an idea. The tools have advanced, we have become more sophisticated in our methods of representation but in the end there is still something visceral about talking and sketching with a client so you both see an idea evolve in words and lines.

On the state of design software today
I feel that the impact is twofold, some design software is evolving at a rapid rate and the lines between design and manufacturing software are becoming more blurred as digital files can be used to output physical objects. This no doubt will lead to expanding opportunities for some architects and designers. Software allows us to design and fabricate ever more complex forms combined with systems of optimization that allow these forms to be more economically realized. This is available only to a very small proportion of clients and projects. But at the other end affordable and easy to use 3D software has changed the way that all architects are able develop designs and to communicate with clients. In the end though I do feel that a sketch is still a core component of the design and communication of an idea.

On the future of the industry in the next 5–10 years
Software advances will continue to aid in the evaluation of designs from a sustainable perspective; expectations of BIM files will increase so that they are updated over the life of a building; VR will develop as a tool for experiencing design before it’s built, but without a total sensory experience it will remain a sophisticated rendering representation.

But it’s the physical manifestation of the design that matters to most and so advances in material technology, and manufacturing and delivery systems will have the most impact on our environments but this is a longer timeframe.

On the future of 5+Design in the next 5–10 years
Our commitment to BIM will continue to expand and we will continue to leverage the possibilities to improve the design process, communication and documentation. But BIM does not improve the design concept it refines the ideas and develops them, the ideas still come from somewhere else and that is the essence of architecture that we wish to nurture.

On advice he would give his younger self
Don’t rush, experiment more.

Design Manifestos: Richard Thomas of SHP Leading Design

Richard Thomas, AIA, LEED AP, is a Vice President at SHP Leading Designin Cincinnati, Ohio. He has a broad background of experience gained over his 30 years of diverse practice. In service to his clients, he has pioneered the delivery of planning and design work through an integrated team approach, capitalizing on technology advancements in software that have transformed the design and construction industry.

In order to facilitate an efficient design, construction and delivery process, Richard was an early adopter of Building Information Modeling (BIM) software. He was also a founding member of the firm’s integrated design and construction business, 2enCompass, and serves as the general manager. He continues to focus on trends impacting the architecture, engineering and construction industry, and is sought after to speak at events across the country on such topics. Modelo spent some time learning about Richard’s journey through the profession and his role at SHP.

On becoming an architect
I decided I wanted to be an architect when I was 13 years old, and in 7th grade mechanical drawing class where I learned the process of orthographic projection. My love of drawing transitioned into a passion for buildings leading me to believe I had the potential and the talent to go further.

On discovering his voice as an architectural designer
I question the efficacy of developing a single voice. I would suggest that just as I temper my voice and approach to the situation / relationship at hand, my design voice also follows suit. Architecture is a process of listening, interpreting, and responding. I believe that it is only through listening intently and choosing the right voice to respond does the solution deliver on needs as well as desires.

I was taught about composition, plan, rhythm, scale, texture, color and pattern by studying the works of Klee, Ben Shan and others. I internalized the poetry and strength of Kahn and the complexity of Lutyens and Venturi. I studied the discipline of Meier but settled in with real admiration of firms like Polshek, Perkins & Will (Ralph Johnson) and Miller Hull as several who had the ability to manifest substantial and beautiful architecture out of the normal complexity and politics of daily programs, budgets and project needs.

My freshman design studio professor, Robert Deshon at the University of Cincinnati was a huge influence on my understanding of composition and theme. My senior thesis professor David Niland was the single greatest source of understanding of spatial composition, sequence, geometry, detail as the reinforcement of the larger idea and the power nuance plays as part of the overall story being told. An early business partner was my mentor, personally and professionally.

On joining SHP
I came to SHP during a transition period that moved from responsibilities on an international scale, serving corporate and private investment clients, to one that centered on work in public, institutional settings that were more local in nature.

The approach involved a substantial change in the freedom to explore the voice of the user, how to communicate about architecture, and how to shape the way buildings are delivered via the designer / builder relationship.

It changed from listening and interpreting the voice of a few to the voices of many. That transition evolved by understanding constituent values before constituent needs, then pairing those values with solutions that resulted in buildings and forms with scale, texture, rhythm, and pattern. When I arrived at SHP, the firm was approaching the peak of its use of an internally-developed and nationally-recognized customer and community engagement process called The Schoolhouse of Quality. The model was borne out of the TQM movement of several years past, the philosophies of Edwards Demming, and it was patterned after the paradigm changing success of Toyota.

On specific principles he strives to adhere to
Attention to the voice of the customer, reverence for the values of my education and training as an architect, and problem solver, and to always look for a better way to deliver value across the total spectrum of the process of design and construction.

On his role at SHP Leading Design 
I am one of ten shareholders and have been with the firm a little over 21 years. SHP’s legacy, dating back to 1901 was, and continues to be, in public institutional work with a heavy emphasis on educational facilities at all levels. My background allowed me to open up new business opportunities in privately-funded education. That parallel market segment allowed greater freedom in how buildings were designed and constructed. As a result, I became intensely focused on alternatives to the highly structured traditional public design process for buildings, investigating and executing delivery models that embraced the whole process from start to finish, programming through design, construction, occupancy and facility management.

My primary role at SHP has evolved over the past two decades. It remains primarily to produce successful relationships that through service and design generate high quality architecture in support of the mission, vision and values of SHP customers. On a broader level however, my role has grown into one that is also focused on the future of how and with whom we design, the tools we use to document and build, and the value we add by leveraging the work we produce for the customer. It is one thing to create a great design. It is another thing entirely to be able to deliver it creatively with reduced risk, exceptional and extended value, and delight.

To that end, in early 2000, I was involved in the creation and management of a second business inside SHP (called 2enCompass) that delivered private education projects in a fully-integrated project design process (IPD) almost ten years prior to the industry adoption of an IPD practice model. Working with a regional leader in construction as an equal partner in delivering an integrated design and construction service, 2enCompass LLC pursued private education work in the K-12 and Higher Education marketplace.

As 2enCompass grew it became our test bed for the application of BIM technologies. The 2enCompas team was first to integrate 3D modeling and visualization software at SHP which ultimately led to the firm transitioning from 2D to 3D in its entirety in less than a year. Though we experienced some rough spots, once complete, SHP was ahead of the BIM adoption curve and looking at ways to leverage data for professionals and clients alike.

In 2009 I led the effort to develop one of the earliest BIM Standards for Indiana University. The application of these standards changed how work was being developed and produced, opening up further opportunities for the pursuit of the value of data in the design process.

One result of the value of leveraging data was the creation of SHAPE Environments, another SHP branded company. SHAPE’s initial mission was to develop BIM content for the manufacturing industry. The content we developed was available for download from the web and is highly valued for its lightweight, robust configuration and technical accuracy. SHAPE customers include some of the largest furniture, sports equipment and product manufacturers in the world.

SHAPE’S offerings are evolving to provide construction coordination services for all aspects of project coordination on a jobsite. The key learnings of these services are funneled back into SHP’s process models, enhancing our accuracy and design product.

My most current interest and mission is in helping SHP explore and position itself as an active and leading voice in the development of the future of education.

On SHP’s unique approach to design
We have always believed that design is in everything and about everything. Yes we are an architecture firm, but as designers we have more to offer than simply the creation of the built environment. SHP has never been afraid to “design” an approach, a policy, a change process, a room or an experience. Our firm mission is to joyfully enrich the lives of people through service and design. Sometimes the best answer is NOT a building, but an approach, an operating model, an idea, a conversation.

We would like to challenge ourselves and perhaps others to consider how we as architects can shape the future of the how we apply our abilities in design, the way we tackle the whole of the process, not just what is traditionally our part but all parts of the conversation? Why do we educate the way we do? Why do we collaborate (or not) the way we do? How can we become part of the larger dialogue? Can we build differently, faster and more sustainably? How do we leverage forward the power of what we create, thereby extending the value created by our work and that of our clients?

On recent projects that represent this approach

Hebrew Union College (HUC)
Done under the 2enCompass IPD delivery model, HUC involved the renovation and expansion of the Klau Library and the Jewish Institute of Religion. Klau has the second largest collection of archival Hebraic literature in the world. Some 300,000 volumes, including many dating back hundreds of years (one to 900 AD) were to be relocated but kept in circulation then returned to a renovated and expanded venue. The privately-funded program was developed, the costs were estimated and a guaranteed maximum price (GMP) was established and approved. The 2enCompass team shared the risk of the guarantee equally for the total value of the job (+/- $13.5M).

The library itself had the existing skin stripped and replaced, a new geothermal system installed and a new entry pavilion designed with a sophisticated rare books room and heightened security and environmental controls. The relocation effort, which had to be carefully sequenced between four different construction activities, was designed and orchestrated by the project team and involved on-campus and off-campus venues.

The integrated team worked collaboratively from the start, delivering the project early and under budget. The library, which is recognized world-wide as a treasure of Jewish history, never missed a day of circulation and never lost, misplaced or damaged a volume.

The Duke McCall Sesquicentennial Center — The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary
The call was to develop a new campus icon that was to be the first experience for visitors to the campus. The project was discussed for the first time in late March. A single pen and marker sketch was offered a week later, the project was adopted by the Board, budgeted at a not-to exceed figure of $6.0M two weeks later with a stipulated occupancy date of April 2nd the following year (The 150th birthday of the institution). The 2enCompass design and construction team was assembled, including all consultants and prime sub-contractor trades for an intense design, documentation and construction program that had permits pulled in thirty days, site work starting two days after that and completion eleven months later.

The new campus icon houses the main reception rotunda, a small visitor’s theater and the relocated campus security division. The structure connects two existing buildings with different vertical floor-to-floor arrangements. The campus approach involved a new roadway circulation system including a primary campus tower / gate house, and a new campus green. In the course of the eleven months of construction several smaller scopes of work were added to the program with no change in the completion date. The collaboration model, facilitated through a well-oiled IPD mentality, allowed this extra work to fit into an already aggressive schedule. All were completed in support of the initial program and completion deadline.

The Summit Country Day School
After suffering a partial collapse in 2004, SHP was hired to complete the program halted by the collapse, and set a course for the future for this 130+ year old faith-based institution. Ten years after helping the school through the difficulties and ensuing construction, they asked us to help them plan for the next decade of education and remedy a few remaining scars from 2004. The new project included renovation work and new construction. Given the past, it was essential that we kept construction and occupants completely separate while school was in operation. The solution was an IPD-like methodology with hand-selected consulting and construction resources. That team leveraged design assist and BIM technologies in an $11M program choreographed for completion in a thirteen week time frame over a single summer. Utilizing more than a decade of experience in related IPD challenges, the hand selected team carefully planned the project and executed it with skill, completing the work in record time.

Design assist, prefabrication, 3D modeling and laser scan technologies contributed to the highly collaborative effort that involved significant up-front commitment by key trades in the earliest phases of design. The existing architecture from 1888 was matched to perfection by a tightly integrated team of designers, engineers and precasters; erecting a five-story structure in 21 days. Work like this cannot be done without a highly collaborative team structure and a commitment to a common goal of service to the customer.

On his design toolkit
A major public educational program can have as many as eight primary customer groups that have a voice in the final design expression. A major private institution can have even more depending on how campaigns are structured and how funding is acquired. SHP’s design process is driven by a belief that solutions are customer or stakeholder driven; emanating from a deep investigation of stakeholder values and objectives. Programming includes a rigorous effort to elicit core values, ideate on those values, explore design responses that capture and celebrate those values and contrast and compare those solutions through aggressive critique and development.

The toolkit list includes, but is not limited to the following: The Customer Value Path; The Schoolhouse of Quality; 3D visualization and Augmented Visualization with base modeling done in Revit, Sketchup, Photoshop, Navisworks and others; interactive software for large group dialogue and feedback sessions; research and development software (self-created) for in depth analysis of voting patterns in support of public education bond issue initiatives; laser cutters; 3D printers and others.

3D modeling is an integral piece of everything SHP does. We have been using the 3D capabilities for well over a decade now and are l leveraging the power of the data into other areas of service and collaboration.

On the state of design software today
A very astute colleague of SHP once noted that paradigmatic change takes a minimum of ten years. Though the industry has done well to date with the adoption of 3D modeling, it could do more. With change, patience is a must. We are entering the second decade of the 3D paradigm and ever more intelligent software, machines and materials, and the future is full of tremendously exciting opportunities. We are quickly approaching the state of singularity which will be a reality in my lifetime. If we think things are moving fast now, we should recognize that we are just at the very beginning of rapid transformation. Design software and processes like generative design, AI, 3D printing and the further integration of Nano-technologies will lead the conversation at many levels.

For the last six or seven years I have had the distinct honor of participating as member of an advisory team for a major software company. The team’s mission was to investigate future opportunities in the application of technology across manufacturing, design and construction and the entertainment industries. Through that experience I have been exposed to future advances that could soon impose paradigms of equal or greater significance than 3D modeling. I continue to be tremendously excited about the current and upcoming technologies.

On the future of architecture in the next 5–10 years
Architecture can do so many things and sometimes we allow ourselves be limited to thinking we are just a small part of a very large and complex chain of events. At SHP we have been involved in education for the majority of our 115 year history. We have pursued our craft by fulfilling the vision of others and today we know that more than a quarter million students a day walk the halls of our work. We are very proud of that and we have learned much from our many years of service. As we look to the future, we believe we can have a greater role in facilitating the use of design thinking around the topic of education. We are looking to participate in the conversation on the future of education, where it occurs, when it occurs and how it occurs and what role the built, natural and digital environments play in creating success. For us, it’s about creating real productive change in our society using design thinking and the problem solving approaches that underpin our role as architects.

It has taken a career spanning nearly 40 years to come to this conclusion about where Architecture and perhaps more specifically where SHP needs to go in the future. We are at the very beginning of our work in this effort and it is very exciting.

I hope the architecture industry will realize and exercise its muscle and intellectual capacity to get upstream in the many important and fundamental discussions that will shape all of our futures. I see those futures including a mix of the following:

1. Embracing greater and greater levels of collaboration with all parties associated with the process of creating Architecture

2. Embracing and ultimately relishing in continuous change.

3. Becoming more resilient, adaptable and inclusive. There is perhaps a huge potential for new business in that ability.

4. Embracing technology at every level.

5. Facilitating metrics on itself and others as a means of communicating the value proposition of it efforts. If we don’t do this, someone else will and we will continue to allow others to lead where we could step in.

6. Changing our attitudes about risk. Risk management is inversely proportional to our desire to take it on. The more we control the less risk we take on. For years the profession has avoided risk, delegating as much as physically possible. This approach may well underpin the reason we have lost ground in the process of creating architecture. Perhaps if we want more opportunity, we need to reassess our position on the risk we’re willing to embrace.

On the future of SHP in the next 5–10 years
SHP is evolving into an organization that sees its value as being greater than the traditional perception of what an architect does. We are at the very beginning of the journey, but believe with conviction that our future lies in our ability to leverage our voice and our skills in the larger conversations that shape our culture and our society. This is a daunting task but it is one we are up for. Check back in five years and see how we’re doing!

On advice he would give himself
To get outside myself and see, I mean really see, the bigger picture of what’s going on outside the four walls of my office environment and community. Then try to figure out how best to influence positive change across all aspects of the issues facing the business and mission of the firm.

Design Manifestos: Adam Tripp of Forms+Surfaces

As Design Director for Forms+Surfaces, Adam Tripp oversees Product Design and Development across all F+S product lines. In addition to the project management of new and custom product development, he is continually defining new materials and manufacturing processes that influence the look and feel of the Forms+Surfaces brand. Adam is responsible for some of the most recognizable site furniture, architectural surfaces and door hardware in the F+S catalog. He joined the Forms+Surfaces Design Studio in Carpinteria, California in 2007 and holds a degree in Industrial Design from the Rhode Island School of Design. Modelo spent some time learning about how Adam discovered his voice as a designer and about the studio’s introspective approach to design.

On becoming an industrial designer
I’ve always been interested in fine arts, drawing, and problem solving through sketching. I consider myself extremely fortunate to come from a supportive and creatively diverse family of craftspeople who fostered and encouraged my skills from a young age.

As a child I would dream up and sketch ideas for vehicles built from old bike parts, boats, gliders and treehouses. I would bring those ideas to my father and grandfather who would take turns critiquing and red lining my designs. Unfazed by the critique I would revise and detail as many times as it would take to wear them down to the point where they would help and teach me how to make my ideas become reality.

The love for the process and being able to see an idea go from concept to built completion primed me for a love of, and career in, material and manufacturing exploration.

On discovering his voice as a designer
I always search to identify formal, visual and aesthetic relationships — inspirationally, critically and within my own work. This constant evaluation was on overdrive during my undergrad years at the Rhode Island School of Design. The high level of competition and inspiration there drove me to further identify my voice as a designer to distinguish myself from my peers. Although I like to think that RISD was a catalyst, I also like to think that I’m continually re-evaluating my voice based on my professional experiences and growing network of colleagues and mentors. Inspiration is everywhere.

On joining Forms+Surfaces
I had an opportunity to interview with Forms+Surfaces in Pittsburgh not long after graduating. I originally didn’t have interest in moving away from the east coast, specifically Providence, Rhode Island, but at that point in my career, I wanted to keep my options open and take all the interviews that were available to gain experience in presenting myself and my body of work.

Upon arrival I was given a tour of the headquarters and manufacturing plant. What I encountered was a manufacturing atmosphere at a scale and diversity I had never seen before: an Industrial Designer’s fabrication playground with large format laser cutters, milling machines, turret punches, and manual and robotic welding work centers, all grounded by a 2,500 ton, 40’ tall Hydraulic Press affectionately named Bertha.

My interview was interrupted by one of the F+S principals who described how it would be my job to break every machine I saw on that tour, pushing each to its limit with the goal of creating products and details that others could not. I was sold. I moved out to the company’s California office two weeks later and have embraced that same development philosophy ever since.

Having not been trained within an architectural discipline, but instead choosing a career designing solutions for architects, landscape architects and interior designers focused on manufacturing quality and sustainability first and foremost, I feel like my approach to architecture and landscape architecture changes on a weekly basis based on my interactions with practicing professionals.

On specific principles he strives to adhere to
Our design studio exists in a cyclone of constant evolution. We challenge introspective rethinking and constant consideration of how we can grow together to encourage better organization, accountability and communication.

Standard principles which are constantly thrown around the studio:

• Make/destroy/make again — Fail fast
• Sustainability through quality
• If you’re not asking questions you’re not learning
• Do your job

On his role as Design Director at Forms+Surfaces
As Design Director, I’m responsible for standard product development through material, process and creative direction. I work as a brand ambassador through monthly visits to landscape, architectural and interior design firms across the country. These meetings give me a chance to showcase our in-progress concepts and seek out inspirational thought-leading discussions regarding the future of architectural product development and the evolution of public space.

Every month I also visit at least one of our North American manufacturing centers to check in on product production and development, take meetings and review progress with Design and Development team members.

On recent projects that represent the firm’s unique approach
Above all, we’re Solutionists.

I’ve been given the unique opportunity to build a design and development studio tailored to the needs of a growing business with an extremely diverse product offering. Our studio is structured to be a collaborative environment that supports the multiple market segments we serve. Studio expectations demand that all our team members work simultaneously on multiple products across our different divisions: surfaces, systems, site furniture and lighting. We also have the luxury and the challenge of making the most of our extensive manufacturing potential — something we’re able to accomplish by utilizing design and engineering roles interchangeably throughout our process.

We’re currently putting the finishing touches on our new Design Center in Carpinteria, California. The space will serve as both a showcase for our standard products, as well as what will be an ever-evolving proving grounds for new products and prototypes. Highlights include 80 feet of continuous double-sided etched and graphic laminated art glass for a bank of managerial offices, and a full wall within the design studio dedicated to new systems and surfaces prototyping and installation.

On his design toolkit
Processes differ depending on which market(s) and products are being developed but the general outline for development within the studio is as follows:

• Research,
• Sketching (hand/digitally),
• Group evaluation (Repeat),
• Modeling (Repeat),
• 3D printing (Repeat),
• Prototyping at full scale (Repeat)

Moving directly from sketches and small prototypes to Solidworks allows our group to intersect directly with our standard engineering resources, 3D printers or CNC equipment at any point within the development stream.

On the state of design software today
The pace at which new design software allows the process to move is ever increasing. Facilitating ease of movement from digital sketch to model to 3D print — to full assembly file — to production is a necessity that allows us to stay ahead of the curve and keep the fast pace of development we encourage.

On the future of the industry in the next 5–10 years
I think the industry will need to focus on the importance of personal and public space and the blurred lines between traditional architectural and landscape environments. As we continue to become ever connected to a digital world there will need to be a focus on interconnectivity within public space in the same way that if exists in most private and personal spaces. Blurring lines of technology between interior and exterior public space will be the next frontier.

On the future of the firm in the next 5–10 years
Forms+Surfaces has been providing solutions for separate markets within public spaces large and small for decades. Our relationships with industry leaders and the ability to cross-pollinate diverse market resources has our company primed for the future of public space.

Adhering to our core values of honest material use, sustainability and quality will continue to carry us forward as we work to fabricate the changing landscape of public space in real time.

On advice he would give himself
Understand the resources at your disposal: experts love to talk about their respective expertise; you just need to identify the opportunities and ask.

Take every chance you can to reach out and expand your knowledge base. The more arrows in your quiver, the more prepared you are for future challenges presented.