Know Your Value
Jenna McClure, AIA, LEED AP, and Debra Seay, AIA, WELL AP, at the Aurora Foundation Breakfast. Today, we celebrate International Women’s Day. The occasion provides a perfect opportunity to take stock of our profession and personal career paths. The truth about women in architecture is not positive. While one-half of students who graduate with a degree in architecture […]
2019’s Colorful Optimism
The first harbinger of a new year is the December release of Pantone’s “Color of the Year.” The Pantone Color System, originally developed for the print industry, has come to influence most other areas of design – fashion, interior design, product branding, graphic design and more. The pick for 2019? “Living Coral.” “Just as coral […]
A Bigger Small House for Memory Care
Designing for specialized facilities like these isn’t just about room size, light, and finishes. It’s about people. That is always our higher calling.
Unnatural Selection of Color
Why is it always so hard to commit to a color? It’s not just that it’s hard to narrow down the paint chips. Even in nature, color is always changing. The sky, for example, goes from the pinks and reds of a sunrise, to bright blue during the day, deepening to rich deep blues and blacks at night. The […]
Vibrant Office Cultures Embrace New Urbanism
Amenta Emma has a history of applying the principles of New Urbanism to both communities and corporations.
Trending Now…
Herman Miller Showroom at NeoCon 2018 – Photo Credit: Fran Parente NeoCon, the world’s largest commercial interior industry event, celebrated its historic 50th year in June. The annual trade show, at the Merchandise Mart in downtown Chicago, drew more than 50,000 industry professionals to experience the best of the design industry. We were there! NeoCon […]
The Box: Surprise Package in Office Design
Symmetry Partners – Glastonbury, Connecticut As the open office concept evolves and adapts, thoughtful design solutions can contribute to a cohesive, well-organized space. As discussed by my colleague Nayef Mudawar in our March 7 blog, Office Duel: Open vs. Private, one of the many challenges we encounter is the constant conflict between open and private space. […]
New Urbanism for Suburban Retail
Acton Plaza – Acton, Massachusetts (photo credit: Jorge Salcedo) (Excerpted from article published in the New England Real Estate Journal April 27-May 3.) The paradigm shift that has occurred in retail, including the death knell for many major shopping malls, is not news. But how to create the next big successful thing is a challenge. […]
Storytelling with Architectural Graphics
Office design is ever-evolving. So is the way we think about architectural graphics. Incorporating graphics into a space is nothing new, but many of the reasons we choose to include graphics have changed. Historically, graphics have been used as wayfinding tools, distraction markers, and brand representation. Today, there is an emerging trend to use graphics to distinguish a company’s culture.
Nature Never Fails
The connection we feel to nature is biological, yet most Americans spend close to 90 percent of their time indoors. Senior citizens spend even more time inside due to health or mobility challenges. Thankfully, it doesn’t take a wilderness expedition for seniors to experience the physical and psychological benefits of natural surroundings. With biophilic design – design that connects us to nature – in senior living spaces, everyone reaps rewards.
Office Duel: Open vs. Private
Each company has its own culture and specific needs when it comes to privacy, noise tolerance, workforce mobility, etc. Ultimately it comes down to understanding the individual client deeply and designing for the type of company culture they prefer.
The Total Lobby Experience
Recently updated “Gold Building” Lobby – Hartford, Connecticut Office lobbies used to be places you passed through on your way to an elevator in dripping soggy boots. Not anymore. Yoga class anyone? Movie night? Happy hour? In an effort to attract specific growth industries to their buildings, landlords are following a trend started largely by […]
The War of Independence
Post Occupancy Evaluation at Thames Edge – Groton, Connecticut At a recent “LeadingAge” national conference in New Orleans, we attended a session called, “Big Living in Small Spaces.” Among other ideas, presenters suggested that seniors don’t need large kitchens, so it’s not smart to build them. We wondered, “Is that true?” It’s always a good […]
Constraints Drive Design Innovation
School of Business at Quinnipiac University – Hamden, Connecticut Most people look upon tight budgets as a limitation. We just turned a similar circumstance into a design challenge and opportunity to achieve an exciting result. In the process of converting conventional classrooms to more collaborative space in Quinnipiac University’s Business School, part of the design […]
Take the Stairs!
Xylem headquarters – Rye Brook, New York As a WELL certified professional focused on elements that make our spaces healthier—Air, Water, Nourishment, Light, Fitness, Comfort and Mind—I am painfully aware of the effects of sitting too long behind a desk. Do you know that sitting burns 50 fewer calories per hour than standing? Or that […]
Building a Better Burb
Our country’s rich land holdings are both a blessing and a curse. We haven’t been as careful or as thoughtful as we should have been when planning development in sprawling suburban areas. This was reinforced at a recent conference of the Southern New England American Planning Association (SNEAPA) held in Providence, RI. Attendees submitted questions […]
Connecticut’s Modernist Cool
The October issue of Travel and Leisure Magazine puts our home state at the heart of architectural cool, with a sightseeing tour of “Connecticut Modernism” led by author Carol King. Of course, one of the stops is Max Abramovitz’s iconic Phoenix Life Insurance Co. Building (now owned by Nassau Reinsurance Company), or “The Boat Building,” where our […]