Five Senses
How often do we stop to think how intricately intertwined our five senses are? Probably not many of us. But as we age, our senses begin to diminish, and for those in senior care environments, the reality is acute. What can architects and designers do to help? More than you might think.
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 […]
Transforming Ordinary to Extraordinary
When Conning & Co., a leading global investment management firm serving the insurance industry, leased two upper floors in Hartford’s 26-story Gold Building, a significant design challenge was to create volume and openness in a sprawling horizontal space with a compressed ceiling height of less than 9 feet. We solved the dilemma by opening not […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]