Why Going Back In Time Will Make You A Better Architect

Image Source: Far Horizons 

We live in a world where it’s an understatement to say that things move fast. We desire and have even 

come to expect instant efficiency, if not constant entertainment. With the sheer amount of technology 

waiting at our fingertips at any given moment, it’s not hard to understand why when it comes to creativity, 

the age of having absolutely everything can make inspiration a bit muddled.

For those who love and aspire to contribute to the world of architecture, this is also a common theme. Between the pressure to create beyond anyone’s wildest imagination and still come up with something that’s functional in society, it’s hard to find a place to stand, let alone build.

When you come to the place where your passion for architecture starts fading in place of technology and the pressure of global competition— it becomes important to step back for a minute and look to the past. Yes, looking back in time can make you a better architect and can help you rediscover your passion for design. Reminding yourself of what has been gives you a foundation for the future. It’s a necessary pause for every architect to remind themselves of what inspiration in the field truly looks like.

This article will take you back in time, so to speak. So, take a break from all your designs for just a moment and reflect upon the real reason that you became an architect—your passion for great design.

Image Source: E-Architect

Looking to the Greats

The beauty of architecture, and those who create it, is that their work becomes an enduring part of the world everybody lives in. The essence of their creativity lives on in stone and design whether passerby’s realize it or not. It becomes a part of everybody’s scenery and looking back to the greats can be a vital step in remembering where genius really comes from and how it flourishes.

Antoni Gaudi is perhaps the best example of extended creativity. As an architect, he wasn’t afraid to mix style in an attempt to revere traditional values. A devout catholic whom one might assume would stick to rigid structure, he instead willingly delved into structures that captured the best of Spanish Late Gothic, Baroque and Art Nouveau to celebrate the faith he loved.

He also didn’t only design for the here and now. In fact, his cathedral titled Sagrada Familia began in 1882 and is so complex, it’s not expected to be finished until approximately 2026.  Take a moment to look back to the great architects of the past for inspiration—there is a reason people travel the world to catch a glimpse of their historic work.

Works by Antoni Gaudi are truly forms of art. Image Source: Arch Daily

Architects with a Meaning and a Message

For some it may be enough to be a good architect, but those who have a true passion for this art will find themselves wondering what it takes to be phenomenal. Great architects leave a mark on the world through their design, and often those designs carry some sort of message.

It is possible to put meaning into design in a technology-driven world, it just takes a patience and perseverance that requires dedication. In the world of architecture, this means designing with a message in mind. Before you sit down and begin to draw it out, ask yourself what you want it to convey. When you look back at those great architects of yesterday, can you clearly identify their messages?

It may come down to actually writing out your message or design meaning before you even begin to measure lines. Having a concrete idea of what it is your are setting out to say will help your structure growing into a creation that speaks to those who lay eyes upon it. What is it that you are trying to tell the world through your designs?

What do you suppose is the message that Gaudi is trying to convey in this amazing architecture that he created? 

Image Source: Wikipedia

Designs with a Purpose

Architecture lends itself to aesthetic appeal. Half of the job is creating something beautiful enough to capture the attention of practically everyone. However, the fear and downfall in this is that while it’s possible to create something stunning, it can equally be created in a void of purpose. Is beauty the only purpose of your design, or is there a deeper message that you want top convey?
For this reason, it’s important that architects train themselves to be above all, superior communicators. If you cannot look at what you are designing and fluidly state what’s its purpose in the world is, than you cannot expect anyone else to either.
The ability to communicate purpose in architecture becomes more important as cities grow, competition in the field increases and pressure to design quickly and efficiently becomes the common demand. In moments where purpose is threatened, it’s imperative that an architect step back, examine what exactly he or she is doing, and be able to clearly articulate that purpose. Once this is established, something truly remarkable can be created.

The purpose of architecture is as important as its aesthetic appeal. Image Source: Global Site Plans

Are you Telling your Story?

If your heart is set on architecture, but you’re struggling to figure out your niche or creative path, never hesitate to ask yourself the important questions. Are you willing to tell your story to the world? Great architects are able to infuse their work with their own passion.

What they feel and what they want to say is visible in their design and the purpose is clear. Going into architecture is a test of artistic communication and a willingness to dedicate the time it takes to create something that will eventually be considered timeless.

Make sure you’ve asked yourself the right questions before you enter lightly into a world that can quickly decline into design chaos— one that is controlled by technology and instantaneous gratification.

The Montezuma Castle in Arizona certainly tells a story of ancient civilizations and how they lived. 

Image Source: Arizona Ruins

Once you’ve taken the necessary steps to look back to the greats who have come before, examined their messages and determined your own architectural purpose, you’ll be ready to set off on an adventure that could lead you around the globe.

Architecture is a unique and stunning field that can be full of inspiration, if only you know where to find it.
What is your inspiration for design? Who are the greats that you admire?

Source: http://freshome.com/2015/02/23/why-going-back-in-time-will-make-you-a-better-architect/#ixzz3Sgzz1ZTF

For local architectural services or help with your own landmark project please visit: www.architectwhyte.com

 

At your service: 10 tips for becoming a successful urban consultant

Once considered the world's "master builders", architects are gradually being edged out by an ever-expanding, nebulous body of advisors.

Faced with their waning position in the global economy, architects must find new and unconventional strategies to regain lost ground. The city as a recently discovered domain of knowledge provides the perfect opportunity.

From smart cities, to connected communities, mayoral insecurity and corporate social "responsibility", here's how to make a buck in the new urban economy, where everybody can be a consultant:

1. Frequently attend conferences. Don't mingle with members of your profession, but find the odd mayor looking for answers. Inevitably he or she will be disappointed. Make animated conversation, tell him or her you share their frustrations. Appear to be listening.

Emphasize the limited value of established professional approaches in today's world; dismiss them as crude generalizations not equipped to deal with contemporary issues.

Present your own approach, rooted in particular experiences – your experiences. Upon parting, hand over your business card and politely suggest the two of you join forces and find a reason to "collaborate".

Appear to be listening

 

2. Let no less than 10 and no more than 21 days pass before you, or rather your company, sends a letter, reminding the mayor of your meeting. Give him or her credit for the suggestion to "work together", thereby elevating your own suggestion to the status of an official invite.

You can then offer to visit the city in order to conduct an X-ray of its problems. Offer to pay for your own travel. (This will be the last non-reimbursable expense.)

3. When visiting the city, start by paying compliments. Of course, the essence of your presence is to be critical, but it may be wise to – at least for a while – prolong the suspense. Let people guess what it is exactly that you have to offer.

On your first visit as an advisor (don't ever admit that it is your first visit altogether), say you are "touched by the city's history, culture and spirit". In spite of "recent setbacks", the city's vitality seems irrepressible. (Make sure that most of your compliments pertain to the city's people and not to the city itself.) Don't go as far as to suggest that the city might not need your advice, but use your complimentary observations as the first subtle disclaimer of the validity of any eventual recommendations.

4. Then, casually observe the remarkable similarity between the place that you are visiting and other places. This is the first moment when you start becoming an authority. Find a good city to reference, preferably one far away and not particularly well known.

In picking a city, draw from personal experiences. Take a city you once worked in. Trumpet the unsung qualities of that city. The experience you "bring to the table" doesn't have to be strictly limited to work; a short period of residence or even a history of repeated visits will also do.

You become the source you quote.

 

Still, in terms of credible advice, there is nothing like using one's own home town as the ultimate reference. As soon as the subject at hand can be related to childhood memories, all professional advice turns personal.

You become the source you quote.

5. Your value as a consultant relies on the extent to which others credit you for being able to predict the future. Signal a shared transformation process between the city you have selected as a reference and the city you are serving. Claim that process has evolved slightly further in the city of reference.

The present condition of the city of reference then becomes a sneak preview of the future condition of the city you are serving. All that needs to be done is follow the course of a path already carved out.

6. In order to prevent having to reinvent the wheel for every new job, make sure the objectives and aspirations you advocate are universally applicable. Make sure nothing you cite as a potential result of your work can be measured or quantified.

In consultancy terms: the more the indices of success and failure are interchangeable, the better. Avoid talking about form; talk about principles. Avoid all references to the physical. Instead, talk about regeneration, vibrant communities, public realm, cooperative planning, neighborhoods, family life, health... All these phenomena will, in some form or fashion, already be in place. The good thing is that later you will be able to claim them as a result of your work.

 

The more the indices of success and failure are interchangeable, the better

7. Avoid writing. Insist on giving verbal advice. Present this approach as a means to limit the client's financial expenditure on you. When writing becomes an inescapable part of your deliverables, avoid a narrative, stick to bullet points (Microsoft PowerPoint offers a wide array of choices).

Make sure to insert "help to endeavour" in front of every verb. Unless you stumble across a major breakthrough which you want to claim as your own (the chances of which are slim), do not insist on taking credit for your work. In fact it is preferable to shield yourself by having your deliverables carry a brand other than your own. You don't want to limit business. Future clients may not necessarily share the same interests as the present one.

8. As a final disclaimer, insist that – your recommendations notwithstanding – each place is unique and should devise its own specific solutions to its own specific problems.

Again, pay extensive compliments to the city you are serving. Speak of its unlimited potential. Only this time widen the perspective: reference other cities in the country, not as models, but as a source of inspiration.

Don't hesitate to invoke national pride. It can be a rich source of future work.

9. Manage your itinerary. Plan appointments elsewhere by the time your recommendations could materialise. In case they do not materialise, also plan appointments elsewhere.

10. Invoice early and invoice often.

---

Reinier de Graaf is a partner in the Office for Metropolitan Architecture (OMA) where he directs the work of AMO, the research and design studio established as a counterpart to OMA's architectural practice.

Design Workshop: Modern Handrail Details

What to know about material, shape and customizable options when designing a handrail

To find the essence of something and express it honestly with as few elements as possible is something designers aspire to. The sheer number of decisions to be made when designing a home dictates that some items be no more than they’re required to be, but the notion that design should get out of the way is a paradox of sorts. The outwardly simple often consumes disproportionately more design labor to execute.

In the design of stairs and their details, informed minimalism makes good sense. We prioritize safety and function first and foremost, and our building codes dictate many of the dimensions we must use. The width, tread run, riser height, guardrail and handrail conventions, and even a handrail’s cross section and circumference are regulated. Within those safety and functional constraints, the following modern examples still manage to delight the senses.

As a general rule, a handrail is required in residential construction on any stair with three or more risers. It must be present on at least one side of the stair at a minimum height of 34 inches but no more than 38 inches above the front of the tread.

Stairs exceeding 30 inches in height and open on one side also require a guardrail. Typically guardrails are required to be 42 inches high with openings no larger than 4 inches in diameter. Many jurisdictions allow the handrail assembly to double as a guardrail, as it does in this image, in which case it can be positioned at handrail height (34 to 38 inches). (Consult your local code requirements; they may be more stringent than this.) Where possible, this is the preferred method, because there are fewer overall parts required.

The basic decisions regarding any handrail design fall into a few general categories.

• Custom, standardized, hybrid: Will the design be tailored to a specific design goal, or will it be made of standardized components, or both?
• Material: Wood, metal, glass, rope, hybrid
• Shape: Round, rectangular, square, custom
• Support: Brackets, wall, floor, self-supporting, hybrid

Custom Solutions


Because stairs are inherently unique elements, they often require a customized design to ensure that a project’s precise design objectives can be met. In tight spaces, custom solutions make the most sense, because they maximize the functionality within the given parameters.

The stair shown here is openly expressive of the code constraints dictating its design. The last 30 inches of the stair don’t require a guardrail, so it has been omitted, opening up the space. The handrail, however, is required to be uninterrupted for the full run, so it continues on. It has also been designed to conceal the functional need for lighting the stairway.

Choosing a custom solution doesn’t necessarily rule out the use of standardized components, like the flat bar stock comprising the handrail supports in this design. It only marries them more precisely to the design condition. Using standard-size components helps to make it more affordable.

Material

Selecting a material that supports the overall aesthetic sensibility of the project is important. I think material decisions should reflect a certain overall design logic — all the hardware is metal, or all the walking surfaces are wood — something that gives the material a reason for being. Other considerations that might inform material choice are its tactile qualities. Handrails are one of those elements that we touch all the time, so they’re a great place for an upgrade to a more luxurious material. A warm, oiled wood is an excellent choice.

Metal is popular because it’s easily fabricated and worked into the twists and turns of stairs. It also has a slender profile, so it has minimal visual weight. Raw steel can be oiled and waxed, and is appreciated for its natural imperfections.

Metal can be polished, sandblasted or brushed for varying levels of refinement. The modernist in me always prefers to highlight the natural properties of the material rather than conceal them. In other words, forget the paint.

Iron and galvanized pipe sections don’t fit with every interior palette, but when they do, they’re one of the most economical choices available — easily sourced and installed.

Glass is a minimalist solution, especially when it can double as the guard and handrail.

Wood is especially great for straight stair runs. Complex stair geometries and wood are compatible, but this choice certainly is not economical. Makers of products like Bendywood have sought to address the complex bending requirements of convoluted stair handrails, but twisting stair runs are still laborious and expensive endeavors in wood.

Mixing metal and wood allows the strengths of each to be maximized. Use steel where its lightness and strength can be put to work, and wood where its tactile qualities can be appreciated.

Material options are virtually limitless. Here a cable from a ski lift has been repurposed.

An informal and perhaps slightly less practical version of the previous example, rope can be appropriate in some cases.

Shape

Wed to the material choice is the question of cross-section or shape. Most people find round profiles to be the most comfortable. Square and flat follow on the comfort scale. Care should be taken to ease any sharp corners. For round profiles, codes mandate a minimum cross-section diameter of 1¼ inches, not to exceed 2 inches. For other shapes they specify a minimum perimeter of 4 inches but no greater than 6¼ inches and a maximum cross section of 2¼ inches.

Support

When you’re choosing the support system for the handrail, the location will come into play. Less than 30 inches off the adjacent floor, this handrail is designed to support itself and provide a basic level of protection without the guardrail’s design restrictions. Self-supporting handrails reduce the usable width of a stair, however, so they’re usually not for confined spaces. They can make great retrofit and outdoor options, though. A number of the previous examples we’ve seen are self-supporting and by nature are more open. But perhaps the most common support when a stair has walls confining it is the bracket.

The choice among off-the-shelf brackets can be overwhelming, but they’re usually the least expensive of the options. I typically specify brackets made of solid metal, either cast or fabricated. I find that these actually give you a sense for the material’s thickness and weight; they look and feel substantial. This example features exposed fasteners that add a fine layer of detail and honestly express its means of attachment.

Concealed mounting brackets are another option when the look of expressed fasteners isn’t right. There are a couple of ways a concealed mounting is typically achieved. One is to rely on concealed bolts anchored to blocking placed inside the wall before it’s finished. One can picture how the pieces would be assembled. The bracket would slide over the wall anchor like a sleeve followed by the handrail supports sliding in from the side, and finally secured in place with a set screw.

Another method would be to face-mount the brackets to the wall substrate before it’s finished and cut the finish to fit around it. With gypsum board and plaster finishes, this is relatively straightforward (although finishing around the brackets is tricky).

Both methods involve additional expense, but of the two, the sleeved bracket is generally simpler and less expensive.

There are ways to achieve the concealed look without unnecessarily complicating the construction sequencing. If you keep the materials thin and light and use a surface-mounted tab, much of the aesthetic lightness will be maintained without the additional expense.

Here’s a similar tab design viewed from a different angle. This one has been designed to receive a wood cap rail as the final finish (note the countersunk hole to the left).

 

The viewing angle can conceal face-mounted brackets too. This one has a single mounting lag hidden below the bracket. Seen from above, the bracket appears to disappear into the wall.

There are countless other off-the-shelf options available with concealed fastening too, such as this one from Halliday Baillie. Other good-quality manufacturers are: Linnea, FSB, Deltana, Merit and Julius Blum. What you trade in ease of installation, you pay for in hardware; these brackets are about $100 each.

When sourcing handrail brackets, consider the shape of the bottom edge of the rail material. Less expensive brackets feature flat plates, because they’re easier to fabricate. If your handrail’s cross section is round, this will naturally limit your choices.

There are plenty of glass-mounting options for handrails. My default glass attachment system is made by C.R. Laurence. It has a kit-of-parts feel and a visible logic to it that I quite like.

If a protruding handrail just doesn’t do it for you and you have the room (and budget), consider a recessed rail, which gets out of the way like no other. While building codes allow the handrail to project into the required minimum width of the stair, this design will make your overall stair width even wider. This is because you’re still required to maintain the 36-inch minimum width and also provide the handrail clearances within the recess. It’s not a space saver, but it does fit a space with clean lines. The architect here has in a sense carved the rail cavity out of the same wood used for the cap.

Calling less attention to itself, this regress is painted to match the wall. Only a thin shadowed line at the wall surface is highlighted, allowing the floating treads to assert their importance.

 

Eric Reinholdt

Houzz Contributor, Residential Architect, Founder 30X40 Design Workshop

When One Size Does Not Fit All: Rethinking the Open Office

Workplace design has undergone a radical transformation in the last several decades, with approximately seventy percent of today’s modern offices now converted to open plans. However, despite growing concerns over decreases in worker productivity and employee satisfaction, the open office revolution shows no sign of slowing down. The open office model has proliferated without regard for natural differences in workplace culture, leading to disastrous results when employees are forced into an office that works against their own interests. If we are to make offices more effective, we must acknowledge that ultimately, design comes out of adapting individual needs for a specific purpose and at best, can create inviting spaces that reflect a company’s own ethos.

The concept of the open plan had noble beginnings in architecture and promised natural light, flexible space, and freedom from oppressive walls and rooms. Many companies have adopted open office plans in order to promote the values this layout supposedly represents such as transparency, collaboration, innovation, and even egalitarian visions where the CEO shares a desk alongside his employees. But despite all of their supposed benefits, a number of studies have revealed the downsides to open plan offices. In one such study, organizational psychologist Matthew Davis found that “though open offices often fostered a symbolic sense of organizational mission, making employees feel like part of a more laid-back, innovative enterprise, they were damaging to the workers’ attention spans, productivity, creative thinking, and satisfaction.” Another study found even more extreme repercussions of the typology, revealing that as the number of employees working in a single room increased, employee attendance correspondingly decreased with those working in fully open offices out sixty-two percent more than those in single offices.

So why do open plan offices perpetuate in the wake of so much criticism and research-backed evidence against them? The answer first and foremost lies in their economic advantages. The purported benefits of the open plan office often mask their underlying function – to cut down on real estate costs by cramming the maximum number of employees into the minimum amount of space. As workers spend less and less time in the office due to the proliferation of mobile devices and the ability to work remotely, corporations are less willing to spend money on partially filled offices. Therefore, the shift to open plan offices could be a very smart decision on the part of employers in terms of saving on operating costs, but it raises questions about how work actually gets done in the office environment.

Airbnb’s European Operations Hub in Dublin. Image © Ed Reeve

In some settings, open workplaces may have a particularly positive impact if individuals can gain from increased social interactions. In creative environments that thrive on interaction and learning from colleagues, the positive aspects of open plans may even outweigh the negative consequences of decreased productivity. Many corporations seek to physically demonstrate their company mission and continue to believe that open layouts encourage employee interaction. Technology companies in particular often design their offices in the spirit of many startups, which have open flexible plans to accommodate rapid growth. Facebook’s mission, as stated by Mark Zuckerberg is “to make the world a more open place” and this ethos is reflected in their office designs, with their new headquarters designed by Frank Gehry expected to house the world’s largest open office. Google also has an office design that embodies their corporate personality and appropriately caters to the demographic of their young employees.

Google Campus Dublin. Image © Peter Wurmli

Many of the complaints arising from open offices may be due to the fact that the design has widely proliferated in the last decade with very little consideration to individual workplace needs. In response to an inflammatory article criticizing the open office trend supposedly inspired by Google, Kay Sargent writes “Any headline that says “Google got it wrong” is bound to catch attention. But we don’t think that Google gets it wrong. We think Google gets it right—for Google. The folks who get it wrong are the ones who try to slap Google-like space and policies onto their own organization without understanding what it is that they really need.” A company that thrives on collaboration and creativity would logically have a very different work environment than a more traditional business practice in which work can be completed independently. However, the enormous success and glamour associated with startups in recent years has driven even the largest corporations to mimic office designs of their smaller counterparts, regardless of whether or not it suits their workplace culture.

Pixar Headquarters Atrium. Image © Esto/Peter Aaron; Courtesy of Bohlin Cywinski Jackson

There are numerous ways to achieve the purported benefits behind open offices in ways that simultaneously create positive workplace interactions, inviting offices, and even act as metaphors for a company’s vision. Steve Jobs, for example, was one of the earliest proponents of designing the offices of Pixar to enhance spontaneous collaboration. Designed in the late nineties when cubicles were still very much the norm, Pixar’s headquarters includes an expansive atrium which acts as a central hub for a building that includes offices for computer scientists, animators, and others. Making the decision to move employees from all different departments into a single building was important to Jobs as he believed that the chance encounters prompted by the atrium space could prompt innovation, a sentiment often heard about the open plan office. The Pixar headquarters differs from many of today’s offices, in that most of the offices are private and arranged in a U-shaped plan around a central meeting area. Pixar had experienced the distracting environment of cubicles in their previous headquarters, and thus had chosen to create private offices for their new building while effectively creating a collaborative environment. CEO John Lasseter declared the inherent success of the building when he stated “…I’ve never seen a building that promoted collaboration and creativity as well as this one.” This building may serve as an example which successfully embodies a corporate ethos and enhances collaboration, all while managing to avoid the difficulties with open offices.

Wieden+Kennedy NY. Image © Raymond Adams

Creating common circulation spaces that encourage or even force workers to interact on their way to their desks is another means by which companies attempt to enhance workplace culture. Similar to the strategy of the atrium in Pixar’s office, the Bloomberg headquarters in Manhattan establishes an area called “the link” through which every worker and visitor must pass to proceed to the other floors. Additionally, elevators do not stop on every floor, which forces employees to take stairs through parts of the workplace they may not otherwise see and encourage interactions with those in other departments. Unlike Pixar, however, Bloomberg’s offices employ a completely open floor plan with glass conference rooms to create visual continuity across the entire space. Their office design thus acts as a physical metaphor for their corporate goal of creating more transparency in the marketplace. According to an article by Seth Stevenson, the employees at Bloomberg are surprised at how often they bump into their colleagues throughout the day and this increased interaction prompts individuals to gain a better sense of everything taking place at the company. Additionally, as Bloomberg invests in and works with the founders of many startups, they have found success in adapting the open plan to a larger scale thanks to the ways in which it allows people to collaborate across disciplines and easily check in with colleagues about upcoming deadlines.

Square Headquarters. Image © Matthew Millman

Other workplace design strategies include bringing places and activities present in many people’s daily lives into the office itself, possibly to encourage people to work in the office rather than at home in an age of online meetings and mobile connectivity. Google offers areas for yoga classes and other recreational activities within their offices, whereas Square’s new San Francisco offices are designed to work like a city, complete with “avenues” and a “town square.” Their wide hallways feature large tables and restaurant style booths for collaborative work or informal meetings, and a coffee bar in the middle functions to draw people from the entire office together for casual meetings. Taking the metaphor of a city a step further, Square has even been experimenting with bringing pop-up stores and artisan merchants into their offices, a feature which references the kinds of businesses that employ the company’s mobile payment system. Additionally, their office design varies across cities, with an office in Japan incorporating tatami rooms for meeting places and giving each office a unique sense of “place” – and thus further adapted to fit a specific workplace culture.

Pandora Media Inc. New York Office. Image © Durston Saylor

Instead of working to perpetuate mundane offices that copy each other with row after row of desks, designers should promote greater flexibility within open plan environments and adapt workplace design to a company’s individual culture. Gensler’s 2013 Workplace Survey reveals “Across industries, we found that balanced workplaces—those prioritizing both focus and collaboration—score higher on measures of satisfaction, innovation, effectiveness, and performance.” This could explain the emerging trend of “hybrid” workspaces which often utilize movable furniture systems and couches that offer comfortable environments for workers to meet in small groups or individuals to retreat for focused work. This is one step towards designing offices that offer a greater variety of spaces, but in too many cases these hybrid designs are simply a formulaic application of three or four different types of work area, which still don’t take into account the specific needs of each office.
True hybrid offices should be informed holistically by a company’s workplace goals and go beyond the implementation of simple furniture systems. In the case of Pixar and Bloomberg for example, their desire to increase spontaneous employee interaction was addressed through architectural decisions such as defining unique circulation patterns and designating gathering spaces to bring everyone in the office together at various times throughout the day. These offices in particular do not attempt to implement the open plan as the only way of encouraging communication and transparency, and rather, these ideals are visible throughout the space and speak to corporate identity and unique ways of working.
For too long office designs have adopted a singular model, and if modern work environments are to truly be successful they must adapt to a multitude of working styles present in an increasingly digital age. Office designs such as Google’s become synonymous with a specific corporate culture unique to Google, while Square’s offices seek to create a dynamic workplace inspired by the urban culture in which their products thrive. These designs distinguish themselves through purpose-driven strategies that create engaging environments with varying spaces, thus ameliorating many of the issues stemming from uniform and faceless open plans. Most importantly, the new workplace ideal should not rely on a collection of buzzwords to foster innovation, because ultimately, design with intent is the only way to save the modern workplace from becoming a place of dread.

Reference: http://www.archdaily.com/595033/when-one-size-does-not-fit-all-rethinking-the-open-office/#more-595033

Design Workshop: How to Borrow Light

You can save energy by using glass walls, windows and skylights to bring sunlight into dark areas of your space...

In 1915 the 38-story Equitable Building in New York City was the largest office building in the world. Containing 1.2 million square feet of office space, it consumed nearly every available square foot of its diminutive lot and cast an equally large shadow on its neighborhood in lower Manhattan. Its construction inspired the enactment of the city’s 1916 Zoning Resolution, which was designed to preserve access to light and air at the street level. The resolution prescribed specific limitations for a building’s envelope — its outer walls — and would go on to shape the stepped forms that you see today on many of the iconic towers in the city.

This underscores the importance that access to daylight had in shaping even the largest of cities, the individual buildings that make up those cities and, more broadly, sensible building design. With an increasing focus on sustainable design practices, the smart use of natural daylight in our homes is no longer a luxury — it has become a necessity. At the heart of any good daylighting strategy is a concept of “borrowed” light: the capture of light falling on the exterior of a home and transporting it to the spaces where it’s needed.

The sun delivers an incredible amount of light energy to us each day. To get an idea of just how much, it helps to understand the standard by which we use to measure light intensity: the foot-candle. The light from a full moon is roughly 1 foot-candle, while the sun’s illuminance on a cloudless day is roughly 10,000 foot-candles. Of course, clouds and the filtering effects of glass can reduce the actual amount of light that reaches the interiors of our homes by 50 to 90 percent. But 1,000 to 5,000 foot-candles is still an amazing amount of light, given that we need only around 35 foot-candles to comfortably read by.

Harnessing this light energy isn’t as simple as placing a window on an exterior wall. Interior rooms without access to an exterior wall or spaces oriented in a way that restricts access to adequate daylight are common problems, each with a unique solution. Here’s a look at some solutions.

Walls. Interior walls built to collect and disperse light rather than restrict it are one solution. The wall shown here gathers indirect light from an adjacent light-filled bathroom and capitalizes on the reflective nature of the bath’s wall surfaces to diffuse it into the bedroom. Clear glass will transmit the greatest amount of light into adjacent spaces. And because the glass here is positioned above eye level, the bath remains private and sound-isolated.

The white walls of the same bathroom act as the indirect light source for the nearby bedroom. Bright, neutral colors work well for an indirect borrowed-lighting strategy.

Good solar exposure is borrowed by the bedroom simply via the glazed upper wall.

Because translucent materials reflect, absorb and scatter light, they make great walls for borrowing light. The degree of translucency will affect just how much light is scattered. The effect is similar to obscuring direct sight but preserving the passage of daylight. Diffused light is comfortable and limits eyestrain.

Translucency can be achieved in a variety of ways. Glass can be sandblasted or acid etched. It can also be textured or laminated. With laminated glass, a plastic interlayer lends a translucent effect similar to that created by sandblasting but without the marking characteristics. There are applied films to consider too.

Full-height glass walls offer auditory but not visual privacy. When there’s limited access to exterior window space, they’re an obvious choice.

The perceived dimensions of our rooms are naturally increased when we use the borrowed-light concept too. This means it works particularly well for spaces with floor-area constraints.

In this project the concept of borrowed light has been applied to the overall ordering system in place. There’s a logic to the order of solid and void, and it offers plenty of light to the bedroom space. The pattern on the glazed wall has been achieved with a custom film; the design was created from a sketch by the architect.

The vaulted ceiling and clerestory take advantage of reflected light from the entire volume of space.

Stairs. Another option and an efficient vehicle for borrowing light in a home is the stairway. It’s a natural conduit for illuminating an often light-starved lower level. If the stair can be positioned to capture and reflect light from above by either fully glazing it or using a skylight, it’s even more effective.

The combination of glass guard and white walls has made this stairway a light source for the surrounding rooms. A solid wall used here would have changed this space dramatically.

Interior windows. Whether they’re clear or frosted, there are plenty of functional incentives to borrow light using interior windows. The ones here bring in light from the adjacent living area while preserving the nursery’s acoustical privacy.

Interior windows aren’t subject to the same weathering and insulation restrictions as exterior windows, so they’re less expensive to buy and install. Making them operable, especially in a stairwell where natural convective flow is greatest, can help to passively ventilate a space too.

Functional reasons aside, interior windows can offer unexpected delight. Why connect a bar and a powder room? I don’t have a good reason, but I don’t need one. I love the idea that the powder room will look different based on what’s on the top shelf and the time of day. In the bar too, the differences that the powder room renders to its backsplash can be appreciated. It’s these connections that make architecture interesting. Linking spaces doesn’t always have to make sense, functionally or otherwise.

Skylights. Because the sky dome above is a giant light source, it’s hard to find a more efficient means for borrowing light here than the skylight. On tight urban lots, a skylight can be used in conjunction with an interior atrium or light well and be surrounded by reflective walls to increase its efficiency.

This project utilizes a light well of sorts, allowing the lower level to borrow light from the upper skylights. The second floor hovers in the space instead of being extended to the full width of the gable, and the overall effect is lighter and brighter. The more we open up our interior spaces, the easier it becomes to bounce daylight around from areas with good solar exposure to areas with poor exposure. Painting the surfaces with a higher-sheen paint further helps distribute the light.

This luminous shower is an example of how a light well and skylight can transform a tight space into a pleasant one.

Additions to existing structures often compromise the amount of daylight the original building receives. Not here, though. The skylight ensures that the existing home borrows daylight at its perimeter.

Transoms. Similar in concept to the ideas seen in the first images in this story, a glass transom extends the dimension of a space and introduces light to a room without compromising its privacy.

Light tubes. Simple-technology solar tubes channel light to where it’s needed using highly reflective, flexible tubes. They’re especially effective in private spaces or spaces where a lot of glass isn’t desirable.

Although short tubes are used in this project, the concept is similar. Six large tubes light this otherwise dark space, a bold and considered element. The choice of multiple solar tubes rather than a single one not only feels more intentional, but as you can see, it’s also exceptionally functional. A grouping of three is usually a good starting point, but the more, the better.

Eric Reinholdt

Houzz Contributor, Residential Architect, Founder 30X40 Design Workshop... More