Workplace design has seen significant shifts over the years, from the dreaded cubicle farms of decades passed to open plan offices and the hybrid model we’ve been hearing in the wake of the global pandemic. But where is workplace design now and where is it headed in the future? In this episode, Bethanne Mikkelsen, senior principal at Ankrom Moisan’s Portland office who co-leads the firm’s office community and retail studio, to discuss this evolution of the office and what’s driving workplace design today and into the future.

Learn about Ankrom Moisan's 5 strategic shifts for a thriving workplace as part of their "The Office as Ecosystem" series of articles:

1. The Office Gets Personal
2. The Commute-worthy Workplace
3. The Not-so-office Office
4. New Ways to Meet
5. Culture-first Employee Engagement

In this In Case You Missed It Episode, we’re featuring a popular article from the interiors+sources website titled, “How Today’s Retail Design Influences E-Commerce” written by Nicki Gitlin, the owner and founder of Dang Design and Architecture, originally published online on March 26, 2024. Join us as we dive in to how customers today are familiarizing themselves with retail brands through the traditional brick-and-mortar experience and continuing their journey online.

Projects mentioned in this episode:

• Zadig & Voltaire Tribecca 
• Theory Hudson Yards

Technology has been the focal point of conversation across every industry in the past year, not the least of which has been the field of architecture. In this episode, Jack Chaffin, architect and principal at Seattle-based Johnston Architects, talks about how the firm is leveraging new technologies to enhance their designs and bring a greater level of engagement to their projects. He highlights the Winthrop Library in Winthrop, WA, as an example of how the firm deployed proprietary software to more effectively gather feedback from the larger community to make the project successful and more equitable. 

In this "In Case You Missed It" episode of I Hear Design, Chief Content Director Robert Nieminen reviews two recent articles from the i+s website that explore The Embodied Carbon in Construction Calculator, better known as EC3. The first is titled, “3 Designers Talk 3 Ways to Utilize EC3,” by Lona Rerick, sustainable design leader and architect at ZGF; Marty Brennan, architect, sustainability leader, light health researcher and mass timber enthusiast at ZGF; and Charlotte Jolly, an interior designer at ZGF,” was published online on January 29th. The second article published on February 28th and titled, “More Experts Sound off on the EC3,” was written by independent climate consultant Jon Strassner, who interviewed Perkins&Will D.C.’s Senior Technical Coordinator and Senior Associate Brittany McNairy, and Parallel Sustainability’s VP of Operations Rebecca Backer, to get their “how-to’s” on using the calculator to better understand and achieve climate impacts.

As the architecture and design industry becomes increasingly familiar with digital design tools and pre-construction services, knowing how they work and what to look for is paramount. How can tools like 3D Revit and digital twins address pain points for project teams, for example? Listen in as Armstrong's Nate Baxter answers this questions (among others) and explains how digitally assisted design tools can help create bolder, more sustainable projects on time and on budget.

Resources on Armstrong's ProjectWorks solution:

https://www.armstrongceilings.com/commercial/en/programs-services/projectworks.html

https://www.armstrongceilings.com/commercial/en/case-study/transportation/bwi-airport-terminal-renovation-projectworks-ceiling-design.html

In this In Case You Missed It Episode, we’ll be revisiting a popular article from the interiors+sources website titled, “9 Pillars of Thoughtful Project Management,” written by Kimberly M. Zeiser, senior associate in Gensler’s Chicago studio, originally published online on Feb. 1, 2024. Join us as we explore the strategies, tools, and best practices that empower architects and interior designers to master the art of project management, ultimately shaping the built environment and enriching the lives of their clients. Stay tuned for valuable insights and actionable tips to elevate your practice to new heights.

In its annual Design Forecast, global architecture and design firm Gensler identifies eight key trends at play that will help move the industry forward in 2024 and beyond. Stranded assets like offices are being re-thought and re-tooled into residential spaces to help with the housing crisis, for example, and leveraging technologies like AI and creating more engaging experiences will continue to reshape the built environment for the better. In this episode, Gensler co-CEO, Diane Hoskins, explains how design can solve a complex set of challenges that design practitioners face today, and unpacks the firm’s 2024 Design Forecast report to better understand what’s behind the trends it uncovered.

In this “In Case You Missed It Episode,” we highlight a recent article titled, "Perkins&Will Launches Open-Source Tool for Healthier Environments," that was originally published online on Dec. 11th, 2023 by the i+s staff. Listen in as we describe this new resource for architects and designers that leverages public health data to help better inform design decisions for commercial projects. 

What is circularity? That’s a question that we posed to international interior architect and product designer Laurence Carr in this episode of I Hear Design. As the founder and CEO of her eponymous and regenerative design firm in New York, Carr shares her passion and perspectives on upcycling, healthy materials and bio-based materials, and zero-waste product design. Listen in as Carr, an advocate of the circular economy in the built environment, architecture, and design industries, describes her firm’s work in alignment with the UN Sustainable Development Goals, and exclusively partners with manufacturers that support its mission to embrace mindful luxury amidst closed-loop, zero-waste processes and production methods.

What do hand sketching, creating custom furniture and adaptive reuse have in common? They’re all in a day’s work for architect Rachel Robinson, co-founder of New York City based durodeco. In this episode, she sits down with i+s Editor in Chief, AnnMarie Martin, to discuss how her firm got its start, where the design industry seems to be heading in New York (hint: adaptive reuse is on the rise), the importance of sketching by hand and why it’s so important to her work—and more.

In this episode, Mannington Commercial's Roby Isaac discusses what informs his design thinking and guides the design process for the company’s newest introductions; the role of technology in experiential design, including how AI can be leveraged as a design tool; the incredible work Mannington is doing around sustainability and purpose-driven design; and a whole lot more.