Social Media by Design: A Q&A with Architect Lira Luis

The International Interior Design Association (IIDA) hosted its 15th Industry Roundtable from January 6 to 8, in part exploring social media’s role as it affects designers, architects, and manufacturers from some of the most present brands in the design community. Although a White Paper on the event won’t be available until next month, Contract had the chance to speak with Lira Luis, one of the panel speakers at the two-part discussion “Work: Who, Where, How. The Intersection of Culture, Workplace, and Social Media,” that looked at how social media is changing the way the A&D industry conducts business.


How has social media changed your definition of “work”?

Lira Luis: Social media—whether I’m designing a core and shell building or an interior space—has enhanced my work as an architect; I see it as a tool. For example, in a recent restaurant project, I was in search of consultants to work with, so I reached out to people in my social media network for recommendations, particularly on LinkedIn. I also ask colleagues about their experiences with specific manufacturers when searching for products to specify.

How has it changed your work environment?

Luis: The work environment has become more and more collaborative. The experience of one colleague becomes the shared experience of others in the profession from which we can all learn.

Has social media changed how you relate to clients? Manufacturers? Brands?

Luis: Yes. What I normally look for when I select products/manufacturers, aside from quality, are experiences dealing with them. I ask questions like, “Will this manufacturer help make it easier to accomplish the design objective?” Or “Will this manufacturer or brand cause delays on the project?” Then I look to SoMe [social media] for those kinds of experiences to be translated, like how responsive they would be to my questions [from their level of interaction].

As far as clients, or potential ones, I find that if you add value to connecting, more often than not it results in project leads. Sometimes it may not be directly with the person, but it will be someone from his or her own network. It's like the online version of word-of-mouth marketing.

Has it solved design-related problems you had experienced in the past?

Luis: It doesn't directly solve design related problems, but it does add another platform to make communication lines accessible to everyone in a project team.

Has social media created any problems in your work?

Luis: While SoMe has enabled the ability to constantly be in touch with others more than ever, this has become a double-edged sword. I find that if we rely solely on this type of platform for communication where body language is absent, it can lead to miscommunication.

Do you have any advice for designers looking to use social media to their advantage?

Luis: It can be a very useful tool for designers or it can be a tool for wasting a lot of time. Knowing what you want to get out of social media from the beginning is key.

Lira Luis, AIA, RIBA, NCARB, UAP, LEED AP BD+C, is a global American architect specializing in organic architecture and is the founder of Atelier Lira Luis, LLC. To learn more about her work visit liraluis.com.

World Monuments Watch List 2012 Released

There may be debate in our industry on whether to preserve a landmark or to rebuild or redevelop it. For me personally, it's a gray area where some structures and sites are worth saving and some are not. But I'd have to applaud the World Monuments Fund on their preservation efforts through their biennial endangered-site list (the 2012 list was released just this month). While the organization was founded in the 1960's, it didn't launch the World Monuments Watch list until 1996, so the public was largely unaware of these culturally significant sites that were, in some cases quite literally, crumbling to the ground.

What particularly draws me to the organization is that oftentimes the endangered sites aren't limited to, say, the Saarinen masterpiece in a major metropolis or a Wright house in the Midwest. Rather, it might be a temple sinking into waters off of Southeast Asia, the ruins of an ancient Mesopotamian court, a district of historic houses in the U.S. hit by hurricane, or a once grand European cathedral that's now seeing its end of days. More often, the WMF has kept its eye on international sites that aren't in danger of being pushed out by a new shopping center or condominium, but by the elements, economic hardship, or even civil or governmental change. Moreover, to the WMF, it's not just about saving a site from decay or destruction--it's about restoring heritage and reconnecting people to place. Indeed, some of these places are the very fabric or identity of a culture.

If you're like me, you're no Bill Gates or Martha Stewart when it comes to funds. But, we can still do our part to help preserve these sites whether it's through getting the word out to increase public awareness, or making a small donation to the fund. (85 percent of the WMF's revenue goes to preservation projects, fieldwork, advocacy, and educational programs.) To view the 67 sites listed for 2012, a slideshow of the sites, or more information on the organization and donating, visit www.wmf.org.

Images, from top: Wangduechhoeling Palace in Bhutan; Cour Royale de Tiebele in Burkina Faso; painting the earthen walls of Cour Royale de Tiebele. Images courtesy of the World Monuments Fund.

Luck O' the Green: Irish Architecture Touring Symposia Comes to United States

 
St. Patty’s Day (and all its festivities/traditional fare) may yet be months away but Culture Ireland is giving Americans a glimpse at the country’s more cultured side this fall. As part of its 2011 “Imagine Ireland” tour that aims to showcase Irish art exhibits throughout the United States, the organization and the Irish Architecture Foundation, Dublin have teamed up to offer a touring symposia on Irish Architecture.

Two groups of leading architects from Irish design firms will travel to six museums and design schools over the next two months to present the key aspects of their work and discuss challenges and issues facing Irish architecture today.

Group One—Merritt Bucholz and Karen McEvoy, Bucholz McEvoy Architects; Niall McCullough, McCullough Mulvin Architects; and Shih-Fu Peng, Heneghan Peng Architects—already completed their East Coast tour. They visited New York last week, stopping at Cooper Union, then traveled to Harvard University’s Graduate School of Design, and The Carnegie Museum of Art in Pittsburgh.

Group Two—Tom dePaor, dePaor Architects; Yvonne Farrell, Grafton Architects; and Sheila O’Donnell, O’Donnell + Tuomey Architects— will begin touring on November 8 at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, followed by presentations at the University of California Berkeley’s College of Environmental Design, Department of Architecture, and The Art Institute of Chicago.

Visit www.architecturefoundation.ie for more information.

MLK Memorial Shines Light on Civil Rights

 
How many Americans take our civil rights for granted? Too many I’m sure, as the memory of social pioneers like Rosa Parks and the Little Rock Nine frequently remain as names in a textbook, brought up from time to time during a history class or Black history month. But as President Obama officially dedicates on October 16 the Martin Luther King, Jr. National Memorial—designed by ROMA Design Group under the direction of firm President Boris Dramov and Landscape Principal Bonnie Fisher, FASLA, and opened in August— in Washington, D.C., the importance of civil rights and the continuing battle for social equality and diversity will gain a permanent stance in the public eye.

“The dedication of the MLK Memorial shines a light on the importance of civil rights and social equity issues and how integral they are to the meaning of democracy in America. These issues are as important now as they ever have been. Dr. King's legacy lies not only in his message but also in the way in which this message was achieved,” says Fishcer. “We are hoping that the physical design of the memorial will create an uplifting experience for visitors—one that enables individuals to see that each person in his or her own way can stand up and make a difference to the benefit of the larger community.” 

Occupying a four-acre site on the Tidal Basin near the Jefferson and Lincoln Memorials, visitors enter between two large stone markers which are separated by the “Mountain of Despair,” a stone wedge that appears as though it is thrust into the main plaza as a symbol of Dr. King’s struggle. On the visible side of the stone, text from the famed 1963 speech "Out of the mountain of despair a stone of hope" is engraved; while "I was a drum major for justice, peace and righteousness” is written on the other. In the center of the open plaza, lies the “Stone of Hope;” this features the image of Dr. King gazing out to the horizon toward future society of equality for all.

 
“For designers, this memorial shows how the shaping of the physical environment can communicate ideas and convey emotional content. Although these ideas are elevated and more poignant when working on a memorial, the ability to convey meaning and significance through public space design is something that can be applied to the betterment of cities everywhere,” Fisher says.

The final design for the memorial was selected via an international design competition from more than 1,000 submissions. ROMA Design Group is a San Francisco-based architecture, landscape architecture, and urban design firm that holds a reputation for designing public spaces.
 

--Stacy Straczynski

Eyes on an ‘Empty Sky’ this September 11

 
Thousands gathered in New York City this weekend to attend the 10th anniversary ceremonies in honor of those lost in the tragic 9/11 terrorist attacks. But while work continues on the extensive National September 11 Memorial project—composed of the public Memorial Plaza, designed by architect Michael Arad and landscape architect Peter Walker, and now open to the public; the focal Freedom Tower at One World Trade Center, designed by Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (which currently rises just 78 of the total 105 planned stories); the Four World Trade Center building, designed by Fumihiko Maki; and sub-level National September 11 Memorial Museum, designed by Aedas, with entry pavilion designed by Norwegian architecture firm Snøhetta (covered in detail by Contract’s Editor in Chief John Czarnecki in our forthcoming September issue)—those in New Jersey were able to participate in the commemoration of a much smaller yet equally powerful memorial on Saturday, September 10.

The New Jersey 9/11 “Empty Sky” Memorial, designed by Frederic Schwartz Architects (FSA) and located across the river from Manhattan at Liberty State Park (shown above and below, www.schwartzarch.com), is meant to remember the lives of 746 people from New Jersey lost in the September 11 attacks. The two 30-foot-high, 210-foot-long (a measurement that equals the width of each side of the World Trade Center) walls parallel each other to create a path between them. Each name is engraved at 3.75 inches tall on either of the memorial’s interior facade.

Placed to frame the now empty skyline view of Ground Zero and create an illusion for onlookers, the concrete structures are surfaced in stainless steel to reflect the varying angles of natural light throughout the day. Architect Frederick Schwartz, the memorial’s designer, notes to The Jersey Journal at the commemoration service that its positioning also allows the light reflected off it’s the memorial’s surface to create a halo between two walls at certain times of the day, which he admits was unintentional. "To me, it's a religious experience," he says. "For me, that is as if god is trying to tell us he is watching over these people."

The memorial itself rests between by slightly sloped hills, which helps to integrate the walls into the park’s landscape. Overall, "Empty Sky" literally and metaphorically encourages locals to find strength and look forward as a community.

The design for “Empty Sky” was selected by the family members of those it commemorates as the National Competition Winner of the 2004 AIA New Jersey Honor Award. Jessica Jamroz, an associate at Frederic Schwartz Architects, designed the New Jersey 9/11 Memorial with Schwartz asthe project manager.

FSA also won the competition for “The Rising,” a memorial at the Kensico Dam Plaza in Valhalla, New York, that honors the112 Westchester County locals who were lost in the attacks. This design, which was also chosen by the victims’ family members and created by Schwartz and Jamroz, features a structure that resembles an upside-down funnel. The memorial (shown above, photo by Jessica Jamroz/Frederic Schwartz Architects) is made from 112 interlaced stainless steel strands to symbolize strength and unity among the community.

What do you think about the designs? Do you feel that they successfully capture and elicit symbolic power? What other memorial designs have resonated with you on a personal level? Share your thoughts and comments with us below.

 --Stacy Straczynski

Student Hubs: The New Campus Hot Spot

 
By Jeff Vredevoogd

As summer turns to fall, schools everywhere are preparing for a flood of students, and this year’s incoming class may be more connected than ever before. Yet while technology continues to support the ongoing evolution in teaching and learning, research shows there’s no substitute for direct face-to-face collaboration. This need for constant collaboration and connection is driving the emergence of a new type of learning space across college campuses—“hub zones” that offer a place for students to meet, gather, and work together.

Students look for spaces that help them connect with others before, during and after class. But what makes a hub hubbable? How much campus space should be dedicated to these zones? How can college administrators support the design of these spaces?

A survey of higher education facility planners, architects, and designers, Hub Life: Insights that Shape Campus Spaces. Simultaneously, we gathered insights from students–-primary users of hub spaces on campus-–inviting them to highlight their hubs in a short video contest submission. The results reveal some interesting touch points about hub zones:
 
• They enable teamwork. More than 70 percent of respondents identify collaboration as the primary benefit of hub zone learning. It may seem obvious that people depend on hubs when they need to hold team sessions, work on group projects, and meet with others.

• Technology is top priority. Nearly half of respondents note technological capability (WiFi and electric power) as being important to hub design and layout. Technology needs to be there as an enabler–like a sail on a boat rather than the anchor tying the user to one place.

• Accessibility is key. On average, up to 30 percent of space in student buildings, residence halls and libraries is allocated for hub zone use. As you walk a facility, you quickly see examples of hub spaces, even in areas you didn’t expect.

• Design to adapt. Flexibility is the number one trend in hub zone furnishings, including ease of maneuverability and white board access. At the same time, adaptive spaces are multi-use spaces, with elements that don’t always include casters.

• Size matters. The majority of respondents say zones should be designed for less than 10 people. Most facilities have more dedicated spaces (classrooms, conference rooms, etc.). Hub zones fall everywhere else. They are the places where planned or unplanned activities take place.
 
These results reinforce something we all know—a college campus is a dynamic, humming, communal place. Successful learning spaces, including hub zones, encourage engagement, which drives deeper levels of learning. The design and planning that goes into hub creation reinforces the diverse learning styles, design requirements and activities that these hubs support. 
 
To learn more about hub zone design and the research survey, contact herman_miller_education@hermanmiller.com.
 
As director of Herman Miller Education, Jeff Vredevoogd leads the effort to expand the understanding of evolving learning trends and the impacts on higher education environments. With more than 25 years experience in the commercial furniture industry, Jeff partners with higher education leadership to develop spaces that have a positive impact on teaching and learning. He is a member of Educause, the Society for College and University Planning, and Acuho-i.

Jeans Transform into Retail Display Sculpture

I love purging--clothes, housewares, home décor, that bright pink, checkered scarf I was sure I would wear, but never did. Sometimes though, even a trip to Goodwill isn’t the best home for the hideous items I’m getting rid of. Wouldn’t it be cool if I could take stuff I’ll never wear again (like that size 2 jean skirt) and make it into art? For the masses? Well, it looks like someone else already beat me to the punch!

Ian McChesney, architect, designed a Levi’s jeans sculpture as part of the Regent Street Windows Project in London, further proving that my artistic idea isn’t half bad. While I’m sure these jeans aren’t from a collection that Ian can no longer wear, it’s still an impressive feat. A total of 120 pairs of jeans were joined together using more than 1,000 copper rivets. The display is designed to look like a tornado or a whirlpool.

I’m now picturing my pink checkered scarf and jean skirt along with my old microwave as my next sculpture project. What do you think? Have you seen anything like this before? What items would you repurpose for your next design project? Leave your comments here.

--Heather Strang, DDI

Scoring with Sustainability

There’s no denying that sustainability offers not only a winning strategy for environmental protection but for the reduction of operation costs as well. As such, many sports organizations like the NFL and MLB have put their own colors aside in recent years to jump on board with the “green team” and renovate America’s stadiums to feature a variety of technologies for clean energy.

 
Most recently, plans were announced this week for a solar installation at FedExField, home of the Washington Redskins. Design firm DLR Group and NRG Energy will collaborate to install 8,000 panels across 850 spaces in the stadium’s Platinum A1 Parking Lot—which will generate up to two megawatts (MW) of electricity—and about 200 translucent solar panels will be placed on the exterior of the NRG entry plaza at Gate A pedestrian entry ramp. The plaza entrance also will house two sculptures of football players created with thin film solar technology to produce even more energy for the stadium.

Additionally, 10 electric vehicle charging stations from NRG’s eVgo^sm charging network will be added to the grounds and kiosks in parking lot A1 and the NRG entry plaza on the west corner of FedExField will provide fans with information about renewable energy and NRG clean energy solutions. The project will be complete this September in time for the 2011 NFL football season.

 
Also set for a September completion is an energy-saving endeavor which will allow Lincoln Financial Field, home to the Philadelphia Eagles, to become the world’s first sports stadium to fully convert to self-generated renewable energy. Solar Blue will cover the stadium’s façade with 2,500 solar panels, set 80 20-foot wind turbines atop the stadium rim, and operate a 7.6 megawatt onsite dual-fuel cogeneration plant to save an estimated $60 million in energy costs. All of the technologies will be controlled via an executed monitoring and switching technology.

 
The Seattle Seahawks announced in May that they are striving to decrease their carbon footprint, too. Solyndra solar panels will be installed by McKinstry to the roof of Qwest Field. The thin-film, tube-shaped CIGS (copper, indium, gallium, and selenide) solar cells will cover 2½ acres (80 percent) of the stadium. Light reflecting off the stadium’s existing “cool roof”—which serves to reduce heat absorption—should add to the production of electricity as it is captured by the new panels. Qwest Field’s utility costs are expected to shrink by 21 percent. The project expects completion sometime this summer.

 
Solar Blue has also held a relationship with the Boston Red Sox. GroSolar installed a solar thermal system manufactured by Heliodyne Incorporated on the roof of Fenway Park’s fifth floor media level in 2008. Thirty-seven percent of the gas used for heating is offset by the system, avoiding 18 tons of CO2 emissions. (The amount of emissions conserved can be compared to not driving a car for 43,611 miles!) Solar Blue is now considered the official energy conservation partner of the baseball team and Fenway Park.

 
Across the country from the Red Sox lies the first existing ballpark to attain LEED Silver status, San Francisco’s AT&T Park. In 2007, Solar Design Associates was commissioned by the Giants baseball team to install 590 Sharp solar panels to supply energy to Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) customers in the San Francisco area. The stadium’s Diamond Vision scoreboard also is sustainable—it uses 78 percent less energy than the ballpark's original scoreboard.

It’s great to see that sporting venues are picking up the pace on sustainable design, especially since they hold such a prominent spot in the public eye. But it seems that these types of projects still have a long way to go when it comes to transitioning to the greener side of the fence. Why do you think stadiums have been so slow to renovate to decrease their carbon footprint? What can designers do to encourage facility managers and team owners to invest in green design?

--Raysha Armbrustmacher

Belly Up to the Container Bar

Once a dull neighborhood, Austin’s Rainey Street was in need of an invigorating transformation—and there’s nothing like an iconic bar with a unique design to do the trick. Scheduled to open December 31, Container Bar will be constructed of stacked recycled metal shipping containers assembled to form a central courtyard. Bridget Dunlap, a local nightlife owner with three other bungalow-style venues in the area, is the first to take on such a concept in Austin.

 
New flooring, windows, and artistic accents will enhance the containers, giving each box its own identity via the interior decor. The bar will be fit with classy bathrooms, air-conditioning, and eco-friendly LED lighting. For fun, a movie screen and stage will be included among other amenities. The exterior will remain weathered. Container Bar will be a LEED compliant space.

Contrary to popular belief, Dunlap is not an interior designer but rather a businesswoman; despite the lack of a design background, she has pulled together authentic spaces with a few objects as inspiration, allowing for the rest to fall in place.

 
"Anyone who knows me will tell you that I get easily bored, so I worked out my creative juices and restlessness through developing my ideas for Rainey Street. I love the rough look of the old shipping containers,” says Dunlap. “Container Bar will be a stunner.”

Dunlop's endeavor is just another instance of shipping container architecture to hit the news in recent years. What do you think about the salvaged container trend? Share your thoughts in the comments section below.
 
--Raysha Armbrustmacher

Pairing Up to Design a Difference

One of the primary things I’ve come to love about design since I was introduced to the world of A&D is the power it has to change people’s lives. Recently, I’ve received news of two firms, DLR Group and Corner Green & Associates (CGA), making a difference in Joplin, Missouri. The town was hit by a devastating tornado on May 22 that destroyed the many structures throughout the town, including the local high school.

The Kansas City office of DLR Group was quick to respond. The firm partnered with CGA, also locally based, and sent a structural and K-12 design team to assess the facilities and begin discussing the community’s educational needs, the first of which was a temporary high school for students to attend in the fall.

 
The firms currently are finalizing a fast-track, 69-day renovation of an 84,000-square-foot retail department store into a temporary educational space for the 1,200 displaced 11th and 12th grade students. The space will feature small learning communities and collaboration spaces to enhance learning and offer students a place to relax and socialize.

 
The facility also includes administration and counseling offices, a social commons area with a school store and coffee bar, a media center, and Information Technology support spaces. Moveable walls, which double as marker boards, will allow for the flexibility of classroom size.

“This was a design-centric project with a great sense of urgency,” says DLR Group principal Kevin Greischar, AIA. “It had to be the definition of integrated design with architects, school district officials, construction partners, and even parents and students in the room at the same time. We used BIM as our tool to bridge the gap from design to construction in five days. Having the high school ready for students in the coming month is essential to returning a sense of normalcy and community in Joplin.”

Students will return to school on August 17.

--Stacy Straczynski