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.

MoMA PS1 Gets Geodesic Dome

Though I haven’t been to MoMA PS1’s Warm Up concert series in eons, I always look forward to the courtyard installations that form the backdrop for the concerts. Every year MoMA’s Young Architects Program challenges up-and-comers to design these temporary installations, and the winning proposal gets built for the enjoyment of the concertgoers and museum visitors alike. The YAP pavilions are just as much a draw as the Warm Up parties themselves, and never fail to spark dialogue—whether for good or bad—amongst the contemporary art and design enthusiasts. But come wintertime, when the installations are taken down, PS1 appears rather desolate. So the announcement of a new performance dome in the courtyard has peaked my interest and got me wondering if this will become the counterpoint to PS1’s summer installation.

I won’t know until this weekend, when the new dome opens, beginning with the launch of Sunday Sessions performances on February 5. Programming details are yet to be announced, but what is known is that PS1 intends to utilize the space for a variety of programming that goes beyond performance—think sound, music, and light installations, as well as lectures. Geodesic in form, the performance dome is sponsored by Volkswagen, who partnered with MoMA and MoMA PS1 as of last year to expand programming at both venues. I’m excited about this, but I’ll have to report back after I’ve attended at least a few of the Sunday Sessions at the performance dome!

Find out more about Sunday Sessions at the MoMA PS1 Performance Dome here: http://momaps1.org/calendar/.

Photo by Erin Kornfeld/Erica Leone/elkstudios.com.

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.

The Ultimate 'Axor Experience' Is in the Details

 
Axor’s first North American design studio, Axor NYC, opened on September 19 in Manhattan’s Meatpacking District. Axor, the designer brand of kitchen and bath manufacturer Hansgrohe, is recognized globally for its exclusive collaboration with world-renowned architects and designers. Axor NYC showcases the entire Axor line of products for the United States, and features multiple vignettes and interactive working displays. Pictured above is the Axor Urquiola collection, designed by Patricia Urquiola. (Credit: Photo courtesy of Oleg March)
 
 
 
More of the sunlit space is showcased in this alternate view of pieces from the Axor Citterio Collection (above). Axor Brand Manager Philippe Grohe worked closely with Milanese architect Pietro Ferruccio Laviani to create the overall design of the space. Their visions were brought to life by the United States-based team Vincent Bandy and Andrew Reyniak, who worked hand-in-hand with the Axor and Hansgrohe USA teams.

Axor NYC is as a valuable resource for the industry and design-savvy public. Designers, architects, and consumers can visit the space, work with a product specialist and create a specification for their project. Swiss furnishings manufacturer Vitra occupies the first floor of the building and shares a portion of the second floor space.

 
The Axor Urquiola vignettes (above) create a great backdrop for the wide range of events that will be held in the space, including educational seminars, interactive demonstrations, and designer discussions.

 
The brand new Axor Citterio Single-Hole Faucet, Tall takes center stage (above). Every detail was addressed to ensure that visitors have the ultimate “Axor experience,” from a fully functional kitchen to a chic, yet comfortable conference/work area for specification reviews with the Axor Studio Manager.


--DDI, sister publication to Contract magazine

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

Eye of the Tigerman

The Yale School of Architecture honors this fall the success of one of its own, Stanley Tigerman (‘60 B.Arch, ‘61 M.Arch), in a new exhibit at its gallery in New Haven, Connecticut. Now open for viewing, Ceci n’est pas une rêverie: The Architecture of Stanley Tigerman celebrates the upcoming 2012 transfer of the starchitect’s drawing archive to Yale University’s Manuscripts and Archives depository, which holds records from other famous A&D professionals such as Louis Kahn, Paul Rudolph, and Eero Saarinen. The exhibit also marks the publication of Tigerman’s Schlepping Through Ambivalence: Essays on an American Architectural Condition (Yale University Press, October 2011), a collection of the architect’s writings from 1964 to 2011 edited by Yale School of Architecture Associate Professor Emmanuel Petit, and his autobiography, Designing Bridges to Burn: Architectural Memoirs by Stanley Tigerman (ORO Editions, August 2011).

Ceci n’est pas une rêverie, which translates from French to “This is not a dream,” features a thematic representation of Tigerman’s projects according to the motifs of utopia, allegory, death, humor, division, drift, yaleiana, identity, and (dis)order. Models and sketches on display include some of Tigerman’s early and mid-career projects, such as the Five Polytechnic Institutes in Bangladesh (1966–75); the Urban Matrix proposal on Lake Michigan (1967–68); and Dante’s Bathroom Addition, an unbuilt, allegorical project for Kohler (1980). Recent work includes the Commonwealth Edison Energy Museum in Zion, Illinois (1987–90) and the Holocaust Memorial Foundation of Illinois, in Skokie (2000–2009).

Tableware designs, “architoon” drawings, photographs, and other artwork and sketches will also be showcased, as well as Yale archival data of Tigerman’s Bachelor’s and Master’s theses. A video interview with the starchitect, produced by Karen Carter Lynch, gives attendees a present-day perspective.

Petit, who is also curator for the exhibition, will share his insights during a free public lecture on September 1 in the Paul Rudolph Hall auditorium at 6:30 p.m.

Ceci n’est pas une rêverie: The Architecture of Stanley will be on display at the Yale School of Architecture Gallery, located on the second floor of the college’s Paul Rudolph Hall at 180 York Street, through November 5. Hours are Mondays to Fridays from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. The exhibit will travel in January 2012 to Chicago’s Graham Foundation’s Madlener House and then the School of Architecture at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. For additional information, visit www.architecture.yale.edu.

Tigerman is a Chicago native and cofounder of his firm, Tigerman McCurry Architects. He holds an expansive portfolio of projects throughout North America, Western Europe, and Asia—as well as a furniture, household, and jewelry designs—that has received numerous honors, including seven AIA Honor Awards and more than 120 national and local design awards. Tigerman and Eva Maddox co-founded the ARCHEWORKS design “laboratory” and school in Chicago. He also has served as a visiting professor and advisory-committee member at several schools of architecture including Yale and Harvard and was the director of the School of Architecture at the University of Illinois at Chicago.

—Stacy Straczynski

Reflecting on NeoCon® 2011

While many NeoCon® attendees and exhibitors are "extreme veterans," I have managed to gain a wealth of knowledge in my now two years at the annual design trade show, as well as create memories suit to look back on once I completely transform from student to professional upon graduation.

Creative showroom concepts such as Haworth's color blocks, Allsteel's situated classroom settings, Boyd Lighting's simplictic display of Roger Thomas fixtures and InterfaceFLOR's transformation to rich organic patterns reminds me that presentation is key. There were also great presentation examples on NeoCon's temporary floors. Silestone's exhibit GLIMMER featured project from Yves Behar's Fuse Projects presented at his 2010 NeoCon keynote, and Architecture for Humanity, Chicago's Food Desert Caravan on their "Life" collection quartz blocks.

From last year to this year, I would say the biggest change of in my experience, is getting a crash course in multi-tasking being an exhibitor working with the Casual For Contract Booth, being an attendee and citizen blogging with Designer Pages. (I certainly kept busy! But I did find some time to relax in a seat from Allsteel's Inspire Collection, shown above.) But I think it is safe to say that my greatest experience was having the opportunity to meet other students and young designers and share what we all wanted to contribute to the design industry. My generation is so optimistic and their outlook on the future of the industry has me excited all over again. I can't wait!

-- La Keisha Leek, design student blogger for Contract

Smart Growth and New Urbanism Emphasized at a Green Drinks Networking Event

The Illinois Chapter of the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) partnered with the Foresight Sustainable Business Alliance to promote sustainable communities at a Green Drinks networking event, hosted last week at the Haworth showroom during NeoCon® 2011. Doug Farr, author of “Sustainable Urbanism: Urban Design with Nature” (John Wiley & Sons) and Chicago architect Jim Loewenberg urged attendees at the event to consider approaches to deploying scalable sustainability strategies, including district infrastructural systems, for urban environments.

By focusing on sustainable strategies with reasonable paybacks, they argued that green advocates and developers alike might work together to push past the policy and monopolistic utility practices that form barriers for business-minded developers to creating sustainable communities.

Farr chaired the LEED Neighborhood Development Core Committee that wrote the LEED-ND Standard, which was launched last year. The effort involved collaboration between the USGBC, the National Resources Defense Council and the Chicago-based Congress for New Urbanism. “It was their fist collaboration and brought together a very broad base of expertise on smart growth and new urbanism,” says Doug Widener, executive director of the USGBC Illinois Chapter.

-- Jean Nayar

The Business Case for Beauty

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder—or at NeoCon 2011, in the eye of the designer. On June 13, a panel of all-star, cross-disciplinary, Canadian design leaders examined the notion of beauty during the session, “The Business Case for Beauty: Design’s Most Potent Weapon.”

Exploring the economic, social and sustainability impacts of beautiful design and its defining role in the 21st century innovation, each designer presented his or her case for beauty. Panelists in this special Canadian event—organized by Ontario’s Design Industry Advisory Committee—included Paul Filek, Burdifilek; Janna Levitt, Levitt Goodman Architects; Helen Kerr, Kerr and Co.; and Scott Torrance, Scott Torrance Landscape Architects. The session was moderated by Arlene Gould of the Design Industry Advisory Committee in Toronto.

Kerr kicked things off with an intriguing analysis of how humans are programmed for beauty. “We are hardwired for beauty,” she proclaimed. “Every part of us can perceive it.” In Kerr’s opinion, beauty gives us delight, leads to desire and allows us to belong. Encountering beautiful objects affects you, she said.

Levitt went on to examine the beauty found in nature and artifacts. “Beauty is an entity in harmony with nature,” she explained. Beauty also is proportion, function, fundamentally experiential, and is context and intent, Levitt detailed.

Filek continued the discussion with a look at how his firm uses beauty to create an integral touchpoint. He believes you can harness the power of beauty by creating points of memory, and also said that beauty is forever changing and evolving. His most poignant comment, however, was that “true beauty is in the details.”

Torrance further commented on the theme of beautiful design engaging all the senses. His design work concerns bringing the beautiful qualities of nature and living things to urban environments. “Green roofs can be unique beautiful places,” he said, noting the health and wellbeing benefits and improved cognitive function that results from being surrounded by nature.

After listening to the panelists, attendees no doubt felt that the case for beauty is an essential one to make.

—Jessie Bove

Designers & The Web

 
Has the online world made it easier to source products, or is the sheer mass of resources available making it more difficult? On June 14, from 4 p.m. to 5 p.m., designers gathered in the Stylex showroom at NeoCon to try and answer this question and explore the latest developments with online specification.

The special event, "Designers & The Web: Tips and Tricks for Online Specification," was moderated by Jenny Rector, business development director, Designer Pages, and featured the following panelists: John Czarnecki, editor in chief, Contract magazine; Royce Epstein, senior resource specialist, Kling Stubbins; and Paul Petrunia, co-founder of Archinect.

Rector kicked off the discussion by asking the panelists to describe the sources they use to find product information today. They all agreed that using multiple sources--from print to online to shopping--has become the norm but that online also has claimed a prominent role. The days of manufacturer catalogs stacked in libraries quickly are evolving to be replaced by blogs, Web sites, newsletters, social networking sites, and other online offerings.

Petrunia noted that online tools are becoming increasingly sophisticated, especially in the last three to four years. Epstein emphasized the importance of manufacturers having working, easy-to-navigate Web sites that feature specs and good product photos. In addition to researching products online, designers also are collaborating via tools like Skype and virtual meetings. "The new normal means there isn't anything unsual about working remotely," Czarnecki explained.

Additional discussion highlights included the importance of mobile technology moving forward; the use of Google to point you in the right direction to online communities that may have more specific information; and ways to manage product knowledge and disseminate it throughout your organization.

--Jessie Bove