paean to postmodernism: a book review

02.26.18 GIVING VOICE TO THOSE WHO CREATE WORKPLACE DESIGN & FURNISHINGS

CITED:“WE ARE TOO WEAK TO DISCOVER THE TRUTH BY REASON ALONE.” — ST. AUGUSTINE

Paean to Postmodernism: A Book Review

This week, officeinsight contributor John Morris Dixon reviews Postmodern Design Complete, 2017, by Judith Gura. The new book, with an exuberant celebration of the Postmodern movement, documents PoMo’s accomplishments – some famous during its heyday, some relatively unknown.

FULL STORY ON PAGE 3…

A Study of Light & Material in Seattle: Substantial by goCstudio

Substantial, a digital product studio in Seattle, needed new digs for its growing team. Taking over the entire top floor of a century old building in the heart of Seattle’s Capitol Hill neighborhood, it tasked goCstudio with creating an open, cohesive space that would enable them to engrain more events and social programs into its company culture. goCstudio set about designing a space that would embrace the beauty and strength of the building’s natural character. Almost half of the new office can be repurposed as social gathering and event space.


Where the Rubber Hits the Road: The Many Layers of Vendor Interactions with Design Firms

Relationships between designers, vendors and reps are evolving. The A&D community depends on their manufacturer representatives to keep them up to date with changes in products. And for architects and designers, it is no longer just about learning what’s new in the industry; it’s increasingly becoming about what products and materials have changed and why. Peter Carey, a resource librarian and founder of Streamline Material Resourcing, sheds light on these shifting relationships, and what both sides can do to make projects more successful.


02.26.18 GIVING VOICE TO THOSE WHO CREATE WORKPLACE DESIGN & FURNISHINGS PAGE 2 OF 40

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Postmodern Design Complete, 2017, by Judith Gura, Thames & Hudson, Ltd., London and New York

You may have forgotten Postmodern design, assuming you’re old enough to remember it. Now comes an exuber-ant celebration of the movement, barely lift-able at 480 pages, 9-1/2” by 12”, on fine stock, with 580 color illustrations. It documents PoMo’s ac-complishments – some famous during its heyday, some relatively unknown. Supporting this visual smorgasbord are thoughtful texts by design historian Ju-dith Gura and several guest authorities.

Postmodernism seemed to have fizzled out by the early 1990s. And for many in the design professions, it was “Good riddance.” But the issues that inspired the movement, starting in the 1960s, were never fully resolved. The PoMo insurgents rebelled against the strictures of Modernism – its limited focus on function and structure – which was not producing the new world it had promised. They pointed out that symbol-ism and ornament remained deeply sig-

Paean to Postmodernism: A Book Reviewby John Morris Dixon

Stanley Tigerman, The Titanic, 1978, photo collage depicting the demise of Modernism: Mies van der Rohe’s Crown Hall (Chicago, 1956) sinking into Lake Michigan. © Stanley Tigerman

Venturi, Scott Brown & Associates, Sainsbury Wing, National Gallery, London, 1991. © Getty Images

Published by Thames & Hudson (November 28, 2017), Jacket lettering by Peter Judson. Courtesy Thames & Hudson


a&dnificant to the public, that harmony with the existing built context was essential.

Once they realized that Postmod-ernism was a serious threat, the adherents to Modernism fought back fiercely. They had waged a decades-long crusade against the previous recycling of historical styles, and it wasn’t till the late 1940s that they had succeeded, dominating the design schools and major firms. Modern de-sign had become the accepted mode for commercial and public buildings of all kinds (while scoring only scattered victories among single-family houses). From their hard-won dominant posi-tion, the Modernists succeeded, after a couple of decades, in dismissing PoMo as a mere bump along the path toward a destined design future.

The book effectively traces the growth and salient accomplishments

Harold Washington Library Center in downtown Chicago, 1991. © HBRA Architects

Main plaza, Espaces d’Abraxas, with Palacio, and center Arc containing 20 apartments, 1983. © Ricardo Bofill Taller de Arquitectura


a&dof the Postmodernists in the design of buildings, interiors, furniture, objects, and graphics. It summarizes and vividly illustrates works by recognized leaders of the movement, such as the Americans Robert Venturi, Michael Graves, Charles Moore and Robert A.M. Stern, architects who designed iconic PoMo buildings.

While the others in that group designed mainly buildings, plus some influential writings and notable furniture, Graves covered a broader swath of design disciplines. His 1980s furniture showrooms for Sunar Hauser-man were among the key landmarks of the movement, along with furniture offered there. But his works ranged in scale from office buildings, libraries, museums, and hotels to his whimsi-cal 1985 teakettle for Alessi, of which millions have been sold – and it’s still in production.

The book summarizes and illustrates the work of other well-known PoMo

designers from several countries, among them Ettore Sottsass of Italy, Arata Isozaki of Japan, Hans Hollein of Austria, and Leon Krier of Luxem-bourg. Also contributing significantly

to the movement were Chicagoans Stanley Tigerman and Thomas Beeby, Terry Farrell and John Outram of Eng-land, Ricardo Bofill of Spain, Philippe Starck of France, Paolo Portoghesi

Lighthouse lamps, wood, paint, lacquer, acrylic, steel, 1984. © James Evanson

Michael Graves, Mickey Mouse tea kettle, 1991. © Michael Graves Architecture & DesignPortoghesi Hall in Tettuccio Spa, Montecatini, Italy, 1987. © Scala Archives


concurrents

and Gaetano Pesce of Italy. Charles Jencks of London, best known as the chronicler of the movement in books and essays, is revealed as an inventive designer as well.

Jura’s book reminds us that some major architects not known primar-ily as Postmodernists, such as the American Frank Gehry and the Italian Aldo Rossi, did dabble in the quota-tions from historical design typical of the movement. Hardly represented in the book is architect Philip Johnson, who vacillated wildly between styles, but gave America some of its boldest Postmodern structures.

An essay by design curator R. Craig Miller draws a distinction between “Radical Postmodernism,” which played mainly with disrupting our expectations for geometries and col-

FAT Architecture, Villa Hoogvliet, Rotterdam, Netherlands, 2009. © Venturi Scott and Associates (photo Cervin Robinson)

High-impact pieces share the stage in the living room. © Venturi Scott and Associates (photo Cervin Robinson)


a&dors, and “Historical Postmodernism,” which introduced forms and motifs from earlier styles. Either version may also display references to Pop imagery derived, for instance, from the era’s jukeboxes and retail strips.

It’s inevitable today to ask: Where are the women in this movement? Denise Scott Brown, Venturi’s wife and professional partner, contributes a thoughtful essay to the book and gets fair credit for their influential PoMo guidebook, Learning from Las Vegas, but Venturi had produced the corner-stone text of the movement, Complex-ity and Contradiction in Architecture, before she joined him.

The chapter where women get equal treatment is the one on graphic design, where the contributions of April Greiman, Katherine McCoy, and Deborah Sussman are impres-sive matches for those of Michael Bierut, Seymour Chwast and Michael Vanderbyl. This portion of the book is a valuable reminder of the bold inno-vations then taking place in graphics, comparable to those in other design areas.

Is the book an appropriately color-drenched memorial to a bygone move-ment? Or is it a herald of Postmodern-ism’s revival, as the latest phases of Modernism begin to seem tiresome. Gura maintains that reports of Pomo’s demise in the 1990s were premature, while pointing out that it broadly in-fluenced the work of those who never joined it. She concludes there’s little point in speculating on the move-ment’s revival, since “it never left.” n

Charles Jencks, Spring Room, Thematic House, London, 1984. © Charles Jencks


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The kitchen and dining space at Substantial, a digital product studio in Seattle’s Capitol Hill neighborhood. Photography: Kevin Scott

The client: Substantial, a digital product studio founded in Seattle in 2006. Substantial needed new digs for its growing team, and it didn’t have to look far. In 2013 the firm had moved into a century-old building at the corner of Pine and Broadway in the heart of Seattle’s Capitol Hill neighborhood. When additional space within that building opened up, Substantial took the opportunity to expand.

It tasked the Seattle-based goCstudio to redesign the building’s entire 14,000 square foot upper floor. The top floor had previously existed as two separate office spaces of very different character. Substantial first moved into the smaller of the two offices, then expanded to the rest of the floor when the previous tenant moved.

Substantial wanted its new offices to maintain the feel of its original space – a cohesive, open plan – but one that would enable them to weave more events and social programs into the fabric of the firm. When the project began in 2016, the firm was 50-60 people deep, and wanted work accommodations for 120-130.

goCstudio set about blending those goals with design choices that would embrace the beauty and strength of the building’s natural character. The space is full of exposed brick walls, old growth Douglas Fir beams and roof decking, and warehouse-style window walls. The building’s architec-ture presents a striking study of light and dark, where many tones of light fall across the space.

A Study of Light & Material in Seattle: Substantial by goCstudioby Mallory Jindra


a&dAt the center of the goCstudio’s

programmatic concept is an element it calls “the forum”.

“The idea of the forum is as a place of assembly, for both social and busi-ness activities,” reads goCstudio’s plans. “By creating a focal point for a large office, employees and visitors alike would have a place to congregate and exchange ideas in an informal space.”

The forum provides a center space for communication at Substantial. It’s an open space below a new large scale skylight, located adjacent to the entry stairway. goCstudio placed the new skylight to serve as way to natu-rally draw people into the heart of the building, which has a deep floor plan. goCstudio then laid out the remaining space elements around the forum –

Lounge

Natural light falls through warehouse windows


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Huddle and phone rooms complement larger conference meeting rooms. A standing height conference room

Floor plan


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large structural elements complement-ing a vast expanse of natural architec-tural shapes in the building.

“We retained a couple conference rooms from the previous office because they were up to date with tech and wir-ing,” said John Gentry, co-founder of goCstudio with Aimée O’Carroll. “And the way we re-clad those spaces and carved new openings in them became the way we tied together all of the spaces surrounding the forum.”

To that end, goCstudio built new architectural insertions into the space – opening up new views from east to west, allowing more natural light to pour into the space from three sides and from above, and providing “a clearer understanding of the space and circulation.”The skylit Forum

The Forum, an open space below a new large scale skylight, located adjacent to the entry stairway, creates a place for employees and visitors alike to congregate and exchange ideas in an informal space.


a&dTying together all of these elements

around the forum – conference rooms, quiet rooms and phone rooms – is a material palette of ebony-stained ply-wood, complemented by large custom fabricated steel and glass doors of the style of industrial era warehouses as the original building.

Most of the team occupies an open office, and in addition to traditional conference and phone rooms are semi-enclosed project rooms on the north side of the space, intended for teams of 5-10 people working on intensive 3-4 month projects.

Substantial wanted an unprecedent-ed amount of event space integrated into its workplace.

In a way, this priority is a reflection of the firm’s chosen neighborhood. Capitol Hill, the heart of Seattle’s vibrant bar and restaurant district, is the perfect spot for a company seeking to become a part of a larger cultural

Wayfinding graphics

Material details


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Reception and 16 foot-long bar island

Kitchen and dining


a&dfabric. Along the streets near the Sub-stantial building are an art supplies shop, a karaoke bar, and other local businesses. Atop the building’s rooftop

deck, Substantial’s staff can hang out and enjoy views of the neighborhood below and Cal Anderson Park, which hosts a number of fun events itself.

“A large aspect of Substantial’s working practice is the hosting of pub-lic and private events,” reads the Sub-stantial project plans. “Creating a large social space that could function for a variety of purposes was an important factor in the design of the expansion. By day, the large kitchen/dining area is used as drop-by work spaces for the employees who often enjoy a change of scene throughout the day.”

In the evening, and for daytime events as well, the 25-foot-long kitchen island and 16-foot-long bar island transform into a full service event space. Almost half of the office can be repurposed as social gathering and event space. On the east side of the event space, a floating dj booth is an expression of Substantial’s connection to music and creative expression – an important part of the firm’s culture. On top of the all of the open gathering kitchen and dining space, there’s an extra pantry and break room on the opposite side of the office.

“We were really surprised at how much space they wanted to dedicate to event space,” said Mr. Gentry. “Every time we would meet with them, they’d say, ‘We think we need it to be bigger, we need more space.’ And there weren’t many parameters on the space, so that was a challenge for us in a way; they couldn’t really lay out what they were going to do with all of this space.”

In that respect, certain elements of goCstudio’s design plan went unful-filled due to budgetary limits – an oc-currence designers often have to come to terms with.

“We set the space up to trans-form with them as they grow into the space,” noted Mr. Gentry. “We presented 20 or 30 options of the what the central forum could be, but budget limits meant that right now it’s an open, undefined space.”

goCstudio smartly suggested a pro-jection system set up opposite a large

The street view outside Substantial’s second floor office space. Capitol Hill, the heart of Seattle’s vibrant bar and restaurant district, is the perfect spot for a company seeking to become a part of a larger cultural fabric.

Warehouse materials complement architectural design elements


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white wall in the forum, as Substantial does quite a bit of tech and app de-sign, and regardless of how Substantial eventually decides use the space, it can always use it as a large scale presentation forum.

Around the corner from the kitchen and dining on the north side of the of-fice, goCstudio also built in a series of “work cubbies,” semi-enclosed spaces equipped with lighting and power for flexible workspace.

“We wanted these work cubbies to be furnished, but again, the budget didn’t allow for it at the moment, which is frustrating,” said Mr. Gentry.

goCstudio developed a streamlined materials palette, first repurposing Substantial’s former steel entry door

goCstudio repurposed Substantial’s former steel entry door into a 20-foot-long custom reception desk.

goCstudio built in a series of “work cubbies,” semi-enclosed spaces equipped with lighting and power for flexible workspace.


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Another rendering option for the Forum

goCstudio presented 20 or 30 options of the what the central Forum could look like. Here, one option.


a&dinto a 20-foot-long custom reception desk. Project rooms are separated with simple white walls, providing high contrast to original exposed concrete walls, hardwood roof-decking, exposed beams and brick.

“From the very first meetings, they wanted a timeless sense of material – nothing flashy,” said Mr. Gentry. “We were taking cues from the building itself. They loved the bones of what was already there. All of the materials are a really honest expression of their space and their needs.”

The kitchen and bar island bases are made of hot rolled steel, and their timber bar tops, constructed to be one piece, were craned in through a nearby window. The roof, an old school structure of laminated 2x6 rafters, allowed the design team to make the skylight work, dropping the beams in from above.

goCstudio conceived of a design plan that successfully unifies existing and new structural elements.

For more information about goCstudio, visit https://gocstudio.com/. n

Jon Gentry and Aimée O’Carroll

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It’s hard to believe that the last great economic reset in the country, as well as the design industry, began ten years ago. By all accounts, both the manu-facturing and design sides are finally back to business as usual, but some changes, both subtle and significant, have happened along the way.

On the design side, the brain-drain of designers and project managers who have more than ten years of experience in the field continues to have an impact on the quality and schedule of con-

struction projects both large and small. Technological changes in our personal devices as well as products for com-mercial interiors have gotten smarter and more efficient. Advances in lighting, lighting controls and A/V equipment are on an upgrade schedule that moves sig-nificantly faster than most construction schedules; it is not inconceivable that any piece of electronics that is specified for a commercial project could be one, two or three generations out of date by the time it finally gets installed.

The A&D community depends on their manufacturer representatives to keep them up to date with changes like this. For architects and design-ers, it is no longer just about learn-ing what’s new in the industry – it’s increasingly becoming about what products and materials have changed and why.

The “why” is becoming the criti-cal component in the message now. Years ago, vendors would tell designers the story of the creation of their new product introductions with the hope that designers would pick up on that story and eventually communicate it to their clients. Sort of like the game of telephone. That vendor’s message could be adopted and tweaked by the designer in their client presentation to suit the project and specific application.

Now, with client expectations at an all-time high, thanks in part to inte-rior design projects being featured so prominently in television and social media, design firms have had to adjust their staffing to align with project budgets that may not accurately reflect the amount of time and coordination required for a typical commercial inte-riors project today.

Time saving technology devices and computer programs perform bet-ter than ever, but they do not work miracles. With a significant increase in European manufacturers entering the American market and new local manu-facturers developing niche markets, the number of messages delivered to each specifier is overwhelming.

As a resource librarian and owner of Streamline Material Resourcing, an NYC-based company that controls the flow of product information for design firms and large facility departments, I and my staff see this type of discon-

Where the Rubber Meets the Road: The Many Layers of Vendor Interactions with Design Firmsby Peter Carey

Skyline Glass displaying new introductions at Francis Cauffman. Photography: Peter Carey


a&dnect unfold every day. No longer is it just about connecting a designer with a relevant product; it is increasingly about solving a specific need within a project, which can be a much more complicated task.

Each specific design need may be judged differently by the array of stake-holders involved in the project, and that is a lot of cooks in the kitchen. Many vendors hold fast to the idea that all they must do is promote their new product introductions and eventually all client needs will be solved once enough products are presented to them, but the one thing that has not changed in this industry for many de-cades is that this is still a relationship-based business. Clients and designers buy from people, not from companies.

Vendor product presentations within design firms have evolved over the years as well. Designers have less free time during the day and can rarely commit to seeing just one vendor presentation at a time. In addition, each designer’s attention to a particu-lar product or application has become fragmented to a point that they rarely store information for future projects. Their work is about solving specific problems within their current project only, meeting their deadline, and mov-ing on to the next project.

Most of today’s interior design-ers have not been mentored to the degree that previous generations were mentored. Many have not been trained to anticipate recurring issues, be they around value engineering, sustainabil-ity and energy use, or even changes in local building codes.

Access to products via the inter-net have eliminated binders for the

most part, unless they contain actual samples of textiles, wallcovering or flooring. Google has given interior designers confidence, but does not always deliver the most accurate or the most relevant information to them. Many times, I have seen internet searches backfire on designers looking to specify something “new” or innova-tive. Just because something can be

Design Inspiration: Carbon fiber materials display at Bjarke Ingalls Group

A recent vendor tradeshow at Laguarda Low Architects


a&dfound online doesn’t mean it can be delivered to their project on time and on budget.

How best to solve these issues? I think the first is for both designers and vendors to have empathy for the other’s position. Vendors are being pres-sured by their managers to keep their numbers up however they can, and designers are being pressured by their project managers and design direc-tors to keep the project profitable and deliver it to the client on time. I think in both instances, vendors and designers can get distracted along the way and lose sight of the goals of each project.

I have heard many interior designers say, “I used that product on my last project; I want to use something new for this one.” In many instances, that is a valid remark, however it also raises a time-saving question from a manage-ment perspective – what is best for the project? If a designer knows a product performs successfully, why take the risk and specify something new? On the other hand, vendors need to understand that especially in commercial interiors, small, medium and large orders happen every day. Cultivating relationships, in the long run, will serve them better than just looking for the big fish.

One of the best ways my company enables manufacturers to spread their message in the most effective man-ner is with vendor tradeshows. These are regularly scheduled events that happen in each design office; curated by the resource librarian and featur-ing a small number of non-competing manufacturers that make products that will resonate with the design firm’s way of working.

The tailor-made aspect of vendor tradeshows is critical. Just as many people think they could manage a materials library full of thousands of separate items, the fact of the mat-ter is that finding the right balance of materials and services that each firm is currently seeking out is harder than

Multiple vendor presentation at Bjarke Ingalls Group

Product presentations with a single vendor are a rare occurrence these days


a&dit looks. In this industry, persistent vendors often get rewarded with a de-sign firm’s attention, even though the vendor’s products may not be relevant to the firm’s current workload.

The other thing that vendor trade-shows do is bring the materials library within each firm to life. Since most design libraries now contain more product samples than binders, they are more a source of design inspiration than just product information. Having a vendor in front of a designer facilitates the relationship aspect of our industry, and also allows them to communicate the “why” of their product in terms of what is most relevant to projects and issues the designer is engaged with right now.

For certain design institutions, I have also found a more passive approach of getting a manufacturer’s message across is needed. By setting up a display of one particular manufac-turer’s product in a prominent place in the design firm’s office, and notifying the staff with an email that includes a photo of the display along with an editorial description, it offers a level of engagement for the more introverted among us that may not be comfort-able in more social settings, or may have been out of the office during the tradeshow.

If there is anything the economic downturn of 2009-10 taught us, it is that both the manufacturing side and the design side of the business can operate leaner and more effectively. The reality is that none of us can do it alone. We depend on one another, often in ways that cannot be measured or made fully conscious. Everyone has their own proprietary ways of doing what they do, which is what makes this such an exciting industry to be a part of, but individuals “winning” projects is not the goal; a successful project is the goal for everyone involved. n

Vendor tradeshow at hospitality firm Meyer Davis

Francis Cauffman display


r-d connectionRESEARCH-DESIGN CONNECTIONStanding and Performanceby Sally Augustin, Ph.D.

Finch and her colleagues assessed how standing influences reading com-prehension and creativity. They report on the findings of their lab experi-ment: study “participants completed reading comprehension and creativity tasks while both sitting and standing. Participants self-reported their mood during the tasks and also responded to measures of expended effort and task difficulty…body position did not affect reading comprehension or creativity performance, nor did it affect percep-tions of effort or [task] difficulty…Participants exhibited greater task engagement (i.e., interest, enthusiasm and alertness) and less comfort while standing rather than sitting. In sum, performance and psychological experi-ence as related to task completion were nearly entirely uninfluenced by…standing desk use.” Study participants

first stood or sat w Different cultures more effectively implement particu-lar sorts of changes. KelloggInsight, reporting on the work of Bryony Reich, states, “Societies, countries, communi-ties, and friend groups – collectively known as network structures – that are more individualistic and loosely connected are better at adopting ‘low-threshold’ technologies, she [Bryony Reich, an assistant professor of strategy at the Kellogg School of Management] found. These are inno-vations that are valuable even without a large number of adopters, such as computers or agricultural innovations. But for higher-threshold technologies, societies with more tightly knit groups have the edge…In Mexico, which consists of highly cohesive communi-ties, 78 percent of the population used instant-messaging apps in 2013. This compares to just 23 percent of the U.S. population, which is ranked as one of the most individualistic societ-ies. The fax machine…was invented in the United States, but did not catch on right away. It did, however, take off in the 1980s in Japan, the most cohesive society in the world. After the fax machine’s widespread adoption by Japanese businessmen and homeown-ers, Western societies embraced it.” n

“How Tight-Knit and Individualistic Communities Adopt New Technolo-gies Differently.” 2017. KelloggInsight, https://insight.kellogg.northwestern.edu/article/how-tight-knit-and-indi-vidualistic-communities-adopt-new-technologies-differently

Sally Augustin, PhD, a cognitive sci-entist, is the editor of Research Design Connections (www.researchdesigncon-nections.com), a monthly subscription newsletter and free daily blog, where recent and classic research in the social, design, and physical sciences that can inform designers’ work are presented in straightforward language. Readers learn about the latest re-search findings immediately, before they’re available elsewhere. Sally, who is a Fellow of the American Psycho-logical Association, is also the author of Place Advantage: Applied Psychol-ogy for Interior Architecture (Wiley, 2009) and, with Cindy Coleman, The Designer’s Guide to Doing Research: Applying Knowledge to Inform Design (Wiley, 2012). She is a principal at Design With Science (www.designwith-science.com) and can be reached at [email protected].

https://insight.kellogg.northwestern.edu/article/how-tight-knit-and-individualistic-communities-adopt-new-technologies-differently





officenewswireFor complete releases, visit www.officeinsight.com/officenewswire.

PRODUCT INTROS>Designtex unveiled new wallcoverings and textiles: Wallcoverings Color Bars and Paint Dot are based on biophilic design principles documented by Steelcase researchers, and both are SCS Indoor Advantage Gold certified. Color Bars balances a simple dash motif oriented vertically and horizontally with an organic and randomized pattern structure, inspired by fractals and movement. Paint Dot balances the simplic-ity of a modern grid with a surprise that the dots varied paint swirls upon closer look. The new upholstery tex-tiles are Score and Symbol. Score is an exploration of line and scale, well-suited to both small- and large-scale applications. It features a composition of horizon-tal stripes with varied line densities segmented by the fine weight of the diagonal score lines. Symbol features strong, graphic patterning and pops of color throughout.

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>FilzFelt expanded its Kelly Harris Smith Collection with the addition four new de-signs for Block acoustic wall tiles: Chevron, Dart, Picket, and Plus. Ms. Smith’s inspi-ration for the tiles is from pat-terns familiar in fashion, but she has shifted the scale and adapted the idea for a new interpretation. The sound-softening, modular tiles nest

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NOTEWORTHY>Jason Dooley was promoted to Regional Director of Ware Malcomb’s Atlanta office. Mr. Dooley, a registered architect with nearly 20 years of design and construction experience in the Atlanta metro area, joined Ware Malcomb in early 2016 as Regional Manager to open and grow the firm’s new Atlanta office. Since then, he has successfully connected with Ware Malcomb’s national clients in the region as well as made new connections, with projects spanning beyond Georgia to include North Carolina, South Carolina, Ten-nessee, Alabama, Mississippi and Virginia. His architecture and interior design exper-tise includes build-to-suit, building expansion, building renovation, complex tenant improvements, and ongo-ing capital improvements for industrial, healthcare, office, and higher education proj-ects. Read More

>Jessica Musick, formerly an Associate Principal with KTGY Architecture + Planning, was promoted to Principal and added as a shareholder. Ms. Musick joined KTGY in 2004. She is a design leader in the Oakland office and is responsible for vision and carrying projects through public approvals. Fo-cusing on urban-infill mixed-use projects, she believes that architecture should be deeply rooted in the community where it sits, responsibly re-sponding to client goals, com-munity needs and the urban context. “Our work affects how people live and their ex-periences in and around our buildings,” she said. “With an office in Oakland, I am fortunate to be able to shape the environment where I work and play.” Read More

>Wil Wong, a KTGY Archi-tecture + Planning Principal based in the firm’s Irvine, CA office, joined the KTGY Board of Directors. Mr. Wong joined KTGY in 2000 and is responsible for overseeing the design development, produc-tion, and construction phase of the high-density residential and mixed-use studio of the Irvine office. He has nearly three decades of experi-

ence in architecture and has worked with the International Code Council, the Office of the State Fire Marshal and the California Department of Housing and Community Development to clarify build-ing code requirements and code language for the benefit of clients and the building in-dustry. He currently oversees the corporate quality stan-dards program for all KTGY offices. Read More

>Forward Space, a leading authorized Steelcase dealer, opened a new showroom in the Design Center at the Merchandise Mart. The Chicagoland-based office furniture distributor opened its doors on the sixth floor of theMART on Feb. 20, pointing towards a progres-sive fusion of residential and workplace design. The 4,100-square-foot showroom features an extensive portfolio of products, ranging from seating and tables to stor-age solutions and surface materials, and including lines from newly formed Steelcase partnerships with BluDot,

Mitchell Gold + Bob Williams and FLOS. Read More

>NYC-based Fōz Design changed its name to Studio Fōr. “The change from Fōz to Fōr is a one-letter change, but that one letter says a lot,” said Principal Fauzia Khanani. “It shifts the emphasis from me and puts it on our purpose and our clients. We believe it’s a strong statement about our philosophy, while retain-ing much of our heritage. We continue to believe everyone deserves visionary design that is timeless, adaptable and brilliantly-crafted and know this can only be achieved by working closely with our col-laborators. Together, we bring the uniqueness of our clients, and specifically their stories and visions to life, meaning every space is as different as the need it fills.” Read More

>Fuse Alliance and Star-net Worldwide Commercial Flooring, the two largest organizations of commercial flooring contractors , recently held their first joint task force meeting. Last year, the two organizations announced that they had formed a joint task force to focus on critical issues facing the commercial flooring industry as collabora-

caption

Jessica Musick

Wil Wong

Fōz Design is now Studio Fōr


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officenewswiretive step toward supporting each networks’ members and better serving their manufacturers. The meet-ing took place at Surfaces in Las Vegas. While the group discussed a wide variety of topics, the task force ultimately decided to focus on the two biggest challenges facing flooring contractors today: recruiting and training labor and concrete moisture issues. Because labor is a challenge in all construction trades, the group discussed proactive tactics to keep the flooring labor pool sufficient to meet demand. Moisture is a hot button topic since many new solutions have hit the market from sundry and product manufacturers that sometime create confusion for architects, designers and end users. This situation cre-ates an opportunity for floor-ing contractors to guide these customers toward the best solutions. Moving forward, the task force will meet once a quarter via teleconference to work toward putting a plan in place for both initiatives. Read More

>Mannington Commercial recently celebrated the opening of its new showroom in Atlanta. Designed by the Dallas office of Corgan, the showroom is slated to receive Fitwel® certification later this year. Some 200 guests, including architects, designers, colleagues, and friends of Mannington, along with brand members and leadership as well as the Board of Directors and members of the Campbell

family who are descendants of the company’s founder John Boston Campbell, were in attendance. The historic, nearly 15,000sf Mannington Commercial Design Center is located in Stockyards Atlanta, an adaptive-reuse project that has transformed industrial-age space into new com-mercial, residential, dining, and shopping space. The new showroom offers three conference rooms, an innova-tion room with VR, a double-sized training room, kitchen and pantry, materials library, and dedicated seating areas

and offices. Exposed beams and ducts and an open-plan layout provide ample working space for employees, clients and guests. Custom fabri-cated steel storefronts allow for an abundance of natural light to flood the show-room. Historic elements are incorporated throughout the interior and connect visitors to the brand story and manu-facturing process. Product is displayed in an artful way, similar to a gallery. The goal is to enable architects, design-ers and clients to experience Mannington product — com-

mercial broadloom and modular carpet, LVT, and resilient sheet, rubber wall base, tile, and accessories – in an inspired setting. Read More

> Milliken & Company was named a 2017 “Gold Sup-plier” by Herman Miller, Inc. This annual award honors key suppliers for excellence in service to the company, com-munity and environment. To qualify, suppliers must meet rigorous performance stan-dards in the areas of product quality, on-time delivery, cost savings, diversity, sustain-ability, business compliance, and company culture. With its long-standing corporate commitment to responsible manufacturing, eliminating waste, and delivering innova-tions that do good, Milliken scored high marks across all categories. Read More

RE-SITED>Jeremy Agraz joined KTGY Architecture + Planning as National Development Direc-tor. In this role, he will work closely with KTGY corporate leadership in developing a national development strategy aimed at accomplishing the long-term growth objec-tives for the company. He is responsible for creating and maintaining a development strategy that is continually effective and competitive in what is a constantly evolving industry. Mr. Agraz is a veter-an development executive in the architecture, engineering, and planning industry with Guests at the opening of the Mannington Commercial Design Center

in Atlanta standing in front of an inspiration wall containing spools of thread that are used to produce brand product.


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officenewswirevertical market expertise that spans multi-family residential, mixed-use, commercial office, corporate real estate, hospi-tality, transportation, science and technology, and higher education. He previously held positions of increasing re-sponsibility with international practices including Woods Bagot and Gensler as well as national practices including Flad Architects and HNTB. He is a long-standing member of the Urban Land Institute, where he currently sits on the Public Private Partnership national product council, and he is also active in several other urban planning and real estate related organizations. Read More

>Jessica Hanley joined Brooklyn-based lighting studio Juniper Lighting Stu-dio as Marketing Manager. Tasked with transforming the brand’s marketing capabilities and e-commerce presence, Hanley will lead Juniper’s creative and sales teams Within this role, Hanley will apply her impressive graphic design background to the re-design of the brand’s online interface, product materi-als, imaging, and marketing campaigns. Educated at

SUNY Paltz, Hanley fostered her eye for marketing, earning a degree in Graphic Design and Ceramics. Throughout her academic career Hanley created custom commissions for craft fairs and exhibitions, which merged into the launch of her professional career, gaining experience at West Ceramics and Niche Modern. Read More

>Stacy Marcus joined Outfit by Workframe as Senior Di-rector of Business Develop-ment. Outfit by Workframe is a tech-forward platform reimagining the contract furniture specification and procurement process. With almost two decades of experi-ence in the contract furniture industry, Ms. Marcus will lead national sales initiatives for Outfit, developing strategies to support the company’s rapid expansion. She will oversee the internal sales team, focusing on community development and identify-ing new business strategies and opportunities across the U.S. while utilizing market feedback. She will also be a resource for designers and end-users of the program, introducing and educating them on the functionality of

Outfit and the various benefits it provides. Read More

>Samantha Sternick joined Ware Malcomb’s Atlanta office as Studio Manager, In-terior Architecture & Design. Ms. Sternick has more than 17 years of experience in interior design and is NCIDQ Certified. She was previously an Associate at Heery Inter-national in Atlanta where she was responsible for the overall growth and management of an 11-person interiors team, in addition to managing select national clients and corporate accounts. She has experi-ence in the commercial and corporate sectors along with healthcare, government, and higher education, aviation, and sports design. Read More

>Galen Stump joined Duravit USA as Vice President Tech-nical Sales & Service. Mr. Stump was previously in sales & business development at

Duravit before expanding into the European manufacturing market as a General Man-ager. He rejoins Duravit with extensive product knowledge, technical training experience, and tactical sales strategy. In his new role, he will promote relationships with mechani-cal representatives, build a solid rapport between sales and service, and oversee new product development. On the management end, he will establish service networks, curate training content for Duravit USA’s sales teams, and maintain a high level of service operation. Read More

>KAI Design & Build expanded its Marketing De-partment with the addition of new hire Daniel Poole as Director of Marketing and Michelle Gray as Senior Mar-keting Coordinator. Ashley Mensinger and Kristina Glassl were also promoted within the department. -Daniel Poole has seven years of marketing and public relations experience, having previously led content mar-keting strategy for a Webster Groves, MO-based engineer-ing firm. In his new position, he will be responsible for developing and implementing

Jeremy Agraz

Jessica Hanley

Stacy Marcus

Samantha Sternick

Galen Stump


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officenewswirethe corporate marketing strat-egy, promoting and improving process management, ex-panding and managing brand awareness, and engaging and leading the marketing team. -Michelle Gray has 14 years of AEC industry experience, most recently as Senior Marketing Coordinator for an architectural firm based in Creve Coeur, MO. In her new role, she will play an integral part in proposal management and strategic messaging. She will also provide expertise in market research and trend analysis. -Ashley Mensinger was pro-moted from Project Coordina-tor to Graphic Designer. In her new position, she will provide graphic and administrative support to the marketing de-partment. She has five years of industry experience, most recently as a Project Coordi-nator at an architectural and engineering firm in St. Louis, MO.

-Kristina Glassl was promot-ed from Marketing Assistant to Marketing and Events Coordinator. In her new role, she will manage project photography, organize and direct company-wide events, oversee proposal submissions and manage the customer relationship management database. She has been with KAI since 2016 and previ-ously worked as an Accounts Payable Specialist for The UP Companies. Read More

ENVIRONMENT>Ware Malcomb added WELL Building Design as new area of expertise. The firm is offering this service to clients across its 22 offices throughout North America. One of the first projects that it designed to the new WELL standards is the corporate headquarters for Corporación Inmobiliaria Vesta, S.A.B. de C.V. (Vesta), a leader in the development of industrial buildings and distribution centers in Mexico. The Vesta headquarters, located in México City, achieved LEED ID+C Platinum certification from the USGBC, as well as WELL BUILDING STAN-DARD® Gold certification from the IWBI. It is the first

tenant improvement project in Mexico to be built to this specification. Ware Malcomb provided full service inte-rior design, branding, and construction management services for the 900-square meter project. Read More

PROJECTS> Cooper Robertson and James Carpenter Design Associates, along with St. Louis-based Trivers As-sociates and Haley Sharpe Design, unveiled designs for the renovation of the Gateway Arch Museum. It is under construction and set to open July. The new Mu-seum’s designers were part of a team led by landscape architect Michael Van Valken-burgh Associates that won the international competition, “Framing a Modern Master-piece: The City + The Arch + The River 2015” organized by the nonprofit Gateway Arch Park Foundation. A primary goal of the long-term, multi-million-dollar project is to create closer and more robust connections between the Gateway Arch Museum and the landscape of the Jefferson

KAI Design & Build (L-R) - Michelle Gray, Kristina Glassl, Daniel Poole, and Ashley Mensinger

Ware Malcomb: Vesta headquarters in Mexico City

Cooper Robertson and James Carpenter Design Associates: Gateway Arch Museum


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officenewswireNational Expansion Memo-rial and the city of St. Louis as a whole. Nearly 45,000 sf of new museum area has been added and more than 100,000 sf of existing space has been reconfigured into new exhibition galleries, pub-lic education facilities, and visitor amenities. The project design team has been led by Michael Van Valkenburgh, founder of MVVA, Cooper Robertson’s Scott Newman and Andrew Barwick, and JCDA’s James Carpenter and Joseph Welker.The new Museum’s memorable spaces by Cooper Robertson and JCDA at the landmark Saarinen Arch, elevate the cultural complex to become a more cohesive and engag-ing international destination. The Museum and Park now connect directly to the 1862 Old Courthouse in downtown St. Louis, while also engag-ing with and reinforcing the presence of the Arch — an internationally recognized icon — and directly sup-porting the revitalization of downtown St. Louis. “The Museum design is fully integrated into the National Register-listed landscape,” said Mr. Newman. “The new entrance is precisely inserted into the topography, allowing visitors to enter the build-ing through the landscape rather than descending underground. As one enters, a luminous great hall is revealed with views deep into the Museum’s monumentally scaled exhibits below, elevat-ing and enlivening the visitor experience, while respect-ing Dan Kiley’s original Park

design” As Mr. Carpenter describes the new Museum experience, “On arrival the new entry is announced by an arc of glass laid flat on the ground, reflecting the image of the sky above, while the Arch itself scribes an arc against the sky beyond. This welcoming ges-ture leads visitors down into the spaciousness of the new Museum expansion, embed-ded within the landscape.” Read More

>FXCollaborative was chosen by the Children’s Museum of Manhattan to lead the archi-tectural design and planning process for its newly ac-quired building, an historic church at 361 Central Park West at 96th Street. The 1903 building, designed by CarreÌre & Hastings to house the First Church of Christ,

Scientist, will be adapted into a vibrant and engaging space for New York City’s children and families. The renovation is expected to double the amount of exhibition space while accommodating up to twice as many visitors a year. The Museum anticipates moving into the new building in late 2021.

With additional room, the Mu-seum will be able to feature multiple exhibits and pro-grams simultaneously. This will allow for cross-pollination between content areas— selected for their ability to benefit children throughout their young lives—such as the arts and creativity, early child-hood, health and the environ-ment, and world cultures.

The breadth and diversity of FXCollaborative’s experience were critical to the Children’s

Museum’s selection of the firm.

FXCollaborative’s cultural and educational projects include the new Statue of Liberty Mu-seum, the Center for Global Conservation as well as the renovation of the historic Lion House at the Bronx Zoo, the renovation and expansion of Alice Tully Hall and The Juilliard School, The Spence School, The Calhoun School, Ramaz Lower School, and Brooklyn Friends School. Read More

EVENTS>Allsteel’s National Archi-tectural and Design Manager A.J. Paron-Wildes will share her expertise on designing for autistic students Tues-day, Mar. 6 at SXSW EDU in Austin, TX. The session, titled “Empathetic by Design,” will also include architect Brian Giebink and interior designer Bethany DeLine, both of HDR; as well as Spero Academy Accountability Coordinator Erin Giebink. The panel will share research on the current state of autism-friendly design, insights and lessons learned from real world application and the ef-fect on students. SXSW EDU is the education component

FXCollaborative.361 Central Park West, the new home of Children’s Museum of Manhattan

A.J. Paron-Wildes


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officenewswireof the South by Southwest® family of conferences and festivals. Read More

>The Beverly Willis Ar-chitecture Foundation on Wednesday, Mar. 7 will host its Fourth Annual Leadership Awards Gala, which will also celebrate the 90th birth-day of organization founder Beverly Willis. Taking place 6:00 to 8:00 p.m. at the Prince George Ballroom in New York City, this special event recognizes women who have helped to both inspire and advance women in the architectural field. BWAF will also honor those who have made significant strides in changing the culture of the built environment to recog-nize women’s work. Among the recognized individuals are Iris Weinshall, COO of the New York Public Library, Lan-gan’s Michele O’ Connor, and Karen Fairbanks, chair of the Department of Architecture at Barnard College. (See office-newswire link for the full list of recipients.) Proceeds from the awards gala directly sup-port BWAF’s annual program-ming, including the Industry Leader’s Roundtable and the popular Emerging Leaders

Series. During this event, attendees will also have the chance to view the trailer for the foundation’s latest film called “Unknown New York: the City that Women Built.” Read More

>Phase two of CIFF (Mar. 28-31 in Guangzhou) will include the office segment. This year’s Office Life Theme Pavilion is designed and curated by Zhu Xiaojie, who analyses the collaborative work environment in terms of the theme “Harmony, Vitality, Beauty,” where the boundar-ies between home and office dissolve. The 9th edition of the Global Office Furniture Outlook forum will focus on the topic of “Intelligent Offi-ce.” In addition to the office show, CIFF phase two will also feature hotel furnishing, metal furniture, furniture for public spaces and waiting areas, accessories, materi-als and machinery for the furniture industry, plus a new sector dedicated to furniture for the elderly. Phase one (Mar. 18-21) will focus on the residential and outdoor segments. In total, show or-ganizers are expecting nearly 200,000 professional visitors,

with 4,000 brands on exhibit. Read More

>Collective Design an-nounced that this year’s Collective Influence honoree is Milan-based designer and architect Johanna Grawun-der. Ms. Grawunder will present a special exhibition entitled Object Permanence at the sixth edition of the fair to be held at Skylight Clark-son North, Mar. 9-11, during Armory Arts Week. Collec-tive Influence is a signature element of the Collective Design fair that honors the outstanding impact of a living designer or studio each year. The program was established during Collective Design’s first fair in 2013 with the celebra-tion of Gaetano Pesce and is central to Collective Design’s mission to highlight the creative process and empha-size how design is integral to everyday life. For this edition,

Ms. Grawunder, represented by Carpenters Workshop Gal-lery, will present a selection of lights and furniture that spans from the limited-edition collections Big Sky (2012) and No Whining on the Yacht (2013) to new pieces like Gioster (2017). Read More

>Collective Design exhibitor Stickbulb shared a sneak preview of its installation, “Fire and Ice.” It will feature a suspended light sculpture inspired by and made from the striking ruins of the former Pullman Couch Factory in Chicago. When the 100-year-old building caught fire on Jan. 22, 2013, one third of the Chicago fire department turned out to battle the flames in sub-zero temperatures. As the firefighters doused the structure in water, it froze into a palace of ice around the building’s smoldering core. The clash of elemental

Beverly Willis

CIFF

Collective Design.Collective Influence honoree Johanna Grawunder - Goldbar (L) and LineLight (R)


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officenewswire

opposites created an event of great visual and poetic power, earning what was left of the building the name “Fire and Ice.” For Stickbulb’s installa-tion, made possible through the use of newly developed hardware connectors, the sleek wooden LED beams seemingly splinter in the air, floating above fragments of the former factory alongside a large-scale limited edition art print of the building in its last moments. (Note: Stickbulb was Best in Show last year at NYCxDESIGN for it’s Ambas-sador installation.) Read More

>Cooper Robertson Partners John Kirk and Brian Shea will share campus planning insights in a panel discus-sion Tuesday, Mar. 13 at the the Society for College and University Planning Mid-Atlantic Regional Conference in Pittsburgh. Titled “Place Matters: Cultivating leaders and building community at Longwood University,” the talk will also include Long-wood president Taylor Reveley and Farmville, VA mayor David Whitus in presenting a case study on the develop-ment and implementation

of Cooper Robertson’s new master plan for the rapidly expanding institution. Read More

>Tickets and table sponsor-ships are now available for DIFFA’s Annual Fundraiser DINING BY DESIGN New York, Mar. 22-26. Co-Located with the Architectural Digest Design Show at Pier 92, DBD gathers local and international brands and designers to cre-ate a showcase of extraordi-nary dining vignettes and to raise awareness for a worthy cause. It raises nearly one million dollars annually and hosts thousands of design-ers, notable guests and avid supporters. On Thursday,

Mar. 22, Cocktails by Design will kick off DBD with samples from a selection of New York’s best restaurants and Tito’s Handmade Vodka and Casamigos Tequila sponsored libations. The event will close with the DINING BY DESIGN Gala dinner on Monday, Mar. 26. Brands from across the industry will feature their lat-est products and designs in their installations for thou-sands of event-goers to view and dine in. Read More

>Salone del Mobile.Milano, announcing the program-ming for the 2018 edition (Apr. 17-22) also unveiled its first-ever Manifesto. Showcasing the connection

Stickbulb.Fire and Ice

Collective Design.Stickbulb.Fire and Ice - Pullman Couch Factory after the 2013 fire

Cooper Robertson’s John Kirk

DIFFA.Sunbrella table Designed by Ghislaine Vinas Interior Design for 2016 Dining by Design – Photo by Marion Curtis, Startraks Photo


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officenewswirebetween Milan and Salone and, the document is a tribute to the city, support-ing Milan and demonstrating the show’s history as a hub for creativity and innovation. In addition to nchor events EuroCucina 2018, Salone Internazionale del Bagno, and SaloneSatellite, this year’s show will introduce a new exhibit: Living Nature, La Natura dell’Abitare. Designed by the prestigious Carlo Ratti Associati & Studio Römer, Liv-ing Nature will be on view at the Piazza del Duomo in front of Palazzo Reale Apr. 17-25. The exhibit explores the relationship between nature and humans, triggering ideas about sustainable design both inside and outside the home. The space will contain four natural, climatic micro-cosms that will create the seasons of the year unfolding at the same time, one next to the other. Visitors will be

immersed in nature and ex-perience its changes as they move through Winter, Spring, Summer, and Autumn. The pavilion will consist of a responsive crystal membrane with light-reactive sensors and photovoltaic panels that will make the ‘climates’ pos-sible. Through Living Nature, Salone will present an emo-tive installation that serves as a platform for the value of sustainable living. Read More

>The San Diego Architec-tural Foundation’s popular Open House San Diego™ architecture and urban design event will take place the weekend of Mar. 24-25. This festival of free tours at 80 locations citywide offers the public a rare, behind-the-scenes look at some of San Diego’s most iconic buildings. Each OH! SD site was care-fully selected for its contribu-tions to the fabric of the city, with architectural, historic, or cultural significance. “Abso-lutely everyone is welcome to attend,” said Susanne Friestedt, Founder of OH! SD. “We expect the same kind of crowd as last year

– architecture and design students, families and San Diegans interested in learning more about the history and development of our city. Last year, over 6,000 visits were tallied at 47 sites. This year we anticipate at least 10,000 visits to our 80 sites.” Read More

>Studio Ma Principal Christiana Moss and Mike Fox, Director and CEO of Western Spirit: Scottsdale’s Museum of the West will discuss “Economy + Design Excellence” Sunday, Mar. 11 at the Building Muse-ums Symposium 2018 in Philadelphia. Emphasizing

that economy and design ex-cellence are not incompatible, they will share their approach as well as post-occupancy findings — statistics kept since the 43,000sf, two-story Scottsdale museum opened in 2015. Using building techniques better known for big-box and industrial construction — along with in-tegrated design-build delivery and highly sustainable, green features — the design team created a low-cost, memora-ble, energy-efficient museum for a private-public client. Since its opening, Scotts-dale’s Museum of the West has garnered design awards, record attendance, and praise from cultural groups nation-ally. Read More

Salone del Mobile.Milano San Diego Architectural Foundation.Open House San Diego

Studio Ma.Scottsdale’s Museum of the West


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businessBUSINESS AFFAIRS>AIA reported the January Architecture Billings Index score was 54.7, up from a score of 52.8 in December. The new projects inquiry index was 61.1, down from a reading of 62.0 the previous month, while the new design contracts index increased slightly from 53.4 to 53.9.

“Healthy conditions continue across all sectors and regions ex-cept the Northeast, where firm billings softened for the second consecutive month,” said AIA Chief Economist Kermit Baker. “With strong billings and healthy growth in new projects to start the year, firms remain generally optimistic about business conditions for the next several months.”

Regionally, the West showed the highest three-month average ABI at 56.2, followed by the South (55.3), Midwest (54.8), and Northeast (47.3). By sector, multi-family residential scored highest (56.0), followed by commercial/industrial (53.3), insti-tutional (52.5), and mixed practice (50.1).

(Note: Every January the AIA research department updates the seasonal factors used to calculate the ABI, resulting in a revi-sion of recent ABI values.) Read More

>ASID, in its Interior Design Billings Index 4th Quarter 2017 Report, showed the December IDBI score dipping to 47.8 from September’s score of 55.6 (scores above 50 indicate industry expansion, while those below 50 indicate contraction). The decelerating trend, combined with a sub-par inquiries

score of 47.8, suggests that market conditions going into 2018 are somewhat indefinite. The December index is weaker than its three-month moving average of 52.3, indicating a continua-tion of declining scores reported since mid-2017.

Fourth quarter demand for interior design services varied across the four size cohorts. Sole practitioner design firms reported a modest decline in quarterly performance on a three-month moving average, but remained in expansionary territory in the fourth quarter. Slightly larger firms with two to nine em-ployees maintained a positive trend and showed a three-month moving average of 58. Larger firms of 10 to 25 employees fared less well during the year, reporting sub-50 scores in five out of 12 months in 2017.

Billings growth also varied across regions. Three of the four regions, Midwest, South, and West all reported strong (greater than 50) three-month moving average IDBI scores in De-cember, finishing the year with strong billings growth. Interior design firms in the Northeast, however, experienced a notable fall off in business, registering an IDBI score of 40 at the end of the fourth quarter.

Business conditions for the year were positive for residential design services, but commercial and institutional design ser-vices struggled.

Design firms specializing in single-family and multifamily resi-dential projects reported growth throughout the year, posting scores above 50 every month. The exception was December,

2.23.18 12.29.17 9.29.17 6.30.17 3.31.17 12.30.16 %frYrHi%fr50-DayMA

HMiller 37.8 40.1 35.9 30.4 31.6 34.2 -9.8% -3.3%

HNI 39.4 38.6 41.5 39.9 46.1 55.9 -18.5% 2.4%

Inscape 3.1 3.1 3.6 3.7 4.3 5.0 -37.6% -2.5%

Interface 25.3 25.2 21.9 19.7 19.1 18.6 -3.8% 2.1%

Kimball 16.7 18.7 19.8 16.7 16.5 17.6 -20.2% -6.8%

Knoll 22.4 23.0 20.0 20.1 23.8 27.9 -8.5% -0.5%

Leggett 44.8 47.7 47.7 52.5 50.3 48.9 -18.6% -3.6%

Mohawk 251.4 275.9 247.5 241.7 229.5 199.7 -12.4% -6.1%

Steelcase 14.7 15.2 15.4 14.0 16.8 17.9 -19.3% -2.2%

USG 34.3 38.6 32.7 29.0 31.8 28.9 -16.6% -7.0%

Virco 4.7 5.1 5.5 5.4 4.0 4.3 -22.3% 2.8%

SUM 494.4 531.0 491.4 472.9 473.6 458.8

DJIndust 25,310 24,719 22,405 21,350 20,663 19,763 -4.9% -0.6%

Industry Stock Prices

https://officeinsight.com/officenewswire/architecture-billings-continue-growth-2018/


businesswhen firms serving the single-family design market reported an IDBI score of 49.2. Commercial and institutional design firms displayed an uneven and slower paced pattern of billings in 2017. Firms specializing in institutional projects rose to a score of 51.7 in December from 31.7 in September. Although the three-month moving average for institutional design firms was 49.4, and better than its third quarter score, their performance remained in contractionary territory. The December com-mercial IDBI three-month moving average score was 48.8, up slightly from a September score of 47.7.

Looking forward, the design industry remains optimistic about the near term outlook for business conditions. The six-month business conditions index score of 65.2 for December is well above the 56.8 recorded at the end of the third quarter and indicates continued buoyancy. The ASID six-month interior design business conditions index, the Conference Board’s expectations Index, and the Dodge Momentum Index remain at elevated levels and signal a positive track for the design and construction industries.

ASID also noted that the labor market continues to expand. U.S. payroll employment in September showed a meager gain of 38,000 jobs, a direct result of hurricanes. The job machine in October and November kicked in, averaging 230,000 ad-ditional monthly jobs, but dropped off to 148,000 in Decem-

ber. The unemployment rate was unchanged at 4.1 percent during each of these months. Architectural and interior design services job growth continues with monthly net gains in jobs for both professions.

Construction spending showed strong gains. In November, construction spending totaled a record $1.257 trillion at a sea-sonally adjusted annual rate, 0.8% higher than the upwardly revised October rate and 2.4% higher than the November 2016 rate. The pickup was driven by increases in both private residential and nonresidential outlays. Public construction spending, meanwhile, registered a small monthly gain after three months of large increases. The data now shows a lift from the resumption of construction in the aftermath of Hurricanes Irma and Harvey.

“Although the momentum of ASID billings slowed in the last few months of 2017, this should not be a cause for concern as seasonal factors are at work and a similar pattern was appar-ent in the past,” said ASID Economist Jack Kleinhenz. “It is important to look at the year as a whole, and all but one month saw IDBI scores in positive territory. The six-month expecta-tions outlook index remains at a very high level, an encouraging sign that current business will improve in the coming months. December’s IDBI score of 65.2 is a significant improvement from the score of 58.6 recorded in September. Read More

https://officeinsight.com/officenewswire/asid-releases-interior-design-billings-index-4th-quarter-2017-report/


technology>Interface, Inc.’s Board of Directors declared a regular quar-terly cash dividend of $0.065 per share. It is payable Mar. 23 to shareholders of record as of Mar. 9. www.interfaceglobal.com/Investor-Relations.aspx

>Interface, Inc. on Feb. 21 announced its fourth-quarter fiscal 2017 results (dollars in thousands except EPS):

3 Mos. Ended 12.31.17 1.1.17 %Ch.Net Sales $266,210 $239,507 11.1%Gross Profit $101,778 $89,968 13.1%SG&A $71,218 $63,811 11.6%Op. Inc. $30,560 $6,369 379.8%Net Inc. $4,322 $4,707 -8.2%EPS (dil) $0.07 $0.07 0.0%Organic Orders $245,400 $227,300 8.0%

12 Mos. Ended 12.31.17 1.1.17 %Ch.Net Sales $996,443 $958,617 3.9%Gross Profit $386,021 $368,644 4.7%SG&A $268,878 $263,919 1.9%Op. Inc. $109,844 $84,937 29.3%Net Inc. $53,246 $54,162 -1.7%EPS (dil) $0.86 $0.83 3.6%Organic Orders $994,400 $937,600 6.1%

“We continued to execute against our value creation strategy in the fourth quarter, delivering strong results in line with our expectations for top line growth, gross margin expansion, and SG&A control,” said Interface CEO Jay Gould. “In the fourth quarter, we delivered solid performance down the P&L with organic sales growth of 11% with contribution across our core carpet and LVT businesses. Gross margin of 38.2% was up 60 basis points over the prior year period as we continued to see benefits of our productivity initiatives. We also held fourth quarter SG&A expenses at $71.2 million, or 26.8% of net sales, only a slight increase year over year due to higher incentive-based compensation on stronger performance this year versus last year. Excluding the impact of the new Tax Act, we delivered adjusted EPS of $0.32, up 14% versus last year.”

The fourth quarter included $15.2 million of provisional tax ex-penses ($0.25 per share) due to the U.S. Tax Cuts and Jobs Act enacted on Dec. 22, 2017. These expenses are principally from the one-time transition toll tax on accumulated foreign earnings and required changes to deferred tax assets and liabilities.

Organic sales, excluding the impact of foreign currency fluctua-tions and the exited FLOR specialty retail stores, in the fourth quarter increased 10.9% versus the fourth quarter last year. For the full year, organic sales grew 5.0%.

Fourth-quarter operating income was 11.5% of sales, up 60 basis points compared with adjusted operating income of $26.2 million, or 10.9% of sales, in the prior year period, which

included a $19.8 million restructuring and asset impairment charge. Full-year adjusted operating income, which excludes restructuring and asset impairment charges in both 2017 and 2016, was $117.1 million, or 11.8% of sales, in 2017, compared to adjusted operating income of $104.7 million, or 10.9% of sales, in 2016.

Gross margin was 38.2% for the fourth quarter, an increase of 60 basis points over the prior year period, driven by productiv-ity initiatives offset partially by raw material cost inflation. For the full year, gross margin of 38.7% was up 20 basis points compared to 2016.

SG&A expenses in 4Q17 were in line with expectations at 26.8% of sales, compared to 26.6% of sales in 4Q16. The company attributed this 20 basis point increase to additional incentive-based compensation driven by performance goal achievement that outpaced the prior year period. Full-year 2017 SG&A expenses were 27.0% of net sales, down 50 basis points from 27.5% of net sales, in 2016.

Fourth quarter 2017 adjusted net income (which excludes the previously mentioned $15.2 million of provisional tax expense due to the Tax Act), was $19.5 million, or $0.32 per share, compared to fourth quarter 2016 adjusted net income (which excludes restructuring and asset impairment charges) of $17.8 million, or $0.28 per share. For the full year, adjusted net income was $73.1 million, or $1.18 per share, in 2017, com-pared with $67.3 million, or $1.03 per share, in 2016.

The company completed an additional $10.5 million of stock repurchases in the fourth quarter and $91.6 million of stock repurchases in the full year, executing on the previously an-nounced $100 million share repurchase program.

Fiscal Year 2018 Outlook

As Interface looks forward to 2018’s full year goals, it is target-ing to achieve 3% to 5% organic sales growth, gross profit margin of 39% to 39.5%, SG&A expenses that are relatively flat to 2017 as a percentage of net sales, an effective tax rate of 26% to 27%, interest and other expenses that are projected to be $2 million to $3 million higher than 2017, and capital expenditures of $50 million to $60 million. Based on historic seasonality, current forecasts, and prior year comparables, the company expects its strongest operating income growth in the second and third quarters of 2018, with softer growth in the first and fourth quarters.

The full text of Interface’s 4Q17 earnings release, including all tables, and an archived replay of the company’s Feb. 22 con-ference call are available at www.interfaceglobal.com/Investor-Relations.aspx.

http://www.interfaceglobal.com/Investor-Relations.aspx





technology>Inscape Corp. plans to release its third quarter results after the close of business on Tuesday, Mar. 6. Brian Mirsky, Chief Executive Officer and Aziz Hirji, Chief Financial Officer, will host a conference call on Wednesday, Mar. 7, 8:30 a.m. East-ern Time, to briefly review the results and respond to any ques-tions. To participate, please call 1-800-705-7067 (Reservation Number 21881450. A taped rebroadcast will be available until 11:59 pm Eastern Time on Mar. 14 at 1-800-558-5253 (Reservation Number 21881450). http://inscapesolutions.com/company/news/press-releases/

TECHNOLOGY>Configura announced free March webinars with CET De-signer instructors:

InstantAR in CET Designer

March 1, 11 a.m. EST

Getting Started with CET Designer

March 1, 10 a.m. EST

March 28, 4 p.m. EDT

Rendering

March 1, 4 p.m. EST

March 27, 11 a.m. EDT


Kom igång med CET Designer (Swedish)

March 7, 4 a.m. EST

Rendering (Swedish)


CET Designer Q&A


The free webinars are for anyone, whether a Beginner or Ad-vanced CET Designer user, anywhere in the world. Read More

>Configura’s CET Designer User of the Month, Kaitlin Davis, has been using the space-planning software just 10 months – but she’s quickly mastered the tool and earned two awards in the process. Last fall, she was the top winner in the Best Video category and runner-up in the Best 360 Panorama category in the annual CET Designer Awards competition.

Ms. Davis works for Freedom Interiors in Kansas City where CET Designer is the go-to software used in all aspects of the specification process – including for 2D drawings, 3D render-ings, installation documents, virtual reality and fly-thru videos, and client presentations.

Both of her award-winning entries stem from the renovation of a 7,000sf building that is now the home of Freedom Interiors’ offices and additionally serves as a Kimball showroom.

A screen capture of a CET Designer webinar

http://inscapesolutions.com/company/news/press-releases/

http://inscapesolutions.com/company/news/press-releases/

https://officeinsight.com/officenewswire/configura-announces-cet-designer-march-webinars/


technology“For the renovation, we used CET Designer the same way we do with our clients – we modeled the building, space-planned the furniture, selected (and re-selected) finishes and ‘experi-enced’ our space via the software,” Ms. Davis said.

Fully immersed in the use of technology, Freedom Interiors offers clients a “Live Design” process that includes virtual reality so clients can experience their space and make design changes in real time.

“This process has helped eliminate the guesswork on both sides and, ultimately, our clients are satisfied in knowing ex-actly what their space will look like,” Ms. Davis said.

Her own design journey began in college, but her passion for design goes even further back. “I remember doing a career project in middle school about interior design (it was a sign!), so it has always been an interest and a passion of mine,” she said. “I’m especially interested in the psychological aspect of being able to influence how people use and experience a space. I’m a true believer that one’s surroundings having an impact on mood and well-being.”

Originally a journalism major at the University of Missouri, she switched to interior design after realizing she wanted to express her creativity in a more visual, design-oriented profession. Upon graduating, she spent time in St. Louis and Kansas City

working in residential design, knowing that eventually she wanted to get into commercial design – specifically in furniture or fabrics.

Ms. Davis currently lives in Kansas City and has been a part of Freedom Interiors for almost a year. When she’s not hard at work creating healthy workspaces, she’s likely crafting – often knitting or crocheting. Read More

CET Designer User of the Month Kaitlin Davis

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JOB SITETo place ads or to get a price quote contact Bob Beck [email protected] 972 293 9186

Find all our ads all the time at www.officeinsight.com/careers.

Market Manager - NYC

Position Summary:This position is responsible for promoting and selling the Studio TK product portfolio to the A&D community, dealers and end users within the New York Region. Responsibilities include, but are not limited to; establishing and/or maintaining business partnership with architectural and design firms, dealers and end-users, making sales calls and presentations, and ultimately gaining market share and increasing Studio TK sales volume in the New York Metropolitan Region.

Experience, Skill and Educational Requirements:

> Bachelor’s degree (B. A.) from four-year college or university; or 5-7 years related experience and/or training; or equivalent combination of education and experience.

> Strong relationships with design firms in given market.

> Ability to work indepen-dently and achieve results.

> Entrepreneurial attitude, ability to excel in a fast-paced environment and highly motivated.

For more information on the position or to complete an application, please use the link below.

https://workforcenow.adp.com/mdf/recruitment/recruitment.html?cid=9d523e58-79c6-48bf-af75-66f20e2f2092&sid=dGVrbmlvbg%3D%3D&jobId=147950&lang=en_US&source=CC3

Sales Representative - Indiana

Momentum Group, a leading supplier of contract textiles, is growing and seeking a new Sales Representative in Indiana.

Qualifications:

> Bachelor’s degree, or equivalent combination of education and experience.

> Knowledge of the Contract Industry is a plus.

> 2-3 years of selling textiles or other dealer sales experi-ence preferred.

> Excellent presentation skills required.

> Must be computer profi-cient.

> IIDA and/or NEWH membership or affiliation desired.

> Candidate must live in Indianapolis, IN

https://workforcenow.adp.com/jobs/apply/posting.html?client=Momtex&jobId=161789&lang=en_US&source=CC3

Sales Representative - Tennessee and Texas

Momentum Group, a leading supplier of contract textiles, is growing and seeking new Sales Representatives in Tennessee and Texas.

Qualifications:

> Bachelor’s degree, or equivalent combination of education and experience.

> Knowledge of the Contract Industry is a plus.

> 2-3 years of selling textiles or other dealer sales experi-ence preferred.

> Excellent presentation skills required.

> Must be computer profi-cient.

> IIDA and/or NEWH membership or affiliation desired.

> Candidate must live in territory.

Please apply online at: https://workforcenow.adp.com/jobs/apply/posting.html?client=Momtex&ccId=19000101_000001&type=MP&lang=en_US#

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JOB SITETo place ads or to get a price quote contact Bob Beck [email protected] 972 293 9186

Find all our ads all the time at www.officeinsight.com/careers.

PO Box 967Cedar Hill, TX 75106

Robert [email protected] 972 293 9186

Mallory [email protected] 219 263 9006

www.officeinsight.com© 2018 officeinsight,LLC

Bradford J. Powell, Hon. [email protected] T 203 966 5008

Textile Designer, Product Development - TriState Area, NY

Arc-Com a leader in the contract textile industry, located in Orangeburg, N.Y. (15 min. north of the GW Bridge), is seeking a creative, textile designer to join our Design Team to work on product development. The Arc-Com Design Team creates and introduces innovative and high performance textile products for the corporate, hospitality, healthcare and institutional markets.

Position Requirements:

> Committed professional with excellent communi-cation, color, and design skills.

> Experience with contract sources, woven textiles, upholstery, drapery, cu-bicle fabrics, and coated products very helpful.

> Foundation knowledge of the contract industry

> Excellent Pattern and De-velopment skills.

> Strong color sense. > Experience in woven textiles and fabric construc-tions.

> Knowledgeable with test requirements. Flammabil-ity, Crocking, Colorfastness, and Abrasion.

> Experience working with contract textile mills.

> Strong organizational and analytical abilities.

> Must have own transporta-tion.

Please email resume to [email protected]. Visit us at www.Arc-Com.com.



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paean to postmodernism: a book review

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