Aug 26, 2021 by Diane Hang Nguyen, Director, Rockwell Group, and Project Manager, DineOut NYC
When
the
COVID-19
pandemic
became
a
reality
in
2020,
Rockwell
Group
began
to
think
about
ways
for
New
York
City
restaurants
to
adjust
their
service
and
design.
The
toll
on
the
industry,
both
economically
and
from
a
health
perspective,
was
immense.
Given
our
longstanding
ties
to
the
restaurant
and
hospitality
community,
we
felt
a
responsibility
and
a
desire
to
think
about
creative
solutions.
How
could
we
help
get
restaurants
back
on
their
feet
and
restore
jobs,
while
also
allowing
New
Yorkers
to
come
together
safely
to
share
a
meal—a
ritual
intrinsic
to
the
beating
heart
of
the
city?
The
answer
...
Jul 26, 2021 by Beat Huesler, Oppenheim Architecture Director of European Operations
As
architects
and
designers,
I
believe
that
we
have
mastered
the
power
to
make
use
of
our
creative
skills
in
extraordinary
ways.
From
hours
of
designing
to
years
of
learning,
we
possess
the
ability
to
create
magical
moments
across
interior
and
exterior
spaces.
It
wasn’t
until
a
few
months
ago,
under
the
guise
of
a
“zoomed”
world
during
a
global
pandemic,
that
I
truly
began
to
think
one
step
further
—
to
the
capabilities
of
virtual
space.Employing
an
architectural
firm
to
design
a
virtual
space
is
quite
unheard
of
in
the
gallery
world
(or
really,
most
worlds
for
that
matter.)
...
Jun 28, 2021 by Giulio Bonazzi, Chairman & CEO, Aquafil Group
Choosing
sustainable
practices
and
materials
to
create
beautiful
spaces
is
one
of
the
most
pivotal
and
impactful
design
challenges
of
our
time.
According
to
architect
Lance
Hosey,
FAIA,
LEED
Fellow, studies
show
that
designers
and
architects
can
influence
up
to
90
percent
of
a
project’s
eventual
impact
based
on
early
design
decisions.
Can
we
challenge
ourselves
to
create
structures
that
balance
beauty,
functionality,
wellness
and
care
for
our
environment?
We
believe
we
can.
For
too
long,
many
have
held
on
to
outdated
notions
that
sustainable
materials
are
too
expensive
or
that
it
is
too
time-consuming
to
do
the
research.
Other
considerations
...
May 26, 2021 by Marcelo Pontes, Head of Architecture, CACTUS
From
time
to
time,
my
mother
asks
me,
“what
do
you
do
for
work?”
I've
been
practicing
both
architecture
and
design
for
a
long
time,
and
it's
still
curious
to
me
how
she
continuously
asks
me
this
question.
I
think
this
has
a
lot
to
do
with
the
hybrid
approach
I’ve
taken
on
projects
in
this
‘digital
revolution''
that
we
are
all
experiencing
and
navigating
today.CACTUS,
Oath
PediatricsI
prefer
to
see
the
so-called
“digital
world”
as
a
twin
to
the
analog
world.
Like
the
unique
structure
of
DNA,
two
lines
intertwined,
similar
yet
different,
the
two
live
side
by
...
Apr 29, 2021 by Robert Finger, Founding Partner, Fogarty Finger
What
does
a
rustic,
century-old
cottage
on
the
Cape
that
has
been
in
my
family
for
four
generations
have
in
common
with
my
professional
life,
which
revolves
around
the
design
of
urban
office
space?
Though
they
may
seem
like
antithetical
places,
the
cottage
is
where
I
find
inspiration
and
a
deep
connection
with
nature
that
in
turn
informs
my
urban
work.The
cottage—without
air
conditioning
or
heating
save
for
a
fireplace—is
a
primitive
setting,
but
it’s
also
the
most
healing
place
I
know.
The
question
is
how
can
we
create
healing
environments
in
the
urban
context,
and
particularly
in
the
modern
...
Apr 22, 2021 by Katie Weeks, LEED Green Associate Managing Director, Communications and Development, Institute for Market Transformation
A
few
weeks
ago
on
an
early
March
morning,
I
logged
on
to
my
laptop
and
saw
something
I
never
thought
I’d
see:
There,
front
and
center
on
the
New
York
Times
homepage,
was
an
animation
of
building
ventilation.
The
focus?
“Why
Opening
Windows
Is
a
Key
to
Reopening
Schools.”
I
did
a
double
take.
Most
often,
discussions
about
building
science
are
buried
in
a
design
magazine’s
technology
or
products
column
or
discussed
under
the
context
of
LEED
certification,
perhaps.
Yet
here
it
was,
on
a
major
paper’s
homepage,
showcasing
a
larger
opportunity
for
interiors
professionals.The
ongoing
COVID-19
pandemic
has
...
Mar 23, 2021 by Joey N. Shimoda FAIA, FIIDA, Chief Creative Officer, Shimoda Design Group
I
am
old
enough,
and
geeky
enough,
to
know
that
the
third
episode
of
the
Star
Wars
trilogy,
the
“Return
of
the
Jedi''
was
originally
named
the
“Revenge
of
the
Jedi.”
It
was
changed
right
before
the
release
because
the
fan
culture
pointed
out
that
Jedi’s
do
not
get
revenge.
This
arrangement
of
words
popped
into
my
head
while
my
studio
was
discussing
/
debating
the
“Return
to
the
Workplace.”
Undoubtedly,
the
tremendous
emotional
and
physical
strain
that
the
world
has
experienced
will
exact
its
revenge
on
the
workplace
of
the
future.No
one
has
a
clear
picture
of
...
It
wasn’t
too
long
ago
that
we
believed
that
design
teams
had
to
actually
sit
next
to
each
other
in
the
same
room
to
be
able
to
do
their
work.
Our
firm
even
had
a
few
offices
that
would
rearrange
the
studio
to
make
sure
that
all
teammates
were
within
arm’s
length
of
each
other—all
based
on
the
ebb
and
flow
of
project
work.
Boy,
have
times
changed.
I
am
hesitant
to
imply
that
anything
good
has
come
out
of
our
journey
through
the
pandemic,
but
I
do
wonder
if,
in
the
end,
the
forced
remote
work
that
happened
in
...
We’ve
spent
the
better
part
of
the
past
six
months
in
conversation—conversations
to
hear
and
learn,
not
to
tell,
conversations
with
our
clients,
conversations
with
academics,
conversations
with
creatives,
conversations
with
conversationalists.
You
name
it,
we’ve
conversed
with
it! Over
that
time
we’ve
seen
an
evolution
of
concern
from
“HOW
can
we
work
this
way?”
to
“WILL
we
ever
need
to
work
all
together
again?”
All
this
set
against
a
growing
media
narrative
around
the
success
of
work-from-home.
Sure,
there
are
the
typical
criticisms
about
Zoom
glitches,
but
with
the
big
tech
companies
leading
the
way—Shopify
boldly
stating
the
era
of
...
Aug 19, 2020 by Tanya Paz, Principal at TAP Studio
As
a
nation
we
are
fighting
for
air.
We
have
spent
that
last
several
months
being
engulfed
by
a
contagious
virus
that
starves
our
bodies
of
air,
a
virus
that
quite
literally
prevents
the
air,
we
work
so
hard
to
pump
into
our
buildings,
from
fueling
our
bodies.
A
virus
which
travels
silently
through
this
same
air.
At
the
same
time,
we
spend
an
average
of
87%
of
our
time
inside
buildings.
Designing
for
air
is
fundamental
to
Architecture
and
Interior
Design.
We
too
often
ignore
this
key
aspect
of
our
spaces,
especially
when
relying
on
mechanical
ventilation.
While
this
...
Do you have any industry insights or an original thought piece you would like to share with the greater NeoCon audience? Email us to submit it for potential inclusion.