TUESDAY MAY 25, 2021

The Upfront

AIA: Billings Display Continued Strength in April

It’s now becoming obvious that we’ve turned a corner, hopefully putting COVID-19 behind us. Last week AIA’s monthly Architecture Billings Index showed a continued rise in April, coming in at 57.9, which is 2.3 points higher than March's ABI of 55.6. This marks the ABI's third positive month since it dipped below 50 in February 2020. The ABI is a leading economic indicator of construction activity in the U.S. and reflects a nine- to 12-month lead time between architecture billings and construction spending nationally, regionally, and by project type. A score above 50 represents an increase in billings from the previous month, while a score below 50 represents a contraction.

It turns out too that the Billing Index is a good gauge for future activity in the contract furnishings sector.

“This recent acceleration in the demand for design services demonstrates that both consumers and businesses are feeling much more confident about the economic outlook,” said AIA chief economist Kermit Baker, Hon. AIA, in the Institute's press release. “The pent-up demand for new and retrofitted facilities is keeping architecture firms in all regions and building sectors busy.” New project inquiries reached new highs in April, increasing 4.0 points to 70.8 compared to 66.8 in March. The design contracts score also showed continued strength, rising 6.0 points to 61.7 compared to March's score of 55.7.

The month-to-month change in scores for regional billings—which, unlike the national score, are calculated as three-month moving averages—largely improved in April. Three out of four regions showed increased scores and all four regions reported scores above the threshold of 50. Billings in the Midwest rose 4.1 points to a score of 60.6, while billings in the West decreased 0.4 point to a score of 52.4. Billings in the South rose 2.5 points to a score of 58.3, and billings in the Northeast also rose 4.2 points to a score of 55.0.

Billings scores increased in all four individual industry sectors with all four sectors also reporting scores above the threshold of 50.0. The commercial/industrial sector rose 2.1 points to a score of 59.1; the institutional sector rose 2.3 points to a score of 56.7. The multifamily residential score rose 4.3 points to a score of 56.9; the mixed practice sector rose 0.1 point to a score of 55.0. Like the regional billings scores, sector billings scores are also calculated as three-month moving averages.

Construction is Complete on the Chicago DIRTT Experience Center

Design firm Ware Malcomb announced construction is complete on the Chicago DIRTT Experience Center (DXC), an immersive experience center located at 325 N Wells St. in Chicago. In collaboration with DIRTT, Ware Malcomb provided interior architecture and design for the project.

Located across the street from the Merchandise Mart, the DXC’s 8,700 square foot remodel focused on creating a unique experience for each guest who walks through the doors. Inspired by the Chicago roadway grid, where the streets Lincoln, Clybourn, Milwaukee and Grand break the grid to provide efficient alternatives, the reimagined DIRTT Experience Center is intentionally designed to celebrate the framework DIRTT provides as they break barriers in building through off-site construction.

The project’s vision was solidified after an in-depth envision session with key DIRTT stakeholders. From concept development to construction and digital content strategy, the Ware Malcomb team worked in collaboration with DIRTT to design a space which delivers a strong narrative, helping guests understand a spectrum of possibilities.

Jennifer Warawa, Chief Commercial Officer at DIRTT said “Our Chicago space demonstrates the freedom and possibilities of designing with DIRTT. We look forward to welcoming clients into this space and engaging the design community in new conversations about the future of industrialized construction and how it helps achieve their goals. The continued investment in our facilities demonstrates DIRTT’s confidence in the market.”

DIRTT will be hosting its annual Connext event between 3-5 October, to coincide with NeoCon.

Abatement approved for Indiana Furniture expansion

Jasper, IN-based Indiana Furniture Industries will invest more than $17 million to add a new facility on their south side and will close their location on Mill Street.

The Jasper Common Council approved Wednesday a nine-year tax abatement that will phase out in the final four years to help fund the project. The company announced earlier this week that it plans to build a 165,000-square-foot addition that will be used for manufacturing and shipping.

The company plans to invest $14.25 million total in 2021 and 2022 to build the addition to the facility on County Road West 100 South, and will also invest $3.5 million over the next four years into new equipment.

Verkamp said the company has to continually modernize if it wants to remain a part of the Jasper community, as it has for the past 116 years.

Dangling Carrots And Wielding Sticks: Employers Aim To Accelerate 'Slow Drip' Return To Office

Workers have been drifting back into offices since the start of the year, but companies have been reluctant to call them back full time for a host of reasons, including a shortage of childcare workers and general anxiety over a return to normalcy. While some expect that the trickle will turn into a stream by the fall, office buildings across the country aren't likely to see the same number of white-collar workers that were there prior to the coronavirus pandemic.

“Right now, it's a slow drip,” said Gensler Senior Associate Erin Greer, a co-director of the design firm's workplace studio. “There's that push and pull between traditionalists, if you will, who think you can put the genie back in the bottle.”

As of the middle of May, occupancy at office buildings in the nation's 10 largest metro areas was just below 28%, according to Kastle Systems, which operates entry control systems in commercial buildings.

Office occupancy in Austin, Houston and Dallas was over 40%, while the Northeast and California were still hovering in the teens, but the overall average has crawled up from the low 20% range since January, Kastle General Manager Adam Joseph said.

“The nicer the building it is, the less traffic that is going into those buildings,” Joseph said. “Our experience has been, at least in most markets, despite progress and better education about Covid, it's been slower.”

Returning to Work: Take a Glimpse Into the Future

In a recent Wall Street Journal article, “How to Rally a Jittery Workforce Back at the Office,” a creative agency exec described some of the dynamics he was witnessing as his firm’s employees returned to the workplace.

Awkward interactions

The exec describes his coworkers’ uneasiness about being back in close proximity. He describes hearing audible sighs as he walks past workmates’ cubicles. Are they despondent? Are they feeling trapped in the office after a year-plus of being away? He doesn’t say. What his story does suggest is that we may be in for a rough transition going back to the office, just as it was a rough transition learning to work remotely during the pandemic.

What does it mean to return to the office?

At first glance, it might seem like returning to the office is no big deal. After all, that’s where we all spent years of our lives prior to Covid. What’s the big deal?

But, psychologically, there might be more to this transition that meets the eye. For many employees, returning to the office will represent a major change of routine and a not-insignificant loss of autonomy. It may also involve feelings of separation from loved ones (e.g., parents who had extended time with their children) coupled with feelings of a loss of safety.

These misgivings are echoed by recent surveys, including one by Envoy, which found that two-thirds of US employees are anxious about the return to the office.

Lessons From China: What Hybrid Work Really Looks Like in Practice

When COVID-19 first hit in early 2020, China was the first country impacted and the first to recover. After a brief lockdown and amidst strict protocols, office workers emerged from working from home and returned to the office by late spring 2020. While the rest of world continues to be in various stages of still dealing with the pandemic, China quietly returned to the office and their cities began to open up. COVID cases are extremely low, and have been for nearly a year. The Chinese workplace is back open — and the experience of these workers holds lessons for the rest of the world as we consider what a hybrid workplace future really looks like. 

For their latest China Workplace Survey (WPS), Gensler surveyed 3,000+ professional workers in China to understand how, and where, they were now working. They wanted to learn from those already living in a post-pandemic workplace and glean insights on lessons learned that they could apply in other countries as vaccines take hold and it becomes more feasible to begin to return to the office.

Here are a few insights that they’ve gleaned from their workplace research in China, and lessons for other countries, employers, and those who occupy office space around the world:

1. Employees are back in the workplace. Work has changed, and the physical office needs to change too.

Employees really want to come back to the office first and foremost to work with colleagues. They have missed each other and the sense of belonging that working together creates. The office in China is more collaborative than ever. But, office workers also still see the office as key location for their focused work — the office in China today continues to support the full range of work modes and activities.

Very few Chinese companies made physical changes to the office beyond enhanced cleaning and policy changes before returning. Office workers in China have reported struggles with noise and distraction in the office as it comes back to full capacity, particularly with the added increase of virtual collaboration. Although work behaviors have changed, the space is still designed to support the former way of working, with no cues for new behaviors or new space types.

The post-pandemic workplace is an opportunity to fix what didn’t work before, and create a physical office space that provides the ideal mix of both open environments and access to private spaces for individual work requiring intense quiet and focus AND virtual collaboration or group work, which may be noisy and distracting. People are surprisingly resilient — employees will quickly return to their old behaviors when they return to the office unless we take intentional care to foster even better behaviors in the future.

China’s Return Offers a Glimpse Into the Post-Pandemic Workplace

Chinese workers have returned to the office at levels unparalleled in the rest of the world. Gensler’s China Workplace Survey, including over 3,000 office workers, found that 99% of office workers say they are either at the workplace full time or working in a hybrid model, splitting their time between the workplace and various alternative locations. Here’s how that compares on the international stage: over half of office workers in the U.S., UK, and Australia are still working remotely full time. China’s profound and successful transition back to the office was the first of its kind — and we’re now seeing the results of that effort.

Here are some emerging findings on China’s return to the workplace: 

1. The workplace is clearly here to stay — but workers will bring new expectations from their experience working from home.

The workplace quickly and dramatically regained its prominence as the key location for professional work in China — 99% of Chinese workers spend at least 1 day in the office every week, and 2/3 spend the majority of their working time in the office. Working from home during the pandemic did uncover problems that already existed with the physical office. Namely, working in isolation at home is great for focus work. But one in three office workers in China now say their workplace feels overcrowded and distracting. Further, many workers say that they can’t find privacy or private rooms when they need it. Workers want the best of what they experienced at home to be applied to their workplaces.

Driven by Design Episode 2: James Ludwig

The Driven by Design video series from Coalesse continues as host John Hamilton, Coalesse Global Design Director, drives around Munich with this week’s guest: James Ludwig, Global Vice President of Design for Steelcase Product and Engineering. In this second episode, Hamilton and Ludwig discuss topics ranging from Ludwig’s career in Germany, to tensions faced by designers and being a victim of one’s successes as a designer.

James Ludwig joined Steelcase in 1999. He is responsible for the product design direction of Steelcase, including the design direction of all Steelcase showrooms and WorkLife Centers. He oversees studios in Europe, Asia and the United States.

Drivers of Emotions and Experiential Space Design

A strategic approach that takes emotion into consideration is integral to successful design principles, which hold that experiential spaces be informed, empathetic, and exciting. In the experiential design process, designers need to engage in a fact-finding mission. In the process, they become astute listeners to the clues being offered by clients about how they would like the space to make them feel, the company values and culture, and even what behaviors could be fostered with the design. This empathetic listening activity is not overt, but is woven into the design process, which begins with empathizing with the client and understanding their needs, and setting the stage for the client to take ownership of a design that aligns with their company.

Design of experiential spaces should define that space’s intention and carry users on an emotional journey with touchpoints and sensorial aspects that push the narrative forward. Emotion plays a significant role in this design approach, along with memory, multi-modal sensory experience, and creating happiness.

Creating experiential design also requires a hefty dose of empathy and emotional intelligence on the part of designers. Throughout the relationship with a client, the design team needs to bring empathy to every interaction. Empathy in its many forms is a necessary tool to listen and meet the needs of the client—needs that are being expressed verbally and nonverbally, as well as through the choice of language itself. What do clients reveal about their emotional response to the space, viscerally and reflectively? What do clients aspire for the space to become, or behaviors that the space could facilitate?

Configura continues global expansion with Japan office

Configura announced it has established an office in Tokyo which will open later this year to support its customers locally and expand its presence in Japan.

“Configura sees enormous potential to deliver our solutions to the Japanese market because it’s home to leading global manufacturers in the commercial interiors and material handling industries,” Configura CEO Stefan Persson said. “We are thrilled to grow our presence in Japan as it will allow us to stay close to our existing customers, build relationships with new customers and deliver the best experience and high-value solutions at the local level.”

Configura expanded into Asia in 2012 with offices in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia followed by Shenzhen, China. The Tokyo office will support Configura’s customers while growing its presence within Japan’s commercial interiors and material handling industries. Configura also plans to build a local partner network consisting of companies that provide development and consulting services on Configura’s CET platform. The office will launch with four employees and Configura plans to recruit additional talent to strengthen capacity in the coming years.

KOKUYO, a leading commercial furniture manufacturer in Japan, has already joined Configura’s CET community. KOKUYO, which is the first company in Japan to adopt CET, launched its Extension in January 2020.

3D Visualization Technology Can Ease The Anxiety Of Redesigning For The New Office Environment

Ford, Citigroup, Target — three major U.S. companies with one thing in common: They have all made the decision to move to a hybrid work model. 

This model, where employees spend some days in the office and others working from home, is booming in popularity thanks to the coronavirus pandemic. But it’s leaving many company owners questioning their office layout and how they can adjust it to accommodate a hybrid workforce. As companies mull how to change their space, office landlords are wondering how they can convince tenants that they have the right building to meet their needs.

“People are constantly asking me 'how should I set up my office to suit a hybrid model?' or 'how can I set up my office to encourage social distancing?'" said Scott Harmon, co-founder and CEO of proptech company Swivel. “The time has come to rethink the office format, and landlords need to show tenants that they are up to the task of changing with the times.” 

Swivel creates 3D virtual tours and customized space plans that allow tenants to digitally walk through multiple variations of an office space. Virtual tours have become a crucial marketing tool for landlords during the pandemic. The company is now solving the challenges posed by the hybrid workforce model by debuting new features that allow tenants to simulate different office layouts, including layouts optimized for Covid safety or for a hybrid workforce. 

Harmon said that the first iteration of Swivel was focused on the beginning of the tenant life cycle, the pre-lease stage, when tenants are still deciding between offices. But now, the office culture has changed dramatically, and tenants need the ability to plan for the future and plan for a rapidly changing workforce.

Swivel’s new features not only help tenants visualize what their space could look like before they move in, but those features also allow them to easily consider design changes long after they have signed a lease. 

Teknion Introduces Routes, a Toolbox of Boldly Conceived Products that Depart from Conventional Contract Furniture

Teknion announced yesterday the launch of Routes, a collection of work tools driven by the concept, “What do we need, really need, to work efficiently and well?” Designed in partnership with PearsonLloyd, the collection is made up of desks, tables, chairs, soft seating, screens and accessories, given fresh yet familiar forms that are easy to understand, assemble, and use. Routes readily adapts to spaces big and small, to the requirements of an established enterprise, and to the needs of those who work at home.

“Simplicity is inherent in the product. You know intuitively how to use it,” says Luke Pearson, Designer at PearsonLloyd. “Routes is quite lighthearted, quite enjoyable to use as a collection,” adds Tom Lloyd, Designer at PearsonLloyd.

The collection speaks to a growing market of enterprises that require user flexibility to transform a space quickly. The simplicity of the design and the easy specification also allows one to build up a complete workspace for a small, tight-knit studio or create casual “pop-up” work hubs across the expanse of a corporate headquarters. Routes includes a selection of seating, tables, storage, and privacy products with casual, playful design elements drawn from makerspace influences. The products have a utility character. Big tubular steel curves and materiality provide a strong personality that gives unity to the collection.

“Visually, Routes is bold enough so that as you pepper a landscape with various pieces, you recognize that it’s a bit different,” says Luke Pearson.

“Routes is perfect for creating new collaboration destinations and environments that feel welcoming and energizing as workers return to offices,” says Steve Delfino, Vice President, Corporate Marketing & Product Management at Teknion.

Routes provides a balanced portfolio of high-performance work tools. The elements needed to work are all there, executed in a distinct way with bold, playful, purposeful cues that changes how work is experienced. A Mobile Soft Screen, Multi-Use Stool, and Adjustable Side Table fulfill the intention to provide furniture that’s as agile and intuitive. The adjustable side table has a handle intentionally reminiscent of a bicycle seat adjustment. The Multi-Use Stool was inspired by the stackable of buckets. It’s very efficient, and with wheels, very handy in fluid workplace settings. The tubular steel curves on Routes Desks and Tables provide a fresh, distinct character. Soft Seating products also echo that design language and provide options for casual, comfortable gathering spots.

Routes also adds an expressive element through vivid accent colors, Blue Sage and Signal Red. All Routes products are available in a curated, designer-selected finish palette.

WallGoldfinger Furniture offers new, budget conscious café, laptop and training tables

WallGoldfinger Furniture, a division of Mark Richey Woodworking, is offering a new line of competitively priced café, laptop and training tables.

The new Simplicity Collection is meant to allow more businesses and organizations to include WallGoldfinger furniture in their new construction and redesign plans, put name to popular previously custom furniture options and expand WallGoldfinger’s overall offerings.

Featuring modern pedestal, T- and C-bases in black or chrome-plated, Simplicity Collection tables are available in a neutral palette of veneers, plastic laminates, cast acrylic and, for a modern twist, birch core phenolic. Training tables are available with integrated power and UL-listed daisy chaining. Café tables can be upgraded by adding metal edges.

With offices in Vermont, WallGoldfinger is a 50-year-old furniture brand owned by Mark Richey Woodworking of Newburyport, Mass. WallGoldfinger furniture is made at the 130,000-square-foot Mark Richey factory, which runs on renewable energies, burns manufacturing waste into heat and is minority- and woman-owned and M/WBE certified in Massachusetts and New York City.

“We recognize the changing landscape of contract furniture both in terms of budget pressures and ease in specification. This new line will hopefully allow more companies to have WallGoldfinger quality products as part of their office furnishings,” said Robin Palmer, director of communications at WallGoldfinger. “One might, for example, look to Simplicity Collection tables for their dining and training spaces and custom WallGoldfinger furniture for their boardroom spaces.”

This new line also gives name to furniture the company has already been making. Designers around the country have been specifying similar café tables from WallGoldfinger for many years.

“Now those popular café tables are easier to specify,” Palmer said. “And for those who don’t need the compact storage offered by our Arbor training tables (that store in upright carts), these new Simplicity Collection training tables that roll and nest will be a welcome alternative.”

Bobst North America Inc. Offices – Parsippany-Troy Hills

Studio Eagle worked closely with packaging and label manufacturer, Bobst North America Inc., to design their offices in Parsippany-Troy Hills, New Jersey.

From day one, Studio Eagle’s integrated methodology of strategy, design, and construction for Bobst North America Inc., the North American division of BOBST, ultimately proved to be a creative partnership yielding just the right office space for the team’s new North American headquarters in Parsippany, NJ.

Working hand in hand with CohnReznick, our Studio Eagle team had been engaged to aid in Bobst North America Inc.’s sourcing of new HQ location as well as the relocation effort of the project.

Andy Vogel Promoted to CFO

Louisville, Kentucky-based ID&A promoted Andy Vogel to Chief Financial Officer. A licensed CPA with 10 years of experience, Andy began his career in Louisville with PwC before joining ID&A as Controller in 2016 and Partner in 2018. Since then, Andy has enhanced our data analysis, improved our forecasting and planning processes, updated our employee benefit packages, and forged strong relationships with our financial partners.

As CFO, Andy will direct the finance and operational activities of the company including planning, forecasting, reporting, negotiation, and profit improvement. Andy’s passion for working problems, finding common ground, and data driven decision-making has bolstered the future of ID&A.

Andy is a graduate with honors from Transylvania University with a degree in accounting. In his spare time, Andy likes being with his wife and 2 boys, cheering on Manchester United & the Kentucky Wildcats, playing golf, and traveling.

Dauphin to Host "The Courage to Ask for Help" Webinar

Dauphin’s June 9th webinar, “The Courage to Ask for Help,” will guide attendees through an interactive experience aimed at encouraging everyone to enlist and engage the support of others to the benefit of all.

We all know that our society values independence immensely and admires that “can do” attitude in particular. This leaves many of us afraid that we will appear weak or ignorant if we ask for help or admit we don’t understand something. But the truth is that asking questions or asking for help is not a weakness, it can be a strength and lead to a more valuable outcome than if we go it alone.

Join Dauphin and speaker Leo Bottary for the webinar “The Courage to Ask for Help”. Bottary, an award-winning author of three books on the power of peers and the value of asking for help, will guide attendees through an interactive experience aimed at encouraging everyone to enlist and engage the support of others to the benefit of all.

Leo Bottary is the founder and managing partner of Peernovation, LLC. He is also a keynote speaker, workshop facilitator, podcaster, opinion columnist/advisory board member for CEOWORLD magazine, and adjunct professor for Rutgers University. His most recent book, Peernovation: What Peer Groups Can Teach Us About Building High Performing Teams was published in 2020.

You don’t have to go it alone! Register and join Dauphin for the webinar “The Courage to ask for help” at 1:00 pm EST on Wednesday, June 9th.

Google is making 3D, life-size video calling booth

Google is working on a video calling booth that uses 3D imagery on a 3D display to create a lifelike image of the people on both sides. While it’s still experimental, “Project Starline” builds on years of research and acquisitions, and could be the core of a more personal-feeling video meeting in the near future.

The system was only shown via video of unsuspecting participants, who were asked to enter a room with a heavily obscured screen and camera setup. Then the screen lit up with a video feed of a loved one, but in a way none of them expected:

“I could feel her and see her, it was like this 3D experience. It was like she was here.”

“I felt like I could really touch him!”

“It really, really felt like she and I were in the same room.”

CEO Sundar Pichai explained that this “experience” was made possible with high-resolution cameras and custom depth sensors, almost certainly related to these Google research projects into essentially converting videos of people and locations into interactive 3D scenes:

The cameras and sensors — probably a dozen or more hidden around the display — capture the person from multiple angles and figure out their exact shape, creating a live 3D model of them. This model and all the color and lighting information is then (after a lot of compression and processing) sent to the other person’s setup, which shows it in convincing 3D. It even tracks their heads and bodies to adjust the image to their perspective.

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