And so it begins! NeoCon season is here, and it’s an especially celebratory one. This year the beloved show, North America’s largest design expo and conference for commercial interiors, will host its 50th edition June 11-13 at the Merchandise Mart.
50 years is meaningful for that number’s indication of strength and endurance – something the Mart has safeguarded through the years. Most recently, this longevity showed itself a few years ago in the form of large-scale renovations to NeoCon’s home at the Merchandise Mart in Chicago. The updates to a historical giantess of a building are timeless, beautiful and thoughtful, gracefully gliding the building into its modern identity that we all enjoy today.
Organizers expect more than 50,000 architecture and design professionals during the three-day event. And interior products companies continue to swarm NeoCon – a sign of the show’s vitality and ability to evolve and shift gears. In 2018 that evolution includes the opening of showrooms on the Mart’s 6thand 14thfloors to NeoCon attendees, welcoming hospitality and outdoor market segments to the show in a more explicit fashion.
“This year is an opportunity to take a brief look at the years past and the history, but more so to look toward the future,” says Byron Morton, VP of Leasing at Merchandise Mart Properties, Inc. “We’re very focused on the future, of the show and of the work everyone in this industry does. Our attendee demographics are expanding, and we want to offer them a show that reflects those changes.”
Indeed, the theme of NeoCon 2018 is, “The Future Is…”. 2018’s keynotes are a blend of design luminaires, design thought leaders and urban planning experts, all curated around the theme of looking to the future, through the lenses of wellness, design, coworking, and the shift to “workplace” rather than “office.”
In keeping with the “The Future Is…” theme, NeoCon 2018 will feature a new designation for seminars within each track: “The Future of Design”. The show will also make use of a brand new, full-service permanent conference center for seminars on Floor 6. And the Mart is throwing a huge “The Future Is PARTY”celebratory bash Tuesday evening on the South Drive, presented by Mohawk Group. Tickets are $50 – grab a seat soon!
50 years of NeoCon also represents the unwavering presence of continued joy – something the show must have continued to provide to organizers, attendees and companies; without it, people wouldn ’t come. In this spirit, each attendee’s badge this year will feature the year they first attended the show – a fun detail that might catch your eye and start a conversation!
Once registered for NeoCon at www.neocon.com(free online registration through Friday, June 8 or $40 on-site), attendees can sign up for My Planner to search exhibitors and new products, create a personalized itinerary, map out custom floor plans, and even send private messages to exhibitors. Also, the NeoCon App is available through the App Store and Google Play. Attendees can tailor their conference experience to specific areas of interest, experience level, schedule, and spending goals by choosing à la carte from the menu of more than 100 CEU seminars and featured programs.
All of the products entered in Contract magazine’s Best of NeoCon competition will be available for viewing at https://bestofneoconawards.secure-platform.com/a. More than 40 jurors – interior designers, architects, and facilities management professionals – will review the products over three days before NeoCon begins, and winners will be named at the Best of Neocon Award Winners’ Breakfast on Monday, June 11. Award recipients’ booths and showrooms will be flagged with Best of NeoCon Award signs during the show.
Other awards programs includeInterior Design’s HiP at NeoCon (Honoring Industry People and Innovative Products), the IIDA/Contract Magazine Showroom & Booth Design Competition, MetropolisLikes, and BUILDINGS magazine’s Product Innovations Awards.
The Mart has collaborated with a bunch of companies to plan a host of new first floor activations and special installations throughout the show floors. Special NeoCon exhibits and features at the Merchandise Mart this year include:
>ASID Experience, 1st Floor, West Pass-Thru. ASID is planning “an extraordinary interactive experience” for NeoCon 2018 attendees.
>BuzziLounge, 1st Floor, East Pass-Thru. This year’s “luxe reprieve” offered by BuzziSpace will feature BuzziMe Low, a new lounge seat encouraging intimate conversations. Attendees are invited to recharge and catch up on emails in this quiet oasis under a sea of BuzziJet and BuzziProp acoustic pendant lights.
>Design Center, Floors 6, 14, 15, 16. While focusing on home furnishings and interior design, the Design Center at theMART has many contract lines, some of which are fully customizable. More than 100 showrooms offer luxury furniture, fabrics, floor and wall coverings, lighting, outdoor and casual furnishings, accessories, art, and more. Learn more at www.designcenter.com.
>Emeco: 1 Inch Reclaimed by Jasper Morrison, 1st Floor, Center Pass-Through. In 1944 it was recycled aluminium. Today, there’s a lot more to reclaim. Emeco explores innovative ways to use consumer and industrial waste, along with environmentally responsible resources to create and build simple, timeless furniture that is made to last.
>Framery: Oasis of Happiness, 1st Floor, North Central Corridor. Framery joins NeoCon’s 50th edition celebration by launching its latest innovations in soundproof workspaces and meeting pods.
>GMi: Memory Lane, 10th Floor, Center Pass-Through. GMi Companies (Ghent, Waddell, and VividBoard) along with Trinity Furniture will present a tribute to NeoCon’s 50th edition on the 10th floor hallway next to showrooms 1060 and 1061. Attendees visiting the hallway can engage with a series of glassboards by sharing memorable moments from past NeoCon events, or simply relax in the lounge with industry friends.
>Herman Miller’s Family of Brands, 1st Floor, South Lobby. Featuring an inspirational, architectural installation as its centerpiece, Herman Miller will show how its family of brands is driving design to new frontiers with its wide variety of furnishings for an increasingly diverse floor plate.
>ID Live, Mezzanine Level, the Grand Staircase. For the third year, Interior Design will host ID Live, sponsored by Carnegie. Editor-in-Chief Cindy Allen will host designer guests at the Rockwell-designed ID Live studio. The interviews will stream on Interior Design’s Facebook page –https://www.facebook.com/InteriorDesignMagazine– and will be projected on the Grand Staircase.
>interiors+sources Materials Pavilion, 7th Floor, 7-1000. This is the destination for NeoCon attendees seeking more in the area of materials product, ideas, and inspiration. Hundreds of material samples are displayed side-by-side, with details on their origin, makeup and recommended applications. It is curated by the i+s editorial team and designed by the interiors+sources I Like Design student competition winner.
>Jabbrrbox, 2nd Floor, Next to Marshall’s Landing. Jabbrrbox will have an installation of their new JabbrrX, a cutting-edge IoT workbooth for the increasingly mobile workforce. Users may access the Jabbrrbox in 30 minute increments ($15/30 min), with a door passcode and WiFi password provided at the time of reservation.
>LuxeHome, 1st Floor. Many of the boutiques at LuxeHome, the world’s largest collection of premier boutiques for home building and renovation, will host special events during NeoCon. For more information, please visit http://www.luxehome.com/events/.
>Mannington, 1st Floor. Mannington is bringing a well-known artist in to do a hanging ceiling installation above the Starbucks escalator.
>Mohawk, 1st Floor, Kinzie/Wells Entrance. Details to be announced.
>Muraflex: Zitto, 1st Floor, North Lobby. Zitto is Muraflex’s newest design-savvy freestanding pod that provides an acoustically sound, structurally superior, and visually sharp space to think, meet, exchange and create. With a European touch, the company’s demountable glass partitions create a distinguished work environment.
>Snowsound Quiet Zones, 7th Floor, Pass-Throughs. Snowsound offers NeoCon attendees a moment of peace and quiet between the two main sections of the NeoCon Exhibit Hall on the 7th floor. These acoustic retreats are designed with Snowsound Panels & Acoustic Textiles to offer an architecturally inspired acoustic haven of tranquility.
Keynotes will be held at the new NeoCon Theater (19th Floor). For more information about registration and locations of other events listed above, please see below or visit www.neocon.com.
In addition, a list of special events hosted by NeoCon 2018 exhibitors will be updated weekly at https://n2a.goexposoftware.com/events/nc18/goExpo/exhibitor/listShowSpecials.php
Keynotes Speakers
Registration has already reached capacity and is closed for some keynote presentations, but attendees may view them all via live stream available on the Grand Stair off the South Lobby. Keynotes are not pre-approved for CEU credit; however, attendees may self-report to their respective industry associations. Attendees would need to retain a copy of their registration, as proof of attendance, as well as a description of the presentation.
>Monday, June 11, 8:00am Unanticipated Opportunities – A Conversation Between Art Gensler and Cheryl Durst, presented by Aspecta by Metroflor and IIDA. Arthur Gensler, Founder of Gensler, will sit down with Cheryl Durst, IIDA Executive Vice President and CEO, to share some of the unanticipated opportunities that have helped shape his career. [KE1]
>Monday, June 11, 2:00pm She Said, She Said: Extraordinary Women in Design. Interior Design Editor in Chief Cindy Allen shines a bright light on those who dared to enter the boys’ club of architecture and design, voicing their struggles and victories. Panelists include Robin Klehr Avia, Managing Principal, Gensler; Anda Andrei, President, Anda Andrei Design; and Gisue Hariri, Principal, Hariri & Hariri Architecture. [KE2]
>Tuesday, June 12, 8:00am The Wired Future with Nick Thompson, Wired Editor in Chief, presented by ASID. A veteran editor, Nicholas Thompson revolutionized The New Yorker’s online platform and transformed the magazine. Now, as the editor-in-chief of Wired, he’s working at the forefront of digital innovation—championing tech’s role in making the world a better place. [KE3]
>Wednesday, June 13, 9:30am Future Cities-Creating Livable Environments: Carol Ross Barney, presented by AIA Chicago. Honored with more than 100 design awards, Carol Ross Barney has been in the vanguard of civic space design since founding Ross Barney Architects in 1981. Her projects vary in type and scale but uphold a deep commitment to the role architecture plays in life quality. [KE4]
Special Events
>Saturday, June 9, 6:00-11:00pm DIFFA/Chicago Gala XXX, Modern Wing of the Art Institute Chicago, 159 East Monroe Street. The DIFFA/Chicago Gala is an evening dedicated to the cause of eradicating HIV/AIDS in our lifetime. This year, for the 30th Anniversary Edition of this important fundraising event, the theme is “SHRED AIDS!” https://diffachicago.org/event/E625705475
>Sunday June 10, 4:00pmContract Inspirations Awards Celebration, Tarkett Showroom, 3rd Floor, Suite 380. The Inspirations Awards recognize a commitment to social responsibility in commercial interior architecture and design: implementing design to improve the quality of life for those in need. Winners are recognized for work completed for clients that are a worthy cause. The clients, in turn, receive a generous grant from award sponsor Tarkett. https://www.contractdesign.com/competitions/inspirations-awards/
>Sunday, June 10, 5:00-6:00pm – Interior Design 2018 HiP Awards Ceremony,Grand Staircase of the South Lobby. Now in its 5th year, the HiP Awards at NeoCon Honors Industry People and Innovative Products. Doors open at 4:30pm. (Public Voting for product submissions will take place May 14-18.) Interior Design’s Giants Party will be held immediately following the Awards.
>Sunday, June 10, 6:00-8:00pm – Interior Design Giants Celebration, Grand Staircase of the South Lobby.
>Sunday, June 10,7:00-11:00pm IIDA COOL Awards Gala, The Ritz-Carlton Chicago, 160 East Pearson Street. COOL, the annul IIDA black-tie gala, will honor the winners of the 45th annual Interior Design Competition and the 26th annual Will Ching Design Competition. Prominent international interior designers and global design manufacturers will join IIDA for an evening of cocktails, dinner, and dancing to celebrate the award-winning design firms and their outstanding projects. http://www.iida.org/content.cfm/iida-cool-gala
>Monday, June 11, 7:30-8:30am 2018 Best of NeoCon Award Winners’ Breakfast,The Renaissance Hotel Ballroom, One West Wacker Drive. The Best of NeoCon 2018 award winners will be announced among industry peers on the opening morning of NeoCon. Now in its 29th year, the iconic competition honors the best new commercial interiors products in the industry, which are exhibited at NeoCon. Honors include Gold and Silver Awards, as well as Innovation Awards, Editors’ Choice Awards, and one Best of Competition Award. https://registration.experientevent.com/ShowNEA181
>Monday, June 11, 5:00-7:00pm Showroom Parties, Floors 3, 10, and 11. The momentum at NeoCon will be in full swing on Monday night with celebrations in NeoCon’s permanent showrooms at The Mart.
>Monday, June 11, 3:00-6:00pm IIDA NeoCon Party,IIDA Headquarters, 111 E. Wacker Drive, Suite 222. Industry colleagues are invited to join the IIDA International Board of Directors and headquarters staff for cocktails and hors d’oeuvres at the second annual IIDA NeoCon Party. RSVP required at https://iidaunveiled.splashthat.com/
>Tuesday, June 12,3:00-5:00pm Design Center Toast to Fine Design,Floors 6 and 14. NeoCon attendees are invited to enjoy a glass of bubbly, live music, hors d’oeuvres, and cocktails in the Design Center showrooms. Several special features will take place, including a book signing by Lori Weitzner. http://designcenter.com/event/design-center-at-neocon/
>Tuesday, June 12, 3:00-5:00pm – Exhibit Hall Party, Floor 7. The NeoCon energy and festivities move onto the 7th floor Exhibit Hall, where A&D professionals can enjoy afternoon cocktails, conversations, and connections while exploring hundreds of exhibitors from around the world.
>Tuesday, June 12, 5:00-8:00pm –The Future Is PARTY, The Mart South Drive. The NeoCon community will celebrate “50 Years of Tomorrow’s Design” and usher in the future at The Future Is PARTY, presented by Mohawk Group. Fresh summer food and drink, live musical performances, and other delights await in a designed environment spanning The Mart’s entire South Drive. Tickets are $50 with proceeds benefiting DIFFA/Chicago, available through NeoCon registration. http://neocon.martreg.com/
>Wednesday, June 13, 7:00-8:55am BIFMA Breakfast and Annual Membership Meeting,Holiday Inn Mart Plaza – Wolf Point Ball Room,350 W Mart Center Dr. Members of the Business and Institutional Furniture Manufacturers Association and invited guests are encouraged to attend the Association’s Annual Membership Meeting to hear the state-of-the-industry and state-of-the-association reports. http://www.bifma.org/
Student Activities
The Student Program is designed exclusively for interior design and architecture students. Students are also invited to register on-site for any one-hour CEU accredited program offered on Wednesday, June 13, at discounted a rate of $25, subject to availability. For more information and registration links, please visit www.neocon.com/programming/student-programs.
>Tuesday, June 12, 9:00am-5:00pm IIDA Student Design Charette (Charette is 9:00am-3:00pm; presentations and judging 3:00-5:00pm), 6th Floor, Suite 622. Sponsored by Herman Miller, school-nominated IIDA Student Members from around the country will compete in this live, onsite annual design competition during NeoCon. Students have less than six hours to determine a design solution, develop a presentation, and pitch their concept to a panel of esteemed judges. NeoCon attendees are encouraged to observe the students during the creative and presentation process. Winners will be announced at the Winners Reception on Wednesday, June 13. http://www.iida.org/content.cfm/student-design-charette
>Tuesday, June 12, 10:30am-Noon ASID Student Roadmap, ASID Lounge, 1st Floor, West Pass Through. A curated tour of NeoCon with professional designers who will help students navigate the show. Students will meet with tour leaders and be guided to pick up badges, navigate the show floors, and meet with exhibitors. [SP3]
>Wednesday, June 13, 10:30am-Noon IIDA Career Bootcamp™ Panel, 6th Floor, Suite 622. Students and recent graduates will learn from a panel of professionals about what it takes to succeed in interior design industry. [SP1]
>Wednesday, June 13, 1:00-2:30pm ASID Career Exchange, 6th Floor, Suite 622. Students and recent graduates are invited to connect with design professionals and industry representatives for one-on-one networking opportunities. Within 90 minutes, participants will engage in multiple ten minute conversations with reviewers to learn about the interior design profession, or to receive a resume or portfolio critique. [SP2]
Educational Seminars
Seminar sessions are priced at $60 each, if pre-registered by Friday, June 8, or $70 each if registered on-site, subject to availability. All are being reviewed for continuing education accreditation for 0.1 CEU or 1 LU each. Some will also qualify for GBCI hours toward the LEED Credential Maintenance Program; LEU credits for the Lighting Certified professional; or EDAC CEU credit for healthcare designers. The complete schedule, available at http://neocon.martreg.com/?sem, can be filtered online by topics of interest. One interesting new category is “Future of Design.” Here is our selection of some of the courses offered this year:
>Monday, June 11, 9:30-10:30am Case Study of the World’s First WELL v1 Platinum Project. [Intermediate] From Perkins+Will in Washington, DC, senior designer Haley Nelson, associate principal David Cordell, and design principal Ken Wilsonwill provide a roadmap for achieving WELL certification. This case study represents the first project in the world to achieve WELL v1 Platinum Certification. The speakers will describe the how the WELL Building Standard is structured, how the certification process works, and insights on how to prepare a successful certification submission. [M100]
>Monday, June 11, 9:30-10:30am The Invisible Rainbow. [Intermediate] Lighting professionals Lisa Reed from Envision Lighting Design in Lake St. Louis, MO and Carla Bukalskifrom Eaton Lighting Solutions in Oak Park, IL will show how their everyday work involves an invisible rainbow – one that reveals colors with every design. The presentation will begin with a science refresher about reflected vs. absorbed colors and then move into CIE Chromaticity charts and Spectral Power Distribution curves, laying the foundation for a better grasp of CCT, CRI, TM-30, and more. [M103]
>Monday, June 11, 11:00am-Noon Cultural Evolution: Choice and Beyond. [Advanced] Workspace design has migrated from universal, one-size-fits-all to variety and choice, but it needs to take this trend a step further, according to the presenters of this seminar. Amy Manley, national director of workplace strategies at Jacobs in Philadelphia;James Kerrigan, national design principal, interiors at Jacobs in Dallas; and Randall Whinnery, III, vice president, design at Fidelity Real Estate Co. in Boston will explore how organizations are striving to understand individual “personas” – not simply work profiles – to create environments that are responsive to business, cultural and worker needs. [M108]
>Monday, June 11, 11:00am-Noon Makerspaces: From Elementary Schools to Workplace Environments. [Basic] Once found primarily in schools of engineering, makerspaces are now a growing trend in all levels of educational facilities, including corporate campuses as well as public access environments. Stantec designers Gwen Morgan from Plano, TX; Gretchen Diesel from Houston; and Allison Schneider from Austin will highlight a variety of makerspaces across the country and share successful design strategies for these creative community spaces that offer a cross-pollination of disciplines. [M112]
>Monday, June 11, 1:00-2:00pm Beyond Green Walls: How Environments Utilizing Non-Rhythmic Sensory Stimulation Can Create Better Habitats for Humans. [Intermediate] Humans have evolved over thousands of years in environments that constantly change. This seminar will train attendees’ focus on many of our modern day-built environments, which are static and actually have the ability to harm us physically and mentally. Speakers David Gerson, Inscape vice president of marketing, and Bill Browning, principal at Terrapin Bright Green in NYC, will provide a scientific basis for the Attention Restoration Theory and provide examples of how this theory can help to create environments that better supports our innate, hard-wired inclinations to be restored by subtly changing environments. [M115]
>Monday, June 11, 1:00-2:00pm Data Based Placemaking. [Intermediate] Presented by Emily Dunn, Herman Miller workplace knowledge consultant, Performance Environments, in NYC, this session describes a process that uses a combination of cultural assessments and technology-driven space utilization to inform and influence possible workplace scenarios. The discussion will cover the tools, metrics, and methods for learning, planning, and evaluating future workplaces that address issues of utilization, innovation, and employee engagement. [M118]
>Monday, June 11, 2:30-3:30pm Many Lenses, One Goal: Integrating Sustainability, Wellness, and Resilience.[Intermediate] Stemming from the concept that planetary health is directly connected to human health, this session explores the synergies in third-party certification programs. Jon Penndorf, senior associate at Perkins+Will in Washington, DC, will show how elements of each can be incorporated into projects of all scales to improve occupant and community health. He will also talk about risks associated with climate change and resilience and how they influence occupant health and well-being. [M122]
>Monday, June 11, 2:30-3:30pm Mid-century Modern Building Performance and Improvement Strategies. [Intermediate] While some MCM buildings are celebrated as unique designs, many are branded as dated-looking, energy hogs. In this session, whole-building energy strategies will be evaluated, along with a parametric energy model of an MCM commercial office building. From Thornton Tomasetti in Chicago, speaker Rachel Michelin will use this case study to evaluate various building performance improvement strategies, concentrating on its impact on payback period, occupant comfort, and aesthetics. [M125]
>Monday, June 11, 2:30-3:30pm Fit Environments: Envisioning Everyday Spaces for Bodies in Motion. [Basic] Fit environments encourage, integrate, and empower physical mobility and cognitive agility. This seminar, presented by Casey Cline, landscape architectural designer, and Jim Thompson, partner and director of design, at Little Diversified Architectural Consulting in Charlotte, NC, will show how the design of physical space and the space between buildings can help to increase human creativity, cognitive ability, health, wellness, and productivity. [M126]
>Monday, June 11, 4:00-5:00pm A Quiver of Strategy Tools.This is the latest offering of insights from the partnership between Dean Strombom, principal at Gensler in Houston, and Sven Govaars, formerly with Gensler but now principal at Steelcase Applied Research + Consulting in San Francisco. In this seminar, they will demonstrate how designers can “fully load their quivers” to establish a clear design strategy. Specifically, they will review tools used in SMART Workshops to rapidly surface, evaluate, and implement initiatives, leading to effective results. [M128]
>Monday, June 11, 4:00-5:00pm Five Trends Influencing the Next 10 Years of Healthcare Facility Design.[Intermediate] Healthcare design consultant Sara Marberry of Evanston, IL will address how retail clinics, mHealth and home healthcare are making society rethink how and where it gets care; how Boomers, Millennials, and Gen-Xers all have different needs and wants; and other big trends in healthcare facility design. [M130]
>Monday, June 11, 4:00-5:00pm An Architectural Firm Takes the Plunge – Scientific Research Into Business Practice.[Advanced] Architectural clients are demanding more proof before they engage in innovative designs. With the ultimate goal of making measurable differences, this seminar will investigate how one firm invested in scientific research to generate a strategy and then successfully implemented it. Attendees will gather in small groups in order to list potential ROI benefits, and then share them with the whole group. Presenters are Lennie Scott-Webber, owner and principal at INSyNC Education Research + Design in Fort Myers, FL; and Jim French, global sector leader at DLR Group in Overland Park, KS. [M133]
>Tuesday, June 12, 9:30-10:30am Branding: How to Create A Cult-like Following. [Advanced] Lauren Rottet, founding principal of Rottet Studio in Houston, will outline a winning approach to branding, focusing on the particulars by first creating the big-picture architectural concept. From this layered concept, she will illustrate how to design everything from custom furniture, rugs, wall coverings, lighting, accessories, art, and even the uniforms and food service style. [T200]
>Tuesday, June 12, 9:30-10:30am Moving Beyond Open Plan. [Intermediate] From HOK in St. Louis, MO, director of workplace Kay Sargent and director of interiors Betsy Nurse will talk about how to determine the right solutions to meet the needs of an increasingly mobile workforce while avoiding the homogenization of pre-packaged co-working solutions. They will show how immersive environments can create tailored spaces combining lessons from work spaces including open plan, co-working, ABW, NCE and MEMO. [T201]
>Tuesday, June 12, 9:30-10:30am Creative Engagement for Successful Workplace Planning and Programming.[Intermediate] This session will zero in on tactics that join project teams, client stakeholders, and end-users to cultivate a collective sense of purpose, resulting in improved outcomes for offices, labs and other workplaces. It will include discussion of a case study, a medical school’s restructuring of two departments, that can help designers develop a template for successful client engagement. Presenters are Lynn Brotman, interior designer at Svigals+Partners in New Haven, CT, and Robynne Orr, planner at Yale University in New Haven. [T204]
>Tuesday, June 12, 11:00am-Noon The True Measure of a Space is How it Makes Us Feel. [Intermediate] Presented by Dr. Sally Augustinof Design With Science in La Grange Park, IL; Primo Orpilla of Studio O+A in San Francisco; and Collin Burry of Gensler San Francisco, this workshop will investigate the various ways that every element of interior design – the shape of the space, the color of walls and the arrangement of furniture – is laden with messages. Each element speaks to certain values, and each one gives cues for behavior. Taken together, they suggest and invite a way of working, learning or socializing. The session will also look to the future, exploring how offices designed over the next ten years will continue trends toward individual empowerment and add to them the force multiplier of predictive technology. [T207]
>Tuesday, June 12, 11:00am-Noon LEEDing and Living WELL in Chicago: A Case Study in Delivering a High-Performance Workplace. [Intermediate] It is a whole new world in sustainability with the changes to LEED v4 and the introduction of the WELL Building Standard. Lida Lewis, director of wellbeing design at HKS in Washington, DC; Julie Hutchinson, interior designer at HKS in Chicago; and Dr. Thomas Zakrzewski, director of integrative energy engineering at HKS in Chicago, will share how they took this challenge head on, and decided to apply both at once for their firm. [T208]
>Tuesday, June 12, 11:00am-Noon Experience-Driven Life: Designing Experiences That Matter. [Advanced] From Gensler in Chicago, design director and principal Brian Vitale, senior brand strategist John Gass, and senior strategist Tom Mulhern will share a research-driven strategic approach that enables designers to think more deeply about experiences. What are the universal drivers of great experience? How do we evaluate the opportunity for design to create experiences that enhance living? Participants will first be briefed on this design firm’s approach and strategic toolsets and then be led though an immersive exercise that applies this knowledge to a set of real-world scenarios. [T210]
>Tuesday, June 12, 11:00am-Noon Blurring the Lines and Transcending Boundaries in Corporate Real Estate.[Intermediate] In this session focused on facility management, SmithGroup JJR vice president and studio leader Mark Adams from Phoenix, with principal and workplace strategist Arnold Craig Levin from Washington, DC, will look at trends such as co-working and expectations for employee amenities and alternative workspaces, and how those trends impact corporate real estate strategies. [T211]
>Tuesday, June 12, 11:00am-Noon Bleisure Trending: Impacts on Work and Travel Space.[Intermediate]John Trosino, design strategist at Jacobs in Philadelphia, looks at how this workforce generation is disrupting perceptions of business and leisure, and of travel. Workplaces and travel spaces are evolving and blurring, and given that engagement and loyalty are now equally valued in the worlds of work and travel, understanding the parallels and reciprocating nature of these has become a design imperative. [T212]
>Tuesday, June 12, 1:00-2:00pm Future Trends: The Connecting Circle of Color.[Intermediate] From down-to-earth utility shades, to those hues that radiate intensity, colors for AW 19/20 are generating multi-dimensional visual perspectives, according to Pantone color specialist and executive director Leatrice Eiseman. This seminar will help attendees discover personalized mixtures and usages for the forecasted colors that provide “a circle of completion and connection” for the contract industry. [T214]
>Tuesday, June 12, 1:00-2:00pm Everywhere Has a Why: Human-Centered Design for Today’s Tech-Enabled Worker.[Intermediate] Although technology has given us the freedom to work from almost anywhere, many employees still desire a strong sense of place. IIDA executive vice president and CEO Cheryl Durst, Allsteel vice president of design and workplace resources Jan Johnson, and Gensler principal Todd Heiser will discuss how workplace designers are creating spaces, both low- and high-tech; the intersection of people, place, purpose; and the designer’s key role in creating spaces that take human-centered design to a new level. [T215]
>Tuesday, June 12, 2:30-3:30pm Corporate Coworking as Innovation Driver. [Intermediate] Gabor Nagy, research program manager for Haworth in San Francisco, will illustrate how corporations can successfully adopt the coworking approach. The presentation will reveal an investigation focused on the success stories of and lessons learned from 15 companies globally that have built their own coworking spaces. It will also address four main paradoxes that are shaping our thinking about the workplace today. [T221]
>Tuesday, June 12, 2:30-3:30pm Fitwel: A New High-Impact, Cost-Effective Certification for Healthy Buildings and Interiors.[Advanced] This seminar will examine the Fitwel Certification System, a low-cost and user-friendly system offers strategies to develop, design and maintain health-promoting environments across multi-tenant and single-tenant buildings as well as commercial interiors. Presenters are Joan Blumenfeld, principal at Perkins+Will in NYC, James Brewer, workplace strategist at Steelcase in NYC, and Joanna Frank, president and CEO of the Center for Active Design in NYC. [T222]
>Tuesday, June 12, 2:30-3:30pm Culturally Specific Office Design: Insights From Airbnb. [Basic] Airbnb has more than 25 international offices and a growing global presence. Rebecca Ruggles, Lead Interior Designer for Airbnb in San Francisco, will present case studies from North America, Europe, and Asia to illustrate how some elements of human nature and design psychology are universal and some are more culturally specific. [T227]
>Tuesday, June 12, 4:00-5:00pm Biophilic Design: What Interior Designers Need to Know to Implement It with Compelling Case Studies. [Intermediate] We can use the emerging field of biophilic design to create building interiors that connect people to nature. Presented by Teknion director of sustainable programs Tracy Backus and International Living Future Institute CEO Amanda Sturgeon, this seminar will explore clear and compelling case studies of built projects that illustrate biophilic design strategies in interior spaces. [T229]
>Tuesday, June 12, 4:00-5:00pm Expanding Our Perception, Preparing for Exponential Innovation: Designing for Singularity. [Intermediate] This session will explore Ray Kerzweil’s concept of singularity, in which exponential and ever-accelerating innovations in technology blend humans and computers into an infinitely smarter, faster, more effective and creative world. From Little Diversified in Charlotte, NC, speakers Thomas Eliaeson, design director/community, and Jim Thompson, design director/interior environments will look at how nanotech, artificial intelligence, the Internet of Things, machine learning, and other innovations will transform the future of design. [T232]
>Wednesday, June 13,8:00-9:00am Diggin’ The Gig Economy. [Intermediate] In this seminar, attendees will discover how the gig economy represents more than a trend that will quickly fade. The speakers – Mary Lee Duff, principal and director of workplace strategy at IA Interior Architects in San Francisco, and Mary Clare Garrity, senior workplace strategist at IA Interior Architects in Los Angeles – will lay out this new economic landscape and discuss how it will influence the use, design and finances of workspace. [W306]
>Wednesday, June 13,11:00am-Noon With Creativity in Mind: Applying Design Psychology to Innovation-Driven Environments. [Intermediate] Architect Donald M. Rattner from Cos Cob, CT will introduce the fundamentals of environmental psychology, as well as how they can be leveraged to maximize idea generation within interior space. The session will cover a range of topics such as color, lighting, sound, temperature, furniture and fixtures, wall and floor finishes, and space planning. [W313]
>Wednesday, June 13,11:00am-Noon Who Benefits From Coworking? Trends and Challenges. [Intermediate] This presentation will concentrate on the ways that geographic location, spatial layout, amenities and management contribute to the success or failure of coworking space. Based on research about global coworking practices, demographics, personalities of coworkers and the challenges both of, and to, the local environment; it will offer recommendations to enable designers, facility managers, and developers to create and deliver successful environments. Presenters are Dr. Caren Martin, principal at Martin & Guerin Design Research, LLC. in Minneapolis, and Maureen Monhollen, interior designer at the University of Minnesota. [W314]
>Wednesday, June 13,11:00am-Noon Navigating the Path to a Well Workforce. [Intermediate] Presented by Dr. Michael O’Neill, lead, global workplace research and strategy at Haworth in Holland, MI, and Rex Miller of Go Mindshift LLC in North Richards Hills, TX, this seminar will discuss how to shift our efforts to develop a sustainable state of well-being that includes physical health, meaningful work and a high-performing workforce. They will present results of a two-year Well Mindshift research project involving more than 100 corporate leaders that revealed four elements essential to shifting collective behavior. [W315]
>Wednesday, June 13,11:00am-Noon The Perfect Chair: Design Industry Perspectives on Merging Form, Function, and Style. [Intermediate] This session promises a lively discussion through the creative lens of a distinguished panel of industry leaders about the quest for the perfect chair and how the chairs we choose define the spaces in which we live. Panelists include Richard Townsend, executive director of Driehaus Museum in Chicago,Tom Stringer, founder and president of Tom Stringer Design Partners in Chicago, Amy Auscherman, corporate archivist of Herman Miller in Zeeland, MI, and Vivian Beer, furniture designer/maker at Vivian Beer Studio in Manchester, NH. [W317]
>Wednesday, June 13,11:00am-Noon Room Acoustics: How They Contribute to Create Happier and Healthier Workspaces.[Intermediate] Daniel Verlooven, global acoustic ambassador at BuzziSpace in High Point, NC, will look at acoustics from an evolutionary and historical perspective to show why both psychological and physical boundaries prevent workers to collaborate and feel happy in an open space environment. This seminar will provide clear insights and working tools to define how much sound is needed to balance any given space, and show why acoustics should be fully integrated in any well-being and health regulation program. [W319]
>Wednesday, June 13,1:00-2:00pm Converting Legacy Buildings to Meet Modern Workplace Needs. [Advanced] If 1980s buildings struggle to attract new tenants, should they be renovated, redeveloped or razed? Amidst a myriad of issues — financing, programming needs, public opinion and more — this session will explore repurposing underperforming real estate using design concepts that are more affordable and sustainable than building ground-up, one floor at a time. Presenters are Brigitte Preston, co-owner and principal of design of lauckgroup in Dallas, and Julie Gauthier, associate principal and director at lauckgroup in Houston. [W320]
>Wednesday, June 13, 1:00-2:00pm Act Local: Maker Culture and the Design Professions. [Intermediate] This seminar will chart the rise of Maker Culture as it reflects a renewed interest in authenticity that comes from a connection between maker and consumer. As the influence of this novel culture continues to grow from the classroom to the marketplace, to the workplace, the response from architects and designers has the potential for significant social, environmental and local economic impact on the communities they serve. Attendees will also learn about the process for working with artisans and makers as integrated members of a project team that bridge roles of design and construction/fabrication. Presenter is David Euscher, vice president / interiors studio leader at Corgan in Houston.