Community dialog and NeoCon 2021
Voices from the NeoCon Community
As we gear up to reunite physically this fall, we wanted to share recent content from notable members of our community who offer important insight, ideas and opportunities for how the design industry can respond to a changing world.Take a read through these articles and more and start planning for face-to-face community dialog when we gather for NeoCon 2021, October 4-6, in Chicago.
Why Mindful Design Matters
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 For too long, many have held on to outdated notions that sustainable materials are too expensive or that it is too time-consuming to do the research.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 might be that …
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Designing for a Digital World (or a space-time journey!)
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. I 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 …
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“Office Sweet Office”: How a New Era of Workplace Amenities Is Paving the Way to Wellness, Collaboration, and Community
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 …
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How COVID-19 Can Change the Conversation about Sustainability
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 …
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Return of the Workplace
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 …
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A number of measures and protocols will be in place to address any necessary city, state or CDC guidelines in October and to provide everyone with a high level of comfort attending NeoCon 2021.
Visit the Planning Page for details →
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