NeoCon East 2017 Announces Diverse & Timely Seminar Lineup
Education and professional development are fundamental components of NeoCon® East, the Northeast’s premier commercial interiors design expo and conference, held this November 15-16 in Philadelphia. Together with market-ready solutions from hundreds of top companies across sectors, plus valuable networking opportunities, this year’s conference program will round out a comprehensive NeoCon East experience. The rich multi-disciplinary lineup includes 25+ CEUs that offer insight into what’s next in workplace, healthcare, hospitality, government, education, and beyond.
Monica DeBartolo, Director of Programming, says, “Our aim for the NeoCon East educational offering is to inform, spark conversation, and provide professionals across disciplines a way to effectively and efficiently earn valuable CEU credits in just two days. The 2017 assortment caters to varying levels of practice and covers everything from the application of psychology to built projects and architecting ecosystems that inspire innovation, to exploring livable space efficiency and best practices in designing for the federal government. Anchoring this program will be our exceptional keynote speakers: Suzette Subance Ferrier, IIDA (Design Director, TPG Architecture), Zena Howard, AIA, LEED AP (Managing Director, Perkins+Will, North Carolina Practice), David Insinga, AIA (Chief Architect, General Services Administration’s Public Building Service), and Alex Gilliam (Founder, Public Workshop).”
A few of the seminars are highlighted below. The full list of seminars is available online. Seminars are $40 each when attendees register online before November 10. After November 10, all registration for seminars is on-site, subject to availability, at a fee of $50 each. Special discounts are available for students and government employees. Check online for details.
WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 15
WITH CREATIVITY IN MIND: APPLYING DESIGN PSYCHOLOGY TO INNOVATION-DRIVEN ENVIRONMENTS 8:00 AM – 9:00 AM
Knowing designers have witnessed a telling upswing in one client value: many clients are now demanding creative and innovative environments across a wide range of for-profit and non-profit markets. To satisfy this new demand, designers have come to rely on a recent wealth of scientific data concerning the ways that the environment affects creative thinking and problem-solving. No matter the design discipline, employing this data will help build better client relationships. The discussion will also emphasize the importance of environmental psychology, particularly as it relates to color, lighting, sound, temperature, furniture and fixtures, wall and floor finishes, space planning, and plantscaping. This interactive seminar will focus on how to acknowledge the role of environmental psychology; how best to apply creative principles to a range of building environments; how to evaluate the effectiveness of environments in order to boost creativity; and how to select the strongest source materials for creativity.
❏ Donald Rattner, AIA, principal, Donald M. Rattner, AIA Architect, Cos Cob, CT
ARE HEADPHONES REALLY THE ANSWER?
9:30 AM – 10:30 AM
As dynamic, open-plan office environments have become the norm, their one drawback has become clear – acoustic distraction and lack of acoustic privacy. The zeal for creating collaborative and innovation-driving workplaces has made it increasingly difficult for workers to focus and actually get work done! This seminar provides an overview of today’s workplace trends, together with space-planning and acoustic solutions that can mitigate distraction and increase both employee satisfaction and productivity. Attendees will discover how to design a “soundscape” appropriate for a space; understand the science behind distraction, as well as how different generations and personality types respond and react; and leave with a variety of specific design solutions to address or avoid distraction in the workplace.
❏ Sarah Springer, IIDA, LEED AP, design principal, interiors, Jacobs, Cambridge, MA
THE SHOWCASE FIT-OUT: CREATING A HEALTHY, SUSTAINABLE WORKPLACE
1:00 PM – 2:00 PM
This seminar provides answers to a crucial question many designers are asking: how reasonable it is to design a workplace that is both LEED and WELL certified? Attendees will uncover answers through a specific case study, one that addresses all the crucial phases of this project, including pre-planning charrettes, collaborative design strategies, product specifications and post-occupancy evaluation. By the end of the presentation, attendees will gain a firm understanding of the following: how critical the integrated design process is to achieving sustainability and wellness goals; the comparison between LEED and WELL certification requirements; an understanding of all phases of a LEED/WELL project, including material and product specifications; and comprehension of the quantifiable benefits of a completed LEED and WELL fit-out.
❏ Mark Walsh-Cooke, PE, LEED AP BD+C, principal, Arup, Boston, MA
❏ Jen Taylor, LEED GA, senior project manager, Dyer Brown Associates, Boston, MA
❏ Rebecca Hatchadorian, LEED AP BD+C, associate – sustainability, Arup, Boston, MA
DESIGN STRATEGIES IN FEDERAL GOVERNMENT
1:00 PM – 2:00 PM
Today federal agencies are challenged in unprecedented ways to reduce their real estate portfolio. GSA supports their efforts in many ways by providing assistance and/or funding for design, furniture, and technology. GSA also provides consultation in portfolio planning, national engagements and change management. A group of design panelists from GSA and other agencies will share their experiences.
❏ Dianne Juba, Workplace Strategist, GSA HQ, Washington, DC
THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 16
CREATIVE DISRUPTION: DESIGNING ECOSYSTEMS THAT INSPIRE INNOVATION
8:00 AM – 9:00 AM
Integration and competition have spurred the trio of collaboration, social interaction and experimentation. As a result, they’ve bred demand for designs that encourage creative disruption, both in academic and workplace environments. Yet creative disruption doesn’t happen in isolated spaces such as makerspaces and iLabs. It requires an ecosystem of diverse spaces tailored to a range of working and learning styles. While the culture of each company or institution helps determine such spaces, the crucial point is that such spaces demand variety for creative disruption and innovation to flourish. At the seminar’s conclusion, participants should be able to identify the experiential skills needed for success in education and employment, as they explore the space types that develop these skills; discover the diversity of space types and identify how combinations form holistic ecosystems and inspire creative disruption; evaluate how space design, furniture and technology impact the success of these ecosystems; and identify the measurable benefits of ecosystem design in diverse spaces, through post-occupancy evaluations and other metrics.
❏ Lois Goodell, IIDA, principal, CBT, Boston, MA
❏ Theodora Batchvarova, RID, LEED AP BD +C, GPRO CM, interior designer, CBT, Boston, MA
LIVABLE SPACE EFFICIENCY: HOW DENSE IS TOO DENSE?
9:30 AM – 10:30 AM
As the limits for livable, useful office space are approached, at what point does an increasing density cause decline in user engagement and performance? What are the human factors to consider for fully effective and efficient space? This session addresses these questions and more through the presentation of environment-behavior research to highlight the psychological and social effects of office-space density and the implications for human health, performance, and organizational culture. Attendees will understand current design and space trends towards densification and the challenges for effective design, livability and space management. They’ll also learn how to use benchmarking metrics and discover how human factors affect organizational health and performance.
❏ Ellen Keable, Associate AIA, principal, Jacobs, Amherst, NY
❏ Amy Manley, IIDA, national director, workplace strategy, Jacobs, Philadelphia, PA
MARRYING PAST, PRESENT, AND FUTURE: USING DESIGN, DETAILING, AND MATERIALS TO CREATE THE MODERN OFFICE IN A TAX-CREDIT PROJECT
2:30 PM – 3:30 PM
Here was the designer’s challenge: turn a former boiler factory into an office, while preserving the former space’s history. This seminar will probe this transformational case study to demonstrate how to balance the client’s needs for an open and energetic workplace with historic preservation. The efficacy of pairing contemporary office trends, such as open bench seating and demountable glass systems, will be investigated in line with preservation goals. Design strategies that ensure both financial and aesthetic benefits will be evaluated. Complying with national tax credit programs helps promote these benefits, as well as providing designers the opportunity to make fine designs, while preserving historic fabric. At seminar’s end, attendees will understand the following vital concepts: how to identify key historic preservation features and develop strategies for conservation; how to create spaces that take advantage of natural light while lacking access to perimeter glass; how to minimize altering existing historic fabric, including designing new work that can be removed in the future; and how to understand client needs and adapting the program to complex conditions.
❏ Will Teass, AIA, IIDA, LEED AP, principal, Teass/Warren Architects, Washington, DC
❏ Emily Eig, principal, EHT Traceries, Inc., Washington, DC
USE EVERY INCH IN EDUCATIONAL ENVIRONMENTS! 2:30 PM – 3:30 PM
By definition and nature, educational environments tend to be large. But if only such large, known spaces are allowed into our collective thinking, a design opportunity is overlooked. What about spaces beyond the classroom, and what about underused and neglected spaces? Wouldn’t these spaces allow for more student learning and creativity? Attendees will learn to identify underutilized spaces and to maximize the use of both existing and new environments. The talk will also investigate campus trends in classroom and beyond-classroom uses. In doing so, selecting furnishings appropriate for varying spaces will be covered.
❏ Daniela Voith, FAIA, LEED AP BD+C, principal, Voith & Mactavish Architects, Philadelphia, PA
❏ Sennah Loftus, LEED AP, senior associate, Voith & Mactavish Architects, Philadelphia, PA
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NeoCon® East is a registered trademark of theMART, a Vornado Property.
TheMART is owned by New York-based Vornado Realty Trust, a fully integrated, publicly traded, real estate investment trust (REIT) and one of the largest owners and managers of commercial real estate in the United States with a portfolio of over 45 million SF.
