[adrotate banner=”86″]
JULY-AUGUST 2019
Mass timber in healthcare facility design
Designing for children’s hospitals
Door codes 101
Living walls
2020 in paint color
A healthy future for mass timber in medical facilities
by Lanny Flynn, Principal, Buildings Engineering, Stantec
Doors and codes 101: Specifying the right rolling door or grille
Siva Davuluri, vice president of marketing at CornellCookson
Interior designers grow company talent with living green wall branding and biophilia
by Hal Thorne, Chairman and CEO of GSky Plant Systems, Inc.
Can a kids’ healthcare space teach, entertain, and heal?
by Iva Radikova, Associate/Senior Interior Designer and Olivera Sipka, Senior Associate
[adrotate banner=”82″]
FEATURED
PROJECTS
[adrotate banner=”83″]
In Every Edition
[adrotate banner=”85″]
A healthy future for mass timber in medical facilities
by Lanny Flynn, Principal, Buildings Engineering, Stantec
The healing properties of natural materials aren’t the only benefit of building with wood
Healthcare designers searching for ways to reinforce a connection between humans and nature should look toward adopting the much-advanced technology of engineered mass timber for use in healthcare environments. Specifically, they should look to wood for the construction on the facilities’ structural frame, floors, and walls. Visually exposing mass timber elements could lead to better outcomes for patients.
Nature’s healing effects
Science tells us that humans derive psychological and physiological benefits from our relationship with nature. Following on research by Roger Ulrich on the benefits of a window view in surgery recovery, researchers have looked at natural materials, views of nature and their healing effects. David Robert Fell’s 2010 experiments showed that wood interiors have stress-reducing properties.
Doors and codes 101: Specifying the right rolling door or grille
by Siva Davuluri, vice president of marketing at CornellCookson
Specifications are an essential part of the design process, but not the most glamorous. It was said by Charles Eames that “the details are not the details, they make the design.” If the specification is unclear or lacking detail, it will often result in the wrong product being installed. In the case of high-performance rolling doors and grilles, this can cost a company both time and money.
When specifying rolling doors and grilles, there is additional pressure to select products that balance form and function while meeting a litany of stringent building codes. From saving lives during a tornado to halting the spread of smoke during a fire to meeting ADA requirements for parking facilities, the right closure solution plays a critical role in the success, and legality, of a building’s design and usage.
In order to emphasize the magnitude of selecting the right closure systems, we’ve highlighted several codes and requirements driving specifications in the rolling door and grille market. Continue reading
Coil Anodized Aluminum finishing on the Residences at Pacific City, Huntington Beach, Calif. Photo courtesy of Lorin Industries, Inc.
Interior designers grow company talent with living green wall branding and biophilia
by Hal Thorne, Chairman and CEO of GSky Plant Systems, Inc.
Competition for employees is fierce. As the labor market tightens toward full employment, companies continue to develop new and innovative ways to attract and retain top talent.[1] Two major tools are branding, the values and aesthetics that set companies apart from their competitors, and employee experience, the day-to-day amenities and aesthetics of the workplace. Interior designers for some companies are adopting a solution that boosts workplace allure on both counts and energizes spaces: living green walls.
Attracting Millennial Employees with Green Branding
For many organizations, adapting to the demands of the information economy is a priority, and the talent pool skews younger for digitally savvy professionals. As a result, many companies are updating branding and experience to satisfy Millennial tastes. So, are there any discernible trends in the generation’s preferences? According to a National Gardening survey, 5 of every 6 Americans to take up gardening in a year were between 18 and 34 years old.[2] When making purchasing decisions, nearly three-out-of-four Millennials are most willing to pay extra for sustainable offerings.[3] Seventy-six percent of Millennials consider a company’s social and environmental commitments before deciding where to work.[4] In a word, Millennial taste is green.
The atrium of email marketing firm AWeber Communications Pennsylvania headquarters includes a GSky® Versa Wall® and two slides that staff use to destress. Courtesy of GSky Plant Systems, Inc.
For our design, we needed to include a staircase that incorporated a large landing, since kids with mobility issues require a space to rest. So, we came up with a treehouse concept, which can be seen at the top left of this image. Courtesy of Stantec
Can a kids’ healthcare space teach, entertain, and heal?
by Iva Radikova, Associate/Senior Interior Designer and Olivera Sipka, Senior Associate
Standard building requirements don’t have to be boring – here’s how you can inject whimsical touches into everyday design features
Sometimes a building isn’t just a building. Occasionally, a building invites you to interact with it, injecting a moment of levity in your visit to a museum, gym, school, office, or hospital. And who appreciates those whimsical touches the most? Children. We brought this idea to our work on three new treatment centers for ErinoakKids, an organization that provides treatment, rehabilitation, and support services to children with a wide range of physical and developmental disabilities, communication disorders, and autism.
Our design at ErinoakKids focused on three pillars: play, achievement, and memory. We strove to infuse the buildings with elements of these pillars to engage ErinoakKids’ young clients.
Color in balance: A look at design in 2020
Sherwin-Williams announces its annual Colormix® Forecast, a collection of 45 hues that bring joy, serenity and focus to the mind, body and spirit. Sherwin-Williams states this year’s standout hues are expressed through five inspirational and balanced color collections that warmly welcome a new decade in home and commercial design: Alive, Mantra, Play, Haven and Heart.
Using trending colors and innovative design to enhance the healthcare experience
Dee Schlotter, PPG senior color marketing manager, architectural coatings, shares her insights and expertise on colors and design shaping healthcare design trends, “Using color schemes that promote healing, such as bright to mid-tone greens and blues, and incorporating biophilic design, like roof top gardens or an interior courtyard, is believed to accelerate healing, reduce stress and promote a general feeling of wellbeing, as well as improve clinical and operational outcome.”
Find ease, restfulness with PPG brand’s 2020 Color of the Year: Chinese Porcelain
In a world where sleep is viewed as a luxury and the anxiety of a fast-paced life is all too real, it is only fitting that PPG paint brand’s 2020 Color of the Year, Chinese Porcelain (PPG1160-6), offers escapism in today’s technologically driven society. Hand-selected by PPG’s global color experts, the shade is a blend of cobalt and moody ink blue that imparts calmness and restful sleep while also offering the spirit of hopefulness – a precious commodity in a restless world.
Behr Paint reveals 2020 Color Trends palette, forecasting revitalizing appeal across the globe
“Each color in the 2020 Color Trends palette evokes an organic beauty that resonates with both modern and traditional commercial environments, from renovated industrial office spaces to hospitality venues,” says Erika Woelfel, Vice President of Color and Creative Services at Behr Paint Company. “As residential and commercial design trends continue to blend, this eclectic palette of balanced neutrals, earthy greens, lavish oranges and more will offer professional designers and DIYers an opportunity to transform spaces into experiences that not only enhance the aesthetic of an environment, but impact how people feel.”