IIDA Perspective - Fall/Winter 2011 - 38

studio o+A principal Primo orpilla, Associate IIDA, would agree. He calls the contemporary office a “free-range work environment.” In addition to microsoft’s building 4, the firm also recently completed AoL’s new headquarters, which supports a variety of work, collaboration, and meeting options, all of which flow into each other in an open plan. not surprisingly, the conference rooms are equipped with the latest in video-conferencing technology and electronic whiteboards. but whiteboard surfaces are found along the public hallways too, since, “you could be walking to the lunchroom when you have an innovative thought or conversation, so you scribble on the whiteboard wall, then take a picture of it with your phone,” notes orpilla. The melding of online and offline, and the resulting notion that work can occur across a spectrum of places, is reshaping education design too. With Wi-Fi permeating campus spaces, education and study are no longer limited to libraries and classrooms. Herman miller conducted a survey in February 2011 on active communal places, such as cafés and lounges, where learning and social activities integral to learning are happening. survey input from education planners and designers on the features of these smallgroup spaces, termed “hubs” by the company, revealed: Collaboration is the main driver of hub zones; flexibility of furnishings is a primary requirement; and a majority feels hubs should be designed for less than 10 people. Herman miller concludes, “These deliberately crafted indoor collaborative spaces are emerging as key learning centers on 21st-century campuses across the country.”

flexible mixture of work, play, and socializing is fueling hospitality design as well. Art gensler, FIIDA, FAIA, gensler’s founder, notes, “A hotel lobby used to be just the reception and concierge desks. now it’s a social hub, with Internet, food, and drinks at any time.” restaurants are inherently social places, but the design of Tashan, a new Indian tapas restaurant in Philadelphia, emphasizes flexibility and variety in a way reflective of larger trends. “What’s really important in restaurant design now is there’s not one huge monumental space. Instead you have various highly-specific created atmospheres so people can find their own kind of space,” says Winka Dubbeldam, principal of new york-based Archi-Tectonics, which designed Tashan. so while an open kitchen is a key attraction, Archi-Tectonics created a range of areas, all obliquely connected, as well as employed rich textures and custom-crafted furnishings, in anticipation of different customer temperaments. Perforated wood screens gently delineate the lounge. A higher ceiling defines the main dining room, but perimeter booths upholstered in black leather temper the airiness, instilling mystery and intimacy. Adjacent to the kitchen, a 24-foot-long communal table surrounded by a mix of seating

“the different zones instigate different speeds of being there.”
—Winka Dubbeldam, principal, Archi-Tectonics

Tashan’s communal table, informally situated next to the open kitchen, seats different-size groups together.
Photography: Don Pearse Photographers

The private dinning room can be an extension of the main space or more intimate with its padded-leather doors closed.

perspective

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of IIDA Perspective - Fall/Winter 2011