Why a Resolved Matters.

SKB AND DESIGN Joseph Boyette, AIA, is a senior design architect at SKB Architecture and Design (SKB). He has over 13 years of experience working as an architect in the Mid-Atlantic region designing base building, mod- ernization, mixed use, historic preservation, interi- or, and building envelope projects.

Mr. Boyette has taught architecture studios at The Catholic University of America, University of Mary- land, and the University of Texas. He continues to sit on reviews at a number of local universities.

S K B A R C H I T E C T U R E A N D D E S I G N UNIFIED WORKPLACE DESIGN Branding is the defined personality of a product, service, company, organization or individual. Many folks confuse A clear and unified architectural design contributes to “having a logo” for an ongoing branding process, but in the coherent mission of a workplace. A meaningful de- fact a good logo is an extension of a defined identity…Like sign, rooted in the identity of the firm, indicates longevity, an artist finding his or her voice the goal of a branding which builds confidence and trust. It can be a source of process should be to always frame in a concise way what satisfaction and pride within the firm, and it should be part makes your endeavor unique; and then apply that mes- of a larger narrative that effects the perception of the firm, sage to each medium. – Michael Pinto, Brand Strategist both internally and externally. Branding and the image of a firm As offices move from a traditional structure of cubicles and We can see from the definitions above that Branding is closed offices, to a structure of open collaborative work- the overall plan by which a firm positions itself in the mar- spaces, unified workplace design is being replaced by inde- ketplace. It is the way a firm defines itself. It is the way in pendent design elements that lack a cohesive underlying which a firm differentiates itself. It is the method by which design idea. a firm attracts and retains loyal customers.

This paper will attempt to illuminate how unified office- de Branding is the strategy by which an organization express- sign can enhance the quality of the brand, and the culture es the value of its product or service. It should not be con- of a firm. fused with the tactics used to share these values with the consumer, which include the company mission statement, STRATEGY AND CULTURE logo, website, marketing materials, and even the design of its office . According to the 2012 Deloitte Core Beliefs and Culture Key to the effectiveness of brand identity is that the -mes Survey, “Exceptional organizations think about their busi- sage is consistent and legible in every effort to reach the ness as a two sided ledger: strategy and culture.” But what consumer. Let’s take design as an example. In do strategy and culture look like from a design standpoint? the retail arena, consumers are looking for the message How can the design of the office influence the strategy? in an advertisement. If the message is not apparent, if How can it help build a positive culture? the pitch is confusing, then there is no sale. So in order to reach an individual, an advertisement must be potent, A focus on strategy and culture, from the standpoint of de- or else it is impotent. There is very little in between. With sign, must address two main points: such limited time to make an impact, the potency of one single unified impression is certainly more effective than a 1. The design of the business strategy, also known as handful of disparate ideas. In the retail arena, where good branding. branding encourages people to spend more money, the 2. The design of the office space, which directly effects integrity of the brand in its most distilled form flourishes. office culture. Case Study: BMW Branding defined Branding is the encapsulation of a company’s mission statement, objectives, and corporate soul as expressed through the corporate voice and aesthetic. – Margie Clayman, Marketing Executive

Branding is the sub-total of all the “experiences” your cus- tomers have with your business. For branding to work you must have consistency, frequency & an emotional anchor. – Bryan Eisenberg, Bestselling Author

Branding is an ongoing process of looking at your compa- ny’s past and present…and then creating a cohesive person- ality for the company and its products going forward. BWM’s brand is focused on luxury, and loyalty. In fact, BMW – Lois Geller, Marking Executive is such a luxury brand, that it doesn’t even sell cars. Instead BMW sells the “Ultimate Driving machine.” Their ads keep

Why a Resolved Design Matters 3 the focus on the experience of ownership. The auto is typi- Within the BMW Central Building, for instance, the space cally set in front of a backdrop of natural beauty or elegant is organized to diminish the visible clues of the divisions of architecture and the driver is unseen. Every single print labor. There is no physical hierarchy between personnel, ad, every single commercial speaks to the idea that BMW only the larger vision of the company is expressed. This ar- is the most beautifully crafted, most extraordinary vehicle rangement of the space gives everyone the opportunity to designed for the sophisticated individual with discriminat- buy into the culture that they are working together toward ing taste. Their success comes from targeting a very specific a common goal. The common goal is expressed through the demographic and working hard to create brand loyalty with architecture and therefore strengthens the brand. this group. They back up their claims with a quality product while catering to the buyer well after the sale of the vehicle. A brief history of the office They sell a lasting experience. Hierarchy within a firm exists regardless of the way the space is allotted, but the visible expression of hierarchy has So what about the spaces in which their employees work? mostly lessened over time. The most direct expression of What would the effect be on the brand if these spaces did hierarchy in the office existed from the early 1900s onward, not support the mission? Would there be an effect on the when workers were crowded together in an open environ- culture of all of the many individuals that BMW employs? ment, while their ‘Mad Men’ bosses surrounded them in Would that find its way down to the consumer experience? perimeter offices. Then, in 1968 the cubicle was born. De- The answer is unequivocally, yes. BMW has built one of the signed by Robert Propst at Herman Miller, and based on a strongest brand identities in the world because the culture European workplace philosophy of socialist values, the de- of BMW is expressed at every available opportunity. sign, called Action, was meant to be liberating for workers. It was meant to give them the type of autonomy and pri- In early 2005 when they reimagined their manufacturing vacy they needed to do the increasingly intellectual work process, they placed a £37 million building, designed by a that they needed to do. The idea was not to give them a provocative architect, Zaha Hadid, at the center of the £900 corner office, but to give them a place in the pecking -or million plan. The BMW Central Building in Leipzig, Germany der that reflected their value to the firm. But, then, in the is a marvel of and design that represents the 1980s & 90s, the pressures of the office grew as layoffs and BMW brand identity. The assembly process that takes place mergers became commonplace. As Nikil Saval explains in on site, actually takes a detour through the office building, his book Cubed: A Secret History of the Workplace, the cu- focusing the workspace design around the manufacturing bicle became the symbol of an oppressive workplace filled process and connecting those in the office building with with middle-managers; the very opposite of the ’s those working in the factory building on the larger complex. original intention.

Branding and firm culture Today, there are at least two factors that are influencing Just as consumers are looking for the message in an adver- a return to the European idea of open-office design: the tisement, employees of a firm are also looking for a deeper emergence of the startup, and the entrance of Millenni- message within their workspace. They are looking for clues als into the workplace. A startup is designed to scale very to the culture and values of the firm. If they are exposed quickly and so the workplace must be open, changeable, to those values in their environment, they will internalize and fluid. Millennials, want an office that allows collaborat- them. ing in groups, the free exchange of ideas, and a feeling that they are making a difference from day one.

Deloitte’s survey mentioned above concluded that when contributors to positive office culture are discussed, owner- ship focuses on compensation and financial performance, while employees focus on open communication, recogni- tion, and access to management. The things that manage- ment sees as important to office culture generally lie out- side the reach of office space design, while the things that employees hold dear are very much influenced by the way the office space is organized. The ideas of access to man- Ultimately, a coherent design, rooted in the identity of the agement, and open communication are heavily influenced firm, indicates longevity which builds confidence and trust. by the organizational relationships of the personnel within There are numerous ideas that can inform the design of a the office. company’s workplace: It could be the history of the firm, its structure, culture, focus, etc.

S K B A R C H I T E C T U R E A N D D E S I G N A traditional hierarchical structure would present itself in As we move forward and design open collaborative office the form of many different types of workspaces ranging environments, we must design spaces that are a reflection from corner office to cubicle. While this visible hierarchy -al of the individual firm, and not simply a reflection ofthe lows the employee to understand where he or she stands in consumer culture that surrounds all of us. the firm, it restricts access to management, and diminishes open communication among all employees. How the photograph changed the painting In the 1840s, as painting was moving from a medium of In a traditionally organized office, the basic elements of extolling the virtues of the subject matter to a medium of design are formed by the space between and around the expression on the part of the artist, the photograph (the elements of hierarchy. An open office does not rely on Daguerrotype) appeared on the scene. The influence of the the hierarchy of real estate, but equal access to it. So the Paris Salon – the idea that artwork should extol God or King message of the collaborative environment needs to be con- - was declining, and was being replaced by the idea that the veyed without the use of the traditional building blocks of painting should relay emotion. As photography was slow- office space: specifically, walls, doors and location relative ly, slowly accepted into the art world alongside painting, to the sunlight. it allowed painting to find a new voice in the Impressionist movement. One could argue that the photograph allowed art to move in directions that it otherwise might never have, because it was free to move beyond the boundaries of recording history and into the realm of recording culture.

The long history manages to come to the conclusion that both painting and photography could be seen as art by managing to figure out what it meant for a photograph to rise to the realm of art. One could imagine in the early days of photography that just because one had access to a tool, that it did not make one an artist.

The current state of , where a business might be using interior design as a commodity to sell the business to a new type of work force, has allowed to be a little bit myopic about the overall meaning and intent be- This lack of formal hierarchy within the workspaces has hind the spaces that they make. Much like a camera does changed the design emphasis from the individual to the not make an artist, having the ability to re-create the cur- collective. While the emphasis is certainly to promote col- rent typology of a bar, or a coffee shop, does not make a laboration and teamwork, in many cases the design itself corporate designer. is not inspired by the values, focus or history of the firm. Recently, workplace design is less an attempt to bring to- Branding that evolves gether a cohesive idea, inspired by the brand, and more an attempt to recreate experiences within the office that -tra ditionally have happened outside of the office. These- de signs recreate the sports bar, the coffee shop, the spa, the arcade. So in the end, the design springs from a culture of consumerism and commercialism and not from the brand.

On the positive side, these spaces work very well to sup- Original Logo 2000 - present port team building. They offer a place to relieve stress. They 70s + 80s blur the line between work and play, between boss and em- The company that starts in the garage is still forming the ployee. beliefs and discovering the ideas that will differentiate it from any other company in the same field of business. On the other side of the coin, these thematic elements be- As time passes and a firm shows that it has staying pow- come the way finders, they become the topic of conversa- er, as it develops a deeper, richer history through time, its tion, they become the focus of the workspace. And so they branding may change to reflect that, if history and longevity become the new symbols of the firm, which may very well are part of its system of values. Similarly, branding might be counter to the branding of the firm. change over time to keep up with design trends and cultur-

Why a Resolved Design Matters 5 al norms, as long as trendiness is part of the value system that the firm wants to share with its audience.

Branding for the internal audience The firm that begins as a start-up, thrives off the inertia of the founder (or founders) of the firm. There may be a point, when the firm moves from the garage to office space, or from sub-leased office space to occupy an entire floor, or even an entire building. As the size of the firm grows, the power and influence of the principal partners will tend to decline if some process is not in place to continually remind everyone of what is important. Branding in the office space, is a method by which the values and ideas of the firm can be expressed to the individuals in the firm on a continual basis, thereby expanding the influence of the principal partners.

S K B A R C H I T E C T U R E A N D D E S I G N SKB ARCHITECTURE AND DESIGN

Since it was founded in 1982 as Spector, Knapp & Baughman, Ltd., present-day SKB Architecture and Design (SKB) has earned an inter- national reputation for providing exceptional design, service, and technical skill for clients around the world. SKB has established a position within the community amongst clients for creating highly thoughtful design solutions to complex problems aesthetically, functionally and logistically.

For the past 33 years, SKB has based its service around the simple concept that the client is not fully benefiting from the firm if those with the most experience are not working on the project. SKB is led by three partners who have specific strengths and who share the administration of the firm so that they can each spend the majority of their time engaged in project work. YEAR ESTABLISHED Mark Baughman, AIA, IIDA, LEED AP, Partner, Management and Design, sets the firm’s design direction and leads many of the -de 1982 sign teams collaborating with SKB’s staff of talented, creative and (as Spector, Knapp & Baughman, Ltd) diverse professionals. Mark has over 34 years of experience with base and interior architecture. Additionally, Mark is also responsible for the firm’s marketing and business development efforts. LOCATIONS

Ruth Oczkowski, Partner, Furniture and Client Services, oversees Washington, DC the firm’s project management and procurement directing many Arlington, Virginia of the most logistically challenging projects in the office. With over Chicago, Illinois 36 years of experience in the commercial furniture business, Ruth Palo Alto, California heads SKB’s furniture procurement division assisting clients with Dammam, Saudi Arabia purchasing and logistics services. Ruth additionally serves as the Colombo, Sri Lanka company’s chief financial officer overseeing finances and payroll. Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates

Mark Guild, AIA, Partner, Technical and Quality Control, is the tech- nical director. Mark manages some of the firms most complex de- sign projects. He also oversees the production of all technical docu- STAFF (U.S.) ments within the office. With over 32 years of experience with both base building and interior architecture, his attention to detail of the 3 Partners construction drawings and during construction administration- en 6 Principals sures the clients a smooth construction phase. 11 Architects 12 Interior Designers The SKB team offers the full breadth of professional design services 3 Furniture Procurement Staff from programming, workplace strategies, and change management; 3 Support Staff to architecture, interior architecture, and construction supervision; to furniture procurement and move coordination.

SKB operates a main office headquartered in Washington, DC with additional offices in Arlington, Virginia; Palo Alto, California; and overseas offices in Sri Lanka, the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia. The personnel in each location works in sync with staff in other offices, leveraging cloud and web-based collaboration tools. SKB is licensed to practice architecture in more than 20 states in the U.S. and has designed projects in more than 100 countries around the world.

Why a Resolved Design Matters 7 Mark Baughman, AIA, IIDA, LEED AP President 1818 N Street, NW Suite 510 Washington, DC 20036 202.332.2434 [email protected]

Stefan Dytrt, LEED AP Principal, Virginia Office 2300 Clarendon Blvd. Suite 605 Arlington, VA 22201 571.814.2434 [email protected]

Anna Yahn Jones, IIDA, LEED AP ID+C Director, California Office 425 Broadway Redwood City, CA 94063 650.600.9096 [email protected]

www.skbarch.com

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