dialogue

Talking about… Education gets its game on The transformation Museums: The directors’ cut of community life Aviation’s moment of delight 27. Healthcare: It’s all about you A Gensler publication There’s EVEN more dialogue online at Experience is the 27 dialogue.gensler.com/v/27 To make it easy to keep up, we’ve created a landing page new measure of that takes you to the latest community—not updates as soon as they appear. just how well it works, but also how good it feels. 2 16 28 32

Features Departments 2 16 10 Getting its game on Don’t forget delight Research: Academic libraries Speeding learning and spurring innova- As they look for an edge, airports and How students actually use them could tion are high on education’s agenda. airlines are taking travelers seriously. make university libraries more relevant.

22 28 12 Healthcare’s future is you Resilient communities Roundtable: Art museums A connect-the-dots revolution gives In a community context, resilience is Four art museum directors discuss the health a uniquely personal focus. social, economic, and environmental. future of this vital cultural institution.

32 News + Views Compelling new work in San Francisco and Querétaro—plus Art’s new book.

ON THE COVER: Arizona State University College Avenue Commons, Tempe. opposite, from left: ASU College Avenue Commons; proposed Mexico City International Airport; Baltimore Southwest Partnership Master Plan; and the cover of Art Gensler’s new book, Art’s Principles. From middle schools to universities, the push is on to speed up learning and spark people’s creativity. Tech figures in this, but place is where innovation happens.

By Allison Arieff

Can place change the way that students interact? Can it alter their perceptions of learning? Improve their levels of engagement and effectiveness? The evidence suggests that it can. Whether they’re just starting out or nearing graduation, it’s increasingly clear that Education students need creative environments to enhance their learning experience. Gensler researchers have asked how conventional academic settings perform compared with flexible, collaborative ones. Their studies show that the latter increase the level of collaboration among students. Gets This maps closely with Gensler’s experience designing life sciences and technology work settings to spur innovation, but the goals of education are different. Industry-based incubators, accelerators, and coworking spaces are benchmarks, but academia has to find its its own way and develop its own models. Reinventing education Educational institutions are commissioning spaces that reflect a shift toward more varied ways of learning. The most successful spaces empower students to solve things that really matter in their social context. Who Game are these students? The new generation has grown up with unprecedented access to information. They expect institutions to keep pace with their experience. “They want more flexibility about when, where, and how they learn,” says Gensler’s David Broz. “They expect the same level of personalization that they get from phone on apps.” That desire means that education is being rein- vented. There’s interest in leveraging the technology and the maker culture, and experimenting with new forms and formats. Broz and his Gensler colleagues are in the thick of it on a global basis. Here’s a report.

Students interact with their work in the Adventure Room at the PlayMaker School, Santa Monica.

2 3 PlayMaker School’s Maker Lab, Wiseburn High School in where students collaborate to El Segundo, CA, combines build and test their ideas. three high-school programs and facilities under one roof.

Learning as a team sport personal work. “There’s a strong sense team learning. Students are actively provides students with three purpose- of making, including 3D printing. “The Across education, there’s a heightened that ‘this is our space.’ Students tell us BALANCED LEARNING engaged with each other and their teach- THREE IN ONE built spaces that encourage them to school is designed to create a sense of interest in active, experiential learning. they now realize how important the set- David Thornburg’s three optimal settings for ers,” says Gensler’s David Herjeczki. Wiseburn’s collocated schools share an experiment, explore, and arrive at their possibility as well as give students the A relevant model is provided by tings are,” says Gensler’s Patricia Nobre, promoting active, experiential learning. The shift these projects exemplify is atrium and common-use facilities. own solutions to complex problems. means to make it happen,” Herjeczki David Thornburg, an innovator in the who led the design. “The learning envi- grounded in findings that team learning “It’s pretty radical,” says Gensler’s says. “They realize they don’t have to field. In his view, optimal settings for ronment is highly customizable so the has a higher benefit than traditional DA VINCI DESIGN Shawn Gehle. “PlayMaker renovated an accept things as they are.” learning balance the Campfire, where students can engage with it,” she adds. THE CAMPFIRE methods. University of Minnesota Independent Small Learning Community existing school, replacing classrooms That same self-scripted approach to Where stories are told. stories are told, the Watering Hole, “Their ability to create experiences researchers studied two classes on the 24 CLASSROOMS with prototypical settings for each of learning shows up in higher education, where exchanges happen, and the Cave, makes it memorable, a ‘wow’ that actu- same topic and with the same teacher. these activities.” even where you wouldn’t expect it. Take where individual work is done. Gensler ally reflects their own inventiveness.” Students had similar ACT test scores DA VINCI COMMUNICATION PlayMaker students are immersed College Avenue Commons at Arizona first applied Thornburg’s ideas to the Achieving a comparable “wow” is going in. Class 1 was taught in a tradi- Independent Small Learning Community in virtual and physically interactive envi- State University–Tempe. Universities New Line Learning Center in Maidstone, the goal for Wiseburn High School in THE WATERING HOLE tional lecture/lab setting and Class 2 24 CLASSROOMS ronments with myriad entry points to are eager to leverage their real estate, Where exchanges happen. UK, as part of the Kent County Schools El Segundo, California. Its four-story in a flexible, collaborative active-learning the problems they’re tackling—problems so it houses campus activities that Program. Now they are finding applica- building will house three separate setting. Afterward, students in Class 2 DA VINCI SCIENCE drawn from science, technology, engi- were once separate—like the Sun Devil tion at the university level in Brazil in schools, each on a separate floor. They tested higher than those in Class 1. Independent Small Learning Community neering, art, and math. They collaborate Marketplace and the Del E. Webb School a multicity entrepreneurship program have different focuses, programs, and 24 CLASSROOMS with teachers in developing ideas in of Construction—in a mixed-use build- aimed at design and engineering maker spaces. All three cluster easy-to- THE CAVE Scripting the unscripted the Dream Lab, and then move to the ing at the border of town and gown. Where individual work students. Each location accommodates modify classrooms around common is done. At PlayMaker School in Santa Monica, OFFICES Adventure Room. Here, their work “It’s where campus tours start,” Gensler’s varied work styles, combining a areas to get rid of corridors and achieve the focus is on learning through play- SHARED AMENITIES, PERFORMING is video-projected onto the floor so the Patrick Magness says. “It’s where ASU technology-based lab environment with the flexibility and openness typical of ing, making, and discovering. Aimed at ARTS, COMMUNITY PARTNERS students can engage directly with what students take classes, professionals rub multiple spaces for collaboration and creative workspaces. “This will facilitate sixth and seventh graders, the program they’re creating—one of many forms elbows with academics, ASU’s regents

4 dialogue 27 I Talking About Community 5 above: Arizona State opposite: The Sun Devil University College Avenue Marketplace at ASU College Commons, designed with Avenue Commons. Architekton, Tempe.

meet, and flat whites are consumed look to incubators and accelerators. is the credo of Silicon Valley, of course, and live events seen.” Adds Gensler’s What’s the difference? Incubators—as with its famous garages from which HP Julie Hutchison, “It’s intentionally common as baristas in the tech industry— and Apple sprang. They are honored by diverse—designed to be curated, to be are where people come up with ideas Northwestern University’s The Garage, changed and changed again. Even the for new startups and germinate an incubator for student entrepreneurs bookstore is less about selling books promising concepts. Accelerators are that’s actually located in a parking and more about promoting the culture geared to people with developed ideas garage, its parking stripes left intact. that books help create.” Universities who need the funding to scale them The Garage is part of a campaign to benefit from looking beyond academia up. The incubator/accelerator space boost innovation and cross-departmental for models. College Avenue Commons is typically a hybrid combination of collaboration across the campus. is the kind of fluid, fine-grained hybrid workspace, learning space, and social Retail trends also influence incubator that’s also a staple of commercial mixed- space, most of it flexible and multiuse. spaces. Gensler’s Mark Thaler points to use development. Sound familiar? PlayMaker School has New York University’s Mark and Debra comparable settings. It also maps well Leslie Entrepreneurs Lab, made possible Settings to speed innovation to David Thornburg’s ideas for learn- by a major gift to the school. Its location Companies that take innovation seri- ing environments. “The emphasis is on right on Washington Square Park is a ously and invest huge sums in it are scenario-based learning, giving people way to grab the attention of student attractive (and attracted) to academia real-world experience in trying things passersby. The 5,900-square-foot lab is as potential partners, not just models. out—a place to break things and fail fast a place where aspiring students, faculty, In considering which types of spaces will on the road to success,” Broz says. and research entrepreneurs from all of best facilitate innovation, universities The philosophy of “fail early and often” NYU’s schools and colleges can connect

6 dialogue 27 I Talking About Community 7 The new duke kunshan University campus opens near shanghai

The 40-acre first phase of Duke Kunshan University (DKU) had its formal opening in November 2014. Founded jointly by Wuhan University and Duke University, DKU will grow over time into a 200-acre campus, planned by Gensler within the Kunshan Yangcheng Lake Science Park. The ini- tial phase includes an academic center, conference center, innovation center, faculty and student residences, and a service building. Tim Etherington, managing director in Shanghai, joined DKU founding partners and leaders in unveiling the brand-new campus. “The DKU campus blends local context with references to Duke University’s liberal-arts tradition,” he told the crowd. “It is a model of sustainable, energy-efficient development.”

above: The University of East below: Johns Hopkins London’s Business Innovation University’s FastForward Center sparks interaction East incubator, Baltimore, with the city’s startups. incorporates lab space.

and collaborate. “A full-time concierge Gensler’s Maria Nesdale. “That is shifting find partners outside the academy, the acts as an ‘idea matchmaker’ to help how people teach and UEL’s expecta- likelihood of faculty and students mov- people with shared interests find each tions for the student experience.” ing easily between theory and practice, other,” Thaler notes. seeing learning as a lifetime endeavor— FastForward East, a Baltimore startup Converging around shared themes these trends are making education incubator, is also visible from the street. While education at every level is focused and its settings more porous and better Serving Johns Hopkins University’s on speeding learning and supporting suited to how people actually learn, schools of medicine, nursing, and public innovation, the more important trend collaborate, and innovate. health, it gathers biotech, medical, and is that these institutions are looking pharma entrepreneurs—in part by offer- beyond the school, campus, and sector ing 2,500 square feet of lab space, a for examples of how do it. And industry Allison Arieff is SPUR’s editorial scarce resource for young companies. views them as interesting collaborators. director. She writes regularly from In the UK, the University of East They recognize that the faculties and San Francisco for the New York London (UEL) saw a model in Level 39, students are genuinely excited by the Times, California Sunday Magazine, a Gensler-designed financial-tech possibilities and open to what design and other publications. accelerator at London’s Canary Wharf and technology have to offer. If, in the that surrounds budding startups with past, educational institutions were banking and financial services clients. focused on injecting “real life” into their UEL’s Business Innovation Center “is programs, they are likely in the future sparking interaction between startups to view the academic/real-world divide and UEL’s faculty and students,” says as a needless hindrance. The ability to

8 dialogue 27 I Talking About Community 9 GENSLER research A STUDENT VIEW OF LIBRARY RESOURCES, TODAY AND TOMORROW The most important resource provided by today’s libraries is quiet space, according to students. When asked about tomorrow’s libraries, quiet space remains important, while ACADEMIC technology and digital resource concerns rise to the top.

TODAY IN THE FUTURE

LI BRARIES MOST IMPORTANT While much of their content is web accessible, Quiet space for students libraries endure on the campus. New Gensler research looks at their current and future use.

By Mark Thaler AND Tim Pittman Digital library/resources Well integrated technology Collaborative space for students Books/stacks on-site

LEAST IMPORTANT

University and college students put in three times more hours studying on their own observed using printed books, while 23 percent were using computers or tablets. than studying with peers, according to a recent survey of 1,200 US students, ana- The Gensler study Librarians on Libraries also points to academic libraries’ growing lyzed in Gensler’s Student Perspectives on the Library. The survey also confirms that focus on digital resources. But parallel research suggests a more nuanced view of extra study time correlates with better grades. Interestingly, while the A students put this issue. Naomi Baron of American University found “a near-universal preference in the most hours, they use the library less than the B students. This suggests that for print,” with 92 percent of 300 students surveyed reporting that they concen- the top performers are best able to screen out distraction. Whatever their perfor- trate best when working with print. A Student Monitor survey of 1,200 students also mance level, students report that they prefer to study in the library. The main reason reported a preference for print for every type of study except research. they give for this is straightforward: libraries offer places where they can focus, and This suggests that the question of books versus digital resources is not an either/ focus makes their study time more effective. or proposition: students increasingly want easy access to digital tools and resources, but it would be premature for libraries to shed their collections. The power of proximity Given this preference, it’s surprising that two-thirds of students’ study time happens Implications for the future elsewhere. Their living situations may play a role: for individual study, students in Academic libraries can benefit from a better understanding of how and why students dorms and campus housing prefer their own quarters slightly more than the library— use them. What they value, beyond the libraries’ book collections, are the ways that with a slight gain in performance. Gensler’s research on student living confirms this, focused study and research is supported. “The competition for great study spaces on says David Broz: “Students expect to find a live/work environment at on-campus campus is fierce,” says Gensler’s Melissa Mizell. UC Berkeley’s Moffitt Library, which dorms and housing. This often reflects study habits they established in high school.” her team is renovating, accentuates libraries’ third place aspect: “the vibe, the slight Students’ study time also relates to where and how they live. Those living on din, the social component, being near others yet able to focus.” campus spend the most time studying alone and the most time studying collabora- Commuting students and those struggling academically are the most in need of tively. Those living within walking distance of campus also study slightly more than libraries and their services, but are not currently the library’s heaviest users. To serve average, while those commuting to campus spend the least time on each activity. them better, libraries will have to give them more targeted attention in the future. This suggests that commuters lack options about where to study, compared with One approach to consider is to provide places where commuters can easily access their on-campus and near-campus peers. Providing more options that address their a variety of study settings and resources; another is to put in place a network of unique needs may be an important direction for libraries in the future. outreach facilities tailored to the special needs of lower-performing students. Academic libraries will continue to evolve around core study and access needs. In The right resources—digital, physical, experiential this role, they will have to balance the energy of gathering with the need to support A related issue that Gensler investigated is whether printed books are still important focused work. But they will also need to invest in new facilities that close the gap to students or if they mainly access content as e-books or other digital, web-conveyed with students who aren’t being served by the current model. Adding spokes to the formats. The research found that students visit academic libraries more often to hub and integrating the digital more seamlessly are among the potential strategies. access digital resources than to check out printed books, but access to both outweighs socializing, attending events, or seeking help from librarians. Asked about the relative importance of library resources, now and in the future, Mark Thaler is a regional leader in Gensler’s Education practice, based in students reported a preference for digital resources (and integrated technology) New York. Tim Pittman, Gensler’s New York–based research communications over book collections. Research on library usage patterns, documented in Gensler’s manager, coedited its 2014 Research Catalogue. Academic Libraries at a Crossroads, found that only 10 percent of students were ASU College Avenue Commons, Tempe.

10 11 ROUNDTABLE

The idea of the art museum is in constant flux. As a building type, Lisa Michael it walks a fine line between aesthetics and purpose, a fusion of art and Phillips Conforti programmatic intent that speaks to artists, curators, patrons, and Toby Devan Lewis Director of communities. As a firm that helps bring these complex projects to life, Director of the Clark Art Institute the New Museum in Williamstown, MA Gensler invited four prominent directors to discuss their museums in New York as exemplars of design and intent.

Lisa Phillips: We have a very special mission: to look How does the museum relate to new media? Michael Conforti: Museums have to think of them- original building and collections, and yet we continue at new art and new ideas and new possibilities for LP: New media is something that we were very involved selves beyond their galleries as they broaden audiences to honor them. museums as institutions. That’s been part of our his- with early on through the Media Lounge, with Rhizome, to include younger communities, linking those com- tory since 1977. It puts us in a great spot to innovate which is an affiliate organization we brought on 12 munities to the museum in ever more imaginative ways. Tell us about the museum program. Art Museums: The Directors’ Cut and experiment and question the possibilities for insti- years ago. It’s also how we’ve approached our website, We have to think of a museum as a forum as well as MC: The Manton Research Center houses one of the tutions. We don’t have a collection, so that distinguishes which is a space for presenting art and to visit. We’re a gallery site. largest art history libraries in the country, as well us from other museums. We’re a museum of very commissioning artists every month to do digital work as the Clark’s collection of prints, drawings, and photo- contemporary art. And it’s hard to stay contemporary on our website. It had 2.5 million visitors last year, graphs. The new Clark Center, designed by Tadao Ando, if you’re devoting resources and space to a collection compared to the 350,000 people who actually visited is a visitor center and a temporary exhibition site that that’s aging and becoming historical. So this gives us a the museum. It’s huge. And we have a really strong encourages the museum to think well beyond our lot of freedom, to experiment and to be nimble and to social media presence on Facebook, Twitter, and Tumblr. existing collection frame. The Clark Center can also be act on things very quickly as they’re happening. We have to think used for conferences and special events. Selldorf made I look at the museum as an incubator for new art. Tell us about the museum as a building. the original art museum, designed by Daniel Parry We’re commissioning things all the time. We have LP: We wanted it to be open and inviting to the public. of a museum as a in 1955, come alive again with an elegant and modern HOW a triennial that features emerging artists from around That was part of our program when we were getting consciousness. Another Ando building at the Clark is the world, early-career artists. We have an active resi- ready to design it. SANAA, the design architect, envi- forum as well as the Lunder Center at Stone Hill, home of the dency program. We’re incubating ideas through our sioned the lobby floor as an extension of the sidewalk. Williamstown Art Conservation Center. Its galleries scholarships and publications. We’re doing a series of The idea is that you don’t have a barrier. I think more a gallery site. are often used in the summertime for contemporary critical anthologies with MIT Press, which will publish museums are sensitive to this now. The old-style projects. For all these reasons, it’s hard to talk about the first one,Mass Effect—a history of art and the museum building was like a castle or a fortress, pro- our program in simple terms. The buildings embrace Internet—in September. We stage conferences. Idea tecting the valuables, but we’re not like that. We want the wide variety of programs we do, and they sit in an City, a conference and festival on the future of cities, people to experience art right away—to experience it extraordinarily beautiful, hilly landscape that is, in and DO YOU is an example. We see conferences as a platform on the façade even before they get inside. How does the Clark relate to education? of itself, a special public treasure. equivalent to our exhibition program. That’s not typi- We also wanted a building that wouldn’t be too pre- MC: The Clark has a dual mission, and is both an art cal for a museum either. cious, because we know that artists are always testing museum and a center for research and discussion of How does the Clark relate to its context? the limits of a museum. And SANAA was really under- ideas in the visual arts. It’s also a center for curatorial MC: We have 140 acres and we program on the cam- standing about that. We’ve drilled through floors, training and art historical education. As part of our dual pus regularly and often. Our campus expansion project lowered ceilings. The exhibit spaces are designed so mission we organize a graduate program with Williams was as much about enhancing the landscape as it was the art looks really good. I see the museum as kind of College in the history of art. Williams College is one of about adding and renovating buildings. We maintain an expanded version of an artist’s studio or a loftlike the great centers for higher education in the visual a special quality of being a research center as well as an DEFINE space. There’s light on every level. There are skylights arts. Many of its undergraduate and graduate students art museum, but one that exists in a unique natural on every floor. go on to become curators and directors. In addition, environment. The Clark is located on the side of a hill- and curiously, there are more art historians per capita top, and many of our visitors come just to walk our How does the museum relate to its context? in Williamstown than any other place in the world. campus. They want to spend time in the new facility, LP: We’ve always been downtown. After going through the terraces, and around the water feature that 9/11 up close, we recommitted to that and also How is this reflected in the buildings? connects our buildings, but they also want to walk wanted to be trailblazing in our choice of a location. MC: There is a quality of the Clark that separates it our extensive trails and experience the incredible view The Bowery—always a place we were told not to look from most other art institutions: we started as a private one gets from the top of Stone Hill. The view from MUSEUM? at or walk in—seemed like an ideal place to build. It collection—a bit like the Huntington in Pasadena, the our upland campus takes in the Green Mountains of was languishing and full of possibility. The Bowery Barnes, the Gardner, or the Frick. Our core permanent Vermont and the Taconic Range of New York. To be came to represent Skid Row, kind of a sore spot in the collection has expanded, as have our public, research, situated in this vista landscape is unique among art city’s landscape, but it’s got a much richer history. and education programs. Annabelle Selldorf, who led museums. It’s very special indeed! We don’t have One of our projects is the Bowery artist tribute. the renovation and expansion of the existing museum We’ve recorded over 2,000 artists who lived and worked and the Manton Research Center, did an incredible job a collection, so here, through videos and other oral histories. From of enhancing the experience of the particular “period abstract expressionists to pop artists to the minimal- in time” aesthetic that was first put in place when that distinguishes ists and post-minimalists, almost every major artist the museum opened in 1955. We also wanted flexible who had a studio or lived on the Bowery is covered. spaces, especially for special exhibitions, as well us from other It’s an amazing legacy, and that’s just through the as other public and support spaces. We now have 1970s. Two centuries ago, this place was an orchard! a large-scale temporary exhibition space, which lets museums. us experiment with themes that go well with our permanent collection and our core research programs. We are no longer confined by the character of our

12 dialogue 27 I Talking About Community 13 ROUNDTABLE Michael Kathleen Govan Howe CEO and Wallis Sarah Rempel & Herbert Annenberg Director of S. Rempel ’23 Director, the Los Angeles County Pomona College Museum Museum of Art of Art, Claremont, CA

Michael Govan: Art has been around for millennia, If museums only comprised beautiful static, perma- Kathleen Howe: We begin by asking what happens As we’ve been working on our new building with they feel welcome. The other community we address is HOW while museums were created a few hundred years ago nent concrete walls—walls that didn’t move but had intellectually, in an engaging way, when someone Machado and Silvetti and with Gensler, the assumption the greater Los Angeles arts scene. It’s important to us to provide access to and preserve objects of art or a heaviness and depth of light and shadow and feeling— comes to our museum. We want to encourage them seems to be, “Here are the parameters. Make it work.” that our peers there think we do really good work and DO YOU material culture. They now are also involved in the they could be overwhelming. Conversely, if everything to visit, and convey that it will be fascinating. It’s about We seldom say that to an artist. You don’t hear a present beautifully installed shows. The Los Angeles production of art, because there are so few mechanisms were built to be temporary and functionally rearrange- providing something engaging and immersive. We curator or director telling, say, James Turrell or Chris Times’ Christopher Knight listed one of our shows in DEFINE left to commission and produce art on a large scale. able, that would also be flawed. want that to happen on all kinds of levels—aesthetic, Burden, “Well, I’m sorry. This is the space, we won’t his year-end roundup of the 10 best. The term “accessibility” includes all the facets of One of the nice things about Renzo Piano’s build- intellectual, and social. It’s great if there’s something significantly alter it, and that’s what you have to work Art museums today have to be more accessible, and MUSEUM? access—physical, emotional, and intellectual. It encom- ings at LACMA is that they’re very matter-of-fact, just jaw-droppingly wonderful once in a while, yet with.” Yet we expect the architects to work within all willing to experiment. We have to engage these differ- passes not only the physical space of the museum, yet quite dynamic when you consider the whole expe- there’s also room for moments of quiet discovery. of our parameters. ent communities in ways that resonate with each and but publications, lectures, related programs and artistic rience: riding the elevator, seeing the sky, the palm all of them. I like to think of our museum as a free-trade events, and online presence. trees, and the Hollywood sign, looking out onto the Tell us about the museum’s program. zone—a place where different people can meet and I see LACMA as a town square, a multicultural cen- changing view as you’re going up and down the glass KH: Our starting point was that we’re a collecting interact with each other, and with the work and ideas ter and gathering place for a multicultural community. elevator, and walking into an art space with skylights institution. And if the collection isn’t accessible and presented by the artists and curators. and windows. available to classes and students, then however you It’s about providing set it up, it’s like a library that has books that you can’t How do you see your responsibility to education? get to. It’s useless. Part of being accessible is having Eva Hagberg Fisher, who conducted the inter- MG: Total. What I dislike is this idea that you have an something an entrance that is apparent and welcoming. Our pro- views, has published three books on architecture art museum and then you add education like frosting gram specifically described the characteristics of the and design. She contributes to Metropolis and I see LACMA on a cake or an additional ingredient. Everything we engaging and entry experience. Visitors need to know how to get other design and cultural magazines. do is fundamentally educational. into the building. They should get some sense of what as a town square, Education is something to do with learning, with immersive on all goes on there. They should be able to tell that it’s open expanding one’s range of experience, feeling, and and, more importantly, that they are invited in. And a multicultural knowledge all together to incorporate new things, kinds of levels— because we’re in Southern California, we asked for new ideas, new feelings, new experiences. a really large exterior space—a social, aesthetic, and gathering place aesthetic, intellectual space for our students and other visitors. How do you use new media? A key piece of this was Michael Asher’s intervention for a multicultural MG: We collect art made in new media. We also have intellectual, in 1969, when he took the doors off the Pomona updatable scholarly publications, and we emphasize College Museum and built this weirdly shaped, blind- community. the two-way street of social media. We have many and social. pouch gallery. It was an extraordinary piece. For our digital initiatives, including tweeting in Spanish and “It Happened at Pomona” show, he declined to re-create English, award-winning blogs, and context-aware it. He countered, “I propose that the museum remain beacons that send information to your mobile phone open for the entire length of this segment of the exhi- as you walk through the galleries. But what I’m most bition”—nine weeks, seven days a week, 24 hours a The art world requires flexibility and nimbleness, proud of is that we’re the fourth most Instagrammed How do you translate this into built space? day. And we did it. That openness and the ways the but a building is a commitment to time and space. museum in the world, according to Instagram’s own KH: I think we suffer from hubris in thinking that we museum functioned at different times really sparked How will LACMA address that, planning for growth? data. That’s meaningful considering that more visitors can, with an architect and with a museum staff’s input, our thinking about access. MG: A lot of people will say “Oh, it’s just the art. The are inspired to share their experience of LACMA than come up with the perfect building that weds the art building doesn’t matter.” Well, rectilinear box galleries is the case at other museums worldwide with much and the architecture. I feel sorry for architects because How will the museum relate to its context? are a particularly coded cultural construction—they’re greater overall attendance. And that social media is they’re hearing from museum people that they want KH: The museum serves the entire consortium of the not neutral! Every decision is important when you’re driving our physical visitor statistics up all the time. this beautiful—always beautiful—and logical, easy- Claremont Colleges as an academic resource across framing cultural objects that have deep philosophies to-traverse building. And then we turn around and we the curriculum. We are firmly committed to the educa- and ideologies embedded in them. Do you consider the museum itself to be art? say, “Oh, but we’d really like the mystery and the tion of our students at both Pomona College and the MG: People sometimes posit as adversarial the rela- chance of discovery to be there.” Well, okay. Then we Claremont Colleges. And we really think that if stu- How do you prepare physically and architecturally tionship between art and architecture. Or they suggest talk about it being transparent. But, oh no, we don’t dents leave here without having a museum experience, for the great variety of art, heavy or complex? that the museum itself is an artwork. I think the key want windows. And then we insist on having elegant we’ve failed. MG: You want a building where you can put a big steel for a museum is to create conditions that ensure that galleries. But then we’ve got a student demographic, The communities we live in are the bigger layers sculpture on the ground—because if you can’t accom- its management and all the people who work there so we find ourselves saying we need some kind of around the campus. We live in Claremont, a small town modate Richard Serra, you shouldn’t be in the business provide for a meaningful back and forth between the domestically scaled space to house the more social that’s college-centric. Beyond it is the Inland Empire, of being a contemporary art museum. But you don’t art and the architecture. activities that weren’t part of what the museum did which is economically depressed. We have a lot of visi- want something that has too much weight and abso- The goal of museum design is always to think about previously. And no matter what kind of built space you tors from there—from Ontario, Fontana, and places luteness if the idea is to accommodate many different that relationship. When you put art in a museum, the have, it will eventually be challenged by an artist like that. There’s a big population pool to the east that kinds of art in different emotional registers. museum becomes its context. And context matters. who wants something very different, who wants to extends to San Bernardino and Riverside. It’s essential reconfigure it or interrogate it. that admission is free, and that when people walk in,

14 dialogue 27 I Talking About Community 15 Don t forget delight airports are experiential as well as functional. How well they deliver as places where pleasure lingers in passengers’ memories is the new measure of success. So the push is on for new ways to make flying a delight.

By Martin Pedersen

What do casinos and airports have in common? “Both are ‘purpose- driven machines,’” says Gensler’s William Hooper, a leader of its aviation practice. While far more aspirational than gambling empori- ums, airports also have to meet the pragmatic demands of processing crowds of people every day. But this is just a baseline requirement. Airports’ more ennobling task—creating functional, secure buildings that also enhance the passenger experience—is complicated by a huge cast of potential stakeholders and a daunting set of revenue- enhancing imperatives. Knitting these diverse elements into a coherent whole that provides pleasing spaces for travelers constitutes the essence of contemporary airport design.

Divide and conquer Airport projects come in two varieties: retrofits or replacements and ground-up airports. Terminals in many cities are in dismal shape, say Gensler’s experts, yet building a brand-new airport is beyond the reach of many airport authorities. To meet their future needs, airports are taking a divide-and-conquer approach, focusing on incremental improvements that are financed and implemented over many years. Because many airports don’t have a lot of room for expansion avail- able, packing in new operational necessities and ever-larger amenities becomes a jigsaw puzzle. “The real innovation in airports is in plan- ning,” says Gensler’s Kap Malik. At LaGuardia, the firm proposed to gain space by adding height. “Security is a level above ticketing, with its own drop-off for passengers with no bags to check,” says his colleague Ty Osbaugh. Manchester, a gateway airport in the UK, is another example. It has three separate terminals currently. Gensler has been tasked to rebuild it in place, says Pat Askew, transforming

16 dialogue 27 I Talking About Community 17 previous page, top left to right: the airport by reconfiguring its vacation travelers, families, or high- The advent of more fuel-efficient, below: This concept for “It’s the idea of the first-class lounge in natural light. All of this combined to SFO T2’s other lasting contribution San Francisco International departure areas and retail stores to mileage business travelers—and keep longer-range aircraft, such as the Boeing New York’s LaGuardia Airport experience being distributed through- create a warmer, less institutional vibe, was the building’s subtle connection to Airport Terminal 3 Boarding lets passengers with carry-on Area E and Terminal 2; create a consistent passenger experi- existing customers coming back.” 787 and Airbus A350, is driving growth bags speed to their gates. out the airport.” a feeling achieved through the elegant its host city—the design is based on the bottom: Jackson Hole Airport, ence. To grow revenues, Manchester Kashyap Bhimjiani adds that it’s hap- of point-to-point international flights. Indeed, more and more airports are sequencing of space. analogy of San Francisco as a series of Jackson, WY. is also planning an “Airport City”–type pening in India, citing Gensler’s recent Gensler’s recent expansion of JetBlue taking cues from the hospitality industry “We call them journey moments,” distinct neighborhoods unified under a development that will reinforce it as upgrading of Chennai’s airport as Terminal 5 at John F. Kennedy Inter- and looking for ways to put the cus- says Gensler’s Melissa Mizell. “At SFO, it giant sky. Rooting terminals in their a destination. a domestic and global gateway to the national Airport supports that airline’s tomer first. Gensler developed this idea was about the idea of intuitive flow. The place is one of the most difficult chal- Madras region, which he helped design. use of smaller planes on routes to the fully at San Francisco’s Terminal 2, which terminal is laid out in such a way that lenges facing airport designers and New rules of competition A spate of airline mergers is also Caribbean and Latin America. Another reopened in 2011. It remains a seminal you can stand at curbside and, if you owners. Airports must pass a taste test, Across the globe, these purpose-driven having ripple effects on airport design. project—new gates at Austin-Bergstrom project, one that has informed airport look hard enough, actually see straight Young says: If you blindfold someone, machines share an increasingly urgent For example, the marriage of United International Airport—anticipates its design all over the world. At Terminal 2, down a path to the airfield.” That setup drop them into an airport, and then take social objective: to bring order, clarity, Airlines and Continental has prompted future growth in cross-border flights. ticketing took on a concierge feel; lounge was existing, but Gensler cleared things off the blindfold, do they know where calm—even beauty—to the passenger a retooling of United’s identity, brand, furniture was introduced, proving popu- out of the way to improve the experi- they are? Are they in Dubai? Los Angeles? experience. To do this, airports and air- and passenger processing. As a result, Hospitality matters lar with passengers; lighting and finishes ence. “It was always important that you Or in some shopping mall? “To me, that’s lines are breaking the people-processing Gensler is working with United’s brand As airports upgrade their facilities, were softened and varied; concourse have a sense of what comes next. If you the litmus test,” he says. “You need to mold. “They’re competing on experience consultant at Newark Liberty Interna- “these terminals are becoming less like sightlines were made clearer; and artist are in security, you catch a glimpse of design the airport so it feels like a real and brand,” says Askew. “They have to tional to overhaul the former Continental bus stations and much more like hotel Janet Echelman created a stunning the recompose area and retail areas place, reflecting its community without woo new groups of passengers—like terminal to project the United brand. lobbies,” says Gensler’s Terence Young. public artwork in a concourse drenched beyond. Seeing them keeps you moving.” becoming a theme park.”

Room to grow Impact of new planes Hospitality reigns Toward the Airport City The real innovation taking New long-range aircraft Taking cues now from the Many metropolitan airports place in airports is in planning. enable regional airports to add hospitality industry, airports are redefining themselves as Lacking room to grow horizon- point-to-point routes that bypass are catering to passengers destinations, adding complemen- tally, many are adding height traditional hubs. If they have with concierge-like tary uses like hotels, offices, within their existing footprints. customs facilities, they can host ticketing, casual furniture, restaurants, and entertainment. international flights. and upgraded amenities.

TicketingTicketing TicketingTicketing Ticketing Re-Stacking the buildingRe-StackingRe-Stacking creates the the building building creates creates Re-Stacking the building creates SecuritySecurity SecuritySecurity Security a new level wherea passengers newa new level level where where passengers passengers a new level where passengers with no bags and withboardingwith no nobags bags and and boarding boarding with no bags and boarding passes from home,passes getpasses dropped from from home, home, get get dropped dropped passes from home, get dropped Baggage Baggage BaggageBaggage Baggage off at security leveloff and offat security atby-pass security level level and and by-pass by-pass off at security level and by-pass Claim ClaimClaim Claim Claim ticketing altogether.ticketingticketing Signed altogether. altogether. Signed Signed ticketing altogether. Signed BaggageBaggage BaggageBaggage Baggage from the approachfrom road,from the these the approach approach road, road, these these from the approach road, these ScreeningScreening ScreeningScreening Screening passengers are “Readypassengerspassengers to Fly are”. are “Ready “Ready to Flyto Fly”. ”. passengers are “Ready to Fly”. RFP Stacking RFPRFP Stacking Stacking Screening Back ScreeningScreening Back BackBaggage Claim DownBaggageBaggage Claim TicketingClaim Down DownRFP Down StackingTicketingTicketing DownSecurity Down CombinedScreeningSecuritySecurity Back Combined Combined Baggage Claim Down Ticketing Down Security Combined 1 StackingProposed provided byS tackingPort 1AuthorityStacking1 Stacking provided provided by Port by AuthorityPort2 AuthoritySpace created on Level 1 at2 CurbSpace2 Space Screatedcreening created on Level 3on Level1Space Backat Curb 1 atcreated Curb on Level 2 3 Space3BaggageSpace created created on4 ClaimLevel Spaceon Level2 created1 2DownStackingStacking on Level providedprovided 3 4 bybySpace4 PortPortSpace created AuthorityAuthority created 5on Level Securityon Level3 becomes 3 the2 GrandSpaceSpace5 SpaceSecurity5 createdcreatedSecurity becomes onon LevelLevel becomes 1the1 atat Grand Curb Curbthe Grand Space Space 3 SpaceSpace createdcreated onon LevelLevel 22 4 SpaceSpaceTicketing createdcreated onon LevelLevel Down 33 5 SecuritySecuritySecurity becomesbecomes Combined thethe GrandGrand SpaceSpace 1 Stacking provided by 2 Space created on Level 1 3 Space created on Level 2 4 Space created on Level 3 5 Security becomes the Port Authority at Curb Grand Space LaGuardia AirportLaGuardiaLaGuardia Central Airport Terminal Airport Central CentralBuilding Terminal Terminal | New York, Building Building NY | New | New York, York, NY NY LaGuardia AirportRe-Think Central Passenger TerminalRe-ThinkRe-Think Building Speed: Passenger Passenger Terminal|| New York, Speed: Speed:NY Stacking Terminal Terminal Stacking Stacking|7 |7 |7 Re-Think Passenger Speed: Terminal Stacking ||7

18 dialogue 27 I Talking About Community 19 right and below: Proposal for a new Mexico City International Airport.

Gensler has employed a number of a grand-scaled ticketing hall upstairs, site- and location-specific strategies they arrive at their destination only to to accomplish this goal. At Chennai wait for their luggage in a dreary space International Airport, for example, the that invariably feels like a basement. design team inserted an expansive land- This setup, however, is something of a scaped garden between the ticketing relic, and it’s coming under assault from hall and the passenger concourse. The that small but powerful disruptor: the lush garden does double duty, as both smartphone. Much of what passengers a placemaking device and a means of once did in those large ticketing halls stormwater retention. “And because it’s can now be more efficiently accom- filled with native plants, it’s visually plished on handheld mobile devices. And connected to its location,” says Bhimjiani. as the demographics continue to shift In Wyoming, at the Jackson Hole toward the digital, this behavior is likely Airport, the design is inspired directly to become even more common. by its unique, almost otherworldly A recent Gensler proposal for Mexico location inside a stunning national park. City’s new international airport openly “Everything is very much hand-crafted,” challenged the old stacking paradigm. says Gensler’s Brent Mather. “The As Keith Thompson explains, “Departure structure and exposed ceilings are all is important and drives a lot of revenue, wood. There’s a lot of casual furniture, as but we think that arrival has been over- opposed to sterile, pack-in-the-people looked as an essential component of airport furniture. We also added a fire- the passenger experience.” Instead of place to give people the feeling that a conventional ticket counter at the top, the airport is an extension of the lodge with baggage claim at the bottom, the 1 a new main event where they were just staying.” design flips it. Passengers can walk from plane to baggage claim on the same The proposed Mexico City Celebrating arrival level. “The baggage claim is an open International Airport makes Despite all of the changes in aviation, space upstairs, with outdoor views,” arrival the feature, all on one the basic layout of terminals hasn’t Thompson adds. The stacking paradigm daylight-filled level. changed much since the glory days of also results in a more compact overall air travel. While passengers depart from development, potentially reducing cost.

below: The new Westin hotel and transit center at Denver International Airport.

In Incheon, Terminal 2 is under way to change. With the aviation industry Departure is important and drives to support South Korea’s 2018 Winter evolving quickly, airports are renovating Olympics. Gensler’s international termi- or replacing out-of-date facilities to a lot of revenue, but arrival has been nal at Chennai is also up and running, meet new business, community, and overlooked as an essential component a key project in India’s national effort to operational demands. While airports are bring its airports to a global standard. still purpose driven, they are focused of the passenger experience. 2 arrival moves up Both speak to aviation’s importance to on the travelers they serve. “The art and countries as a competitive advantage. science of airports is all about the quality Arriving passengers encounter In Denver, leveraging a new 22.8-mile of the passenger experience,” Gensler’s a spacious, light-filled rail link with the city’s downtown, the William Hooper sums up. Customs Hall, moved up out airport is being recast as a regional of the basement. destination—a place people will want to visit even when they’re not traveling. The reinvention of Denver Interna- Martin Pedersen writes from tional Airport—which will soon boast New Orleans for the New York a new transit hub, hotel, and conference Times and Metropolis, among 1 2 center—reflects a global trend: that other publications. existing airports feel a strong impetus

20 dialogue 27 I Talking About Community 21 Healt hcare’s Future: Medicine with in Mind A revolution in healthcare is under way that is focused on serving each person’s unique needs and situation. The implications are wide-ranging.

By Yukiko Bowman anD Edward Keegan

Healthcare makes a 17 percent contribution to the US economy, up from 1 percent a century ago. Sheer size along with cost pressures and competition make the sec- tor ripe for disruption. It’s already happening: healthcare is being turned inside out. This reflects our growing ability to leverage digital connectivity to gather and consolidate health data, analyze it on a macro and micro level, and then use it to transform treatment. Along with this, healthcare’s settings are changing fast. They are being called on to support new delivery models that put people first, whether they’re patients or consumers. Gensler is involved with both. Here’s a report from the experts in its Health & Wellness, Life Sciences, and Mission Critical practices on what they’re seeing as they engage with and contribute to this unfolding revolution.

Tulsa Cancer Institute, Tulsa, OK.

22 dialogue 27 I Talking About Community 23 below: Tulsa Cancer Institute, Healthcare is being supported Tulsa, OK. opposite: Cleveland Clinic Data Center, now by computers and analytical Brecksville, OH. machines. The aim is low-impact, personalized therapies.

In the name of wellness “The ability to grind through data is a big part of The US Affordable Care Act (ACA) mandated a switch to personalized medicine,” says Gensler’s Sarah Bader. electronic health records, spurring health institutions The beneficiaries include patients with rare diseases to implement or deepen their use of computerized who once had difficulty getting effective treatment— systems. With pre-existing conditions no longer an they are now candidates for the new “calculated” obstacle to healthcare insurance, the ACA makes therapies. Likewise, Gensler’s Jim Simon adds, physician- medical privacy less of an issue, encouraging people to-physician knowledge has grown in sophistication. to share health information in the name of wellness. “Physicians now have real-time access to a global net- The ACA’s incentives also support the push for more work of colleagues. They can learn about an epidemic effective, less costly treatment—at a time when super- from on-the-ground sources and then tap them to computers and Big Data are helping to deliver it. identify promising treatments and containment mea- Electronic records improve the quality of care by sures.” To keep the whole network informed, computers removing the potential for lost or misplaced informa- can track informal as well as official communications. tion, streamlining access to it by physicians and Computers are also transforming standard testing patients, and coordinating care by teams of providers work flows. Quest Diagnostics’ new laboratory in in different locations. In the future, “your digital Marlborough, near Boston, integrates a clinical diag- medical records will be like your bank account,” says nostic lab with an automated sample flow system. “It’s Gensler’s Jackson Metcalf. “Insurance carriers and the heart of a 200,000-square-foot facility that opti- healthcare providers will give people a convenient way mizes how specimens are processed,” Gensler’s Chris to share that data, like an ATM card or a digital wallet.” Haynes explains. “Overall turnaround is faster, and They will likely charge others outside their network the results can be delivered on a cloud-based platform, a fee for doing so, he adds, as a way to pay for the data even to smartphones.” A 2-foot-high raised floor centers where they store and process the data. simplifies the way the IT network and lab utility infra- The convenience of sharing data is a competitive structure are deployed, allowing greater flexibility to advantage for carriers and providers, but its importance accommodate changes in work flow or equipment. “It is much broader. Leading medical centers like Cleveland marries data management with the wet lab in an envi- Clinic use high-performance computers for medical ronment that facilitates this with mission critical–style research aimed at developing targeted gene-therapy robustness,” Haynes notes. This points to a trend, treatments, and even predicting new diseases. “The Wilhelms adds: “Healthcare is increasingly augmented goal is to aggregate and analyze the DNA profiles of tens by computers and analytical machines. For patients, this of thousands of patients to find patterns that improve means very tailored, low-impact therapies in the future.” treatment outcomes,” Gensler’s Paul Wilhelms says. “If The Cleveland Clinic Data Center also supports a a set of genetic factors correlates with favorable out- 24-hour, on-call nurse advice program. As Metcalf comes, they can use these factors to design a tailored describes it, “Calls go through the data center and are therapy for patients who fit that profile, reducing the routed to the appropriate nurse. Because nurses give time and risk associated with treatment.” medical advice, everything is recorded and stored.” Digitization also enables fortuitous, ad hoc responses, Toward a faster diagnosis says Simon, citing the example of a physician on an The Cleveland Clinic was the first medical center to overseas flight: “He used his iPhone to access the apply Watson, IBM’s Jeopardy-winning supercomputer, online health records of a very sick fellow passenger, to medicine. “By compiling huge amounts of patient diagnose the problem, and save the passenger’s life.” data, it reveals similarities that would normally escape notice,” Metcalf says. “It dramatically speeds up Personalized: healthcare’s next frontier diagnosis.” Watson complements Cleveland Clinic’s At the same time that large healthcare institutions are Gensler-designed data center, he notes. “Medical using data to better manage client health, “wearable” researchers have highly specific, often unforeseen devices are growing more popular. They could soon requirements for sensitive, power-intensive equipment. deliver a constant stream of personal, health-related It’s much easier for Cleveland Clinic to recruit research- data. Devices to monitor diabetes and Parkinson’s ers when they know their needs will be met. Its in real time point to a new generation of personal prod- high-performance computing center ensures that.” ucts that support healthcare management.

24 dialogue 27 I Talking About Community 25 Innovations like wearables and opposite: A concept for the Walgreens Community real-time data give pharmacies Pharmacy. below: The Innovation Hub at Jump a bigger role in healthcare. Simulation, OSF Healthcare System, Peoria, IL.

“Wearables and smartphones are affordable and widely Transforming healthcare is just as important for used,” Bader observes. “The availability of data-driven medical centers. It’s led the OSF Healthcare System in healthcare, with a network of providers, will change Peoria to partner with University of Illinois engineers the landscape.” MyQuest, a Quest Diagnostics app, to develop The Innovation Hub at Jump Simulation, gives patients 24/7 access to lab results, says Gensler’s a collaborative center aimed at transforming healthcare Barbara Bouza. Walgreens is another front-runner, by integrating data, analysis, treatment, and follow-up— combining in-person and digital engagement to stay tailored to the individual. On the R&D front, Texas connected with its customers. One-third of Americans Medical Center partnered with Houston’s Rice University live within 3 miles of a Walgreens. “At the store, and the University of Houston to develop TMCx, an people can talk with a nurse practitioner as well as accelerator focused on biomedical and medical technol- a pharmacist, and take care of everyday health needs, ogy breakthroughs. like shots and health screenings,” Bader says. “From Northwestern Medicine’s Lake Forest Hospital, near their phones, people can get everything from reminders Chicago, is planning to redevelop its 161-acre campus, to take their medicine to access to a physician through including a replacement hospital, around consumer- WebMD.” The new Walgreens Community Pharmacy driven concierge medicine. “We came up with ‘avatars’ will extend healthcare to consumers. Convenience is a of likely clients to understand how they will relate to big factor—its proximity to customers compares favor- the hospital and the campus emotionally and quali- ably to public access hospitals offering critical care, tatively, so the healthcare experience works for them,” which target patients within a 35-mile radius. Day explains. The avatars reflect a range of potential Healthcare insurance carriers like Horizon Blue Cross clients, along with the people who might accompany Blue Shield are also embracing a retail model to help them. They also include caregivers. Different scenarios their customers understand their coverage (or sign up help the Lake Forest team imagine how the new hos- for it) and educate themselves on wellness. “People pital and future campus will be experienced. Day gives know they have to take charge of their health, but the example of a pregnant woman who chooses to they’re not always sure what to do,” Bader says. “By give birth at Lake Forest. The team uses the avatar to locating where its customers shop, Horizon Blue Cross discuss every detail of her visits. This dialogue among Blue Shield can start that dialogue.” healthcare providers and their planners and designers creates an experiential narrative around a particular Toward “total person” healthcare patient type. When all of the avatar-based narratives “Integrating healthcare with retail is part of making it are combined, it allows the team to envision how user-friendly,” says Gensler’s Tama Duffy Day, “but the Lake Forest will be redesigned around a holistic push for personalized medicine is also transforming approach to healthcare. clinics and hospitals.” She points to the Tulsa Cancer “A holistic approach means that the campus, the hos- Institute (TCI) as an example. TCI pairs advances in pital, and the caregivers are aligned—the healthcare treatment with a conscious focus on patients as human settings as well as the technology that connects beings whose lives are bigger than their disease. From everyone and makes life easier and more convenient,” a design standpoint, TCI combines many of the same Day says. “It’s a ‘total person’ approach to healthcare strategies that make medical center data centers delivery,” Bader adds. “Along with personalized treat- flexible with experiential ideas drawn from hospitality— ment, it serves patients better because it’s focused on hotels, resorts, and spas. their individual experience.” Cancer care has changed dramatically, individual- izing treatment. “TCI’s clinicians see these changes in real time,” Day says. “They need incredible flexibility.” TCI has movable walls and a raised access floor, so updating equipment and introducing new treatments are easy. “From a patient perspective, the journey is Yukiko Bowman is a San Francisco–based thought out from start to finish,” she adds. “There’s no writer for Metropolis and other publications. crowded waiting room. Instead, there’s constant visual Edward Keegan contributes to Architect from relief—gardens, courtyards, and privacy. The Oklahoma Chicago and has published three books. prairie beyond them filters through the space.”

26 dialogue 27 I Talking About Community 27 CENTER WEST BIOPARK

C AREY S MODEL PARK CLUSTER

TREET

S TRICKER The Southwest Partnership

Master Plan, Baltimore, S TREET 1 NORTH CAREY approaches revitalization PROJECT LITTLE LITHUANIA one neighborhood at a time. FRANKLIN PARK SQUARE

THE ARCH

COMMUNITY RECDOEVEMMUNILOPMTEYN T ARLIN OPPOROCRHTUNIARDTY G HOLLINS MARKET TON A LITTLEPAGE’S VE LITTLEPAGES FURNITURE

C AREY S

TREET N MT CLARE JUNCTION E

W UNION S SQUARE

Planning While disasters grab headlines and set defensive agendas for resilience planning, they’re only part of the story. Resilience is also about strengthening communities economically and socially, as three Gensler projects illustrate. Baltimore’s resilience challenge is to jump-start local prosperity without harming community cohesion and pride. China’s Yunnan Province wants to balance economic and population growth with the need to preserve ample green space for agriculture, Re silient wildlife, and recreation. Makkah is the focus of national efforts by Saudi Arabia to diversify its economy, provide jobs, and maintain a high standard of living. While environmental issues run through all three, their planners’ real focus is on resilience as future-proofing—ensuring that each community can thrive, but thrive on its own terms, specific to the place. Local engagement includes working with tradition C ommunities to avoid or resolve conflicts. Nature is part of the existing context, along with other The word resilience sparks thoughts of natural disasters. dimensions that make a community what it is. Gensler works with all of these issues Three current Gensler projects show that it’s really about reviving to foster, channel, and sustain growth effectively. and sustaining the qualities that make a place uniquely a place.

By Alec Appelbaum

southwest partnership master plan Baltimore

Resilience as local revitalization exciting for us to translate their work with each other. They came into the “Planning at a community scale too often into more formal ideas.” process with separate agendas, but then discounts the community itself,” says The team met with working groups’ saw the need to connect,” Asal says. Peter Stubb. He and Elaine Asal were leaders to distill key issues, bolstering One of those engagement strategies part of a Gensler team that worked with the groups’ findings with quantitative was an “analog hackathon” in which seven Southwest Baltimore neighbor- and qualitative data and urban design members of the community brain- hoods to plan their revival. The effort analysis. It kept different stakeholders stormed what locally based projects and stands apart from traditional planning in the loop and convened a series of activities could be carried out quickly projects in that it allowed residents in public design workshops. The resulting at a grassroots level. “The ideas put for- this disinvested and troubled corner of Southwest Partnership Master Plan out- ward included adopting buildings that the city to serve as true cocreators. “It lines a set of design recommendations people would clean up on weekends; was about creating a resilient process, a that build on a framework of “big ideas.” creating events around a circus perfor- malleable framework in which residents This socially focused approach to mance; and tracing the history of a could find their own voice,” Asal says. planning enabled all involved to under- neighborhood and sharing it online and The project was also unique in that stand the existing urban context better. at local events,” Stubb notes. the energy needed to drive it was already It also spawned engagement strategies The seven neighborhoods are now in place when Gensler arrived at the that helped the neighborhoods arrive forming a 501(c)(3) entity to carry out table. “The neighborhoods formed work- at low-cost, targeted ways to revitalize. the master plan’s recommendations. ing groups,” Asal explains. Each group These efforts were key to ensuring that Their willingness to invest time and explored such issues as commercial the different neighborhoods’ visions of energy in Southwest Baltimore despite development, housing, and neighbor- their future aligned. “By involving every its challenges speaks to and is predictive hood preservation and branding. “It was neighborhood, we got them involved of its resilience.

28 dialogue 27 I Talking About Community 29 liaokuo mountain master plan Qujing, Yunnan Province, China

PROTECT, NOT EXPLOIT Preserve the natural features and scenic qualities while stimulating economic growth.

Farm Land Protection Area Limited Development Area No Development Area

Benefit, not impact National Theme Implement planned activities without Park Villages damaging the delicate ecosystem. Growth Continuity of makkah techno valley boundary at existing Makkah, Saudi Arabia mountain areas villages & farmland Makkah Techno Valley spurs innovation in the context of Saudi Arabia’s climate and traditions. INcorporate HEALTH Integrate a health and wellness theme with the culture and climate. Eco- Wetlands Farmland Open space & Strategic use viable wildlife of the natural habitat environment

The Liaokuo Mountain Resilience as regional well-being space intact,” Ford explains. To accom- life, so we’re making them part of any the tech sector in Saudi Arabia. To “It supports how they live and work, and culture, and family, along with hopes Resilience accepts a world that’s Master Plan for Qujing, While the Baltimore planners focused plish this, the Gensler team planned new development.” attract the talent such a venture needs, speaks to their technological ambitions, for the future. When planners talk about constantly in flux. How do you discover China, balances growth, community, and nature. on that city’s revitalization, their col- circulation, and defined development “China’s tendency is to see open land the planners pressed the idea of sup- but its roots are in the place and culture, resilience, they’re definitely thinking new truths and strengthen old ties leagues in China faced the challenge of boundaries around the area’s strong but as ripe for development,” Ford says. porting sustainable living at human scale. which guide how people interact.” It will about natural events that are part of the and roots? It takes early and ongoing managing urban growth without creating not always visible social anchors. “Napa Valley was once looked at simi- Urbanity in this context meant blending be a “town without gates” that invites unfolding history of a place—although conversation, intensive efforts to build sprawl. Shanghai-based Tom Ford says “The air is great in Qujing,” Ford says. larly, but the community pushed back. work and the rest of life, and making people to collaborate—as they must to potentially more problematic as popula- consensus, and a constant grounding of that Qujing, located in a fertile valley in “It’s also a place where the older genera- Qujing’s valley is now at the same cross- daily life more livable. To counter the generate new ideas—without overstep- tions grow and people start living in the new in each place’s nature and self- Yunnan Province—the headwaters of the tion lives with their families. Those ties roads.” The team incorporated urban intense summer heat and ensure year- ping bounds. environmental danger zones. knowledge. These are planners’ tools of Pearl River—reminded him of California’s matter and any redevelopment has to growth boundaries in the plan to help round walkability, the planners wove in This meant making community life But there’s more. “Resilience is also resilience—how they surface and burnish Napa Valley a generation ago. “Despite consider them. So wellness rose quickly persuade local officials to see that the shading and breeze corridors, and more intuitive, Cubillos notes. “The about making the connections that the behaviors and traditions that lead regional growth, Napa succeeded in to the surface. But spas and recupera- valley’s economy depends on it, he created outdoor settings that provide innovators have families, too, so tradi- matter to a community durable under communities to invest their hopes in a preserving what makes it what it is: its tive centers have broader appeal in explains. “The amenity is already there,” storm drainage to mitigate sporadic tion is in play. So we proposed to let changing conditions,” Stubb explains. place, whatever its challenges. vineyards and its beauty.” China, with its aging population.” says Ford. “The challenge is to keep new floods. Walkability matters, Cubillos community happen in a more open way.” He and other Gensler planners tasked Qujing anchors a comparable area. The everyday activities of an agrarian growth from encroaching on it. Contain- explains, because “innovation can take Separation is provided where it mat- with promoting resilience find that a lot Believing that resilience is achieved by economy produce specific community ing new growth preserves the valley and place anywhere. It doesn’t necessarily ters, but this is not a walled town. “It’s of reinforcement for place comes from reinforcing existing ties to land, culture, settings, says Gensler’s See Chen Chang— strengthens its communities.” happen in a lab.” designed to support the flow of people’s steps to make that place more social. Alec Appelbaum teaches at and family, Ford and his team aimed to “small places where people dry chili, Several universities are active partners, everyday lives in harmony with their When people ask, “How can we keep Pratt Institute and writes for bolster people’s health and wellness, spices, and corn, for example. Through Sustainable living at human scale with classrooms for knowledge transfer society’s requirements,” he says. things as they are?” they’re expressing Fortune and the New York Times. as well as protect farming, recreation, our fieldwork, we realized that people Carlos Cubillos and his team faced a collocated with nascent businesses. apprehension about the unknowable He also teaches a climate- and natural features. “The goal is to value and maintain these spaces. blank slate as they developed a plan for Making the outdoor spaces in between Resilience is as diverse as place itself future. The better questions to ask are, readiness curriculum for K–12 absorb new growth in a synergistic way, They gather there during commmunal an entirely new community, Makkah them a feature of the new community Places are markers for the intangibles “What do you love about this place? students, AllBeforeUs. keeping families together and the green festivals and also as part of daily Techno Valley, focused on developing resonated with students, Cubillos adds. that people really cherish: memory, What works well and what doesn’t?”

30 dialogue 27 I Talking About Community 31 S Split Decision MUH-TAY-ZIK | HOF-FER San Francisco

By Katie Tandy

The edgy office at 220 Sansome Street in San Francisco—home to team tables, collaboration zones, and café—are rendered in white, I EW advertising agency MUH-TAY-ZIK | HOF-FER—is a 7,000-square-foot while the more formal, client-focused spaces are black. testament to collaboration between client and designer. “I wanted “In their old office, people were spread out and chopped up,” said to invent something I couldn’t think of,” explains John Matejczyk, the Burry. “They didn’t like that. The idea here was to put everyone at a

V agency’s cofounder and creative director. “It all started with helping long kitchen table, so to speak.” But there are also opportunities for the Gensler team understand who we are—a creative mix of weirdos people to find solitude upstairs or brainstorm with their team. They and adventuresome thinkers. But I wanted all that adventure to be can also transform the space easily for client presentations. Within

+ sitting on a well-reasoned pedestal.” And the colors? “They come from the pared-down color palette is a rich mélange of textures, furniture, our work and our people,” Matejczyk says. and lighting fixtures. The cofounder’s wife, Lyn Matejczyk, combed Distributed across the 15th and 16th floors of a high-ceilinged, through antiques shops and flea markets to assemble a collection that 1920s building, the existing space was raw but striking, with steel ranges from a kidskin loveseat to wicker ottomans—all refinished, trusses and concrete ceilings, floors, and walls. Gensler designers reupholstered, and repainted. Collin Burry, Aishanie Marwah, and Howard Yao based their approach The communal worktable ensures a constant hum of collaboration, on an analogy of the two hemispheres of the brain—celebrating but Burry felt it was important to highlight the connection between the contrast between the “white canvas” of the artistic mind with the two floors with a “crazy blacked-out staircase” adorned with print the “black suit” of the business mind. The work zones—including a ads and framed stills from the agency’s commercials. “Sometimes the 64-foot-long collaborative table with 32 workstations, private offices, biggest challenges create the biggest opportunities,” said Burry. “This design allows the agency and its work to keep evolving.” EW S

Total area: 7,000 sf Katie Tandy, a Bay Area–based writer, contributes to the Floor levels: 2 Huffington Post, Design Bureau, and other websites. N Ceiling heights: 12 ft (15th floor) and 19 ft (16th)

32 dialogue 27 I Talking About Community 33 Rooted in Place El Palacio de Hierro QuerÉtaro, Mexico

By Aryn Beitz

Two hours north of Mexico City is Querétaro. As the capital of the looked closely at the region’s native materials and took inspiration most diverse of Mexican states, Querétaro is attracting investors with from influences such as its natural wellsprings. big plans for the historic colonial town. When Mexican retail chain Collaborating with the building architect, Javier Sordo Madaleno, El Palacio de Hierro asked Gensler to design a 300,000-square-foot Gensler created a true indoor-outdoor effect. “The garden at the luxury department store there, it set out to uncover the region’s DNA entrance extends into the building, while the building reaches out through site and field research. “The client wanted a deeply rooted, into the garden,” says Russell. Inside, each floor offers a different yet updated, more modern interpretation of Querétaro,” explains experience, with the journey beginning at ground level, mirroring Gensler’s Michael Gatti, who led the New York–based team with assis- Querétaro’s own rocky foundation. The tropical forest–inspired tance from Gensler’s office in Mexico City. second level evokes the local climate and indigenous plant life. The To begin, Gensler created a story line that spoke compellingly to third floor emulates a celestial experience, representing the night Querétaro’s varied landscape and rich spirit. “We took into account the sky through ceiling and lighting treatments. The heart of the experi- characteristics inherent in the Palacio brand—that it’s authentic, ence is the central atrium and fountain, complete with water features natural, classic, and modern—and how those four ideas are manifest and hand-cut marble forms that resemble river rock. in Querétaro,” says design director Kate Russell. Gensler developed “The Querétaro store is very popular,” says Antonio Caliz, head of the story line with an eye toward Querétaro’s remarkable landscape, Gensler’s Mexico City office. Following its opening, sales exceeded including a high desert, tropical forests, and lush jungle to the east, projections by 50 percent, reports Palacio Marketing Director Carlos and dusty brown hills and tumbleweeds to the west. The team also Salcido. “It truly captures our DNA,” he adds. “It’s given our brand an exceptional head start in one of Mexico’s fastest-growing markets.”

Total area: 300,000 sf Aryn Beitz, a New York City–based writer, is pursuing her MFA Number of departments: 40+ degree in Communications Design at Pratt Institute. Age of retail chain: 125 years

34 dialogue 27 I Talking About Community 35 dialogue

editorial contributors editorial board grow your own Editor Alec Appelbaum Robin Klehr Avia Our founder writes a new book John Parman Allison Arieff Andy Cohen Aryn Beitz Art Gensler Creative Director Yukiko Bowman David Gensler Mark Coleman Macaulay Campbell Diane Hoskins Issue Editor Eva Hagberg Fisher By Stephanie Shacter Vernon Mays Edward Keegan Vernon Mays Lead Designer Martin Pedersen Ngoc Ngo Tim Pittman Managing Editor Stephanie Shacter Lainie Ransom Katie Tandy Mark Thaler Photography Editor and Team Manager Tiffany Strike

Digital Designer Jonathan Skolnick

credits thanks

All images are credited to Gensler unless Elaine Asal, Baltimore Gensler is a leading architecture, design, otherwise noted. Pat Askew, Washington, DC planning, and consulting firm, with offices in Tiago Chediak, courtesy of Lisa Phillips: Sarah Bader, Chicago the Americas, Asia, Australia, Europe, and the page 12 Kashyap Bhimjiani, Washington, DC Middle East. Dialogue magazine focuses on Ted Fahn: page 19 center left Barbara Bouza, Los Angeles design’s ability to transform organizations and Joe Fletcher: page 16 top; page 18 Maureen Boyer, São Paulo improve people’s lives. center right David Broz, Chicago Gensler/Ryan Gobuty: cover; pages 2–3; Collin Burry, San Francisco Dialogue issues and added content can be page 4; page 7; page 21 bottom Antonio Caliz, Mexico City found online at dialogue.gensler.com. Emily Hagopian: page 36 top See Chen Chang, Shanghai Individual articles also appear as features Roman Iwaisikwa/The Clark, courtesy of Carlos Cubillos, Washington, DC on www.gensler.com (now iPad compatible). Michael Conforti: page 13 Tama Duffy Day, Chicago Nic Lehoux: pages 16–17 top right Tim Etherington, Shanghai Dialogue is produced twice a year by Gensler Maryland Historical Society: pages 28–29 top Tom Ford, Shanghai Publications. © 2015 Gensler. To comment When Art Gensler spoke to fellow graduates of Cornell’s College of Charlie Mayer: page 1 right; pages 34–35 Michael Gatti, New York or request copies of the print edition, please Architecture, Art, and Planning in March, he noted how he’d come full Nick Merrick: pages 22–23; page 24 Shawn Gehle, Los Angeles write us at [email protected]. circle—from being a student of great teachers to becoming a teacher Matthew Millman: pages 16–17 bottom Chris Haynes, Boston himself. The occasion was the opening of the College’s new outpost at Nacasa & Partners, Inc.: page 9 large image David Herjeczki, Los Angeles Dialogue is printed on FSC®-certified, 10 percent 26 Broadway in Manhattan. Art used it to unveil a work of his own, Catherine Opie, courtesy of Michael Govan: William Hooper, Washington, DC postconsumer-waste paper with ultralow- his new book, Art’s Principles. “I wrote it because I wish I’d had it when page 14 Julie Hutchison, Chicago VOC (<3 percent) vegetable oil–based ink. I ventured out to start my own firm,” Art said. “We need practitioners— Scott Pease: page 25 top and bottom Patrick Magness, London Savings to our natural resources include: in architecture and other fields—to understand the day-to-day realities Pomona College, courtesy of Kathleen Howe: Kap Malik, Los Angeles of their profession in a business context.” page 15 Aishanie Marwah, San Francisco 9 million BTUs of net energy Art’s book draws on his decades of experience as a giant in the Jasper Sanidad: page 1 far right; pages 32–33 Brent Mather, Denver 19 fully grown trees design field. Coauthored with the educator Michael Lindenmayer, Jay Shen/Duke Kunshan University: page 9 Jackson Metcalf, Chicago 591 pounds of solid waste Art’s Principles is an accessible guide to growing a firm and building top right Melissa Mizell, San Francisco 1,629 pounds of greenhouse gases one’s own career. The book is peppered with real-life examples, and Morley von Sternberg: page 8 top Maria Nesdale, London 8,883 gallons of waste water its wit is captured in illustrations by Gensler Principal Doug Wittnebel. Bill Timmerman: page 1 left; page 6; page 11 Patricia Nobre, Boston Both help make Art’s Principles a memorable as well as a valuable read. Ty Osbaugh, Washington, DC Environmental impact estimates were made Kate Russell, New York using the Environmental Paper Network Jim Simon, New York Paper Calculator Version 3.2. FSC® is not Peter Stubb, Baltimore responsible for any calculations on saving Mark Thaler, New York resources by choosing this paper. Keith Thompson, Los Angeles Formats: Print and e-book Betsy Vohs, Minneapolis To buy: Available from Amazon.com Paul Wilhelms, Houston Learn more: www.artsprinciples.com Howard Yao, San Francisco Terence Young, Los Angeles

36 dialogue 27 I Talking About Community 37 Practice Areas Locations

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