Yale New Haven Health & BAM Collaboration
Yale New Haven Health & BAM Collaboration
In a lightning fast 3 months, Yale New Haven Health and BAM collaborated to design and build an Emergency Department Annex Building with 35 new patient bays and 9 nurse stations, delighting both staff and patients. Recently completed, learn more about this project by watching the video below!
Women's History Month 2022
Women's History Month 2022
BAM celebrates Women’s History Month by highlighting important women in our lives! The BAM team was excited to participate and shared photos and stories of the women that are special to them.
Natalia Maldonado, Principal at BAM
Natalia picked her mum and Pau.
Pam Cole, Principal and Founder at BAM
Pam picked her paternal mam-maw.
My family is from Appalachia, the gorgeous Blue Ridge Mountains. Her strong will, clear focus and gorgeous white hair has inspired me to live my best life. I’m still waiting to get her beautiful white hair and her courage inspires me every day.
Veronica Cruz Fernandez, Architectural Job Captain at BAM
Veronica picked her mother.
One of the biggest inspirations in my life is my mother, Monica Heredia. As an immigrant to the US, she instilled the values of working hard, perseverance and dedication, enjoying the big and small things in life, and pursuing educational and professional goals.
Dan Castner, Principal at BAM
Dan picked his mother, sisters, wife, and daughter.
I wouldn’t be the person I am without the women in my life.
My Mother, Monica Castner, was a nurse, and taught me about unconditional empathy and gave me the drive to always search for understanding. Growing up with my five sisters; Bonnie, Christine, Barbra, Karen, and Maria, all taught me about diplomacy and consensus building. My wife, Heather, teaches me every day about patience, respect, and humility. And my daughter, Grete, reminds and teaches me every day about curiosity, humor, optimism and raw enthusiasm.
Caroline Sarrette, Graphic Designer at BAM
Caroline picked sa maman.
She is obviously the best mum in the world, and I am not biased! 😉
She was a secretary at University in France but she was a lot more than that. She spearheaded a lot of student programs and supported them through their studies and career paths. Today, she volunteers at Le Secours Populaire to support immigrants and underprivileged people back in my hometown in Besancon. She devoted her life helping others and guided me through everything. I truly admire her for all the things she does and went through in life. <3
Black History Month 2022
Black History Month 2022
Carter G. Woodson was a scholar who first established “Negro History Week” during the second week of February. And why that week? Because it encompasses the birthdays of Abraham Lincoln and Frederick Douglass—both men being great American symbols of freedom.
Dr. Woodson’s dedication to celebrating the historic contributions of Black people led to the establishment of Black History Month, marked every February since 1976.
This Black History Month BAM celebrated by highlighting Black Owned businesses. If you’re near our offices in Los Angeles or New York, check out some of our favorite Black Owned restaurants in the area. How did you celebrate Black History Month?
Featuring Black Owned Businesses
Hank Jenkins, founder of The Plant Provocateur
What once began as a traveling plant lover’s popup marketplace around Los Angeles 10 years ago, then became a word-of-mouth, go-to brick-and-mortar plant shop in the Silver Lake neighborhood of Los Angeles. While operating The Plant Provocateur brick-and-mortar shop Hank Jenkins taught various engaging plant workshops and created an exciting plant community. Now in this new ‘Covid’ world, after 5 years, the brick-and-mortar has closed and evolved into a virtual online plant shop.
Agnes Baddoo, founder of a Leather Goods Company
Designer and stylist Agnes Baddoo observes her surroundings by investigating our ever-changing environment and the interactions of people through fashion. Inspired by simple forms with function and an interest in genuine craft and techniques, Agnes Baddoo creates leather goods that are well made and classic in both Los Angeles, California and New York City, New York.
Jerry Lorenzo, founder of Fear of God
Fear of God is an independent American luxury fashion label, founded in 2013 in Los Angeles by Jerry Lorenzo. Crafting timeless, wearable garments, the brand’s distinct interpretation of the American expression has become an emblem of contemporary culture. Paying homage to the unique heritage with a contemplated and sophisticated fusion through high-grade materials and fine craftsmanship.
Find more black owned businesses in the links below.
Featuring Black Owned Restaurants
Tamearra Dyson, founder of Souley Vegan
Tamearra Dyson, Chef and Owner at Souley Vegan, has been cooking her signature vegan dishes since she was 18. Chef Dyson believes in cruelty free eating.
Chef Velvet, founder of The VTree
The Vtree offers a one-of-a-kind experience with a selection of plant-based options that are derived from southern classic recipes. Each option on the menu is seasoned to perfection and is a mind, body, and soul treat.
Chef Velvet is a sought after celebrity chef, entrepreneur, author, social justice activist, public speaker, and restaurant owner. She is the visionary behind the hottest restaurant in Los Angeles, “The Vtree Silverlake”. Not only is she one of the most sought-after celebrity chefs in the business. She also is the co-Founder of “Vegan in the Hood” a global program that teaches underserved communities the importance of community gardens, self-sustainability, and the life benefits of a healthy diet.
Nesanet and Azla, founders of Azla Vegan
Located in the Mercado la Paloma—an incubator for first-time business and non-profit owners run by Esperanza Community Housing—on South Grand Avenue, Azla Vegan is symbolic of its matriarchal namesake’s love for and devotion to her family. It’s symbolic of her youngest daughter’s, Nesanet’s, passion for integrating community, health and culture together. Before opening in 2013, “My mom was actually retired in Ethiopia,” Nesanet tells me. You see, Azla immigrated to the United States—twice. Once to raise a family, and then to return to family.
Find more black owned restaurants in the links below.
Black Owned Businesses
Black Owned Restaurants
615 N Western Ave, Los Angeles, CA
https://souleyvegan.com/
The V Tree Hollywood
https://www.vtreevegan.com/
Azla Ethiopian Eatery
http://azlavegan.com/
Jackfruit Cafe
https://jackfruitcafe.com/
Woodspoon
https://www.woodspoonla.com/restaurant
203 Wilson Ave, Brooklyn NY
https://www.solsipsnyc.com/
Brooklyn Chophouse
https://www.brooklynchophouse.com/
Sweet Chick
https://www.sweetchick.com/
Seasoned Vegan
https://www.seasonedvegan.com/
Negril Village
https://www.negrilvillage.com
Wayfinding or The Art Of Navigation
Wayfinding or
The Art Of Navigation
Wayfinding has existed for centuries and is still very relevant today, but its shapes, forms and to some extent, purposes have evolved over time as the world has seen new landscapes and spaces come to life. People have to adjust to new surroundings and with the new digital era, new tools appeared that impacted wayfinding and its purpose. Not only is wayfinding a tool to help people navigate but it has also become a tool to learn from user behaviors and connect with them through more targeted marketing techniques. In this paper, the history of wayfinding and an overview of the different wayfinding principles and information systems used in built environments will be looked into. With this background and discussions with the architecture and interiors teams at BAM, recommendations of how to create a clear wayfinding plan and showcase examples of these systems will be offered. The history of wayfinding along with the principles and information systems used in built environments help to create opportunities for a clear wayfinding plan. In addition to adding to the built environment experience, the evolution of wayfinding systems can help mitigate the spread of viruses in light of Covid 19 and respond to future needs of a post pandemic world.
Wayfinding History And Definition
Wayfinding historically refers to the techniques used by travelers to discover unmarked routes. These techniques include but are not limited to dead reckoning, maps (earliest known maps are of the stars), compass, astronomical positioning or celestial navigation, radio navigation, and more recently, global positioning also known as GPS (1978).
In modern society, the term wayfinding has been used in the context of architecture to help the user experience in orientation and navigation within a built environment. Kevin A. Lynch used the term (originally “way-finding”) for his 1960 book The Image of the City, where he defined way-finding as “a consistent use and organization of definite sensory cues from the external environment.” According to the Society for Experiential Graphic Design (SEGD), “Wayfinding refers to information systems that guide people through a physical environment and enhance their understanding and experience of the space.”
fun fact
According to National Geographic, sophisticated celestial navigation is still being used today by NASA and other space agencies for many of their missions outside the Earth’s atmosphere. This approach was used by the Apollo program to chart their way to the moon and back. More recently, the Mars Exploration Rover uses celestial navigation to communicate information back to engineers and researchers on Earth.
Wayfinding has become more prominent over time due to the increasing amount of complex built environments. It is used across many industries, but is more easily identified in the design of healthcare facilities, research campuses, education campuses, transportation hubs (subways, airports), and cultural centers (museums).
Urban and architectural environments have grown busier and more complex over time with more people, new buildings and expanding new spaces wide. The growing complexity of architectural environments requires the use of visual cues for visitors to navigate on their own. These cues can be maps, signage, symbols or colors. Wayfinding systems help guide the users through a more pleasant, safe, or even potentially immersive experience.
Wayfinding may be used in many ways, but the most commonly used tools are maps, signs and floor markings created in both static and digital forms. New tools for wayfinding such as mobile apps have appeared with new technologies.
Static and Digital Wayfinding Maps
Wayfinding maps are a representation/plan of the surrounding environment and indicate where a person is situated to help navigate within the space.
Digital versions of maps are now more widely available and while they have a similar purpose to static maps, they are more interactive and require the user to engage with their mobile device.
Static Signs
The most common forms of static wayfinding signage may be classified into four categories:
1-Identification Signs
Identification signs inform the user when they have arrived at their destination.
Examples of Identification Signs
- Door plaques (John Doe, Head of HR)
- Departmental markers (Accounting and Finance; Marketing)
- Landmark signage (Donor Plaque; Historical Marker)
2-Directional Signs
Directional signage gives people the direction they need to follow to reach their destination. They usually have arrows pointing to the direction a user needs to take to reach their destination.
Examples of directional signs
- Junction signs (left to bathroom, right to outdoor patio)
- Directory signage (Doctor Smith, 9th floor, GP Department)
- Directional colored lines on the floor
3-Informational Signs
Informational signage gives people the information they need when located in a specific area. They are usually found in entry and reception areas such as lobbies or waiting rooms. This signage gives primary information to the user including the location of the bathrooms, when the business closes, and/or how often the area is sanitized.
Examples of Informational Signs
- Amenities and accommodations (Free Wi-Fi; elevators)
- Facilities signage (bathrooms; exits; cafeteria)
- Business information (hours of operation; address numbers)
4-Regulatory Signs
Regulatory signage focuses on safety and liability concerns. It also sets boundaries for the users by telling them where they can and cannot go or what they can or cannot do. It reinforces rules, safety and privacy standards. Regulatory signs are direct and leave no space for ambiguity: Employees Only, Caution! High Voltage!, No Smoking, etc.…
Examples of Regulatory Signs
- Rules and regulations (no smoking; no firearms)
- Compliance standards (ADA accessibility; high voltage sign)
- Access control (no entry beyond this point; employees only)
Floor Markings
Floor markings, just like signs, have a different use and purpose but are similar in nature; identification, directional, informative, and regulatory floor markings can be identified. The brand Brady has developed a concise explanatory chart that helps bring sense to floor markings, at least in industrial environments.
Wayfinding, a Hybrid Discipline
Wayfinding designers usually have a hybrid of graphic, architectural, and environmental design skill sets. The job descriptions typically require a BFA in Graphic, Industrial or Interior Design, Architecture, or Urban Planning. Wayfinding designers often work closely with architects and interior designers to implement an effective wayfinding system for any new or remodeled space. This role requires close collaboration across disciplines and a good understanding of the space, plans, elevations, finishes and installation details. A wayfinding designer should be able to read architectural plans such as:
- Reflected ceiling plans (RCP), as this is where fire exits are indicated
- Finish, floor, and elevation plans, as these might be useful for visual wayfinding to depict painted arrows and symbols
- Partition plans/furniture plans, since they give a sense of how the space is occupied by furniture and how people would move through the space
A wayfinding designer also needs to implement an effective wayfinding system that speaks to and supports the brand voice, message, and mission. Users need to identify and recognize a company when walking into the space, and the design needs to be cohesive with the overall brand tone. Wayfinding design requires a good understanding of general graphic design, typography, type settings, color theory and iconography design as well as an equally strong understanding of materials and finishes. The more technical mounting aspects are also important skills, as a wayfinding plan must account for these details. Wayfinding designers should consider the different types of materials used in the space, how they will interact with one another, and what is involved with installation.
7 Steps to Create a Clear Wayfinding Plan
Wayfinding projects require a tight, well organized plan as there are many moving parts involved in the process. Seven steps to help create an effective and cohesive wayfinding plan include:
Step 1 – Conduct a Space Audit
It is essential to understand the space in which the wayfinding system will be installed. As specified above, the team working on the wayfinding system needs to be able to read architectural drawings and documents to develop a well-rounded wayfinding plan.
Step 2 – Define Signage Types
Once the team has an understanding of the space and the needs of the project, a list of signs that will be needed is then put together. Signage types are identified and attributed a “type name,” usually a generic, abbreviated legend name such as sign type A1, A2, B1, B2, D1, D2… depending on the vendor. Each sign has a particular and specific usage. As covered above, these signs are usually identified and distributed into categories such as identification, directional, informational, and regulatory.
side note
All elements within a wayfinding plan must be clearly defined and use concise and simplified/coded nomenclature to help with clear communication to avoid any confusion for vendors down the line. This is especially valuable when the design team is dealing with large spaces and multiple floors.
Step 3: Identify Graphic Elements: Typography, Iconography and Colors
These graphic elements are crucial to create a clear and immersive wayfinding and branding experience.
Once the types of signs have been identified, graphic design elements need to be defined. If the client has an established visual identity, using their branding guidelines will help define typography, iconography style and colors/finishes. If not, this might be a chance to get creative and define those parameters for them. The typography and type setting need to be readable; the color palette must be easy to differentiate, and icon style must be easy to identify and recognize. It is also a good idea to allocate a code to each color (C1, C2, C3…), finish (F1, F2, F3), icon (I1, I2, I3…) and type setting (TS1, TS2, TS3…) which will be referenced during signage layout design and production.
Step 4: Define Graphic Layout on Signage: Types and Element Settings
Once the graphic elements have been established, they must be incorporated into the different types of signage. The elements must be logical and cohesive to avoid any confusion. Users will acclimate themselves with a certain hierarchy of elements when navigating through the environment, so it is essential for the hierarchy to be the same and accurate through the entire journey.
Step 5: Mockup Typical Installation Elevations
It is important to establish signage types for a project and where they will be used. Elevation plans are usually best to mock this up, as elevations may show signage that will be used on corner walls, by elevators or on glass doors. Usually, dimensions are also provided so the company in charge of installation knows exactly where the signs should be placed, and to ensure consistent placement for all signs throughout the entire building.
Step 6: Confirm Mounting Instructions
Each sign must be correctly mounted depending on both the size of the signage and the surface on which it will be installed. Signs that will be mounted on solid walls will require different mounting instructions than those mounted on glass doors.
Step 7: Create Sign Location Plans
Finally, once all items above have been established, a clear sign location plan must be created to reference all signage that needs to be installed on all the floors of the building. Usually, floor plans are used and marked up with signage codes that clearly show sign locations with the use of arrows. This plan is then distributed to the company in charge of producing and installing the signs within the space.
Wayfinding, the Graphic Design & Branding Component
Wayfinding is not just about giving the users direction; while this is the primary intent, it can also support a brand identity. A brand can show its personality and tell a story through wayfinding. Creating a branded wayfinding system helps users understand the brand, the services offered, and help them identify with the brand. When used correctly, wayfinding is another way for the modern brand to build a relationship and loyalty with their audience through an immersive experience and strong customer service.
Wayfinding Case Studies in Multiple Industries: A Showcase
Art centers, healthcare facilities and transit systems have been particularly forward thinking when it comes to wayfinding. They have combined traditional wayfinding tools such as static signage alongside more modern ones such as touchscreen technology, apps, and digital signage to help guide visitors in and around their facilities.
Below are three well-known examples from each of these industries that are particularly compelling wayfinding case studies to showcase.
Transportation Industry
Wayfinding in Transportation: New York City Transit Authority
Designer: Massimo Vignelli – 1970
One famous transportation wayfinding case study that will resonate with any graphic designer is, of course, the New York City Transit Authority developed and designed by Massimo Vignelli and his team at Unimark International Consultant Designers. The reason why this specific case study is interesting is that the New York Transit Authority continues to use Unimark-created trademarks today, and anyone familiar with the MTA and the NYC Subway will recognize it. It is a solid example of effective wayfinding and engaging graphic design work for a very busy and massive urban scale setting.
It speaks to the strength of this wayfinding system that it was invented in 1970 and is still being used today. It has been edited and has evolved over time to support infrastructure changes and improvement plans. Despite these revisions, its essence remains, and it is still widely used to help give directions to all busy New Yorkers and visitors alike. Standards Manual, an independent publishing imprint with a mission to archive and preserve artifacts of design history, recently published the NYCTA Graphics Standards Manual with scans of Massimo Vignelli and Unimark’s design. Highlighting the important contribution of this design to history, Standards Manual’s book includes images of the original style guide:
Healthcare Industry
Wayfinding in Healthcare: Weill Cornell Medicine
Designer: BAM Creative – Ongoing Collaborations
Healthcare campuses present a unique set of challenges. Often, these environments have developed over time and encompass multiple buildings, some of them being old and some being brand new. This makes navigation among the buildings complex and regular upgrades are needed.
To respond to rapid changes in the hospital environment, staff ends up taping 8.5 x 11 temporary signs throughout the hallways, which compromises the effectiveness of the wayfinding system already in place.
“So many hospitals have overlapping layers of color paths on the floor, and/or on the walls, [and] signs that contradict other signs. Locations of people and departments in most hospitals is not a static condition. I often have told clients that they need to remove ALL signage and start over.
It’s really important that healthcare systems develop a system that is not dependent on the signage vendor. It has to be clear, flexible, and expandable” says Helen Cohen, AIA, LEED AP BD+C, Healthcare Practice Leader at BAM NY.
With Helen’s comments in mind, new technologies offer a clear, flexible, and expandable wayfinding option. An example is the use of electronic, readily editable screens that may be updated as needed, without taping up paper or waiting for a new sign to be installed. An additional benefit of screens is that content may be provided in multiple languages, creating a more inclusive patient experience. Another system to assist in the wayfinding experience uses the GPS in a smartphone to direct a visitor around a campus, although it is currently only available on newer campuses with the infrastructure to support this system. It is slowly being adopted more widely, and it opens doors to new possibilities for the healthcare industry to improve wayfinding.
Finding good case studies for healthcare can be challenging, due to the reasons Helen notes above. BAM created a compelling project at Weill Cornell with clear signage and effective wayfinding. To create an easier experience for visitors and staff alike, the large red numbers make it easy to direct people to different corridors by indicating the number. Using numbers for the corridors, exam rooms, and offices (as opposed to names) considers both flexibility and long-term use for the facility. Instead of having to swap out new signage should the department or staff change, the numbering is clear regardless of how the space is used.
Cultural Centers
Wayfinding in Cultural Centers: MOMA
Museum Expansion and Brand Refresh – 2019
MOMA expanded the museum late 2019 and underwent a brand refresh at the same time. As a part of this project, new wayfinding systems needed to be installed. AIGA hosted an event with the internal creative team at MOMA that I had the chance to attend, and the event focused on the ramifications of an expansion and a brand refresh on wayfinding. As a part of this initiative, MOMA used a lot of digital tools that not only helped visitors to circulate around the museum but increased online customer acquisition for MOMA.
One element in the museum, that came up during an AIGA event in NYC back in 2019, that seemed very challenging for the creative team was the white labels printed beside each art piece. The MOMA team used to manage each label through an Excel document, and it sounded like a logistical nightmare. With the rebrand, they researched vendors to provide efficient systems to collect, manage and print these labels. They found a vendor who produced a Content Management System (CMS) that made the life of the creative team a bit easier in regard to label management. It was an interesting anecdote, as one would not think of the logistics of it all from a visitor’s standpoint.
Wayfinding and Our New Normal
Wayfinding After the Pandemic
The recent pandemic has greatly impacted how people interact with each other and within a space, due to social distancing and the reduced indoor occupancy. Touch surfaces have also become questionable and wayfinding needs to evolve and consider the new variables.
A study in 2019 from Markets & Markets found that the digital signage market is expected to increase from $20.8 billion in 2019 to $29.6 billion by 2024, growing annually at a rate of 7.3 percent. This number is likely to grow as interactive digital signage offers additional value during the pandemic.
Last month, the team at 22Miles released a whitepaper, Wayfinding Solutions & New Workplace Design, exploring the future of the workplace, building management post-pandemic, and how digital signage and wayfinding can be leveraged to support the logistical challenges facing enterprise workspaces, hospitality, education, and other industries.
Kiosks and displays positioned at entrances can serve as a first line of defense and communication.
Touchscreen Dilemma
With public touchscreens, used by a large number of people, an infected person could leave a virus on a surface and successfully infect another uncontaminated person without their knowledge.
Infectious disease epidemiologist Dr. Tara Smith from Kent State University said, “Since so many people are touching them day in and day out, they’re a great place for viruses and bacteria to be deposited by infected individuals and be picked up by healthy ones, spreading the germ to new people.”
In an attempt to combat potential spread, Dr. Smith suggested that companies should consider increasing hygiene measures for those using the screens, such as wipes on the stations. But until it is known for sure that companies are doing so, is it safer just to avoid touchscreens? Or do we have other options?
Mobile App Check Ins
Using the smartphone as a platform for interaction with a public-facing interface effectively confines the experience to a safe personal space. The average smartphone user touches their device 2,617 times a day. When coupled with the fact that smartphone owners already know how to perform the most basic input gestures on their phones, you’ve got the raw ingredients of a solution for interacting with shared systems that works for a broad swath of the public.
With the scan of a QR code, a smartphone becomes a remote trackpad with full multi-touch control of the shared screen. It’s a solution with a low barrier to entry and high ROI, both economical and eco-friendly. It even has the potential to make touchscreens more accessible to those with severe mobility issues, extending its usefulness far into the future.
Check-in or navigational apps are becoming the standard in industries such as healthcare. Google Maps AR navigation system can also be used within a built space to help direct patients and remove the contact with staff, keeping one-way navigation in mind.
Since many touchscreen technologies have already been installed, the other solutions to keep these investments running are to make them incredibly safe (even when touch is necessary) by using anti-microbial screens or to make them touchless. A few companies have created some solutions, including companies that now produce anti-microbial screen protectors and anti- microbial screen paint that kills germs. If the anti-bacterial solutions will be effective and reassuring enough to the public is not certain, and some other technologies should be considered, especially post-pandemic.
From Touch to Touchless Technology
Touchless technologies can be implemented onto current touchscreen signs already in place, allowing businesses to retain the return on investment on these machines by turning them into touchless devices.
New technologies such as a gesture control that is powered by cameras, using hand tracking and haptics or voice control are also good touchless alternatives. These might be more effective in quieter settings, as busy environments such as restaurants or retail could be challenging with the noise for voice control.
All these new technologies are still being tested and will evolve as the world adjusts to a new normal. One thing to watch is how these digital platforms bring wayfinding to a whole new level, where it not only has an informative purpose but also a marketing one. Technology and wayfinding combined can collect information about customers and can give accurate data which transforms the world of wayfinding in a major way.
In Conclusion
Safety and security are the pillars to strong wayfinding. A wayfinding system that is clear will make the user feel safe and secure navigating within the environment. Even more so, it can have a big impact on how a brand is perceived if carried through effectively and users can identify themselves with these brands and become ambassadors. Traditional wayfinding, such as static signs, are still relevant in today’s world and can help support businesses post-pandemic. Digital wayfinding tools, on the other hand, need to be updated and adjusted since the pandemic. It will require the use of new touchless technologies or the development of new mobile applications. People’s smart phones will become a source of safe navigation in the years to come. All these touchpoints can play a crucial role in a brand’s success. Wayfinding, and more specifically digital wayfinding, is evolving from an informative tool to a marketing/omnichannel tool which can help with customer acquisition and retention and will become a major part of any brands’ bottom line.
Celebrate Pride!
Celebrate Pride!
To build a more productive and welcoming community, it's important that we foster a culture of empathy and inclusion.
BAM supports being knowledgeable about legislation that affects the communities in which we live. As a part of Pride Month, we wanted to highlight legislation currently impacting the LGBTQ+ community. See the legislative tracker at the link below:
AAPI Heritage Month 2021
Asian American
and Pacific Islanders
Heritage Month
By the Culture Circle Team at BAM:
Tiana Howell, Architectural Designer at BAM Creative, New York,
Cindy Liu, Interior Design Job Captain, Los Angeles, CA,
Sadie Meyer, Architectural Designer, Los Angeles, CA,
Morgan Summer, Architectural Designer, Los Angeles, CA
During this Asian American and Pacific Islanders Heritage Month, BAM celebrates the creatives that inspire us. BAM Creative stands with the Asian and Pacific Islander community in fighting against racism, injustice, and anti-Asian hate crimes.
During this Asian American and Pacific Islanders Heritage Month, BAM celebrates the creatives that inspire us. BAM Creative stands with the Asian and Pacific Islander community in fighting against racism, injustice, and anti-Asian hate crimes.
http://synthesis-dna.com/studio/people/alvin_huang_aiaDesign As An Emergent Process | Ambrish Arora | Studio Lotus
https://www.architecturaldigest.com/gallery/13-examples-of-modern-architecture-by-tadao-ando
https://www.aispacefactory.com/about-ai-spacefactory-david-malott
2018 Middle East Conference - David Malott “Disrupting Density: Hacking the Tall Building”
Dennis C.K. Poon- Chengdu Greenland:A Non-Coplanar Exoskeleton
Willow Lung-Amam : Trespassers?: Asian Americans and the Battle for Suburbia
https://www.nytimes.com/2007/10/21/world/asia/21kurokawa.html
Work from home+parenting
BAM Profile Series: Life as a working parent during the Pandemic
By Kimberly Chin, Senior Interior Design Project Manager at BAM Creative, New York
Below is a great range of experiences as a working from home parent during the pandemic. Michelle has three teenagers at home and two dogs, Dan has three young kids, I have a toddler, Colleen had a baby during the pandemic.
Dan Castner, AIA, LEED AP
Principal
New York, NY
I included 2 pictures from our recent trip to the Finger Lakes, one with the kids at a winery (kids have grape juice), and a second at a windy day at Niagara Falls. Note that all locales were within the state, so need for quarantine post trip!
Michelle Pinkerton
Project Director
New York, NY
Meet Zoey, our pandemic puppy!
Colleen Robinson, NCIDQ, LEED AP
Interior Design Project Manager
New York, NY
This was from a beautiful spring day in Central Park last weekend.
Kimberly Chin
Senior Interior Design Project Manager
New York, NY
Adding photos with my son during pandemic working and our family Christmas photo!
Potential Code Changes Due To COVID-19 Pandemic
Potential Emergency Department Code Changes Due to COVID-19 Pandemic
By David Bujeda, Senior Architectural Job Captain at BAM Creative, New York
Emergency Departments have been part of the frontline response to the pandemic since the beginning of the virus outbreak. The evolving crisis meant more people confined to home while testing, albeit insufficient, was developed. Any given Emergency Department facility needed to change protocols every day. The evolution of the pandemic during the last year brought up the question of how future Emergency Department needs to be adaptable and responsive to different scenarios, considering that these areas are already the most stressful, versatile, and dynamic in a healthcare facility.
Architects, engineers, and healthcare providers needed to identify strategies to consider the worst-case scenarios. It is vital to rethink flexible spaces and mechanical parameters, with most of the spaces and systems being adaptable to meeting evolving situations and guaranteeing safety of the staff, visitors, and patients.
With these premises, we could divide and list the code regulations that need to be reviewed considering these present and future scenarios in three chapters. The first parameters to be redefined would be the safety protocols, which are the initial responses from the hospital staff to react in the event of a pandemic. In conjunction with that, architectural code changes and new requirements would need to be implemented in advance to make the first approach more effective by directing the patients to designated areas in a safe way. The last, and very important with airborne diseases from a mechanical (HVAC) standpoint view: segregating and isolating specific areas to treat infected patients to prevent the transmission to the rest of the facility and maintain a shielded environment.
Summary Diagrams For Emergency Departments
BAM on the Red Carpet
BAM on the Red Carpet
Congratulations to Los Angeles Union Station on a star-studded Oscars event!To preserve Union Station for the future, BAM was awarded the unique opportunity to upgrade the iconic Los Angeles transportation hub as a part of Union Station's 80th birthday celebration in 2019.
Collaborating with the team at Morlin Asset Management, LP and Union Station, BAM was passionate about restoring the beauty of the station and modernizing it to open an entirely new market for Union Station to serve as an inspired venue for events - including the Oscars!
Part of BAM's collaboration included the ticket concourse seen throughout the awards show.
For more stunning photos of the Oscars venue, check out The Academy Awards and Los Angeles Union Station on Instagram, and the video below!
Parallels Between UX Design and Architectural Design
Parallels Between UX Design and Architectural Design
By Xinyang Chen, RA, Senior Architectural Job Captain and Miao Tian, Architectural and Interaction Designer
Architectural design is considered as one of the oldest players in the world of design. While the term ‘UX design’ wasn’t adopted by the professional industries until the late 2000s, it was a concept created in the early 1990s. Even with little overlap on the timeline of history, there are great parallels between the two design professions. In the near future, the line between these two will be blurred even further, largely due to rapidly developing technologies.
What is Architecture?
St. Peter's Basilica
Source: Metropolitan Museum
Dormitory at the Cité Internationale Universitaire in Paris by Le Corbusier
Source: Archi Daily
VR gallery for the Architectural Association by Space Popular
Source: Dezeen
The first book on architecture is by Roman engineer Vitruvius. He wrote ‘architecture is a science arising out of many other sciences, and adorned with much and varied learning; by the help of which a judgment is formed of those works which are the result of other arts.’ (Vitruvius, First Centry B.C.)
2000 years later, after the industrial revolution and World War I, Le Corbusier famously said, “A house is a machine for living in.” (Corbusier, 1923)
Architecture is an ever-shifting concept, and just like UX design, it always bridges many different disciplines.
Today, as more and more people spend most of their waking hours behind some form of screens, architectural design has taken on new mediums beyond the built environment, which include fictional architecture in movies and video games.
The practice of architecture is evolving:
The transformation of BAM Architecture Studio to BAM Creative is an example of the evolution of the practice of architecture. We expanded our business model to incorporate new practices and offer additional services. By taking an interdisciplinary approach to address design issues and integrating technology with traditional architecture, we are evolving to meet the needs of our time.
What Architects can learn from UX Designers:
- Have the user’s needs at the front and center.
- Treat built environments as an extension of the online experience, for instance, the ‘in real life’ (IRL) stores of the digital native brands.
Glossier Brand story
Source: Glossier website
Glossier New York Store
Source: Architectural Record
- Utilize virtual 3D models or VR solutions to engage users in the early design phase.
- Implement ‘Building Information Modeling’ (BIM) to support decision making throughout the building life cycle, which also helps information to transfer from the design team to the construction team, as well as to the facility management team.
- Team up with facility managers to exchange ideas and gather user feedback; implement lessons learned for other similar projects.
- Build to adapt: allow the building to scale up or down as the need changes.
References
Chaillou, S., & Française, V. (2019, Feb. 26th). AI & Architecture An Experimental Perspective.
Corbusier, L. (1923). Vers Une Architecture (“Towards a New Architecture”).
Myhill, C. (2019). What are affordances, and why do they matter? pixelfridge.
Sullivan, L. (1896). The tall office building artistically considered. Lippincott’s Magazine.
TMD Studio LTD. (2017, Jan 5th). Emerging Trends That Will Shape the Future of Architecture.
Vitruvius. (First Century B.C.). The Ten Books on Architecture.
White, C. (2021). What Does A UX Designer Actually Do? Career Foundry.
WORKBEE. (n.d.). Skeuomorphism vs. flat design vs material design. 99designs.
Make-A-Wish: Bedroom Renovation and Redesign
Make-A-Wish: Bedroom Renovation and Redesign
In our own small way, we strive to make the world a better place through design. Whether we are creating a tranquil space for a newborn baby or supporting a scientist’s research to cure an illness, our core values speak to improving the world.
BAM has frequently donated to the Make-A-Wish Foundation as part of our commitment to positive change. We are glad to support Make-A-Wish in its mission of “creating life-changing wishes for children with critical illnesses.”
BAMMER Anna Laura has been a long-term volunteer with the Make-A-Wish foundation to interview Wish Kids about what their wish might be. During one of these recent interviews, the child and family requested a room renovation for a bedroom to accommodate the child’s specific needs, including medical supplies, a hospital bed, and finishes for easy cleaning to maintain a sterile environment. As BAM has designed a variety of healthcare environments, including pediatric spaces, Anna Laura introduced this design opportunity to BAM to grant this child’s wish.
Anna Laura has been working with other BAM team members to realize this child’s wish of a bedroom with a “dream cloud” theme. The room is designed for two little girls with room for a nurse’s chair, ample storage, and a custom closet to house medical equipment and supplies. With bright colors, the sky-blue walls will feature cloud decals, and the rest of the room will feature pink accents and playful furniture.
Together, BAM and Make-A-Wish are making this wish come true! BAM is proud to support our team in using their design talents and healthcare design knowledge to create an inspirational space for this Wish Kid. Wonderful work, team!
Our Inspirations
This bedroom is a dreamy imagination playground for the girl with her head in the clouds. Soft, pillowy textures, a playful palette of colors, and cloudy, bubbly shapes make this room a sweet dream. color palette: hidden sapphire, fairy tale blue, apple crisp, wild rice, soft glow, salmon peach.
Before Shots
After Shots
Our Process
Outdoor Spaces as Conference Areas and Other Uses
Outdoor Spaces as Conference Areas and Other Uses
By Guanxi Chen, Architectural Designer at BAM Creative, New York
6 feet, the distance recommended by the CDC to maintain between you and people outside of your household, has become our new directive. Outdoor spaces have much better ventilation conditions where the airborne virus won’t transfer as easily as indoors. How to use outdoor spaces for conference and other activities with social distancing in mind? We can adapt, by moving meetings outside utilizing existing benches, parking lots, and neighborhood open spaces. Heating elements can be added for colder winter months.
Benches
Park benches have varieties of lengths from as short as 4’ to as long as 15’. A common bench like the image above is usually 6’ to 8’. If you want to have an in-person brief meeting, staying 6’ from your pal, seating on the other end of a long bench or having a bench between you, could be a simple measurement of 6 feet. Don’t forget to disinfect the public benches prior to initiation of meetings.
Picnic tables in the parks are usually measuring from 6’ to 8’ wide. A usual picnic table can hold a two-person social distanced meeting with some work surface to layout laptops and files. Seating diagonally at opposite locations can help maintain the safe distance.
Parking Lots
New York City has converted many street parking spaces to outdoor dining. Southside Johnny and the Jukes held their 1,000 car drive-in concert at the Jersey Shore this summer. The Town of Southwick held their town meeting outdoors in the parking lot. From 2-person private dining to thousands of people attending a concert, the parking lot scenario has varieties of possibilities to hold meetings, provide huddle spaces or training spaces for business and for educational classes.
Above is a typical 90-degree parking layout with dimensions. The grid lines that divide the parking spaces has lots of 6’ imbedded.
The parking space can be converted to conference, huddle, and dining spaces with simple folding tables and chairs amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
Two-Person Meeting
Four-Person Meeting
Training
Town-Meeting
Neighborhood
During the pandemic, Juleanna Glover, a Washington lobbyist conducted some of her meetings into “outdoor walking meetings” She and other people have met up outside of someone’s home or an agreed upon spot, then they walk along a lightly populated route, staying 6 feet apart from each other.
As early as February 2020, one of our BAM Creative’s Principals, Dan, proposed conducting “walking meetings,” coincidentally before the pandemic officially was recognized by the United States. The purpose is that this is freeing for creative minds, also allowing for work to be commenced. The walking meetings can be utilized to conduct internal reviews, mentoring conversations, informal calls to clients and the like. Dan also generated a series of ‘walking maps’ with routes around the Flatiron district where our BAM’s New York offices are located. The different routes included: several coffee shops, parks, and public squares as destinations, with return loops back to the BAM Creative offices. The walking length varied to accommodate different conversations. Dan’s idea was forward thinking, considering the many benefits “walking meetings” can offer during this pandemic. Encouraging people to conduct work outdoors allows for ventilation and a healthier environment.
Future Planning and fit-out
Many scientific studies reflect that taking a walk outside helps people to:
- Feel happier about their work and life.
- Generate creativity.
- Focus attention more easily.
Offering flexibility for companies’ indoor programs like conferencing, huddling, café times and working outdoors is not only just responding to the current COVID pandemic but is also helping to improve efficiency and the well-being of employees for the long term. The outdoor spaces could be provided in various forms, whether fully open or with semi-enclosed seats, trails, gardens, terraces, roof gardens, and the like. When embedded within green spaces, these outdoor spaces would in turn benefit the neighborhoods or communities they could serve. Finding those places could be treasures for both existing conditions and future constructed environments. So why not be on this forefront? Is there an opportunity to negotiate with building representatives for more outdoor public spaces that could be included as part of a tenant improvement program and built into leases? The ideas of outdoor space should be discussed with clients during the process of site planning and building fit-out. This will be important for many years as it will make people more comfortable as spaces for respite.
Here are some examples of various outdoor spaces for offices:
Apple Park Campus
Apple Park Outdoor Seating Area
Facebook Menlo Park Campus Roof Garden
Facebook Menlo Park Campus Sunken Garden
Facebook Menlo Park Campus Path Sketch
Facebook Menlo Park Campus Bike and Pedestrian Path
Outdoor Adaptive Use
For existing buildings, we can take full use of the site to “find” some outdoor conferencing, huddle or café areas, either movable or permanent. Here is a concept sketch of outdoor adaptive use. The site is a life-science realty in Ardsley, Westchester.
References
https://www.poly-lumber-furniture.com/stpete-8-bench.html
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Picnic_table#/media/File:Picnic_table.jpg
wwlp.com/news/local-news/hampden-county/southwick-holds-outdoor-town-meeting/
http://landrules.org/tulsarules/City_Zoning/1303.htm
https://redbooth.com/blog/walking-productivity-scientific-links)
Concert Article in the NY Times
How to have a “Walking Meeting”
https://www.fosterandpartners.com/projects/apple-park/
Facebook Menlo Park Campus Roof Garden
Facebook Menlo Park Campus Sunken Garden
Facebook Menlo Park Campus Bike and Pedestrian Path
Post Pandemic Facades
Post Pandemic Facades
Facade development and how it can be integrated into today’s buildings
By Daniel Merkt-Blatz, Architect at BAM Creative, New York
The facade is one of the most critical components of a building’s envelope design, offering protection and supporting climate control for the building’s interior. Building facades have come a long way from the early days of animal skins, stacked rocks, or simply mud. The highly developed systems that are now available in modern buildings are high performing and can be climatically responsive. When deciding on a façade, there are many important elements that must be considered. It is important to study the exterior wall assembly’s performance requirements, and what materials and designs would be most appropriate. Climate plays a significant role in architecture and design; an assembly system designed for a hot, arid project location would likely not be well suited to a design for a wet, chilly area. The current pandemic and rapidly accelerating impact of climate change have now converged, prompting new discussions on the function and performance capacity of building façades.
Fresh Air in Buildings
As the development of façade systems progressed, we learned more about the importance of fresh air in buildings. The indoor air quality (IAQ) of a building can have a significant effect on the health of the occupants, immediately or even years later. While pollutants commonly found in indoor air can cause many harmful effects, there is considerable uncertainty about what concentrations or periods of exposure are necessary to produce specific health problems (EPA, April 14, 2020).
The term "sick building syndrome" (SBS) is used to describe situations in which building occupants experience acute health and comfort effects that appear to be linked to time spent in a building, but no specific illness or cause can be identified. (Indoor Air Facts No. 4 (revised) Sick Building Syndrome, 2020).
Thought to be caused by poor air quality indoors, it can prove difficult to determine the culprit. If an occupant’s symptoms improve when not in a building and worsen upon return, SBS should be investigated. Due to the health implications, it is important to design systems that provide enough fresh outdoor air and ventilation to reduce the accumulation of potentially harmful indoor air pollutants, gases, dust, etc. The implementation of operable facades in buildings can have many advantages.
Potential benefits to an operable façade system include:
Improved indoor air quality, occupant comfort level, and productivity.
Reduction in the size of HVAC equipment, resulting in construction
cost savings and more usable floor/roof space.
Long-term operational savings due to reduced size of HVAC equipment and maintenance requirements.
Lower energy requirements compared to conventional
HVAC systems.
Operable Facades
San Francisco Federal Building Perforated Metal Screen
An example of a building that utilizes a carefully designed operable façade is the San Francisco Federal Building. Completed in 2007, it was designed by Thom Mayne of Morphosis. Rising 18 stories above the urban site, the Federal Building makes quite a statement with its huge expanses of glazing and striking perforated metal exterior forms. Solar exposure is carefully controlled with vertical glass fins on the north façade and a stainless-steel screen on the other building faces that have more direct solar exposure.
San Francisco Federal Building - perforated metal screen (circled)
San Francisco Federal Building - perforated metal screen (close-up)
San Francisco Federal Building Vertical glass louvers
Taking advantage of the mild climatic conditions present in the area, the building opens itself up to cross breezes with its operable façade system, achieving a 70% natural ventilation rate. Due to security concerns, the first 5 stories utilize a traditional HVAC system with the remaining 13 stories naturally ventilated. By forgoing a mechanical cooling system, the GSA was able to save $11 million in construction costs and cites annual operational savings of $500,000 (Arup, n.d.).
San Francisco Federal Building - vertical glass louvers (circled)
San Francisco Federal Building - vertical glass louvers (close-up)
Operable Windows (circled)
Operable Windows Close-Up (close-up)
Solar Façade Integration
Solar power has been used in some capacity for quite some time, although the production of electricity is a relatively recent development. Photovoltaic panels have continued to become more efficient and affordable. What was once a large, inefficient and cumbersome system that was considered an eyesore has become much more refined. Modern panels are now not only much more efficient, but also available in a wide variety of configurations that can be tailored to the project needs.
One especially interesting frontier of photovoltaic panel development is integration with the building façade, often referred to as Building Integrated Photovoltaics (BIPV). By integrating the photovoltaic panels directly into the building façade, they are made a part of the overall design rather than an unsightly, and often awkward, addition on the roof.
Electrochromic Glass (circled)
Electrochromic Glass (close-up)
Building Integrated Photovoltaics (circled)
Building Integrated Photovoltaics (close-up)
The Science Pyramid at the Denver Botanic Gardens is a striking building that utilizes building integrated photovoltaics throughout its façade system. The pyramid form is split into 16 sections, made up of hexagonal faces of BIPV, fiber cement panels and electrochromic glass.
Another interesting opportunity for solar integration is in spandrel areas where darker glazing is desired to hide equipment or structure from outside view. According to Onyx Solar, “Opaque glass means higher solar cell density, which ultimately translates into high energy yield."
There are many benefits when systems are designed to perform multiple functions for a building. One such example of this is utilizing solar panels above parking areas to provide both shading and protection from inclement weather for parking areas without negatively impacting greenspace on the building site. Along with the obvious energy production of such a system, another benefit is reducing the urban heat island effect, especially beneficial given the importance of mitigating climate change.
Double-Skin Facades
Double-skin facades typically comprise of two layers of glass on the exterior of the building. The resulting cavity (2) that is created by the glazing allows for the careful control of airflow at the exterior of the building. By using either mechanical or natural ventilation, the air within the cavity can be used to supplement building conditioning requirements. Heating loads through solar exposure (1), for instance, can be assisted by circulating the warm air within the cavity into the occupied space, and conversely the warm air can be vented up and out of the cavity, which in turn reduces cooling loads. Due to the nature of exposed glazing allowing significant solar gain, solar shades are sometimes employed within the cavity to mitigate.
Natural ventilation (2) supports a healthy interior environment, which has become even more important these days. The double-skin façade system can be designed in such a way that it opens and closes (1,3) based on the surrounding conditions and fresh air requirements of the building.
Operable windows can even be integrated within the double-skin façade system to provide direct occupant thermal control adjustments. By giving the occupants limited control of the amount of localized air circulation, greater occupant comfort can be achieved.
Double-skin facades can provide many benefits such as reducing heating and cooling loads, acoustic insolation, natural ventilation, natural light and views to name a few. There are, however, significant challenges such as a much higher initial cost, added complexity, and additional maintenance. As with any building element, there are many competing factors that go into deciding what is selected.
One particularly well-known example of a double-skin façade is the 30 St Mary Axe Tower in London designed by Foster + Partners. Informally known as The Gherkin, the tower is recognized for its unique shape, innovative use of a double-skin façade, internal shading devices, and mechanically controlled operable windows. Built for Swiss Re, the second largest re-insurance company in the world, the Gherkin symbolizes the management of climate change within the context of an office tower.
The Gherkin was designed to symbolize a dramatic emphasis on sustainability, particularly in tower office design. “For most of its circumference on any give office floor, the building is encased by an exterior curtain wall of clear diamond-shaped double-glazed panels as well as an interior curtain wall of rectangular single-glazed panels fitted with blinds. In this Abluft or exhaust façade, heat that builds up in the airspace between the two curtain walls is exhausted to the outside by vents at the top of each one- or two-story zone.” (Massey, J., 2020).
Gherkin Building - Emphasis on natural light and use natural ventilation throughout (circled)
Gherkin Building - Emphasis on natural light and use natural ventilation throughout (close-up)
Façade Shape
We are all used to seeing the typical box-like look of many of the buildings around us. While there are many advantages to such simple forms, façade development would be remiss in ignoring how much of a role the three-dimensional aspect of the façade can play. Advanced computer modeling has driven significant research and development, studying what effects a façade's shape can have on the overall design before construction even begins.
Gherkin Building - Air Exhaust (circled)
Gherkin Building - Air Exhaust (close-up)
One such distinctive building that carefully considered the shape of its façade is the Aqua Tower in Chicago, designed by Studio Gang. With a very distinctive, undulating form, the 86 story residential tower employs “characteristics of terrestrial topography…imagined as a vertical landscape made up of hills, valleys, and pools” (“Aqua Tower”, 2020).
By varying the floor slab, the building façade responds to views, sunlight, and use. An important aspect of the exterior façade is the way that it responds to the sun, carefully creating shade with the overlapping floors. The undulating terraces also aid in creating connections between floors, while highlighting unique sight lines within the city.
Aqua Tower - Floor Slab Shades Unit (circled)
Aqua Tower - Floor Slab Shades Unit (close-up)
Outdoor Space
The importance of outdoor space has recently become a common discussion topic. While it has always been important, it now has a renewed interest as an important long-term response to the pandemic. Outdoor space can take many forms as part of the overall building design. It can be integrated as balconies, a stepped building form, green roofs, or even voids of the overall building shape to name a few.
There are many projects that are being designed and built in New York City that exemplify such clear focus on creating unique outdoor space. One such project currently under construction is The Spiral, a 66 story tower designed by Bjarke Ingels Group or BIG. As Bjarke Ingels says, “The Spiral ensures that every floor of the tower opens up to the outdoors creating hanging gardens and cascading atria that connect the open floor plates from the ground floor to the summit into a single uninterrupted workspace. The string of terraces wrapping around the building expand the daily life of the tenants to the outside air and light” (Walsh, 2020).
Another project that takes a different approach to integrating outdoor space is the Manhattan Loft Gardens in London, designed by Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (SOM). The base of the building is a 7-story hotel with a large outdoor space on its roof, while the upper portion is a 34-story residential tower. The upper tower portion includes two additional large voids cut from the otherwise modern form, providing inviting outdoor spaces for building tenants.
BAM Creative, Twenty Years, Twenty Principles
Twenty Years
Twenty Principles
Over the past twenty years, we at BAM are thankful for the creative collaborations with our clients, consultants and each other. With two offices, we were founded in New York, and expanded into Los Angeles in 2013. We have grown from three founding principals to forty employees. We have weathered two crises, the 9/11 attacks, which took place less than a year after our founding, and the 2008 economic crisis. Those experiences helped us be prepared to navigate the current crisis, our current 2020 global pandemic. We have had no furlough and are carefully navigating our finances and strategies to stay ahead of the challenges. To commemorate our twentieth anniversary, we've gathered a variety of principles and facts about BAM, from our founding up until today.
5 People &
Culture Principles
We strive to create an environment that fosters the success of every individual member of the team. Below are 5 pillars BAM believes are at the center of building strong and long lasting relationships with employees.
BAM seeks to form long-term relationships with people, and grow people from the grassroots up. Our commonly held purpose drives people to go above and beyond. We are an office of quick, eager learners and promote a culture of exploring new software, approaches and encourage cross-discipline learning. We support our team pursuing licensure and certification, and offer weekly in-house training seminars to empower our team. To date, BAM has many registered architects and LEED Accredited Professionals, with more pursuing licensure and certification in the coming year. We also offer weekly company-wide training ranging from technical skills to management training to people relations.
If each of us hires people who are smaller than we are, we shall become a company of dwarfs. But if each of us hires people who are bigger than we are, we shall become a company of giants. - David Ogilvy
BAM is not a hire and fire firm; we don't bring people on for a project and let them go when the project ends. We hire BAMMERs to support their growth and interests as the company grows. We have leveraged our team's knowledge during this unusual year by engaging BAMMERs of all stripes to write BAM Insights research papers, furthering our knowledge bank and looking to the future of the industry.
Hire based on character, not appearance. BAMMERs are brought onto the team for their personality and design eye. We hire dedicated individuals with different specialties, backgrounds and levels of experience to realize innovative solutions. Our team has collectively grown up in four continents around the world, bringing unique knowledge, experiences, and perspectives. We have 28 women in our 40 person team, one of whom is a founding principal with an MBA, several of whom are registered architects and LEED certified.
BAM values being fair, being respectful, and caring about the work we do. We strive to create an environment that fosters the success of every individual member of the team. Our culture is focused on building camaraderie in the following ways:
Six months of buddy lunches for new hires, to help new members build relationships and learn anything they wish about BAM with existing team members over lunch. Eight culture building activities across interests, including BAM yoga, meditation, quarterly outings, happy hours, educational seminars, staff meetings, virtual random encounters for team bonding, and holiday gatherings.
BAM supports internal mentorship by promoting communication between supervisors and direct reports, and external mentorship through involvement in professional organizations. Every employee has monthly check-ins with a mentor in order to maintain an ongoing dialogue for professional and personal growth.
We've supported membership to 26 industry organizations over the years, including AIA and AIA committees, Biocom, CoreNet, IFMA, SHRM, AIGA and SMPS, to name a few. We've participated in countless speaking engagements throughout the country since BAM's founding 20 years ago.
5 Growth Principles
Build the firm you want to work at.
At BAM, we recognize that sustainable and stable companies are about much more than quarterly shareholder value. Successful companies focus on the long view over short term profit taking, making diversity the result of hiring the best and brightest. We are thoughtful about who we associate with (clients as well as consultants) in order to promote a “better normal” in our world. We don't just encourage, but foster the next generation of leadership. At BAM, the next generation is even more culturally diverse than the current one. We grow through professional development and not for the sake of growth.
We provide first to market design solutions on technically complex projects for leading organizations. We design environments, build brands, and tell stories that anticipate and inspire change. Our experience includes game changing projects, ranging from the first hybrid operating suite for Yale New Haven Health to the first fully immersive conferencing facility called NEMO and the first free standing life science co-working facilities across coasts, including Harlem Biospace in New York and HATCHspaces in Los Angeles.
Our Common Agreement: to form a community of like-minded people who are all different, each adding something different to our mix. We vow to work to keep this community viable, to support its well being and to gain from its wealth. Each time we gather, we choose to gather, we choose to join. We choose to show up honestly, respectfully and empathetically, to the best of our ability, knowing we are all doing the best that we can. We promise this to each other.
BAM’s vision is to design a world, grounded in a mindful approach to business, which inspires and enables people to do the extraordinary. Three core tenets of BAM are the foundation to support this vision:
Get the work: By exceeding client expectations and continually looking for opportunity where others see none. Do the work: A talented team of inspired designers who are continually probing and researching, providing game-changing solutions for our clients. Run the firm: A business focus from the top, with an MBA principal and strong accounting team actively involved in projects.
Even in this economic climate that is paying more attention to business survival than growth, BAM remains focused on growth planning in the right ways.What’s the right way? It’s growth for personal fulfillment. What’s the wrong way? It’s growth focused on pointing at how many zeros are behind billings, number of projects, or number of people. One feeds health. The other feeds ego. By following the healthy model of growth, we believe it’s part of BAM’s secret sauce that will keep us in a strong position in the years to come.
5 Client Principles
BAM collaborates with clients that are leaders in what they do. The design solutions we create personify their leadership. We listen.
The ultimate goal of design at BAM is to find creative design solutions at the intersection of the client’s vision and pragmatic requirements. We operate with a One Team approach, meaning that you will be working with the same team members from the beginning of your project until project completion, resulting in knowledge continuity and making sure ‘by the way’ comments made in programming show up in construction. Transparent communication and clear documents are the bedrock of our business and ingrained in the fiber of our culture resulting in strong business practices.
Focus on client relationships, not only the projects. Our business is based on relationships. It makes smart business sense for us to have deep dialogue with the stakeholders involved in every project. BAM strategically focuses on 4 core sectors to benefit our clients in workplace, healthcare, science+technology, and media+entertainment. Externally and internally, we work hard to develop trust with our clients and our employees, resulting in over 95% of our work coming from repeat clients.
At BAM, no jerks means we believe the work environment and every project can and should strive to be an experience full of enthusiasm and encouragement, building a “can do” culture. We believe it’s what’s lead us to be involved in so many successful leading edge projects.We keep the following values front of mind to maintain positive relationships inside and outside of BAM:
Embrace work as an opportunity for growth Bring our shared vision to every meeting of every project Attract, inspire, enable and retain the best and brightest Provide responsibility with authority to achieve results Design for tomorrow
BAM provides a managed design process with decisions made by informed professionals. By following well-established company protocols, projects stay on time and within budget. We stand behind the fees, schedules and efforts described in our proposals.
BAM is a full-service creative design practice deeply rooted in the best-practices of strong project execution. Our team collaborates with you, your internal team, and your other professionals to define issues, framed through a problem solving approach, to realize out-of-the-box solutions by being:
Nimble. We are fast, accurate and flexible. Thorough. Our meticulous processes ensure the built space matches the design vision. Forward Thinking. We pro-actively identify problems before they become the unexpected.
5 Business Principles
Our process needs to be high quality from start to finish and that is the way we approach business.
It’s been proven over and over through history that any organization – be it a country or a business – is collectively smarter as a group than any one individual or small group of individuals. We believe this to be true for BAM as well as any country. This is a key foundational reason why we encourage hearing the voices of the people at BAM. That doesn’t mean it’s not messy or it’s a straight line. To prove it, we’ve already accomplished more than we ever would have anticipated since BAM started 20 years ago and the plan is to keep growing as a group.
Our firm was born when the founding principals questioned the way architectural services were being provided. The founders prepared a business plan that won the New Enterprise Competition sponsored by the NYU Graduate School of Business. The award included funding capital. From this origin, BAM has maintained a management structure unique to A&E firms. In our partner structure of architects, one partner, educated with a top school MBA, runs the firm. She’s not an architect. She’s trained in business. That strategic decision allows the rest of the team to do something radical...work on client projects.
Sometimes, things don't go as planned. BAM is not a culture of pushing mistakes under the rug. Our staff meetings have a "Leaders Lessons Learned," where we invite our team to share something that didn't go as planned and how it was resolved. We offer a safe space to share items that didn't work out, no shame or judgement involved. We may learn from mistakes, which strengthens our team and our skills for the future.
What is the difference between persistence and stubbornness? After all, architects and designers are infamous for being stubborn. The difference between the two is that persistence accounts for a feedback loop – if something isn’t working, adjust without giving up on the general goal. One of the things that makes BAM successful, and happier than most, is our emphasis on persistence while keeping stubbornness at a distance.
2020 has been a challenging year all around and we are all in the same boat. We know from written and oral history that there are a whole bunch of people who’ve faced much more daunting challenges and went on to do some really impressive things – by staying engaged and developing a determination to make their world and that around them a better normal.Making the work world a better place is one of the founding principles of BAM. That doesn’t mean we’re going to get everything perfectly right every day. It simply means we’re going to be engaged and maintain a sense of determination to achieve the things we believe will result in a better normal, and help make the world a better place.
BAM Creative, Twenty Years, Twenty Principles Summary
Here is a summary grid of all our 20 principles.
New York BioConference
Join BAM's Dan Castner at New York BioConference: Building New York's Startup Community
4PM, Wednesday May 14
Collaborative workspaces and virtual communities have been a key component of digital startup ecosystems, but only recently have they started to take hold in life science ventures.
The panel will focus on tactics for making physical spaces conducive to creativity and collaboration while addressing challenges ranging from confidentiality concerns to preventing sample contamination. On the digital side, panelists will discuss best practices for community building online. The presenters will examine existing online communities and highlight tools you can begin using today to discover shared resources, meet potential collaborators, and share information relevant to your research and/or building your business.
BAM Principal Dan will speak alongside Matt Owens of Harlem Biospace, Eva Cramer of BioBAT / SUNY Downstate, and Tiffany Phipps of BioMed Realty Trust as part of the NY Bioscience Economic Development Symposium.
BAM was the architecture firm for Harlem Biospace, and continues a close collaboration with BioMed Realty Trust on a variety of projects.
Starting a Lab Facility
Proximity to potential clients and talent, availability of public transportation, zoning restrictions, and surrounding neighborhoods are intrinsic traits that need to be considered when determining suitable location to build a project.
The Impact of Economic Shifts on the Workplace Over Time
The Impact of Economic Shifts on the Workplace Over Time
By Daniel Merkt-Blatz, Architect at BAM Creative, New York
‘The straw that broke the camel’s back’ is an idiom we are all familiar with. Sometimes it takes many things, building on top of each other, to bring about change, while other times change can be the result of a single significant event. History provides many examples of wars, drought, or new technological advancements that have caused major shifts in our world. Such significant societal events have prompted major adjustments in life and the world we inhabit.
The context of the workplace environment in the United States has evolved significantly as a result of major economic events. For this observation, we will be focusing on the time period beginning in the second half of the 20th century to present day.
1930s: The Great Depression
The oft-referred to Roaring Twenties in the United States brought on a decade of prosperity and development during the 1920s. As published in the Tar Heel Junior Historian from the spring of 2004:
The decade of the 1920s helped to establish America’s position in respect to the rest of the world, through its industry, its inventions, and its creativity. (Silverstein, 2004)
However, the Great Depression brought this prosperity to a grinding halt. Although the exact cause of the Great Depression is still being debated to this day, it is fair to say there were multiple contributing factors.
According to history expert Martin Kelly, the five causes of the Great Depression were: the stock market crash of 1929, bank failures, reduction in purchasing, American economic policy toward Europe, and the great drought. These key elements resulted in reduced spending and investment, decreased production, and increased unemployment.
Considered to be the worst economic crisis of modern history, the Great Depression left a harsh and lasting memory for the entire country. But it also laid the foundation of monumental economic and social change.
The boost of the economy after the Great Depression has been attributed to a multitude of factors, long argued over. The New Deal championed by President Franklin D. Roosevelt was one of the major efforts aimed at stimulating the American economy. A response to the frustration with President Hoover’s failed economic policies, FDR’s New Deal was put into action immediately following his election.
In the First Hundred Days of his new administration, FDR pushed through Congress a package of legislation designed to lift the nation out of the Depression. FDR declared a “banking holiday” to end the runs on the banks and created new federal programs administered by so-called “alphabet” agencies. (Great Depression Facts – FDR Presidential Library & Museum, n.d.)
In fact, there were many major infrastructural projects that were pushed forward by the New Deal which was successful in the effort to get Americans back to work and being an active part of the economic recovery.
1950s: The Modern Office
With the end of WWII, millions of soldiers returned to become part of the peacetime economy. The production and manufacturing processes that had been converted to the war effort transitioned back, with many new industries emerging alongside the pre-war enterprises. Government spending as part of the war effort was no longer artificially propping up the economy, nonetheless the economy continued to expand.
The nation’s gross national product rose from about $200,000 million in 1940 to $300,000 million in 1950 and to more than $500,000 million in 1960….More and more Americans joined the middle class. (Moffatt, Mike 2020)
The significant economic growth during the 1950s led to the development of what is now referred to as the modern office.
Formed in a hierarchical organization, the modern office empathized senior staff along the perimeter, providing them with the best views and natural light. Regular staff were relegated to the interior of the floor, crammed together in a relatively uniform space.
Offices of the 1950s often featured resolute, heavy furnishings. Chairs and desks were typically made of wood, and workspaces for senior staff were especially ornate. The ‘mid-century’ furniture style emphasized core principles in the ‘50s, including functionality and efficiency. Large desks with pedestals were a sign of high-ranking team members, while the open area of the office was usually stocked with small individual workspaces. (Office Design Throughout the Decades: The 1950s, 2019).
1970s: Working in the Suburbs
The 1970s saw a continued surge of economic development as many small businesses grew into large corporations. It was during this time that some of what are now the largest companies in the world, such as Apple, got their start. As technology companies centered in California blossomed, they built large office campuses in suburban locations:
Abundant capital, inexpensive land and a seemingly endless flow of new ideas allowed Silicon Valley (so named in the early ’70s) to flourish. The physical module of one- and two-story tilt-up buildings surrounded by surface parking and buffered from streets by landscaping became a standard product, delivered on spec by developers for a surging new industry. (The Corporate Campus: A Local History, 2016)
As more and more companies built office complexes outside of the city, the effect only served to enhance the already car-centric mindset of the time period. Naturally, mass transit systems have developed in areas with higher population density due to increased ridership, therefore, getting out to an office complex disconnected from transit created heavy reliance on car use.
1990s: Private Offices to Workstations
The economic prosperity the U.S. enjoyed in the 1990s, while unexpected, was certainly welcomed after the many challenges faced during the energy crisis and inconsistent economy of the 1970s and 1980s:
Globalization was in full swing, and in ways that redounded distinctly for the good of this country…. There is no question that the nineties were good years. Jobs were created, technology prospered, inflation fell, poverty was reduced. (Stiglitz, J., 2002)
With such robust job growth came the need for new and more efficient use of available space within workplaces. The longstanding organization of private offices along the exterior and everyone else in the left-over space was no longer appropriate for the modern workplace.
The U.S. General Services Administration (GSA) published “The Integrated Workplace: A Comprehensive Approach to Developing Workspace” which provided key guidance for creating a better workplace. The report outlined methods to determine the needs and measure the effect of the workplace on employees. The report centered on how to “remain competitive and stay ahead of rapid changes in business and technology is to continually reinvent itself, using workspace as a strategic tool that helps to meet those goals.” (The Integrated Workplace: A Comprehensive Approach, 2020).
In the shift from private offices and cubicles to a workstation system, employers endeavored to better design the workspace. By creating a more inviting and supportive working environment, employers would gain many benefits such as increased productivity, reduced absenteeism, and improved overall well-being of employees.
2020: Pandemic Response
Although 2020 started with a bullish market, the worldwide coronavirus pandemic has brought that to a halt. Given the lack of a carefully coordinated, science-based response, the U.S. continues to struggle. It should come as no surprise that such a major life-threatening event has resulted in a major economic slowdown, huge unemployment numbers, and many other adverse social and political effects.
The escalation of the coronavirus pandemic has truly brought to light the disparity between the haves and the have-nots in a way not seen in recent history. While the wealthy impatiently call for everyone else to get back to work, those whose work has been deemed ‘essential’ continue their work, often without additional compensation.
The system is long overdue for change. Not surprisingly, the pandemic is acting as a catalyst by redefining the modern workplace. Those who can have transitioned to working remotely, often juggling family care at the same time. The way that we work and collaborate has suddenly shifted, with many struggling to become accustomed to what will likely become the new normal. We are learning to redefine how we collaborate, shifting from being together in a conference room to video calls and sharing screens. There are many talented groups of people around the world who continue to develop and refine these ideas. It is up to all of us to learn from this latest shift and redefine what the new workplace will be.
References
Silverstein, B. A. (2004). 1920s: A Decade of Change | NCpedia
Kelly, M. (2020, March 26). The Great Depression and Its Causes. ThoughtCo.
History.com Editors. (2020, April 6). Stock Market Crash of 1929. HISTORY.
Smiley, G. (n.d.). Great Depression. Econlib. Retrieved August 17, 2020
Moffatt, Mike. (2020, February 11). What Caused the Post-War Economic Housing Boom After WWII?
Office Design Throughout the Decades: The 1950s. (2019, July 15). Environments Denver.
Myre, G. (2013, October 16). The 1973 Arab Oil Embargo: The Old Rules No Longer Apply
The Corporate Campus: A Local History. (2016, September 28). SPUR
Stiglitz, J. (2002, October 1). The Roaring Nineties. The Atlantic.
Gsa.gov. 2020. The Integrated Workplace: A Comprehensive Approach. [Accessed 27 August 2020].
Rethinking Web Meetings
Rethinking Web Meetings
By Guanxi Chen, Architectural Designer at BAM Creative, New York
Differences
During the pandemic, webcam meetings have become the new normal. However, whether you were aware of it or not, virtual meetings have already been integrated into our pre-pandemic meeting rooms. (Remember using dial in links or video chats to a 3rd party through a smart monitor in the conference room?) Many years ago, architects started re-imaging tele-conference and it is now one of the key technologies to keep real-time communication going while people are physically/geographically dispersed.
Teleconferencing offers many benefits to both the environment and to team workflow. Virtual meetings reduce the carbon footprint, as people don’t need to print presentations, hail a cab or take a train to the conference room; papers may be pulled up digitally and no transportation is needed. Webcam meetings provide convenience, offering the possibility of waking up at 9:20 and then attending the 9:30 meeting in pajama pants. (Just don’t forgot to turn off the camera after the meeting.)
Even though virtual meetings provide real-time, point-to-point, multicast communication that happens in a traditional meeting room, we still lose some vibes of in-person meetings. The dynamic of spontaneously responding to another’s comment is impacted by the internet speed you have, the app you use and the room you’re in. The messages sent out by facial expressions, body language or other gestures may be diluted by the pixels of the screen, the software mode, and other technical difficulties. With some limitations, there are factors we can control to make webcam meetings more pleasant, such as lighting, background/foreground, camera angle and acoustics.
Lighting
What is good lighting for being on camera? A good amount of light from a good direction. Architecturally, we use illuminance or intensity of light to describe the quantity of light arriving at a receiver, as measured in foot-candles. Usually, a very dark hallway is about 10 foot-candles, and classrooms and offices require 30-50 foot-candles. A sunny outdoor environment could be 10,000+ foot-candles. So, 30-50 foot-candles are good amount of light for a webcam meeting. Don’t worry, you don’t need a light meter to get the correct amount of lighting. Just make sure it’s not too bright nor too dark.
If using natural light through window, sitting in a near-window-area works better than deep in the room. As long as it’s not too cloudy outside, the natural light through the window should be adequate. Sit facing the window or at a 45-degree angle facing the window. Don’t turn your back to the window, as this creates backlighting and you will appear in shadow. A final tip is to adjust the curtain when there is too much light from outside. Here are 3 examples of different lighting from BAM team member Guanxi’s bedroom:
(From left to right: Facing the window, Back to the window, 45-degree angle facing the window)
If your window area is not available during a daytime meeting or your meeting is at night, you need fixture lighting. Instead of a task light focused on your face, consider instead a soft ambient light that illuminates the overall room. Ambient light gives your camera view an evenly illuminated effect. Focused light shining directly on your face may create glare or reflection on your glasses, which would be distracting to your peers and may cause eye fatigue. Additionally, a task light shining right above your head may cast shadows or clearly define your skin texture. If there isn’t enough illuminance, you may turn your desk task lamp to light up the wall in front of you instead of directly on you, which will add another layer of soft and even light. Last but not least, when your computer screen reflects on your face or glasses, it might be too bright or glaring. Be aware of what’s on your screen if you have to multi-task during a meeting, because the reflection may show on your glasses and people will see what you are working on. If you use your cell phone under the table, people will be able to see the cell phone screen light on your glasses.
(left: desk lamp shining directly on the person. Middle: a lamp positioned right above the person. Right: desk lamp shining onto a white wall and bouncing back.)
Here is an experiment conducted at home.
Original lighting in bedroom: a floor lamp in the corner of the room, and a night stand light. Light is insufficient for a webcam meeting.
Original lighting plus computer screen in front of me. This is just a reminder that screen has some brightness and may reflect on a face or glasses.
Original lighting is insufficient.
This is the camera view with the same lighting as other image. It is too dark.
Adding a desk lamp that shines onto me directly.
The camera view with added lamp light. This light shows too much skin texture and creates a glare on my face. The light may cast a bright reflection if wearing glasses.
A desk lamp shining onto the wall in front of me.
The camera view with the lamp light on the white wall and reflecting evenly/softly on me. This lighting effect is good for a webcam meeting.
Setting up good camera lighting for a meeting is like setting up light for a good selfie, and we may look to influencers for inspiration. Many influencers use a ring-light on a tripod for recording cosmetic tutorials. Similar to virtual meetings, cosmetic tutorials record with close-ups to the face, only show the upper body (probably with pajama pants on under the camera) and/or do live broadcasting on mobile, tablet, or computer. You don’t have to purchase a product like this for even lighting. By using a common desk lamp, you can achieve a similar lighting effect with the guides covered so far, such as example 3 above. Don’t have a white wall in front of you? You may set up a large piece of cardboard taken from packing box and paste white paper on it.
Ring lights: https://amzn.to/36w09oR or https://amzn.to/30C8OSW
Ring lights: https://amzn.to/36w09oR or https://amzn.to/30C8OSW
DIY “ring-light” with desk lamp facing the wall.
If you have a backyard, having a meeting outdoors may be more pleasant. However, outdoor lighting environments can be very complex due to the brightness of the sun. Similar to indoor lighting, factors to focus on include whether you are in a shadow, the direction of your light source, if it is very sunny, etc.
Garden image from https://protarps.com/porch-patio-deck.asp. If your back is to the yard, there may be glare in the camera view or the camera might focus on the background. Light from outdoor has over-exposure and is not recommended. https://bit.ly/2SHDhL7
Regarding all the dos and don’ts, the main principle is to test the lighting before the meeting starts. Most webcam programs have a preview feature.
Background
Ross, a principal of BAM Creative, mentioned that he doesn’t “think the background get[s] enough attention, yet [a person’s meeting background] sends messages.” The environment that you create speaks to who you are. One of my colleagues’ workstations has all kinds of digital products tidily organized on the desk, such as a wireless charging station, a 360 ° camera, a dock for multiple USBs, a pair of professional headsets, etc. When I see a workstation like this, I know it belongs to one of our tech leaders who is enthusiastic about digital products. Another colleague of mine has festive cards collected on her workstation, photos around the computer, and the screensaver constantly displays photos of her family and cats. I know this belongs to a person who has so much love in her family, including her cats. In 2020, we all know that people are working from home, and there is no need to avoid elements that suggest “home”. It’s a tough balance to strike-looking organized and professional, while not necessarily like an office.
It is important to make sure the background is tidy, as if you’re inviting guests to your home. You don’t want colleagues to see your dirty laundry or piles of unwashed dishes. A white wall is ok but may be too plain; if possible, a lampshade, some house plants, or a piece of art would be all good to add. A bookshelf or a pile of books are good, too. For the elements you add, just make sure they are organized. A background that speaks to your “background” and has a story is a plus. A few examples include a musical instrument, a delicate model you made, or a meaningful gift from your family. These not only serve as ice-breaking topics but also show a hint of who you are and where you come from. E.g. Trevor Noah holds his talk show at home during the lockdown, with a background that has 2 spheres. Per audience requests, he shared the story of that they are gifts from his mother and remind him of his South African origination.
(Trevor Noah’s Talk Show at Home)
The ambient light at your virtual workstation should provide an adequate amount of light for the background. However, it may look darker on camera. Be sure to test and preview the camera view to make sure it doesn’t look like you are in a dungeon. If it seems too dark, adding a soft accent light in the background creates a relaxing atmosphere. There shouldn’t be a super bright object behind you, as the camera may focus on the light source instead of you. A background with intense contrast will catch the camera and create glare, like when you sit on the porch with your back to the yard in the middle of a sunny day.
When considering the background, intricate patterns might be distracting on camera and come off as either very busy or inadvertently creating an unwanted optical illusion effect. Additionally, try to avoid a door in your background just in case a family member accidentally comes in. Again, test your meeting setup before you start. There might be a plant far away behind you that looks like a tree growing from your hair.
Here are some background examples that need some adjustments:
Here are some examples of good backgrounds:
The virtual backgrounds may seem like a solution for all, but you lose the opportunity to show some details about you. Virtual backgrounds also won’t work well if one has active body language, and we’ll learn more about why body language is important in the coming paragraphs. If you would like to use a virtual background, you may use something that represents you or your company – a company background, a project rendering you created, etc.
(Screen shot from https://vimeo.com/429814870)
Foreground
Don’t forget that anything between you and your camera may show in the foreground of the frame. You want to show a clean work surface without a mug or that potato chip bag partially blocking the camera. If you think the view shows too much foreground, try to lift the camera higher using books or boxes as support.
How close and what angle?
A survey about What do you find most repellent about others on a video call? (https://theatlas.com/charts/SJzIt_PV) shows that sitting too close to the camera has the highest vote of 15% whereas hearing people eat is slightly lower at 12% and seeing other’s chest hair is 4%. Only showing your eyes and above? Your colleagues probably want to see your whole face. Only show your neck and head? Someone might wonder if you are topless. At the very least, it is important to show your head, neck and shoulders, and leave some space between yourself and the camera. In addition, many built-in or free-standing web-cameras have wide-angle or even fisheye lenses. Placing your head too close to the camera will make your face look distorted on screen.
Body language can help convey information and ideas. In the virtual meeting space, letting people see more of your upper body is similar to meeting in-person around a table and attendees get to see body language from the waste up. According to Terry Vaughan, an edutainment speaker, author and consultant on communication and body language, in webcam meetings, you need to show 10% more of you to present almost the same you as people would experience in face-to-face meetings. One of his suggestions is to frame as much you as possible in the camera. It is especially important to show your hands, as he mentions that showing your hands indicates an openness to sharing and signals to the primal mind that there is “no weapon”, which makes the viewers feel safe. Hand placement is important to keep in mind, as hands positioned closer to the body look defensive. Hands positioned away from the body imply reaching out and giving, which is more welcoming. Try to set the camera far enough away to keep both your hands in view all the time. However, with the limited space we have in our home office setups, there may not be enough room to show your entire waste up with room for hands. If this is the case, try to make full use of the space you have in the camera frame by rehearsing body gestures. This may help you bond more with the audience if you are unable to show your hands.
Camera Angle
Noah Zandan, CEO and Co-Founder of Quantified Communications, in his article Eye Contact-A Declining Communications Tool (https://bit.ly/30BDXpp) mentioned that eye contact is one of the keys of face-to-face interaction that helps build trust and cooperation within teams. His database suggests that 60%-70% of eye contact during face-to-face communication is ideal to make an emotional connection.
Terry Vaughan suggests having 80- 90% “eye contact” by looking into the camera lens to achieve“10% more ensuthiasm”. While eye contact is important, it is okay to look away from the camera sometimes. When one is going to announce bad news, people tend to look down. Especially in this pandemic time, viewers could perceive looking down as negative signal. So, what angle do you set your camera?
A higher camera angle is better than a lower one because people won’t see up your nostrils. Setting the camera lens at eye level or between eye and hair line are ideal. This height helps avoid the appearance of looking down and is good to maintain “eye-contact”. If you use the computer’s built-in camera that is below the screen, try stacking books under the laptop. Make sure your eyes are at about 1/3 from the top and your nose is inbetween the middle 1/3 area to avoid distortion.
Acoustics
If you have the meeting by yourself in a room with the door closed, the acoustics should be good. Close the window if you live by a busy street, as you don’t know if a loud vehicle will drive by at any moment.
Usually, the size and acoustical condition of a home living room, bedroom, or reading room are similar to a small private office or a conference room, resulting in a short reverberation time. Your voice would sound crispy and clear without any noticeable echo. The sofa and the bed each act as acoustical panels that absorb sound and reduce extra voice bounceback.
However, many people may share rooms with kids, pets or other loved ones, and even if you are setup in a separate room, there might be some background noise. There are a few ways to manage the level of background noise. First, inform your roommates that you will have a meeting. Second, consider using the microphone on earbuds that is closer to the voice source, and this may sound better than the built-in mic on your computer. Alternatively, wearing a noise canceling headset can help you focus on your peers’ presentation, and a headset or earbuds cues other people in the room that you are having a meeting. Third, always mute your sound when you are not presenting. Most software has the setting to mute by default while joining the meeting. To further manage sound, adding some white noise on your end could cover up background noise, such as kids’ tv show. You may use a white noise machine or simply turn on a white noise app on your cell phone or website. As with the other virtual meeting guidelines, you should test the white noise in the background prior to using it during a meeting.
As a reminder, always test the audio before the meeting starts.
For group meetings, set up rules when for when one needs to chime in. A few options include virtually raising your hand (if the software has this feature), an on-screen signal, or sending a message in the chat.
With these guidelines for lighting, background/foreground, camera angles, and acoustics, you have the tips you need for a successful web meeting!
Celebrating the Feminine in Architecture and Design
Celebrating the Feminine in Architecture and Design
Zaha Hadid
Suzanne Tick
Coco Chanel
Florence Knoll
Photography Credits: Dmitry Ternovoy
"Yes, I'm a feminist, because I see all women as smart, gifted, and tough." - Zaha Hadid
The Great Zaha Hadid
Emotive, Undulating, Moving, Mysterious, Functional, Beautiful, Inviting, Amorphous, Dark, Light, Sensory. Forms to evoke meaning in structure and the built environment. These designs are dream-like in shape, always moving, gathering light and darkness to wake up the psyche. We experience these completely, leaving us with an indelible impression, inviting the inhabitants to see, feel and touch them and to be reminded that the small and the large can coexist together in harmony…..
Photography Credits: Unknown
"We are only at the very beginning with gender-neutral design, but having safe places for anybody to function and do what they need to do, no matter who they are, should be our first step." - Suzanne Tick
Suzanne Tick
Simple, Elegant, Detailed, Colorful, Interwoven, Light, Contrasting, Matched, Illuminating, Linear, Graphic, Formed, Repeating, Tactile, Impactful. We look at, touch, sit on, witness, peer through, and experience the feel of fabrics, of glass, of artistic displays, of carpet and we quietly understand the thoughts to create, the richness in the intricacy and the everyday of pieces designed for comfort and our lives. There is a strength in the simplicity of the complicated built up……
Photography Credits: Unknown
"The most courageous act is still to think for yourself. Aloud." - Coco Chanel
Coco Chanel
Strength, Empowerment, Richness, Textural, Feminine, Displayed, Formed, Flowering, Stitched, Haute, Sweet, Desired, Timeless, Luxurious. We know of, admire, study and some emulate the genius of designing couture to be worn, to save for, to realize and to identify with as purposeful and unique. Time sees no season or fading from the fabrics, the details and the fit of the sartorial splendor that was imagined by a once impoverished orphan…
Photography Credits: Unknown
"Good design is good business." - Florence Knoll
Florence Knoll
Clean, Clear, Geometric, Humanized, Arranged, Structured, Modern, Revolutionary, Open, Organized, Leading, Studied, Storied, Architectural, Entrepreneurial, Polished, Rationalized and Sleek. Apprenticed to the architect greats during young adulthood and success was realized by reimagining the workplace with a modernity that was refreshing and clean.Paste-up presentation convinced executives to move forward with her ideas and communication was one of her enduring strengths…
Morgan Loves Steve (Madden)
Morgan Loves Steve (Madden)
As a collector of all the things that belong in my closet, I’ve found a certain love for a specific designer, Steve Madden. As an architectural designer who likes to occasionally wander over to the interiors side, I found a lot of similarities in ordering samples for a project online and shopping for shoes online (characterized by big, happy eyes and a rush of excitement at checkout). So, my inspiration for finishes and vibes within a space comes directly from love for shoes, bags, and all the other accessories. In the same way I decide on an outfit starting from the bottom up, I based mood boards on the individual personalities of the shoe/bag combination. From sassy and sophisticated, to funky fun, casual chic, to boldly feminine; Steve Madden inspired my space!
Shoe-boards with Steve Madden
Darlene
The shoes and bag are perfect for a Friday night. The matching space should feel bold, modern, and clean.
Keanu
This isn’t your normal cup of tea, but it’s all fun, nonetheless. This board is all about being outside the box of normalcy, bright, quirky, and a little atypical.
Myles
This one is for the worker bee on the go. This one is all about activity and casual comfort, but always stylish.
Vala-s
If Cinderella was a Millennial, she’d probably be wearing these. This board is about a dashing feminine presence.
Work From Home
Work From Home
By Kimberly Chin, Interior Design Project Manager and Cindy Liu, Interior Design Job Captain at BAM Creative, New York
Finding Work Life Balance When Working From Home
Build transitions into and out of the work day. Put your work away at the end of the day.
1.
Make sure to have a well lit space, which can include ambient light, task light, accent light and natural light.
2.
Be aware of what is visible in your background when you are on video calls.
3.
Carve out a working space, give yourself flexibility.
Side Note: Take a lunch break and take a walk. Mental health is important.
Good Lighting vs. Bad Lighting
Too much light coming from all directions
Focused lighting directed at your face may create glare or reflection
Not enough light, plus lack of natural light
Balanced amount of surround lighting and no back light
Be Aware of Your Environment
DO's
It is best to work at a desk with a clean, plain background so there are no distractions
Adding neutral home decor to a space with natural lighting for an aesthetically pleasing environment
Neutral, abstract artwork can be less distracting to your colleagues/viewers
DON'Ts
It's best not to work from your bed. Prepare for your day as if you were going into the office to create a sense of normality
A messy, cluttered workspace induces stress and distracts from the task at hand
Busy artwork can be a distracting background
Desks
Option A
Manufacturer: Steelcase
Product: Ology
Lead time: 1 week
List Price: $1400
(size and finish selections vary)
(discounts will apply)
- Offers BactiBlock® an antimicrobial additive that can be molded into the front of desks most frequently touched components
- C-Leg provides maximum knee clearance
Option B
Manufacturer: Haworth
Product: Upside Sit-to-Stand
Lead time: 3-5 days
List Price: $600
(size and finish selections vary)
(discounts will apply)
- Cost effective
- Quickship 3-5 days
- Nice finish options
- Simple paddle height adjustment
- C-Leg provides maximum knee clearance
- GREENGUARD indoor air environment certified
- 10 year warranty
Option C
Manufacturer: Knoll
Product: Hipso
Lead time: 1-3 days
List Price: $595-695
(size and finish selections vary)
(discounts will apply)
- Part of Knoll WFH recommendations with program discounts
- C-Leg provides maximum knee clearance
Chairs
Option A
Manufacturer: Herman Miller
Product: Aeron
Lead time: 4-6 weeks
List Price: $758-1700
(size and finish selections vary)
(discounts will apply)
- Breathable seat and back
- Superior back support
- Fully adjustable arms
- 12 year warranty
Option B
Manufacturer: Kimball
Product: Helio
Lead time: 4-5 weeks
List Price: $344-1400
(size and finish selections vary)
(discounts will apply)
- Translucent/semi-translucent back material allows light to pass through
- Contoured seat and lower back lumbar support provides long lasting comfort
- Low profile controls reduce visible levers
- Many finish options
Option C
Manufacturer: Steelcase
Product: AMQ ZILO
Lead time: 1 week
List Price: $300-670
(size and finish selections vary)
(discounts will apply)
- Adjustable lumbar support
- 3 way adjustable armrest
- 2 position lock with sliding seat mechanism
- Full synchro mechanism with tension adjuster
- Removable seat cover
- Many finish options
Task Lighting
Option A
Manufacturer: Muuto
Product: Leaf Lamp
Lead time: 2-3 weeks
List Price: $535
(discounts will apply)
- Rotating head
- Dimmable LED lights
Option B
Manufacturer: Haworth
Product: Lana Lamp
Lead time: 4-5 weeks
List Price: $330
(discounts will apply)
- Lamp module attaches with a magnet that allows you to position it anywhere on the stand
- The wool felt shade has a leather strap for easy adjustment and 360 degrees of rotation
- Full-range dimming, a touch-sensing switch, and light level memory
Option C
Manufacturer: Humanscale
Product: Horizon 2.0
Lead time: 2-4 weeks
List Price: $320
(discounts will apply)
- Innovative Thin Film LED Technology and striking minimal design
- Red dot award for design
- Integrated touch-dimming feature that allows you to adjust the brightness at the touch of a finger
Accessories
Manufacturer: Humanscale
Product: QuickStand Eco
Lead time: 4-6 weeks
List Price: $420
(discounts will apply)
- Add to an existing desk for sit/stand option
Manufacturer: Humanscale
Product: M/Connect™ Docking
Station with Monitor Arm
Lead time: 4-6 weeks
List Price: $680
(discounts will apply)
- 2 USB ports
- 1 high speed charging port
- Optional standalone docking station available
Manufacturer: Poppin
Product: Stow
Lead time: 1-3 days
List Price: $269
(discounts will apply)
- Lockable, on casters, can relocate when needed
