Architect/Designer

June 22, 2018

Biophilic Design in Urban Architecture: The Oasia Hotel in Singapore

The Oasia Hotel Downtown, designed by Woha, a Singapore-based architectural firm, is one of the most stunning skyscrapers in Asia. There is, first, the signal-red mesh envelope, a splash of color unlike anything in its neighborhood, and then the surreptitious patches of green that seem to slowly envelop the building. Planted façades are not new…

June 4, 2018

Better Products Make for +Positive Spaces

People’s expectations of interior spaces are becoming increasingly complicated. To keep pace (and even outpace) our complex lives, today’s built environments must offer more than ever before. It’s not enough for the spaces we live and work in to simply exist – they need to contribute to our lives, offering something positive.

May 9, 2018

Paramit Factory: A Case Study in Industrial Biophilic Design

The Paramit Factory by Design Unit Sdn. Bhd., Malaysia, challenges the industrial typology that is too often mired in questions of functionality and cost. John Bulcock, the principal architect, is best known for tropical houses, noteworthy for unfinished concrete walls and playful inventiveness with climate. Daylight, greenery and vistas were key considerations from the start.…

May 4, 2018

CBRE Madrid: The Benefits of WELL Building in Practice

In 2013, the International WELL Building Institute (IWBI) launched a movement to address issues regarding health and well-being within the built environment. From this, the WELL Building Standard was established with the aim to provide architects and designers with guidelines on how to make a real and measurable difference to how we function within our…

April 27, 2018

Making Art with the Floor: Inside the Mind of a Product Designer

How does a carpet go from initial inspiration to actual product on the floor? Unsurprisingly, it’s a very technical process. Like a finely tuned machine, Interface Global Product Designer Kari Pei and her team take in a lot of information and translate it into beautiful flooring. But it’s not as easy as it looks. Step…

March 14, 2018

How Perceived Open Space Can Benefit Our Well-being

In the last few years, neuroscientists have come to a remarkable conclusion: the quantity and quality of open space around us—whether it’s rows of cubicles in a an open floor matrix, four walls in a classroom with a view of the next building, or a windowless treatment area—is responsible for increasing the cognitive load on…