Architect/Designer

November 14, 2016

Inspired by the Art of Hand-crafting

Even when craftspeople are working to a pattern, hand spun or woven textiles are one-of-a-kind items – small variations make each one unique. Saori weaving, created by Misao Jo in 1968, celebrates this idea of random beauty. Unlike other hand-weaving techniques, Saori is completely freestyle with no rules, restrictions, or samples to follow, and where…

October 3, 2016

Feeling Good, Working Well: Meridian Credit Union’s Biophilic Office

In the relocation of its Toronto corporate office, Meridian Credit Union’s transition team worked closely with designers Bullock + Wood and Interface to craft new offices that emphasise and support the well-being of its employees. As Ontario’s largest credit union, Meridian knows well what it takes to help its members grow. And in the process…

September 15, 2016

Building Biomimetic Cities: An Interview with Melissa Sterry

Melissa Sterry is a design scientist and systems theorist. We interviewed her on biodesign, biomimetic cities, and more. Melissa is recognised as a world leading authority on the science, technology and thinking that could help build a better world. We tend to focus on the macrocosm of the city but you’ve shown there’s much to…

September 12, 2016

TransferWise Transforms Office Design

Welcome to the era of a new “Googlefied” office. Tech start-ups have challenged conceptions of the modern working environment since companies such as Google and Facebook created their sought after workspaces, akin to playgrounds, for the professional generation Y. Now, scientific studies, including our Human Spaces Report, have proven that worker’s concentration and productivity levels…

September 9, 2016

Top Trends for the Future of Workspaces

These are the big trends we’re seeing regarding the future of workspaces. 1. Co-Working A proliferation of co-working venues with sophisticated and comprehensive amenities previously only found in high-end corporate fitouts. Internationally renowned British designer, Tom Dixon, has recently designed Interchange, a purpose-built co-working space in Camden, London – three shiny glass and metal buildings…

August 29, 2016

The Future of Business: Redesigning for Resilience

Having just finished interviewing senior executives from a range of organisations for a Global Leadership study, and I am struck by the consistency in perspectives even though the organisations are quite different. Every CEO I have interviewed ranks their number one challenge today as dealing with the pace and scale of change now upon us.…

May 22, 2016

Artful Restoration

Last October, during the first weekend of the Chicago Architecture Biennial, artist and social activist Theaster Gates pulled back the curtain on his latest endeavour: the Stony Island Arts Bank. The highly trumpeted project entailed the conversion of a derelict bank building on the city’s South Side into a public cultural venue, brimming with galleries,…