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Huntsman Architectural Group

Huntsman Q+A: Nicole Egan

11/23/2015

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Meet Nicole.  She's a recent graduate of Syracuse University's Environmental and Interior Design program but comes from a family of architects.  Here's what she's shared with us in our Q+A session.
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Q: What aspect of interior design do you enjoy the most and why?

EN: I have always enjoyed the power behind solving problems. Growing up, I loved puzzles, watching how each piece had a certain place and purpose, all working together to create a bigger picture. This is why I appreciate the technical side of interior design and see it as a spring board towards a successful project. Similarly, programming shares this sense of challenge, incorporating the client’s needs and providing the best solution possible. Programming was also my favorite subject in school. 

Q: Growing up, your grandfather was an architect. What did you learn from him that you are able to utilize in your work today?

EN: My grandfather exposed me to architecture at a young age. I grew up looking at his drawings, going to his office and watching how projects progressed, from start to finish. I remember one project in particular that has stuck with me. He was designing a local church. I recall looking at all the drawings and being so enthralled with the vast scale of the building. Every time I visited him I would love to see the new sketches and how the design of the church changed. When the project was completed, he took me to the site, and I was able to see all of the sketches come to life. It was my first exposure to the design process. Through this, he taught me appreciation for architectural design and the importance of patience and precision. 

Q: 
What similarities do you see between designing for a major fitness brand and designing for corporate interiors?  How are you able to apply this experience to workplace interiors?

EN: I see similarities in understanding the market and the client. While at Equinox, I was working in teams that designed health clubs that responded to factors such as location, client, market and current trends. We worked to craft a tailored fit for each club. This is comparable to the work I have done with Huntsman thus far. We cater towards the client’s needs, where they are located or moving to, and provide an understanding of the market. This comes back to being a part of a great company that works hard to produce quality projects for their clients.

Q: Based on your experience at Equinox, what are some ways the office environment can benefit from incorporating more fitness and well-being initiatives that are not yet present?

EN: In my opinion, treadmill workstations reflect the evolution/merge of a new lifestyle and professional environment, and it’s becoming more common in the workplace. It’s not limited to tech companies anymore. Healthy initiatives are becoming a part of the overall office environment. By incorporating more wellbeing initiatives, companies promote a healthier work environment and in turn healthier/happier employees. Studies have even shown that morale and employee performance increases as the office offers a better balance between work and personal life.

Q: As they join the workforce, millennials are bringing new trends, technologies and lifestyles to the workplace. How do you think the office will evolve to accommodate this new generation?  

EN:  The workplace is deviating from the idea of working at a permanent desk from 9-5. As millennials are joining the workforce, expectations about the workplace are changing. So are perceptions about office culture and environment. Flexibility is a huge factor, the need to have flexible hours and areas to work. The office is feeling the impact of these desires and making changes to accommodate them. Office layouts are integrating new strategies for flexibility and variety to enhance creativity and more importantly the productivity of their new workforce. This in turn is driving the innovation of office design. 

Q:  What do you want to learn or accomplish here at Huntsman?

EN:  Having only recently begun my career within corporate planning and design, I would like to learn about every aspect and develop my skills as a designer. I am at that stage where I want to soak in as much information as possible, and I look forward to opportunities that will allow me to weave in my unique perspective. I find it fascinating to learn about the composition of a product and the testing it has to go through. I want to better understand the relationship between products and their impact on the designed environment. 



Contact Nicole: 
negan@huntsmanag.com
212.693.2700

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Huntsman Q+A: Kelly Goldsmith

10/19/2015

 
Meet Kelly.  Having grown up in a family of general contractors, she is no stranger to the design and construction profession.  After an internship at Huntsman and completing her B.A. in Communications and Mass Media from the University of Colorado Boulder, she returns as our new marketing coordinator.  Here's what Kelly has to say on social media and making a buzz.
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Q: What lessons from your communications program at UC Boulder will you apply in your position here at Huntsman?

KG: One of the most influential takeaways I will apply to my position as marketing coordinator at Huntsman is the concept of organizational communication. In short, this is a form of communication that leads to effective management in a workplace environment. For example, this includes skills that lead to positive client and employee relationships. 

An acute awareness I wish to bring, is the beauty that each encounter is unlike any other. Every person has their own experiences, cultural background, and personal identity. These differences are not only wonderful but can be used to our advantage. It is valuable to notice these variances and integrate them into your work. Each person has a different perspective or approach, and great things are created out of this diversity.


Q: How has growing up in the construction profession (or in a construction family) formed your interest in design and architecture?

KG: Growing up with parents in the construction profession brought architecture, interior design and creativity into my life at a young age. I have vivid memories of my father taking me to building construction sites and showing me the entire process from start to finish. I was (and still am) in awe of San Francisco, and love to look around the city and see buildings that I know my family helped craft.

This makes me proud because my parents are humble people who took a leap of faith, started their own construction business and now literally see their hard work pay off. Their drive for success, humility and creativity have been instilled in my mind. I hope someday to look at other buildings knowing that I played a part and have that same sense of achievement.

So, how did I end up in marketing? I love to interact with people! I enjoy communicating, creating respectable solid relationships, and helping others. I have always been interested in learning about human interaction, along with how our minds shape who we are, what we see and how we act. This is why I decided to focus on communication in college, and eventually move into marketing. I like sharing my voice, and helping those around me be the best they can be.  I strive to assist in strategically advancing any company I work for and hopefully will add what I can to positively progress the efforts of Huntsman. 


Q: 
What is your favorite marketing campaign of all time and why? Why do you think it was successful?

KG: “Like A Girl” was a marketing campaign for Proctor and Gamble. They asked a group of teens and adults both male and female to act out what it means to do something “like a girl”. These responses showed the negative stigma associated with being a “girl”. Proctor and Gamble aimed to show that doing things like a girl isn’t any different than doing things like a boy or man. 

Through this campaign, Proctor and Gamble was aiming to appear synonymous with women’s empowerment. I was drawn to this because it not only is successful in promoting their products and reaching a large audience, but also in supporting a cause. This was smart because by addressing women, they immediately reached over half of the world population. Purchase intent rose from 40 to 60 percent after this ad was released.  I have a passion for the equality and empowerment of women and I also respect powerful marketing promotions. This identified both and ended up successfully reaching over 80 Million views.

Q: What are you favorite three social media channels and why do you think they make a difference in marketing?

KG:  My three favorite social media sites are LinkedIn, Facebook and Instagram. 

I like LinkedIn because it is multidimensional. On one side it helps to find future employees with solid references. You can get a quick grasp of who someone is without going through the entire interview process. LinkedIn can also explain who Huntsman is and help solidify our brand. Another positive is that LinkedIn is not limited to the younger generations, it does not have a specific age demographic. It is one of the first professional social media sites that reaches millions of people on a global scale. 

Facebook helps to show the less serious side of a company. It expresses the personality of the employees and the environment a potential employee could join. Facebook has been an underappreciated social network for companies, but can really have a positive effect. For example, Sales Force ran a link ad campaign on Facebook to drive conference registrations. After their two month Facebook launch, they reached 9.9 million people, 2.7 times their goal for registrations and 40% lower cost per registration than the initial projection.

Instagram is also one of my favorite social media outlets for the sole reason that it is strictly visual. It focuses less on description or written language and more on visual analyzation. Letting a picture speak for itself is a powerful message.

And of course the best thing about social media is it is FREE marketing!


Q: What marketing initiatives would you like to take on at Huntsman?

KG:  My main and immediate goal is to help in any way I can to advance the efforts of the marketing department at Huntsman. I hope to do this by consistently proving the firm’s added value to our current and potential clients. I hope to enhance the wonderful work that is being done every day at Huntsman and to broadcast this to the world. 

Beyond this (since I’m a Millennial) I use social media every day. I’m acutely aware of the advantages these media sites can provide to the firm. I would love to dip my foot into that side of marketing and share my point of view. 



Contact Kelly: 
kgoldsmith@huntsmanag.com
415.394.1212

Huntsman Q+A: Tiana Taylor

9/15/2015

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Meet Tiana.  She brings more than 15 years of experience in architecture and interior design.  Since starting Huntsman in 2012, she has quickly become an integral team member and project manager working with building owners and property managers in San Francisco.
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Q: How do you capture client goals into a project's planning and design?

TT: Capturing client goals is imperative to the success of planning and designing any project. No matter how big or how small a project is, my goal is to meet with the client and ask them about who they are, how they work, and what they want in a new design. Asking these questions ensures my team and I fully understand the client’s goals so that we can start working to reach them.  After listening carefully, I consider the various ideas and solutions most suitable for the project. Once the client approves our ideas, we can then move forward with the details of how to get the project built. This type of open communication fosters positive client relationships.

Q: How would you describe your approach to project management?

TT: My approach to business and project management is to provide great customer service by following up and following through. This proactive methodology allows me to address any issue that may occur in real time throughout the entire design process and schedule. 

I believe that practicing good communication with my internal team, external team, and client will produce a successful project delivery. I aim to be open, willing to listen, and share.  Collaboration is very important to me and how I lead my team. Promoting open collaboration shows everyone that you want to see them succeed. This recognition of their value to the project and team gets everyone motivated. The key is to create an atmosphere focused on communication, openness and collaboration.

Q: 
What areas of practice management would like to explore here are Huntsman? 

TT: I would like to explore a higher degree of leadership within Huntsman, to grow my expertise and resume. I enjoy the responsibilities that come with leadership and mentorship. I like gathering a team and working to reach a common goal. Through this team work, I strive to share my knowledge with junior staff and help them to excel. In turn, I’d like to also take on the management of larger projects with higher construction budgets, because my goal is to be a technically seasoned project manager.

Q: Which of your projects are your biggest achievements?  And why?

TT:  One example is a mismanaged property where the building architect was not keeping up with the pace of the brokers.  Huntsman was brought in to support property management in creating modern and economic building standards, while also providing a quick turn-around on space plans. Due to our great customer service and design, the property manager requested our services at another property in the East Bay.  I view this project as a great achievement because we met the client's expectations, and it led to growing a long-term working relationship. 

Q: Who is your biggest influence and why?

TT:  My parents have been a consistent influence throughout my life.  They have a great work ethic, which I aim to emulate!  I definitely get my leadership skills, ingenuity, and determination from them.  They have always encouraged me when I wanted to grow and expand. This support has led me to be where and who I am today.

My biggest design influence is Ludwig Mies van der Rohe.  I graduated with a Professional Bachelor of Architecture from Illinois Institute of Technology, where he taught for many years.  His appreciation for minimal, structured open spaces and elegant details has strongly influenced my design aesthetic.


Q: As a member and former president of the San Francisco chapter of the National Organization of Minority Architects, how has being so involved influenced your personal and professional development?

TT:  I am absolutely an advocate for diversity within the field and feel like I’ve been given an opportunity to disprove stereotypes and show that professionals come in all shapes, sizes and colors. I'm not self-conscious about being a woman or African American in a male dominated profession.  Instead, my goal is to work with everyone as equals and to find the best solutions for the task at hand. 

Being a part of NOMA has definitely strengthened me.  The pool of talent that I come in contact with is so impressive and inspiring. I’m especially proud to be a mentor to NOMA student members.  I’ve been lucky to have found mentors as well and have learned a lot from architects and designers whose point-of-view I respect greatly; people who experienced life during the 60’s and 70’s when working within design and architecture wasn’t as accessible as it is today. Hearing stories of how hard it was for minority architects to obtain work back then motivates me to do my best. 

In turn, as a mentor to younger professionals today, I’m able to influence and provide guidance with my own personal experiences. I recently participated in SFNOMA’s Architecture Summer Camp.  I was able to share my perspective on architecture and education with the students.  I discussed with them the challenges they might face and the amount of effort they will exhaust throughout the process. Pulling all-nighters builds character! I also encouraged them to take every learning experience to heart and by doing so, they will be exposed to the essence of architecture and the importance of creating meaningful places and functional spaces. 


Contact Tiana: 
ttaylor@huntsmanag.com
415.394.1212

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Culture by Design

5/29/2015

 
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by Sascha Wagner, IIDA CID LEED AP
swagner@huntsmanag.com
(featured in Contract magazine, May 2015)

Today’s cutting-edge office interiors for technology companies—open, creative, and amenity-rich—seem to be universally envied. This new paradigm perhaps even signals the future for traditional fields, like banking or law. Before accepting the tech office trends as the de facto basis for every future workplace, it is worth pursuing which features provide meaningful enhancements to well-being, culture, and productivity and which are just passing fads.

How tech companies really work
To understand the way tech spaces work at both a functional and cultural level, we first need to look at the drivers that have gotten us to this point in office design. Everything changed with the smartphone. Having a pocket-size supercomputer liberated the workforce from desks and office buildings. For tech-enabled workers, and indeed for most of the first-world population, the problem is no longer getting access to information or connectivity; it is filtering massive amounts of interactions.

Other drivers for tech workspaces are new collaborative and information-sharing models, including open-source product development, coworking, virtual or augmented reality, and rapid prototyping—all of which are influencing the pace of innovation and the way teams need to work now: fast, smart, connected, and collaborative. 

The design of built spaces has already been influenced by Millennials’ preference for democratic team structures, so it’s not surprising that the individual workspace is less of a status symbol. Mark Zuckerberg famously sits in the open among Facebook engineers, and many other tech CEOs don’t have assigned desks. Tech companies also use different ways to measure performance. Netflix, for example, empowers employees to largely manage their own time, provided they meet their job responsibilities. It’s what you produce, 
not where you are, that matters.


Medium photo:darrenhull.com.
Effects on the built environment
Workspaces need to reflect the priorities of those within the workforce—engaging them with meaningful encounters, motivating them by creating a sense of belonging, and encouraging their personal development—and tech companies currently seem to understand this better than others. Obviously, not every organization wants to work like a startup, but many of today’s tech spaces can teach us a lot about creating a positive culture at work. 
Here are some common features in the design of tech offices that can engage knowledge-based workers in any industry:


• Start with activity-based planning. Offering a multitude of flexible settings to support the variety of work modes that employees use during a day is essential. Not everything is done at a desk, so an open office must be augmented with meeting spaces, heads-down work areas, and places for private phone calls. Also, unless everyone spends the day with headphones on, that industrial-look exposed ceiling may lead to acoustical issues for vocal teams. 

• Prioritize “we” space over “me” space. A high value should be placed on the spaces where groups gather, especially for informal meetings. Research suggests that knowledge sharing often increases in settings other than conference rooms, such as lounges or cafes. Employees do still need a place to call their own, but the expectation is no longer that it will be large or private. Ultimately, if the communal spaces are ample and well-designed, this trade-off for personal space will not be considered a loss.

• Embed your brand. Beyond integrating images, colors, or logos, the right space can support a company’s mission and values. At Xoom’s San Francisco office, a small detail like window film tells the company’s story by depicting icons representing money moving through the international markets that Xoom serves. 

• Facilitate bonds between staff. A strong connection with colleagues is one of the primary factors for employees’ job satisfaction. Any workspace should authentically reflect and support the culture of its users, not only in the way it looks but also in the behaviors it promotes. A company should know what motivates employees to connect with one another, and a workspace interior should be designed with that in mind.
Xoom photography by Anthony Lindsey.
• Provide well-chosen amenities. If one can work anywhere, why come to the office? Rarely used gimmicks (playground slides, climbing walls, tree houses) are largely a thing of the past. But great coffee, free snacks, and even laundry service are attractive ways to engage employees. Keep fun amenities authentic, though: Don’t just add a foosball table if employees are not interested in foosball. Most importantly, adoption of any amenity starts with the company’s leaders actively using it.

• Connect with the community. Hosting after-hours presentations and workshops expands tech companies’ partnership opportunities with their neighbors. Providing public outdoor spaces or commissioning a local artist to create a mural are ways of being a good steward of the community. 
Lithium photography by Anthony Lindsey
• Focus on wellness and sustainability. Providing bike storage supports a healthier commute. A place to exercise or meditate, height-adjustable desks, good ventilation, access to daylight and outdoor spaces, and toxin-free construction materials are all essentials of a healthy workplace. Operable windows can reduce both heating and cooling costs. 

Food also plays a key role. At the office of Kaiser Permanente’s Thrive group, healthful food and snack options are supplemented with regular cooking and nutrition classes to help staff make better lifestyle choices. When employee wellness is a driver for office design, increased productivity usually follows.

While these concepts may seem like obvious positives, industries outside of tech have been slower to follow suit. Implementing collaborative design principles in traditional organizations often involves concerns about maintaining information privacy, navigating and managing regulatory requirements, and breaking down reporting structures. Since shifts in demographics and mobility will eventually affect every industry, it’s time to adapt or be left behind. Creating a more progressive workspace means asking hard questions and challenging the entrenched hierarchies and models of corporate workflow and space utilization.
Kaiser IThrive photography by Jasper Sanidad.
Understanding a company’s culture 
Workplace interior projects are ideal vehicles for organizational evolution. In partnership with clients, designers are positioned to unlock how organizations work and how they aspire to work. Carrying out a visioning process prior to design can ultimately lead clients to reassess their  organizational structures. When the discussion shifts to how physical space can support a company’s business strategy, design is an extremely powerful tool.

Each client’s solution is unique, so any design must begin with research, including quantitative programming that incorporates information on head count, group adjacencies, and growth projections, as well as qualitative analysis in a process akin to organizational anthropology. Existing work behaviors should be analyzed in tandem with an employer’s strategic objectives. With pressure to deliver projects at ever-increasing speeds, designers may be tempted to simply implement the latest trends. Clients may even ask to have their office look “more like a tech company.” But emulating others or employing partial solutions, like just converting to bench-style desks, does not yield meaningful results. Culture cannot be copied. Designers need to dive deep into a client’s organization to find the unique drivers.
Autodesk photography by Jasper Sanidad; Essence photography by Brendan Williams.
Clients expect creativity, competitive pricing, speed, technical proficiency, and competent project delivery, so designers are positioned to have the most strategic impact at the front end of the project. When a client hires a designer, one key consideration should be the designer’s ability to listen and then synthesize what they learned. Understanding an organization’s culture is a designer’s most valuable contribution.

Design is too frequently perceived as a commodity, and built space as a mere operational expense. To demonstrate tangible value, successful designers shift the conversation toward the role interiors play at a strategic level. This means emphasizing not only how a space will look or function but how people connect to it emotionally. Beyond merely looking cool, the best tech workspaces truly engage employees and amplify the organization’s culture, ultimately impacting the bottom line—and that should be the goal for every office interior as well.
Sascha Wagner, IIDA, is the president and CEO of Huntsman Architectural Group and is a past president of the IIDA  Northern California Chapter. His recent clients have included Autodesk, Credit Karma, Google, Medium, Weebly, Xoom, and YouTube. He is an editorial board member of Contract magazine.

Huntsman Q+A: Alaina Ladner

4/3/2015

 
Meet Alaina, a licensed architect, sustainability leader, and inspired educator. As one of the firm's "boomerangs", Alaina rejoins Huntsman after spending the past year exploring Southeast Asia and other design interests.
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Q: What motivates you, and how do you motivate others?

AL: I am highly motivated being part of an energized team, one that values the contributions of each individual as a collective whole.  Knowing that I can be a part of making something more beautiful, efficient, environmentally sensitive and human experience-oriented fuels me to bring my A-game.  It's exciting and humbling to be part of an industry that turns ideas into three-dimensional experiences.

Q: What are some of your current projects, and what interests you about them?

AL:  The repositioning of the 301 Howard Street lobby is particularly interesting for me because I spent years space planning in this building that has a challenging entry - an example of the Post-Modern Brutalism of the 1980s. The opportunity to transform the arrival experience, at a site soon to be reinvigorated by the new Transbay Terminal, is really exciting. The project poses intriguing challenges at the intersection of architecture and interior design. 

We are also in design development for the Argonaut office at the former Avalon Ballroom.  It will be a modern, open office housed in an early 1900s structure, once a Bill Graham concert venue.  It’s fantastic because the clients value the history of the space and are interested in creating a uniquely juxtaposed modern aesthetic, which will honor the building’s colorful past.  Plus, there’s rumor the space houses the spirit of Janis Joplin – who knows what construction administration might bring.

Q: What skillsets do you feel sets you apart?

AL: A skillset I bring is the eagerness to be part of transforming our industry into one which is more environmentally harmonious.  It’s our responsibility to strive to create healthy, vibrant spaces, which are increasingly less harmful, and perhaps beneficial to the environment.  But only when you know better, can you do better.


Education is the key to addressing the environmental and human issues impacting our industry.  I enjoy learning how to better accept the responsibility of our profession and enjoy even more sharing information with my colleagues, particularly in creative and memorable ways.

Q:  What is an example of a time that you were successful against the odds or particularly unique challenges?

AL: The FBI Regional Office was designed over a four-day all-hands charrette.  This 75,000 square foot office met the requirements of LEED Gold certification and included a new elevator, intensive security features, gym, and many other 
programmatically cryptic spaces.  It was a unique opportunity to work closely with the user groups, engineers, and contractors on a fascinating and tightly constrained project.  The lessons I learned in those four days!

Q: Describe some of your most important career accomplishments.

AL: I really enjoyed developing a long-standing relationship with our Keker & Van Nest client through a series of tenant improvements spanning over three years in the handsome historic Jackson Square buildings
.  The highlight was the addition of the conference center, lobby, and reception, which brought new life to the ground floor of a turn-of-the-century paper mill.

Q: What is one project or assignment that you feel most proud of?

AL: The production of the Regionalism and Upcycle events at Huntsman is the type of work I take the most pride in and also that which brings me the greatest rewards.  I am invigorated by the exchange of progressive environmental and human-centric ideas, particularly with real world applications.  I strive to be part of making the sustainability message a positive, dynamic, and energized one.

Q: What are some of your goals here at Huntsman?

AL: I'd like to organize more events and develop resources to enhance the Hunstman designer’s sustainability tool box.


Contact Alaina: 
aladner@huntsmanag.com
415.394.1212

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