Contract - June 2011 - (Page 64)

intro blazing a trail Innate talent and fresh perspectives give these up-and-coming designers a leg up Eight years after Rowland+Broughton Architecture and Urban Design (R+B) was founded, it is a bustling 18-person practice with offices in Aspen and Denver, Colo. Principals Sarah Broughton, AIA, and John Rowland, AIA, pride themselves on the diversity of their staff, which engenders not only a variety of projects, but also in the ways in which those projects are approached. The firm’s philosophy is based on the principle that architecture, landscape, planning, and interior design are interdependent, and each project must be considered with an understanding of its regional and environmental impact, as well as client’s needs. R+B’s current project portfolio includes interior design, institutional master planning, new town planning, residential, commercial, and hospitality projects, such as bb’s kitchen (featured on page 66). Starting as a laborer in his father’s plumbing contractor company, Christopher Nieto never imagined that he would found his own architecture firm. But when he met partner Joe Herzog he realized his dream. “We both believed that architecture could change the world,” says Nieto. Founding merzproject and merzbuild in Phoenix in 2004, the two had a hard time finding clients without an established portfolio, so Nieto leveraged his home, bought the Modern Food Market, and became his own first client. Since then he has worked on several projects including: B/S/H National Training Center, the Beacon Building, and the LINK (featured on page 70), a mixed-use project that houses his own offices. In 2009 merzproject merged with Shepley Bulfinch, where Nieto is a principal. Vaki Mawema, Associate AIA, LEED AP, currently works as a project designer at Gensler in the Washington, D.C., office. He is an award-winning designer, having been recognized for his work on the Buddha Bar in Washington, D.C., and the Junior Achievement Fairfax Finance Park in Fairfax, Va. (featured on page 80). Mawema, who joined Gensler in 2008 and has 10 years of design experience under his belt, earned his Bachelor of Arts from the New School of Architecture and Design. He has experience working on projects across a range of markets, including hospitality, mixed-use, and retail sectors. Jump Studios was established in London in 2001 by Simon Jordan, a strategist in design and advertising, and Shaun Fernandes, who was trained as an architect and worked as a senior associate of Ron Arad and in theater design. The core team of architects are supported by graphic, digital, and interaction designers. Clients have included Levi’s, Nike, Fiat, Red Bull, Wieden + Kennedy, The Engine Group, and Bloomberg (featured on page 90). Jump Studios has won several awards, including Blueprint Designer of the Year and FX Design Practice of the Year. As Jordan notes, “We deal with spaces as architects, but we also frame and elevate human experiences.” Three architects Rob Wagemans, Gilian Schrofer, and Erik van Dillen met in the late ’90s through a not-realized project for Cirque du Soleil, and they soon decided to form their own firm Concrete Architectural Associates in Amsterdam. Currently, Wagemans is the firm director and van Dillen is creatively involved, while Schrofer left to start his own company. The firm lives and works by its mission: there are no problems, only solutions. As a multidisciplinary creative office, Concrete builds identities from urban planning to interior design, from architecture to product design. Five years ago, Wagemans and Erikjan Vermeulen founded Concrete Reinforced, a division focused on architecture and urban landscaping. Concrete has been responsible for a host of hospitality and retail projects around the globe, including Mazzo in Amsterdam (featured on page 84). Founded in 2004 by architects Andrew Wells and Brandon Dake, Springfield, Mo.-based Dake Wells Architecture is an ideas-driven practice with an emphasis on innovation through collaboration. Rather than specializing in a particular project type, the architects prefer to focus on design as a discipline that can be applied to a variety of challenges. Wells is NCARB certified, a LEED AP, and a member of the Society for College and University Planners and the American Institute of Architects. Dake, also a LEED AP, is currently a board member of the Springfield, Mo., Chapter of the AIA and a member of the Council of Education Facility Planners International. The firm completed KLF Architectural Systems’s Springfield, Mo., office/showroom (featured on page 76). www.contractdesign.com 64 contract june 2011 http://www.contractdesign.com

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Contract - June 2011

Contract - June 2011
Table of Contents
Publisher’s Letter
Industry
Exhibition: Neocon® Preview
Focus: Right in Tune
Focus: Formed to Function
Materials: Carbon Connexion
Practice: Scenario Planning
Blazing a Trail
Perfectly Palatable
Leap of Faith
Details, Details
Dollars and Sense
Family Style
Trees & Terminals
Designers Rate: Milan Furniture Fair
Essay: Building Blocks of a Design Career
Process: Designing the Multigenerational Workplace
Sources
Ad Index
Perspectives

Contract - June 2011