IIDA Perspective - Fall/Winter 2014 - 14

For a small firm just out of the gate like PinkCloud,
capitalizing on the pop-up's flexibility to gain attention
makes sense. But what about the firms that are already the
eight-hundred pound gorilla in the room? What do the
world's largest designers have to gain from pop-up design?
Marilyn Archer, FIIDA, ASID, LEED AP, Principal and
Firmwide Professional Services Practice Leader at Gensler,
says that in some cases it's really just a matter of following
the market. Archer leads a group out of Gensler's Houston
office that specializes in law office planning. Over the last
few years they've developed what she likes to call the "swat
team delivery system," a streamlined process for setting
up pop-up law offices, often in sixty days or less.
These pop-ups are really satellite offices: temporary homes
for large national law firms that need to quickly establish a
local presence in cities where they've taken on new clients.
(Because of confidentiality needs and client expectations,
law firms often can't make use of co-working or other
existing temporary office spaces.) In Houston, a recent
economic boom in the energy industry has caused the
number of firms coming to town to increase dramatically,
and Archer and her team have created temporary offices
for nearly ten different firms over the last several years.
"It is astonishing to have so many world class law firms
entering a single market," she acknowledges.
Given the speed of today's workplace, perhaps it's not
that surprising that law firms have joined the ranks of retail
shops and gyms in constructing temporary spaces. But
unlike retail, hotel or food service venues, pop-up law firms
typically prize function and speed over form. Most of the
furniture is rented and the design timelines are condensed
far beyond what a firm would normally require for a tenant
fit-out. These projects aren't portfolio builders, at least
not in a traditional sense. (Some firms even request that
the spaces not be shown publicly.)
It once again begs the question, why would designers,
especially established firms that don't need additional
experience in the marketplace, take on these kinds of
projects? One major reason is that they often directly lead
to new work: in many cases while law firms are occupying
a temporary space they're establishing permanent offices
elsewhere in the city. These smaller scale spaces can be
the first step in a larger tenant fit-out, where the more
traditionally thought of design work happens. And from
a revenue standpoint, these clients also frequently return
for additional design services.

14

It's an unorthodox method for winning new work, but
Archer is adamant that the practice supports Gensler's core
principles of agility, responsiveness, and creativity in both
methodologies and final solutions.

"Just as our clients have taken us
to new cities and countries," she says,
"they're also causing us to rethink
the way we deliver our work."
Of course, successfully implementing a pop-up space
involves more than just an eager brand and a willing design
team. It also requires physical space and a long list of
sub-consultants, including advisors on legal issues and
security concerns, and public relations firms to help ensure
an event's target audience can find it. A number of new
companies have emerged to fulfill these needs, like
Jonathan Daou's Openhouse. In 2005, Daou was behind one
of New York's first major pop-up experiments: illy coffee's
Galleria illy, a two-story, 3,500 square foot coffee bar.
Openhouse offers pop-up planning and development
services, and also operates two facilities that can serve as
locations for events. They host five to thirty pop-up events
a month, from fashion shows to galas and exhibits. In 2011,
Audi constructed a 50-foot model of Manhattan in one of
Openhouse's venues as part of the New Museum's Festival
of Ideas for a New City, and hosted a series of seminars given
by leading architects and designers.

Joe LaPadula, Openhouse's manager,
emphasizes that above all, the space
is about fostering connection.
"In essence, we're about providing
spaces for people to connect with
other people," LaPadula says.



Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of IIDA Perspective - Fall/Winter 2014

Contents
Contributors
From IIDA
Behind the Issue
Viewpoints
Pop Goes the Marketplace
Beyond Programming
Startup Design
RFP: Decoded
The Power of Narrative
Inspiration
Colophon
Design Buzz
IIDA Perspective - Fall/Winter 2014 - Cover1
IIDA Perspective - Fall/Winter 2014 - Cover2
IIDA Perspective - Fall/Winter 2014 - 1
IIDA Perspective - Fall/Winter 2014 - 2
IIDA Perspective - Fall/Winter 2014 - Contents
IIDA Perspective - Fall/Winter 2014 - 4
IIDA Perspective - Fall/Winter 2014 - Contributors
IIDA Perspective - Fall/Winter 2014 - From IIDA
IIDA Perspective - Fall/Winter 2014 - 7
IIDA Perspective - Fall/Winter 2014 - Behind the Issue
IIDA Perspective - Fall/Winter 2014 - Viewpoints
IIDA Perspective - Fall/Winter 2014 - Pop Goes the Marketplace
IIDA Perspective - Fall/Winter 2014 - 11
IIDA Perspective - Fall/Winter 2014 - 12
IIDA Perspective - Fall/Winter 2014 - 13
IIDA Perspective - Fall/Winter 2014 - 14
IIDA Perspective - Fall/Winter 2014 - 15
IIDA Perspective - Fall/Winter 2014 - 16
IIDA Perspective - Fall/Winter 2014 - 17
IIDA Perspective - Fall/Winter 2014 - Beyond Programming
IIDA Perspective - Fall/Winter 2014 - 19
IIDA Perspective - Fall/Winter 2014 - 20
IIDA Perspective - Fall/Winter 2014 - 21
IIDA Perspective - Fall/Winter 2014 - 22
IIDA Perspective - Fall/Winter 2014 - 23
IIDA Perspective - Fall/Winter 2014 - 24
IIDA Perspective - Fall/Winter 2014 - 25
IIDA Perspective - Fall/Winter 2014 - 26
IIDA Perspective - Fall/Winter 2014 - 27
IIDA Perspective - Fall/Winter 2014 - Startup Design
IIDA Perspective - Fall/Winter 2014 - 29
IIDA Perspective - Fall/Winter 2014 - 30
IIDA Perspective - Fall/Winter 2014 - 31
IIDA Perspective - Fall/Winter 2014 - 32
IIDA Perspective - Fall/Winter 2014 - 33
IIDA Perspective - Fall/Winter 2014 - 34
IIDA Perspective - Fall/Winter 2014 - 35
IIDA Perspective - Fall/Winter 2014 - 36
IIDA Perspective - Fall/Winter 2014 - 37
IIDA Perspective - Fall/Winter 2014 - RFP: Decoded
IIDA Perspective - Fall/Winter 2014 - 39
IIDA Perspective - Fall/Winter 2014 - 40
IIDA Perspective - Fall/Winter 2014 - 41
IIDA Perspective - Fall/Winter 2014 - 42
IIDA Perspective - Fall/Winter 2014 - 43
IIDA Perspective - Fall/Winter 2014 - The Power of Narrative
IIDA Perspective - Fall/Winter 2014 - 45
IIDA Perspective - Fall/Winter 2014 - 46
IIDA Perspective - Fall/Winter 2014 - 47
IIDA Perspective - Fall/Winter 2014 - 48
IIDA Perspective - Fall/Winter 2014 - 49
IIDA Perspective - Fall/Winter 2014 - 50
IIDA Perspective - Fall/Winter 2014 - 51
IIDA Perspective - Fall/Winter 2014 - Inspiration
IIDA Perspective - Fall/Winter 2014 - Colophon
IIDA Perspective - Fall/Winter 2014 - 54
IIDA Perspective - Fall/Winter 2014 - 55
IIDA Perspective - Fall/Winter 2014 - Design Buzz
IIDA Perspective - Fall/Winter 2014 - Cover3
IIDA Perspective - Fall/Winter 2014 - Cover4
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