IIDA Perspective - Summer 2019 - 21

SHOPPING: Driving More Than a Purchase

MATERIALS:

Part of the Solution
More and more, younger shoppers are going back to brick-and-mortar.
In the 1990s, most chairs featured foam,
According to a 2018 survey by the International Council of Shopping Centers,
upholstered seats and
three-quarters of Gen Z shoppers say shopping in physical stores
backrests. But when Herman
provides a better experience compared to online. But they're
Miller designers Bill Stumpf
looking for more than a quick purchase.
and Don Chadwick set out
Instead, they're seeking a place to socialize and physically see
to create the Aeron chair for
products, according to the survey.
Herman Miller, they chose
Design is putting that experience front-and-center.
Gretchen Gscheidle
Aaron Birney
to deviate from that status
Take the Starbucks Reserve Roastery. This large-scale outlet
quo. Their original goal-before the chair became
was designed to be more than a store but a coffee wonderland. The New York
an office space icon-was to use a material that
location offers 23,000 square feet (2,137 square meters) of java immersion with five
would help prevent bed sores among the elderly
different bars: one for ordering your favorite Starbucks drinks or discovering unique
population who were often sedentary for hours on
blends; one for watching the craft of brewing; one for specialty cocktails; one for
exploring Starbucks' beans; and one for dining. Visitors can also witness the full bean end. To that end, the duo developed an innovative
roasting process, browse for reading material, or simply lounge with friends in one of new material called Pellicle, a breathable, formits many seating areas. At the same time, each store is customized to its location. For fitting membrane that allows for aeration and
example, the Roastery in Milan-famous for its fashion and design industry-is more customized pressure distribution.
For Gretchen Gscheidle, a design director
colorful than its New York counterpart.
at Herman Miller in Chicago, who collaborated
"In the past, consumers got their products and services at retail spaces that were
largely consistent from one store to the next," says Aaron Birney, AIA, a principal and with Stumpf and Chadwick on Aeron originally as
a research intern, it is a prime example of the role
design director at Gensler in Los Angeles. Now, with better, smarter design, those
materials can play in design and user experience.
spaces not only reflect their various local communities but also provide consumers
It "isn't a styling exercise," she says. "[It]
with distinctive and connected emotional experiences.
serves a higher purpose. Ideally, a designer
"We think about the mindset and emotion our clients want to convey, and we tie
that to the design," he says. "That magnifies people's focus on the space and heightens observes a situation as it exists today and
identifies its shortfalls, then redesigns it
their awareness of their senses inside it. They'll want to explore, discover, and share
with empathy for the end users."
their experiences with others."

GENDER: Championing
Equality Through Space

SCIENCE AND RESEARCH:

The wrong design choices can reinforce gender stereotypes: "I
used to walk through airports all the time and
had no idea about inequity for mothers until I
became a mom, and realized that there was no
space for me to fulfill my needs," says Pascale
Sablan, AIA, NOMA, a senior associate at
S9 Architecture in New York and founder
Pascale Sablan
of Beyond the Built Environment, which
advocates for greater diversity in architecture and consequently
in the spaces architects create. Through experiences like these,
she found that we need more environments dedicated to telling
the story and serving the needs of women.
More co-design is one answer, "so if we were creating a
workspace, we not only talk to the partners and the principals,
but a cross-section of end users. That allows all the voices to not
just be heard but to inform and inspire the process."

Science is often most effective when researchers work together.
Whether it's across a lab or across a department,
there is much to be gained by breaking down
divides between isolated research silos.
Design catalyzes these collaboration efforts.
When designing the South Australian Health
and Medical Research Institute (SAHMRI), for
Rosina Di Maria
example, Woods Bagot rejected small cramped
linear cubicles in lieu of an airy, transparent interior built around a
swirling central staircase. "We create spaces that inspire people to be
enterprising and to do great things together," says Rosina Di Maria, a
principal at Woods Bagot in Adelaide, Australia. Glass divider walls
and light-filled, open floor plans liberate the lab typology, making the
researchers and their work visible-to visitors and each other" she
says. "The openness and mesmerizing sightlines connect people-to
research and clinical trials, to discovery and back to the world outside."

Creating Collaboration

design professionals can
world for all."
-Kijeong Jeon

summer 2019

perspective

IIDA Perspective - Summer 2019

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