Beneath the Surface Blog

Upon the dawn of a new project, our architect and designer clients are quick to ask "do you have photographs of a similar application?". (Part of us must think designers are trained to ask those kinds of questions, as logic and an obligation to guide the owner to make sound investments take hold in these early evaluation stages.)

Our proud answer is often, "no". Quite frankly, we'd be bored if the answer to the question was "yes", and so would you. GPI prides itself on achieving unique works of art in stone and light that take extreme engineering feats, technical manipulation of surfaces and lighting... resulting in architectural pieces that are rare, unusual, and downright striking.

Think of the sculptor in this photo-he is reacting both emotionally and logically to a given set of parameters to create a distinct piece. The clay product is not really the focus here (you could buy clay from anywhere); the clay is manipulated by the sculptor's expert hands - formed through experience and insight.

The way that we work is different from what the A/D community typically expects out of a material supplier, so we like to establish early in the game that it’s in everyone’s best interest to view GPI as a member of your creative team and not just a vendor. We will work together to create exquisitely detailed features. If you’re wanting to take a risk for a truly unique piece, send us your sketches and let’s get started setting precedents for the architectural community.

Photo credit: User bdjsb7 via Flickr Creative Commons

In your typical daily life, how many objects do you interact with that are made of stone? (Think through your day, from the time you wake up to the time you go to bed. Do you ever see or touch stone? Is it far away or within reach? Is it on the wall, floor, ceiling, or is it an object?)

Your list has probably been narrowed to your countertop, patio pavement, and maybe the exterior of your office building. Now think, have you ever seen any of those stone objects made translucent and illuminated?

Unless you’re a GPI team member or a tenant in one of our office projects, the answer to the above is probably “no”. Stone itself is not a commonplace surface, and backlit stone is even rarer, providing a refreshing jolt to the senses. When new clients come through our door or the typical mailman is out sick and has a replacement,  “oohs” and “aahs” are muttered or exclaimed upon setting eyes on our product. Backlit onyx panels line the entry walls, standing proudly seven feet tall and emitting an even glow of light. Instinctually, new visitors run their hand along the surface, almost hoping to feel for an imperfection that will confirm that “yes, this is real stone”.

It’s no coincidence that our products are typically employed in feature areas of buildings- there is something intensely compelling about a glowing stone surface. Stone panels have an aura of permanence, durability, and luxury. Lighting elements render the natural movement of the stone surface with a sense of intrigue and depth, making our artistic installations visual and tactile anchors of space. To touch is irresistible.

Tomorrow, I’ll brush my teeth with plastic toothbrush in hand, drive to work in my metal and plastic car, but after turning the cool metal handle to open the office door, I’ll make sure to pause and graze my hands over those alluring natural stone surfaces.

A pretty typical situation occurred here at GPI this week.  A lighting design firm had specified our Infuse™ flat LED panels for a large commercial project, and the contractor ended up making a substitution in order to try to save some money.  As it turns out, the substituted LED panel product looks absolutely terrible and the entire team, including the client, is very unhappy.  So, we received a slightly panicked email from the architect and lighting designer asking us to step in and solve the problem. 

We suspect that the substituted product was poorly made, but assuming that it wasn't, there's still a host of problems with the application.  Even if all flat LED panels are created equally, this particular LED company did not pay attention to the details, and ultimately wasted a significant amount of time and money.  The problems? Uneven illumination, panels sized incorrectly, bulky hardware that is interfering with the light, and absolutely no attention to light diffusion strategies... the textbook case for our integrated systems and process.

Budget is indeed a critical issue in building construction.  Flat LED panels are typically used in feature areas of buildings, becoming main spatial focal points that are evaluated with a discriminating eye.  So if you're looking to cut costs, it's not always wise to do so in such high-profile areas. 

The lesson here: investing more money up-front in a system from a company that will perform as you expect will help avoid costly replacements and changes down the line.  Many of our designers, especially our repeat clients, realize this value, but it can be difficult to communicate this seemingly intangible value to their clients.  What strategies do you use to convince building owners to invest in high-end products?

The July-August issue of Illuminate magazine opens with a pointed statement in the editor’s letter:

“there’s a chasm between those making LEDs and those attempting to employ them in the built environment”.

Ummm, Mr. Crockett, did you read our minds and/or uncover the fundamental reason GPI exists? There is a huge gap between what Jim Crocker of Illuminate refers to as “chipheads” and the architects/lighting designers that use the products to create emotional and aesthetic impacts on space.  And when we say "huge gap", we mean the a divide the size of the Grand Canyon.  This LED fixture has great performance and controllability, but how do I ensure that it is implemented to achieve the great aesthetic impact as promised in all of the promotional literature?

Designers need guidance, or rather suppliers need to guide designers, on how to integrate fixtures into the custom millwork, detail the attachment systems to hold the LED fixture, and situate the LED fixtures in a manner that allows electricians to easily run low voltage wiring.  When these important steps are ignored, designers just don't achieve the aesthetic they intended.

Manufacturers and designers can speak different languages. The good news is, our staff here at GPI is “multi-lingual” so to speak.  We speak supplier, owner, architect, lighting designer, electrical engineer, and even stone subcontractor. How’s that for bridging the chasm?

Photo Credit: UW Digital Collections via Flickr Creative Commons

Back in architecture school at the University of Cincinnati, my all time favorite project was what the DAAP architecture and interior design students lovingly refer to as “The Box Project”. The task was to design and build a nine foot cubic space in reaction to a piece of music- an intense violin concerto.  What did I love about this studio project so much?

1. Challenged us to translate an intangible abstract concept into built form.

2. We truly worked as a team- from project managers, shipping coordinators, detailers, 3D model builders, and physical model builders- 20 overworked design students attacked this thing in 4 weeks.

3. Being involved from concept through installation was incredibly rewarding.

4. Managing the project to stay on schedule and within budget (a huge learning curve for ambitiously creative freshman with little concept of real-world feasibility).

5. Working with the concepts of layers, tension, light, and transparency.

The most intense moment during the four week design-build duration was when the custom colored acrylic on order from Florida became lost in transport, and we had to make an exasperated last-minute trip to Pat Catans to buy stained glass paint and create the colored panels ourselves!

Looking back on my design career, I can see why my student experienced foreshadowed my exciting experience at GPI- collaborative teamwork, addressing a project from a multiple of angles, and exploring the manipulation of surfaces with reflected and colored light.  The similarities are eerily striking!

What educational experiences provided insight into your ideal career path?

By Caitlin Walsh, Design Director at GPI

As an integrated engineering, design, and supply firm, we frequently work with suppliers, engineers, designers, and architects to provide our unique backlit onyx features. One topic that seems to be shrouded in mystery is the topic of fire safety and fire requirements. Terms are frequently confused or misused, and data is often difficult to find (if it even exists). So what are the different areas of fire safety?  What guidelines or codes do you have to follow?

First off, every country, and sometimes even city, has its own building codes that specify certain safety requirements in structures.  In the U.S., the most frequently used code is the IBC, (International Building Code) which is put forth by the ICC (International Code Council).

To meet these requirements, certain standards and tests must be carried out.  To this end, technical standards are written that dictate a list of requirements that must be met. These technical standards, or specifications, can be written by private companies, government agencies, or standards organizations- ASTM, ISO, CEN, etc.

Those are the basic terms, for those unacquainted with building codes and standards.  Onward to the flames!  There are two major categories of fire safety ratings.  First there is fire resistance.  Fire resistance deals with the ability of structural components (walls, floors, ceilings, doors) to restrict the spread of flame and maintain structural integrity in a fire. Fire resistance relates to structural fire performance and becomes important after a fire has started and threatens a building's structural integrity.  The fire resistance test method used throughout the United States is ASTM E 119, Standard Test Methods for Fire Tests of Building Construction and Materials.  Fire resistance is usually measured in hours that the material or structure withstands the flame of a certain temperature.

However, not everything in a building must be tested for fire resistance. Interior finishes and exposed materials- wall coverings, ceiling finishes, etc.- are usually tested for flame resistance.  Flame resistance deals with the potential for fire growth within a structure.  Instead of fire resistance, which describes the performance of materials once a fire has already started, flame resistance measures properties in the early stages of a fire. There are several categories within flame resistance; most notably flame spread index and smoke-developed index.

The flame spread index (FSI) measures how quickly a flame propagates, or moves, across a surface. Materials are assigned values in the U.S. using a test known as ASTM E-84, Standard Test Method for Surface Burning Characteristics of Building Materials. Materials are measured on a scale of 0-1000. A low FSI indicates a low burn rate.  Thus, 0 is calibrated to noncombustible materials (i.e. concrete) while 100 is calibrated to 23/32” red oak flooring.  Classification in codes are:



The smoke-developed index (SDI) measures the concentration of smoke given off as a material burns. The index ranges from 0-450, and a low SDI indicates a low smoke development rate.  



Depending on the local codes, building occupancy, and intended building use, different requirements and levels of performance will be needed.  And here at GPI Design, our team of designers, engineers, and architects will work with you to achieve a beautiful LED backlit onyx feature that will meet the codes- and exceed your expectations!

With Neocon 2010 fast approaching, your head is surely spinning with creative ideas and your desk will soon be filled with samples and swatches. How to bring them all together in a space? That’s the challenge.

GPI will be reviewing new innovative materials in the design world and giving ideas about how ato integrate these materials with our stone finishes. To kick off, we explore carved MDF panels. GPI will be investigating new interior material trends, so stayed tuned through the end of June. 

Carved MDF panels

    
(above images: Volta™ artistic dimensional panels courtesy of Marlite, Inc.)

Qualities: modern, creative, bold, fluid

Appearance: fluid lines, but in a more prominent and geometric pattern than found in stone.  Carvings and surface relief create pronounced shadows, while stone has a flat surface with the depth and layers being brought out when backlit. Carved MDF panels are often lit with grazers to highlight and shadow, while translucent stone and resin have the most pleasing aesthetic when evenly backlit.

Found in: lobbies, feature walls, reception desks, restaurants

Design tip for stone: Choose a more "modern" stone with uninterrupted surface. Distinct veins will compete with the sculptural MDF panels.  Keep both surfaces in the same color scheme or keep the stone to a neutral/white palette.

Design tip for alternative surface: Backlit resins are often well-suited for use adjacent to sculptural MDF panels.  The saturated color and uniform surface match the streamlined aesthetic, while the lightweight nature of resin allows for minimal structure, much like the MDF panels themselves.

Know of a product you’d like us to feature? Send material suggestions to info@gpidesign.com.

My first professor in architecture school concluded our first quarter of design lab by suddenly ordering us to get up from our seats.

He instructed, "Walk four feet to your right".

We all glanced at each other, puzzled, wondering why he interrupted our deep stares into our Mac computer screens plastered in AutoCAD and Photoshop.  

"Now walk four feet away from your desk. What do you see?"  

We moaned and groaned, as for some of us this was the most exercise we'd had since studio began.  Looking around, the view hadn't really changed.

"Now climb four feet upwards and stand on top of your desk.  What do you see?"  

We viewed the scene from our new perches, high above the wall dividers and scrambled piles of junk on the studio floor.  

"See how much your perspective can change just from making one strategic move in the right direction?"

Just as everyone sees space differently, so is the perception of obstacles.  We can often feel limited by our everyday surroundings and confined by typical modes of perception.

As for GPI, I propose weekly meetings "standing on your desk" meetings.  Spread the word!

-Caitlin Walsh, GPI designer