Thank you to all those who visited the GPI Design/Marlite booth at Neocon 2010 in Chicago.  Aside from getting many project leads, it was truly rewarding to see the excitement and positive feedback from those who are just learning about us for the first time.  Some memorable quotes from our booth visitors:

"I've been walking around getting all these great creative ideas but not sure how to bring it all together. This is so great!"

"Is that stone real?!"

"Your stones are like using mother nature as art pieces."

"I'd like to use this on my next project, my client wants me to 'pimp his space'!"

"What a great idea! How did you invent this system?" To which we explained that we didn't stumble into this business overnight, we evolved from standard natural stone supply to exotic stone supply to complete integrated systems of surface, structure, and light.

And... the greatest finale was getting a hug and a knuckle pound from two very excited designers who were drawn into our booth just before we began disassembly!

If you missed the show or are back at your office needing inspiration, here is a photographic recap:

Thanks to all of our booth visitors for their positive energy and engaging conversations. See you next year!

Leather Wall Panels

Leather is no longer relegated to overstuffed couches in dimly lit, den-like spaces. With a luxurious aesthetic and sense of permanence, leather panels are moving into primary spaces as interior wall panels and flooring.

    
 (Above left: leather wall panels by Studioart, above right: from InteriorDesignTutor.net)

Qualities: luxurious, textured, tactile, sound absorbent

Appearance: uniform surface color in deep natural tones, optional geometric patterns, soft texture becomes more expressed as the leather ages

Found in: class A offices, high-end formal spaces

Design tip for stone: The deep natural tones found in leather and stone are complementary. To showcase the stone,  choose a leather that has a natural uniform surface and keep the leather panel sizes consistent. If leather is the main focal point, choose a stone with minimal veining and minimal color contrast.

Design tip for alternative surface: Backlit glass panels will lighten up the heavy aesthetic of leather panels while maintaining the sense of high-end luxury. Non-textured glass looks best with bold geometric leather panels.  Large expanses of backlit glass surfaces will relieve a busy pattern of small leather panels.

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.

Twitter now offers location-based tweets, and now there's a new website that allows building design searches by location.  Architizer, a new all-encompassing social media platform for architects (or should we say buildings?), ties building projects to their respective locations, design teams, consultants, and suppliers.  

"Architizer is a new way for architects to interact, show their work, and find new clients. It is a social networking website where architecture is the tool through which connections are made and relationships are built. Architizer is an open community of architects, architecture curators, critics and fans, a site designed to transcend its editorial-based peers and empower the architecture. It is the only place to see and show contemporary architectural design." - from Architizer LinkedIn profile

Search by people, job postings, materials, project type, or firm name, among many others.  Our search for buildings that use stone materials brought up pages of innovative designs that would have probably been lost in a mainstream Google search.

If used correctly, Architizer could become an interesting tool to mix up precedent studies and expand beyond the typical publications that deliver completed projects and case studies.  If the architecture industry continues to follow the path of social media, will sharing real time updates of conceptual designs and construction progress eradicate the need for completed project portfolios?  After all, isn't the process, not just the final photo shoot, where the most knowledge is gained?

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

Onyx itself is a luxurious material, and when integrated with the proper backlighting techniques the layers and depth of the stone is further brought to life.  You’re investing money and design time into this natural product, so consider the following tips to properly showcase its natural beauty:

1. Choose a stone that has significant visible veining or texture- the natural color and movement will distinguish the high-end natural stone finish from a man-made alternative.

(above image: Maker's Mark backlit onyx bar in Indianapolis by GPI Design)

2. White onyx is the least forgiving stone for backlighting applications.  Backlit white onyx is prone to hot and cold spots, so allow more space between the stone and the lighting source or consider using diffusion scrims and filters.

3. When designing with standard dimensional stone panels, ensure that the light source is bright enough to transfer through the stone surface.

4. When designing with glass-backed stone panels, ensure that the glass is non-leaded.  Leaded glass casts a greenish tint and can alter the color of the natural stone surface.

5. When designing a ceiling or wall layout of backlit onyx panels, consider the book matching composition and how the seams will interact with the natural veining of the stone. (Read our previous blog post on book matching natural stone for more details.)

Designing with light and natural stone comes with its own set of limitations, so take time to mock-up the stone and light assemblies or choose a company with experience in integrating the two products.

If walls could talk, then our newest installation at Masdar City's Personal Rapid Transit (PRT) Station would have a lot to say. The LED backlit glass feature walls (below) frame the entrances into the city's futuristic transportation hub, soon to house the latest cutting edge trend in sustainable transportation.

The PRT Station is implementing the transit "podcars" to provide sustainable transport to the city's projected 50,000 residents. These compact on-demand travel pods are fully automated and powered by magnetic tracks.   Cars are eliminated, street level green space is preserved, and  places are closely linked via smooth user interface and programmable destinations.




More about Masdar City's transportation system:
Treehugger.com
Natural Environment

Have you ever seen an over scaled-zebra striped-curved-colored-lighted  wall with varying panel sizes and gaping reveals?  We haven’t, but there’s probably a reason for that. All of the conflicting visual elements would cause nausea and headaches for any sane designer!

In a primary space in your commercial interior design, you’ve allocated a prominent wall which has to pull the eye as soon as the user enters your building.  Or you need to set the mood in a swanky restaurant with a dramatic focal point. Considering the plethora of material and color choices alone, it’s easy to get swept up in all of the bells and whistles. Beware, using more than 4 or 5 dramatic design elements will result in visual overload.

What do you see when you look at the above image? First, you probably notice a substantially large area of a white surface.  Then, the fact that that surface is lit. Lastly, your eye sees the detailed sharp lines that run through the surface and mirrored patterns between panels.  Our summary of why the backlit white onyx feature wall at Signature Place condominiums is so visually appealing: scale, light, detail.

Constraining design choices can often generate more simple and sophisticated interior designs. While we're certainly advocates of highlighting the materiality of stone or glass as center stage in our interior feature walls, there are other design tools which should be considered and manipulated. While all of these aspects (whether prominent or downplayed) exist in every feature wall, elegant statements are achieved by employing 2 or 3 of the following elements in a hierarchical fashion:

1. Color 
Color drives many of the material selections for commercial interiors. Colors that occur most frequently in natural materials are greens, blues, and browns.  Man-made colors are available in a wide range, with an equally wide range of emotional reactions to those colors. The eye will be drawn to the area of greatest contrast first. Generally, bright vivid color combinations produce startling dramatic effects, and less bright colors tend to produce a soothing atmosphere.

Highly contrasting colors will make the wall advance and make the room appear smaller. If you are working in a small or dimly lit space, consider using RGB light to create the coloration of the surface. Could the surface material fade into the background and act as a canvas for light?

2. Scale
There are several dimensions of scale to consider when designing commercial feature walls.  At a large scale, the proportion of the feature in relation to the surrounding space will affect visual perception.  Should the wall reinforce the strong verticality in a tall lobby space?  Should a backlit feature wall have a horizontal force that pulls users through a long corridor?

Shifting scales down to the human body, pay attention to the relationship between the human body and the feature wall. How does it feel to stand next to the wall (imposing, comfortable, energizing)?
Where is the primary view of the wall located- in front of, below, above? How far away is the user when he/she first visually interacts with the wall?  

Whether the design surface is wood, stone, glass, resin, or fabric, the scale of the individual panels that compose the wall affects the perceived size of the entire wall.  Other things to consider include the scale of any surface patterns and finish trims. Where should seams be placed?

3. Material
The available choices of interior finishes can be seemingly infinite.  Take cues from the materiality of the surrounding spaces in order to guide your material selection.  Is the intent to provide a natural, harmonic spatial quality that brings the outdoors in?  Perhaps an onyx natural stone or wood surface is the appropriate surface choice.  A sleek modern feel with man-made materials? Consider using recycled glass, backlit resin panels, or carved MDF panels.

4. Light
Should light be incorporated? Is the material translucent? Should it be backlit? Is the material opaque? Should the wall be edge-lit or down-lit? Is the quality of light soft, glowing, bold, colored? Directional, diffuse, linear? What is the surrounding lighting environment?

5. Form
Is the feature wall designed to be curved or linear?  Is the design intent to appear as a heavy monolithic entity or a thin floating plane?

6. Depth
Is the feature wall surface a single plane, or should it turn a corner or have a return? The intended perception of depth can provide guidance on the design of form, shape, and architectonic details (how the connections and joints of a built assembly are expressed or suppressed).

7. Pattern
Often used in lower-end finishes, pattern shifts the focus from the materiality of the surface to the visual perception of that surface.  Is the surface pattern organic or geometric? Does the pattern interact with the form/shape of the feature wall? Be wary when combining bold patterns with bold forms; the two strategies will visually compete and overwhelm occupants of your space.

8. Texture
The perceived degree of roughness and smoothness in surface quality can be either tactile or visual. Distance alters our perception of texture; one must view fine textured objects at close range in order to see the texture. When viewed from a distance, fine textured surfaces blend into a single tone and appear flat. Coarse textured objects are distinguishable from greater distances. The infinite variety of textures that we experience in our daily lives is responsible for a great deal of our perception of objects and our visual interest in both natural and manmade features.Texture can also be implied, particularly through surface design and the manner in which it integrates with light.    Light itself can have texture- smooth, dappled, diffuse, or linear.

9. Detail
Scale of the detailing and finishes: exaggerated connections can interrupt surfaces and patterns while minimal seams and details showcase the feature wall surface.

10. Durability
The design surface as well as the feature wall system should physically durable (resistant to fading and scratching), but other design considerations include life cycle and maintenance.  Should a classic wall design outlast fleeting trends- or is a trendy statement necessary to support the overall design aesthetic?

What are the most memorable feature wall statements you have seen?  What made them so memorable?  What elements in the above list were employed, and in what order of importance? What elements would you add to the list?

Video Tours of 2000 Tower Oaks Blvd.

The 2000 Tower Oaks Blvd. Office building is the first LEED© Platinum new construction office building in the Washington, D.C. region.  In the design and construction of Tower Oaks, the developer (The Tower Companies) took sustainability to a whole new level.  Not only is the building physically healthy, but the interior design and architecture possess intangible spatial qualities that inspire occupants.  Built according to the principles of Vedic architecture ("the architecture of nature"), the building was considered in an emotional and spiritual manner with regards to harmony, proportion, and orientation.  The user experience was paramount, with spaces designed to nourish creativity and intelligence.  Check out the backlit honey onyx feature wall that GPI engineered and installed in the Tower Oaks lobby.

Jeffrey Abramson and Marnie Abramson of The Tower Companies, a development company with strong focus on green building, discuss the challenges undertaken in the Tower Oaks project.



NBC interview with Jeffrey Abramson discussing Vedic architecture as it applies to the Tower Oaks project.

Do you use Vedic architecture principles in your building designs?  What is the relationship between the sustainability of a building/space and the emotional and physical health of its occupants? What design elements are necessary in order to push a building from being environmentally sustainable to emotionally sustainable? 

With precise attention to book-matching, designing with natural stone can result in striking compositions.

Are you familiar with the old adage “measure twice, cut once”? To obtain perfect veining patterns in our stone feature walls, at GPI it’s more like “measure twice. draw a diagram. step back and think about it. call the design department. then cut”.

(Photograph courtesy danielpermanetter via Flickr Creative Commons)

Book-matching is a reflection of stone veining patterns across a joint so that adjacent panels appear as “mirror images”. Think of an open book: the left page is one panel, the right page is another, and the spine of the book is the joint. Book-match patterns are most commonly found in wood veneers, but the same principles apply to dimensional stone and stone veneer as well. Other variations of matching patterns include: blend match, slip match, and diamond match.

The quality of book-matching can make or break that uninterrupted wall of backlit stone that you have envisioned. Disregard the continuity between panels, and you risk having skewed veining patterns that appear to shift and jump as they move across joints. This uncontrolled use of natural stone gives the appearance of a defect or installation error, so care must be taken in the manufacturing and installation process to ensure quality control. Many natural stone panels are pre-fabricated and cut to size, making on-site adjustments costly and time-consuming.

(Above image: Book match/diamond match seams at GPI's Signature Place project)

Because stone possesses movement and graining sculpted by natural processes, each slab is unique. The visual prominence of bookmatching depends on the veining characteristics and color variations of that particular stone in use. The sharp red veins of a stark white onyx are emphasized by precise mirroring (see above photograph), while a more uniformly colored stone surface will have less pronounced book-matching.

To ensure quality book matching, care must be taken when choosing a stone manufacturer. Fluid communication between the sales, design and manufacturing departments is truly the only way to ensure attention to detail. A responsible stone company will have the insight, experience, and quality control standards to achieve those tight seams. Unfortunately, with many typical stone manufacturers, pertinent information is lost as a project moves from stone tickets into production. Make sure to detail your stone wall elevations and call out the particular seams which should be book matched. You've gone to painstaking measures to detail your prominent stone feature, so take a few minutes to ensure that you nail the details.