All posts by : Nicole Horton

Pets are a big part of our lives in the U.S. They make us laugh, comfort us when we cry, share in our vacations, and hang with us at home. For many people, they are an irreplaceable part of the family. Pets make life better; that is why PETIQ is making it affordable and convenient for all pet parents to provide their pets with the care they need to live full, healthy lives. With the new PETIQ Headquarters in Eagle, Idaho, they will be able to do that like never before.

PETIQ Grows

     Although PETIQ started in Eagle, Idaho, it has since expanded into forty-one states, with twelve hundred manufacturers and five hundred plus distributed medications. In 2017, the company went public and has been rapidly growing since with acquisitions and offerings. After such strong growth, the company decided to consolidate with a new headquarters. Because the founder and CEO, McCord Christensen, grew up in Eagle, he wanted to give back by putting down roots in his hometown. Fortunately, Eagle had everything that PETIQ needed to support the endeavor, and in 2019, Cole Architects began drawing the plans.

     Unfortunately, things did not progress as smoothly as planned. While the architects almost immediately hit the design spot on, the city of Eagle needed some persuasion to accept a bold, modern design in an otherwise quaint town. Through some heavy negotiating, PETIQ got its modern design, and Eagle got a brick-clad job generator on its main intersection. In the middle of the design negotiations, Covid hit the country. The shutdown was an interesting time for PETIQ. While they continued to grow on their product side, they had to shut down their service offerings. Due to the careful planning of their leadership team, they did not lay anyone off and decided to continue the build process.

The New Headquarters

     Fast forward to the present, and PETIQ has moved into its beautiful three-story building with a rooftop deck (pictured on the cover) and incredible office furnishings. The structure of the building is unique; with a 45-degree break near the centerline, the design capitalizes on the surrounding views. The executive offices and terrace enjoy excellent views of Bogus Basin to the east while staff enjoys waterside views on the patios accessible from the café. An atrium stairway connects all three floors. OEC designed the furniture on each floor to meet the needs of the occupying department. For example, the IT department has an open floorplan with flexible furniture options. In contrast, cubicles and sleek Volo Wall private offices take up a majority of the other spaces.

“We are entrenched here; our roots are here [in Eagle]. We wanted to give back, and this was one way we could give back immediately.”– Chad Longson

Giving Back

     While new employees begin to occupy the building, providing jobs is not the only way PETIQ is making a positive change in Eagle. At the ribbon-cutting ceremony, the mayor of Eagle shared his appreciation for PETIQ’s dedication to the city. Not only would the company’s headquarters improve the city’s commerce by providing jobs for its residents, but it was also helping the community in a way it was perfectly suited for: building a dog park. When the mayor called Chad Longson, the PETIQ VP of Real Estate, about the dog park, Christensen and the CFO, John Newland, jumped on board right away. “We are entrenched here; our roots are here [in Eagle]. We wanted to give back, and this was one way we could give back immediately.” -Chad Longson.

     With a new PETIQ Headquarters, and a new dog park bearing its name, the company will do what it does best. They will continue to grow by helping keep pets around the country happy and healthy.

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Message From The President

I’m constantly reminded why space matters. A few weeks ago OEC hosted a Casino night at our downtown Boise office where we hosted influencers from architecture, design, commercial, real estate, and general contractors. Over 100 guests spent the evening connecting, having fun, eating and drinking, learning (how to play roulette and craps), networking, and transacting business. Not transacting business in the sense of selling chairs. Rather, transacting future business built on trust and personal connection.

Space brings people together in a way that fosters trust and personal connection; this is something zoom can never do. Sure, zoom is a great tool for having meetings and sharing information. But there really is no replacement for space where you create shared work and personal experiences.

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“Passion for your work will follow your working hard at something and achieving mastery in it.” – Mike Rowe

For years, students preparing to graduate high school have heard “Work Smarter, Not Harder!” disparaging trade work and promoting a four-year degree with touted higher earning potential. While college life is exciting and developmental, the reality is many students will leave with high student debt and a job unrelated to their field of study. All the while, plumbers and electricians are in high demand with few replacements. So where did we go wrong and, how can our cities, counties, and states revive the trades?

Giving Students Direction

Clay Long, the state administrator at Idaho Career & Technical Education (CTE), knows well the challenges facing Idaho trades. He guides Idaho’s six educational regions toward developing youth and adults for the workforce. “We want to focus on the broader spectrum of career exploration. When someone sees where they are headed, it makes all the difference in the world. I would attribute that to the fact that a student feels connected, and it is not a guessing game where they are heading.”

The CTE programs available range from traditional ag to the medical field, and the CTE’s major focus right now is apprenticeship programs. While there may not be a complete welding program within a district, the CTE can partner with a local employer so that a student can go through an apprenticeship model. “If we don’t have businesses, then we won’t have successful programs. It doesn’t do a student, parent, community, or employer any good if students complete a program and the skills are not directly aligned to what the labor market needs.”

Redefining Success

Perhaps the biggest problem facing the trades is the underlying push toward attending a four-year university. “There is still this stigma that CTE is for those students that aren’t ‘academically inclined,’ and I would argue that when I think of academically inclined, I think of students that can read and write, do math, and apply it. Every one of our programs does that. For example, a student who takes part in our CTE program and ends with a CAN certification after their first two years of school will have an easier time getting into an RN program than a student who takes multiple AP and dual credit courses.”

“With the CTE program, the student has already been exposed to medical for four years and is committed to what they are doing, so it gives them a leg up on the competition. So, when we see an oversaturated market of four-year degrees, it is because they don’t have any tangible skills to accommodate what employers are hiring for.”

Success In The Trades

Wayne Hammon, the CEO of Idaho AGC, the state’s largest network of commercial contractor professionals, has been working hard to solve the labor problem as well. With 600 companies in the Idaho AGC and 60% of them located in the Treasure Valley, helping supply these businesses with skilled labor is a tremendous task. After 18 years working in the government, Wayne was happy to work with the hardworking community of tradespeople who just want to solve
problems. While he and his team are great at their administrative jobs, please don’t ask them to hang a picture!

The AGC understands the importance of education in reviving the trades and is making in-roads with educators. “We have reached out to high school and junior high guidance counselors to educate them on a path forward [in construction]. Being a craftsman requires a lot of skill and thinking, and not every kid needs a four-year degree to be successful. [Students] can have just as successful careers in construction. So, let’s paint them a path to success tailored to their individual needs.”

Working With Local School Districts

Fortunately, the AGC has excellent school districts that are supportive of their work. For example, in the
Boise School District, students can take a bus out of town to the Dennis Technical Centers for CTE classes. The AGC paid to take all 8th graders (10,000-20,000 students) in the district to see what the CTE programs had available when enrollment was dropping. After that brief field trip, enrollment doubled. The following year, the district asked if the students could bring their parents on a Saturday, and enrollment doubled again. With higher enrollment levels, the AGC is asking contractors around the area to tell them exactly what they want at the end of the pipeline to make these programs successful. Once they know the exact skills employers are looking for, they have schools ready to develop programs to teach them.

However, what really lies at the heart of trade work is a passion for the job and the assurance of stable
employment. The AGC recognizes this and is trying to educate individuals on the perks of being a tradesperson. “Most tradesmen and women set their own schedule, and many of them own a business. That is a great way to run your life. You can live anywhere you want because there is a job in construction for you, no matter where you are. It is also a great way to make a really good wage with good benefits without college debt. It is a fast track to a rewarding, lifelong career.”

Getting Paid To Learn The Trades

Minimizing debt was important for OEC’s Construction Superintendent, Aaron Brown. Despite being pushed towards college by family, Brown knew early on that he wanted to do hands-on work. “I knew school wasn’t for me. I wasn’t going to pay for it, and I would rather get paid to learn what I want to do.” While his friends went off to college, and the inevitable debt, to discover what they wanted to do, he took a year off to travel before eventually connecting with a carpenter’s union. Through an apprenticeship, he was able to work and earn his AA in civil engineering over four years.

Brown’s enthusiasm for the trades has even extended to encouraging his nephews to pursue them as well. “I am always learning new things, and the industry is always changing. I like problem-solving, and with what we do, there is always a problem to solve.” Aaron learned about the trades after he graduated; so he sees the importance of teaching students about them early. “I think if schools preached the trades, it would change things a lot. The stability of having a job that will always be there with good pay is important. I keep telling the guys we hire that if they get good at this and take pride in their work, the sky is the limit on how far they can go.”

Making Things Happen

Someone who has gotten very good at his trade is OEC’s Furniture Superintendent, Mike Babbitt. After 30 years in the industry, his expertise is unparalleled. “I have pretty much had my hands on every system of furniture that is out there.” His trade of office furnishings has taken him to New Orleans, Houston, Wyoming, California, and now Idaho. To Hammon’s point, furniture installation has been a consistent and successful career for Babbitt regardless of geography. Since every job is a new experience, Babbitt embraces each challenge. Hel loves that when there is a whole team together, they can make a lot of things happen.

Making things happen is precisely why the trades are so important to revive. While architects and designers spend hours a day designing extraordinary things, it all would be meaningless without the people who put in the blood, sweat, and tears to bring them to life. So, let’s not forget that CTE programs and four-year colleges, designers and carpenters, are equally important to building strong, robust communities.

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Many people can’t wait to return to the office and work side-by-side with their colleagues again and organizations are taking every precaution to make sure workplaces are safe when people do come back. But what if these precautionary measures make the office interiors feel sad and even more isolating than working from home? Below are a few things organizations should consider when introducing a hybrid work style to their offices.

An Office Café

Can you have culture without coffee? You might be able to bring people together virtually to work on a problem, but you don’t get people bumping into each other, coming across diverse perspectives or walking around and seeing what’s going on in another meeting. With that in mind, Cafés are spaces that often sit empty most of the day because they are typically used just for dining, individual work or small meetings. By looking at underutilized spaces in new ways, cafes can be redesigned as social hubs that will inspire people and provide high-performing settings where they can reconnect with their colleagues, as well as collaborate effectively.

Braid The Digital And Physical Experience

There are three key factors to consider when creating a space: Equity, Engagement, and Ease.

Equity: How do we make this a great experience for people in the room and for people who are remote? Mobility is the key. People in the room should be able to move around while they take their screens with them. Angled conference tables help remote team members see everyone while those in the room can also see the screen.

Engagement: How can our space help us engage with one another? Movement increases brain activity so physically using tools like whiteboards or digital tools make it easier to co-create from afar.

Ease: How do you make space and technology easy to work with? You should be
able to walk in and join a session as simply as possible.

Setting Guardrails

Organizations should set clear expectations moving forward. While they must acknowledge the autonomy and flexibility employees are looking for, they also must set some guardrails. Too much choice can be overwhelming and stifling. Organizations should set parameters around hybrid work expectations and consider creating social contracts with their employees.

Safe & Connected

Culture, innovation and growth are exactly the things leaders globally are worried about. That’s why contrary to what we read a year ago about the office going away, the opposite has actually happened. Whether or not our future workplace is bigger, the same size or smaller, or is made up of an ecosystem that includes home, the places where we come together matter more now than they ever did because we have a year to make up for.

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“Design creates culture. Culture shapes
values. Values determine the future.” -Robert L. Peters

As we have learned over the last year and a half, the spaces we live in matter. They matter to our productivity, our creativity, and overall, to our wellbeing. We have learned that things like color, ergonomics, and flexibility are essential to helping us be successful. At OEC, we asked four designers from different firms to tell us what they are doing to create spaces that inspire, whether that be encouraging people to return to work with confidence or striving toward personal transformation.

Digging A Deep Well

At KovichCo Interiors, inspiration has always been at the heart of the business. Led by its principal, Jordan Yankovich, the 4-and-a-half-year-old firm has skyrocketed in popularity through its various commercial and residential projects. “Inspiration is something that we really take to heart. It is a part of our process, and we never neglect it no matter what the project is.” But in a world of recycling and regurgitation, finding real inspiration is difficult.
Because Jordan tries not to repeat herself, except for the occasional mohair, she has to foster a creative spirit. “As designers, you want to be inspired all the time, so one of our mantras here is to be continually digging a deeper well that you have to draw on when you meet a client. Curiosity is one of our core cultural values, so everyone is expected to go down rabbit holes and share things with the team.” Recently those rabbit holes have come to include anything from design books to Antiques Roadshows.

For KovichCo, the idea of trends does not even register. Instead, they find inspiration by working very closely with their clients to discover what they need to accomplish in the space. “I love building the concept and reaching into the depths. I’ve pulled poetry out of clients or pictures, and they’ll have this look of, ‘Aren’t you going to pick carpet?’” By diving deep into what their clients want, KovichCo can create a more robust vision that appeals to all the senses. In some cases, they will even reselect a chair before they change a fabric. “Textiles are incredibly important both in color and pattern stories, and getting that tactile feel is really important because you want to hit people in all senses. I also believe strongly in the emotional side, not just functionality. I want to know what the space is doing for me emotionally.” While KovichCo may not be the perfect designer for everyone, they certainly are fun, thanks to one of Jordan’s important policies. “If it scares you a little bit, go for it.”

Colors That Inspire

Similar to KovichCo, Megumi Haus at CSHQA also starts with the vision of the client. Because CSHQA has a diverse portfolio with everything from government, aviation, and hospitality, to retail and office, beginning with a substantial client vision is extremely helpful. “Discovering what the client wants is definitely a great place to start. Then it is our job to guide them and give them other options.” However, if left to her own devices, Megumi prefers to pull inspiration from nature by using muted, neutral colors with a bit of color popping throughout. “I tell people; you don’t see a huge orange field in nature. When you walk in the park, you’ll see browns and grays and a little bit of green. So, I try to give a nice neutral palette that they can accessorize.”

Themes That Inspire

Jordyn McKnight from Kieffer Design Group (KDG) designs mainly hotels with some commercial and multifamily projects. With the hospitality industry taking a big hit this past year, creating spaces that inspire people to travel is top of mind for the firm. For one of their recent projects in downtown Boise, they pulled inspiration from the surrounding foothills. “With the foothills in the background, we took this idea of home and incorporated the colors of the foothills, which are pops of blues and indigo.” One of the exciting ways the firm achieved a homey feel was by creating a wall of recycled leather belts. The belt wall is unique in that it immediately puts guests at ease. From there, creating the rest of that feel comes down to spatial layout. “If you design something well, it makes people want to go to that space. Giving them an opportunity to decide if they want to sit in a grouping of four where they can be social, or by themselves helps them feel like they are a part of something.”

Furnishings That Inspire

For Catie Buck at Babcock Design Group, she likes to push clients a little bit out of their comfort zone. “I feel like pushing the envelope amplifies the customization of the space for the client.” Starting with the client’s branding and culture as a foundation, Catie plays with color, texture, and lighting to create an inspirational space. “If there is one thing I could push as a designer, it would be lighting and chairs. They need to make a statement while being comfortable and functional. For me, furniture is like the icing on the cake.”

These designers all have something in common. They are being invited to design in workplaces and homes like never before. People are beginning to realize that designers provide a holistic approach that fosters community and, if they are lucky, leave them inspired.

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In 1935, a black blizzard descended on Washington D.C. It happened just as Hugh Bennett, the Director of the Soil Erosion Service was testifying before Congress. He was testifying about the need to continue funding the program. As the dust cloud enveloped the city, Congress saw first-hand the importance of implementing the Soil Conservation Act. The aftermath of the Dust Bowl that ravaged the Great Plains in the 1930s has had lasting effects today. One of those effects includes the creation of nearly 3,000 conservation districts nationwide.

These districts operate under state law as non-regulatory, non-enforcement entities that help farmers and landowners make decisions about how to best utilize their natural resources. So why the history lesson on the Dust Bowl from an office furniture company? Because everyone needs the right furniture to effectively do their job, especially the Spokane Conservation District (SCD). Authorized in 1941 to operate in Spokane, the SCD is celebrating its 80th birthday with the addition of a beautiful 12,350 s.f. building on its new 50-acre lot in the heart of Spokane Valley.

Reclaiming The Land

Their new location is a 50-acre parcel of land that is a sanctuary among numerous housing, urban, and industrial
developments. Vicky Carter, the director of the SCD, came across the land by chance and could not get over it. In its former life, the land was a rock quarry and gravel mine as well as an asphalt batch plant that made and hauled asphalt. The community absolutely hated it because of the smell, noise, and traffic. So, the company eventually left, and Vicky found it.

“It certainly has its history and scars from its former life. But with all of that, I find great beauty, because we’re a conservation office and we can reclaim that and bring it back to something beautiful and important again. All the while we are honoring what it was and how it provided for us as a community. So, I don’t look at it as this ugly place. Rather it is an opportunity to do some of our best work. I really feel like this building exemplifies that. It is unique to this site and this setting shows the integrity of us as an organization, of the hard-working landowners we work with, and the kind of communication and relationship that we have.”

Projects & Mission of The Spokane Conservation District

At the SCD, their work covers everything from the backyard to the back 40 and beyond. Because they are non-regulatory, they often act as the liaison between the landowner and an enforcement agency by connecting landowners with resources that are available to them. The SCD has a variety of projects it works on from dealing with erosion in nearby lakes, to growing trees. Their mission is to provide viable solutions to problems that are economically feasible for landowners to implement.

In their old building, fulfilling their mission was becoming impossible. They had run out of space to store their equipment including trucks, trailers, and tractors. With no way to expand, the new property came up at the perfect time. The 50-acre campus is a 10-year project that has been broken into 5 phases. With one existing building on the lot, the Spokane Conservation District quickly planned out the rest of the space. They kicked off the construction of their new building with Kilgore Construction in May of 2020 and opened in March 2021.

Designed by Integrus Architecture PS, of Spokane, and AHBL Inc. the building has an agrarian, almost barn-like feel to its exterior. Inside, there is a lot of reclaimed wood used to reflect the rural farms that are historically scattered throughout the region. Additionally, the building incorporates rock that was existing on the site. It is also completely energy efficient. It utilizes the placement of windows in relation to the sun to maximize natural heating and cooling.

“This building really tells the story of the SCD and we are excited about what we can offer to the community.” Through demonstrations on the property, the SCD can show every aspect of who they are in terms of programming, and the projects and resources they have available.

Vets On The Farm

One of the projects Vicky is most proud of is their program called “Vets on the Farm”. This program was created five years ago to help veterans transition into civilian life while also addressing the dwindling
number of farmers in the U.S. These veterans are often looking for their next mission so the SCD provides them with training opportunities to become farmers. The program has been wildly successful because the veteran community is so strong. Since it started, the program has brought hundreds of veterans into the fold. The conservation district and is changing lives in a very positive way.

“For the 30 years that I’ve been here, I’ve watched these incredible projects and people meld together, and it has really been one of the most rewarding things I think I could have ever chosen or done as a career.” -Vicky Carter

The new building supports planning programs like “Vets on the Farm” with its extensive amount of collaboration space. With plenty of natural light from every vantage point throughout the entire building, meeting rooms are large and welcoming. “When things are beautiful, you feel good. The collaboration spaces are where we have a lot of the OEC
furniture, that, and the multipurpose room. We wanted it to be comfortable, specifically our meeting room chairs where you could be sitting for six hours or with height adjustable desks at the workstations. We wanted to let people choose how they wanted to work. Based on how they were feeling that day, we have four to five different seating choices that are beautiful.”

Looking Ahead

The next phase of the development plan will be building a regional conference center that can host 50-200 people. Because a lot of businesses are decreasing their office space due to Covid, Vicky sees an opportunity to help fund the SCD by renting out their space for company get togethers. Downsizing is great until you need to bring all your staff together and your building no longer has the capacity.

For now, the SCD is looking forward to settling into its new space, developing their land with public nature trails, and continuing to help the landowners in the surrounding counties. None of it would be possible without the help of the incredible staff at SCD. “Our whole staff played a part in getting that building built. Whether it was literally sitting on a font-end loader moving 13,000 cubic yards of asphalt or something else, my staff busted their butts. So, every single person has a sense of ownership and pride over there.” When it comes to their line of work, those are exactly the kind of people that will help make the farmers and landowners of the Spokane area successful. The days of the dust bowl and long gone. Meanwhile, the excellent work the SCD is doing will make sure it stays that way.

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Message from the President

A decade ago, sometime during the great recession, I owned a computer repair company. One year after having a modestly successful year, I treated myself to a new “executive” $99 chair from Office Depot. It had one adjustment—up and down.  Life was pretty good.  I had a private office, an executive chair, and a growing business. At some point during the next year I started to get sore legs. After about 20 minutes of sitting, it would feel like the blood was getting cut off and my legs would start to tingle. I’m not talking about the good kind of Chris Matthews “thrill going up my leg” tingle. But rather a sharp stinging that was very uncomfortable and painful; so much so that I could only sit at my desk for an hour or so a day. My ability to do the necessary work at my business started to suffer. 

Finding The Leap

Around this time my brother, Jason, purchased a business in Boise by the name of Office Environment Company. He mentioned to me he could help my leg problem with a new chair. I came to look at the chairs and the $799 price tag for some was shocking. “What in the world is in this chair? Is it lined with gold foil or something? How could it possibly cost this much!” My brother convinced me it would be worth the price and soon I found myself driving home a brand-new Steelcase Leap chair. I swapped out my old executive chair for the Leap but didn’t feel relief right away because I still had a pinch point right above my knees that would cause numbness. 

So I called my brother and he drove out to my office and spent some time reviewing the ergonomic adjustments with me. I hadn’t realized how many adjustments the chair could make. We ended up making the right adjustments that relieved the pressure and voila, I was able to sit without pain again. With a proper task chair I was now able to sit and work for eight plus hours in a day. Being able to increase my office productivity from one hour to eight hours a day was life and business saving. I have since sold the business, but I did keep the chair. And amazingly the chair looks as good today as it did the day I purchased it.

A special thanks to my brother for convincing me to spend money on a good chair and to Steelcase for making the chair that saved my business. 

Scott Galloway

President

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It’s time for a fundamentally better learning experience

Even before the pandemic, education was undergoing a transformation that will go on long after the virus threat subsides. The experiences students, educators and administrators have had during the pandemic has to have accelerated and amplified trends in education that were already in motion. Online and blended learning has revealed inequities and how many physical learning environments simply can’t meet the pedagogical needs and technology demands. Additionally, wellbeing has suffered, and students and teachers have struggled, unable to teach or learn effectively.

What Students and Educators Need and Expect to Learn Better

Everyone has had a vastly different experience teaching and learning from home. Those experiences shape their expectations for what they want the learning experience to be like in the future.

Prior to and during the COVID-19 pandemic, Steelcase Learning researchers used multiple methods to understand the value of blended learning and wellbeing to educational outcomes and how space can play a role to ensure an enhanced experience. Prior to COVID-19, researchers visited both K-12 schools and universities, interviewed educators and students, observed blended learning models and built prototypes. Since the onset of the pandemic, they’ve used a remote diary platform to assess how online learning is going for teachers and students. Steelcase also conducted multiple studies in 10 countries to better understand the impact the pandemic has had on workers. Synthesizing all these studies uncovered five overarching needs that will drive macro shifts in the overall learning and work experience and lead to new ways of planning and designing learning environments.

To Be Safe and Feel Safe

Educational institutions didn’t have to consider how to mitigate the spread of disease, but people are now pandemic aware. They have new expectations about air quality, facility cleanliness, social distancing, density and adherence to safety protocols that did not exist prior to the pandemic.

A Deeper Sense of Belonging

Students, educators and administrators all report a feeling of isolation. To address this moving forward, educational institutions will need a more human-centered approach to education that creates a sense of belonging. When a sense of belonging is lacking, both educators and students are negatively impacted. Students’ lack of wellbeing, for example, is related to lower achievement, retention and graduation rates, which directly affect funding. Meanwhile, educator burnout results in higher absenteeism, poor wellbeing, increased healthcare costs and higher turnover rates.

To Be Effective

Online learning presents new challenges when compared to a traditional classroom. According to a McKinsey Report, a significant portion of students report that COVID-19 had affected their readiness, willingness, or ability to attend a higher education institution. For example, 30% of high school students feel academically unprepared for university. Students’ ability to succeed in a remote-learning environment also differs greatly by income levels. Less than half (40%) of students from lower-income households report being able to get the necessary equipment for remote learning compared with 72% of students from high-income households.

Holistic Comfort to Learn Better

A more holistic approach to comfort is another expectation students, educators and administrators now have as many had to learn, teach and work from sofas, kitchen tables and even beds. Learning environments will need to support physical comfort, as well as emotional and cognitive comfort. People will need a range of postures, settings and the ability to move, as well as an emotionally safe and supportive culture for teaching and learning. Learning spaces should be designed to create a sense of inclusiveness and community and provide calming spaces for respite.

Greater Control

The Steelcase Learning Environment Evaluation (LEE) study has found both students and instructors have reported they want more control over their learning environments. People want options so they can choose where to learn or work and they want the ability to adapt spaces based on what they’re doing. The LEE study reports a 92% increase in students who say they often or always move furniture to support their learning. Instructors report a 47% increase when asked if they agree or strongly agree that they want to be able to move furniture into new layouts.  Access to mobile furniture and different seating options and postures promote a greater sense of student agency.

Macro Shifts In The Learn Better Experience

To be able to create better teaching and learning experiences that provide students and educators with what they want and expect, institutions will need to pay attention to four macro shifts in how they think about space.

Design Safer Schools

Behavioral strategies, such as mask wearing and distancing, need to be augmented with changes to the built environment. Educational institutions can make their buildings even safer by intentionally designing the built environment to help mitigate disease transmission. Understanding how pathogens move through an environment will help educational institutions develop new systemic strategies to help prevent infections.

Design for Effectiveness

Students and educators have struggled throughout the pandemic. Learning and teaching effectiveness have dropped. Moving forward students and educators will need multi-modal learning environments that balance individual and group needs and multiple modes of learning. For example, libraries can be designed to support group work and not just individual study. Schools will also need to provide spaces that enable better hybrid and blended learning experiences.

Design to Inspire

People who have lived through a crisis want inspiration — they need to be a part of something meaningful. Educational institutions will need to create a sense of belonging and foster community. When students are able to connect with their instructors and have access to inspiring spaces that build a strong community, this can lead to better learning outcomes. Intentionally-designed learning environments can foster meaningful interactions and signal that change and adaptation are part of their culture and something to be embraced.

Design for Flexibility

Historically designed for permanence, buildings have been dominated by fixed architecture, power and furnishings. Going forward, educational institutions will offer more flexible environments that can adapt easily to accommodate multiple learning modes. Schools will need to embrace multi-use spaces that can support diverse types of activities. Furnishings will easily move to allow spaces to expand and contract as needed.

While living through a crisis has not been easy on anyone, it has accelerated changes that were already underway to improve the learning experience. Leaders in education can use this moment as a catalyst for reinventing learning spaces and explore new approaches for delivering quality education.

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Rafanelli & Nahas

     What sets apart real estate development firm Rafanelli & Nahas? They create incredible buildings and manage them for the long haul. While many companies develop land then move on, this firm owns its properties and provides long-term management and maintenance. In the words of partner Scott Schoenherr, “We spoil our tenants, and our buildings stay full.” This unique outlook has allowed Rafanelli & Nahas to develop over one million square feet of landmark properties in the treasure valley.

11th & Idaho

     One such landmark property is their new building on 11th St. and Idaho in Boise. This exciting addition to their holdings is a ten-story office building with a rooftop deck. Designed by award-winning firm Perkins + Will, the 11th St. building boasts a 5,000 square foot lobby. It also includes floor to ceiling glass walls throughout each floor. However, the building is not just beautiful; it is also exceptionally well made. This Class A+ building not only provides excellent panoramic views of the city and landscape, but achieves LEED Gold certification.

Achieving LEED certification for any project takes a great deal of time, money, and dedication to sustainable building practices. A couple of significant ways the 11th St. building achieved LEED includes its energy-efficient windows and neolith stone cladding made of 100% natural materials. They offer superior resistance to UV rays and form the stunning black exterior of the building.

The Rooftop Deck

     Yet, the 11th St. building’s exceptional quality is just one aspect of what makes it so special in Boise. As Schoenherr says, “When you own your stuff forever, you treat it a little more like you treat your house and less like you treat an investment. We’re a big believer that what makes an office building really special isn’t any one thing or two things; it’s a thousand thing. Having an architecturally significant building is important to us, and we think it’s important to tenants too.”

Yet, the building’s exceptional quality is just one aspect of what makes it so special in Boise. As Schoenherr says, “When you own your stuff forever, you treat it a little more like you treat your house and less like you treat an investment. We’re a big believer that what makes an office building really special isn’t any one thing or two things; it’s a thousand things. Having an architecturally significant building is important to us, and we think it’s important to our tenants too.”

One such notable aspect is the rooftop deck. At the beginning of the project, Perkins & Will encouraged the firm to include a rooftop deck. To cut costs, Rafanelli & Nahas declined. However, after touring LinkedIn’s headquarters in San Francisco, they learned just how vital a rooftop deck could be. LinkedIn’s HR Manager changed their minds by sharing, “When I’m interviewing someone that I really want to hire, this [the rooftop deck] is where I do it. This [experience] is what the young people want now.” Today the 11th St. building boasts a beautiful space with IPE wood decking that no other Class A office building in Boise has.

“Having an architecturally significant building is important to us.”

Making Space For A Park

         With such attention paid to creating a beautiful building for their tenants, one would think Rafanelli & Nahas would stop there. On the contrary, the firm’s long-term vision has driven it to beautifully shape Boise’s culture. Working hand-in-hand with CCDC and the City of Boise, the firm will be subleasing space adjacent to the building for an incredible new public park.

     What is currently being referred to as the Westside Urban Park will have a variety of coveted amenities. With a shift toward residential infill, having a public space within walking distance of new residences is important for the city. Artist, Matthew Mazzotta was hired by the City of Boise Arts and History to determine and create what the public prioritized in a new park. The response was in overwhelming support of a public art feature, flexible event space, and great food and dining.

The final design incorporates all these things with a large, green lawn and amphitheater, plenty of hardscapes for outdoor dining, a food truck and farmer’s market accessible parking lot, and a beautiful art feature. Seeking to reflect a cherry tree in bloom, Mazzotta’s featured piece “Gentle Breeze”, is a large, pink, tree-like sculpture set upon a small berm. The playful, attention grabbing color makes it a beautiful focal point for this new public space.

Stewardship For Boise

Through its quality construction, exceptional management, and community focus, it is no wonder Rafanelli & Nahas have been so successful in Boise. But at the heart of the firm is a deep-rooted love and even stewardship for Boise and its culture. It is not often that you encounter a developer that takes on the responsibility to up the game on architecture in a city. While many firms are willing to forfeit quality to get something built, Rafanelli & Nahas is fighting against that. They hope that design review, CCDC, and planning and zoning will look to buildings like theirs and ask, “Why would we allow anything less to be built in our downtown?”

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And other amazing talents of modern day architects

In an era of HGTV and DIY projects where anyone can design an impressive space, we interviewed three architects to learn why architects matter to projects of all shapes and sizes.

University of Idaho

Miranda Anderson, the interior architecture professor at the University of Idaho became interested in architecture in the sixth grade. Before teaching, she primarily designed K-12 schools in Idaho and surrounding states. After doing some historic preservation projects she focused on interior architecture and development. As she says, “The greenest building is the one that is already built. We need to think more creatively and innovatively about the way we use space and remember that a lot of existing buildings could do with a little creative transformation.

Miranda believes that the special thing architects and designers can bring to the table is their holistic view of a project. They are trained to be creative problem solvers that can look at things from a variety of perspectives. Architects are thinking about designing elements that can absorb sound or improve lighting which both have incredibly positive impacts on people. They are planning for the well-being of the whole person.

She also believes that architects have a responsibility to society. “A client might say ‘I really want XYZ,’ and we know from experience that that has some negative impacts. It is our job to identify and inform the public and our clients as best we can on the impacts of their decisions.” From her experience, some people start projects without architects and do not ask questions soon enough. They are not aware of potential health, safety, and welfare issues with the project until they get caught by code inspectors. Architects and designers have typically already thought of that.

Boise State Universiy

Since 2014, Ann Wozniak has been the Boise State University Architect and Director of Architecture. Growing up in the military, her family moved a lot. While living in places like Nairobi, Kenya and San Francisco, California, she was exposed to different cultures and architecture. At the age of 12 those experiences made her want to help people live a little bit better and a little differently. Architecture is the way she chose to do that. “I’ve always felt like architecture sets up culture and society and provides spaces that not only meet the basic need for shelter, but also propel society toward improved health. It is my hypothesis that the more spaces we have that encourage social interaction, the healthier we are both mentally and sometimes physically.

For Ann, the thing that makes architects important is their background, knowledge, and experience. They understand proportion and scale and what works functionally in a space. That requires years of experience that you can not easily teach somebody. Part of that includes learning to be open to new ideas. “It can be hard to listen to the client and not go forward with an agenda. I have learned that sometimes the design will be way better. While I live through one lens, everybody else has their own lens with a different shade and a different color. I think those are all valuable and I have to remember that I’m not the only one experiencing the space.”

BVA

Brad Smith has been working with BVA on a variety of commercial projects. The company self-performs a majority of tenant improvements inside their buildings and Brad is the architect of record who signs off on everything. He discovered his love for architecture in high school soon after his family moved to Boise. When they were searching for a home, he saw lots of fliers full of floorplans. He then had fun creating his own and has never looked back.

Brad believes that it is the architect’s job to be a jack-of-all-trades when it comes to designing. “You have to keep the built environment, society, social welfare, building science, and economic aspects in mind when working. That is what goes into that holistic approach for architecture.” Brad also understands his responsibility to clients. “Getting to know what doctors or attorneys need, you have to have a little bit of knowledge about everything. We are master builders who create bridges linking people together and building community.”

According to Brad, architecture is one of the best professions. Between meeting new people, and combining art with science and technology, it is a great profession. The most important thing Brad has learned through his career is very similar to Ann. “If you can put someone’s needs first, above your own or above what your vision is, within the boundaries of the built environment, health, safety, and welfare, then it’s going to be better for everybody.

So why do architects matter? They see the unseen and improve our world because of it.

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