Professor Kwallek’s course surveys the broad spectrum of work philosophies, personalities, and technologies that have defined Design throughout the last century up to the present.  She has taught this class for many years.

As a matter of fact, I sat in on her class while I was in Grad School, and vividly remember having a lot of enthusiasm for it. I love history and was happy to realize the content is still relevant in my daily practice. The one thing I cannot stress enough is the importance of knowing and understanding precedent when it comes to innovation, and interpretation of current and future trends in Design.

I must say, I was very happy to see a cross section of students in this class. They were mostly graduate students, from diverse backgrounds ranging from Architecture and Interiors, Planning to Engineering, Business and Liberal Arts. We talked a bit about the book, but our talk soon redirected towards a more real-world conversation; the issues surveyed in the class and their relationship to the day-to-day business, and practice of furniture and product design. We also talked about my experiences in the field, and how they relate to what we learn in school.

Students asked thoughtful and informed questions about intellectual property, general manufacturing, and the random course that leads one to become a designer. They were also very interested in Landscape Forms as a company. Particularly the way Landscape Forms not only nourishes, but also implements Design as part of our core.

Our sales team recently had the pleasure to hear Byron Sampson, ASU’s Campus Landscape Architect speak about his vision for their campus, and the trends he see’s occurring on college campuses of the future. Byron’s role to manage and improve the university’s image is not an easy task. Working with tight budgets, multiple constituencies, and a large staff, make his daily routine hectic to say the least. But two of the objectives Byron has worked on in his short tenure with the university have been to create a more inviting setting, and develop a community that encourages interaction between students and faculty throughout campus.

While college campuses have always had a community atmosphere, the ability for students to work side by side and collaborate is becoming a bigger trend both inside and out. An important aspect to these interaction is the flexibility of a space and furniture that allows groups to gather, no matter their size. This is a pattern designers have dealt with for years, and one made popular in outdoor spaces by the success of Bryant Park in New York City with their movable tables and chairs. ASU has also begun to move in that direction by changing from their fixed seating concept to flexible movable seating.

As you can see from the before and after photos of this plaza below, movable furniture on ASU’s campus is a concept Byron has implemented and has become a resounding success.

Have you seen a trend towards more interactive spaces on college campuses, either planned or naturally occurring?

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ASU flag photo via https://www.facebook.com/arizonastateuniversity

A highlight of my trip was drinks at The Blue Bar at the Berkeley Hotel followed by dinner at Rules.

“The Blue Bar: Cocktails with passion amid the buzz of London’s hottest hangout”

Located in the heart of the Knightsbridge, The Blue Bar is a popular and exclusive London celebrity hangout. Despite the buzz it’s a chilled-out venue with incredible ambiance.

The stand-out feature of the Blue Bar is its striking Lutyens Blue color scheme by designer David Collins. The white onyx bar and black crocodile print leather floor combine with features from the original Berkeley of Berkeley Square.

Rules is the oldest restaurant in London and one of the most celebrated in the world.

For the past 200 years, it has been owned by only three families. Just before World War I, Charles Rule, a descendant of the founder, was thinking of moving to Paris; by sheer coincidence he met Tom Bell, a Briton who owned a Parisian restaurant called the Alhambra, and the two men decided to swap businesses.

Rules website explains that, “During the second World War, Rules stayed open but its structure was reinforced with thick wood. It was only open from 1pm to 3pm and offered the compulsory rationed meals at five shillings but could offer copious rabbits, grouse and pheasants which were not rationed. A lady was the Head Waiter during the war. The restaurant could never open on Sundays because it was on Church grounds and could not get a license.”

In 1984 Tom Bell’s daughter sold Rules to John Mayhew, the present owner.

Rules seats around 90 people and serves the traditional British food at its best – and at affordable prices. It specializes in classic game cookery, oysters, pies and puddings.

Landscape Forms has a Sales Office in London and is currently planning to expand sales and assembly centers in Germany, France and Belgium.

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The Blue Room photo courtesy of The Berkeley Hotel, Rules photos courtesy of Rules and London photo credit can be found here.

Dan explained that Economic Development discussions generally revolve around taxes and regulations and that’s the end of the conversation.  However, we live in a different world today. Young people are choosing where to live first, and then look for work. Think about millennial hot spots like Seattle, Austin, Boston and Boulder.

So, what do these cities have that Michigan cities don’t? This is where the concept of place came in to play – attracting people to a lifestyle. Dan said that when focusing on place, you do everything different. You build communities around happiness and well-being and involve ordinary citizen in planning. What I found most intriguing is that the characteristics of these booming cities appeal not only to millennials, but also baby boomers.

They are looking for strong metropolitan regions that are walkable, but also have good public transit and additional options like Zip Cars. Places that value green initiatives, embrace entrepreneurship, are multicultural and have higher education institutions.

The breakfast really posed the question: what is it that makes a place where people want to live, work and play, and where companies want to locate?

I guess you could say I’m your poster child. I’m a millennial who eighteen months ago moved from a major metropolitan city, San Diego to Kalamazoo, Michigan. I know this is of great shock to many people. I’ve been asked a million times, “Why would you move here?” You see Michiganders are harder on Michigan than anyone else. The short answer as to why I am here is ‘my boyfriend’. I moved first and then found a job. Kalamazoo was attractive to me and to my retired baby boomer mother who is moving here this fall.

Most people I encounter outside of Michigan are under the impression that the entire state of Michigan is Detroit. This could not be farther from the truth. While Detroit is great, Kalamazoo is its polar opposite. Western Michigan is full of trees, rivers, lakes, and streams. It is beautiful and incredibly amazing. Kalamazoo has a ton of things to do. Yesterday I attended The Gilmore Festival, tomorrow night Art Hop, Saturday I will walk the Kalamazoo River Valley Trail and Sunday we will take a short drive to the lake which isn’t all that different than San Diego Bay.

Granted it is lacking a Nordstrom, Trader Joe’s and Whole Foods, but there are some great boutiques and farmers markets. I never have to deal with pollution, traffic, or graffiti. There is little crime, no one honks at you and parking anywhere is easy. The lines at the grocery store are short or non-existent. You rarely see homeless or pan handlers wanting to wash your windshield at a stop light.

Of course, the obvious downside is the snow. Yes, it snows and yes, I hate it. But, I have learned how to dig my car out with a shovel. I cried as I chiseled at my car door when the entire thing froze like a popsicle in an ice storm. I still hate brushing my car off when it snows. Obvious to many of you, but completely foreign to a Southern California girl like me.

Every day is an adventure…it is a whole new world here for me.  The first time I saw a snow blower I thought it was a fancy hedge trimmer. I was in awe at a snow plow (another first). There are plastic deer in people’s front yards along with 3 foot statues of the Virgin Mary sitting in a protective bathtub set up on its side (aka bathtub Madonna).

But, it’s all these thing which have made me fall in love with this place, my place. In the eighteen short months I’ve been here, I’ve formed a connection to my community that I never had in San Diego. I ask you, have you formed a connection with yours?

Thus, my challenge to you: revisit Baltimore and you may be pleasantly surprised. Baltimore–or ‘Charm City’ as it is known by the locals–is home to a thriving arts community, grassroots start-ups, and world-renowned science institutions. In addition, recent achievements in and continuous commitment towards sustainability have been steadily lifting Baltimore up on the rankings of greenest cities in the U.S.

Attendees lining up for the free tree giveaway sponsored by Tree Baltimore

Just last week, Baltimore held its 9th annual Baltimore Green Week, a city-wide, week-long event that focuses on promoting environmental awareness and best sustainable practices in and around Baltimore. Coinciding with Earth Day, Baltimore Green Week engages with communities through free educational workshops, lectures, films, tours and hands-on projects in an effort to increase the dialogue on issues such as climate change and sustainable agriculture.

As part of its Sustainable Speaker Series, BGW invited Justin Martin, who authored ‘Genius of Place: The Life of Frederick Law Olmsted’, to speak not only of Olmsted’s achievements in landscape architecture, but also of the man’s many other achievements as a social reformer and early environmentalist. (photo via baltimoregreenworks.com)

Baltimore Green Week kicked off with Ecofest, an outdoor festival that brings local food vendors, growers, organizations and communities together to learn about environmental sustainability. Other events that followed throughout the week included urban farming workshops, presentations on the transformative power of green energy on inner-city schools, as well as guided ecology walks through and along Baltimore’s urban streets and streams.

Urban gardeners of the Baltimore City Farms program sell their plants and produce.

Of particular interest to me was the construction and implementation of dozens of floating wetlands in the Inner Harbor, as pointed out during an Urban Stream Ecology Walk. The Inner Harbor, the historic seaport and main tourist attraction of Baltimore, is notorious for its struggles with poor water quality. These floating wetlands are one of many steps Baltimore is taking to make a swimmable, fishable harbor by 2020. Assembled out of recycled materials by volunteer middle schoolers and environmentalists, these floating wetlands serve numerous benefits, such as habitat creation, performing as active water pollutant filters, and providing aesthetic additions to the waterfront.

Newly planted, these checkerboard floating wetlands might not look like much now. But over time, these wetland plants will grow up to four or five feet in height and attract high amounts of biodiversity, from flocks of bird communities to hundreds of thousands of mussels.

Baltimore Green Week was a great way to be introduced to local sustainability initiatives and organizations. It was really inspirational to see people of all backgrounds congregate at these various events to learn from and interact with one another on the topics of sustainability and environmentalism. I’ve only mentioned a few of the sustainable, community-oriented initiatives I’ve learned about during my time at Baltimore Green Week, however, I encourage you to discover more, if not in Baltimore, within your city’s own backyard.

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Guest Post by Lucy Wang

Lucy Wang is a recent graduate from the University of Maryland, where she received a Bachelor of Landscape Architecture. Her hobbies include riding her bike, traveling, urban interventions, and planning her next adventure. She currently resides in Baltimore City.

We recently engineered one such special solution and the story may surprise you.  Imagine your staff is out collecting trash when they find a raccoon has beaten you to it.  Ugh!  Maybe the trash has been tossed around from the feast that ensued or worse yet, maybe the raccoon is stuck in the litter receptacle waiting to be set free.  This is when collecting trash in an outdoor setting gives you a real headache.

The solution, select an appropriate litter receptacle capable of keeping animals at bay and add a critter guard.  The strength of the critter guard can be set to prevent animals from getting in while still allowing users to dispose of trash.  Critter guards are no longer a surprising request when it comes to litter receptacles.  And while raccoons and squirrels are the most common request, we’ve also been asked to deter birds and bears.  What do you need?

The hotel, designed by architect Edward L. Varney, opened in 1956. Mr. Varney was known for his thoughtful minimalist modern style. The design of the hotel became immediately distinctive for combining modern and Southwest styles in ways never seen before. The Valley Ho soon became an alternative celeb destination to Palm Springs and over the years hosted Bing Cosby, Tony Curtis, Zsa Zsa Gabor and Natalie Wood.

Following years of decline the hotel was re-imaged by local architects Allen + Philp in 2004, and reopened to the public in 2005. Today the hotel is home to a hip pool scene, terrific landscaping, a relaxing spa and the original soda fountain.

Large rooms and suites are decked out with mid-century classic furniture from Knoll, Herman Miller, Dunbar, Kock & Lowey and others.

I know our team loved the hotel – it’s a treat for the eye and soul.

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Photos from the Hotel Valley Ho http://www.hotelvalleyho.com

The National Student Advertising Competition provided me opportunities and an experience I will never forget. I learned how to be collaborative; working with 25 other creative students was not easy and often frustrating, yet our efforts were worth it.  Advancing my collaborative skills has given me the experience I need to take into the workforce. As the creative director, I quickly learned how to stay patient while guiding the good ideas in the right direction. This was the first time I had to work with this many people and I am glad it happened now rather than later. I learned what works, what doesn’t and how to handle difficult situations.

My presentation skills grew immensely; with the pressure to represent not only my team but Grand Valley, I made sure our entire twenty-minute presentation was spot on. By interning at Landscape Forms, as well as pitching my idea to Nissan, I’ve discovered how important it is to communicate ideas effectively and thoroughly. Clear communication is so important for my future in advertising and by having the opportunity to be a presenter on the team I was able to strengthen those skills on a daily basis.

As a leader within my NSAC team I wanted to make sure that we were constantly pushing ideas. With advertising, and any business, it is essential to stay ahead of the game by continually generating new ideas, new ways of thinking and not being afraid to fail. I learned that high risk all too often results in a high reward. We took a risk. We challenged not only ourselves but Nissan.

The result? We placed first within our tier and scored highest in our region. We now have the opportunity to present in front of top Nissan executives at the largest advertising conference in the country, ADMERICA!, in Austin, TX. This was a first for Grand Valley State University and needless to say, I was ecstatic. This is my passion and I am incredibly proud of my team and the dedication it took to get where we are now.

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Amanda Villarreal is an intern in the Marketing Communications Department at Landscape Forms. She will be graduating with a degree in Advertising from Grand Valley State University in Grand Rapids, Michigan this Spring.

Uptown Memphis’ website says, “The Uptown Memphis is the concerted public-private revitalization between downtown pioneers Jack Belz and Henry Turley as master developers and the City of Memphis. Part of a forward thinking national trend to build neighborhoods that are walkable, planned to contain a diverse range of housing and to reduce urban sprawl and traffic, Uptown contains historic restoration, new and ecologically built construction for energy efficiency, improved streetscapes and quality architecture”

Our Plainwell benches and Scarborough litters were selected for the project by Ritchie Smith Associates.

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Photos and story by Landscape Forms Tennessee Rep, Michele Parvizi

To say her presentation was interesting was an understatement. She explained that for the first time in history, there are four generations in the workforce. Each of these generations grew up in very different worlds and family structures. They have different values, work ethics and attitudes toward authority.

Probably the biggest takeaway was how these generations communicate. In their book, Generations at Work, Ron Zemke, Claire Raines, & Bob Filipczak wrote about the idea of ACORN. These are five specific ideas on how to create a generationally friendly work environment.

Accommodate employee differences. Treat your employees as you do your customers. Acknowledge and accept personal scheduling needs, work-life balance issues, and non-traditional lifestyles.

Create workplace choices. Managers create a workplace where ideas are cultivated and employees are comfortable in their environment.

Operate from a sophisticated management style. Managers today are a bit more polished than the norm; they operate with a certain finesse. They tend to be more direct. They give those who report to them the big picture, specific goals and measures, then they turn their people loose- giving them feedback, reward and recognition as appropriate.

Respect competence and initiative. Assume the best of your employees. Treat everyone as if they have great things to offer. Motivate them to do their best.

Nourish retention. Managers become talent managers to get the most from your most valuable resource.

The topic of different generations in the workplace is a hot one. And while these ideas may seem radical to some organizations, they are pretty much status quo around here. It didn’t really surprise me, as Landscape Forms prides itself on its corporate culture.

As Gen X sitting right on the cusp as a Millenial, these workplace ideas appeal to me. However, it’s not just me, Landscape Forms has many long term employees. Walk around and start asking people how long they have worked here and it’s not uncommon to hear 15+ years (and even 35 years!) These may be “new” ideas on how to create generationally friendly work environment, but it seems like these are ideas Landscape Forms has known for a very long time.