Cureosities | A Check in on the Journey

Umbrellas and flowers reference a Pike Place Market vibe, creating experience through details and color.

It’s been a minute since our last Cureosity. A lot has been happening, and client needs took an appropriate priority. It’s exciting to read back through some of these posts though because the opportunities that have been the focus for the last year and half have been substantial case studies for the ideas we’ve been developing here. We’ll focus on all of these as case studies in future posts, but for now, let’s stay a little more high level. Here are some of what has kept us busy over the past year plus.

Workplace:

We had the honor of partnering with one of the phenomenal technology companies based here in Seattle on their new headquarters. The initial three-floor project is a case study in what can be done to create space that engages and supports the whole human experience at work. Similar to what was profiled in our Future of Work post, we established a spectrum of offerings, ranging from entirely quiet or dark zones for focused work to light, bright and loud areas for the energy-seeking team members. We embraced options, providing traditional workstations, focus nooks, library touchdown tables, phone rooms and lounge collaboration as part of the typical neighborhood kit of parts. The need for more conference space was a driver for the project overall, so the number of meeting rooms increased significantly in order to address the impacts of a distributed global workforce in addition to hybrid workers. Informal touchdown spaces are integrated throughout the project with expanded social hubs with a variety of seating options to encourage ad hoc discussions across teams.

In addition to all the programmatic options we studied, we dove deep into the global nature of the company, using color, texture and pattern to establish different spatial qualities in the various floors. Color and pattern were some of the levers we pulled in developing the various points of view per floor. These create an intuitive sense of wayfinding and identity within the multi-floor space, resolving the issue that often befalls multi-floor office spaces of not knowing where you are because everything just looks the same.

This project has been an incredible success story with increased office attendance over the previous office, to the point that we’re wrapping up a fourth floor to respond to employee demand.

Lighting, color and the right assortment of furniture - one of many unique breakout spaces sprinkled throughout the space.

Entertainment:

Hospitality, particularly entertainment-focused spaces, is a fascinating sector to design within. There is a constant pressure to be current, relevant, and at times trendy, yet my goal is never to create a space that feels dated and in need of reinvention just a few years later. Finding that balance requires intention. We find one effective approach is to tap into sensibilities that feel of-the-moment while still carrying an inherent sense of timelessness. With our recent hospitality projects, we had the opportunity to explore two ends of that spectrum, a high-touch lounge on one end and a rough-and-tumble dive bar on the other.

Both spaces were seeking a meaningful overhaul in both aesthetic and experience, despite having originally opened only a few years ago. There was no appetite for a deep construction effort, but even so, the spaces were beginning to feel tired. In keeping with a recurring approach across our portfolio, we focused on the final layers that have an outsized impact on how people experience a space, including lighting, finishes, accessories, and, most importantly in this case, furniture. By reassessing the intended customer and their desired experience, we were able to identify strategic shifts in spatial quality and functionality without taking a sledgehammer to any walls. There is much more to share on this project, including some interesting ways we integrated a rich sense of history into the design.

Residential:

We’ve had the pleasure of working on a number of residential projects, from expanding existing homes to reenvisioning what all a home can be for a family. With homes being private abodes for connection and sanctuary, it’s been pretty amazing to learn what that means for different people. Our sample set is still relatively small for defining what a home can be, but it’s exciting to explore something that is so close and meaningful for how we exist in the world. More to come on this one.

Travel:

In the design world, there is a lot of discussion around travel, seeing well designed spaces, broadening experiences. In this phase of my life, it’s been difficult to get to New York, London, Milan, Tokyo, or any of the other amazing design hubs around the world. My kids are in a phase of life that needs consistent investment, and it’s a privilege to be able to provide them the time and energy they need to grow into strong, thoughtful adults. With that balance of priorities, we’ve found a different method of travel that I feel is a bit underrated in the design community. Our focus has been seeking out the beauty in the natural world here in the Pacific Northwest. We’ve invested in a five-year-old Airstream that is quite cramped for our family of 6 (we’ve decided our two 100-pound fluffy dogs count as almost-adults). This travel trailer has facilitated joy, exploration, conversation and experience that has absolutely set a new bar for connection in our family. Experiencing moments of awe has an outsized impact on our mental health as well our creative abilities, and in Washington we have so much beauty and so many moments of awe just waiting to happen. We’ve been able to use our weekends to enjoy the rugged vastness of our coastline, the intense turquoise of our glacial lakes and color and curiosity of rockhounding in mountain streams. This sort of travel broadens the creative mind in a different and equally important sort of way. It shows the beauty and aesthetic paradox that can be inherent to nature and establishes a foundational expectation around what we’re trying to create in design.

Soaking in a moment at Lake Wenatchee.