I Hear Design: the i+s podcast

Workplace design has seen significant shifts over the years, from the dreaded cubicle farms of decades passed to open plan offices and the hybrid model we’ve been hearing in the wake of the global pandemic. But where is workplace design now and where is it headed in the future? In this episode, Bethanne Mikkelsen, senior principal at Ankrom Moisan’s Portland office who co-leads the firm’s office community and retail studio, to disc...

In this In Case You Missed It Episode, we’re featuring a popular article from the interiors+sources website titled, “How Today’s Retail Design Influences E-Commerce” written by Nicki Gitlin, the owner and founder of Dang Design and Architecture, originally published online on March 26, 2024. Join us as we dive in to how customers today are familiarizing themselves with retail brands through the traditional brick-and-mortar experien...

Technology has been the focal point of conversation across every industry in the past year, not the least of which has been the field of architecture. In this episode, Jack Chaffin, architect and principal at Seattle-based Johnston Architects, talks about how the firm is leveraging new technologies to enhance their designs and bring a greater level of engagement to their projects. He highlights the Winthrop Library in Winthrop, WA...

In this "In Case You Missed It" episode of I Hear Design, Chief Content Director Robert Nieminen reviews two recent articles from the i+s website that explore The Embodied Carbon in Construction Calculator, better known as EC3. The first is titled, “3 Designers Talk 3 Ways to Utilize EC3,” by Lona Rerick, sustainable design leader and architect at ZGF; Marty Brennan, architect, sustainability leader, light health researcher and mas...

As the architecture and design industry becomes increasingly familiar with digital design tools and pre-construction services, knowing how they work and what to look for is paramount. How can tools like 3D Revit and digital twins address pain points for project teams, for example? Listen in as Armstrong's Nate Baxter answers this questions (among others) and explains how digitally assisted design tools can help create bolder, more ...

In this In Case You Missed It Episode, we’ll be revisiting a popular article from the interiors+sources website titled, “9 Pillars of Thoughtful Project Management,” written by Kimberly M. Zeiser, senior associate in Gensler’s Chicago studio, originally published online on Feb. 1, 2024. Join us as we explore the strategies, tools, and best practices that empower architects and interior designers to master the art of project managem...

In its annual Design Forecast, global architecture and design firm Gensler identifies eight key trends at play that will help move the industry forward in 2024 and beyond. Stranded assets like offices are being re-thought and re-tooled into residential spaces to help with the housing crisis, for example, and leveraging technologies like AI and creating more engaging experiences will continue to reshape the built environment for the...

In this “In Case You Missed It Episode,” we highlight a recent article titled, "Perkins&Will Launches Open-Source Tool for Healthier Environments," that was originally published online on Dec. 11th, 2023 by the i+s staff. Listen in as we describe this new resource for architects and designers that leverages public health data to help better inform design decisions for commercial projects. 

What is circularity? That’s a question that we posed to international interior architect and product designer Laurence Carr in this episode of I Hear Design. As the founder and CEO of her eponymous and regenerative design firm in New York, Carr shares her passion and perspectives on upcycling, healthy materials and bio-based materials, and zero-waste product design. Listen in as Carr, an advocate of the circular economy in the buil...

What do hand sketching, creating custom furniture and adaptive reuse have in common? They’re all in a day’s work for architect Rachel Robinson, co-founder of New York City based durodeco. In this episode, she sits down with i+s Editor in Chief, AnnMarie Martin, to discuss how her firm got its start, where the design industry seems to be heading in New York (hint: adaptive reuse is on the rise), the importance of sketching by hand a...

In this episode, Mannington Commercial's Roby Isaac discusses what informs his design thinking and guides the design process for the company’s newest introductions; the role of technology in experiential design, including how AI can be leveraged as a design tool; the incredible work Mannington is doing around sustainability and purpose-driven design; and a whole lot more.

Research has demonstrated that unwanted noise in the workplace negatively impacts 70% of employees' concentration levels, productivity, and creativity, with similar results across education, healthcare, and hospitality environments. In this episode, i+s sits down with Slavi Younger, founder and partner of acoustical product manufacturer Fräsch, to discuss the drivers behind the heightened interest in acoustics in design; discuss wh...

The Cersaie International Exhibition of Ceramic Tile in Bologna, Italy this past September highlighted the amazing trends and technologies happening in the world of tile around the world. In this episode, Chief Content Director Robert Nieminen sat down with several of his fellow delegates from North America who traveled across the pond to attend this massive, global trade show and came back inspired and challenged by what they saw....

In this “In Case You Missed It Episode,” we highlight a recent article titled, “Optimizing the Hybrid Learning Experience” written by staff writer Barbara Horwitz-Bennett that appeared in our September/October issue of interiors+sources and that was originally published online on Sept. 29th, 2023. Experts sound off on the best in layout and A/V choices for the most effective hybrid classroom experiences, and we highlight how Harva...

This is it! The fourth and final installment in our Women in Design series. Our very own Editor in Chief of i+s, AnnMarie Martin, sits down for an honest and encouraging conversation with Amber Pickett Wernick of Perkins&Will's Dallas studio to learn more about her story of coming up through the interior design and architecture industry and the lessons she's learned along the way about passion for the profession, mothering, men...

Times are changing in the interior design industry as more women are taking up positions of leadership in architecture and design firms, like our guest for Part 3 of our Women in Design series, Abby Shehan, senior design director at Premier in Dallas. In this episode, Shehan talks about how her internship as a student led to her first job in a design studio that ultimately led her to a leadership position today, not without help fr...

As we continue our Women in Design series, we recently sat down with Libby Sims Patrick, founding principal and CEO of the Sims Patrick Studio based in Atlanta to discuss her journey to leading the successful hospitality design firm of her namesake. She also talks about the importance of narrative and storytelling and how it has informed her firm's approach to design projects, as well as some of the pitfalls to avoid when building ...

Women make up the majority of the more than 80,000 interior designer positions in the industry today, yet only a fraction occupy positions of leadership. Why is that, and what challenges do female designers face in an industry that's still male dominated, especially in the commercial segment? In this episode, Managing Principal Jill Cole of Cole Martinez Curtis & Associates shares her insights and experiences about coming up in...

This month, HGTV Home by Sherwin-Williams announced its 2024 Color of the Year: Persimmon. In this mini-episode, host Robert Nieminen discusses the power of color on occupants in the built environment, citing an unusual phenomenon better known as "Drunk Tank Pink." Listen in as he cites a series of articles that explore the role that color psychology plays in designing the workplace and how it impacts people.