On this episode Doug is by himself talking about his 19th NeoCon and what caught his attention. He also talks about the future of this time of year as OFS is moving to Fulton Market for Design Days. Doug also takes time to share memories of Phyllis Menke, Matriarch of OFS who recently passed away at the age of 98.

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Imagine a Place gathers industry-leading voices that can inspire the design community through storytelling and broaden our creative horizons. The goal of Imagine a Place is to further elevate the belief that the places we make and the ways we design them matter in our lives.

In honor of Juneteenth, we welcome Jack Travis, an esteemed interior designer, architect, author, and educator whose profound insights have significantly shaped the design and education landscape. Jack is an incredible storyteller and today, he shares his journey from childhood into the business of architecture. You’ll hear about his experiences of overcoming racial barriers and learn his unique framework and approach to design that incorporates cultural identity. Jack's way of thinking will inspire you with a deeper understanding of how architecture and design can reflect and honor cultural heritage and still push the boundaries of innovation.

To learn more about Jack Travis, please visit: https://www.jacktravisarchitect.com 

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Imagine a Place gathers industry-leading voices that can inspire the design community through storytelling and broaden our creative horizons. The goal of Imagine a Place is to further elevate the belief that the places we make and the ways we design them matter in our lives.

In honor of Earth Day, Doug sits down with journalist and founder of Climate Positive Now—Kenn Busch, to discuss the intricacies of carbon management and its environmental implications.

Throughout the episode, Kenn demystifies the complex dynamics of carbon's interaction with our environment and highlights some innovative approaches to utilize carbon management for environmental gain.

Looking for continuing education credits related to sustainability? Check out Ken's CEU below! 

Climate Positive Materials for Sustainable Interiors, A CEU course brought to you by OFS

 

 

 

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Imagine a Place gathers industry-leading voices that can inspire the design community through storytelling and broaden our creative horizons. The goal of Imagine a Place is to further elevate the belief that the places we make and the ways we design them matter in our lives.

Christian Giordano is the president and co-owner of the New York design firm Mancini Duffy, and the host of the popular podcast - The Anti-Architect.  We hosted Christian Giordano right here on Imagine a Place in June of 2021. We brought Christian back on the show because after our first interview with him, we felt like he had a “secret sauce” at his firm… and we wanted to figure out what it was.

It will be up to you to decide what that “secret sauce” really is - but if we had to break it down, it’s these three things: Thankfulness, a vision, and a critical eye for your own profession.

Listen to The Anti-Architect Podcast

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Imagine a Place gathers industry-leading voices that can inspire the design community through storytelling and broaden our creative horizons. The goal of Imagine a Place is to further elevate the belief that the places we make and the ways we design them matter in our lives.

Shuli Steele is the Director of the Higher Education market at Planon, a global leader in smart building technologies.  She’s an author, a TEDx speaker, and a self-titled learner advocate.

In this episode, Shuli shares how space planning at the campus is evolving.  We discuss campus and work/life culture and what we really crave from others when it comes to our time in the workplace. 

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Imagine a Place gathers industry-leading voices that can inspire the design community through storytelling and broaden our creative horizons. The goal of Imagine a Place is to further elevate the belief that the places we make and the ways we design them matter in our lives.

Today is Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day - And we want to bring you a conversation that honors the values and legacy that Dr. King left behind for this world…. and Mike Johnson II, well, he wants to bring you a whole building full of it.

Mike Johnson is a senior associate at the architecture and design firm, Perkins&Will. He’s actively engaged in advancing the profession of design at both the community and global level.  Today’s episode centers on a project that Mike is right in the middle of – The brand new Martin Luther King Communication Arts & Humanities building at Bowie State University. 

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Imagine a Place gathers industry-leading voices that can inspire the design community through storytelling and broaden our creative horizons. The goal of Imagine a Place is to further elevate the belief that the places we make and the ways we design them matter in our lives.

Lori Louis is the Sr. Director, Experiential Space Design & Concepting at JLL.  And Lori has built and runs a highly effective and efficient design team that is entirely remote.

So… in this conversation, Lori is going to help us crack the code. How can we bring our remote or hybrid design game to a new level?  She also challenges the processes of today’s commercial design, procurement, and construction. We talk about iterative design, we talk about research, we talk about well-being in the workplace.  So much good stuff in this conversation.

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Imagine a Place gathers industry-leading voices that can inspire the design community through storytelling and broaden our creative horizons. The goal of Imagine a Place is to further elevate the belief that the places we make and the ways we design them matter in our lives.

In this episode, Doug Shapiro shares his personal journey as a podcast host and what he has learned after nearly two years of conversation. 

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Imagine a Place gathers industry-leading voices that can inspire the design community through storytelling and broaden our creative horizons. The goal of Imagine a Place is to further elevate the belief that the places we make and the ways we design them matter in our lives.

Rachel Bascombe is an architect in Los Angeles at the firm CO Architects and Rachel is number 412.  A number that will soon make sense to you and will probably surprise you.

In today’s interview with Rachel, we’ll hear about a moment that changed her life path and how that moment helped to create a sense of purpose when it comes to place.  Rachel also shares how one project early in her career helped her understand the full significance of being a Black female architect in America.

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Imagine a Place gathers industry-leading voices that can inspire the design community through storytelling and broaden our creative horizons. The goal of Imagine a Place is to further elevate the belief that the places we make and the ways we design them matter in our lives.

As the buyer’s journey becomes increasingly digital…so do our jobs, our communication, our processes.  As Abby Murray embraced this new digital lens, her motivation for starting Mortarr was built through a combination of frustration and opportunity.

She saw the potential for a more inclusive, efficient, and greener way of doing business. Today, she is the CEO of Mortarr – A website built around connecting ideas, products, and professionals in the commercial design industry.  

In this episode, she drops advice on how we can be more digitally-minded when it comes to finding efficiencies in our process and communication. A powerful moment in our conversation comes at the end, when I learn how Abby had to give up goodness to find greatness. 

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Imagine a Place gathers industry-leading voices that can inspire the design community through storytelling and broaden our creative horizons. The goal of Imagine a Place is to further elevate the belief that the places we make and the ways we design them matter in our lives.

Today’s episode features two big thinkers when it comes to place and technology. Edward Wagoner is the CIO for the progressive-minded $17 billion,  global real estate firm, JLL. Will Cowell de Gruchy is the founder and CEO of Infogrid - a fast-growing startup aimed at making buildings smarter and the world healthier.

These two are thinking about the intersection of real estate and technology at the highest level, and with 90% of our time spent indoors, the stakes are high.

In today’s conversation, we’ll talk about technology’s role in the human experience of place, IOT (Internet of Things), and at the end, Edward and Will will make some bold predictions for what’s ahead of us. But, perhaps the most valuable moment in today’s chat is hearing Edward open up about his personal journey through self-change and organizational change.  

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Imagine a Place gathers industry-leading voices that can inspire the design community through storytelling and broaden our creative horizons. The goal of Imagine a Place is to further elevate the belief that the places we make and the ways we design them matter in our lives.

Regan Donoghue is the energetic workforce strategist and co-founder of SimConsults.  For well over a decade, she’s been researching and rethinking the role of work in our lives. Today, we talk about gamification at work, the future role of place in office work, data in the workplace, and how we can build a culture that values the feedback of our employees.

Regan co-founded SimConsults based on the need for unique solutions and next-level problem-solving.  Their partnership aligns with corporate real estate brokers and clients challenged by complexities that have arisen in the wake of 2020. Taking a fresh, empathetic approach to how the workforce is challenged throughout these turbulent times, Regan works closely with clients to help enhance the quality of the user experience.

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Imagine a Place gathers industry-leading voices that can inspire the design community through storytelling and broaden our creative horizons. The goal of Imagine a Place is to further elevate the belief that the places we make and the ways we design them matter in our lives.

When it comes to sustainability and architecture, there are few on the planet that are more progressive-minded and informed than Eric Corey Freed. We can also now say with certainty that there are none more witty and entertaining.

Eric Corey Freed is the Senior Vice President of Sustainability at Cannon Design, where he is leading them on a mission to have every project be net-zero energy and halve embodied carbon by 2030.  He’s authored a dozen books on the topic of sustainability— his most recent:  The Circular Economy for Dummies.

In this episode, he discusses the future of green building, bio-engineering, designing for the human senses, and how we can get others to take climate change more seriously.

There are some amazing moments in this conversation.  There are countless laughs.  We can promise that you’ll enjoy Eric’s style and you’ll be imagining a whole new world of architecture like you’ve never imagined before.

Learn more about Eric Corey Freed and Cannon Design: 

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The Circular Economy for Dummies:  

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By Email: dshapiro@ofs.com

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Imagine a Place gathers industry-leading voices that can inspire the design community through storytelling and broaden our creative horizons. The goal of Imagine a Place is to further elevate the belief that the places we make and the ways we design them matter in our lives.

In a recent episode, Doug asked a question that sparked considerable discussion: should a college degree be mandatory for the NCIDQ exam, or if work experience and apprenticeships be adequate? Responding to insightful listener feedback, Doug invited Jon Otis, a distinguished figure in interior design advocacy and a Professor, to explore the issue further. The feedback varied; some listeners supported alternative licensure paths for their diversity and affordability, while others advocated for the necessity of a bachelor's degree due to the rigor of formal education. This sparked a broader conversation between Doug and Jon about the merits of formal education versus learning through experience.

Do you have a hot take? Email Doug at dshapiro@ofs.com with your opinions on the NCIDQ degree requirements.

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Imagine a Place gathers industry-leading voices that can inspire the design community through storytelling and broaden our creative horizons. The goal of Imagine a Place is to further elevate the belief that the places we make and the ways we design them matter in our lives.

This Thanksgiving we are thankful for YOU, so thank you for listening, sharing, and reaching out to us! It always feels great to say thank you, but this week we are feeling especially grateful for our amazing listeners and producers of the Imagine a Place podcast. It has been a privilege to connect with you each week!

We are always so appreciative when we hear from our listeners on ideas for guests, thoughts from a recent episode, or just to say hello. So, please feel free to reach out anytime!

From all of us at Imagine a Place, we wish you a safe, restful, and happy Thanksgiving.

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Imagine a Place gathers industry-leading voices that can inspire the design community through storytelling and broaden our creative horizons. The goal of Imagine a Place is to further elevate the belief that the places we make and the ways we design them matter in our lives.

There’s an elephant in your office, and we’ve brought in author, podcast host, and HR leader Andrea Herron to help us understand it.

That elephant is the struggle we have with mental health.  Andrea Herron is WebMD’s Health Services’ Human Resource leader.  She is the co-author of the book, "There’s an Elephant in your Office."  She’s also the award-winning host of the podcast The HR Scoop.

Pretty much of all what we do in planning and design is for people, and Andrea gets people.  Her perspective in today’s conversation will open the doors to some new thinking on mental health and help you understand how HR executives are leading their companies through today’s fast-paced world.

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Get your copy of "There's an Elephant in your Office"

Listen to The HR Scoop

To read her articles: https://www.webmdhealthservices.com/author/andreaherron/

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Imagine a Place gathers industry-leading voices that can inspire the design community through storytelling and broaden our creative horizons. The goal of Imagine a Place is to further elevate the belief that the places we make and the ways we design them matter in our lives.

Tara Headley is a rising star in the world of interior design. In this episode, we explore her journey as an immigrant, the power of networking, and her life hack around setting personal goals.

Tara’s journey began in Barbados, 2000 miles away from Savannah College of Art and Design where she studied. Tara currently works at Hendrick in Atlanta designing commercial interiors - and at this past NeoCon, Tarkett unveiled a new flooring product designed by Tara.  

It’s been a big year for her. You’ll love her energy and wisdom in this interview. 

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Imagine a Place gathers industry-leading voices that can inspire the design community through storytelling and broaden our creative horizons. The goal of Imagine a Place is to further elevate the belief that the places we make and the ways we design them matter in our lives.

Disclaimer: After listening to this episode, you might decide to leave the practicing world behind and begin your second career as a professor.  Our guest today is Nathan Howe, Department Head of Kansas State’s Interior Architecture and Industrial Design program - and Nathan has some stories to tell.

There is an energy and openness to the academic world that just feels good to reconnect with at times.  As we discuss today, it's this creative and open vibe that is the secret ingredient for any successful work culture.  

At the end of the episode, we also go deep into Nathan’s personal identity as half Colombian and half American / U.S. citizen.  Nathan Howe asks the brave question:  “If my name were Nathan Gomez, would my life have turned out differently?” 

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Imagine a Place gathers industry-leading voices that can inspire the design community through storytelling and broaden our creative horizons. The goal of Imagine a Place is to further elevate the belief that the places we make and the ways we design them matter in our lives.

Edwin Beltran is loaded with optimism, cultural understanding, and some powerful insights on Healthcare Design

As the Design Principal at NBBJ, Edwin has led some of the firm’s most notable and award-winning healthcare projects. In today’s conversation, Edwin shares some powerful healthcare design insights; and at the end, we end up exploring his Puerto Rican heritage and how it has shaped who he is today.

We catch Edwin right before he is leaving Healthcare Design Expo where he will be a featured speaker about the changing role of the mock-up in the interior design process.

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Imagine a Place gathers industry-leading voices that can inspire the design community through storytelling and broaden our creative horizons. The goal of Imagine a Place is to further elevate the belief that the places we make and the ways we design them matter in our lives.

Can a website help save the planet?  Joanna Abrams believes so.  Joanna Abrams is the CEO and Founder of Mindclick, a product intelligence platform that rates the environmental impact of manufacturers and their products.

Joanna’s journey into Mindclick is an entertaining listen, full of windy roads, detours, and even failures.  One of the highlights of this episode comes towards the end, when Joanna walks our host, Doug Shapiro, straight into an epiphany around why we sometimes lose sight of a way of living and thinking that really matters.

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Imagine a Place gathers industry-leading voices that can inspire the design community through storytelling and broaden our creative horizons. The goal of Imagine a Place is to further elevate the belief that the places we make and the ways we design them matter in our lives.

In this episode, we’re going to discuss soap operas, anime, Visco Girls, and pro-wrestling… and it’s going to be one of the most intellectual dialogs that we’ve had on this show.

Sam Ford is an expert on Pop Culture - And if you think pop culture doesn’t matter, then you might be missing the bigger picture. Culture is messy and Sam is here today to help us decode it.

Sam Ford is an MIT Media Alum,  Professor, and Consultant who is currently leading Kentucky’s largest initiative to rebrand their economy.  Sam works on media innovation, cultural intelligence, and storytelling experimentation with a wide range of organizations. In our episode today, he delivers insights that will help you understand media and cultural trends through a new lens. 

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Imagine a Place gathers industry-leading voices that can inspire the design community through storytelling and broaden our creative horizons. The goal of Imagine a Place is to further elevate the belief that the places we make and the ways we design them matter in our lives.

Samantha Lee Smugala is doing important work in St. Louis.   She’s the founder of Pocketparks, a non-profit that is reimagining and reinvigorating the vacant lots that are scattered across St Louis Neighborhoods. For Samantha, it all started with a simple sketch that caught the attention of the local news and eventually propelled her to think bigger about what’s possible.

Samantha’s story behind Pocketparks is unique and entertaining.  But, it’s the challenges she faced as an entrepreneur earning the trust of others that make this episode so valuable.  Her story is full of lessons and insights that will help you grow.

A bit more about PocketParks:

Pocketparks is a non-profit organization that reimagines and redevelops unused plots of land to provide communities with active and beautiful recreational areas. Through community engagement, each park is designed to meet the specific needs of the neighborhood in which it is located. Every park incorporates three things: activity, artwork, and opportunity. Pocketparks are small, but make a big impact. By focusing on small outdoor parks, we can quickly provide a positive impact without extensive resources. Pocketparks not only offers beautiful recreational areas, but works to increase safety, boost community pride, and contribute to economic development. Pocketparks is a platform that reactivates outdoor areas to build up the ecosystem of communities and weave vibrant spaces into our urban fabric.

Established in St. Louis in 2021, Pocketparks is working to activate local communities and plans to grow into a network of parks that sprawl across the city and eventually expand to other cities and states. As a non-profit organization, Pocketparks relies on donations to support its efforts.

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Imagine a Place gathers industry-leading voices that can inspire the design community through storytelling and broaden our creative horizons. The goal of Imagine a Place is to further elevate the belief that the places we make and the ways we design them matter in our lives.

As a pro snowboarder and artist, Pat Milbery is one of Denver’s most creative and interesting people.  Buildings all over the city feature Pat’s iconic wall murals - sometimes 40 feet or higher, full of color, geometry, and narrative.  His goal through his art is simple - spread love.  

Here’s the thing though -- All these accomplishments are irrelevant to the conversation that you’re about to hear.  This conversation is actually about you.   Here’s what you’re going to get out of this:

-You’re going to want to work harder.

-You’re going to find your flow state.

-You’re going to recognize the joy and love in life’s journey.

-You’re probably going to end up giving out a bunch more compliments to strangers.

Above all, energy is Pat’s biggest strength, and Pat keeps none of that energy for himself.  Pat has overcome something many of us may fear and not even know it -- He gives kindness and joy in abundance.

The world needs more of Pat Milbery, and we are happy to dish some out to you today.

Learn more about Pat Milbery

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Imagine a Place gathers industry-leading voices that can inspire the design community through storytelling and broaden our creative horizons. The goal of Imagine a Place is to further elevate the belief that the places we make and the ways we design them matter in our lives.

Danya Hakky, Ph.D. is an Interior Designer and Design Researcher for Perkins Eastman, a global architecture and design firm. She is also a co-author of the recently published research paper, "The Subtle Art of Place Making," which sought to answer the question: Why do we still need to create meaningful places when virtual settings and interactions are on the rise?

The findings of this research do two things really well.  First, it breaks down the fundamental role that place plays in our world today.  It also includes a collection of place attributes that have been cleverly broken into note cards -- These attribute cards serve as sort of a conversation toolkit that you can use to support your design discussions among colleagues or clients.  

This conversation toolkit and research paper are free for you to engage with!

Here’s the link: https://www.perkinseastman.com/white-papers/the-subtle-art-of-placemaking/

In our conversation with Danya, we hear her take on the purpose of place and the role of research in design.  There are some brilliant aha moments scattered across this conversation that we know you’ll enjoy.

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Imagine a Place gathers industry-leading voices that can inspire the design community through storytelling and broaden our creative horizons. The goal of Imagine a Place is to further elevate the belief that the places we make and the ways we design them matter in our lives.

Is the private office taking on a new and important role? Is it time for the private office to be reimagined? In this special episode, Doug shares part of a conversation we captured between designer Brian Graham and our very own, Molly Prior. Together, Brian and Molly chat about the rapid shift in management styles that might challenge the traditional use of the private office - from a more hierarchical environment to a more inclusive and flexible space that can encourage open dialogue and create a sense of equality.  But, what might that look like for the future of private offices and workspaces in general?  

Hear more from Brian Graham on this new take on the private office.  Watch here.

 

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Imagine a Place gathers industry-leading voices that can inspire the design community through storytelling and broaden our creative horizons. The goal of Imagine a Place is to further elevate the belief that the places we make and the ways we design them matter in our lives.

Martin Flaherty is the witty and outspoken co-host of the podcast Tailgating with Geniuses.  Tailgating with Geniuses blends the entertaining personalities of the hosts with some of today's most creative thinkers and leaders.

Martin also has some interesting ties to the world of design and construction that are rooted in sustainability.  In 2005, he co-founded Eco-Scorecard.  At that time, Eco-Scorecard was the industry's first-ever tool to help calculate how different products could contribute to environmental certifications. In this conversation, Martin shares some of his favorite stories, bloopers, and insights that he’s gathered after 20 years in the commercial building industry.  

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Imagine a Place gathers industry-leading voices that can inspire the design community through storytelling and broaden our creative horizons. The goal of Imagine a Place is to further elevate the belief that the places we make and the ways we design them matter in our lives.

When we think of what it means to “change perspective”, we often don’t think of it in its literal sense. Yet, for Malcolm Berg, it wasn’t until he was zooming towards the ground in an aerobatic aircraft that he understood architecture in a fundamentally new way.

Malcolm Berg is an award-winning architect and designer who leads his firm EoA Group out of Miami.  He was recently selected as IIDA’s Hospitality Designer of the Year. In this episode,  Malcolm delivers some excellent advice around how passion, enthusiasm, and a deeper understanding of your profession can set you apart. 

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Imagine a Place gathers industry-leading voices that can inspire the design community through storytelling and broaden our creative horizons. The goal of Imagine a Place is to further elevate the belief that the places we make and the ways we design them matter in our lives.

Steve Jobs was a firm believer in the power of place and the impact that an in-person collaborative environment can have on innovation and a creative corporate culture.  The in-person method of work is being called into question by so many that have found their rhythm as a remote worker. Today, Kay Sargent, Director of HOK’s global WorkPlace practice, helps us explore the new promise that our workplaces must fulfill and how human-centered thinking can help guide us through the tough and often controversial decisions that swirl around the workplace today.

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Imagine a Place gathers industry-leading voices that can inspire the design community through storytelling and broaden our creative horizons. The goal of Imagine a Place is to further elevate the belief that the places we make and the ways we design them matter in our lives.

Mike Petrusky Has been the host of the ioffice’s Workplace Innovator Podcast for 3 years running. He’s had over 150 interviews with real estate, technology, and facilities leaders from all over the world. His style, his humor, and his honesty when it comes to the difficult topics surrounding the workplace today make him the perfect guest for Imagine a Place.

In our conversation, Mike and I cover leadership and self-awareness, and we get into a deep conversation around the return to work, the hybrid workforce, and all their implications.

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Click here to get your copy of Maria's children's book—Design Your World.

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Imagine a Place gathers industry-leading voices that can inspire the design community through storytelling and broaden our creative horizons. The goal of Imagine a Place is to further elevate the belief that the places we make and the ways we design them matter in our lives.

Named by CNN as one of the ten most fascinating people in the world you've never heard of, Raghava KK is a multidisciplinary artist, storyteller, and featured TED speaker, who explores the intersection of art, life, and technology.  

His public art installations include a library for the Robin Hood Foundation in the Bronx, NY, and is internationally treasured, but behind all his accomplishments… there is a powerful engine - and the fuel for that engine is questions. Raghava asks a lot of questions - And his questions seem to lead him to a deeper understanding. 

I asked Raghava about facing your fears and what advice he has.  In this episode, he breaks it down into 3 layers of advice - Loss, Liberation, and Mystery.  It’s a great part of our conversation, you’ll want to stick around for that. 

What we also learn from Raghava is that in life, if you don’t like the answers you're getting, maybe you’re just asking the wrong questions.

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Imagine a Place gathers industry-leading voices that can inspire the design community through storytelling and broaden our creative horizons. The goal of Imagine a Place is to further elevate the belief that the places we make and the ways we design them matter in our lives.

Today, we’ll hear from a recent graduate who just began her career at Gensler.  If you think there is nothing to learn from a student, you are about to be turned upside down.  Sofia Acosta is as wise, collected, and clear-headed as anyone we’ve interviewed on the podcast so far.  

Sofia graduated in May 2021 from Kansas State’s 5-year master's program in Interior Architecture and Industrial Design.  Even more impressive is her humble nature and urgent passion for sustainability. Sofia is the perfect example of the bright, passionate youth that will be the change in the planet that we know we need… We just need to give them the stage and allow them to lead.

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Imagine a Place gathers industry-leading voices that can inspire the design community through storytelling and broaden our creative horizons. The goal of Imagine a Place is to further elevate the belief that the places we make and the ways we design them matter in our lives.

Have you thanked a teacher lately? Somewhere out there is a teacher that has helped you become who you are today. Well, for so many in the world of architecture and design, that teacher is Jon Otis. Jon is widely known in this industry for so many reasons. He’s on the international board of directors for IIDA, he’s a professor at Pratt, runs his own practice, Object Agency and he’s champion of diversity and inclusion inside the profession of design. In this episode, Jon shares the lessons on design that he never lets a student leave without. Learn more about Jon Otis: http://www.object-agency.com/about-object-agency/ Connect with Jon Otis on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jonotis/ Get your free copy of the Imagine a Place journal and join the community: https://ofs.com/imagine-a-place Connect with host, Doug Shapiro, on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/doshapiro/ Connect with Maria on LinkedIn. Click here to get your copy of Maria's children's book—Design Your World. Follow Imagine a Place on LinkedIn. Imagine a Place gathers industry-leading voices that can inspire the design community through storytelling and broaden our creative horizons. The goal of Imagine a Place is to further elevate the belief that the places we make and the ways we design them matter in our lives.

Rex Miller is one of those people that seems to decode the world around us; almost as if all the complexity melts away when you speak with him. He is the principal and thought leader for MindShift, a future-focused consultancy, and organizational performance firm. He is the author of The Commercial Real Estate Revolution, The Millennium Matrix: Reclaiming the Past, Reframing the Future of the Church, and Change Your Space, Change Your Culture, and more. In this episode, we talk about change, leadership, and getting to a place of clarity and personal growth in your life. At the end of the episode, we give out a promo code for a free digital copy of Rex’s latest work “Strategy in Rebuilding, Principles to Building Post Traumatic Growth." It’s a $35 value and we are making that available for FREE with the promo code for the first 200 downloads. Link to Strategy in Rebuilding, Principles to Building Post Traumatic Growth: https://rexmiller.com/shop/ols/products/strategy-in-rebuilding-principles-to-build-post-traumatic-growth Learn more about Rex Miller: https://rexmiller.com/ Connect with Rex Miller on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rexmiller/ Get your free copy of the Imagine a Place journal and join the community: https://ofs.com/imagine-a-place Connect with host, Doug Shapiro, on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/doshapiro/ Connect with Maria on LinkedIn. Click here to get your copy of Maria's children's book—Design Your World. Follow Imagine a Place on LinkedIn. Imagine a Place gathers industry-leading voices that can inspire the design community through storytelling and broaden our creative horizons. The goal of Imagine a Place is to further elevate the belief that the places we make and the ways we design them matter in our lives.

Today's episode is all about Color. Color for social good, color to engage our senses, color in ways you probably haven’t thought of before. Laura Guido-Clark is the Founder and President of the color consultancy Love Good Color and the non-for-profit, Project Color Corps. Color changed the way Laura sees the world, and she’s using it to change the world for good. Learn more about Love Good Color: https://lovegoodcolor.com/ Project Color Corps: http://www.projectcolorcorps.org/ For more Imagine a Place stories, please visit: https://ofs.com/imagine-a-place Connect with Doug Shapiro on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/doshapiro/ Connect with Maria on LinkedIn. Click here to get your copy of Maria's children's book—Design Your World. Follow Imagine a Place on LinkedIn. Imagine a Place gathers industry-leading voices that can inspire the design community through storytelling and broaden our creative horizons. The goal of Imagine a Place is to further elevate the belief that the places we make and the ways we design them matter in our lives.

Philip Ross is a futurist, author, and advisor who specializes in predicting the impact of emerging technology on the way we will work, shop, consume and live. He is also the CEO and founder of UnGroup and Cordless Group, as well as the creator of the popular Worktech event series. Simply put, Philip is one of the world’s biggest thinkers when it comes to the future of the workplace. In this conversation, we go deep into the future of work and ask Philip some of the challenging questions on what might lie ahead of us. While he can’t literally whip out a brush and paint a picture for us, he does an excellent job of giving shape to what’s ahead. Learn More about Phillip Ross and the Worktech event series: https://www.worktechacademy.com/ https://worktechevents.com/ Learn more about UnGroup and Cordless Group: https://www.unwork.com/team-members/philip-ross/ Connect with Phillip Ross on Twitter: https://twitter.com/pjnross For more Imagine a Place stories, please visit: https://ofs.com/imagine-a-place Connect with Doug Shapiro on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/doshapiro/ Connect with Maria on LinkedIn. Click here to get your copy of Maria's children's book—Design Your World. Follow Imagine a Place on LinkedIn. Imagine a Place gathers industry-leading voices that can inspire the design community through storytelling and broaden our creative horizons. The goal of Imagine a Place is to further elevate the belief that the places we make and the ways we design them matter in our lives.

In this solo episode, Doug looks back at the first quarter of 2024. He reminisces on insightful past episodes exploring creativity, leadership, and the impact of design on the human experience and our well-being. He also poses an interesting question regarding the NCIDQ exam for interior designers—should a college degree be required for this exam or is significant work experience/apprenticeship enough to suffice?

Email Doug at dshapiro@ofs.com with your opinions on the NCIDQ degree requirements.

We also look forward, as we have some exciting plans for the podcast network including an upcoming season focused on the power of design in education, new episodes from other shows, and a "surprise" for delivering insights in a unique and exciting way.

 

Connect with Maria on LinkedIn.

Click here to get your copy of Maria's children's book—Design Your World.

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Imagine a Place gathers industry-leading voices that can inspire the design community through storytelling and broaden our creative horizons. The goal of Imagine a Place is to further elevate the belief that the places we make and the ways we design them matter in our lives.

What if you could get 1% better every day? Imagine how your life and career would be transformed. Joe Ferraro is the host of the popular, The One Percent Better Podcast, where he and his guests share their unique insights to help us become better versions of ourselves improving our mindset, language, and behavior by 1% each day. In this episode, Joe helps us understand the art of conversation is a critical skill - and that the most meaningful insights we will gather in the design process won’t come from numbers and statistics, they’ll come from conversations. Plain and simple - if you grow your skills in conversation, you just might grow your career. Check out The One Percent Better Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-one-percent-better-podcast/id1254121785 Connect with Joe Ferraro on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ferraroonair/ For more Imagine a Place, please visit: https://ofs.com/imagine-a-place Connect with Doug on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/doshapiro/ Connect with Maria on LinkedIn. Click here to get your copy of Maria's children's book—Design Your World. Follow Imagine a Place on LinkedIn. Imagine a Place gathers industry-leading voices that can inspire the design community through storytelling and broaden our creative horizons. The goal of Imagine a Place is to further elevate the belief that the places we make and the ways we design them matter in our lives.

Something BIG is happening in Chicago this July and it's something you should know about - it's called "Design Your World." The International Interior Design Association (IIDA) recognized that inside the profession of interior design there's been a lack of diversity for, pretty much, its entire existence. So, to address this deficit, they dreamt up "Design Your World" - it's a high school pipeline program to expose the underrepresented to a career in design. And to help make the dream a reality, the IIDA teamed up with OFS. IIDA and OFS (along with the support of After School Matters, Mannington Commerical, 3form, and Configura) are all thrilled to kick off this 6-week crash course in design. So, today we're giving up the mic to IIDA's CEO, Cheryl Durst who will be interviewing the first-ever Design Your World instructor, the Chicago-based Architect and Interior Designer, Ciera Payton. Together, they will share their expectations, wishes, and the future vision of what Design Your World could really mean to this industry. Watch the story behind Design Your World: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KxaCUAulGK8 Read more about Design Your World: https://ofs.com/imagine-a-place/elevating-equity-design Connect with IIDA and the Design Your World program: https://iida.org/ Learn more about the mission of After School Matters: https://www.afterschoolmatters.org/ Connect with Cheryl Durst on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/cheryldurst/ Connect with Doug Shapiro on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/doshapiro/ For more Imagine a Place, please visit: https://ofs.com/imagine-a-place Connect with Maria on LinkedIn. Click here to get your copy of Maria's children's book—Design Your World. Follow Imagine a Place on LinkedIn. Imagine a Place gathers industry-leading voices that can inspire the design community through storytelling and broaden our creative horizons. The goal of Imagine a Place is to further elevate the belief that the places we make and the ways we design them matter in our lives.

Stacy Garcia founded and runs multiple businesses in design that range from textiles, to furniture and accessories. She was voted one of the 10 leading voices in the hospitality industry and honored by ASID for Design Excellence. The industry leans on Stacy for her knowledge in forecasting color and design trends. Today, she shares her life hacks and the best advice to help you get the most out of your time on this planet. In this conversation, there’s heart, there’s hustle, there’s intellect, and it all comes together into the perfect pep talk you’ve been waiting for. Learn more about Stacy Garcia: https://shopstacygarcia.com/ Connect with Stacy on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/stacygarciainc/ Connect with Doug on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/doshapiro/ For more Imagine a Place, please visit: https://ofs.com/imagine-a-place Connect with Maria on LinkedIn. Click here to get your copy of Maria's children's book—Design Your World. Follow Imagine a Place on LinkedIn. Imagine a Place gathers industry-leading voices that can inspire the design community through storytelling and broaden our creative horizons. The goal of Imagine a Place is to further elevate the belief that the places we make and the ways we design them matter in our lives.

In this episode, you’ll get the inside scoop on how culture can unlock the true potential of your design studio… and when you really get culture right, it pulls in your clients as well. Manny Navarro is the design director and principal for IA Interior Architects in Austin, Texas and he has helped to build a culture that brings out the best in his staff. You could say he takes his culture seriously… but not that seriously. Connect with Manny Navarro on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/manuel-navarro-design/ Learn more about Interior Architects: https://interiorarchitects.com/ Connect with Doug: https://www.linkedin.com/in/doshapiro/ For more Imagine a Place, please visit: https://ofs.com/imagine-a-place Connect with Maria on LinkedIn. Click here to get your copy of Maria's children's book—Design Your World. Follow Imagine a Place on LinkedIn. Imagine a Place gathers industry-leading voices that can inspire the design community through storytelling and broaden our creative horizons. The goal of Imagine a Place is to further elevate the belief that the places we make and the ways we design them matter in our lives.

Chris Stulpin is the Chief Creative Officer at Mosaic Companies, one of the world’s leading stone and tile brands. Simply put, Chris Stulpin is full of joy and wisdom. In this episode, we learn, we laugh out loud, and we share advice. Chris reflects on his past and explores the role that empathy has played in his personal and professional growth. This interview not only made a great podcast, but it was also captured on video. The Imagine a Place crew visited Chris Stulpin’s home in Ohio -- a beautiful place that seems as if it were made for great conversations. You can find the video here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FSZH4k-z5s4 For more Imagine a Place, please visit: https://ofs.com/imagine-a-place Connect with Maria on LinkedIn. Click here to get your copy of Maria's children's book—Design Your World. Follow Imagine a Place on LinkedIn. Imagine a Place gathers industry-leading voices that can inspire the design community through storytelling and broaden our creative horizons. The goal of Imagine a Place is to further elevate the belief that the places we make and the ways we design them matter in our lives.

Chrisitan Giordano is the owner and principal of the legendary New York City-based design firm Mancini Duffy, and his approach is anything but ordinary. Christian is not sitting back and waiting for the profession to evolve and change, he’s doing it himself. This episode is full of new technology concepts that are shaping the architecture and design experience at Mancini Duffy. Along with a vision for the future, Christian captures what it really means to have a long-term goal, and how the value it creates might be unexpected. Connect with Christian Giordano and Mancini Duffy: https://www.manciniduffy.com/team/christian-giordano/ The Anti-Architect Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-anti-architect-podcast/id1552247664 For more Imagine a Place, please visit: https://ofs.com/imagine-a-place Connect with Maria on LinkedIn. Click here to get your copy of Maria's children's book—Design Your World. Follow Imagine a Place on LinkedIn. Imagine a Place gathers industry-leading voices that can inspire the design community through storytelling and broaden our creative horizons. The goal of Imagine a Place is to further elevate the belief that the places we make and the ways we design them matter in our lives.

The healthcare design field hosts a very special group of purpose-driven design practitioners. And at the very center of it all sits a passionate and dedicated researcher and reporter that so many of us in the healthcare industry have come to know and respect: Sara Marberry. For 30 years, Sara has been shaping the healthcare interiors industry through her work. In this episode, she helps us understand the trajectory of healthcare design and a better way to imagine a place for senior living. Connect with Sara Marberry: https://www.saramarberry.com/ Read more about Healthcare and Senior Living design on Sara's blog: https://www.saramarberry.com/blog/ For more Imagine a Place, please visit: https://ofs.com/imagine-a-place Connect with Maria on LinkedIn. Click here to get your copy of Maria's children's book—Design Your World. Follow Imagine a Place on LinkedIn. Imagine a Place gathers industry-leading voices that can inspire the design community through storytelling and broaden our creative horizons. The goal of Imagine a Place is to further elevate the belief that the places we make and the ways we design them matter in our lives.

The pandemic has forced hotels to rethink the guest experience, but this is something that Staci Patton has been doing for years. Staci is an award-winning designer, Principal, Hospitality Design Director for global architecture and design firm DLR Group. In this episode, she shares with us a major shift in how hotels and resorts can make the most of their real estate footprint, the importance of the arrival experience, and the three types of guest profiles that we need to be thinking about as we design that next hospitality environment. Learn more about Staci Patton and DLR Group: https://www.dlrgroup.com/people/staci-patton/ For more Imagine a Place, please visit: https://ofs.com/imagine-a-place Connect with Maria on LinkedIn. Click here to get your copy of Maria's children's book—Design Your World. Follow Imagine a Place on LinkedIn. Imagine a Place gathers industry-leading voices that can inspire the design community through storytelling and broaden our creative horizons. The goal of Imagine a Place is to further elevate the belief that the places we make and the ways we design them matter in our lives.

If you're curious enough, you can look backward in time and you’ll see a ribbon of lessons, treasures, good decisions, and bad decisions. While we can’t go back and change history, we also can’t move forward without the weight of it either. Ronn Daniel, is an accomplished Author, Historian, and Interim Director for Kent State’s Interior Design Program. As a design historian, he investigates the relationships between interior space, cultural ideas, and technological change. In this episode, Ronn takes us into his brain to explore the wonder and weight of history in our lives. This conversation will change how you see the world and the role you have in building the future. Connect with Ronn Daniel: https://www.kent.edu/caed/news/ronn-daniel-associate-professor For more Imagine a Place, please visit: https://ofs.com/imagine-a-place Connect with Maria on LinkedIn. Click here to get your copy of Maria's children's book—Design Your World. Follow Imagine a Place on LinkedIn. Imagine a Place gathers industry-leading voices that can inspire the design community through storytelling and broaden our creative horizons. The goal of Imagine a Place is to further elevate the belief that the places we make and the ways we design them matter in our lives.

Kia Weatherspoon has spent the last 15 years defying every design stereotype. The most damaging —interior design is a luxury reserved for a few. Her voice and design practice have shifted the narrative, making interior design a standard for all. Kia is a Design Equity Advocate, Educator, Speaker, and Founder of Determined by Design - Today, she shares her amazing story of how she discovered the power of place, but also the disheartening disparity in the standards and levels of empathy that have been traditionally used in design. Her leadership has created ripples, prompting housing developers in economically challenged communities to do better. In this episode, Kia helps us understand why it’s time we elevate our empathy, our standards, and our voice. Get ready for a powerful and passionate episode. Learn more about Kia Weatherspoon and Determined by Design: https://www.determinedbydesign.com/strengths Determined by Design: https://www.determinedbydesign.com/ Connect with Kia on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kianweatherspoon/ For more Imagine a Place, please visit: https://ofs.com/imagine-a-place Connect with Maria on LinkedIn. Click here to get your copy of Maria's children's book—Design Your World. Follow Imagine a Place on LinkedIn. Imagine a Place gathers industry-leading voices that can inspire the design community through storytelling and broaden our creative horizons. The goal of Imagine a Place is to further elevate the belief that the places we make and the ways we design them matter in our lives.

In this episode, Doug is joined by Joey Shimoda of Shimoda Design Group. This reflective conversation spans from Joey's unique upbringing in Alabama and the challenges of growing up in a racially tense environment to the potential impacts of emerging technologies.

Growing up in Alabama during a turbulent period in American history—Joey reveals a journey marked by challenges, including his family's history of internment during World War II and the complexities of being one of the few Asian families in his community amidst the racial tensions of the 1960s. This backdrop serves as a foundation for Shimoda's profound insights into the role of curiosity, open-mindedness, and the embrace of both the analog and digital realms in shaping his design practices.

Doug and Joey talk about how the implications of technological advancements like AI and the metaverse cannot be overlooked in the field of design. There is a need to emphasize human-centered creativity and tangible experiences in this rapidly changing technological landscape.

This conversation not only showcases Joey's illustrious career and musings, but also serves as a testament to the enduring relevance of human creativity in the face of technological change.

Connect with Maria on LinkedIn.

Click here to get your copy of Maria's children's book—Design Your World.

Follow Imagine a Place on LinkedIn.

Imagine a Place gathers industry-leading voices that can inspire the design community through storytelling and broaden our creative horizons. The goal of Imagine a Place is to further elevate the belief that the places we make and the ways we design them matter in our lives.

Whether you can feel it happening or not, we are losing our grip on our creative mind and the stakes are high. Today’s conversation features the author and creativity expert, Martin Lindstrom. Martin has written seven New York Times bestsellers and is a frequent contributor to HBR, NBC, Fast Company and named by TIME Magazine as one of the 100 most influential people in the world. His writings, along with his creative consulting practice, have landed him as one of the top creative business minds in the world today. In our conversation, Martin discusses his new book: The Ministry of Common Sense. He also shares with us how he rescued his own creative mind and how you can do the same. Learn more about Martin Lindstrom: https://www.martinlindstrom.com/ Book: The Ministry of Common Sense: How to Eliminate Bureaucratic Red Tape, Bad Excuses, and Corporate BS https://amzn.to/3ezwSvI For more Imagine a Place, please visit: https://ofs.com/imagine-a-place Connect with Maria on LinkedIn. Click here to get your copy of Maria's children's book—Design Your World. Follow Imagine a Place on LinkedIn. Imagine a Place gathers industry-leading voices that can inspire the design community through storytelling and broaden our creative horizons. The goal of Imagine a Place is to further elevate the belief that the places we make and the ways we design them matter in our lives.

For our 1-year anniversary episode, we welcome back Angie Lee, Partner and Design Director at FXCollaborative. Angie was our first ever guest on the Imagine a Place podcast, and together we look back on the last 365 days. Angie’s curiosity about what makes us feel and think the way we do, and her courage to explore these ideas out loud, make this a very special episode that we are proud to share. Thank you to all our guests and subscribers for joining us on this journey, we are truly appreciative of this amazing Imagine a Place community and the stories we share together. We have many more amazing guests planned and incredible perspectives to share, so stay tuned! For more Imagine a Place, please visit: https://ofs.com/imagine-a-place Angie Lee: the evolution of identity: https://ofs.com/imagine-a-place/angie-lee-evolution-identity Learn more about Angie Lee and FXCollaborative: http://www.fxcollaborative.com/people/196/angie+lee/ Connect with Maria on LinkedIn. Click here to get your copy of Maria's children's book—Design Your World. Follow Imagine a Place on LinkedIn. Imagine a Place gathers industry-leading voices that can inspire the design community through storytelling and broaden our creative horizons. The goal of Imagine a Place is to further elevate the belief that the places we make and the ways we design them matter in our lives.

Bill Van Erp's work spans over 30 years as Gensler's resource librarian, a role he would master. In this role, Bill managed the design catalogs, materials library, and vendor relationships for Gensler's design department. Over the course of Bill's career, he was able to observe the paths of hundreds of designers that would come and go from Gensler's San Fransisco office and he developed a sense for talent - and on today's episode he shares his "secret sauce," the recipe that he believes leads to the designers that are most likely to grow inside their firm. We also discuss some of the most pivotal changes that influenced our industry's culture and why he loved his job so darn much. For more Imagine a Place, please visit: https://ofs.com/imagine-a-place Learn more about Gensler: https://www.gensler.com/ Connect with Maria on LinkedIn. Click here to get your copy of Maria's children's book—Design Your World. Follow Imagine a Place on LinkedIn. Imagine a Place gathers industry-leading voices that can inspire the design community through storytelling and broaden our creative horizons. The goal of Imagine a Place is to further elevate the belief that the places we make and the ways we design them matter in our lives.