2019 IIDA NY Color Invasion: Sweet Dreams

GIVING VOICE TO THOSE WHO CREATE WORKPLACE DESIGN & FURNISHINGS11.11.19 GIVING VOICE TO THOSE WHO CREATE WORKPLACE DESIGN & FURNISHINGS

2019 IIDA NY Color Invasion: Sweet Dreams

One of the wonderful things about the design community in and around NYC is witnessing everyone’s innate ability to adapt and flex to the needs of the moment. And this is especially evident when we gather at events like the Color Invasion, put on by the IIDA NY Chapter. The annual event, the biggest of its kind, took place at Center 415 on 5th Avenue last Thursday, hosting more than 1,500 guests to a night of dream-like enchantment.

FULL STORY ON PAGE 3…

Gensler’s 2019 Design Forecast – Cities and the Challenges They Face

One of the very first places we look to for relevant research in workplace design is Gensler, an unwavering leader in integrated architecture, design, planning and consulting. The firm weighs in on the latest trends and industry insights in its annual Design Forecast, a publication in production since 2013. This year in its report, Gensler focuses its attention on a worthy topic – urbanization.


Concurrents – Environmental Psychology: Inclusive Bathroom Design

Bathrooms are important to employees, for many more than the obvious reasons. Users “read” bathrooms for signs of management’s actual opinions and values; messages sent by financial expenditures in physical things are seen as more likely to be consistent with an organization’s true opinions than easy to pen and ignore values-type written statements. officeinsight columnist Sally Augustin examines the public restroom experience as mirror to its owner organization’s values.


CITED:“THE OLDER I GET, THE MORE I UNDERSTAND THAT THE ONLY WAY TO SAY VALUABLE THINGS IS TO LOSE YOUR FEAR OF BEING CORRECT.” —MALCOLM GLADWELL

11.11.19 GIVING VOICE TO THOSE WHO CREATE WORKPLACE DESIGN & FURNISHINGS PAGE 2 OF 30

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events

One of the wonderful things about the design community in and around NYC is witnessing everyone’s innate ability to adapt and flex to the needs of the moment. This year especially has called for a certain amount of shape-shifting for individuals and companies alike in order to stay relevant and aware in this land of continual change; and it is espe-cially evident when we gather at events like the Color Inva-sion, put on by the IIDA NY Chapter. The annual event, the biggest of its kind, took place at Center 415 on 5th Avenue last Thursday. There were more than 1,500 guests, most of which arrived in costume.

The theme for this year’s event was Sweet Dreams, inspired by the notion that dreams bring our subconscious to life. Continuing a yearly tradition of highlighting the line between dreams and nightmares, this extravagant gala actually has a heart of gold.

2019 IIDA NY Color Invasion: Sweet Dreamsby Peter Carey

IIDA NY Chapter President Annie Lee getting prepared for this year’s Color Invasion. Photo: Johnny Wolf

Color Invasion co-chairs Steven South from IA and Brian Bates from Geiger Dreamcatchers Rebecca Dorris Steiger from Gensler and Ginger Gilden from IA. Photo: Johnny Wolf


events

As in previous years, IIDA NY is partnering with the Pa-jama Program, a 501(c)(3) organization dedicated to deliver-ing warm pajamas and books to at-risk children. All Color Invasion attendees are encouraged to donate unopened pajamas and new books for children, both before and during the event. VIDs (Very Important Donors) that brought two items or contributed to the pop-up shop got exclusive access to the VID room in the back of Color Invasion. Early dona-tions by IIDA NY Benefactors to the Pajama Program have doubled since last year due to an extended donation period.

This year’s theme of bedtime comfort was inspired by the work of the Pajama Program and their mission of making sure young children get a good night’s sleep. Pajama Program understands deeply how many children in this country don’t have a stable home life, or a home at all. To these children – often abandoned, neglected, living in shelters or temporary housing – Pajama Program pledges an unwavering com-mitment to the inherent right of every one of them to have a loving bedtime and restful good night as the start of a positive, empowering day when they wake up the next morning.

Very Important Donors to the Pajama Program at this year’s Color Invasion. Photo: Johnny Wolf

Shay Lam from TPG Architecture in the VID room. Photo: Johnny Wolf

Enchanted Woods, where dreams are made. Photo: Peter Carey

Color Invasion Beauty Bar. Photo: Peter Carey Color Invasion guests. Photo: Johnny Wolf


eventsPartygoers and the design glitterati began their Color

Invasion experience this year by getting prepared for the event at the Beauty Bar. Sponsored by Mercer Hamilton, this station recreates an experience of a sleepover party. Everyone was encouraged to get ‘glowed up’ with lashes, braids, eye gems, and airbrush tattoos. Once set to look their best, intrepid guests make their way to the Bed Sheet Maze, sponsored by Carnegie Textiles. Reminiscent of childhood bed sheet forts, the maze was also the surprise home of a boogie man, who was known to appear at the most unexpected time. The bedtime stories section of the event brought back memories of my experience in Sleep No More, the experiential theater event in Chelsea.

Making your way though the constricted corridors of the sheet maze and the Andy Warhol inspired silver inflat-able Pillow Room, the childhood time machine is almost fully complete. Next stop is the Library Bar, where guests appear to have shrunk to a fraction of their size. Finally, looking good and feeling good, it is possible to survey the large room and see the wealth of other partygoing options available.

I headed over to the Pillow Fight section, sponsored by Innovative/Hat and BEDS by TiiPii. Always dear to my heart, this pillow fight section had two accommodations for a covered lounge respite, in addition to a generous supply of pillows to whack away at your loved ones.

Always Instagram friendly, the Color Invasion’s Smile-Booth, sponsored by WB Wood, invited guests to climb on top of the mattresses and pose like the Princess and the Pea for the perfect sharable photo opportunity.

The golden glitter encrusted Sandman DJ, sponsored by Milliken, wove hypnotic beats together and inspired guests to dance the night away under a giant illuminated inflatable moon, which was flanked by two very well stocked bars sponsored by Arper and Clarus.

Bed Sheet maze, complete with boogeyman. Photo: Peter Carey

Andy Warhol inspired pillow room Photo: Peter Carey

Color Invasion Pillow Fight. Photo: Johnny Wolf Late night snack at Color Invasion. Photo: Peter Carey


events

Color Invasion partygoers in full revelry. Photo: Johnny Wolf Color Invasion guests. Photo: Johnny Wolf

Movie theater showing dream sequences. Photo: Peter Carey Color Invasion guests. Photo: Johnny Wolf

Cloud Room with dancer. Photo: Peter Carey Movie theater concessions. Photo: Peter Carey


eventsIn the back of Color Invasion, things got interesting.

Evoking a sleepless night, the movie theater, concession stand and bar area was the backdrop for an ongoing loop of well-curated dream sequences from classic B&W films, along with a strong cocktail. I started thinking the possibili-ties were beginning to look endless, when I stepped inside the cloud room, sponsored by Humanscale. I had never seen a dancer visually interpreting a cloud through move-ment before – and it was both magical and exactly like what I thought it would look like.

Beyond the cloud room was the donor area, awash with black light, live music and glowing psychedelic colors. Very Important Donors were invited into this exclusive access

room, sponsored by Urban Office, Infinium, and Svend Nielsen. Access to this room required at least two pairs of pajamas or book donations to Pajama Program.

The flow of Center 415 is much better than previous spaces where Color Invasion has happened. The ground floor and early entrance experience of this space, in addi-tion to the many spaces in the back allows for a much more layered experience of the room, and of the people attending Color Invasion.

This event, like the others before it, sets the tone for the rest of the events throughout the year. Color Invasion consistently knocks it out of the park, and this year was no exception. Congratulations to all involved! n

This year’s Sweet Dreams Color Invasion Committee Acrobat performing for the crowd. Photo: Peter Carey

Did any of this just happen? Photo: Peter Carey


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research

One of the very first places we look to for relevant research in workplace design is Gensler, an unwavering leader in integrated architecture, design, planning and consulting. The firm weighs in on the latest trends and industry insights in its annual Design Forecast, a publication in production since 2013.

This year in its report, Gensler focuses its attention on a worthy topic – urbanization.

“This year, we recognized that we are living through the greatest period of urbanization and demographic change in world history,” said Todd Heiser, Workplace Leader – Con-sumer Goods, Managing Director, Gensler, in an officeinsight email interview. “In fact, by 2050 more than 70% of the earth’s population will live in cities. This increased urbanization is accelerating dramatic changes in the built environment.”

“Urban areas contribute more than 80% of global GDP, but they’re also responsible for 70% of global carbon emissions,” noted Mr. Heiser. “It is important that as urban designers, we take a leadership role in shaping the future of cities for the better.”

Gensler’s Design Forecast is lengthy, consisting of three sectors – Work, Lifestyle and Community. In the Lifestyle sector, topics include brand design; digital experience design; hospitality; mixed use & retail centers; residential; retail; and sports. In the Community sector, look forward to topics in aviation; cities & urban design; critical facilities; education, civic & culture; and health & wellness.

And in the Work sector, the firm offers insight on the fol-lowing industries: consulting & real estate services; energy & sciences; financial services; foundations, associations & organizations; government & defense; intelligent places; media & consumer goods; office buildings; product de-velopment; professional services; repositioning & landlord services; and technology.

The full Gensler Design Forecast is a treasure trove of insightful, bite-size data that can provide a baseline under-standing of each topic discussed.

Why the focus on cities? The forecast explains the magni-tude of that topic:

“The world is changing. Global population shifts mean that over half the world’s people now live in cities – a total of 4.2 billion people. By 2030, there will be 43 megacities on the planet with populations of at least 10 million people in each. These concentrations of people are already introduc-ing tough new challenges.”

“Economic volatility is perhaps the topmost concern for our clients. Markets can turn on a dime and are influenced by an increasingly unpredictable political and environmental landscape.

Climate change is on everyone’s mind, and is affecting markets, governments, and people the world over. More than 90% of all urban areas are coastal, putting most cities at risk of flooding from rising sea levels and powerful storms.

On top of this, new technologies continue to disrupt every industry in the world, introducing a massive skills gap in the talent pool. At the same time, we’re experiencing enormous demographic shifts in the global workforce. By 2025, millennials will make up 75% of all workers, bringing new expectations to the workplace and a median job tenure that’s barely two years. This kind of churn is costly, time-consuming, and fiercely competitive.”

Gensler’s 2019 Design Forecast – Cities and the Challenges They Faceby Mallory Budy

Images: courtesy of Gensler

https://www.gensler.com/research-insight/publications/design-forecast/shaping-the-future-of-cities-2019


researchWe asked Mr. Heiser which, of all of

the industries examined in the “Work” section, is the one going through the most change, and why.

“Repositioning and landlord ser-vices, especially in the United States, is seeing a lot of change in a positive way,” Mr. Heiser said. “Work isn’t just about work anymore. People want to connect to each other and other com-panies in creative ways. The amount of current building stock allows us to support a variety of clients in how they create immersive and human scale experiences to attract and keep their workplace tenants. The industries with the most opportunity for positive change really depends by market.”

On repositioning and landlord ser-vices, the report details:

“The large inventory of older, unde-rutilized buildings in growing urban

centers offers a huge opportunity to transform these properties into lucra-tive revenue generators. The Urban Land Institute estimates there is more than 500 million square feet of office space in need of significant reposition-ing in the U.S. alone.”

“The character and authenticity that tenants are looking for can often be found in older repositioned buildings. From turn-of-the-century to midcen-tury, older designs are valued. Tenants respond to memorable spaces that tell a story, that companies can leverage in their brand narrative and culture building. It’s also a more sustainable approach. It typically represents a substantial savings in capital and time, versus building new.

Multitenant office buildings serve a variety of stakeholders, but to appeal to today’s workforce, landlords need

buildings that provide people with choices in how and where to work. Amenities are expected to be part of the mix, but not to escape work; tenants want amenities that can help them do their jobs better. In other words, the amenities need to be con-venient, help improve well-being and performance, and add positive returns to the bottom line.

As organizations begin to think about a new generation of work-ers, building owners, managers, and developers have started to give underperforming properties personality makeovers. Through interventions like modified entrances, curated amenities, and pedestrian-friendly connections, inward-focused properties can be transformed into inviting places that engage tenants and connect them to each other.”

Meritus headquarters, Beijing


researchThe report addresses interesting

data Gensler discovered on the nu-ances of coworking.

“We uncovered that coworking has its limits, despite the consistent rise of coworking companies and space,” said Mr. Heiser. “According to our latest U.S. Workplace Survey, while most people still find coworking spaces valuable, they are only using those spaces for less than one day per week, and, in fact, performance goes down if people spend more than 12 hours a week at an alternative work space. It is still important to provide more variety and choice of where to work, so as designers, we must focus on the people experience, in turn, increasing business performance.”

In its focus on urbanization, Gensler explores what it considers to be the

four toughest challenges facing cities: climate change, the future of mobil-ity, connected cities, and housing & homelessness. Heiser comments on each challenge:

“First, climate change. According to Architecture 2030, 40% of an-nual greenhouse gases are created by buildings. Gensler is rethinking the relationship between the built environment and water by incorporat-ing natural defense strategies and smart building designs to make cities resilient.

Next, future of mobility. Cities have been designed for cars, not people, and with new modes of transportation, we have an opportunity to take the city streets back for people.

Third, connected cities. The growth of technology is reshaping our lives.

We need to make cities more human, not less, and by deploying technology in service of people, we can become the driving force for cities that are ef-ficient, livable and sustainable.

And, finally, housing & homeless-ness. Overpopulation in cities is increasing the poor and homeless population. Gensler identified an op-portunity to create supportive housing for communities in need because it is important to design cities for everyone to improve the human experience.”

Gensler’s Design Forecast is a great read for those hoping to center their views and work efforts moving into 2020. Many thanks to the Gensler Research Institute for putting together a comprehensive guide touching on so many critical topics. n

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concurrentsENVIRONMENTAL PSYCHOLOGYInclusive Bathroom Designby Sally Augustin, Ph.D.

Bathrooms are important to employees, for many more than the obvious reasons.

Users “read” bathrooms for signs of management’s actual opinions and values; messages sent by financial expenditures in physical things are seen as more likely to be consistent with an organization’s true opinions than easy to pen and ignore values-type written statements. Workers are keenly attuned to whether the signals sent by restroom design and mainte-nance indicate that they are respected by management, or not. Interpretations of nonverbal environmental cues can be important drivers of professional performance; the more positive mes-

sages are perceived to be, the more likely employees are to perform to their full potential.

At-work bathrooms are also acquir-ing another important function – in some newer offices, bathroom stalls are the only place where employees have the privacy needed to make sense of workplace situations.

The vital psychological functions of workplace bathrooms also now include being gender-inclusive, which requires that all users feel welcome.

Developing guidelines/best practices for gender-inclusive public bathrooms has been challenging and there are several online resources that people

designing public bathrooms today may find particularly handy:

>At JSA (Joel Sanders Architect) that firm has republished “Stalled: Gender-Neutral Public Bathrooms,” written by Joel Sanders and Susan Stryker, which originally appeared in the South Atlantic Quarterly, from Duke University Press. The “Stalled…“ article provides context for recent events and restroom design recom-mendations. The authors, for example, support “eliminate[ing] gender segre-gated facilities entirely and treat[ing] the public restroom as one single open space with fully enclosed stalls…our bathroom precinct is conceived of as

http://joelsandersarchitect.com/stalled-gender-neutral-public-bathrooms/


concurrentsone open space subdivided into activ-ity zones to accommodate the three activities that typically take place in public restrooms – coifing, washing, and eliminating…Our design proposal conceives of the bathroom precinct as three parallel and overlapping activity zones…Double-sided, freestanding, full-length mirrors arranged as linear screens allow people, depending on their mood or temperament, to coif either partially concealed or in full view of others. In our proposal, washing occurs around a freestanding island inspired by the public fountains that activate Roman piazzas…Elimination takes place in private stalls, treated like cabanas, that can be deployed in various configurations.”

>Stalled! provides information on bathroom design options here: https://www.stalled.online/approaches. Stalled!’s website reports that “Stalled! was formed in 2015…The project as-sembles a cross-disciplinary research

team that includes architect Joel Sanders, transgender historian Susan Stryker, and legal scholar Terry Kogan.”

>In a Quartz article, available at https://qz.com/933704/how-to-design-transgender-friendly-bathrooms-that-make-people-of-all-genders-feel-safe/ Lisa Davis presents a roundup of gender-nclusive bathroom design op-tions she was able to identify, often by interviewing architects.

As designers, managers, users, and others develop additional insights into welcoming bathroom design, related resources can and will expand the dis-cussion begun by the materials listed above. n

Sally Augustin, PhD, is the editor of Research Design Connections (www.researchdesignconnections.com). Research Design Connections reports on research conducted by social and physical scientists that designers can apply in practice. Insights derived from recent studies are integrated with clas-

sic, still relevant findings in concise, powerful articles. Topics covered range from the cognitive, emotional, and physiological implications of sensory and other physical experiences to the alignment of culture, personality, and design, among others. Informa-tion, in everyday language, is shared in a monthly subscription newsletter, an archive of thousands of published articles, and a free daily blog. Readers learn about the latest research findings immediately, before they’re available elsewhere. Sally, who is a Fellow of the American Psychological Association, is also the author of Place Advantage: Applied Psychology for Interior Archi-tecture (Wiley, 2009) and, with Cindy Coleman, The Designer’s Guide to Do-ing Research: Applying Knowledge to Inform Design (Wiley, 2012). She is a principal at Design With Science (www.designwithscience.com) and can be reached at [email protected].

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r-d connectionRESEARCH-DESIGN CONNECTIONVisual Clarity Desiredby Sally Augustin, Ph.D.

Liu, Yin and Liang, in research relevant to art selection and other design deci-sions, have learned that we prefer to see things clearly. They investigated “a potential association between clarity (i.e., operationalized as visual resolu-tion) and affect [emotion] in human cognition…providing support for the

ideas of embodied cognition as well as implications for our preference for clarity and aversion to blur…the present findings provide important implications for the evaluative judgments in daily life. The reason why we prefer HD screens and dislike the blurry view on smoggy days is normally regarded as our prefer-ence for more visual details. Here in our research, the findings suggest that these phenomena may partly be the consequences of an automatic tenden-cy to view blurrier objects as worse.”

Yiguang Liu, Jun Yin, and Junying Liang. 2019. “Why Smoggy Days Sup-press Our Mood: Automatic Associa-tion Between Clarity and Valence.” Frontiers in Psychology, https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2019.01580

Sally Augustin, PhD, a cognitive sci-entist, is the editor of Research Design

Connections (www.researchdesigncon-nections.com), a monthly subscription newsletter and free daily blog, where recent and classic research in the social, design, and physical sciences that can inform designers’ work are presented in straightforward language. Readers learn about the latest re-search findings immediately, before they’re available elsewhere. Sally, who is a Fellow of the American Psycho-logical Association, is also the author of Place Advantage: Applied Psychol-ogy for Interior Architecture (Wiley, 2009) and, with Cindy Coleman, The Designer’s Guide to Doing Research: Applying Knowledge to Inform Design (Wiley, 2012). She is a principal at Design With Science (www.designwith-science.com) and can be reached at [email protected].

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>Coalesse and Spanish rug company nanimarquina launched the Nanimarquina Collection for Coalesse. It includes six patterns, each in five color variations and three sizes, exploring the warmth, comfort and residential soul of hand-woven rugs, bring-ing new life to work. For

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officenewswireoutdoor rugs by combining ancestral weaving techniques with a recycled PET fiber. This material innovation retains the same look, feel and woven detail of fine indoor rugs. The new collection, in sizes 6’x9’, 8’x10’, and 9’x13’, includes: -Strokes features minimal, interlacing linework adapted from a set of hand-drawn, sequenced marks over solid color fields. -Shadows, inspired by the shadows cast by plant foliage, offers an organic pattern that moves irregularly across the rugs. -Basket is inspired by the mesh pattern that emerges from light passing through a woven basket, with beautiful gaps and variations. -Patch, a modern take on the traditional dhurrie, is made of patch-like panels that have been individually dyed, hand-loomed and sewn together by hand. -Diagonal, in 100% recycled PET for outdoor use, features a classic twill weave enlarged into a diagonal-textured pattern with wide borders col-ored in coordinating shades for bolder visual interest. -Mesh, also in 100% recycled PET for outdoor use, is remi-niscent of bamboo matting and other natural banded

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>Kimball Health showcased its innovative, highly styled portfolio of healthcare prod-ucts from at the Healthcare Design Expo and Conference in New Orleans earlier this month. -Embra™ is a thoughtfully equipped lounge and sleep sofa collection where guests can feel welcome, connected and comfortable. The simple design quickly converts from sitting space to a generous sleeping surface. Optional lighting, technology support, personal storage and sur-faces respond to the needs of guests in community settings or patient spaces -Work|Able™, designed with full functionality in mind to maximize wall space and integrate into healthcare spaces. It takes a modern ap-proach with honest materials and simplicity in design that facilitates collaboration and opens up a whole new way of leveraging the wall. -Alterna™, designed to sup-port the evolving healthcare landscape, is a seamless and durable solution for the entire

facility – from public zones, to clinical areas, workspaces and more. -Greer™ is a modern and modest, full-function patient recliner, built with quality and value in mind. The small-scale design works perfectly for today’s smaller footprint spaces while still providing comfort for all body shapes and sizes. Also featured in the space were Kimball Health’s ever-adaptable Pairings® Nooks seating collection that provides privacy and comfort, Pep™ and Joelle™ ancillary seating that provides versatil-ity, Xsede® Height Adjust which allows users to raise or lower their worksurface, and light scale Helio™ task chair. Read More

>Tarkett is introducing two new custom concept collec-tions at BDNY: nowHAUS and Gironde. Both collections come in soft and hard surface platforms. Designed by Tarkett’s hospi-tality creative director Amy Jaekel, nowHAUS is a bold new collection completely inspired by the iconic shapes and patterns of the Bauhaus

movement. These designs marry handmade artisanship with industrial innovation and beauty with practical applica-tion. The collection beautifully showcases Tarkett’s custom design capabilities in a variety of scales and flooring plat-forms, with six Vivid™ Broad-loom patterns, three woven Axminster patterns (including one sculpted texture), and one Axminster tile pattern. Two LVT flooring patterns are offered on Tarkett’s Contour construction, featuring Tarkett’s proprietary Techtonic™ polyurethane technology over a 32 mil wear layer for maximum protection and durability. The Gironde collection, designed by Nolan Beck Rivera, creative director of The Materialist, is a suite of organic patterns inspired by the weathered patinas, eroded bricks, and lichen-covered stones of the Gironde region of Bordeaux in France. The collection includes four woven broadloom patterns and three luxury vinyl flooring patterns for a variety of scale, texture and performance. The LVT designs are offered on Tar-kett’s Contour construction.

Kimball Health Tarkett: nowHAUS

https://officeinsight.com/officenewswire/launching-rug-design-collab-from-coalesse-nanimarquina/

https://officeinsight.com/officenewswire/launching-rug-design-collab-from-coalesse-nanimarquina/

https://officeinsight.com/officenewswire/reimagine-healthcare-with-kimball-health/


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Tarkett is also launching two hard surface products for hospitality, ProGen and NuGen. ProGen LVT is a radical leap forward in floor-ing technology—a rigid core construction engineered from the inside, out—and designed to outperform the extreme demands of today’s hospitality environments. It beautifully resists heavy roll-ing luggage, high heels and heavy furniture, plus a variety of unavoidable mishaps like splashes and spills. NuGen rigid core flooring is designed for flexibility, easy installation, and beauty, available in 10 classic hardwood designs in the most popular colors and size (7”x48”). Also on display at BDNY is a custom carpet that Tarkett produced to celebrate Hilton’s 100th year anniversary. Hil-ton’s booth – “Memento: Ex-periences Worth Remember-ing” - is adjacent to Tarkett’s, and also features products by Alger-Triton, Applied Textiles, Fabric Innovations, Formica Corporation, HF Collection, and Kalisher. Read More

NOTEWORTHY>The ASID Foundation named the recipients of its 2019 Research Grants. This program exists to infiltrate research into practice by funding projects that result in actionable design prin-ciples, guidelines, and/or tools that are developed into an educational resource for designers to apply in their design projects. When select-ing the 2019 grantees, the ASID Foundation research committee prioritized four topics of interest: 1) Design for Mindfulness, 2) Divergent Creativity | Co-Creation, 3) Design for Imperiled People:

Humanizing Environments, and 4) Measuring the Return on Investment through Post-Occupancy Evaluations, and awarded $10,000 each to four projects. The 2019 awardees are: -Pre- and Post-Occupancy Evaluations – a Means for Contributing to Positive Outcomes. Project Manager: Jane Rohde, Principal, JSR Associates, Inc. Principal Investigator (PI): Dr. Debra Harris, CEO, RAD Consul-tants and Associate Profes-sor of Family and Consumer Sciences, Baylor University. This study will establish an evidence-based methodol-ogy for developing a pre-/post-occupancy evaluation tool that compares desired outcomes with performance outcomes and ties the mea-sured outcomes to the return on investment based upon building occupant data. -Post-Occupancy Engage-ment: Exploring Augmented Reality Technology as a Tool for Assessing and Enhanc-ing Effectiveness of Build-ing Design Strategies. PI: Dr. Leah Scolere, Assistant Professor of Interior Design, Colorado State University. Co-

PI: Dr. Laura Malinin, Director of the Nancy Richardson Design Center and Associate Professor of Interior Design, Colorado State University. This study pilots an inno-vative methodology using augmented reality technology intended to enhance oc-cupant learning, creativity, and health/well-being for a post-occupancy evaluation of a new LEED-Gold academic incubator facility. -Investigating Art + Design Incubators as Places of Co-creation. PI: Dr. Newton D’Souza, Associate Professor and Chair of Interior Architec-ture, Florida International Uni-versity. Co-PI: Dr. Asha Kutty, Assistant Professor of Interior Architecture, University of North Carolina, Greensboro. Collaborators & Advisory: Steelcase, Inc., Ratcliffe Incubator of Art + Design. This case study of Ratcliffe Incubator in Miami will exam-ine the extent to which spatial attributes facilitate or disrupt co-creation using a mixed method technique consisting of experiential sampling and activity mapping. -Under Duress: Leveraging Design to Foster Mindfulness

Tarkett: Gironde

https://officeinsight.com/officenewswire/tarkett-launches-two-new-collections-at-bdny-in-booth-2739/


officenewswirein High Stress Emergency Departments. PI: Dr. Shabboo Valipoor, Assistant Professor of Interior Design, University of Florida. Co-PI: Dr. Sheila Bosch, Assistant Professor of Interior Design, University of Florida. This study will identify design strategies for creat-ing effective environments for healthcare professionals working in emergency depart-ments, specifically design at-tributes that support mindful-ness and stress management practices. Read More

>DeskMakers acquired the operating assets of Scale1:1, Inc, a Los Angeles-based contemporary furniture brand committed to innova-tive design. Scale1:1 was founded in 2010 by Clara Reis, a workplace ergonomic specialist who recognized a gap between the traditional office environment and the savvy minded young profes-sionals driving the modern economy. Together with David Winston, architect and founder of Cleanroom Design Lab, the duo launched the company to create furniture solutions for the contempo-rary collaborative workplace.

Their pioneering approach to furniture design earned Scale1:1 a Best of NeoCon Silver Award in 2016 for their EYHOV benching system, the same year DeskMakers won Gold in the same category for its Hover bench product. Commenting on the transition, Ms. Reis said, “We are proud to have built a reputation in the industry for cutting-edge products serving tech firms and the Gen Z buyer. As a Los Angeles based manufacturer, DeskMakers company values align perfectly with Scale1:1’s passion for design and flex-ibility, we couldn’t be more thrilled to move forward with this transition.” Scale1:1 will continue to operate as an independent brand, but will co-locate its operations with DeskMakers in Commerce, CA, to capital-ize on the flourishing design culture in Los Angeles. Ms. Reis will join DeskMakers as a marketing advisor, while Mr. Winston will serve as DeskMakers’ VP of Creative Design with plans to elevate and strengthen the brand’s position in the market. Read More

EVENTS>DIFFA: Design Indus-tries Foundation Fight-ing AIDS is presenting its newly-revamped Specify with Care® program to the design industry at BDNY (Nov. 10-11, Booth 3353). As DIFFA’s cause marketing program, Specify with Care® invites companies to donate a percentage of sales from des-ignated collections to support DIFFA’s mission. Proceeds will go to DIFFA grantees to combat HIV/AIDS and provide care and support to affected individuals and communi-ties. Besides the goodwill a company generates by taking part in the program, DIFFA offers its affiliates an array of marketing benefits. The Specify with Care® counter at BDNY offers an opportunity for DIFFA and its affiliated partners to showcase these products and interact with leading professionals in hospitality and commercial in-teriors, and the greater design community. It will also feature designs and special give-aways from notable Specify with Care® affiliates that sup-

port DIFFA year-round includ-ing, BLANCO, Lee Jofa, Maya Romanoff, and Wolf-Gordon Inc. Read More

>IFDA NY will hold its 13th annual “Rising Stars of Design” awards ceremony on Thursday, Nov. 21. It will take place at FAIR, the resource for high-end, hand-crafted design and craft head-ed by interior designer Brad Ford, a 2008 Rising Star. The showroom is located on the 16th floor of the NYDC, 200 Lexington Avenue. The event runs from 5:30 to 8:00 p.m. with presentations beginning at 6:15. Acclaimed interior designer Amy Lau of Amy Lau Design, founded in 2001, and lauded by Architectural Digest for her “All-encompassing vision of inspired, artful living that elevates mere finesse into the realm of pure magic,” will serve as MC and intro-duce the honorees: -Patrick Ryan of Patrick Ryan’s Office for interior de-sign. After working for several years as a psychotherapist, Mr. Ryan chose to pursue his life-long passion for art and design. As a result of his

Deskmakers: Scale 1-1 WiiRise WorkStations DIFFA: Specify with Care® Affiliated Partner, Wolf-Gordon Inc. Wallcovering

https://officeinsight.com/officenewswire/asid-foundation-announces-2019-research-grants-recipients-%25f0%259f%25a5%2587/

https://officeinsight.com/officenewswire/deskmakers-acquires-furniture-company-scale11/

https://officeinsight.com/officenewswire/deskmakers-acquires-furniture-company-scale11/

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experience as a therapist, he understands first-hand that one of the most important activities in any successful design project is listening closely to the client. -Tina Ramchandani of Tina Ramchandani Creative for in-terior design. Ms. Ramchan-dani’s signature style, Soulful Minimalism, incorporates her global perspective and her infatuation for amazingly crafted, custom elements. She believes great design lets us live the life that inspires us every day. Her designs warm modern interiors and fully capture her clients’ polished lifestyles. -Jake Szymanski of J.M. Szymanski for product de-sign. Mr. Szymanski intro-duces radical new shapes and explores new materials and textures, designing and

fabricating his work at his Bronx studio. His design education began in his early childhood where he and his family spent several years living in Nepal. Later, in his early 20’s, he moved to Spain where he studied the designs of Gaudi, visited the Alham-bra and made frequent trips to Morocco. -Tamara Stephenson & Susan Young of root cellars design for product design. Long-time friends with back-grounds in interior design, fashion, and fine art, Ms. Ste-phenson and Ms. Young cre-ate and manufacture quality home textiles, wallpaper, and accessories. They collaborate with workrooms in the NYC garment district when creat-ing ready-made products to support the local trade. Read More

>Parsons Healthy Mate-rial Lab shared the speaker lineup for its two-day symposium “Material Health: Design Frontiers in the Built Environment,” happening this week, Nov. 14-15. Edu-cators, designers, scientists, doctors, architects, cura-tors, contractors, artists, and material innovators will come together to examine critical topics of Material Health in this era of climate crisis. To-gether, exceptional perspec-tives will identify viable alter-

natives for the next generation of architects and designers to advance to a healthier future. The keynote address on Thursday, Nov. 14, 6:00 p.m., will be presented by environmentalist and political activist Winona LaDuke. Top-ics of educational sessions on Friday, Nov. 15, 9:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m., include Air and Toxicity, Carbon, Equity, Waste and Circular Econo-mies, and Ecosystems: From Fossil Fuels to Renewables, via Transparency. Read More

IFDA NY: Rising Stars of Design.Interior Design Honorees Patrick Ryan and Tina Ramchandani.

IFDA NY: Rising Stars of Design.Product Design Honorees Jake Szy-manski, Tamara Stephenson & Susan Young

https://officeinsight.com/officenewswire/meet-the-2019-ifda-rising-stars-of-design/

https://officeinsight.com/officenewswire/meet-the-2019-ifda-rising-stars-of-design/

https://officeinsight.com/officenewswire/speaker-lineup-announced-material-health-design-frontiers-symposium/


businessRAYMOND JAMES BRIEF 11.5.19BIFMA: September Orders +3.9%; Sales Up 6.4%

Analysts: Budd Bugatch, Bobby Griffin

>This month’s BIFMA orders and sales statistics were derived from 52 companies, versus 51 companies in August.

>As shown below, North America order growth returned positive in September, up 3.9% versus the 2.7% decline in August. Moreover, the two-year stack growth rate of +9.8% and average monthly growth rate over the past 12 months of 6.2% remains at decent levels. Therefore, the August softness seems to be mostly passing us for now, with positive order and sales growth in all categories except companies with $50 million to $150 million in annual sales.

>The competition for workers continues to be apparent and although the spend per employee has declined as customers shift towards accepting lower value tiers, the refresh rate has accelerated as firms reinvent their workspaces. The increased refresh rate has enabled a continued engagement with office furniture producers as employers aim to optimize space and align with employees’ adjusting preferences. Moreover, both CEOs and small businesses continue to add to their workforce, although not at the peak levels. Moreover, the population ratio has returned to the 2007 pre-recession peak.

>In past monthly notes, we have complained because we thought the office furniture stocks had not gotten as much

respect as they deserve. That remains the case when looking at the issues on a five year-basis. Now, MLHR and KNL have each outperformed the market over the past year and MLHR, KNL and SCS have each outperformed the market on a two-year basis. None of the issues we cover has outperformed the market on a 5-year basis.

>According to the BIFMA report, September net North America orders booked increased 3.9%, up from the 2.7% decrease in August. The two-year stack order growth rate was +9.8%, versus +4.1% in August. The monthly order growth in North America averaged 6.2% (median 6.0%) over the past 12 months, higher than the 4.4% (median ~5%) monthly average over the 12 months of the year earlier.

>North America orders for companies with more than $150 million in annual sales (the larger companies) increased 5% y/y in September, above the 2% decrease in August. Orders for companies with $25 million to $50 million in sales (the smaller companies) increased +7% y/ y in September, above the +1% y/y increase in August. North America orders for companies with $50 million to $150 million in annual sales decreased 11%, below the 10% decrease in August.

>August net North America sales increased +6.4% y/y, up from +4.9% y/y in August. The two-year stack growth rate for net sales was +5.9% y/y, versus +11.5% y/y in August. Average monthly sales growth over the past 12 months was 7.3% (me-dian 6.2%), significantly higher than the 2.3% (median 2.5%) monthly average over the 12 months of the year earlier.

11.8.19 9.27.19 6.28.19 3.29.19 12.28.18 9.28.18 %frYrHi%fr50-DayMA

HMiller 47.8 45.9 44.7 35.2 29.9 38.4 -3.3% 4.1%

HNI 39.9 35.4 35.4 36.3 35.2 44.2 -5.6% 8.7%

Inscape 0.8 0.7 1.7 1.7 1.4 1.6 -59.4% 3.0%

Interface 17.0 14.6 15.3 15.3 14.2 23.4 -12.6% 13.1%

Kimball 21.6 19.4 17.4 14.1 14.2 16.8 -3.8% 7.9%

Knoll 27.5 25.3 23.0 18.9 16.4 23.5 -1.4% 7.2%

Leggett 55.2 40.9 38.4 42.2 35.8 43.8 -0.4% 24.0%

Mohawk 152.0 123.6 147.5 126.2 117.2 175.4 -2.9% 16.0%

Steelcase 18.0 18.4 17.1 14.6 14.7 18.5 -8.7% -0.3%

Virco 4.1 3.8 4.7 4.3 4.1 4.9 -18.0% 4.6%

SUM 383.7 328.0 345.1 308.8 283.2 390.3

DJIndust 27,681 26,820 26,600 25,929 23,062 26,458 -0.3% 2.9%

Industry Stock Prices


business>Net North America sales for companies with more than $150 million in annual sales increased +7% y/y (consistent with August). Net North America sales for companies with $25 million to $50 million in sales increased +6% y/y, above the +4% increase in August. North America sales for companies with $50 million to $150 million in annual sales decreased 2% y/y, versus the 14% decrease in August.

>While many factors saw an improvement versus last month, some worrisome signs of potential weakness remain. The Architecture Billings Index remains at a level below 50 and the ISM U.S. Manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index is at the second lowest level since 2009. There are also some cracks in the business confidence metrics.

That said, CEOs continue to find strength in basic economic indicators and CEO confidence in future business conditions even saw a slight uptick in October. Also, while small business optimism fell in September, small businesses continue to add to their workforce and 57% of small businesses reported hiring or trying to hire, while 88% of those reported finding few or no qualified applicants.

So, despite some cracks in business confidence, businesses continue to add to their workforce; just not at peak levels. This is probably the most important positive for office furniture companies over the long-term; the war for talent and the fact that U.S. job openings exceed bodies to fill them. Moreover, the population ratio is currently at the 2007 pre-recession peak. Companies need to make sure that their environments are fresh enough to attract and retain the workers they need.

Below are some of the recent data points.

Industry Data

>CEO confidence: Chief Executive Magazine’s CEO index increased slightly to 6.36 in October from 6.24 in September. CEO confidence about current business conditions remained consistent month-over-month at 6.8 in October. While CEOs continue to find strength in basic economic indicators, uncertainty in domestic politics, unresolved trade issues, and continuous chatter about a looming recession leave near low levels. While up from the prior month, CEOs that expect growth in profits, revenue, workforce and capex remain behind earlier strong levels due to the continued pressured confidence. CEOs that expect growth in profits increased to 66.8% from 56% in September. CEOs that expect growth is revenues were 71% from 64% in September, CEOs that expect to add to their work-force increased to 46%, from 44% in September, and CEOs that expect to increase capex increased to 46%, from 45% in September.

>Small business optimism: NFIB small business optimism fell to 101.8 in September, from 103.1 in August. Small businesses lost optimism primarily due to tariff concerns and political uncertainty. In September, 17% (-3% month-over-month) of small businesses are planning to increase employ-ment; 17% (-1% month-over-month) plan to make capital outlays; 16% (-1% month-over-month) expect higher real sales; 9% (-3% month-over-month) expect the economy to improve; and 35% (consistent month-over-month) have current job openings. In September, 29% (consistent month-over-month) reported higher compensation and 18% (-1% month-over-month) are planning to increase compensation in the next few months. NFIB’s Jobs Reported noted job creation of 0.10 net additional workers per firm, down from 0.19 in August. However, finding qualified workers remains a problem as 23% of small businesses noted the single most important business problem was finding qualified workers. Moreover, 57% (-7% month-over-month) of small businesses reported hiring or trying to hire, while 88% reported few or no qualified appli-cants. Therefore, as job creation expands (at lower levels) and employers have difficultly finding qualified applicants, small businesses will search for additional ways to attract and retain talent, such as refreshing their workplace.

>Employment trends: Nonfarm payrolls increased by 128,000 in October, following a 180,000 gain in September. The economy added 1.7 million jobs year-to-date and 2.7 million jobs in 2018 (vs. 2.2 million in 2017, 2.3 million in 2016, 2.7 million in 2015, and 3.0 million in 2014). With the employ-ment population ratio at the 2007 pre-recession peak (80.3), the number of qualified individuals searching for an open position decreases. Moreover, U.S. job openings have exceed-ed U.S. unemployment consistently over the past year and by 1.3 million in September. Therefore, we believe office furniture producers will benefit as compensation levels increase and employers implement additional initiatives to attract employees, such as refreshing the workplace.

>Architect’s Billing Index (ABI): The national composite ABI for September ticked up to 49.7 from 47.2 in August. The ABI is a diffusion index that is derived monthly from a survey by the AIA Economics and Market Research Group. It is a leading indicator that leads non-residential construction by 9-12 months and shows whether reporting firms have had an increase, no-change, or decrease in billings from the previous month. The decline in August (below 50) was driven regionally (only the West was above 50) and by a decline in the billings of commercial/ industrial firms.

>ISM Purchasing Managers’ Index: The ISM U.S. Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) for October ticked up slightly to 48.3


business(up 1% from September, down 16% y/y), marking the second lowest level since 2009. The PMI is a composite index based on the seasonally adjusted diffusion indexes of new orders, production, employment, supplier deliveries, and inventories. To note, a reading of 50% indicates “no change” from the previous month.

>Steel: After peaking in June of 2018, U.S. cold-rolled steel prices declined 31% to current levels. October steel prices are down 25% y/y and down 9% month-over-month. As previ-ously mentioned by Knoll’s management team, Knoll should experience raw material benefits in the back half of 2019, due to the six-month contract price lag. This trend should continue to be seen through all office furniture producers if steel prices continue to trend down year-over-year.

BUSINESS AFFAIRS>Kimball International, Inc. on Nov. 4 released its first-quar-ter fiscal 2020 results (dollars in thousands except EPS):

3 Mos. Ended 9.30.19 9.30.18 %Ch.Net Sales $201,452 194,123 3.8%Gross Profit $70,370 $65,873 6.8%SG&A $50,914 $52,179 -2.4%Op. Inc. $15,106 $13,694 10.3%Net Inc. $11,384 $10,876 4.7%Adj. Net Inc. $14,744 $11,660 26.4%EPS (dil.) $0.31 $0.29 6.9%Adj. EPS $0.40 $0.31 29.0%Orders $190.3 $197.5 -3.6%

Net sales growth, including a 1.7% organic growth contribu-tion, was driven by continued solid performance from the National and Kimball Hospitality brands, partially offset by a decline in the Kimball brand on an organic basis.

The operating income margin was 7.5%, or 9.8% on an ad-justed basis, an increase of 200 basis points, driven by gross margin improvement of 100 basis points and a 160 basis point reduction in selling and administrative expenses.

Transformation savings of $5.6M was realized during the quarter.

“I am extremely pleased with the improvement in earnings this quarter,” said Kimball International CEO Kristie Juster. “Our first quarter performance gives us confidence that we are gain-ing traction in both our sustaining gross margin improvement and our ability to transform to a more efficient model. We do expect our revenues to ramp in the back half of the year as our investments start to take hold against specific growth initiatives.

“Our revenue performance was mixed in the first quarter with industry leading metrics in healthcare and hospitality offset by the Kimball brand realignment strategy as well as comp-ing double-digit year-over-year performance. As we start our transformation journey, we are focused on gating our growth investments as we gain confidence in our cost savings projects. We are confident that fiscal year 2020 will position us well to deliver our long-term plan.”

Sales growth benefited from new ancillary products within National, healthcare products within Kimball, and custom busi-ness within Kimball Hospitality. Sales growth was partially offset by a decline within the Kimball brand as the company works to realign its selling resources to higher growth areas.

Four of the six product verticals reported sales growth, led by an 18% increase in the healthcare vertical as the company continued its strategy to invest in growth within this vertical. The government vertical experienced 9% growth on strong state government shipments. The hospitality vertical also grew 8% despite facing a prior year increase of 43%. Commercial vertical sales decreased 2% due to the decline in the Kimball brand.

Sales of new office products, defined as those introduced in the last three years, increased 19% over the prior year first quarter. New product sales were approximately 30% of total office sales compared to 25% in the prior year period. The National brand is fueling the growth on a 48% growth in new products with much of this development focused on ancillary products.

Orders during the quarter decreased 3.6% on a difficult comparison to 17.8% growth in the prior year. On a two-year stacked basis, orders are up 14.2%. The hospitality vertical orders declined 16% against a prior year comparison of 48%, which included four large projects. The commercial vertical orders declined 13% against strong growth of 24% in prior-year period as well as softness within the Kimball brand. Order growth within finance, education, government, and healthcare verticals partially offset these declines.

Gross profit margin of 34.9% increased 100 basis points from the prior year. Increased product pricing and the savings realized from the company’s transformation plan were par-tially offset by unfavorable sales mix shift. The David Edward acquisition also negatively impacted gross profit by 50 basis points in the first quarter, as expected, and will continue to in the short-term until productivity improvements and synergies are fully realized.

Selling and administrative expenses, 25.2% of net sales, de-creased 160 basis points or $1.3 million compared to the prior year. Lower costs during the quarter compared to the prior year


businessincluded benefit from the transformation plan of $1.3 million, reduced CEO transition costs of $0.9 million, reduced em-ployee benefit cost of $0.7 million, offset by the prior year gain on sale of assets of $1.1 million and David Edward acquisition related cost of $0.8 million. The reduction in selling and admin-istrative expenses was achieved while investing $1.0 million in growth initiatives related to the Kimball International Connect strategy. On an adjusted basis, selling and administrative dol-lars were flat year over year. The company expects the invest-ment in growth initiatives to increase during the remainder of the fiscal year which will partially offset the savings we expect to achieve from the transformation plan in future quarters.

Restructuring expenses of $4.4 million were incurred related to the continuing execution of the transformation plan, primarily for lease-related impairment charges and employee transition costs. Total estimated restructuring expenses for the transfor-mation plan are expected to be between $8.0 million and $9.0 million.

The effective tax rate was 27.4% during the quarter compared to 24.4% in the prior year period. The increase was primarily driven by a prior year state tax provision adjustment. The com-pany continues to expect our fiscal year tax rate to be within a range of 25% to 28%.

Operating cash flow totaled $11.1 million compared to $7.1 million in the prior year, an increase of 55%. The increase was primarily driven by higher net income, excluding non-cash impairment expenses. Capital expenditures during the quarter were $7.4 million, and the company returned $2.9 million to shareholders in the form of dividends.

As of Sep. 30, the company’s cash, cash equivalents, and short-term investments totaled $106.4 million, up $0.1 million since Jun. 30, 2019.

In October, subsequent to the end of the first quarter, the company replaced its $30 million credit facility with a five-year, $75 million credit facility. The increase in size provides addi-tional liquidity to execute its strategy and invest in growth, both organically and inorganically.

Fiscal Year 2020 – 2022 Financial Targets

Organic sales growth: 4.0% to 7.0% CAGR

Adjusted EBITDA: 150 to 250 basis points improvement

Adjusted EPS: 10% to 15% CAGR

Results by End Vertical Market (dollars in millions):

NET SALES

3 Mos. Ended 9.30.19 9.30.18 %Ch.Commercial $55.3 $56.6 -2%Education $34.7 $34.6 0%Finance $17.2 $18.2 -5%Government $18.6 $17.1 9%Healthcare $28.9 $24.4 18%Hospitality $46.8 $43.2 8%Total $201.5 $194.1 4%

ORDERS

3 Mos. Ended 9.30.19 9.30.18 %Ch.Commercial $53.0 $60.9 -13%Education $24.8 $21.8 14%Finance $20.2 $17.5 15%Government $19.7 $18.3 8%Healthcare $29.6 $27.8 6%Hospitality $43.0 $51.2 -16%Total $190.3 $197.5 -4%

The full text of Kimball’s 1Q20 earnings release, including all tables, and a webcast replay of the company’s Nov. 5 confer-ence call, including a PDF of its 1Q20 Earnings and Strategy Update with supplementary data, may be accessed at https://www.kimballinternational.com/investor-information

PO Box 967Cedar Hill, TX 75106

Robert [email protected] 972 293 9186

Mallory [email protected] 219 263 9006

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2019 IIDA NY Color Invasion: Sweet Dreams

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