The Gift of Inspiration: What Drives our Architects and Designers

High-quality design demands a unique blend of art and science — plus a constant, renewable source of inspiration. Without inspiration, the outcomes are rote, derivative, and dull. Put another way, how can you expect to create spaces that inspire without being inspired yourself? For our latest podcast we sat down with a diverse group of employees from BWBR and asked each of them the same question: Where do you find inspiration for your work?

Hosted by: 
Matthew Gerstner - BWBR Lead AV Producer

Guests:
Craig Peterson - BWBR Principal
Daniel Treinen - BWBR Design Leader
Ellen Konerza - BWBR Senior Project Architect
Greg Fenton - BWBR Principal and Director
Jason Nordling - BWBR Principal and Director
Jackie Peck - BWBR Senior Project Manager
Mark Baumhover - BWBR Senior Project Architect
Nathan Roisen - BWBR Project Planner
Laura Flynn - BWBR Design Leader

Music provided by Artlist.io
Siberian Summer by Sunny Fruit
DuDa by Ian Post
Adventure of a Lifetime by Campagna
The Dawn of a New Era by Brander
Earth and Heavens by Sémø

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Transcript

Matthew Gerstner  

This is Side of Design from BWBR. A podcast discussing all aspects of design with knowledge leaders from every part of the industry. Hello, I'm Matthew Gerstner, your host for this episode, thank you so much for tuning in. For this episode of our podcast, we wanted to take a different approach from our normal guest interview. What we did is we set up a series of one on one conversations with a diverse group of BWBR employees. And I got to ask each of them the same main question, which is, when you think about architecture, design and the built and natural environment, what spaces or places inspire you? And why do you find them impactful? Basically, where do you find inspiration for your work? And the conversations that proceeded with each person, in some ways surprised me. And they also reinvigorated my enjoyment for what I do in getting to talk with people and put these podcasts together. So I hope you enjoy getting to know a little bit more about each of these incredible people, and their inspirations for the design work they do.

Craig Peterson  

I'm Craig Peterson. I'm a principal here at BWBR. And to me, design can be impactful in many ways, spanning from simple function to performance and other ways that design can delight. I think, design is most impactful when it does all of that but also touches on one's emotions or experience or senses in a way that makes the space memorable. And there's, there could be a lot of reasons why, why that moment sticks with you. But many times it is because of the design itself. And for me one of those experiences that I can, that I recall is a good example of this is Fallingwater in Pennsylvania, of a famous poem designed by Frank Lloyd Wright back in the of all times the 1930s, it's remarkable to think it was that far back. But it's a very well known home and to some respects, to bring it up as an example is almost a cliche, because this is a piece of architecture that it sits in every book ever written about the history of architecture It sits in, in books, you know, coffee table books the cover of many of those. So to some degree, someone might hear that answer and just kind of roll their eyes Oh, come on, you're pulling out, one of the most obvious. But I can say from having experienced it is a truly remarkable place and object as architecture and experiences as architecture. And it does touch you in all of the senses, I think everything perhaps, but taste. But I just know from visiting, the experience I had, it was just this wonderful sequence of events where you are first walking down this winding path through a very thick forest. And so it's the smell of the woods and the sense of anticipation, because of course you know what you're about to see. But there's still a rising level of anticipation while walking through the woods smelling kind of the damp forest floor, and the colors of the woods. I happened to be there, I think in the fall. So the trees were very lush, you know, they had they hadn't lost their leaves yet. So it was a really deep, thick forest, and just wonderful. So that path winds and at some point, the auditory experience picks up because you start to hear the the water, the cascade and the water flowing down the creek. So that starts in before yet you've seen the home. But you again, it's a little bit of that knowing what you're about to see starting to reveal itself. And then finally, around one turn in the in the path, you stumble across that iconic view of the slabs of the home and perched above the cascade. And now you see it. And I think one of the amazing things when you first come upon that view, is how incredibly small this house is sitting in the trees. And certainly a part of that is because you're used to seeing, and this goes for a lot of things that appear smaller when you actually experience them, But you're used to seeing them in photos where it's cropped. And of course, you're not getting the full, you know, 180 degree view, but suddenly, in its real setting, it is just this petite little thing sitting there over the cascades. So now it's the visual as well. And as and then as you move up to an into the home if you know, during, there's the whole tactile thing with the layering of all the rich natural materials and so forth, that becomes another part of that experience. And again, it's a bit of a cliche to talk about Fallingwwater but I do think it's a really good example of an experience that you, that you can have that touches on all those senses, and it delivers everything that you hoped it would be, it does and more, and touching on all those senses makes it something that sticks with you. It's a memorable experience and inspires, even to this day, and that was many years ago I visited. So it's still a part of my experience history that that continues to impact me.

Dan Treinen  

Dan Treinen, I am a design leader at BWBR. I've been there for nine years. I think that the first, the first things we think about is, you know, how is it gonna affect the user? The end user. I think that's, that's the most important thing. And then in doing so, what is going to affect that user? Obviously, we've got the programmatic concerns about whatever building it is you are designing and how the users are going to use it. But I think overall, I think the main things that I think about are, are how is that user going to experience joy in using the building and I think what that comes down to oftentimes is it's, it's one, how you move through a building. The sequence of events from arrival, and entering into the building, and then going to various places in the building and how that how that users going to experience that joy of using the building. And I think it has a lot to do with light, of course. I mean, that's pretty obvious. Natural light is hugely important. It has to do with views out. When I see corridors that don't have a view out or have no light coming in, I know somebody's doing something wrong. And of course, materiality. One of the things I think some architects tend to do is try to get too fancy, and they try to bring in too many materials on a building and I think it gets muddled. And I think that limiting that palette, you know, like we were talking about with your daughter, who's in fashion, I mean, in my opinion, anyway, limiting a palette, whether it's fashion or, or architecture or interior design. I think those those three things really are, are very important. There are a couple spaces in New York where you kind of get that there's this Triangle Park in Tribeca, I forget the name of Reed Park? I can't remember. But it's tiny. And it's surrounded by all these beautiful buildings, you know, old iron structured buildings. And I mean, you sit at a particular bench in this little park you have a perfect view of the Woolworth building. And so I used to go there quite a lot and just sit and read just was a place that just felt good to me. Aside, aside from the August days, when you have all those awful New York smells. A building, I think that might fit that bill, one of my favorite buildings is the Salk Institute by Louis Kahn near San Diego. And when we talk about experiencing a building, boy, that one one really, really does it, you know, as you approach the building and how the views are set up, and the limited palette of materials, you know, it's just basically concrete and teak and glass. And it's a lab basically. And the labs are also quite filled with light and it's a I would say as you approach that building, you are filled, you're not only filled with joy but you're filled with awe

Ellen Konerza  

Hi, my name is Ellen Konerza. I am a project architect here at BWBR. I've been here since 2006. And intermittently, I've taken some time off to travel. My main focus here at the office is behavioral health projects and secure environment projects trying to bring joy into these spaces. I was just trying to think about what spaces have inspired me. And I'm picturing I'm picturing like, I immediately go to the Sagrada Familia church in Barcelona, being inside of this massive vast space and then the sunlight filtering through the colored stained glass and you're just like bathed in this sea of light. It's just stunning. So that is like on the top of my most inspirational spaces, and then stepping back a bit. I just Okay, so why is that so inspirational? Well, it brings me joy. And I'm, I'm a joy seeker like I think about this more and I'm like, you know, I this is why we travel. This is why we try different foods. This is why we like to meet new people, hear about new cultures. It's just so interesting to see the variety of foods and spaces and colors that are in the world. It's really inspirational to me, so I really think it ties into design in the way that the Ingrid Fetell Lee, the Netflix documentary about the aesthetics of joy, and she really studies what brings people joy and makes them happy. And she she asked people and did this whole survey and figured out, you know, a lot of things were round. It's a lot of feeling of lightness. So being in a pool, hot air balloons, and then multiplicity, multiple patterns and different colors. So that is actually what I find when I think about my favorite places I've traveled to and buildings is why did I like Sagrada Familia, the color, why did I love the stepping into this little Turkish lamp shop, it's a dark space, and it's it's filled then with all these bright, different colored lamps, glass lamps, you know, and it's just so magical. And then even here in Minneapolis, the Guthrie and the amber colored room that you can step in and look out over the city. They inspire joy in me. And then in my design world, I work a lot with behavioral health designs, and also secure environments. And boy, we really try to bring those elements of joy through color into our spaces here too. Yeah, Joy. That's inspiring to me.

Greg Fenton  

Hi, everyone, my name is Greg Fenton. I'm an architect and been here at BWBR coming up on 30 years now. And design is something that I cherish and look to explore in its fullest on every project for every one of our clients. What is the impact of design? For me personally, it conveys a feeling or an emotion. On one hand, great design has a great direct impact on the person who's experiencing the space or the place, you know, kind of emotionally. Does it cause you to feel something or have a reaction? Hopefully positive. We've all heard about Beauty and Form, and Form and function. Well, that's kind of the beauty side of it. You know, there's also the objective side or the function side of it, and design can improve performance and outcomes and results on on that front too. But truly the best architecture, the best design, the greatest impact is where you you feel both, you see both, you experience both. Recently I was out in Denver, and the wonderful Union Station Depot is an amazing facility or, or even a space like Red Rocks Amphitheater, you know. Absolutely amazing. You know, it's a beautiful setting, it sits there and lets the sound come alive and use the natural effect. Design certainly impacted that place. But everybody can think of a great sports arena or even an amazing airport that they've been to that inspires them and I think of Saarinen's TWA Terminal out at JFK in New York, the old one. That is the marriage a form and function and beauty and delight. That's how I see it. The impacted design is emotional and objective at the same time, but it stirs some emotions and creates some great impacts on one life.

Jason Nordling  

I'm Jason Nordling. I am a principal with BWBR focused entirely on healthcare. I will say that I'm a pretty pragmatic person. And even though I'm trained as an architect and have an opinion about design, I wouldn't call myself a strong designer. You know, I rely on on strong designers on our staff to bring that to the project. And because of the fact that I do health care, I think form has to follow function in healthcare, right. So I'm moved by any healthcare space that we design, that a patient would say, Wow, this changed my life or wow, this helped me heal better, or, you know, anything like that. You know, we did the first Avera Behavioral Health project back in, I think we were designing that in, 2003, 2004. When that building opened, and they moved their patients from fourth floor of the McKennon campus to this new behavioral health hospital, and there are patients who are moved to tears about, we can't believe you gave us something this nice, like to help us, right? That was crazy inspirational, right, like that's the stuff that gives you the feelies and like, okay, we're doing good work here. And that's kind of stuff that that really trips my trigger I guess from a design standpoint. Even my own personal family, you know, we designed Maple Grove Hospital a number of years ago and my dad had a minor stroke a number of years ago, probably five six years ago, and he was at the Maple Grove Hospital and I visited him and, you know, broad window he was in a room. He had a wall full of windows looked out on to the fields. He's a farmer guy, right? Like, that's where he came from. So he loved that view. And he talked about, wow, this is such a nice space and so calming and healing and, that was, I wasn't soliciting that feedback from him at all. I just came to say, Hey, how are you doing? And he was just talking about like, well, how can I not be doing? Well, I got excellent care here, the staff are taking great care of me. And I get to look at this all day long sitting here recovering. And so even that kind of personal story inspires me to want to keep creating spaces that inspire the healing of people. So yeah, I mean, just those little stories about what I do on a day to day basis, make it all worth it.

Jackie Peck  

Hello, I'm Jackie Peck, I'm one of the senior project managers here at BWBR. I think there's like two things when it comes to impactful design, from like a details perspective, like something that makes you stop and notice and look up from your device, and makes you take a moment to pause and appreciate something. I love that right. Like, oh, that's cool. I wonder how they did that. That kind of thing. Just I think, at least for me, sparks joy. The other piece is when something just works. Like whether it's a schedule or a detail or something, when you're observing it, whether it's in nature, anything that you're just like, yeah, that has been thought out. And it works well. And I'm so glad someone put thought into making that thing work well, you know. Because I know like, as a project manager, I am a lot less in the getting to design the building part of it. So for me, I do appreciate when a system or a process or a workflow is actually working. And I also really appreciate when our team members come with something that says, Ooh That's cool, that makes you pause. And right before I hopped on here, I was thinking about like, I'm not a huge podcast listener. But the ones that I do, like my favorite is 99% Invisible, and that Anthropocene Reviewed, you know, and it's taking these like intangible things and talking about the history of why. And, and it just makes you appreciate that thing more because it's like, there is a reason there is thought, there has been Design Thinking applied to something, you know, just whether or not it's apparent or not. Like, my favorite thing about like the kidney shaped pools in California, and the fact there was a drought. And somehow that was the rise of skateboarding. Like, there was no skateboarding culture until California had a drought. So, you know, it's like crazy stuff like that, that you don't really think about. So that's, yeah, where I like to be like, Huh, that's cool.

Mark Baumhover  

I'm Mark Baumhover. I'm an architect at BWBR. My role on the projects varies depending on the project and the team. But generally, I'm a Design Leader / Project Architect. I do manage when it's a smaller project, a lot of times a workplace design, something like that. The basics, hardly ever change. And I won't even try to quote the folks when I say Light is everything. You can relate that back to architects and projects. And it really is light falling on a surface time of day that affects mood, and emotion and experience. Materiality goes right with that textures, certainly colors. But you know, the other one that trumps everything and I you know, I think it's even listed on my BWBR little bio thing, quote from from way back in grad school, Charles Moore. You know, when I first connected with him, I wasn't necessarily a postmodernist in in aesthetic, that sort of hodgepodgie and cartoonish and all the things that you might say negatively, if you're a serious wear all black and modernist sort of personality. But you know, the one thing that he read it really did enlighten us just as a class as we explored architecture, as an experience we would, our education was really road trips, and everything that goes with that, and the takeaway was light, material detail. It's all important. But it's important when it's part of the experience. So, memorable architecture, I dare ya, your your top five are always going to be tied to some experience that you were doing, I won't say anyway. But whether it's as random as a road trip, and you had a great experience with the folks, or it's an event like your wedding, I have great memories of my wedding reception. And it's one of those things where, again, bit of a cliche, time flies by you almost don't even remember how it went so fast and what all happened and who was there, but you haven't been yet memories of the pieces. And at the foreground is is the architecture at the end, that's one of the things I really enjoyed about it was that the venue did allow for that, balcony, setting sun, internal spaces that broke off from a large shared gathering space to break out, you know, kind of nest around the corner. So those are the ones that I think, understanding that the experience, the purpose, the why of the architecture is everything. And the architecture then supports it. So it gets into also the whole, how important is it if people don't notice some of the details? Or you can say, they absolutely will notice, but they may not be able to identify why. To me, those are the memorable ones. The other part of memorable that I'll say, and I think this is probably true for all designers is that goes back to very personal memories, when you grew up, when you really you felt space, either places that were important to you because they just were in your childhood, or you have a memory of them. And my memories go back to the ones, the ones that really seemed impactful and stand out are the ones combining all five senses. And try to do that as a designer, you know, smell is the one it's a little, how are you going to draw that up in a in a pin-up and talk about what you think the smell is going to be and you can't control it? But anybody in medical you, whether you as the architect control or not, you do control adjacencies. And you control some of the materials, certainly ventilation in the space themselves. But when you get all of those going, those are the big takeaways. In terms of I think, people who don't even, you know, wake up in the morning and care about architecture, think about it. Of course, it's the visual, and the touch when you get to doors, and even a sense of touch if you're not touching it, but you can sense the materials. sound absolutely right there, and, and then smell and whether it's a restaurant or walking down a city street, you combine all those, those will be the ones that everybody takes away, as the biggest impact. Again, back to how much does the architect control it, some more than others. But in the, in the whole project conversation with the owner and all the other stakeholders, being aware that that is what's going to be the impact.

Nate Roisen  

My name is Nate Roisen, I'm an architect with BWBR, my role is design of lab and cleanroom spaces, work to program, layout, execute high tech environments for pharmaceutical, semiconductor, biomed clients. Sometimes when, and this is more of like a working thing, you see something as you're walking through a client's building. And they go, oh, yeah, we do it this way. Because of that. And then like dots connect of, you can see how this particular client handled an issue in a way that might be helpful to someone else. And that's really fun to kind of hanging, oh, that's how they deal with the trash out of their lab or whatever it happens to be right? Because we get a very privileged position on things and that we get to see how lots of different companies work, or lots of different clients work in ways that they're all stuck in, you know, obviously, they can't share information because everything's proprietary and all that. So that's like the straight work answer of like, you know, that kind of thing tends to be really fun and to be able to make those kinds of connections. I find myself, I find myself really enjoying that. A more like, like, what kind of space is inspiring or something that might be a little more like, you know, we're not all designing like, contemporary art museums or something, right? My role at least is a little more practical in that sense. But when you can tell that somebody cares about a place when you walk around and you just see that this place matters to somebody and whether you know, that can be any kind of any kind of thing where it's a public park, or a part of a city, or neighborhood, or somebody's you know, little nook off their kitchen in their house or whatever. But you can tell when somebody cares. And whatever shape that ends up taking is, it's just really exciting to see and you can, you can feel that kind of energy.

Laura Flynn  

My name is Laura Flynn, I'm an architect with BWBR, focused on design practice. Where I'm at in my life has influenced what I'm drawn to, as far as architecture and environments. So really being more drawn to the outdoors. And creating spaces that connect to buildings that people want to spend time in, feel comfortable in, I think is probably one of the biggest things for me. So not necessarily a built piece of architecture, like we typically think. But how those two intersect as well is such a big part of what we do. That's been a big driver in what I'm drawn to lately, especially more and more as we really look to achieve sustainable buildings, that's going to enhance that even further using, you know, more sources that are raw, woods, you know, just getting back to some basics really, as far as material use. Because we do feel this sense of urgency to make change for the better. I really enjoy the outdoors more, because I know it's a resource that is going to be changed constantly in my lifetime. So it's important to take advantage of what we have now and embrace it and try to keep it safe for generations to come.

Matthew Gerstner  

I can't say thank you enough to each of our guests on this episode. The conversations, for me, were fun and inspirational. Thanks to each of you for sharing your why with our listeners. And if there's one takeaway for me, it's that design isn't just a thing, or a building or space or widget. Design is about relationships, and people and how it makes us feel. So thanks again to all of our guests. And thank you to our listeners for tuning in. We'll see you on the other side. 

Matthew Gerstner  

This has been Side of Design from BWBR brought to you without any paid advertisements or commercials. If you found value in what you've heard today. Give us a like, leave us a comment, or better yet, share us with your network. You can also reach out to us if you'd like to share an idea for a show or start a discussion, email us at sideofdesign@bwbr.com