Expert Insights

Build New or Renovation: 6 Key Considerations for School District Leaders

During our long-term facilities planning work with school districts, a key threshold question is often asked: do we build new or renovate? At EUA, we never answer that question for our clients. Rather, through deep listening, engaging stakeholders and analyzing data, we help school district leaders find the answers that best fit their individual circumstances

Key Considerations in Designing Sensitive Compartmented Information Facilities

Keeping classified information secure is paramount to aerospace and defense companies, especially when working with government contracts. A truly successful SCIF project should address three key design considerations.

Hit the Brakes: Rethink Learning + Learning Environments

“Can you just pull over for a minute?!” Have you ever been on a road trip and gotten to a point where you weren’t sure if you were going in the right direction? You are speeding along, and things start to look different, strange, not what you expected or, they become familiar because you passed this way an hour ago. We are at a point where we need to pull over for a minute to figure out where we are going.

Enhancing Employee Well-Being Is On More Than Just HR

As companies adapt to a post-COVID world, many are moving towards a focus on employee well-being. In addition to HR policies, the built environment can help support wellness in multiple ways.

How I spent the pandemic: Learning something new, of course.

When we all suddenly found ourselves working from home last year and no longer commuting to and from the office, I got back about two hours every weekday. Some of it went to work, some to leisure activities, but a fair bit went to research and learning – learning more about what it is we, as learning environment architects, planners and interior designers, put our heart and soul into: exceptional school design.

A Lack of Density Does Not Equal a Lack of Need: How Rural Health Has Largely Gone Overlooked

According to the National Health Council, rural areas cover over 90 percent of the nation’s land area but contain somewhere around 20% percent of the total population (about 60 million). This underserved and remote population has gone unnoticed for far too long.

Ageism

In a world where we are bombarded with instant news feeds and ubiquitous social media, discrimination in many forms seem to be ever present. One of these that has rarely been in the headlines is ageism.

Finding the Right Space for Your ASC

“So, can it be done?” A healthcare client asked me this question after we surveyed a building they were considering for a new specialty care procedure center and clinic. The building was in the exact location they were looking for and it was the perfect size. There was just one hang-up: it was a car dealership and auto shop.

Senior Living + Care: A Family's Guide to Understanding the Options

Choosing the right senior living facility and care for you or a loved one can be an overwhelming process. As care providers and environmental designers in the senior living and care professions we have an intuitive sense not only of the options available to seniors in our communities but also the myriad of services, payment options and social ramifications specific to each housing and care service type.

Community Impact Through Facility Improvements

Through my work as an architect, it is a gift to work on building projects that I know will be impactful and valued by our community at large for years to come. This past year I worked on such a project.

How Free Address Can Support a Hybrid Work Environment

The potential for a hybrid workforce poses a challenging real estate equation. Enter the Free Address workplace.

Do We Stereotype Aging?

Why the de-emphasis on “aging?” We are moving away from stereotyping aging, age-restricted communities and the negative connotations of aging.

Embracing Change

The era of identical square classrooms where students sit in perfectly aligned rows of desks while teachers stand and lecture at the front of the classroom has faded. As districts expand their educational goals we find the “cells and bells” method of school design no longer supports these directives.

Resilient Design is Good Design: Making the Case for Adaptable Design Strategies throughout the Workplace

The COVID-19 pandemic has been a disruptor for how the business world views office space, provoking designers to re-envision their approach towards workplace planning.

Establishing Your Students' Educational Foundation

I believe the foundation of life is much like a structural building foundation, as both need to be strong to succeed.

Will students today have the skills for jobs tomorrow?

I challenge us to ask ourselves, can we create a better connection between future job market needs and setting students up with the skills and knowledge needed to be successful? Is there a correct balance between soft skills and technical skills?

Four Tips for Using VR Effectively in Architectural Design Presentations

A follow up to "The Benefits of Virtual Reality in Architecture Design," here are four tips to get the most out of design presentations when using VR

Preparing for the Unexpected: Our Leadership Transition

As I headed into 2020, I had no idea how much change the year would bring. I had big vacation plans, new career goals and whispers of two principal-level retirements at our firm (Rick Burkett and Michele Ponicsan). But pandemic impact aside, the retirements still moved forward, so here are some of the lessons I learned planning for a leadership transition.

Three Take-Aways from 2020 for Improved Employee Well-Being in 2021 + Beyond

Businesses who make purposeful decisions around ways to support an employee’s well-being through the built environment, can see significant positive impacts on an individuals’ physical and mental health. As Expert Contributor on Workplace Environment, Policy, and Design, Heather Turner Loth shared her 2020 well-being take-aways with WCWI members.

A Lean-Led Design Approach to Senior Living

In these unprecedented times, Senior Living Communities more than ever need to find ways to maintain the health and safety of their residents and staff while maintaining a sustainable business. Lean-led design offers insight into how operators can provide more value using fewer resources, resulting in the highest quality of life and experience for everyone involved.

Libraries Present New Senior Living Opportunities: A win for everyone

One of the most important first steps for developing any new senior living community is identifying a viable project site. There are many key metrics which go into site considerations from target market area, neighborhood, community, tax incentives and land development costs to name a few. Aging libraries may present the opportunities developers have been looking for.

The Benefits of Virtual Reality in Architecture Design

Published in the Colorado Real Estate Journal's Healthcare & Senior Housing quarterly issue, this article discusses the benefits of virtual reality in architecture design.

Infusing Sustainability into Architectural Design: Five Strategies That Can Reduce the Impact of Healthcare Buildings on the Environment

When most people hear the word ‘sustainability,’ with architecture their focus immediately goes to visible building components such as green roofs or solar panels, and their assumption is that sustainability costs a significant amount of ‘extra’ funds.

Well Buildings for Senior Living: Design Making a Big Impact on Healthy Environments

There is little question that the buildings in which we work, live, shop and play have an impact on many aspects of our existence. This impact can be so subtle as to be unnoticed, but no less impactful, or can be so overt as to force us to a point where we want to exit the structure. What makes a building a “well” building?

Stories Behind the Design: Verona Area High School

Chris Michaud, the Designer of the new Verona Area High School, shares his insights and inspiration behind the design of one of Wisconsin's largest and most innovative high schools

Transforming An Urban Neighborhood

EUA is helping transforming the East Washington Corridor in Madison, WI through several projects, including Arden, a high-end, mixed-use development

How to Plan for Future Outpatient Shifts: Advisory Board Presentation Insights and Predictions

EUA recently hosted a virtual presentation and discussion with the Advisory Board entitled, “Planning for Future Outpatient Shifts,” which takes a deeper look at what may be head of the healthcare industry and how to prepare.

3 Ways Workplace Design Supports a Culture of Trust + Empowerment

EUA’s Heather Turner Loth shares why trust and empowerment is the key to creating a lasting value proposition, and in turn employee retention.

Why Conduct A Construction Feasibility Study?

However you are planning to emerge from 2020, whether expanding, shrinking, moving or remodeling, an effective approach is to start by having a professional construction feasibility study prepared. The physical needs of your business, your plant, your laboratory, and your office are always changing, but probably never more than this past year. Most companies are moving ahead to develop plans and capital budgets for next year.

How to Make a Lasting First Impression with Lobby Design

In so many settings—from museums to schools to the workplaces—lobbies play an important part in creating a first and lasting impression for visitors. With the right approach and intentional design, lobbies can communicate brand, illustrate a company’s story, engage employees and clients, ultimately impacting a company’s performance.

Designing for the Evolving Insurance Industry Landscape

Insurance Industry Design Experts Renee Riviere and Jen Singson reflect on the evolving landscape of this industry, including what they've noticed as unique and how design is re-shaping the enterprise.

Maintaining Privacy in Open Office Setting Requires Creativity

Published in the Colorado Real Estate Journal's Building Dialogue, this article discusses the importance of maintaining privacy in open office settings, especially in light of COVID-19.

Digital Health Past, Present, Future: The State of Digital Strategy Among Health Systems

With the future of healthcare and digital health on the forefront of everyone's minds this article is focused on the past, present and future of digital health and its impact on the state of digital strategy among health systems today.

Guide: Design with Lasting Impact

We know the workplace will never be the same. The disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic are unprecedented. So where do we go from here? Our goal is to provide support, guidance and leadership as you transition back to your post-pandemic workplace.

Should We Stay or Should We Go: Making the Decision on Renovating vs. Building New

When helping clients take on the challenge of site selection, Senior Project Designer Troy Jacoby recommends to keep these 5 things top of mind.

5 Opportunities to Improve Lobby Design in Response to Pandemics

If the design of building lobbies can more adequately control infection, preventing it from progressing beyond the lobby and making the space feel clean, then the building will be a healthier place in which to live, work, learn and heal.

How Research Changed My Priorities in Medical Clinic Planning and Design

To answer the building orientation question we used cove.tool to study the impact building orientation has on energy use in a medical clinic. We used a “typical” design and cove.tool energy modeling to see what the pEUI would be for eight building orientations in Southeast Wisconsin. The results were surprising and somewhat of a relief.

Pandemic Considerations for Health Facility Design

As we continue to support clients with their healthcare facilities, our healthcare team is looking ahead to how design will be impacted by the current COVID-19 pandemic response. We know our clients will need to anticipate future disruptions and patients are anticipating changes in the way they receive care once they return. Our team of healthcare designers and planners has been looking at ways our clients may ask us to design differently in the future.

How Senior Living Communities Can Increase Profit by Partnering and Sharing Resources

Senior living is built on community and finding strength in numbers. For communities that are nonprofit, there can be many cost-saving benefits of partnering and sharing resources.

Free Address as an Unexpected Workplace Strategy in a Post COVID-19 World

Sharing a work setting seems counter-intuitive when thinking about spreading germs, but with Free Address it can actually be easier than ever to keep the workplace clean and ready for your employees.

COVID-19 Immediate Response for Healthcare Facilities

Our healthcare team continues to support clients with their healthcare facilities by taking a detailed look into immediate design changes that can help healthcare facilities in managing their COVID-19 responses.

Won’t You Be My Neighbor?

In recent years, the healthcare industry has seen the steady rise of neighborhood hospitals, also known as micro-hospitals, across the country. Drawing from recent experience, we have identified several unique propositions neighborhood hospitals give to existing healthcare systems.

How SSM Health is Leading the Way to Wellness with WELL Certified Buildings

Facilities are valuable tools that aid in recruiting and retaining talent, especially for healthcare workers who have very demanding jobs. When looking for ways to create a better workspace and in turn improve their patient experience, our client SSM Health engaged us to deliver their WELL vision to the built environment.

Design Considerations for K12 Facilities Post Pandemic

We recognize that school districts are faced with many uncertainties and change as the pandemic evolves. Our number one goal is to be there offering the support, guidance and leadership that people expect from EUA.

How Workplace Design May Change Following the Pandemic

While COVID-19 has forced many to work from home, we still see the physical workplace playing a vital role in fostering culture and providing a place for innovation and connection among coworkers. We see changes across the entire landscape of office types, with some specific areas of focus.

How School Leaders Can Engage Stakeholders During a Global Pandemic

Engaging stakeholders virtually can be a tricky thing to do, here are some great techniques and easy online based forums that can make your engagement sessions not only successful but extremely productive.

Return to Work Guide

We recognize that our clients are faced with many uncertainties and change as the pandemic evolves. Our number one goal is to be there for our clients offering the support, guidance and leadership that people expect from EUA.

Tell me more…How To Get More From An Interview To Find The Best Team

As decision makers, choosing the best team to complete a project for your organization can be a daunting task. Read on to learn some tips from our interviewing staff on what questions should be asked during the interview process.

Curating an Experience Through Environmental Branding

As an Interior Designer, people often ask me what's in, what's out and what definitely shouldn't be missed in their office design. While there are many factors and trends to consider, my essential recommendation is the same – don’t skimp on environmental branding.

How to Determine If Your Lab is the Correct Size

If you are a front-line workers in healthcare, research or manufacturing facilities, by now you are likely "getting by" in your current space amidst COVID-19, while keeping a wish list of things you'd like to change.

Loneliness For the Elderly in the Time of Pandemic

Regardless of pandemics, isolation and loneliness can be a part of everyday life for the elderly and can have devastating effects on their physical and emotional health. Read on to see how architecture and design can help combat loneliness in our elderly population.

Recommendations for Future Health Facility Design

National Nurses Week was a timely occasion for EUA to virtually host our annual presentation and discussion with the Advisory Board. This installment was entitled "A New Focus for Health System Facility Strategy." Guiding our discussion was Miriam Sznycer-Taub, a Senior Consultant with Advisory Board’s Health Care Industry Committee.

Sustainability at Home: Small Changes Form New Habits

Here are some sustainable habits to implement while working from home to improve your daily routine.

Guiding Senior Living Facilities Through the Now, Near and Far of COVID-19

Acting on three-time frames: the Now, Near and Far of senior living design.

5 Questions to Approach Workspace Design in a Post-Pandemic World

As companies are preparing for the day they welcome employees back to the office, many leaders I have been talking to want to know, “should our workplace design and layout change, and what are the short and long-term modifications I should make?”

After the Curve Flattens: Healthcare Readiness Considerations

I could only wish that this pandemic was like a real roller coaster with a finite end and the choice to take another ride (or not). As we flatten the curve and approach the top of the hill, I think it will be very important to pause, look around and remember what we saw.

EUA Design Experts on How Workplace Design May Shift After COVID-19

EUA brought together seven workplace designers from our Milwaukee, Madison and Denver offices over a remote discussion from their homes to talk about workplace design following the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Changing Senior Living Design Landscape

As we consider our charge as designers of safe senior environments, here are some of the design changes that will emerge to protect our senior residents.

COVID-19 Spotlights School Impacts

COVID-19 is shedding light on the ways school districts meet crucial – often overlooked – needs for their community beyond the classroom.

Telemedicine: Here Comes the Sun

Not only is telemedicine a convenient platform to receive healthcare, it has come in handy as an efficient way to deliver care without exposing staff or patients to COVID-19.

Disruption Fuels Creation: Evaluating Bottlenecks Today for Future Improvements

Working in a laboratory or healthcare facility during a pandemic? How can your space be improved to to be more efficient?

Home Learning Spaces: Will COVID-19 Create Memorable Learning Moments?

With the majority of students learning from home and parents the substitute teacher, the learning space at home is a critical aspect to memorable learning moments.

Senior Living: Keeping Connected Through our Shared Crisis

Though it may be difficult to visit our loved ones in time of crisis, here are a few ways to remain connected.

Design Considerations for Turning Vacant Patient Rooms into Surge Space

Swing or surge rooms can put healthcare providers in a unique position to be able to provide care when certain events require additional patient care spaces with short notice of high demand.

How Design Advisory Groups Require More Than One Color

In a world that is increasingly dominated by virtual rather than human contact, our job of connecting to our clients in a personal way is increasingly important.

Change is Hard, Top Five Tips to Elevate or Maintain Employee Engagement

Engaging employees during change can sometimes be hard. Here are 5 tips from our Workplace Strategy Leader on how to keep your employees engaged during the change management process.

The Journey of a Leader: Don't Stop Believing

I didn’t start my career intending to become the Vice President at a large architectural firm, and certainly couldn’t have predicted the steps that led me here, but I am very grateful for all of it. Here are five things I've learned about leadership.

Myth Busters | Why You Shouldn’t be Afraid of Purchasing a Historic Building

Why fear historic buildings when there are many benefits to reusing them?

Wellness Is More Than A Gym

Wellness initiatives in Senior Living are influencing many communities. Explore a few strategies to elevate wellness through the built environment.

The Trifecta Benefits of Innovation Centers: Customers, Employees and Brand

Companies all over the world are producing the next generation of products using leading edge technology.

Under One Roof, New Opportunities in Senior Living

It’s no secret that brick and mortar retail stores are struggling to stay afloat, but what if these buildings can be repurposed into senior-focused uses?

Q+A Session with Industry Leader

Recently EUA’s Jen Singson spoke with John Miles, Global Business Leader - Electric Vehicle & Battery, about how Rockwell Automation’s (RA) new Electronic Vehicle Innovation Center, designed by EUA was changing the way they do business. Here is their conversation.

What You Should Know When Developing Your School Referendum Budget

The importance of communication throughout each stage is critical to keep stakeholders on the same page about budget, resulting in a carefully planned project.

An Unbalanced Equation: How the Drive for Low Cost Services is Impacting Healthcare Organization Growth

EUA recently hosted an Advisory Board presentation on The State of Our Services Lines: Modernizing Strategy for the New Economics of Care. What are the major healthcare trends to watch?

5 Tips for a Successful Phased Healthcare Renovation Project

As a Project Architect, I enjoy helping clients transform their healthcare environments like we’re on a home makeover show. It takes quite a bit longer than a 1-hour episode to show the results of the transformation, but the reveal is just as impactful.

In the Spotlight: Benefits of the On-Stage/Off-Stage Model of Care

Recently, we have seen more and more of our clients transitioning from a traditional, linear model of care to an on-stage/off-stage approach which better separates patient from caregiver spaces.

The Rise of eSports: Designing for a New Audience

In the last ten years, the gaming industry has seen an incredible revolution. No longer are video games just an annoying hobby of your teenage kids – it’s now taking over as a nine to five job. Having worked on a couple eSports projects now, it’s clear that a new, contrary market has emerged.

Move Over Stress: An Engaged Workplace is Set to Perform

Take a moment to ask yourself an honest question, do you feel stressed?

Designing for Everyone (Really)

While designing UW-Whitewater's newest residence hall, which opened this fall, we became students ourselves as we learned how to go beyond minimum accessibility requirements to design with truly everyone in mind.

Law is Constant, But Lawyers Are Not: Designing for the Next Generation

“The world has seen more change in the past five years than the past 30 years.” When you consider this statement in the context of law office design, it is exceptionally relevant.

Becoming a Provider of Choice Through People-Focused Design

At a recent ACHE regional conference, the WIU team presented the new Ambulatory Surgery Center and Clinic as an effective example of people-focused healthcare design.

Capitalizing on the Possibilities in Healthcare Brand Standards Post Acquisition

While the exterior establishes the overall brand visibility and presence, the interior can make the largest impact on the comfort and experience of staff, patients and their families.

Defining Success: The Value of Evidence-Based Design in Healthcare

Each project has a unique definition of success. Evidence-based design can help ensure design solutions are tailored to a client's goals and vision.

So, You're Going On A School Tour

The planning process for new school facilities takes months, even years which usually includes a school tour or two (or three!) of newly constructed or renovated school buildings. These tours can easily overload the senses...so, what should one be looking for during a school tour?

Project Team Chemistry: 3 Ways to Get it Right from the Beginning

Getting team chemistry right from the beginning is key to ensure a smooth process throughout a project. Here are the top three team chemistry catalysts believed to be impactful for an AEC project team.

Top Takeaways from Lean In Design Forum - Innovation & Collaboration

Sparking Inspiration: Insights from 2019 Lean In Design conference. How we can carve out time to cultivate innovative ideas, collaboration and results?

How Can Schools Solve for Full-Day Kindergarten? Break Out Your Klotski Puzzles!

With full-day kindergarten becoming the new norm, how are schools able to accommodate the additional students? Here are five cost effective ways to change your school without completing new construction or a major renovation.

Designing for Diversity: Creating Inclusive Workplace Environments

How can we be different together and design workplace environments to support those differences?

Embarking on the Leadership Adventure

Moving from individual contributor to leader of a group can challenge our sense of self, but also open us up to new ways of bringing value to our teams and our organizations.

Key Considerations for Behavioral Health Inpatient Unit Design

When I started working with SSM Health on projects for the St. Mary’s Madison campus, the hospital was just wrapping up a new, 28-bed Behavioral Health inpatient unit.

The Facility Impact in Creating a Provider of Choice by Elevating Patient and Staff Experiences

Healthcare design can affect both your patients' and your staff's experiences. By focusing on creating environments that can positively affect the experience, healthcare systems can better attract, retain and engage with their communities.

Quality Design: Be Bold, Human and Smart

Quality design begins with a bold premise. “I want a place where Picasso would like to paint.” This statement exemplifies the attitude of today’s CEO’s who recognize the significance of a well-designed work environment.

RACI to the Rescue: Improving Team-Based Decision Making

One of the most valuable things about using the RACI Matrix is that it provides groups with a platform to have honest discussion and come to agreement about each person’s role or roles on a project.

Memory Boxes As Community Building Tools

More than a display, memory boxes can serve as personalized, helpful tools within Senior Living environments for residents to remember themselves and learn about others, while also functioning as a wayfinding aid.

Want to Save Money on Your Next Project? Let’s Focus on Energy!

Investing in an energy efficient building creates a more comfortable space, positively impacting occupant satisfaction, performance and ultimately costs. Focus on Energy's Design Assistance Program will allow you to do just that.

Elevate Your People’s Potential Through an Engaged Workplace

Companies with higher levels of employee engagement equate to higher profitability, higher productivity, lower absenteeism and lower turnover. What if the work environment could be the differentiating factor in elevating your people’s potential?

A Millennial and a Baby Boomer Walk Into A Bar...: How Mixed-Use Developments are Increasingly Becoming Intergenerational

While most basic needs generally stay the same, demographics, preferences and lifestyles do not. More and more, we are seeing two different generations--Millennials and Baby Boomers--gravitating towards similar lifestyles.

Mock Trial: How Experimenting with Visual Mock-Up Tools Can Enhance Senior Living Design

Everyone learns a little bit differently. In order to design a senior living community that truly meets the needs of its residents and staff, it's important to not only hear different voices but allow them to experience the design in different ways.

The Battle for Talent: Workplace Wellness Is the Gamechanger

With the US labor force projecting low unemployment rates, it is crucial that organizations invest in attracting + retaining the best talent. What if wellness in the workplace was the gamechanger to setting your company apart for prospective talent?

What’s in the Way of a Highly Effective Workplace?

Companies crave talent that makes a difference – enhancing culture and thinking smarter to achieve innovation. The workplace is a complex ecosystem and very often stress is a symptom of an ineffective workplace and by tuning into the conditions that impact individual and team success, we can identify necessary changes to align place with worker needs.

Increasing Human Connection Through Architecture

"Hey Siri, can architecture effect human interactions?" As today's workforce becomes increasingly digitally connected, it seems that people are longing more and more for true human connection. Through intentional design, we can help foster communication and collaboration, while still meeting the needs of people desiring their individual space.

Back To The Future: The Value of Historic Schools in 21st Century Learning

Often the temptation with schools (or really any building) is to believe that newer is better. But I don't buy that. Sometimes the best answer for a school system and community is to preserve and protect what they already have. Although historic preservation isn't the right solution for everyone, it's worth not writing off.

Charting the Course

Success can be, and often is, measured in many ways. Success for me covers the spectrum from having fun, to creating learning spaces that students don’t want to leave. Set expectations will chart the course and get you started down the path to a successful project.

Time for a new lab! Now what?...

Deciding to expand, renovate or build a new lab is an exciting, big opportunity – it’s also a lot of work and something that many scientists have never done. Who should they call first? What can they do to facilitate the best process to guide the expansion and protect themselves from making mistakes?

Healthcare Trends to Act On in 2019

This November, as the weather started to turn toward winter, EUA invited The Advisory Board to give their “State of the Union” presentation to our healthcare clients, as well as our entire group of healthcare design professionals.

Why I Choose Distributed Leadership

Senior Project Manager Abie Khatchadourian explores the differences between a traditional, top down leadership approach and distributed leadership.

The Battle for Talent: Top 5 Gen Z Factors That Drive the Workplace

With the understanding that generational traits and values differ, and given that Gen Z is the first generation to grow up in a wireless world, how will Gen Z’s life experiences swing the pendulum of workplace design?

The Right Mix: Design Considerations for Emergent Care Settings

Perhaps it’s the millennial in me, but after relocating to the Midwest, it took me over two years and four visits to urgent care before I finally selected a Primary Care Physician (PCP). As a new patient, urgent care became my point of care for its ease of access and affordability, and I’m not alone in this choice.

More Than Just an Internship: How a Design Experience Reinforced a Firm-wide Culture

This summer, the interns at Eppstein Uhen Architects participated in a design charrette that generated creativity, helped the group bond, and illuminated what it means to work at a supportive and enthusiastic firm.

Move Over Ikea: The Rise of Minimalist Scandinavian Design

While at NeoCon this year, I noticed a deepening appreciation and more widespread popularity for the minimalist inspired Scandinavian design, and with that, hand crafted materials. People are increasingly gravitating towards not just the visual simplicity, but the purity of the process often associated with these elements.

You Don’t Know What You Don’t Know: The Actual Cost of New S&T Spaces

Each project has a unique set of circumstances that are important to consider before beginning a design. Being aware of the right type of project for you (i.e. renovation versus new build), your construction variables, and the total estimated cost of your project will save you a lot of time, money and headache down the road.

Fixer Upper: University Science Building Edition

As an architect, sometimes we get to create buildings from scratch and sometimes we've given opportunities to get creative with existing spaces. Either way--challenge accepted!

How Design Can Foster Trust in Clinician and Patient Interactions

Today's patients want transparency and comfort from their providers. With so many options in healthcare, what are you doing to create positive outcomes for your patients and health system?

Living Lean: How I Applied Lean to My Morning Routine

Getting out of the house in the morning on time with everything you need for your day is a challenge everyone can relate to. After working with Lean in healthcare facility design for eight years, I asked myself if it was possible to apply those same principles to my personal life. The answer is “yes you can!”

Why I Love the WELL Building Rating System – It Builds Healthy Habits

It is exciting to sit down with an owner and brainstorm all the ways we can make the building design more sustainable or support the well-being of the occupants, but the challenge is how to do it in a meaningful way that supports real change that leads to healthy habits.

Patients Are Disrupting Healthcare

At a recent Healthcare Facilities conference, I attended a presentation by Sean Keathley and Gina Bleedorn from Adrenaline Agency on Digital Disruption in the Healthcare industry. They were captivating speakers and I found the topic to be fascinating. In today's world, disruption can be seen as a buzz word, but whatever we think, it's here.

Care Staff Shortages

We have all read the gloomy articles regarding the critical shortage of professional care staff generally and, more specifically, its impact on care staffing for the elderly. There are numerous reasons for this shortage, some of which are controllable and others which are not. The reasons for this crisis are simple to recognize but the solutions may not be.

Most Likely to Succeed

EUA's Learning Environments studio hosted a viewing of the film "Most Likely to Succeed."

Are You Teaching + Learning in a Space or Place?

How the physical learning environment supports improved outcomes for students and staff. Bob Vajgrt discusses how educational spaces should be designed to directly support the teaching and learning happening in the space.

Workplace Design that Maximizes Your Real Estate Investment

An office is just an office, right? But what if it’s not? What if it can be more? What if you could actually make your real estate work for you? Turns out, you can.

The Tipping Point: Will Talent Stay or Will They Go

I think it’s safe to say that it’s every company’s goal to attract and retain the best and the brightest. But with so much fierce competition for talent and the length of time people are staying at jobs decreasing, how do companies set themselves apart and give their employees incentive to stay?

Taking Ego Out of Design

What makes a successful architectural project? Before getting into specifics, like what materials should be used, or even what the project should look like, it’s critical to first look at the bigger picture of what we want to be true in the end. Here’s the catch—it’s not the same answer for everybody.

A Caregiver's Perspective on Long-Term Care Settings

Understanding how older adults live, sleep, eat, socialize and receive care are not only critical aspects to the design of long term care environments, but they are the foundation to an excellent community for the aging.

A Brand Worth Believing In

In our social media saturated culture, the number of followers a brand or company has is crucial. But the real question is, is it worth following? Worth believing in?

Workplace Design: Any Way You Want It

We’ve all heard that being healthy comes from the inside out. I’ve found that this mantra applies not just to the human body, but the corporate workplace as well. In order to better serve our clients, we as employees need to be in a good mindset ourselves.

“The Only Thing That Is Constant Is Change”: Revitalizing Your Senior Living Community–A Step-by-Step Guide

Revitalizing your community’s environment, keeping ahead of trends and making sure you communicate improvements to your client base will provide benefits for your market competitiveness, residents and staff.

Responding to Change: Understanding the Challenges in Outpatient Facility Expansion

Today’s healthcare organizations exist in a rapidly changing landscape. Patient consumerism, demographic shifts, healthcare reform, and private payers are all putting tremendous pressure on organizations to evolve in order to survive.

Outside the Curriculum: The Effect Environment Has on Learning

Do you think that a room can affect a student’s grades? Let me put it this way, do you think that the quality of the learning environment effects learning? If you answered “yes,” you are not alone.

Use it or Lose it

As I tour existing schools everyone asks for classroom space but then I ask them if those cabinets full of holiday decorations are a necessity. Do they need 42 chairs in the room if there are only 23 students?

The Lean Perspective on The Four Keys to Engaging Staff and Patients

As healthcare providers strive to strike the balance between operational efficiencies and maintaining a high-level of patient-centered care, Lean design strategies can play an important role in healthcare facility design.

Experience your building design before you break ground

Picture this: a client meets with the design firm they have entrusted to create their new headquarters. They’ve spent countless hours and resources to ensure employees will have a space that is comfortable, inviting and integrates into their overall brand.

Households for Senior Care - Installment Three

The design of households has evolved into several differing approaches regarding layout of resident rooms and their relationship with social/community spaces, support spaces and services.

Households for Senior Care - Installment Two

Every designer who has worked in the long-term care or assisted living arena has an opinion on the correct number of residents a senior care household should have.

Households for Senior Care - Installment One

Evolutionary steps in the creation of household models of care. Learn more about the history behind senior living care environments.

Walk the Line: Balancing Patient-Centered Design with Staff Satisfaction and Productivity

The other day I realized that Johnny’s struggles are analogous to the challenges we face as designers and healthcare administrators when undertaking “patient-centered” healthcare projects.

Social Transparency: The Importance of Workplace Culture on Social Media

Today, prospective employees, business partners and customers can access your work culture within a few clicks. A truly inspiring work space can make people want to like, pin, snap, tweet and share your message with others.

People and Spaces Working Together in Collaboration

We all have those favorite spaces in our homes, communities and at work. A space where a comforting feeling is created as a result of both the physical setting of the space and human factors.

I Want Innovation...That I Have Seen Before

As an architect, one of my biggest challenges is to help people think differently about the problem they want to solve. Open mindedness is essential when trying to provide innovative solutions

The Savvy Consumer: Facilities that Create the Provider of Choice

Being a healthcare provider of choice is dependent upon many factors: a patient’s insurance coverage, facility location, and brand reputation, among others. Brand reputation, in turn, is the result of the training of your professional staff, the pricing structure of your services, and the way you conduct yourself as an organization.

Why Does School Capacity Matter? Anyone? Anyone? Bueller?

Learning environments are continually evolving – the suburban, Midwestern high school from the 1986 film Ferris Bueller’s Day Off highlights a high school with standard classrooms – 30 years later, high school spaces and classrooms are looking much different.

Attracting Employees in the Age of Match.com

We live in a world of instant gratification, a world where virtually everything is digital, online or at your fingertips, a world where you can sign-up for Match.com one day and be married the next.

You Had Me at Efficiency

Okay, maybe efficiency in healthcare design isn’t as exciting as the love story between Tom Cruise and Renee Zellweiger in the movie “Jerry Maguire,” but when I talk to Healthcare Industry Leaders, any time a design solution can improve bottom line operational efficiency, it’s a win.

Improving the Client Experience through R&D

Technology and innovation play a critical role in the success of fully designing today’s buildings and spaces. At one time Building Information Modeling (BIM) was a differentiator in the AEC marketplace.

Did You Order This Pizza?

How do you like your pizza? In your mind, when you place your order, you have designed the perfect pizza exactly the way you like it.

Thank You Mrs. Pauly: The 1970s Makerspace Pioneer

What was your 4th grade teacher’s name? Mine was Mrs. Pauly. She was an outdoorsy lady who appreciated nature and the history of early Wisconsin pioneers and liked to take a unique approach to teaching.

Make Space for Makerspace

Recently there has been a lot of discussion on adding makerspaces within the school districts I am working with. However, from district-to-district there is variation between what a makerspace means to each district and how it is (or will be) used.