Designing meaningful spaces through balance and mindfulness
This blog was authored by Shelley Warner, Designer, Shepley Bulfinch.
Space is one of the most powerful things in the world. It can breathe life and excitement into its users and that is a beautiful gift we possess as designers—the ability to shape how people feel with the way we manipulate and mold space. But what makes space great? There are many opinions on this idea, and while I do not deem to be an expert, I think the place to start is with how we experience space.
We must be active users of the world in order to understand and design for its challenges. In “An Essay Concerning Human Understanding,” John Locke claims, “No man’s knowledge here can go beyond his experience.” This quote always stands out to me because it epitomizes the idea that we must be able to experience the world around us in order to understand it, but I would also surmise, we have to experience it in order to design for it.
It is no mystery that designers live in the studio constantly. We work tirelessly in pursuit of creating compelling proposals. The practice of architecture is especially challenging to find balance between our creative pursuits and the demands of our personal lives. This is the delicate boundary that I believe great architecture lives along.
In order to design spaces like the Student Union Renovation at The University of Massachusetts Amherst—a project that motivated me to learn about Shepley’s mission and apply to the firm—we have to be balanced designers in our mental capacity, and capable of understanding what works, and what doesn’t, so that we can bring these projects to the finish line.
We are capable of designing more meaningful spaces when we have the time and energy to recharge, reset, and reevaluate. There is also study involved. By this, I mean that we must understand how others utilize space and observe their interactions to design spaces that have longevity.
As creative individuals, we have to be capable of recharging our personal batteries to experience the world beyond the typical studio environment. This comes in different forms for each individual, but it is a critical element of becoming a better designer, a more mentally aware person, and a better contributor to society.
Mindfulness is an especially interesting topic this month as it is mental health awareness month, but in actuality, mental health is critical at all intervals of the year. The spaces we work in, and design have a direct influence on our physical and mental wellbeing.
Since I joined Shepley, I have seen from the top-down that leaders want their colleagues and team members to feel their best when signing on for work. They know the strongest results come from allowing each individual to find the schedule that works best for them (and their families).
I work with people from Boston, New York City, Phoenix, Los Angeles, and Seattle; we are a team spread across multiple time zones and studios, but we appreciate and respect the schedules of our colleagues—and in turn, it brings me joy to come to work every single day.
Working in the higher education studio at Shepley has taught me the balance of planning and organization for the long-term. Project deadlines are long and require a lot of development. We need a feedback loop to reinforce the work we do daily. I’ve recognized that when we check in with each other once or twice a week we are able to provide insight, connect with our team leaders and let them know how our schedules and workload are.
We are a stronger team for taking an additional 30 minutes to ensure everyone has the tools they need for success—and it breeds a safe and respectful environment to work in. Moreover, we take a genuine interest in how our peers and colleagues are doing beyond project tasks—the time it takes to ask the question is brief, but the impact is significant.
This is an industry full of people and we design with and for them every single day. We have to be capable of finding our best in the work we deliver, but in order to do this, we must feel our best. Architecture, in my personal opinion, and professional philosophy, is beautifully selfish and selfless—we do what we absolutely love with our deepest passion for design, but we do it all at the behest of others. When you work in a field like we do, there is nothing more gratifying than a “thank you” or “job well done” from the client and project team—they are why we do it!
But we cannot forget ourselves. We have to remember to find joy in the moments of relief so we can make the next project equally successful. Making beautiful spaces is incredibly important to our team but doing it with integrity and a positive spirit is also an equal priority to our mission.