He is one of the nation's most prominent and celebrated architects. He’s designed everything from hotels for Disney to civic buildings, such as the municipal center in Portland, Ore.
In the late 1970s, he entered the world of industrial design after an invitation from Italian company Alessi to design a coffee and tea set. In 1984, his kettle design for Alessi became a hit, and until this day remains the company’s number one bestseller. In the late 1990s he started designing everyday items for Target, which made him even more of a household name.
In sum, his signature style was ubiquitous, and he was heralded for bringing sophisticated design to the masses.
If anything, the mysterious virus he contracted in 2003 that led him to paralysis from the chest down was a catalyst that pushed him to have an even wider design focus.
He recently sat with Barbara Sadick of the Washington Post to talk about working as a full-time architect as he lives in a wheelchair.
“I believe well-designed places and objects can actually improve healing, while poor design can inhibit it,” he told the Post. “This became very real to me after my illness, so since then I’ve asked my design team to spend a week in a wheelchair.”
Graves further shares that good design for the ill and disabled isn’t just about accessibility, but also beauty. “Beauty can reduce stress and make us feel better,” he said, and adding that good design makes work easier for the caregivers, professional, or family.
To date, Graves keeps busy with multiple projects, many of them related to designing healthcare buildings, where Graves can use his expertise and personal experience to good use. Among these are a rehabilitation hospital in Lincoln, Neb., for people with traumatic brain and spinal cord injuries, and a new unit at Yale-New Haven Hospital that offers acute care for the elderly.
In industrial design, Graves is working with a health technology firm to design hospital room products that, as the Post describes, “will be not only easier for those with disabilities to use, making falls less likely, but also more attractive than what is found in many hospital and rehab rooms and much easier to clean.”
All of these projects, of course, will have Graves’ signature, whimsical, post-modern look and use of bright colors.
“Who wants to recover,” he tells the Post, “in a place where everything is beige?”
Read the full Washington Post profile.
The Wounded Warriors Home project in Fort Belvoir, Va., designed by Graves in partnership with Clark Realty Capital.
Prime Transport Chair for Srtyker Medical. Image courtesy of michaelgraves.com
Related Stories
| Nov 29, 2010
Data Centers: Keeping Energy, Security in Check
Power consumption for data centers doubled from 2000 and 2006, and it is anticipated to double again by 2011, making these mission-critical facilities the nation’s largest commercial user of electric power. Major technology companies, notably Hewlett-Packard, Cisco Systems, and International Business Machines, are investing heavily in new data centers. HP, which acquired technology services provider EDS in 2008, announced in June that it would be closing many of its older data centers and would be building new, more highly optimized centers around the world.
| Nov 29, 2010
New Design Concepts for Elementary and Secondary Schools
Hard hit by the economy, new construction in the K-12 sector has slowed considerably over the past year. Yet innovation has continued, along with renovations and expansions. Today, Building Teams are showing a keener focus on sustainable design, as well as ways to improve indoor environmental quality (IEQ), daylighting, and low-maintenance finishes such as flooring.
| Nov 29, 2010
Renovating for Sustainability
Motivated by the prospect of increased property values, reduced utility bills, and an interest in jumping on the sustainability bandwagon, a noted upturn in green building upgrades is helping designers and real estate developers stay busy while waiting for the economy to recover. In fact, many of the larger property management outfits have set up teams to undertake projects seeking LEED for Existing Buildings: Operations & Maintenance (LEED-EBOM, also referred to as LEED-EB), a certification by the U.S. Green Building Council.
| Nov 23, 2010
The George W. Bush Presidential Center, which will house the former president’s library
The George W. Bush Presidential Center, which will house the former president’s library and museum, plus the Bush Institute, is aiming for LEED Platinum. The 226,565-sf center, located at Southern Methodist University, in Dallas, was designed by architect Robert A.M. Stern and landscape architect Michael Van Valkenburgh.
| Nov 23, 2010
Honeywell's School Energy and Environment Survey: 68% of districts delayed or eliminated improvements because of economy
Results of Honeywell's second annual “School Energy and Environment Survey” reveal that almost 90% of school leaders see a direct link between the quality and performance of school facilities, and student achievement. However, districts face several obstacles when it comes to keeping their buildings up to date and well maintained. For example, 68% of school districts have either delayed or eliminated building improvements in response to the economic downturn.
| Nov 16, 2010
Architecture Billings Index: inquiries for new projects remain extremely high
The new projects inquiry index was 61.7, down slightly from a nearly three-year high mark of 62.3 in September, according to the Architecture Billings Index (ABI). However, the ABI dropped nearly two points in October; the October ABI score was 48.7, down from a reading of 50.4 the previous month. The ABI reflects the approximate nine to 12 month lag time between architecture billings and construction spending.
| Nov 16, 2010
Brazil Olympics spurring green construction
Brazil's green building industry will expand in the coming years, spurred by construction of low-impact venues being built for the 2016 Olympics. The International Olympic Committee requires arenas built for the 2016 games in Rio de Janeiro meet international standards for low-carbon emissions and energy efficiency. This has boosted local interest in developing real estate with lower environmental impact than existing buildings. The timing couldn’t be better: the Brazilian government is just beginning its long-term infrastructure expansion program.
| Nov 16, 2010
Green building market grows 50% in two years; Green Outlook 2011 report
The U.S. green building market is up 50% from 2008 to 2010—from $42 billion to $55 billion-$71 billion, according to McGraw-Hill Construction's Green Outlook 2011: Green Trends Driving Growth report. Today, a third of all new nonresidential construction is green; in five years, nonresidential green building activity is expected to triple, representing $120 billion to $145 billion in new construction.
| Nov 16, 2010
Calculating office building performance? Yep, there’s an app for that
123 Zero build is a free tool for calculating the performance of a market-ready carbon-neutral office building design. The app estimates the discounted payback for constructing a zero emissions office building in any U.S. location, including the investment needed for photovoltaics to offset annual carbon emissions, payback calculations, estimated first costs for a highly energy efficient building, photovoltaic costs, discount rates, and user-specified fuel escalation rates.
