Community Archives - Page 2 of 9

January 6, 2018

DesignWELL—A Recap of the Conference on Creating Wellbeing

I recently had the opportunity to attend the DesignWell conference in San Diego with fellow wellness-minded designers and architects. For those of you who didn’t make it, here are three things you missed.

Lesson 1: People, Not Profit

Eric Corey Freed, founder of organicARCHITECT, opened the first day by issuing a challenge: to change the way we measure success. After all, the importance of a space is not how fast it turns a profit but rather the way it makes you feel. So why are we still using ROI (Return On Investment) as the primary metric of architectural success? It’s time to turn our focus to the people and start measuring success by the impact on the humans who inhabit the space.

Eric, of course, was not the only one to challenge our way of thinking. He opened the conference for a slew of speakers reminding us that we need to put the people first. A message that was woven into the fabric of every presentation: We need to humanize the conversation.

Lesson 2: Understand the People

While people over profit is an easy concept to get behind, it’s not always a clear path. As Kay Sargent so eloquently said, “We have to understand the people we are designing for and the experiences we are creating for them”.

Rex Miller, Dr. Mike O’Neill, and Phil Williams, the co-authors of “The Healthy Workplace Nudge”, suggested we focus on a new central question: Are we designing spaces that make people healthier and happier? They reminded us that the spaces we design can be a powerful tool for encouraging healthier behavior if we understand the way people will behave.

Sally Augustin, Principal at Design With Science, reminded us that we have science on our side. Even when we can’t predict how people will behave, science has taught us the physiological and neurological impact of our environments. By understanding the science we can shape the way people feel in our spaces.

Lesson 3: It Takes a Village

In the murmurings between sessions and the dialogues during Q+A, we kept coming back to the same question: How do we change an entire industry? Tim Conway, VP of Sustainable Development for Shaw Industries, reminded us that it will take more than one person. We must work together to do better. Along with Veronica Schreibeis-Smith stating, “We can do better - today, not tomorrow”.

For more information on this topic, DesignWell has provided the presentations of the event's speakers at their website.

Published by Kate Walker in Community, Thought Leadership

August 8, 2017

Bialosky Plays Hard at AIA Cleveland Beach Day

Last Saturday, we hit Edgewater Beach for AIA Cleveland Beach Day, the annual field day for northeast Ohio architecture and engineering firms to compete in the sand, while raising scholarship funds for the ACE Mentorship program. The beach was filled with people all day: watching the festivities of sandcastle building and beach volleyball tournament, eating at food trucks, or enjoying the new Edgewater Beach House. It's no surprise that our sandcastle team chose to build the Beach House (which we are thankful stayed standing for the parade of castles!) Other favorite sand sculptures included AECOM's "May The Forest Be With You" and RDL's salute to the Cleveland Zoo, all celebrating the Metroparks' centennial.

Our volleyball team had the best threads on the field, unified in wearing their Bialosky Sports tees in that unmistakable blue. They eliminated a few teams on their way deep into the tournament, before finally losing a close one to a DS Architecture team.

You can see more photos of the day in Steve Litt's article for Cleveland.com here

Final Sandcastle Competition Results:

First Place: AECOM (Third consecutive title)

Second Place: GPD Group

Third Place: RDL Architects

People's Choice | Public Vote: RDL Architects

Final Volleyball Competition Results:

First Place: Perspectus | Robert Maschke Architects | Free Agents (Third consecutive title)

Second Place: Whiting-Turner Construction

Third Place: Dealer Tire

Published by Hallie DelVillan in Community

July 6, 2017

Bialosky + Rust Belt Riders

A proud partner of Rust Belt Riders composting since 2017, we wanted to share how far we have come since then. We have diverted over 3,700 pounds of food waste from landfills and kept 3,270 pounds of harmful greenhouse gasses out of the atmosphere.

This year, Bialosky Cleveland took a leap towards a more environmentally-friendly office, by separating our food waste from our landfill trash. Sustainability is an important principle at Bialosky Cleveland and we strive to act more green-minded. We focus on sustainability in our work, as many of our employees have LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certifications and our firm takes on many LEED projects. By adding an environmental initiative to our everyday lives, we remember the purpose behind the sustainable principles we apply to our projects.

Since mid-February, Bialosky Cleveland collected over 528 pounds of food waste. This is equivalent to keeping 464 pounds of greenhouse gasses from entering the atmosphere. When food waste goes into a landfill, it cannot break down properly and it produces large amounts of the harmful greenhouse gas, methane. By separating our organic food waste and allowing it to decompose naturally, we prevent methane from being created and keep the air a bit cleaner.

Our food waste is picked up every Friday afternoon by a Cleveland composting company called Rust Belt Riders and is transported to various local community gardens, where it is used as organic fertilizer.

Rust Belt Garden in downtown Cleveland, OH.

I recently toured Rust Belt Garden in downtown Cleveland with Michael Robinson, CFO of Rust Belt Riders. At this location, people in the neighborhood take care of the garden and receive fresh fruit and vegetables grown with compost in return.

Plants were grown with compost in Cleveland, OH.

The employees at Rust Belt Riders are knowledgeable about the biology and business of compost and they ensure Bialosky’s food waste is re-used in ways that best serve the community and environment. The company also services other well-known Cleveland businesses, such as University Hospitals, Spice Kitchen, and City Club of Cleveland.

Rust Belt Riders are creating compost with food waste.

We recently added an architectural touch to our composting bin – a wooden cover cut with our in-office laser cutter out of reclaimed wood. A few Bialosky architects and designers collaborated on the design and creation of the cover.

Compost cover made by Bialosky designers.

Composting our food waste keeps sustainability on the minds of Bialosky employees and reminds us to be more environmentally conscious in our professional and personal lives.

Published by Emma Kurfis in Community, Thought Leadership

Tags: Cleveland, community, compost, Design, environment, food, garden, green, LEED, Recycle, Sustainability

June 12, 2017

Bialosky on the Runway

Last month, Bialosky Cleveland once again took to the runway in support of Providence House, a crisis nursery fighting to end child abuse and neglect, in IIDA Cleveland/Akron's biennial design competition Product Runway. The competition challenges interior designers, architects, and artists to test their creativity and technical skills by transforming interior finish materials (such as upholstery, ceramic tile, and laminates) into runway-fashion. This year's event took place during MIX at The Cleveland Museum of Art, drawing a crowd of 2,300+ people from across the community. Cleveland native, and Project Runway alum, Valeri Mayen of Yellowcake served as this year's celebrity judge.

2017 marks Bialosky's third Product Runway (see our entries from 2013 and 2015), and we showed up in a big way with two teams competing for the top prize. Our teams consisted of: Bialosky:Element: Christy Schalmo, Alan Hipps (Model), Sam Meyer,Hallie DelVillan, Chris Persons, and Courtney Bell (DL Couch) and Just A Little Cocky: Sandy Weigel, Mandisa Gosa, Emma Kurfis (Model), Bridget Hrdlicka, Miranda Hiss (Ohio Desk), and Maria Asser (Ohio Desk).

Model Alan Hipps owning the runway for team Bialosky:Element

Bialosky:Element
The design of Bialosky:Element’s outfit was an exploration of raw corrosive forces, and how they translate into garments. Materials including vinyl wall covering, and colors were chosen that call to mind patinaed copper or rusting iron. That palette was advanced through outfit elements that seemed to make materials corrode each other, dissolving into complementary colors and forms. The main article—an overcoat—expressed an asymmetry through lapel construction, a one-sided collar, and a facial prosthetic that balanced the composition. It emphasized a single line drawn across the body through the entire jacket. Beginning in front, that line terminated in a disintegrating geometric pattern on the back of the garment, completing the look.

Model Emma Kurfis doing her best rooster strut for team Just a Little Cocky

Just A Little Cocky
Inspired by the Chinese Year of the Rooster, our team designed a garment that was both bold and detailed. We created an intricate stylized feather pattern over the fitted bodice with laser cut pieces of plastic laminate that mimicked the scale and pattern of a Designtex fabric. The ‘feather’ pattern was softened by adding brightly colored pieces of drapery fabric. The accent color serves to visually connect the top with the ruffled base of the vinyl mermaid-style skirt. We completed the look with rooster-inspired hair and make-up. Special thanks to our sponsors Designtex and Coalesse and our hair and make-up team Jen Brennan and Tierra Banks!

This year's competition was steep and unfortunately, neither of our Bialosky teams took home a prize. Congratulations to this years winners and a job well done to all teams that participated. We can't wait for 2019!

The Winners Circle

Most Wearable: Team K2M, Team Luxe
Sponsors: American Interiors, Knoll, KnollTextiles

Haute Couture: Team Bostwick Design Partnership
Sponsor: Kimball Office

Best of Show: Team Progressive
Sponsors: Shaw Contract, Patcraft

Fit & Finish: Team Dichotomy by Dimit
Sponsor: Wolf Gordon

People’s Choice: Team Dichotomy by Dimit
Sponsor: Wolf Gordon

Best Use of Materials: Team GPD Couture
Sponsor: 3Form

Check out all of the looks and photos from the red carpet here!

All photos courtesy of Matthew Jenkins Photography.

Published by Chelsey Finnimore in Community, Competitions / Awards, Workplace Culture

Tags: Bialosky, Cleveland Museum of Art, Coalesse, community, Competition, Design, Designtex, DL Couch, Fashion Design, IIDA, Ohio Desk, Product, Product Runway, Providence House, Runway

February 9, 2017

Canstruction 2017

Bialosky Cleveland is excited to participate in the 12th Annual Canstruction event and we need your help!

What is Canstruction?

Canstruction is a unique charity art exhibition and competition featuring structures made entirely out of full cans of food. At the end of the event, all of the food is donated to the Cleveland Foodbank during their Harvest for Hunger campaign.

How Can I Get Involved?

We respectfully request your support for this important Cleveland event with a donation of $250-500 as a company or $50.00 as an individual. However, your generosity at any amount will be greatly appreciated as every $1 can provide enough food for four nutritious meals that will benefit children and families in need in our community!

DONATE HERE

Bialosky Stats

6 Years of Participation
People's Choice Award (2x)
Can-Spirit Award (2x)
Over 24,000 Cans Given to the Cleveland Food Bank

Published by Jen Brennan in Community, Competitions / Awards

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