Exploring the Firms

This quarter in my Professional Practice class we had an assignment involving researching firms we were interested in. I found a few that I liked and tons that didn't impress me at all. It was shocking when just five minutes into my research I found my dream firm, RNL. They have offices in Denver, Phoenix, and LA, and I would want to work at their Denver office. They have been ranked one of the top 5 sustainable firms in the country, which is awesome. They also are currently working on the NREL headquarters which will hopefully function at net-zero energy, meaning it will be able to create all of the energy it needs to run---from solar panels on the site. It is such an amazingly efficient building that it doesn't require much to run everything. 

I also researched Clive Wilkinson architects. If they weren't located in LA, it would be difficult to decide if I wanted to try to work at Clive Wilkinson Architects or RNL. But, alas, I do NOT want to live in LA... I want to live in Colorado. Clive Wilkinson Architects create some of the most dynamic projects I have found, especially in terms of corporate design. Everything they do is super innovative, functional, unique, custom, and beautiful!

ZGF is a pretty neat firm with a few locations, including Seattle. If I d

o not end up in Colorado to work, Seattle is probably my second choice at the current time.

The last firm I looked into was Stanley Beaman and Sears, a firm that designed an incredible children's hospital in Atlanta. If I was looking to do healthcare design in Atlanta I would probably go to this firm in search of an internship.

RNL was by far the best firm I found. They were the first firm to really get me excited about going out hunting for an interior design internship. 

Their website is rnldesign.com and I recommend that all of you go look at their projects. Just be warned, they are incredible! Watch their case study videos for NREL and the law firm they just did. Their innovation and commitment to sustainability just blows me away.

Here is what I wrote about RNL in my Pro Practice assignment, for those of you interested to see what the fuss is about with the firm that finally won me over:

RNL | corporate design/mixed discipline

 

With offices in Denver, L.A., and Phoenix, RNL is considered to be one of the most sustainable architectural/interior design firms in the country. Projects are designed and built by RNL both nationally and internationally (including projects in United Arab Emirates). Thousands of dollars are spent each year by the firm on plane fare for 

designers alone. The goals and values of the firm are strong and extremely evident in all of their work; the firm designs with the 

philosophy of “design for one Earth”.  In fact, their website notes that sustainability, design excellence, and innovation are the priorities of the work the firm does in

 architecture, interior design, landscape architecture, planning, and urban design. In addition, RNL is constantly in hiring mode, searching for designers with talent, drive, passion, appreciation, and recognition. 

 

RNL designs within several disciplinary areas, including commercial/mixed use, corporate, government, higher education, hospitality, master planning, religious/cultural, retail/entertainment, and transportation. Perhaps the most noteworthy work by the firm is in the corporate sector.  RNL approaches corporate design with the knowledge that the workplace is an ever-changing part of society. New technology, business practices, and management styl

es in the workplace are constantly evolving. The firm aims to design innovative facilities in the areas of network operations centers, employee-centered amenities, and flexible workstation layouts. Details ranging from furniture selection to space planning are all covered in RNL designed facilities.

 

Currently, RNL is working on the design for the new National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) office building in Golden, Colorado. Once completed, this will be the most energy efficient office building of its size ever built. President of RNL, Rich von Luhrte, has said that the mindset of this project is “energy drives the design” rather than “design first, then figure out how to make it work.” The goal of the facility is to perform at net zero, with the building not only producing its own energy but also consuming so little energy that it will not have to draw in any energy from outside sources. A LEED certification of Platinum is hoped to be given to the building, which will make it the first commercial building in the US of this size to receive this rating.  In addition to a monetary budget, the NREL project required an energy budget to enable all of its energy to come from a solar array being built on the NREL campus. Certain techniques utilize natural daylighting so we

ll that overhead light usage can be eliminated during daylight hours. Construction methods include operable windows with protective film as well as passive heating and cooling to remove the need for central air. Other areas of innovation at the NREL office include nontraditional open plans to enable maximum daylighting and using low energy appliances (including telephones and using laptops rather than desktop computers). Although employees at NREL will have to adjust to new habits in the space, there is a great amount of optimism surrounding the ability for the project to succeed. Even after the building is completed, the federal government plans to monitor and tweak aspects of the design.

 

Corporate design being a specialty of RNL, it is no surprise that the firm used their own design team to design the current RNL downtown Denver office. The open-plan office uses transparency and adjacencies to inspire collaboration and mingling of employees and clients alike. Rather than use the front of the house/back of the house concept used in the previous office, RNL wanted clients to really be part of the design process and create informal collaboration opportunities as much as possible. Non-traditional placement and adjacencies between spaces force users to use the entire space and encounter other employees

 constantly. For example, the break room is located on the first floor while mail/copy and payroll areas are on the second floor, forcing people to use the staircase (which acts as a focal point) to go between floors frequently. While aesthetics were important to the design, the main focus was on the people and work to be taking place in the space. Sustainability was 

also a main concern with the office. Film coats windows to help reduce heat loss/gain, sustainable cork flooring was installed as well as recycled-content rubber flooring, and other recycled-content/sustainable materials were used wherever possible. The office has been considered an extraordinary success, spurring collaboration and emphasizing the company’s commitment to sustainability