BIM collaboration. Next-generation workplace design. And the unique melancholy designers feel at the end of a years-long project. We published dozens of original articles in the Big Ideas section of our website last year. Here are the five most popular posts from 2020.
Two years ago, we made a commitment to share more stories of the projects, experiences, and partnerships that happen every day at DesignGroup. We wanted to give our people a platform for their unique perspectives, and they did not disappoint. Last year alone, nearly a third of our staff shared their opinions, inspiration, and expertise.
And our followers really responded to it. How do we know? Like any business committed to continuous improvement, we looked at the data. Our 10 most popular articles alone were viewed nearly 3,000 times and made more 11,000 impressions on social media. The number of readers opening and viewing our email newsletter was, consistently, nearly double the industry average.
We’re proud to share the inner workings of our industry and inner thoughts of our associates. We’ll keep it going in the year ahead. This week, however, we’re looking back on our five most popular posts from 2020, in case you missed them the first time.
5. If All the World's a Stage, I Want Better Lighting
More than 40% of electricity used in healthcare facilities goes toward lighting, and yet too often thoughtful lighting designs are overlooked when a project is more focused on patient-centric care. Anastasia Markiw explains how she uses dynamic lighting to promote healing and comfort, assimilate elements found at home, and allow the staff to perform their jobs effectively.
4. The Grand Opening Blues: When a Project Team Moves On
The conclusion of an architecture project brings different emotions. For those who use the new space, it’s an exciting beginning. For the professionals who designed it, it’s the end of an intense and fruitful relationship. John Ryan reflects on the moment when client and team members go their separate ways.
3. The Power of BIM Partnership: A Conversation with the BIM Managers of the New OSUWMC Tower Project
Building information modeling, or BIM, provides powerful 3D design and review capabilities to any project. When the project is this big, though, it needs to be managed with extra care. In this deep-dive Q-and-A, BIM managers from DesignGroup and HDR describe their successful collaboration on a massive new OSU Wexner Medical Center project.
2. Returning to Work Soon? Make the Most of It
In a new world of Zoom, Teams, and Webex, collaborating with your coworkers can prove much harder than it used to be. In this article, Nikki Wildman gives five rules for engagement in a post-Covid workplace that mixes in-person with virtual collaboration. “Humanity is on our side!” Nikki writes. “Cherish the opportunity to work together; be patient and poke fun at the meetings in this strange, new normal.”
1. What’s Next for Workplace Design? Five Trends To Understand
Let’s hear it for Nikki, who wrote both of our top articles of 2020. In this one, from last August, she looks at the future of workplace design. As the world adjusts to work environments that balance work-from-home with in-office productivity, there are lessons to be learned. “Will the pendulum finally swing back from open-office to the private office?” she asks. “Or is the office itself a thing of the past?” Here are five design trends she says we should watch for.
