The Oracle Industry Lab in Chicago, which provides customers in multiple industries the opportunity to test new technologies, recently opened. It is the first such facility for the IT giant that plans to add labs in England and Australia later this year. Read more with Building Design + Construction here.

As the global pandemic forces retail and restaurant brands to radically adapt, pivot and innovate, this is an opportune moment for the two industries to learn from each other. Our design and strategy teams recently joined forces to weigh in on the TOP 10 experiential strategies from each industry—identifying who does what best.

NELSON Worldwide has conducted a comprehensive evaluation of COVID-19’s impact across industries to arm our clients and partners with short- and long-term solutions to best respond, adapt, and innovate in the wake of COVID-19.

This Assessment identifies macro trends and implications that will drive shifts in business models, brand development, and the design of built environments — and ultimately, shape the human experience.

NELSON Worldwide conducted a comprehensive evaluation of COVID-19’s impact across industries to arm our clients and partners with short- and long-term solutions to best respond, adapt, and innovate.

This Impact Assessment identifies macro trends and implications that will drive shifts in business models, brand development, and the design of built environments—and ultimately, shape the human experience for higher education environments.

NELSON Worldwide conducted a comprehensive evaluation of COVID-19’s impact across industries to arm our clients and partners with short- and long-term solutions to best respond, adapt, and innovate.

This Impact Assessment identifies macro trends and implications that will drive shifts in business models, brand development, and the design of built environments—and ultimately, shape the human experience for retail centers and mixed-use environments.

The COVID-19 pandemic has ushered in a new urgency to quickly set up and adapt both public and private space for temporary testing facilities (TTFs). To help our clients, communities, and nation minimize ongoing pandemic impacts, we have developed a set of best practices and insights to safely and efficiently establish a TTF.

Two simple words, but what does it really mean to “elevate” design? NELSON National Practice Leader and architect Haril Pandya, FAIA shares his thoughts about how the answer lies in collaboration.

Why is great design so critical? And for that matter, what is “great design”? Who determines if the design is great? Is there a jury? Is it just simply public opinion? Is it how many awards are on your shelf?

We have been taught ever since design or architecture school that design needs to be excellent. We judge “excellent” in comparison to something else. So, if there’s excellent design, then it stands to reason that there must be bad design. Right?

It goes without saying that architecture and design is a blend of art and science. And yes, both of these components can be elevated. Think about what we knew in science 50 years ago versus today. What about forms of art or media today versus 50 years ago? They’ve both evolved, and one can even say they’ve been “elevated.”

This is NOT a public service announcement, but a call to action.

Whether you are a recent graduate fresh out of design school, or you’ve been practicing for 35 years or more, every project we take on – no matter how small or big – the solution is rooted in design. That is fundamental. It’s what our clients seek us out for, it’s what we are known for, and it’s the core of our mission and our purpose.

Design can be an egocentric profession at times because design is personal and therefore subjective, despite the fact that its outcome is for the masses – a contradiction in terms in many ways. So how do we take something that’s so personal to us and at the same time be critical enough to give it the perspective it deserves, to make sure the solution is the best one?

Now more than ever, it’s critical to combine our experiences, our expertise, and our life stories to produce the best possible outcome. Whether you’re an architect or designer, an accountant or a manager, we are also moms, dads, artists, musicians, sculptors, photographers, writers, chefs, athletes, and more. These life experiences, when combined with our professional experiences, are what allow us as professionals to generate the best solutions.

So why work together? As individuals, we can be critical or compassionate, opinionated, or constructive,  egotistic or educative. The design profession is an apprentice-based field where experience is handed down from the more senior to the more junior, year over year, project over project. So how do we assemble all of that knowledge, whether it’s fresh and new and rooted in innovation or gleaned from lessons learned over decades in multiple project types and places? Selfless collaboration.

Whether the goal is to amass as many design awards as possible, or earn your license, become a fellow, contribute to a social cause like diversity, or advocate for the licensure of interior designers, they are only achieved if our sense of design and our ability to be self-critical is elevated. I am fortunate enough to be in a firm with incredible minds, incredible talent, incredible experience, and incredible diversity – with leadership playing a key role in mentorship.

Elevating design is not a box we check. It’s about how we challenge our beliefs – our fundamental perception of design – and implement it to show our clients that something can more beautiful or can function better without costing more. It’s how we convince our clients that doing something strategically valuable today will help their ROI in the long run, but it begins with convincing ourselves that design is critical and that we are critical to design.

As One NELSON, we are a giant force of creativity, ingenuity, innovation, and critical thinking. We collaborate across our various and diverse practice areas to get opinions and to challenge ourselves and others. There will always be a budget, and there will always going to be deadlines or other constraints. But that doesn’t stop the greatest architects and designers in the world from creating tremendous and beautiful solutions.

We have all of the tools we need to elevate design in our brains. The brain allows empathy, compassion, curiosity, and the by-products are innovation, creativity, strategy, and beautiful design. I challenge everyone reading this column to reach out and find two or three people you work with regularly and two or three you don’t normally collaborate with and ask, “Can I have your opinion on something? Do you mind looking at this for a minute and giving me your thoughts?” In that moment, design has instantly become elevated.

The most beautiful, or functional, objects we see and use every day are not created by a single person. There is a team of experts that possess a wide variety of experiences that each play an important role. Artists can sign the bottom of their paintings, and architects can be memorialized on plaques, but without a team of people those outcomes do not happen. So reach out, challenge your design thinking, challenge the way you’ve been looking at a project for weeks. We are all here to help each other elevate design.

SAN JOSE, CA — December 8, 2022 — Award-winning architecture, design, and strategy firm NELSON Worldwide is excited to announce the addition of David Crotty as Regional Practice Leader of the Civic & Justice practice. David will work collaboratively with fellow teammates to pursue and thoughtfully execute projects that reflect NELSON Worldwide’s innovative capabilities.

“David brings extensive experience and a unique architectural perspective to our team,” notes Chairman and Chief Executive Officer at NELSON Worldwide, John “Ozzie” Nelson Jr. “His enthusiasm for collaboration and unbeatable passion for the project planning and development process makes him the perfect candidate to drive growth within the practice and NELSON’s overall success.”

David draws inspiration from the client’s vision, blending their ambitions, values, and voice into the design process and ensuring success from start to finish. His impressive design portfolio includes complex and large-scale projects that highlight his versatility as an architect. From a Biosafety Level 3 (BSL-3) research laboratory for UC Davis to several award-winning healthcare projects for Kaiser Permanente and Catholic Healthcare West, his work can be seen across North America and internationally in cities including London; Doha, Qatar; and Florence, Italy. Most recently, David led the design of an AIA award-winning public safety and behavioral health building in the Arctic Circle. His collaboration with Arctic native elders allowed the team to build off the native community’s core value system and thoughtfully design the project to reflect their environment and culture.

“I feel fortunate for the opportunity to work with NELSON and collaborate with some of the world’s best design minds and creative owner groups,” remarks David. “The Bay Area practice is full of strong talent, and the CCJ&E practice continues to expand and succeed due to client success. People do their best work when they deeply care, and I am excited to work alongside the team to contribute to NELSON’s strong culture that brings talent, creativity, and joy to each project.”

As Bay Area Market Leader, David will work with designers to pursue projects that best fit the team’s capabilities. From there, he will collaborate with the entire project team to ensure success. As Regional Practice Leader, David will leverage NELSON’s nationwide expertise to pursue and complete thoughtfully designed Civic & Justice projects.

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About NELSON Worldwide

NELSON Worldwide is an award-winning firm, boldly transforming all dimensions of the human experience through architecture, interior design, graphic design, and brand strategy. With more than 700 teammates across 20 offices, the firm’s collective network provides strategic and creative solutions that positively impact where people work, serve, play, and thrive. The team combines industry knowledge, service expertise, and geographic reach to deliver projects across the country and around the world. Client partnerships across the NELSON network include Hilton, Macy’s, Comcast, Simon Property Group, Prologis, Yum! Brands, Boston Consulting Group, T-Mobile, Emory Healthcare, SAP Fieldglass, Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield, Kroger, Hyatt, Bayer, Target, and many more.

Visit www.nelsonworldwide.com to learn more.

Over the Holiday break, my family and I took a trip out to Napa Valley to experience Wine Country. We visited a number of fantastic wineries, but one of the places that most inspired me was the Francis Ford Coppola Winery. It wasn’t even the beautiful grounds themselves or the quality wine that most inspired me, it was the way they brought Coppola’s personality to life in every aspect of the experience, from the environment to the naming of wines. 

If you’re not familiar with Francis Ford Coppola he’s the prolific writer, director, and producer behind some of the most popular movies, most notably all three parts of The Godfather trilogy and Apocalypse Now. He’s one of only 7 other directors to win an Oscar for Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Screenplay (Original/Adapted), he joined this group in 1975 when he won all three for The Godfather: Part II. He proudly displays many of his awards throughout the Movie Gallery space within the winery.

All this to say that he’s an incredibly creative person, and the place I found this most evident was in the care he took in naming his wine collections. He has one particular line of wines called the “Director’s Great Movies” collection that contains wines such as the King Kong Cabernet Sauvignon, the Jaws Chardonnay, and the Wizard of Oz Merlot.

Amusing names on the surface, but creative and unique when you look a little deeper. The King Kong Cabernet Sauvignon is so named because it’s a blend that offers “big, bold flavors and a dramatic finish,” while the Jaws Chardonnay is a light, tropical-toned Chardonnay that one might sip on a hot summer day – perhaps at the beach while avoiding a shark attack. Once you know the meaning behind the names, it brings a certain level of expectations for the flavor profiles. Even without the explanation the names do a wonderful job of communicating a subconscious message regarding what you should expect when you open the wine – maybe that’s part of the reason these wines have won so many awards?
The other collection of wines that I was inspired by is a series he calls the “Storytellers.” During our tour, we were able to taste one of these wines called Pitagora and I actually embarrassed my family a little as I geeked out about the meaning behind the name. Let me take you through it:

• First, Pythagoras (Pitagora in Italian) was a legendary Greek scholar known for mathematics and philosophy, who is most known for the Pythagorean theorem (TRIANGLES).
• Second, the triangle is important to the wine because the grapes used comes from three different areas of Sonoma.
• Third, two of the main varietals used in the blend are Petit Verdot and Petite Sirah, bringing the “pit” from the name back into relevance.
• And lastly, Coppola’s grandfather grew up playing in the ruins of a school run by Pythagoras.

It’s hard to deny that the name has an interesting depth of meaning.

Other wines in that series include a bold and intense blend of Cabernet and Malbec called Vendetta and a pair of French-influenced wines called Cyrano and Roxane, inspired by the characters in the play Cyrano de Bergerac. In a less complex take on naming, he’s also named a line of sparkling wines after his daughter Sofia Coppola, who is known for having a bright, “effervescent” personality with a heavily romantic lean.

The piece that I find most inspiring about these naming constructs is that while they all say something interesting about the wines themselves, they also tell a story about the winery brand, but especially about the values behind the man who runs it. He clearly values artistry, creativity, family, and curiosity.

Bonus: Check out this awesome bottle of Malbec that takes the Zoetrope label and brings it to life with a twist.