A local project in our own backyard, FRCH NELSON’s Hospitality and Retail-Mixed Use studios have teamed up on the renovation of Cincinnati’s iconic Music Hall. We were tasked with an overhaul to the environmental graphics and wayfinding strategies in addition to the FF&E packages for the Symphony Offices. As a treat for all our hard work, some lucky FRCH-ers were offered the chance at a behind-the-scenes tour of the renovation-in-progress – before they close the doors until the grand re-opening in early October.

Some additional Music Hall facts:

• It’s the sixth oldest symphony orchestra in the U.S. and the oldest orchestra in Ohio, houses the largest symphony music library in the U.S.
• It was built in 1878, this classic entertainment venue is considered one of the best and most beautiful concert theaters in the world, and was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1975
• Music Hall originally served the city as its first convention center
• Music Hall was built over a pauper’s cemetery, which has also helped fuel its reputation as one of the most haunted places in America

NELSON’s Boston office was awarded Gold in Interior Design Competition by the 8th Annual International Design Awards for the Google, Cambridge Campus Expansion, Massachusetts Project.

IDA honorary juries examined over 1000 entries submitted by architects and designers of interiors, fashion, products, and graphics from 52 countries throughout the world. After final decisions had been made, the jury rewarded the best professional and emerging designers for their achievements in terms of design, creativity, usability and innovation. Judging was a rigorous process, with winners receiving publication of their work in the International Design Awards Book of Designs. The coveted IDA Trophy will be awarded to all Designer of the Year title winners at the official biennial International Design Awards Ceremony in Los Angeles.

This annual competition recognizes, honors, and promotes legendary design visionaries and uncovers emerging talents in Architecture, Interior, Product, Graphic, and Fashion Design on global level.

The members of the jury included Alice Blackwood Editor, Design Quarterly, Kahi Lee – Host, HGTV’s “Design on a Dime”, Style Network’s “My Celebrity Home”, Melissa Sterry – Interdisciplinary Design Scientist, Founder, Societas,Josh Rubin – Editor-in-Chief, Founder, and Publisher, Cool Hunting, Martin Venzky – Stalling, Senior Advisor, CMU STeP, Jeffrey Nemeroff – Co-Founder, Creative Director, Entra Magazine, Jordan Landes-Brenman CEO, Haute House PR & Marketing, Raj Nandan – Managing Director, Indesign Group, William Menking – Founder, Editor-in-Chief, The Architects’ Newspaper, Nicole Lloyd – Senior Art Buyer, Deutsch, Inc., Rebecca Epstein Kong – Co-founder, Artware Editions, Aaron Kenedi – Editor-in-Chief, Print, Geraldine Grisey – Editor, Punky B Fashion Diary.

PROJECT DESCRIPTION

Google came to NELSON in 2010 looking to design 20,000 SF of office and kitchen/café space. This modest beginning rapidly grew into a 1200-person, multi- building ‘campus’ located in the MIT Kendall Square area of Cambridge, MA. Paramount to the project’s success was the connection of three buildings surrounding a parking garage with two purposefully built infill buildings forming the nucleus of Google’s campus. Google’s corporate design strategy includes creating spaces that reflect each location’s history and character. Visioning sessions held with ‘Googlers’ resulted in a master plan concept based on Boston’s iconic MBTA transportation system, the “T.” Each building is assigned a color coded ‘line’ and each floor a ‘stop.’ Inspired and guided by the stop’s surrounds, the goal was to create a Boston/Cambridge office. Highlights include a Red Line “Kendall Square” stop as the main entrance. Visitors arrive inside a Red Line subway car, setting up the overall campus experience. Other stops include a micro kitchen with real canoes referencing boating on the adjacent Charles River. At “Charles/MGH” Red Line floor, the luxury Liberty Hotel riffs off of the former infamous Charles Street Jail, mixing lavish appointments with real jail cell doors. A Back Bay Victorian row house library pays homage to the Green Line “Arlington Street” stop, but with a modern twist. The historic “Park Street” floor offers an inspired cafe with rooftop garden views interpreted as the Boston Public Gardens. And, at America’s first public beach – the Blue Line’s “Revere Beach” celebrates with a lighthouse and lounge. Nothing is too outrageous to picture, and one-size-fits-all workstations compliment an array of amenities fostering productive ‘alone’ time as well as collaboration. While innovation and creativity are crucial, Google’s metric focus insures that everything meets data-driven criteria. Google has global commitment to sustainability and spaces are LEED Gold or Platinum Certified.

Please join us in congratulating the Boston Team!

NELSON has won a 2013 Green GOOD DESIGN Award from the European Centre for Architecture, Art, Design and Urban Studies and the Chicago Anthenaeum Museum of Architecture and Design for its design of the Verizon Innovation Center in Waltham, MA.

Green GOOD DESIGN identifies and emphasizes the word’s most important examples of sustainable design and develops public awareness programs to promote which companies are doing the best job in sustainable design for our world environments.

For 2013 Green GOOD DESIGN, hundreds of submissions were received from around the world. Members of the European Centre’s International Advisory Committee – worldwide leaders in the design industry – served as the jury and selected over 100 products, programs, people and projects as outstanding examples of Green Design from 22 nations.

As Nevada County prepares for the future of its historic Nevada City Courthouse, NELSON Worldwide’s Civic & Justice leaders, David Crotty and Greg Lehman, along with their team, are at the forefront of evaluating its potential. In collaboration with the county and public stakeholders, they are conducting a “highest and best use” study to envision a viable, community-oriented future for the building.

Read more with The Union here.

Do you remember what you wanted to be when you grew up? Was it a lion tamer or a schoolteacher, a pop star or a veterinarian? Everything was possible as a child – you could be anything. But how did you choose, how do you know what you don’t know? With endless possibilities, where do you start?

At American Girl and Melissa & Doug, the store is the gateway to that journey – the place where each story begins. With exploration and discovery, these brands have elevated what toys can do to educate and are bridging the gap between imagination and reality. The same can be applied for any kid’s environment. With peer play at the core, and the space conducive to it, studies have shown that a child will develop school adjustment skills and become better at social integration, emotional regulation, verbal communication and expressing creativity.

Most children don’t have access to online shopping. For a lot of kids, the store is the first introduction. We need the store to connect the product to the child. The most successful and engaging kids stores have a very literal customer journey (follow the yellow brick road) animated and storybook like. These imaginative environments can lead a child to discover new interests and these innovative products by American Girl and Melissa & Doug bolster the process of play to provide more possibilities closer to reality.

We can incorporate all these larger understandings into how we design a store. From prior experience (we were all young once), we know that kids are drawn to miniature expressions of grown-up apparel and products. These magnetic visual cues invite children to consider possibilities that they may not run across in their day-to-day life. In a store design, child-sizing is the way to put on kid goggles and change the point of view to 36” high. All they want to do is play. Play is planting the seeds and trying on is experiencing different possibilities. Together, these experiences created in-store can introduce an idea to a child that could grow into a career path.

Connecting the dots even further, the memories made (whether imaginative or real) create a lasting bond with the brands, much like a friendship. As a mom, I appreciate any opportunity that will help my kids become the best versions of themselves. Having enjoyed visiting these stores, and now being a part of the design process I have an even higher appreciation of what they can do to promote learning and enrich play. Let your imagination run wild like a child’s and come experience for yourself the wonder and magic of today’s kid’s store.

Can you come out and play?

CINCINNATI – April 7, 2023 – Award-winning architecture, design, and strategy firm NELSON Worldwide is excited to announce the advancement of Tyler Rice to Director, Environmental Graphic Design (EGD). Tyler will continue to provide high-level creative guidance from a projects’ inception all the way through to completion. On any given day, he could be kicking off the experience strategy for a new QSR concept, digging into construction details for a Workplace branding package or mentoring NELSON’s younger designers to help them build their own confidence and passion for design.

“Tyler is a talented leader and an integral part of the NELSON Worldwide team,” says Chairman and Chief Executive Officer at NELSON Worldwide, John “Ozzie” Nelson Jr. “A fantastic collaborator, I look forward to watching him meaningfully integrate environmental graphics and branding across all NELSON practices.”

Passionate about championing the best idea for any given problem, Tyler elevates the most innovative solutions to meet client needs. In addition to the work Tyler already does in the retail and workplace practices, he will also integrate environmental graphics and branding across other practices, from healthcare and hospitality, to industrial and beyond. Recognizing that a brand’s identity is much deeper than a mark or typeface, Tyler and team develop solutions that combine a company’s mission and values, setting brands apart by cutting through the clutter with relevant and memorable disruption.“Some of our clients may only get a chance to build a new headquarters, restaurant prototype, or project once or twice in their careers,” notes Tyler. “I often remind myself of that fact, and look to approach each project with a level of gratitude and enthusiasm because we get to do it everyday. It’s humbling to recognize that we can create immersive experiences that build deeper connections.”

With more than 10 years’ experience in the industry, Tyler joined NELSON Worldwide as Senior Graphic Designer in 2021. His prior experience includes time as a designer for a creative agency that produced environmental graphics for major sporting events, stadiums, and training facilities across the country. Seeing how fans and athletes connected to their passions through the projects he was a part of was especially rewarding. Now, through his work at NELSON, Tyler feels the same rewarding experience can be achieved by helping people feel more connected to their own places of work and the brands they interact with through graphic design.

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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.