Being part of the Hospitality Studio, I am always interested in staying at unique and different lodging experiences when traveling. So, on a recent trip to the Pacific Northwest with my husband and friends, we journeyed a little further north than originally planned to spend the night in sphere tree houses. It was definitely worth it!

Located in a coastal rainforest on Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada, the spheres are the creation of Tom Chudleigh. We had a chance to meet Tom and see his workshop where he is currently constructing more sphere tree houses. He utilizes techniques from boat building when constructing and outfitting the spheres. Practically everything is made by Tom, even the hinges and locks for the windows and doors.

The spaces inside the spheres are incredible efficient with storage nooks in any “open” space. Each are equipped with a bed, seating and a kitchenette area enough to make coffee or tea in the morning. There is no running water in the spheres but the bath facilities are very close by. Each sphere is hung in middle of three trees in a way that doesn’t harm but allows the tree to continue to grow and thrive.

If you ever find yourself on Vancouver Island, I high recommend making the journey to forest and staying in a Free Spirit Sphere!

Photo credit: Free Spirit Sphere

Some attorneys start to get nervous when workplace designers discuss the private office. Why? We live in a corporate world now dominated by open layouts and free address plans, some very successful and others, less so. As law firms continue to modernize and explore trends that were long ago adopted by other industries, we’re seeing more of them embrace progressive space concepts than ever before. Does this mean dedicated, private attorney offices are on their way out?

This year, retail brands are facing new challenges as shoppers return to stores and have a new outlook on fulfilling their holiday shopping lists after the height of the pandemic. Brands must rapidly evolve to stand out among competitors by ramping up their holiday strategies both online and in-store.

This holiday season we are sharing key insights that will drive retail transformation into the new year. Download the full report today.

Restaurants are more than just a place to eat. They are where we gather, connect, and spend time with loved ones. For decades, we’ve been dining in and driving through these eateries, but what happens when these experiences are taken away from us? And what will the industry look like after COVID-19?

There are many factors that will shape the future of food and beverage, but at a minimum, the industry will be led by low touch and high impact experiences. Download the report to uncover the top four insights that will influence the future of food and beverage.

The COVID-19 pandemic spurred an overnight disruption to our daily lives—driving unprecedented shifts in every business sector. As hubs of commerce that span almost every sector, shopping centers and mixed-use properties will be forced to juggle a myriad of “new norms.” Download the report to uncover six key shifts that will drive the future of the retail and mixed-use industries.

Founded in 1979, Sweetwater has gone above and beyond to provide musicians with the best selection, service, and support needed to create music. Sweetwater wanted to fine-tune its approach to meet today’s needs of consumers. For its newest location, the brand turned to global architecture, design, and strategy firm NELSON Worldwide to create a new retail concept better suited for Sweetwater customers who want to peruse, experience, and purchase in a setting that encourages product engagement. The Sweetwater concept store gives consumers a first-class retail experience with a unique showroom-like design and tailored areas to test equipment. Read the full article here.

Founded in 1979, Sweetwater has gone above and beyond to provide musicians with the best selection, service, and support needed to create music. Sweetwater wanted to fine-tune its approach to meet today’s needs of consumers. For its newest location, the brand turned to global architecture, design, and strategy firm NELSON Worldwide to create a new retail concept better suited for Sweetwater customers who want to peruse, experience, and purchase in a setting that encourages product engagement. The Sweetwater concept store gives consumers a first-class retail experience with a unique showroom-like design and tailored areas to test equipment. Read the full article here.

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.

This pandemic is unlike anything we’ve seen before and has forced architects and designers to take a more critical eye to our projects in every industry, especially healthcare. The sad realization is, history repeats itself, but this is our chance to evaluate and make changes today that will have a significant impact in the future.

So how can we help?

According to U.S. Army researchers, harsh cleaners must be used every two hours to keep hospital surfaces free of bacteria such as MRSA and VRE. For many facilities, this frequency of environmental services is just improbable. Therefore, the critical decisions that go into interior solutions for hospitals must offer opportunities to minimize the effects of contagions. When selecting materials and fixtures, healthcare interior designers have the responsibility to uphold the most stringent infection control standards.

Here are a few smart and healthy interior design solutions for clinical spaces:

1. Paint Shield/Registered Anti-Microbial Paint kills 99.9 percent of Staph, MRSA, E. coli, VRE, and Enterobacter aerogenes within two hours of exposure on painted surfaces and continues fighting for up to four years post application.
2. Copper fixtures and copper-infused mesh or upholstery on furniture mitigates bacterial and viral transmissions, while copper-filled composite hard surfaces and linens have proven to reduce the number of hospital acquired infections.
3. Silver Ion Technology is integrated into many coatings, polymers, and textiles at the molecular level of the product and not susceptible to wash-offs. This antimicrobial technology can be specified for common hospital fixtures including light switches, door handles, water tanks, bed rails, storage containers, bedding, gowns, cubicle curtains and carpet.
4. Lighting Fixtures with Disinfection Technology should be used in high-acuity spaces. Fixture current’s disinfection capabilities are safe for human use and kill up to 99.7 percent of common surface pathogens over an eight-hour period.
5. The Three I’s: Integral, Impervious, Impermeable. Seal nooks and crannies to eliminate hard-to-reach contaminants in patient areas and specify integral sinks and wall bases. Mitigate the opportunities for surface-borne pathogens with impervious hard counter surfaces. And improve cleanability with impermeable upholstery on patient and family seating.

As we enter the post-COVID-19 world, it is clear that we must harmonize design with infection control standards. These are a few easy-to-implement strategies that can be used in a wide array of solutions without ever compromising patient safety or design.

As COVID-19 changes everything around us, building amenities must change as well. The traditional definition of amenities will expand to support lifestyles and landlords will have to get creative when it comes to making sure their building and developments hold value for current and future tenants. Below we’ve highlight 10 building amenities that can be adapted to or adopted in the COVID world:
 

Rooftop Terrace / Outdoor Spaces

Efforts should be shifted to evolving and merging the physical confines of a structured building with the fresh openness of the outdoors. Whether it is re-imagining a building’s rooftop or adding an outdoor patio, allowing people the ability to go outside allows any space more flexibility and comfort during these times. 

ECMC Group – Minneapolis, MN | NELSON Worldwide

Private Production and office suites

Providing access to private, carefully managed suites allows tenants access to the technology and privacy needed to work while offering extra an layer of safety through monitoring who and how the space is used. 

NELSON Offices – Philadelphia, PA | NELSON Worldwide

Bike/Scooter Storage Room

With public transit a concern, office buildings should consider adding perks like bike/electric scooter storage or rental center to accommodate alternative transportation options.

NOMAD Tower – New York, NY | NELSON Worldwide

Private green space / nature trails

Outdoor spaces will reign supreme in the coming years. Adding green spaces to properties allows users to move activities or fitness outdoors and limit time inside. In addition to this, outdoor spaces are better suited for the new sense work-life balance many have grown accustom to during COVID-19.  

Latitude – Parsippany, NJ | NELSON Worldwide

Larger, Open co-working space

To further enforce physical distancing, providing large-open co-working spaces may allow tenants or employees to spread out. This can create more opportunities for safe collaboration, unified engagement, and increased productivity in the workplace.   

Toyota Research Institute – Los Altos, CA | NELSON Worldwide

Outdoor dining

To allow for more space and better air flow, moving cafeterias and kitchens outdoors will can create a safer food experience.. In addition to safety, these spaces offer tenants a more unique and vibrant experience to enjoy meals and breaks than before. 

Rio Robles – San Jose, CA | NELSON Worldwide

Meditation Rooms / Technology-Free zones

With a renewed focus on holistic wellness, many tenants will search for dedicated space for users  to unwind and recharge in a safe environment.

NELSON Offices – Philadelphia, PA | NELSON Worldwide

Fitness rooms with 24/7 cleaning services

While many gyms and fitness centers have hit pause during COVID-19, these spaces can still hold value in times when wellness is a top priority. For individual’s who still want to use these amenities, landlords must look into creating individual rooms and be able to provide an extensive cleaning service.

NOMAD Tower – New York, NY | NELSON Worldwide

Virtual programming

Creating omni-channel experiences will help property owners keep users engaged in times where access is limited. Apps that provide on-demand fitness classes or entertainment for families are great ways to keep providing experiences to tenants.

Grocery/Food Delivery Kiosk

To better manage who is going in and out of the building, building lobby and entrances spaces may consider adding a designated kiosk or delivery space for food and grocery delivery services.

Foodja Virtual Cafe

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