Reflecting on 10 years

This year marks an anniversary a sorts, which more than anything is simply, and quite significantly, a reflection point. 2014 is CONima's 10th year of existence as a business entity, providing architecture and design services to support innovation and collaboration. It certainly existed prior to that. I created conima.com in the late 1990's as my personal portfolio of work. The name created as the best way for me to describe what architecture in its purest form should be, the realization of identity through the built form, a constructed image - CONima.

The last 10 years however are less of a reflection on the meaning of architecture though. This is the mile marker on a different journey, entrepreneurship. It is with tremendous pride that I tell the world that I have lived, supported my family, and in most respects thrived on my own wits with no safety net for a decade now. I have provided good jobs for people I consider friends, helped create industry opportunities for hundreds of people, and supported many philanthropic community efforts to help provide quality educational opportunities in the arts and technology.

The sacrifices have been great at times. The collapse of Lehman Brothers and the Great Recession were particularly gut wrenching. Powerless is the best description I can give to the feelings I had as a business owner with employees when there is no work left. But even those extremes can be survived with honest communication and ethical decision making.

I've learned alot about partnerships as well. I believe that a good partnership is invaluable, but creating a lasting partnership is incredibly difficult. The things that bring people together are often different from the things needed from one another over the life of a company, but once you find the right chemistry you begin to feel unstoppable.

Mostly, I've learned that entrepreneurs are decidedly different from other people. Entrepreneurs are driven, unsatisfied, resilient, obsessively focused, and highly adaptable. They take unbelievable risks because they believe in their willingness to succeed.

Entrepreneurs are people who are willing to quit their job because they believe enough in themselves to find a way to make a living. And once you have that realization, work changes from something that makes a living into something that makes a life.

I quit working for others 10 years ago and began working for myself. My mission has adapted, but the vision is the same. The realization of identity through the built form. 

What is your story?

How can I help you understand it?

How can I help you tell it?

the Stories of Buildings

Architecture is storytelling to the soul. I help people and organizations understand, translate, and narrate those stories to the world. For me, each story is a chapter in a great book that is both read and written together.

I've always been a bit puzzled by the ego of many architects. The belief for many seems to be that buildings are an expression of the architect's personal philosophy and attitudes towards the world. The problem with this approach is that buildings and architecture, when at their best, become an embodiment of the ideals of those who inhabit and use them.

Our philosophy of architecture has always been to help unleash the creativity of the end user through the development of an intimate understanding of their difficulties, desires, and ambitions. We take this approach of empathy towards the users so that a building not only provides usable space, but becomes a usable, functional expression of the client and end users needs and aspirations.

In many ways, we believe the architect's role is to facilitate the creative process for the client. This does not mean however that the we become a drafting and permitting service for them. It is our responsibility to respectfully challenge their existing notions to find unexpected and innovative solutions.

Ultimately, these things are critical for companies. A building or space is a highly visible component of a company brand that impacts both external and internal perceptions of a business. The care and thought behind every decision becomes obvious after several thousand cumulative man-hours in a space. The building quite literally portrays an identity, it is a realization of identity through the built form. Your hopes, your needs, your story.

These stories become our journey to understand and help shape attitudes about the world we share.

Renaissance Mill

For an architect, Nikola Tesla has had an unexpected and amazing impact on my work. It began at the start of my career when I was asked to learn about and be inspired by the work of several notable scientists in the field of electricity before designing the Headquarters for the Electric Power Research Institute. Through my study, I was not just inspired by the ingenuity of Tesla, but also by the idealism that drove his pursuit. One quote in particular has always resonated deeply with me:

“War cannot be avoided until the physical cause for its recurrence is removed and this, in the last analysis, is the vast extent of the planet on which we live. Only through annihilation of distance in every respect, as the conveyance of intelligence, transport of passengers and supplies and transmission of energy will conditions be brought about some day, insuring permanency of friendly relations. What we now want is closer contact and better understanding between individuals and communities all over the earth, and the elimination of egoism and pride which is always prone to plunge the world into primeval barbarism and strife... Peace can only come as a natural consequence of universal enlightenment...”

Nikola Tesla, 1919  

Following this, I attempted to use alternating current itself to create a metaphorical architectural language for EPRI to both show their dynamism and aspirations to the outside world, but internally to help facilitate a corporate culture that has become more open and collaborative.

Most recently I have been revisiting the ideas of Tesla to help create a revitalization effort in my hometown of Augusta, GA by converting the abandoned Confederate Powder Works building into a new cultural and economic center for the city. The mill is designed not only to harness the renewable power of the Augusta Canal, but also serve as a research and technology incubation facility, and public design studio and workshop where people can come, study, learn, collaborate and work together to manufacture a better future.

While the mill itself may seem a large and potentially daunting project, we have found significant support from our community from the grassroots to the institutional and government levels. We continue to take positive incremental steps forward together as a community and are finding that their is in fact a strong culture of innovation and collaboration that is present and can be nurtured.

I am thankful for Tesla. He has been a wonderful guide towards making the world a better place.

(proposed Renaissance Mill, copyright CONima, inc., ALL RIGHTS RESERVED)

Why Innovate?

Innovation is the result of curiosity, knowledge, and understanding. Can we figure out how to do something new, or better than it was done before? Can we continue to grow and become better as we move forward? If innovation is not pursued then we must admit that we are no longer progressing, that our best days have already been seen.

I've always been bothered by the phrase, "Don't reinvent the wheel." Is the wheel really that perfect? Over time it's continually been improved. Spokes and tires have been added to improve performance and durability. However, a wheel still only follows one vector on its own so steering wheels have been attached to allow turning. Should we abandon wheels altogether? A sphere could turn in any direction if we could just figure out how to balance a load on it while controlling its movement. Wheels themselves serve merely to hold us to the ground when perhaps we should fly.

Everyday we make the future. Why not make it better?

CONima Architects' latest project is in Bloomberg Businessweek

Our recent design for Innovation Endeavor's new Palo Alto office space was featured in Bloomberg Businessweek's article on the unconventional Venture Capital Firm funded by Google's executive chairman and former chief executive officer Eric Schmidt

http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/eric-schmidts-newest-vc-fund-07282011.html

The space was designed to be a continually evolving collaboration space that could be reconfigured in minutes for any situation. Every detail was done so that those in the space could see connection details and structural support for everything from the building structure, to the furniture, and that virtually every surface was a potential collaboration point; using such details as plexiglass walls which allow dry erase markers, and simultaneously make the interior wall structure visible.

Serious Energy select CONima Architects

CONima was recently selected for strategic planning, site acquisition, design, and project management services throughout North America.

We are proud to make our contribution towards green technologies and sustainable construction methods as part of the Serious Energy team.

Equilar construction progress

We're nearing completion for the new Equilar office in Redwood City. Below are some progress pictures of construction.

second floor open office - June 17
































2nd Floor Open office - July 21


















reception area - July 21

Saba selects CONima Architects

CONima has been selected for branding and design services for Saba's Redwood Shores Headquarters. CONima's role will be to enhance Saba's brand image by creating a consistent architectural language throughout its facilities and to oversee its multiphase implementation throughout 2010.

Programming and Pre-design

The next stage was to meet with the client and go through the programming to find the spacial relationship requirements. Included in our discussions were how many exam rooms were needed and what equipment would be going into them.

The owner's original drawings for the building showing survey dimensions. (Owner's drawings do not match existing conditions)

Pre-design bubble drawing showing early space planning.

With the programming information and the bubble drawing we could see how all the spaces could fit together with the existing building.

Case Study Of A Dental Office Remodel By CONima Architects

CONima Architects was recently contracted to remodel an existing building and transform it into a dental office.

Currently the building is in a poor state of repair and has been unoccupied for the last 4 years. We're using this as a case study of how to rehabilitate a commercial space and to address the challenges of a dental/medical facility within an existing building. Over the next coulpe of months we will be showing the progress of this project.

The existing waiting room.

A view of the dated existing bathroom.

A before picture of the reception area.

Successful Environmental Inititiative

In Architecture, the push in the last decade towards sustainable design has been tremendous. However in the course of producing more efficient buildings, most firms still fall victim to an age old method of communication.

Printed Drawings:

Soon after it's inception, CONima adopted an electronic drawing delivery system. This may seem insignificant, but consider in the amount of drawing it takes for a small to mid-size project. Most drawing set are comprised of at least 50 sheets of large format paper, each sheet is close to 9sf in size. Each set is printed 5-10 times for each issuance, and is issued 4 or 5 times at various stages of a project. That can total over 20,000sf of drawings for one project.

Using the figure that 1 tree can make 16 reams of paper, which is just over 5,000sf, this means we are capable of saving an average of 4 trees for every project we do.

Midnight Oil

As I push my way through multiple 14 hour workdays, my mind has begun to stray from the task at hand. What seems more interesting to me now than coordinating a multifloor bathroom redesign and whether or not I will meet my deadline, is the role of stress in creativity, and the human capacity for motivation.

In architecture school I would often complain that programmatic and code requirements were totalitarian like obstacle in the path of great design. The truth however is that these obstacles are the only possible way to achieve great design. Not only do they provide purpose, whether filling the needs of a client or ensuring safety and accessibility to the occupants, they provide the basic challenge that must be struggle with and against in order to create something that is both beautiful and original.

What also strikes me is how significant the role of music is in creative enterprise. It allows your mind to be free from sensing all that present and around you. By engrossing your senses, it allows greater focus. The constancy of its rhythm allows you to charge through the night as if you were charging into battle.

However, this is not a thesis. The Stanford drawings are waiting for me…

EPRI selects CONima Architects

CONima has been selected to design safety improvements to the Electric Power Research Institute's Palo Alto campus. CONima will oversee multiple exterior and site related life safety and risk management projects to be completed in 2009.

Project Sequencing

The most common problem I run into in architecture and construction is that the scheduled duration of a project is inadequate. While experience has given me the ability to overcome this problem in most cases, saving a project schedule inevitably comes at the expense of either quality, creativity, or project cost.

Quality:
The main aspects of quality that suffer when a project does not have adequate time are materials. Almost all common building materials, unless already in stock and available, take 4 to 6 weeks to make. If specialty finishes or items are needed for their fabrication, then it can take 8 to 12 weeks. To break this down, use carpet as an example:

If a construction schedule is less than 4 weeks, carpet selection is limited to in stock items only.
If the schedule is extended to 6 weeks, 'standard' and 'quick ship' items now become available, even possibly if they are not currently in stock because the manufacturer already has the necessary yarn
However any higher end carpet will require a minimum 8 to 12 weeks in order to aquire the yarn, ship it to the carpet factory, make the carpet, and ship it to the construction site.

Now consider in the carpet scenario that the same thing is occurring in regards to cabinets, doors, furniture, and a host of other items. These items cannot all be installed simultaneously. Once this is taken into consideration, it becomes clear that, unless finish materials are identified and order prior to the start of construction, most tenant improvement type projects will require a minimum 12 to 14 week schedule for construction.

Creativity:
The limiting factors for creativity are two-fold. An abbreviated construction schedule limits the material choices available to a project. Also, the sequence of events that are needed to design properly are often forced to be abbreviated or eliminated altogether. The following stages of events and rough time lines should be taken into account:

Programming - May be done in house prior to hiring an architect, or done over a period of several days or weeks (depending on size) with an architect
Field Survey - one to three days typically for projects that are limited to interior scope
Schematic Design - This phase is highly variable. Depending upon the ability to reconcile a clients programmatic and stylistic needs within the framework of the building that has been selected, it can vary from 1 week to 1-2 months. However, for most small to mid-size projects accomodating 2 weeks for the planning of this should be sufficient.
Design Development and Code Analysis - This phase is mostly determined by the size and age of a building, and should range from 2-4 weeks. However on smaller projects this can commonly be condensed to one week.
Contract Documents - The final phase of architectural work prior to permitting is the creation of all drawings, details, and specifications for construction, as well as all information related to accessibility and life safety necessary for permitting. This work requires several weeks in most cases.

With all of this work taken into account, the design phase of a tenant improvement project should include 4 weeks for small projects, and 12-16 weeks for larger and more complex ones. When this process is shortened, proper programming usually has not taken place and the project specifications are left more generalized. Under extreme shortening of the process, an initial set may be required for permitting purposes only, with the knowledge that some construction details are not fully resolved. This of course leads to the last area of sacrifice.

Cost:
Cost gets impacted in three ways primarily.

Incomplete designs are bid to contractors, which result in modifications along the way that result in change orders to the construction contract.

The construction schedule does not have adequate time to allow for proper sequencing of events which results in overtime costs for construction labor

General Contractors are not given adequate time to investigate possible hidden deficiencies within a building, resulting in added costs to remedy those unforeseen conditions.

The variations of problems and requirements are endless, and ultimately every project must make sacrifices somewhere along the way. However having an experienced architect involved as early in the process as possible will help tremendously to navigate through these issues. A good architect can also overcome most of the scheduling hurdles thrown their way, but if the process is shortened, both the client and architect should discuss what sacrifices it will entail prior to starting work.

Picture of the Day 2/20

CONima Jet Fuel:

My friends at Mercedes sent this photo after they moved into their new space and told me to use it in an advertisement one day.

I have now fulfilled my end of the bargain...Thanks for the photo!

Commercial Lease Negotiations

If there is one thing I wish all clients, brokers, and project managers could understand, it is the critical importance of involving an architect in site selection. During the five years that CONima has been in business, we have saved our clients hundreds of thousands of dollars in avoided costs by evaluating buildings prior to signing a lease.

Unfortunately, I've probably seen clients spend well over twice that amount trying to resolve fundamental problems with buildings that went unnoticed because they were not evaluated prior to leasing.

So numbers are easy to throw out and they sound impressive, but they mean very little without understand what an architect actually does during the site selection and lease negotiation phases of a project. For this article, I will focus on tenant improvement related work only, as core and shell construction has an entirely separate set of concerns.

So what are the tasks?

Programming and Fit Planning:
Every client knows how many people they have working for them, and most have an idea how many they want to plan for in the future. However working off of simple ratios of square footage per person ignores office standards, adjacency requirements, ancillary spaces, labs, data centers, etc...all of which are critical components to laying out a space successfully. Unfortunately, once a lease is signed, it is too late to make sure that the building suits your needs, and typically will result in making some level of sacrifice in programmatic functionality of a space.

Egress and Path of Travel:
Nobody would advertise a building that doesn't meet code, right? This is a much more frustrating problem for clients that I've had to resolve for both landlords' and tenants'. The problem is twofold.

• Codes change every few years, and things that were legal when a building was built are no longer so. With the recent adoption of the International Building Code this problem has become so exaggerated that many buildings are no longer considered legal because the method of calculating allowable floor area has now changed. Modifications to the occupancy classification further complicate this, resulting in different exiting and fire rating requirements.
• Subdividing floorspace for multiple tenants is the other major cause of headaches. Code requirements change significantly when trying to exit multiple companies from one building or floor as opposed to just one. In this case the distance between exits, overall exit travel distance, fire protection systems, and fire separations become critical. As a simple rule of thumb, one of my professors once told me,"Draw a fire in front of an exit, now see how many will die as a result. If the answer is more than zero it's your fault."

Accessibility (ADA / Title 24)
This category has unfortunately made a few landlords hate me. Accessibility is a very broad topic, but the priorities to negotiate into a lease are those deficiencies that are the most expensive to repair.

• Bathrooms, not just having a 5ft wide stall, but making sure the toilet is spaced the correct amount from the adjacent wall, are grab bars present, how much clearance is in front of the toilet? How high are the counters? Is there adequate knee space below them? Do the shower dimension comply? Fixture mounting heights? etc... A single bathroom can quickly cost over $100,000 to bring into compliance
• Building Entry, the accessibility requirement for most buildings is to have a fully accessible path to the public way. Most cities will bend this to just require it to the parking lot, but this is not much relief. In California especially, for years California's guidelines differed from federal in how to create a curb ramp to an accessible parking space, causing a great deal of commercial parking lots to currently be illegal. Additionally, the slope of the sidewalk to the building, irregularities in pavers, damaged or raised door tresholds, etc...can also lead to a great deal of remediation work. A recent client had to spend $40,000 repaving the entry plaza to their office because their lease did not include a provision for maintaining and accessible pathway into the building.

Picture of the Day

MBRDNA Fuel Cell and Telematics lab in Palo Alto:

designed by CONima Architects

One of those cases where a picture can only hint at the challenges that went into creating it. For this space, not only did we have the standard automobile lab challenges of getting cars into an office building and safely exhausting the engines outside of the building, we had the added challenge of monitoring and exhausting hydrogen in order to prevent any possible explosions. Lastly, the cars were required to be placed on portable lifts. This meant that not only did the building foundation have to be strengthened to handle the weight of several automobiles, the first floor slab of the building had to be lowered by one foot to allow enough clearance for raised vehicles.

Ring Central selects CONima Architects

Ring Central has selected CONima Architects for its new headquarters in San Mateo, CA. CONima will oversee design and construction for the new 13,000sf office space due for completion in Q2 2009.

got layoffs?

Wow...it's been over a year since the last post and quite alot has changed in the world.

In today's economic times companies are less worried about finding new spaces and expanding, and are more inclined to be looking at layoffs and reducing footprint. In this scenario, having an architect who is familiar with interior remodels is more important than ever.

CLICK HERE FOR CASE STUDY

At CONima, we have experience in the architecture of consolidation through layoffs and as a means to generate additional income and lower overhead costs. We can work with you to establish office standards that allow for both employee privacy as well as improved workflow efficiency.