What inspires my everyday work?

DLR Group’s steps to bolster the conversation around utilizing healthy materials in our projects are so encouraging. I’m proud to have been an advocate for the firm signing the AIA Healthy Materials Pledge in 2021. We’re focusing on holistically changing how our firm and clients think about materials; educating our teams to better inform our clients on materiality, products/chemicals to avoid; and ensuring that our libraries include and highlight safe, healthy materials have been comprehensive priorities. These changes will take time, but we’re committed to providing tools to make selecting healthy finishes quick and easy to pull at home, virtually, or in the office.

How am I working towards heightened sustainability now?

Leading interior design on the firm’s Wood Innovation Grant and merging hospitality into the world of timber has been another branch of our sustainability efforts. The U.S. Forest Service’s grant opened doors for our team to take the design of a timber hotel to a complete concept, with the necessary code and user experience research to back up our ideas. Designing as if this were reality means accounting for site constraints, weather, local code, and other considerations in developing an actual building. This strategy is essential for calculating wood’s carbon impact and cost and showing hospitality owners, developers, and guests that they can have a sustainable, cost-effective hotel without giving up a beautiful, top-of-the-line experience. It’s not just a concept; a prototype is being created this winter that reflects our design.

Which current projects make me excited to come to work every day?

The Dream Las Vegas on the South Strip near the “Welcome to Las Vegas” sign is my current “it” project. The 21-story hotel is a significant step forward in expanding this part of the strip and adding scale to the area. I’m working alongside the Dream Hotel group to create iconic, unique designs that emanate luxury and appeal to those looking for an exclusive, modern design that will set this hotel apart from the rest.

What’s the next big trend that will change the design industry?

The cross-sector design approach melding workplace with hospitality. This concept is more of a reality of the future of workplace design and less of a trend. The future workplace is constantly changing, especially since the transition to hybrid work models or remote working. Our approach to “workitality,” or bringing hospitality design into the workplace to better appeal to the modern workforce, will be huge in the coming months and years. We want to infuse a sense of “home” into the workplace that people have become accustomed to throughout the last couple of years.

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