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A CREATOR'S COURSE
Western architectural firms navigate the currents of
client demand.
Brian A. Lee
In the world of architectural design, trends sprout from the
well-fortified soil of client demand. With so much at stake
in real estate investments, it’s little wonder that developers,
owners, tenants and municipalities command so much in the style,
utility and efficiency components of their architectural products.
Western Real Estate Business recently spoke with representatives
from several western design firms to see what direction their
industry is taking.
The Art of Design
According to Jeffrey Gill, principal at MCG Architecture’s
Irvine, California, office, the New Urbanism movement is showing
no signs of slowing down, especially within his firm’s
retail focus area. The design movement that started in the late
1980s and early ‘90s emphasized walkable neighborhoods
and other public places as well as appropriate architecture
and planning. It continues to influence the various real estate
players in the West.
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| Located in Ladera Ranch, California, the 280,000-square-foot
Ladera Ranch Mercantile East Shopping Center, designed by Perkowitz
+ Ruth Architects, offers non-traditional architecture emulating a
Pasadena-style art-deco image. |
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“We’re seeing more and more interest from developers
and cities to create environments that encourage shoppers to
gather, relax and convene with neighbors, similar to the bygone
era of Main Street U.S.A.,” says Gill. “It is interesting
to see trends reborn. The current mixed-use trend — consisting
of housing or office space over retail — has roots in
our town concepts created across America. It’s great to
see us come back to our roots as we fulfill the needs of a changing
society.”
Sy Perkowitz, president and CEO of Long Beach, California-based
Perkowitz + Ruth Architects, which focuses primarily on retail
stores and entertainment centers, sees the continued focus on
the New Urbanism style in “smaller windows and doorways,
and an emphasis on promoting walkways between and among retailers,
which is starting to affect power center design. Even parking
lots are becoming more soothing intercepts for shoppers, with
more landscaping and shrub buffers.”
Daniel Scott, vice president of Robert Kubicek Architects and
Associates, Inc. (RKAA), a predominantly retail design firm
in Phoenix, agrees with that observation. “The trend toward
greater design emphasis from our clients, city planning departments
and even the general public is causing a wonderful change to
our streetscapes,” he says. “Shopping centers are
no longer just a sign band with a parking lot.”
Gill sees this New Urbanism design style continuing into the
future, but the focal point will extend beyond the urban core
into rapidly expanding suburbs. “It’s not just the
need for housing, but rather the draw away from sterile parking
fields to intimate gathering areas,” he says.
While expanding with suburban growth, New Urbanism will never
drift too far from its essence — the diversity of design
that is so vital to renewal efforts in urban settings. According
to Perkowitz, this movement applies especially to retail architecture
in high-density, metropolitan areas.
“The mix of uses reflects the desire of people to diversify
their leisure and entertainment habits, as well as the challenge
to integrate retailing back into the urban setting,” he
says. “If successfully integrated, these new mixes will
enliven our cities and communities while providing critical
revenue. “ Perkowitz adds that the long-delayed emergence
of a rail system in Southern California will contribute to that
momentum by providing additional opportunities for in-fill and
transit-based development.
Scott maintains that architectural clients, regardless of the
project type or location, are looking for higher-end design
elements these days, ones consisting of a wide variety of existing
and new materials. “False stone veneer is one of the materials
that has made a big difference in design trends [lately],”
he says. “Designers are now able to use stone masonry
again, which was for years cost prohibitive. Cost is still a
factor [but] developers have realized that upscale sells, therefore,
they are willing to pay a little more for better designs.”
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| Phase I of Ventana Lakes Marketplace, designed by
Robert Kubicek Architects and Associates Inc., is an approximately
83,000-square-foot shopping center in Peoria, Arizona. |
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Phase I of Ventana Lakes Marketplace, an approximately 83,000-square-foot
retail shopping center designed by RKAA in Peoria, Arizona,
reflects this architectural trend. “It is a higher-end
looking center that features eight different paint colors, faux
stone veneer, masonry, two stucco textures and a mission-style
concrete roof tile,” Scott says. “This is definitely
not the standard stucco box we’ve seen in years past.”
Says Perkowitz, “Because retailers are charged with continually
updating their stores to reflect the latest design and fashion
trends, we must constantly adapt our designs and materials to
reflect and promote these changes.”
Along with the high-end design focus, more and more modern elements
are finding their way into architectural design, says Mark Blunck,
public relations coordinator for Alameda, California-based MBH
Architects, which designs retail, multifamily and office projects.
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| Sierramonte Corporate Center, designed by MBH Architects,
is a six-story, 160,000-square-foot office complex located near San
Francisco. The center’s floors, which are not user specific,
offer both functionality and flexibilty to tenants. |
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“Some of the big-box retailers are exploring the idea
of bringing more modern design architecture to their stores,”
says Blunck. “Multifamily projects [we’ve designed]
are bringing a modern aesthetic to neighborhoods without overwhelming
the existing urban fabric.”
The Color of Money
Mitch Smith, president of Bellevue, Washington-based MulvannyG2
Architecture, a predominantly retail and mixed-use design firm,
sees a greater awareness and expectation by his clients with
regard to the LEED (Leadership in Energy & Environmental
Design) initiative and green buildings.
“That heightened expectation [for high-performance and
sustainability] demands a higher level of [architectural] expertise
and credentials associated with the leadership of green design,”
says Smith. “Today, developers are now aware of the value
of their projects’ impact in the community beyond the
property line.”
Blunck sees future architectural preferences falling in line
with the focus on energy efficiency and other green standards.
“[We’ll see] building design and orientation that
relates to the microclimatic conditions of a site in order to
reduce energy consumption,” he says, citing a recent Metropolis
magazine study reporting that 40 to 50 percent of the energy
usage in the country is for the operation of the built environment.
John Deenihan, principal for Rothenberg Sawasy Architects (RSA)
in Los Angeles, maintains that, in the last few years, all construction
types have shown a greater awareness of green issues, which
include sustainable architecture, reuse and recycle concerns,
and, of course, LEED certification. This progressive building
focus spans the entire commercial real estate industry. RSA
has two LEED-certified staff members and an in-house green committee
to respond to this customer demand.
Perkowitz professes that the green building movement has not
only forced design firms to expand their portfolio of services
but it has also helped advance the overall quality of the field.
“The ever-increasing demand for urban sustainability and
energy efficiency has led to dramatic improvements in nearly
every aspect of architectural development, from improved HVAC
systems that limit ozone emissions to energy efficient windows
and lighting systems,” says Perkowitz. Perkowitz + Ruth
Architects advocates the urban sustainability approach with
regard to water use and energy efficiency in hopes that cities,
developers and retailers will learn to merge cost-efficent practices
with environmental considerations. The benefits don’t
end there.
“By saving clients money on their operating costs, we
are able to shift resources to fund higher quality design finishes,
streetscape improvements, signage and community transportation
links, which translate to a higher return on investment as well
as a more aesthetic and responsible contribution to the community,”
says Perkowitz.
Architectural Ways & Means
Robert Steinberg, president of The Steinberg Group, based in
Silicon Valley, California, knows that real estate conditions
factor greatly into what becomes a trend in the architectural
field. One of the major issues in California — land availability
— affects all aspects of real estate, especially architects,
who are so integral in the beginning stages of real estate development.
They must stay on top of such pressing issues so their business
doesn’t fall behind.
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| Located in San Jose, California, Avalon Bay at Cahill
Park (left) and Park Townsend, both designed by The Steinberg Group,
embody two of the current architectural trends —mixed-use development
with residential and steel-frame housing construction, respectively. |
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“As the use of land becomes more and more of an issue,
architectural design firms are closely evaluating the utilization
of land within its designs,” he says. “Today, architectural
firms are designing vertical facilities to replace the acres
of one-story buildings throughout the West.” Steinberg
cites as an example the large home-builders that are shifting
toward construction of higher-density, mixed-use buildings,
including live-work spaces and loft options. Avalon Bay at Cahill
Park — located in San Jose, California, and designed by
The Steinberg Group — is a good example of this shift
in residential focus. The mixed-use housing development combines
living space, workspace and retail all in one innovative and
appealing setup.
Consistent with the premium put on commercial real estate in
high-density markets such as Southern California is the recent
surge in major renovation projects in the retail and office
sectors. More than just facelifts, these mall, shopping center
and office renovations are complete retrofits or teardowns designed
to re-create public space and reposition new tenants, says Gill.
Of course, changing demographics factor greatly into the retail
overhaul trend.
One such project is the MCG Architecture-designed Country Club
Plaza in Sacramento, California, an Arizona Partners development
with two existing mall anchors. The majority of space between
the anchors was demolished to make way for an updated mall with
approximately 400,000 square feet for major tenants, such as
Sports Chalet and Off Broadway, and the rest for small shops
and a food court. Streets around the property were repositioned
to allow for a larger parking area and new pad buildings.
MulvannyG2 Architecture is also witnessing a higher utilization
of existing properties versus new developments as well as more
public/private ventures for commercial projects. Smith says
this movement puts an emphasis on overall design excellence
as the valued architectural component connected to successful
projects.
As for the process and materials behind the architectural design,
the use of steel frames for housing is gaining momentum. “Steel
is more durable and requires less maintenance than traditional
wood framing options,” says Steinberg. The Steinberg Group’s
design of Park Townsend, a high-end, five-story housing structure
in San Jose, features steel framing. Deenihan of RSA points
out that metal-stud framing has spread from commercial construction
to residential work, particularly multifamily condo projects,
because of the increasing liability issues attached to wood.
“Wood can shrink, bend, twist, morph and can harbor mold,
termites, etc. The insurance industry has driven the shift to
replace wood with the more stable metal,” he says.
Facing the need for greater speed and efficiency in the design
and planning process, architects see the off-site prefabrication
of building components becoming more common. Technology has
served to streamline the specialized work that often requires
the utilization by firms of smaller design teams. This allows
an architectural firm to be more responsive, not only to client
demands but to the ebb and flow of the economy.
“Developers and retailers want a rapid response, which
means we need to understand the complexities of the building
site and adjacent relationships so as not to put up just another
box,” says Gill.
Scott of RKAA says that the ever-growing list of client needs
coupled with the sagging economy of the past few years has caused
architectural firms to have to do more with less. The latest
technological tools help his firm keep up with the pace of business.
“We keep looking at new CAD programs and information technology
to help crunch time,” Scott says. “Architects sell
time. Any way we can get more out of 60 minutes is a plus.”
Demands to Deliver
According to Andrew Beilfuss, vice president of RTKL’s
Los Angeles healthcare practice, evidence-based design is on
the rise in the architectural industry. “Clients would
like to see measurable, probable results before major capital
investments are made,” he says. “This trend is especially
apparent in the healthcare industry, which was once driven by
insurance companies, but is now becoming increasingly consumer-driven.”
The patients that hospitals treat these days are more informed
than ever due to the information available to them on the Internet
and from other sources. To stay competitive in serving such
a cognizant clientele, hospital leaders are demanding that architects
bring to the planning table research data confirming the efficiency
of their completed designs and ensuring the success of the project
at hand.
The increased demands for product quality are consistent with
the greater attention given to an architectural firm’s
approach, manifesting itself in the lengthening of the design
review process. City planning departments are becoming more
involved in approving architectural designs, requiring more
upfront information with higher design standards.
“The net effect is causing us to spend a lot more time
in the design phase of a project, increasing the cost to our
clients,” says Scott. “Since most projects are time
critical, we end up having to squeeze time from our construction
document phase to make up the difference.”
To better sustain this additional weight, the design/build process
has increasingly become a collaboration of builders and architects
working together at the initiation of a project. Facing so many
challenges in delivering design excellence to the customer,
architects find that this partnering streamlines the product
delivery system and ensures the greatest amount of success with
regard to style, utility and efficiency.
“This notion of teaming is becoming more common in these
fast-track type projects,” says Gill.
©2004 France Publications, Inc. Duplication
or reproduction of this article not permitted without authorization
from France Publications, Inc. For information on reprints of
this article contact Barbara
Sherer at (630) 554-6054.
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