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Systems Strategy
Architects tend to be good at conceptualizing space and how it’s used—and filmmakers are adept at visualizing time. So for DF&A, finding new, smarter ways to organize activities within built spaces is a perfect fit. We’ve worked with clients to pinpoint the intersection of their spatial constraints and their client needs and to develop strategies to make the most of their resources, from WeWork’s Kit of Possibilities and Media + Arts to the furniture systems of the Aloft hotels.
KIT OF POSSIBILITIES
For WeWork HQ we developed an ambitious prototype reimagination and expansion of their offerings we called the Kit of Possibilities, an infinitely flexible, scalable system for use (and rental) of interior space. We defined and categorized a kit of parts that can mix and match to lay out every use, program, size, and type of work that WeWork supports.
PARTS OF THE KIT
"Parts" are categorized by what people do in the space: rest, work, or assemble. These general categories correspond to certain types of spaces: rest is for a bedroom or hotel room, for example. Within the larger category is a more specific use: “assemble” for what? Performance? Ceremony? Worship? And finally there’s the question of occupancy. How many people does the space need to accommodate? All of this information can be conveyed with clear icons and simple notation.
VARIATIONS ON THE PARTS
The notation system reflects what’s happening in the space generally, what people are doing there more specifically, and how many people are doing it, all of which together dictate the type and size of the space. We end up with clear notation symbols like AC.32 = Assembly Space (for) Celebrating (for) 32 people.
A USER FRIENDLY APPROACH TO SPACE PROGRAMMING & SPACE LAYOUT
In our user-friendly interface, clients can make spatial decisions based on current programming needs and instantly see real-time changes to the model, improving efficiency and increasing creativity in design.
WEWORK MEDIA + ARTS
For WeWork HQ, we developed a new community-based offering for creatives in which discrete units of studio and storage space can be leased according to need and membership type, for both production and for events programming. We call it Media + Arts.
FURNITURE SYSTEMS
Designing furniture is a bit like designing time: how do people spend the different moments of their day? And what do they need to do that best? For ALoft we developed an ambitious prototype with furniture systems that can be deployed worldwide across a diverse range of hotels.
CUSTOM DESIGNED FURNITURE THAT MAKES A BRAND STATEMENT
Our custom-designed Aloft furniture is stylish and striking enough to serve as a statement of brand, but flexible and utilitarian enough to work across different layouts, for all kinds of uses. We moved away from rigid, single-use built-ins to create singular pieces that can be reconfigured for multiple purposes. Our banquette, for instance, does triple duty with check-in waiting, cocktail lounging, and breakfast dining, and can be reconfigured for different hotel layouts. Our dividing screen in the guestrooms that do headboard and vanity mirrors.
This 10-year-old brand was launched before iPhones, before Instagram, and before “Selfie” made it into the dictionary. So Marriott hired us to re-imagine the story and elevate the experience of Aloft Hotels. We developed a fresh, new, contemporary identity that spoke to the self-expressive target guests by weaving music, art, and social media throughout the entire guest experience.
Because of our modular experience and our advanced digital capacities, DF&A can design complex geometrical architectural elements and shepherd them through digital fabrication. That means we can create whatever a project calls for both structurally and aesthetically, whether it’s a hyperbolic curved Corian canopy or a brass screenwall that promotes both visibility and privacy. We have the skill, the experience, and the sense of unlimited creative potential that make all things possible.
As architects, we pride ourselves on starting new projects without preconceived designs or solutions. But when we began building modular buildings, we realized that, with the construction methodology in its (relative) infancy, there was both a need and an opportunity to innovate at a systemic level, propelling forward both our own modular work and the industry as a whole. Now, in addition to setting standards in modular project design—with complex, record-breaking high rises whose designs belie their modularity—DF&A invents processes and products that transform the way modular buildings are built.
