Has 3D modeling superseded the physical sketch model as a design tool? No, and here’s why.

At an internal “Design Open Studio” a few weeks ago, the conversation focused on the continued relevance of physical sketch models as an exploratory tool in the design process. While the proliferation of 3D modeling programs may suggest that the days of building sketch models are over, the fact is that hands-on model making is still a vital tool for us to iteratively explore design ideas in three dimensions. Unlike even the most flexible modeling software, which is ...[more]

by Carole Wedge and Thomas Kearns

Creation of the Learning Space: Catalysts for Envisioning and Navigating the Design Process

I want to share some notes on the 2012 Summer Design Fellowship poster and some thoughts on design communication. But before I do here’s just a brief introduction for those who are new to the program. Years ago the firm established a ten-week paid Design Fellowship for an exceptional architecture student to work with us over the summer. The application is open to all students who are, at date of submission, enrolled in an accredited professional degree program in the field of architecture.

At some point, to keep things fresh we ...[more]

An interesting read from Metropolis on how IDEO is working with different federal agencies (“IDEO takes on the government“) to design better and more humanized processes – further proof that design thinking has the power to change even non-material things.

I was especially taken with the descriptions of the interactive charrette-type exercises that everyone wanted to be involved in. People are excited to share what they know in a creative way.

It seems to be a change for a governmental system that is structured to give power to the representative few. ...[more]

Shepley Bulfinch welcomed Partners In Health co-founder Dr. Paul Farmer (“Mountains Beyond Mountains”) to our Boston office today, where he spoke at the unveiling of plans for a new rehabilitation and training center in Haiti.

We partnered with colleagues from Boston’s healthcare and design communities to deliver this pro bono project, joining with Partners in Health, Partners Healthcare, Spaulding Rehabilitation Network, and the Mass Design Group to address the immediate and long-term demand for rehabilitation services in Haiti.

Carole Wedge welcomed 80 guests to this morning’s event. “We got as much as we gave in this process,” she said, pointing to the design response forged by a tight timetable, limited ...[more]

What are the benefits – and challenges – facing architecture firms seeking to advance knowledge-based design by conducting facility evaluations on their own projects? Angela Watson and Mardelle Shepley discuss the process for practitioner-focused facility evaluation (PFE) in the Design & Health Scientific Review section of the January 2011 issue of World Health Design.

In the article, Angela and Mardelle present a study conducted using different methods of practitioner-focused facility evaluation, drawing information from Shepley Bulfinch projects at Concord Hospital; Mass General/North Shore Center for Outpatient Care (including the ...[more]

How do you match the resounding success of our 2010 Fellowship Poster, designed by Experimental Jetset? By inviting Michael Bierut of Pentagram to design the 2011 poster.

I’d like to share some insights about the design process, strategy, and design thinking behind the poster itself. Our design brief to Michael was essentially to match the quality of the candidates we’re seeking as this year’s Fellow: someone who combines a high-level and perhaps rare combination of extraordinary design talent, creativity, passion, intuition, appetite and ...[more]

Shepley Bulfinch’s Worcester Trial Court (2007) is one of 95 courthouse projects nationwide selected for inclusion in Retrospective of Courthouse Design 2001-2010, published by the National Center for State Courts. The book was officially launched at Designing For Justice. the international conference on justice design, hosted in Boston by the AIA Academy of Architecture for Justice.

Worcester Trial Court is the first fully consolidated courthouse in the state, and was one of the first to employ court modernization technology and sustainable features.

The Worcester Trial Court is one ...[more]