Examining How We Live and Work
In September, Penny Bonda, ASID, director of interior design for Hillier/Reed, a Bethesda, MD-based architecture and interiors firm specializing in sustainable design, begins serving a one-year term as national president of the American Society of Interior Designers (ASID). She has received numerous awards and citations for outstanding design work and has served ASID for many years, including stints as a member of the national board of directors and as president of the Washington Metro Chapter of ASID.
At Hillier/Reed, Bonda's portfolio primarily includes corporate and institutional clients with a special emphasis on "green" design. Believing that environmental concerns should be a major issue for interior designers, Bonda joined architect Bill Reed's firm in 1994. Both have a mutual interest in sustainable design. In January 1995, the firm joined The Hillier Group, one of the nation's largest and most successful architecture/interior design companies.
"The public is starting to ask environmental questions and demand environmental quality," says Bonda. She firmly believes that each member of the design team-client, architect, designer, contractor and suppliers-must work together to use resources responsibly and not deplete them for future generations.
What will be the most important societal and environmental issues facing interior designers in the next decade?
Bonda: The design profession faces many issues, both societal and environmental. Each year, ASID conducts a survey to examine what will affect our members and their clients, manufacturers and suppliers. Last year's results analysis found that the economy was still a major issue. Some feel that the recession was not a recession at all but an economic restructuring.
As a result, designers are looking at the new ways people live and work. The growing technologies available to everyone are going to have an enormous impact. Home offices and telecommuting will become more common and will solve some major problems. They keep cars off the roads, allow us to work better and smarter and, perhaps most important, allow us more leisure time with our families.
The way we live today is having a devastating impact on the ecology of our planet. Instead of continuing as a destroying society, we must become a restorative society and use sustainable design practices. The way we design and build, the way the product is manufactured or gathered, the way the building is maintained and cleaned and eventually the way the building is destroyed are all equally important in creating a "building ecology" way of thinking.
Can manufacturers better address environmental requirements for interior furnishings?
Bonda: Indoor air quality is an environmental issue that manufacturers need to address. More than 80 percent of the average American's time is spent indoors. Furnishings such as wall coverings, window treatments, paneling, carpet, fabrics, etc. contain a wide variety of chemicals called volatile organic compounds (VOCs) that can make us ill. VOCs also are found in maintenance and cleaning materials, so a number of factors need to be considered by manufacturers and suppliers producing interior products. What materials are they using and how are they manufactured? Are the materials treated with chemicals and will there be off-gassing? How is the product transported? What about fuel use or packaging?
Good indoor air quality is good business. Workers breathing clean air will feel better and work better. Improved productivity, reduced absenteeism, reduced liability and reduced renovation costs all affect the bottom line.
Manufacturers also need to address the development of life cycle standards for the products they make, and produce them in a way that is environmentally benign. This means developing practices that make use of component materials rather than just dumping them in landfills at the end of a product's usefulness. For example, Milliken offers a program to renew its carpet squares. After many years of use, a large percentage of the squares can be returned to Milliken where they are factory cleaned, retextured and recolored with a new design entirely different than before. They look completely new and can be reinstalled without one scrap going to the landfill.
Many other products can be renewed. Component parts should be thought of as raw materials for new products. It is imperative that all manufacturers start thinking this way.
How do you perceive changes in the client/designer relationship?
Bonda: They're more knowledgeable about what they want their interiors to do and look to the design professional for guidance on how to make it happen. Designers help clients define their focus and think about what the workplace should do. Many clients are bringing the design team in earlier than ever for strategic business and facilities planning-which is essential in defining a successful space. By working as part of the team from the beginning of a project, designers can help a business see a clearer vision of its goals. Architect Ed Fredericks of Gensler and Associates/Architects said in a speech, "Do unto others what they want done to them." But first, what they want needs to be carefully defined.
One factor that will have a major impact on interior designers is the aging of America. The greatest transfer of wealth will take place when the Baby Boomers inherit their parents' wealth. They'll want to redo their homes and offices, spending more on luxury items and less on necessities. They've already bought the house and the car and the kids are through college. I think the home and the workplace will be even greater anchors with time and convenience becoming more important than money.
Who are the primary users of interior design services today?
Bonda: You'd be surprised to learn where interior designers are working today. Early in my career, I found that my training and expertise can affect the quality of people's lives. Interior environments affect the quality of everyone's life and not just in upscale offices or homes. For instance, a nurturing environment can help someone trying to recover from homelessness. It's up to the design industry to make sure that our expertise and products are reaching people who need it most. I would like to see the elements of good design brought to all segments of our society by designers and manufacturers. ASID does an admirable job of community outreach. We've been involved in Ray Kroc's Ronald McDonald Houses, AIDS hospices, Habitat for Humanity and many other projects. While we can do more, we're already doing a pretty good job!
What are the most important industry and career-oriented issues facing designers?
Bonda: I think change is a constant issue faced both by individual designers and the industry as a whole. Designers must become competitive. Some find themselves offering services that in the past have been offered by others, such as real estate brokers. Designers must realize that there are newer ways of practicing than the traditional ones. Futurist Daniel Burrus says, "If you are successful and keep doing what you're doing for the next five years, you will go out of business."
Technology is another issue. In a recent lecture I attended, one of the speakers said the microchip is as profound an innovation as was the internal combustion engine. I agree. Technology has an enormous impact on the careers of designers. When designers call me looking for jobs, one of my first questions is: "Are you CAD efficient?" If they say no, they generally will not be hired. That's the way work is done now.
What are your plans for your term as ASID national president?
Bonda: ASID is strategically planned and managed, so the best thing a president can do is move forward with the strategic plan in creative and innovative ways. I do hope to foster environmental awareness among designers and promote community service projects through the means provided by the strategic plan.
Like almost every profession, ours is becoming one of specialties with different needs for each. For instance, the needs of the health care designer are different than those of the corporate, hospitality, residential or educational designer. ASID is developing the Design Specialty Networks which, along with a new on-line program, was introduced in July at our national conference.
We are a member-driven society. By asking what our members need, ASID develops programs and products that will meet those needs. By helping our members be better designers, we also help clients, manufacturers and suppliers and, ultimately, the community.
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