Side of Design

Neuroscience facilities serve patients with a wide range of conditions, from cognitive issues like Alzheimer's to mobility challenges resulting from spinal cord injuries. Patients facing cognitive disorders may feel as though they’re experiencing a space for the very first time, even though they've been there dozens of times, while patients with mobility aids require extra space to acces...

A lot goes into creating healthcare environments that work for both the patients they serve and the staff who provide critical care – from having the right number of beds to planning strategic layouts that allow providers to do their best work efficiently to finding feasible solutions amid rising costs. That’s where designers come in, working closely with healthcare teams to develop spaces that ar...

Student housing is commonly associated with bare-bones accommodations designed to be tolerated rather than enjoyed. However, today’s residence halls are advancing in remarkable ways to better foster community, support student well-being, and reflect each institution’s unique culture. Students increasingly seek inclusive design, communities to enhance learning and living, and a focus on wellness th...

The worlds of design and construction are closely related, yet they speak entirely different languages. A lot hinges on maintaining a clear, consistent vision and understanding of every detail, with absolutely nothing getting lost in translation between design and construction. Luckily, Construction Administrators (CA) speak both “languages” fluently, and they’re a critical component of an effecti...

If our latest podcast discussion is any indication, the future of design is in excellent hands. We were honored to sit down with the recipients of this year’s BWBR equity scholarships for an inspiring discussion about inclusion and diversity in design, the recipients’ incredible submission projects, and what’s next for them. Hosted by:  Matt Gerstner - BWBR Podcast Host and Producer Guests: Valeri...

Quality assurance is all about dotting the i’s and crossing the t’s, confirming that design details meet code regulations, stakeholder requirements, and quality standards.  Hosted by:  Matt Gerstner - BWBR Podcast Host and Producer Guests: Dan Hottinger - BWBR, Principal Todd Warren - BWBR, Quality Assurance Specialist Music provided by Artlist.io Siberian Summer by Sunny Fruit DuDa by Ian Post If...

The folks in lab design at BWBR have no trouble seeing common ground between their work as designers and their scientist clients’ work. In both cases, it’s about coming up with innovative, out-of-the-box, and creative solutions to intricate problems. Hosted by:  Matt Gerstner - BWBR Podcast Host and Producer Guests: Terri Ulrick - BWBR, Principal and Director Brian Lapham - BWBR, Senior Project Ma...

When it comes to Critical Access Hospital projects, two themes reign supreme: affordability and strategic thinking. Working on these projects means getting creative in figuring out how to fine-tune design for a community's unique needs, maintaining the highest standards of planning and execution while balancing tight budgets. Hosted by:  Matt Gerstner - BWBR Podcast Host and Producer Guests:...

At BWBR, the graphic design team ventures into the physical realm, envisioning three-dimensional spaces and conceptualizing how two-dimensional elements will interact. That means considering an array of materials and components with innumerable moving parts. Window films to wall coverings, acrylic panels, signage, lettering, wayfinding messages…the list goes on. Hosted by:  Matt Gerstner - BWBR Po...

The future of architecture and design is here. The BWBR internship program is designed to provide students with hands-on, real-world experience, but it’s a win for us too. We benefit from their incredible energy, innovative ideas, and fresh perspectives. We also get a sneak peek into where the industry is headed because we know these talented individuals will lead the way. Hosted by:  Matt Gerstne...

Critical Access Hospitals, tasked with providing vital hospital services to their rural populations, face unique challenges while serving their sprawling communities within the confines of budget, space, and oftentimes aging facilities. Strategic healthcare design can be a secret weapon in enhancing patient outcomes and staff wellbeing within these limitations. Hosted by:  Matt Gerstner - BWBR Pod...

You’ve heard the phrase “too many cooks in the kitchen spoils the broth.” Do too many stakeholders in the planning room spoil the design? That depends on how you approach the challenge. Hosted by:  Matt Gerstner - BWBR Podcast Host and Producer Guests: Stephanie McDaniel - BWBR President, CEO Nathan Roisen - BWBR Senior Project Planner Music provided by Artlist.io Siberian Summer by Sunny Fruit Du...

The United States is in the midst of a mental health crisis. According to the National Institute of Mental Health, one in five adults in the United States experiences mental illness each year. And yet, only about half of those who need treatment actually receive it. For this episode of Side of Design, host and BWBR principal Melanie Baumhover sat down with a roundtable of the firm’s behavioral and...

Designers bridge very different worlds — creative, technical, and consultative — and there can be an air of mystery about the process and the various roles within it. For the latest episode of Side of Design, we invited some of the BWBR team to clear things up, including Sam Griesgraber, Senior Interior Designer; Craig Peterson, Principal, as well as Design Leader and Director of Design; and Steve...

If you live in an urban area, you may take for granted that you can call emergency services and have someone on the scene within minutes or hop in the car to reach a hospital before a bad situation gets worse. That’s not the case for the tens of millions of Americans who live more than an hour away from the nearest trauma care center. Fortunately, Critical Access Hospitals are there to step into t...

Interior design has a massive impact on the way we interact with the spaces around us. It involves macro-level factors (like layout) all the way down to the details (like the finish on drawer pulls).  That’s a lot to take on, and it takes talented, dedicated professionals to make it work. Hosted by:  Matthew Gerstner - BWBR AV Production Guests: Lisa Miller - BWBR Senior Interior Designer Sara Bie...

When you think about healthcare, you might think about doctors, nurses, and other medical professionals who work tirelessly to save and improve lives. You also might think about all the equipment involved — MRI and Xray machines, CAT scanners, high-tech hospital beds, heart monitors, etc. But what about how it all fits together and flows in space? For this episode of Side of Design, host Jarett An...

Today, we're so excited to recognize the achievements and talent of the recipients of BWBR's second annual equity scholarships . We had the chance to sit down with our recipients for a conversation about their backgrounds, their winning projects, and their vision for the future of architecture and design. It was a fascinating conversation that gives us even more hope for the future of ou...

Interior design and architecture are often described as perfectly blending art, science, and technology. Part of the beauty of that blend is being able to craft spaces that look aesthetically pleasing and yet also have a lot going on behind the scenes, with every element meticulously planned to optimize efficiency and effectiveness. Perhaps nowhere else does that blend matter more than when design...

When you say the word “design” to 100 people, they’ll likely picture 100 different things. Design is deeply subjective and personal. Still, we can get a sense of what design looks like by asking the people who live it every day. For our most recent episode, we sat down with 13 BWBR team members to ask them: How did you know you wanted to be in the design field? Hosted by:  Matthew Gerstner - BWBR...

High-quality design demands a unique blend of art and science — plus a constant, renewable source of inspiration. Without inspiration, the outcomes are rote, derivative, and dull. Put another way, how can you expect to create spaces that inspire without being inspired yourself? For our latest podcast we sat down with a diverse group of employees from BWBR and asked each of them the same question:...

Hybrid and remote work are now the norm across a wide range of industries, and while the shift was a long time coming, it was clearly accelerated by the pandemic. But what happens when you work in an industry where place is everything? At BWBR, we literally design spaces for people to connect and collaborate. How do we reconcile that with our own work policies? BWBR project manager and architect J...

There’s an assumption that summer internship programs are primarily for the benefit of the students who participate, but what about amazing contributions they make to the organizations they’re working for?  We recently sat down for a discussion with four of BWBR’s 2022 summer interns to learn more about their experiences and show some appreciation for everything they’ve done. Hosted by:  Jarett An...

Project management is not a small job. A project manager should provide overall team leadership and coordination. Project managers are accountable for the success of their projects, and to that end, they plan the work, organize the team, get ahead of issues, and serve as the primary contact for clients. To more fully explore the impact of project management on a design or build, as well as dive in...

The close of Women’s History Month – as with any designated time period to honor a specific community – is bittersweet. On one hand, we’ve just been immersed in myriad, under-told stories highlighting people and causes that more than deserve time in the spotlight. On the other hand, the close of the designated time means, typically, that things go right back to “normal” – a normal, that is, that c...