The Kroger Building - A Building that Learned

Recently I was at a networking event held at the Kroger Building in Madison, Wisconsin.  Walking into this former grocery warehouse was witnessing both the present and the past in a beautiful partnership.  That led me to interview the partners of Delta Properties, Bruce Wunnicke and John Koffel, about their remarkable building.

Taking an old building and helping it learn is what these two guys are about.  I was most curious about the process involved in selecting a building.  “We look for quality.  We also must have an affinity with the space because we will be working with it for a long time. Each of our buildings reflects us and what we believe in.”

What Bruce and John believe in is valuing the natural elements that are evident in a building. In fact, it was the design intention to incorporate the ‘art of the building as art’. This meant to keep as much as natural as possible and as simple as possible – allowing the art of the building to be seen and showcased.  “We love the natural elements – especially wood. Day-lighting opportunities and the ability to have all windows able to be opened for natural air flow are key components.  It’s our job to highlight these natural attributes and then expand them.  In addition, at every level we look for ways to recycle the natural materials found in the building.”

This led me to ask: What does a building tell you as you begin to work with it? Bruce quickly answered, “Whatever the building presents to us is what we embellish.  In the case of the Kroger Building it was the heavy wooden beams that excited us. It’s also a building that is big and mysterious.  The beams give it definition.”  These strong beams are evident throughout the building and as the spaces for offices were designed, it was the beams that Bruce and John wanted to accent and showcase.  Old wooden floors and hallways that curve add to the charm and mystique of this big and mysterious building. The structure and design embody minimalism and simplicity – allowing us to experience the old and the new.

                Originally the building was oriented toward the train tracks since its earlier life was a warehouse where goods were loaded and unloaded.  In its new life the main entrance is now off the parking lot - located on the opposite side of the building.  This makes the arrival by car of its current workers and their clients to be just as effortless. An awning, reminiscent of the original trackside loading dock, has been added to not only identify the new entrance but also protect its guests from the weather.

Stewart Brand, author of How Buildings Learn, asked everyone he interviewed this question:  What makes a building come to be loved?  Brian Eno, the British rock musician and avant-garde artist, shared this response.  “We are convinced by things that show internal complexity, that show the traces of an interesting evolution.  The signs tell us that we might be rewarded if we accord it our trust. An important aspect of design is the degree to which the object involves you in its own completion.  Some work invites you into itself by not offering a finished, glossy, one-reading-only surface.  This is what makes old buildings interesting.  I think that humans have a taste for things that not only show that they have been through a process of evolution, but which also show they are still a part of one.”

I think this is true of the Kroger Building.  The gifted developers, Bruce Wunnicke and John Koffel, have allowed us to see and be part of the process of the evolution in this building, have highlighted its strong and unique art forms, and have given this building the respect it deserves.   I asked one of the new tenants why they moved their business from their previous location to this building.  His response: “Our former space no longer reflected who we were. This space is who we are and who we are becoming.”  I cannot think of a better compliment.  Can you?

HOW BUILDINGS LEARN

A number of years ago I discovered a book by Stewart Brand called How Buildings Learn: What Happens After They’re Built.  This title has continued to fascinate me.  The idea that buildings ‘learn’ was a most interesting concept and the more one truly thinks about it, it makes so much sense.  Buildings learn all the time!  

Take our house for example.  Built around the turn of the century as a family home it served in that capacity for years.  Then – as the neighborhood changed – the use of the house did as well. It learned to be a hair salon and tailor shop on the lower level and an apartment on the upper floor.  When some major changes were happening in the development of our village – it was scheduled to be demolished because it was in the way of progress.  Two souls not only saw its potential but had financial and handyman gifts to offer.  They saved the house by moving it to a new neighborhood.  Once again it ‘learned’ to be a single family dwelling.  That’s when we entered the picture. 

And we have asked it to learn and stretch in the ten years we have lived here. Last summer our son and family moved into our second floor while their home was being built.  To keep everyone’s privacy intact, my husband and I moved our offices, library and bedroom to the lower floor.  Our offices have been in four different rooms over those years!  Our daughter’s bedroom has become the ‘visiting artist’ overnight retreat space. 

Just think about your own spaces . . . how have they learned to be something different as your needs have changed?  Hmmmm . . . What did your bedroom turn into when you left home? 

This learning happens to commercial buildings all the time.  The original owner builds it as a fast food restaurant.  Over time, the restaurant fails and the building then becomes a real estate office.  Interesting that when it becomes ‘whatever is next’ – we often still SEE the fast food restaurant’s shape and identity.  It’s as if the DNA of the building is still present.

 “Commercial buildings have to adapt quickly, often radically, because of intense competitive pressure to perform, and they are subject to the rapid advances that occur in any industry.  Commercial buildings are forever metamorphic,” says author Stewart Brand.  He further comments that buildings get pushed around by three forces – technology, money, and fashion.

Perhaps technology means the ability to adapt to what is new and current. This is often complicated and costly for buildings to update to the new regulations in order to protect workers and community.  Just think of the short list around electrical, air intake, fire requirements, plumbing, and the basic structure.  These are the unseen adventures of a building’s life span that are a must to keep it safe and functional.  

Fashion is what we see and more frequently react to – is it appealing, unique, inviting? Does the ‘look’ suit the new intention? When the technology, money, and fashion adapt to meet the new use, the new day - it very frequently changes the original neighborhood.

So here is your homework assignment . . . begin noticing buildings that have learned and buildings in the process of learning.  Are you able to detect the original DNA???  Let me know what you learn!

P.S.  The photos are of ‘once upon’ cabins that have learned to be an ice cream shop and women’s boutique.

Learn more at www.spatialimpact.com

Part II – The Nature of a Porch –Its Exterior Life

          Porches are making a comeback!  The front porch provides an ‘interface between inside and outside, private and public, viewer and viewed.’  It is this in-between aspect that makes the front porch not only an architectural place but also a social one.

          Here is a little history for you . . . For a full century, until immediately after WWII, the front porch remained a vital ingredient of American architecture.  It was the place people gathered news of the world – an outdoor parlor where gossip and information were treated as one.  But as Americans took to their cars, this arena for casual social interaction became obsolete.  The layout of the suburbs was built to be driven through, not to be walked in. (Geography of Home – Akiko Busch) 


         Another author puts it this way: The porch goes back to antiquity, but Americans since Washington and Jefferson have embraced it with special gusto. The so-called piazza was first popular in the South, where it provided cool shade.  People sat on their steps or benches and in time, the stoop grew larger, acquired a roof, and became a porch. The Victorian period, which venerated both fresh air and pale complexions, was the golden age of porches. . . Until the 1950's, the front porch was America's sitting room on the street. (House Thinking -  Winifred Gallagher)     

          Where once the front porch was a way of life for the American people, in recent years we have begun living more privately in the back of our homes.  Patios and decks became popular and the new styles of homes being built were void of a front porch. Also evident during this time was the disappearance of the front sidewalk.   We drove into our garage to enter the house and the ways of bumping into a neighbor became much more involved.   The gain in privacy often meant a loss in community.

          Sociologists, architects, community developers, and urban planners took note of this trend and its effects.  Intentional neighborhoods began to be designed with front porches on the houses, sidewalks, alleys, and detached garages.  The study discovered that people became much more aware of their neighbors because they knew each other by sight, sound, and story. It continues to be the hope that this ‘design’ will assist us in more natural ways of being ‘neighborly’ - friendlier and interested in the welfare of those around us.

          I can speak to this personally. Our home has three porches – one in the front and two on the side.  We have noticed that no one ‘bothers us’ when we sit on the side porches even though we can be seen.  The positioning of the location of this porch says ‘private- do not disturb’.  But when we sit on the front porch, those who are walking or pass by in their cars will wave, say hi or strike up a conversation. A remarkable difference!

          When I asked others about front porches, many responded with its importance to community.

The porch space opens up the mind and spirit to conversation, thoughtfulness, and friendship.  It lets you sit still and build a community through conversation, song, and prayer.

Big wrap-around porches on old Victorian houses are great places for neighborhood children to put on summer plays.

A place for friendliness . . . A place for neighbors to run into you.

Every Friday in summer a neighbor couple with a gorgeous front porch has ‘open porch night’.  Great conversations, great times together.

As we speak, our front steps (1950’s cement with wrought iron rails) are being torn out and replaced with a larger wooden porch with room for chairs, flowers, and neighbors!

         
        So if you have a porch, lucky you!  And if not, the front stoop might be just as magical.  Wishing you ‘good times’ and Happy Porching!  

Part I - The Nature of a Porch - Its INTERIOR Life

When I say the word PORCH what images, memories, feelings immediately come to mind?   Now - hold those thoughts for just one moment.  When I talk about PORCH, I am talking about that covered platform at an entrance to a home – often with its own roof.  It can be small or large – with a single chair or many - open to the outdoor elements or enclosed.  Are more porches coming to mind?  

In her book Geography of Home, Akiko Busch acknowledges that how one feels about a porch begins this way.  Is a porch to be a seasonal experience - open to the natural elements only when the weather is warm or is a porch to be enclosed - able to be used all year round?  However a porch is used, it seems to invite a transition in how we live.  It slows us down, provides us with a different perspective than we have in the midst of the four walls of our house.  The porch opens us physically to the outside and mentally into dreaming, imagining, and remembering.

Lee Krasner, the wife of abstract expressionist painter Jackson Pollock and herself a gifted painter, reflected on the ‘nature of a porch’.  With Jackson there was quiet solitude. Just to sit and look at the landscape. An inner quietness. After dinner, to sit on the back porch and look at the light. No need for talking. For any kind of communication.  I was curious how others felt about the ‘nature of a porch’ so I returned to my great and rich resource of Facebook friends by asking them ‘Why do you love porches?’  Here are some of their responses: 

·        It’s a place for transition!

·        Outside yet still sheltered; inside yet partially exposed. Speaks to the needs of the emerging spirit.

·        Porches are like a hand rolling out an invitation to come sit and rest for awhile....the heart is open ...making time and space.

·        It's place to go to rest, relax, and unwind. Solitude. Always looking for new ways to make it even more comfy.

·        There's nothing like a porch that helps people slow down, to be present in the quiet, to sip some lemonade or coffee, and let go of the outside world. The porch space opens up the mind and spirit to conversation, thoughtfulness, and friendship.

Others shared memories. As you read them, you may find yourself relaxing with them - drawn to a time seemingly slower and simpler.

                                                                                              

·        I love my screened in porch. I love the daybed for reading and the porch swing. I grew up with a porch swing and had a lot of relaxing times on a porch! We also have my husband's family's old hutch out there that made its way from Nebraska on a covered wagon.  If it’s just right porch weather it really expands the space of our home!

·        Thinking of sitting on my grandparents' screened in porch. Gentle breezes; a way to listen to one's surroundings without having to be physically connected to them; fun place for lunch or dinner; rocking; thinking; relaxing to the point of almost sleeping; a feeling of protection while watching a storm stir up and the rain fall.

·        A porch changed my life!  Seriously!! It was a porch where I could look out into the hills and write in my journal, sit with my friends and have the most amazing talks, dance in a square to some traditional mountain music, laugh so hard I cried, and almost always feel a sense of peace. It was the right place to be at that time. That porch reminds me of a time when I was trying to figure out how to live my life, how my work could reflect my values, and how I figured out that simplicity was the way I knew I wanted to live. That porch in Jonesville taught me to be myself, to appreciate God's great earth, and to always be mindful and thankful for its simplicity.

          This is the power of a simple appendage to a house - introducing us to that space between two worlds – that of being inside and outside at the same time.  This simple space that brings a sense of calm, rest, and the opportunity to think on life, does amazing good to our natures!! 

Coming Soon:    Part II – The Nature of a Porch – Its Exterior Life

This Taco John's is a Great Good Place

When you think of fast food restaurants have you ever used the words welcoming, comfortable, and accommodating to describe the space?  Not likely!  That is until you walk into Taco Johns in Rice Lake, Wisconsin.  This is not your ordinary fast food franchise!  This space invites you to linger (yes, you heard me correctly -LINGER – the word fast food places do NOT want their customers to engage at any level).  This Taco John’s could easily be a ‘third place’ – a place to meet others, enjoy spending time together while lingering over food and conversation.

I was so impressed with this space that I took notes and sent a letter to their corporate office!  Here is what stood out to me:  

·        The exterior appearance is delightfully pleasing – especially the lighting which adds interest as well as safety at night

·        The layout of the dining space is inviting, varied, and has good flow

·        Brown wooden chairs (wonderfully moveable to accommodate

customer needs) add warmth and a sense of home comfort

·        Restrooms are clean and very roomy – Please note that extra space in restrooms is always appreciated by women!

·        Brown tin ceiling tiles bring interest to the center space and make it unique from the rest of the room

·        Warmth and texture are added by the stone fireplace

·        The TV, located over the fireplace, is visible but does not intrude or invade the entire dining space 

·        Varied seating provides support and accommodation to many uses and needs for single diners, just for two, families, and groups by its high bistro tables, small café tables, booths, a large circular table for conferencing, and a curved booth that is open on one side for easy access

·        The first impression is CLEAN and ORDERLY

·        A sense of quality is evident in the attention to each detail

George Ritzer, author of The McDonalization of Society, has argued that the fast food industry has valued efficiency over other human values.  A restaurant consultant once shared with me that the lingo used in the industry is to create ‘an experience’ for the dining customer. 

 

Certainly this franchise, owned by Kevin Vance, has given considerable thought to the importance of the space in adding to a customer’s comfort and experience. This Taco John’s provides a welcoming, comfortable, and accommodating place for a lonely traveler, a tired single parent, a celebration, a staff meeting, and a first date.  It is my hope that many more fast food places will give thought to their spaces!  Thank you, Kevin Vance, for this great good space! 

To read more about how our spaces impact our behaviors visit www.spatialimpact.com.

Finding a Great Good Place

          When I first moved to Madison I was lonely. In finding my way in this new community, I often landed at Barnes and Noble.  I began to realize that by simply walking through its doors, I no longer felt like a new person in town in need of friends. The smell of coffee, the invitation to learn and enjoy life in each book, the overstuffed chairs to snuggle into for an hour or more, and other people doing the very same thing felt good. Here I was among total strangers, but  I felt welcomed - not pressured or asked to quickly purchase and move on; but invited to linger, be among others, to join this ‘community’.  Here I felt included, creative, productive, and at peace.  It was in those overstuffed chairs that I shaped and formed my business, Spatial Impact.

What makes a public gathering place feel so good? This was the key question that a sociologist by the name of Ray Oldenburg sought to answer in his book, THE GREAT GOOD PLACE.  As he says in his preface, “My interest was in those happy gathering places that a community may contain, those ‘homes away from home’ where unrelated people relate.”  What drew people in?   Why did it feel like home?  What happened that made it different from other public places? 

Oldenburg named them ‘third places’ and defined them “after home-first, and workplace –second, these are the informal public gathering places that serve community because they are inclusive and local.”  His research discovered several qualities that seemed to be present in every ‘third place’.  If you remember the TV show, Cheers, you begin to have a good understanding of what Oldenburg discovered. A ‘third place’ becomes such both by the space given to that purpose and the atmosphere created by those who gather there.

Here is a checklist of some of those ‘third place’ qualities:

ü Serves as entry points for newcomers.  A remedy for stress, loneliness, and alienation.

ü Business is often conducted here, networking happens.  (How many coffee shops can you name as ‘third places’?)

ü The entertainment is provided by the people being themselves. The main activity is conversation!  Third places are where people talk about their problems – listen to each other in a caring way.

ü A place for all ages to gather. They provide a means for retired people to remain in contact with those still working and allows the oldest generation to associate with the youngest generation. (Have you walked into a McDonald’s lately?  You’ll see the retired business men gathering for fellowship and moms in conversation while their children play.)

ü Inclusive of differing thoughts, ages, sexes, and vocations.  Accessible to general public with no membership or exclusion.

ü Allows people to come and go. Third places that render the best and fullest service are those to which one may go alone at almost any time of the day or evening with assurance that others will be there.

ü Access to them must be easy if they are to survive and serve. Location needs to be within walking distance or easy parking and open long hours.

ü Typically a non-pretentious décor which encourages the abandonment of social pretense.  Regulars of third places do not go home and dress up.  They come as they are.

ü The persistent mood of a third place is playful, cheerful, upbeat. One goes there to feel better and usually leaves in a good spirit.

ü The regulars make a third place come alive.  This defines the character of the place – providing an infectious and contagious style of interaction.  Cheers style!

The back cover of Oldenburg’s book says . . . “Third places or great good places are the many public places where people can gather, put aside the concerns of home and work (their first and second places), and hang out simply for the pleasures of good company and lively conversation.  They are the heart of a community’s social vitality and the grassroots of democracy.  .  . This is a compelling argument for these settings of informal public life as essential for the health both of our communities and ourselves.”

What’s your favorite Third Place?   Would love to know what makes it a Great Good Place for you!

What WOMEN Want

Paco Underhill, founder and CEO of Envirosell, Inc., has a new book  called

WHAT WOMEN WANT- THE GLOBAL MARKET TURNS FEMALE FRIENDLY.   In this book he takes us on a tour of the world’s marketplace for what makes a package, product, space, or service ‘female friendly’.   He also cautions all men to pay close attention and start making changes.

 I was particularly aware of his insights regarding women and spaces.  In his introduction he quickly puts it on the line . . . “If your store, restaurant, bank, hotel lobby, mall, or other public space or amenity doesn’t acknowledge the female factor, if it doesn’t invite women in and make them feel at home, at ease, safe, hygienic, respected, and in control, if it doesn’t take into account what women want and expect (which is a whole lot different from what men want and expect), well, then, it’s bad business.”

He names the top four qualities women want in the spaces they enter.

CLEANLINESS . . .   “Am I in a clean environment? is an intuition, a vibe that women pick up about every room they enter.”

CONTROL . . . Not only women, but most particularly women, want to have control of their spaces.  This allows them to create the space to suit their needs. Movable seating, temperature and noise controls are important to women.

SAFETY . . . This is a most important factor to women as they engage their environments. Hotel windows that don’t lock, bulbs that are burned out in the parking lot, lighting levels in the lobby all make women feel vulnerable and unsure of their personal safety.

CONSIDERATENESS . . . While politeness is certainly a character that is valued, Mr. Underhill is speaking about signage that addresses the questions women have regarding specific next steps.  This would include a sign that mentions assistance is available to load a heavy purchase into the car or that tipping is not accepted.   This signage calms the anxiety of what comes next and allows women to confidently navigate their spaces.

Let me summarize using my three key questions we ask of a space:  1) Am I safe?  2) Am I welcome?  3) Now that I am here, what is expected of me?  Now really, guys, isn’t all this important to you, too?   It’s very difficult for us to SEE our own spaces because they are so familiar to us - we already know that we are safe, welcome, and what is expected of us.  This is where I can be helpful to your business.

Take advantage of my FIRST IMPRESSIONS service. I come to your place of business, observe and then share a checklist of my findings that assist you in better understanding how your space is experienced by your clients. You will hear the positives and the challenges of your space as well as several suggestions for improvement.  And because I am a woman, you will be immediately updated with all the Paco Underhill criteria.  What a deal!! 

Read more about the impact of spaces on our behaviors and consulting services available at www.spatialimpact.com.