IA Interior Architects

As the workplace continues to evolve, how we define productivity is due for a serious rethink. In her latest piece for Allwork.Space | FUTURE OF WORK®'s publication, Valerie Jardon, Principal and Managing Director of Strategy, explores what it means to measure productivity beyond the numbers, and why qualities like creativity, judgment, connection, and wellbeing matter just as much to how people perform. Looking beyond traditional metrics is key to helping organizations better understand not just what people accomplish, but what enables them to do their best work, says Valerie. Read more insights into modern workplace metrics and the full piece here: https://lnkd.in/ebiWD6h7

We’re excited to announce that Kendi Sparks, RID, has been promoted to Managing Director of IA’s Austin Studio! A leader at IA both locally and firmwide for nearly a decade, Kendi has played an important role in the studio’s growth and success. With more than 20 years of experience in commercial design, she brings a thoughtful, collaborative approach to leading teams and creating spaces that translate ambitious ideas into meaningful environments. In her new role, Kendi will build on the strong foundation established by Stephanie Long. We’re grateful for Stephanie’s leadership and the lasting legacy she leaves through her projects, teams, and client partnerships. Please join us in congratulating Kendi on this next chapter! Read more here: https://lnkd.in/e4FEVEXd

Join us in congratulating Haley Nelson on receiving the American Society of Interior Designers - ASID Designer of the Year Award, recognizing practitioners and organizations making meaningful contributions to the profession throughout the year. Haley brings more than 18 years of experience to an award-winning portfolio of design and strategy that shapes positive behaviors, promotes well-being, and supports sustainability. LEED and WELL-accredited, her work reflects a deep belief in the power of design to make a meaningful difference in people’s lives. See the full list of ASID honorees here: https://lnkd.in/efqv4B3q

Sending a warm Western welcome to the newest Tecovas outpost in NYC, designed by IA to join Williamsburg’s vibrant retail corridor with a compact footprint shaped by Brooklyn’s industrial character and brick-lined streets. Coming just a year after Tecovas’ 50th location opened in SoHo — also designed by IA as the brand’s largest brick-and-mortar store to date — we’re thrilled to help bring its warm, hospitality-forward experience across the East River. Read more about the Brooklyn location in Footwear News, linked below:

For Global Furniture Group’s new Chicago showroom, IA transformed a first-generation concrete shell into an open, immersive destination. Fluid circulation connects workplace, healthcare, and education settings, while flexible layouts allow products to be explored, reconfigured, and experienced in real time. Overhead, a sculptural installation of suspended wood elements creates a defining moment. Inspired by the language of manufacturing and assembly, the ceiling introduces rhythm and movement while bringing warmth and a distinct sense of identity to the showroom experience. Read the full story here: https://bit.ly/47d6C68 📍 Chicago, IL 📸 Andrew Bruah #InteriorArchitects #ShowroomDesign #FultonMarket

IA's London Studio is proud to lead the imaginative redesign of Eliot Bank Primary School's library and music room, a project that brought students into the design process through an ambitious co-design initiative with more than 20 collaborators from across London's design community. Championed through IA's philanthropic initiative IA Reach, the project brought young students and professional designers together to imagine what their ideal learning environment could look and feel like. The students' artwork and guidance helped shape a warm, tactile sanctuary centered around the idea of a treehouse, with wiggle-friendly spaces for reading, music, play, collaboration, and quiet reflection. Bean-bag politics notwithstanding, the new space is designed to be endlessly flexible, serving the diverse community of teachers, children, families, and yes, even budding architects, as they learn, teach, and grow. Read more about IA's participatory redesign of Eliot Bank Primary School at our latest blog post: https://lnkd.in/e6Bf7RGa

In design, the creative process is often just as important as the final product. While AI has transformed the tools and techniques used across the design industry, Michael Villegas, Director of Design Innovation, has some fascinating thoughts on how we can use AI as an initial tool to push our own processes further and faster, while still preserving what makes them valuable. Listen to the full episode with Michael and Great Mondays Radio host Josh Levine here: https://lnkd.in/ekwYsk9S

🔗 Register here: bit.ly/4hhNkCr How can design uphold dignity in correctional environments and what can these settings teach us about the places where we work? Join Richard Wener, for a thoughtful Harmony Exchange on how light, noise, crowding, privacy, and isolation shape life in jails and prisons and what these settings can teach us about creating more humane environments everywhere. 🗓️ September 16 | 11 am EDT Hosted by IA's Valerie Jardon, Managing Director, Strategy.

An ode to classic design, Notion’s new San Francisco HQ is an unexpected — and welcome — throwback to our eclectic pre-digital past, Diana Budds writes for Fast Company. Drawing inspiration from the Bay Area’s vast architectural history, replete with details such as rust-orange window frames that echo the Golden Gate Bridge’s famous patina, the expanded office offered IA an opportunity to craft a space that embraces its historic roots while reflecting the forward-looking work Notion’s employees are pursuing. Housed in the early-20th-century Monadnock Building, the headquarters provides a revitalized gathering space for the company’s rapidly growing roster of employees. The resulting workplace unmistakably belongs to San Francisco (and feels distinctly Notion), bringing together historic references, materials, and spaces intentionally designed to support the way its employees work and create. Read more about Notion’s craft-led design here, and a big thank you to Diana Budds for such a thoughtfully told story: https://lnkd.in/eUu_VE8w #NotionAI #WorkplaceDesign #SanFranciscoDesign #AdaptiveReuse #InteriorDesign

In our personal and professional lives, we’re wired to deeply care about physical beauty. At its best, beauty can evoke pleasure and a sense of belonging, creating positive neurological responses in those who experience it. In IA’s latest blog, Design Principal Julia Leahy explores how intentional design choices can create harmonious workplace environments that encourage people to come together, feel connected, and want to be there. Explore three IA-designed workplaces that put these ideas into practice: https://lnkd.in/e-7Pw6wy