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Welcome back to the Agati Video Podcast, a space where Joe Agati, COO & Director of Design here at Agati Furniture, hosts conversations with designers, architects, and difference-makers to bring inspiration and education to your work.
“We don’t want to solve problems in the same way for every project. There would be no excitement in that.” – Tiffany Nash
For today’s episode of the podcast, we have a really fun conversation with Tiffany Nash and Dan Pohrte. Tiffany is Owner & Principal of Product Architecture + Design, and is a licensed architect with over 20 years of experience in the industry and an expertise in library design. Dan is a fellow Owner & Principal at Product, who is a registered LEED Accredited Professional with over 15 years of experience in the industry.
In this episode, we dive deep into their design philosophy, how their time abroad influenced their perspective of architecture, trends in library design, how to measure success, and some highlights from a few of their favorite projects.
This was such a fun episode. Check it out!
Links:
Quotes:
- “We are always designing with somebody, which is a big reason we love library projects.”
- “Those buildings [in France] had withstood so much, and I had never seen anything like that in-person.”
- “Being able to experience these incredibly old towns [in Switzerland] was hugely impactful on me.”
- “We don’t want to solve problems in the same way for every project. There would be no excitement in that.”
- “We want to create spaces that are identifiable as parts of a unique community.”
- “In renovations, you really have to pay attention to the moments in the current design that were already effective.”
- “Libraries are starting to judge success by head count compared to what used to primarily be just about circulation.”
- “Don’t ever give up on good design, no matter what your budget is. Don’t settle.”
Our Key Takeaways:
1) No library project is cookie-cutter. We hear this quite a bit, and we love it every time. It is so important for the success of a library to take into consideration what a community needs and who they are. For Tiffany and Dan, a lot of that direction comes from the Library Board and Library Director.
2) You don’t have to “reinvent every wheel” in a redesign project. Dan gave the example of “80% vs. 20%.” When planning a redesign, they are always looking for that 20% that is already functioning effectively.
3) Staff spaces need to be designed effectively as well! This was such a good reminder from Tiffany during our conversation. It’s easy to focus on public-facing areas of our facility (as we should!), but we also need to make sure our staff and volunteers are cared for and supported as part of our design plan.
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