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Bruce Anderson, Architect and Project Manager at Synthesis, shares what buildings and architects have inspired him throughout his career. My first inspiration, without a doubt, is the work of Frank Lloyd Wright. Fueled by visits to at least 75 of Wright’s designs from Los Angeles to New York City, his work has taught me more about the manipulation of light, scale, and materials than any other architect. I even had the opportunity to dine in the courtyard of Taliesin West, a magical event that stretched late into the night. But Falling Water, of Bear Run, Pennsylvania will always be my favorite. The photos below are from my first visit there in 1985, right after my graduation from the College of Architecture. Back then, one could take a walk down to the creek bed and attempt to replicate the famous photo looking up at the cantilevers. Our day was cloudy, so I was not so fortunate. And this was before the major restoration of the entire property, so you could in fact see one of the holes in the main level balcony cantilever. Regardless, it was a wonderful visit and I knew one day I would have to go back. 25 years later, when our family went back in 2010, the facility had been completely restored. It was pristine and beautiful. The visit was more rushed this time and controlled by very watchful docents. The path down to the creek was blocked and overgrown so the photo below shows the closest we were able to get. Although I was disappointed that we could not repeat my previous experience for my children, they were thrilled to see this humble weekend retreat (even at 11 and 16 years of age). It’s hard to believe that it has already been 10 years since our visit. Inspired by an Encyclopedia: Two images that shaped my career choice My mother always thought I would be an architect. I still remember looking up what architecture was in our family encyclopedia sometime in the late ’60s and the Sydney Opera House was the featured masterpiece. Under the heading of Architecture, a black and white photo of Jǿrn Utzon’s iconic monument, like the above, captured my imagination and helped drive me towards a career in architecture. I have been a student of its history ever since and it is the ultimate example of an architectural saga. As I learned each part of its story over the years, I was amazed it was ever realized. Its story continues to represent for me the foibles and frustrations of achieving greatness in this profession and why the making of a masterpiece requires exhausting the fortitude of many. Sydney would no longer be Sydney without those billowing, tiled shells. I will have to stand on that plaza one day. It was paired in that encyclopedia with this masterpiece, Walter Netsch’s Air Force Academy Chapel, which I visited as part of my own childhood family vacation. I’m sure there is a slide of 11-year old me in front of it somewhere in Dad’s collection, as Dad served in the Air Force in West Germany during the most intense time of the Cold War. I remember standing before it, wondering how someone could ever build a building like the Chapel. It launched me into a lifetime of learning how to manipulate and assemble materials to create our built environment. I now know this is a facility built before construction materials and technologies were available to defend it against an architect’s mortal enemy, water. Fortunately, a masterful reconstruction of the aluminum skin and stained glass infills was recently completed, employing new materials and details to extend its life another 60 years. I wish I could have somehow been a part of that restoration. Again, I need to return to this building that made such an impression on me. Bruce Anderson, AIA, LEED AP #FavBuildingFriday

Katie Gordon, Grad Architect, shares her visit to her favorite building while visiting Cincinnati. The Rosenthal Center for Contemporary Art in Cincinnati, Ohio is by far one of my favorite buildings that I have had the opportunity to visit. A few years back, I went on a day fieldtrip around Ohio as an architecture student from Ball State University. It was designed by the late Zaha Hadid. There aren’t too many of Zaha Hadid buildings here in the Midwest so, as one of my favorite female architects, I was very excited to see one of her buildings in person. After visiting the University of Cincinnati (if you haven’t seen the DAAP building on campus, I would suggest it, as it is very unique) we made our way downtown for the Rosenthal Center. It is one of the top 20 of the most iconic architectural buildings within Cincinnati. The exterior has a blocky, boxy façade, which doesn’t immediately look like a museum but is certainly catching to your eyes. As soon as you walk in, there is a large curved concrete wall that runs along the back of the building. At the time, there was a kinetic light installation that swayed and created its own light with its movement, it was fascinating. Every surface is either black or white, with a few pops of colors here and there. It has these narrow strips of lights on the ceiling that guide you through the building, lighting up the lobby, and the exhibit halls. The staircases leading to the higher floors crisscross, reaching across open areas and running diagonally, while the rest of the structure is mainly orthogonal, allowing circulation to feel more flexible and comfortable for people moving from exhibit to exhibit. Within each floor, there are large open areas and close intimate areas where you can examine the art as much as you want. Some of the exhibits being shown at that time were beautiful nature prints, cooperative exhibits, and there was music playing upstairs which, at that time, was blocked off as there was a new display being set up for that evening. There is a large interactive area upstairs, made for the education of children and for people who are children at heart, which many of my fellows and I availed ourselves to, all the while enjoying the space that was created by one of the most legendary architects of our time. Overall the Rosenthal Center for Contemporary Art is a beautiful jewel in the heart of downtown Cincinnati. Its unique architectural style and interesting exhibits work together, each one made better by the other. I look forward to the next time I can visit. #FavBuildingFriday

Differing work cultures, work styles, and various deadlines can all lead up to tension in the workplace. Between the several generations that are currently working, each one shaped their various economical, social, and technological advances of their time, there is a myriad of differences between each and every person you have ever worked with. Within the current working age, there can be up to 5 different generations in the office; Traditionalists (1925–1945) makes up around 2% of the workforce, Baby Boomers(1946-1964) make up 25%, Generation X (1965–1980) makes up 33%, Gen Y or Millennials (1981-1995) is around 35% of the workforce, and Gen Z (1995-2010) is starting into the workplace at around 5% (1). The Census Bureau says that we will continue to have multiple generations working together, even in the next 20 years, with the addition of the Alpha generation (born in 2010) starting to work in and around the office around 2025. Technology is currently being blamed as one of the great dividers of generations, but technology in the office is something we have come to depend on and many cannot see that going away any time soon. How can we expect people who are not familiar with using touch screens and video conferencing to suddenly be forced to using them every day? How can we expect younger employees to use slow antiquated systems that are tricky and not as efficient because this is “what we have always used”? Donald A. Norman once said, “Technology may change rapidly, but people change slowly. The principals [that we live by] come from the design of people. They remain true forever.” How can we combat these differences in the workplace? Communication is key, but with each generation’s approach to their preferred mode of communication and their aversion to others, it can become quite difficult. It is about all about the discourse; learning from one another and listening to one another. We are living in a very interesting time; technology is evolving at an exponential rate and we are trying to just keep up. The more we talk with one another, learn, and discuss new strategies, the quicker we can become proactive rather than reactive when presented with a new challenge. What could hinder us could quickly become our greatest strength. Having the ability to take information from both the knowledgeable and adaptable, not fighting it but rather embracing it, allows for more open lines of communication and more openness for accepting change and whatever else the future may throw at us. “Blessed is the generation in which the old listen to the young, doubly blessed is the generation in which the young listen to the old” - The Talmud Curious to see what generation you fit in? Scan the QR code below and take the quiz! Use this link in case QR Code doesn't work: https://quiz.tryinteract.com/#/5beb5af92bf0d000138c30ed 1 Pew Research Center. 2018. “More than a third of the workforce are Millennials” April 10. https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2018/04/11/millennials-largest-generation-us-labor-force/ft_18-04-02_genworkforcerevised_bars1/ #DesignThinking #Empathy

I have worked almost every day since I was fifteen. First as a janitor for a daycare service at my father’s church. I cleaned toys, vacuumed around dirty clothes and augured more than one toilet. This job motivated me to work harder, aim higher and earn more money. I paid my way through undergraduate school working as a Customer Service Representative at Blockbuster. I’ve been yelled at for someone keeping a movie for two weeks and having a $4.23 late charge on their account. I’ve restocked VHS tapes and DVD’s to the point that I lost my fingerprints. I’ve even been held up in a robbery (with a bread knife, which look much more wicked than they actually are). And yes, I vacuumed that same store for four years around cardboard cutouts of Jack Sparrow and Optimus Prime. This job helped pay for school and invigorated my desire to better myself and aim high. My first architectural job was one year before the recession. I drew toilet elevations and janitor closets but didn’t touch a vacuum once. In 2009, myself and 103 of my colleagues were let go in a mass sacking. I felt betrayed, sabotaged and furious but that day and the next three months I learned that greed and pride were the driving forces during the toughest economy in thirty years. The rich and powerful maintained their titles while the middle class and those trying to make something of themselves struggled to find a job. It also revived my need to prove my worth, earn my keep and make something of myself even when it felt like everyone else was pushing against me. Moreover, I learned that my house was in desperate need of vacuuming. William Morris wrote Useful Work versus Useless Toil in 1885, focusing on effort and pride. It was about the good and bad of laborious work and how it motivates citizens to strive for better, work for something worthwhile and identify the earners from the takers. And in the eye of ethics, Morris views the rich, the aristocratic, as the villains of our communities. “We all know they consume a great deal while they produce nothing.” The rich steal and shakedown it’s community while strong-holding their income as incentive to work harder. Yet reading further, he identifies each class as the burden to the next class down. Each group offers more struggles to the next, all hoping to provide a better life in the hopes of growth and progress. And this is where William Morris teaches us the rules of Nature. “Wealth is what Nature gives us and what a reasonable man can make out of the gifts of Nature for his reasonable use.” We must strive for the happiness through real, honest, hard work. There is pride in earning your keep, hope in a quality product and pleasure knowing you’ve created something functional. This narrative is not calling out the class-robbers themselves but telling the nineteenth century how to eradicate it. “When class-robbery is abolished, every man will reap the fruits of his labour, every man will have due rest.” This is there very definition of socialism. It solves the tyranny of commercialism through an equal mindset and honest, uniform work, pay, responsibility. Unfortunately, this belief in mass equality has proven rout with corruption and vitriol. The human condition, as honest and pure as one would strive to be, can not ignore the desire to better oneself over someone else’s. The challenge of evolving faster and smarter than the next person is what our brains have always been conditioned to do. Andrea Palladio was a sixteenth century architect who stubbornly would never adjust his designs to fit its site, “If a design is really good, one could argue, it is good for any site.” [2] He was a true Platonist who believed in the material product as a reflection of a perfect prototype, “The more closely the building reflects this original prototype, the better it is.” This commitment to design was for the betterment of Palladio’s understanding of form and proportion but possibly to the detriment of the site, city and patrons. He felt his work was more important to understand design theory than the success or purpose of the end products use. His self-indulgence, while possibly brilliant, defeated the very purpose of our occupation. Even written in "The Ethical Function of Architecture", “Evangelical modernists promised to heal the rift between beauty and reason, form and function: once more, architecture was to be of a piece. Such hopes are difficult to dismiss.” [3] This text was driven by the moral challenges and failures of certain styles of architecture believed to benefit a community over another at a specific point in time. We are driven by our own superiority, to better our society yet relegated to prove our correctness over another. We are all inquisitive and, in that fact, we are all selfish in the need to prove one’s own worth. It’s what drives capitalism and promotes growth, change and progress. Understanding reality is a fundamental part of the 21st century. It incorporates greed, ruthless pragmatism and force to provide safety and familiarity we all know as home. It’s not perfect, but ethically, its what we’ve always known and stand for. Our constant conflict with the powerful is what keeps this mass experiment of the United States running true and honest. No different than religion, the constant questioning of faith is what drives people to the church for answers. We challenge ethics and beauty and meaning because we are human. Curiosity is what differentiates our brains from any other living thing on Earth. It may not always favor ones own ambitions, but that is life. We are driven by the right and wrong of our own minds and while it seems that things aren’t going our way, we must push through and persevere. It’s the most human thing we have the opportunity to do. In looking over the past year I challenge you to recognize the sacrifices you’ve endured to improve your life and what in the coming new year you strive to achieve for the betterment of yourself and community. PS – Dyson’s are on sale this week. Sources: Morris, W. (1885) “Useful Work versus Useless Toil” Mitrovic, B. (2011) “Philosophy for Architects”. Princeton Architectural Press Harries, K. (1998) “The Ethical Function of Architecture” MIT Press

We, as designers, understand the principles of how materials work and what looks the best where. But what separates our minds from our consumers is the questioning of why. Why is this the color something needs to be? Why is this shape more functional? As Mitrovic states, “I am no longer making an aesthetic judgement, but a logical argument.” [1] This evolution of the definition of beauty became an idea of why something should be considered beautiful. The architectural concept of “Anschauung” is the handling of shapes within space and time, a sense intuition. In the eighteenth century, we no longer considered beauty as objective (physical facts of a property) but subjective. “The judgement of beauty is the result of the subject’s cognitive mental process.” We understood the need for beauty in our process, but what did it bring to our daily lives? How did it affect our decisions? WHY should it matter? Georg Simmel wrote “The Metropolis and Mental Life” in the early 1900’s and was about the intellectual life within a big city. He soon uncovered the reality that the city dwellers became “blasé” onlookers. They were numb to the hustle and bustle of modern living. “The essence of the blasé attitude is an indifference toward the distinctions between things. Not in the sense that they are not perceived, as is the case of mental dullness, but rather that the meaning and the value of the distinctions between things, and therewith of the things themselves, are experienced as meaningless.” [2] This quote presents how the human mind can become overwhelmed with sensations. It no longer responds to reactionary moments but becomes dense, slow and obtuse. We could no longer react to aesthetic changes or decisions. Man allowed a, “narrow circle of a feudal community” to be dictated by the larger law of the land. Only the few and the powerful made the rules the mass had to follow. These binding chains forced the city dweller to embrace uniqueness and, “making oneself noticeable.” This independent mindset is what created such a culturally diverse metropolitan. It developed a uniqueness only found within its city limits. The blasé man made a form of expression through independent, fringe-like peculiarities to stand out. This sovereign outlook is what makes the city life authentic and beautiful. It moved beyond visual intrigue and embraced a culturally delightful happening. It transcendental development and became its own unique beauty. The contrary perspective to a city dwellers plight is the pleasant essays of Charles Baudelaire and his subject of much of the writing, Constantin Guys. His outlook on life, happiness and beauty were simple and childlike yet poignant and expansive. He viewed beauty in the most primitive way possible, through the eyes of a child. “The child sees everything in a state of newness; he is always drunk. Nothing more resembles what we call inspiration than the delight with which a child absorbs form and colour.” [3] Guys found that this passion for form through art was his muse for understanding beauty in an ethereal way. When talking about the idea of beauty [through art], “Man ends by looking like his ideal self.” Within this line, he is viewing art as an expression of what mans intentions and desires are. The artist looks beyond the real interpretation of the form (which, mind you, Plato would vehemently disagree with) and reads into how one sees into themselves or its society and expresses its true purpose. Thus, Guys’ motives and genius were always driven by the curiosity of form. This inquisitiveness led to an appreciation of seeing everywhere as his home, an isolated nomad discovering the blessings of our planet and defining it through form and color. His freedom was his brilliance in understanding beauty through the beholder. “He began by being an observer of life, and only later set himself the task of acquiring the means of expressing it.” Constantin Guys never hurried his appreciation for beauty and life, but understood it with a passion for curiosity before providing his impressions of the world. Whether trapped within the confines of social ambiguity or truly free to roam and ponder the world, beauty evolved from a physical state to one of emotion and intuition. It is no longer about the “where”, “what” and “how”, but the “why” it needed to be. It became an expression of life and understanding. Mankind rose above the obvious resolution and began to question why it needed to be instead of what it needed to be. Sources: Mitrovic, B. (2011) “Philosophy for Architects”. Princeton Architectural Press Simmel, G. (1903) “The Metropolis and Mental Life”. Blackwell Publishing Baudelaire, C. (1863) “The Painter of Modern Life”. Phaidon Press #ResponsibleCreativity #DesigningwithSynthesis

For many people, Indianapolis is a wonderful place to live. But, over 230,000 families in Central Indiana are in or close to poverty. Despite working hard, more than 1 in 3 Hoosier households cannot afford the basics: housing, food, healthcare, childcare, and transportation. 65% of jobs in Indiana pay less than $20/hour, and two-thirds of those pay under $15/hour. 25% of Indiana households are working and earning more than the federal poverty level, but not enough to make ends meet, putting them one emergency away from disaster. Synthesis will kick-off our annual Bake Sale Fundraiser on Wednesday, December 11th from 11:30 am - 1:30 pm to support the United Way of Central Indiana. Stop by, purchase some sweet treats or just make a donation. 100% of the proceeds will be donated to United Way of Central Indiana. Together we can make a difference! Synthesis Annual Bake Sale Information December 11th | 11:30 - 1:30 PM Capital Center Building (North Tower, 3rd Floor) 251 North Illinois, Suite 300 Indianapolis, IN 46204 317.951.9500 #CommunityOutreach #Synthians

Giving Tuesday was created in 2012 based on a simple idea of a day that encourages people to do good. Over the past seven years, this idea has grown into a global movement that inspires hundreds of millions of people to give, collaborate, and celebrate generosity. One of the best ways to get involved is in your own community. Synthesis is committed to giving back to the community by serving as volunteers, members, and leaders for nearly 40 various service organizations. Community service has been a big part of the Synthesis ethos since the beginning. Recognizing the impact that can be made for individuals and the community alike, we participate in a variety of ways. T.E.A.M. (Together Everyone Achieves More) is the studio initiative through which many activities are generated. We have participated in many community service programs such as the United Way, CANstruction, WFYI, American Heart Association, Keep Indianapolis Beautiful, Sisters of Providence, and The Little Sisters of Poor, which have made a lasting impact on the community and has emphasized paying it forward through community service. Tapping into their competitive nature, Synthesis has turned the United Way campaign drive into a series of themed challenges such as, workspace decorating contests, costume contests, and ‘Jar Wars’ to maximize giving and create memorable team building experiences. We also hold a yearly bake sale within our building with all proceeds going to the United Way. ‘Casual Friday’ at Synthesis has been turned into a fundraising opportunity. Throughout the year, employees donate a few dollars each time they choose to wear jeans and that money is then used to support a local charity for an entire year. This year, we’ve supported Westminster Neighborhood Services on the near Eastside of Indianapolis. We've donated diapers, can openers, and are now sponsoring several children for their Christmas basket program. The beauty of giving is that everyone has something to give, whether it’s donating money, volunteering your time or giving of talent. What will you give today? #CommunityOutreach #SynthesisValues

“Home” isn’t just the building in which we live, but also the community that surrounds and supports. Neighbors who care, businesses that serve, and amenities that nourish are what each of us seek when we choose where to live and work. The keys to success? Combining local expertise and resources with residents’ energy, ingenuity, and commitment. We believe resident engagement and leadership are essential for communities to realize their vision for a vibrant and welcoming place to call home. Community building and engagement work brings the talents, resources, and skills of people in a community together, increasing their collective capacity. “We feel that the best design comes from community participation…” Through our experience with community engagement, we can implement several different strategies including: Workshops with special interest groups (e.g. children, teens, and seniors) to gain feedback on their space needs. Promotional literature and informational packets. Board workshops to explain technical design and financial fundamentals for their public interactions. Small group workshops. Presentations to civic groups, clubs, and specific stakeholder groups. Information for radio and newspaper interviews. Public polling and surveys. Community involvement is not simply a necessity of the planning process; it is foundation of the community. Easily forgotten in the complexities of development is that, at their most basic, places are about facilitating relationships between people. Communities are at their best when personalities come together to create a unification of identities without losing individuality. Through community involvement, we listen and understand the most deeply held values and collaborate for a successful and positive outcome. #CommunityEngagement #ResponsibleCreativity

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. Architects and designers struggle with this concept daily. We are hired for our keen sense of style/taste/content, but also for instinct on what makes something beautiful in the right context. Can beauty be justified as a legitimate focus for decision making in design (i.e. can it be defensible)? Is it considered superficial and untrusted by 'serious' designers? And really…does beauty matter and, if so, how can it be defined? In the summer of 2006, my grandfather died at the age of 94. It was a sudden death. Grandma had died one month earlier, and he had proclaimed that he “didn’t want to be here anymore.” He had contracted pneumonia on a Friday and by Sunday he had died. My mother was devasted that she could not be by his side when he passed. When we arrived at the retirement home, his nurse saw my mother, gave her a big hug and started to cry. When my mother asked how and when he had died, the nurse welled up again. Apparently, that Sunday morning, my grandfather had asked that the nurse stay with him, put on Beethoven’s “Egmont Op. 84” as loud as possible, and died seven minutes later. He had a good death. A beautiful death. He was neither afraid nor anxious with it. He knew what he wanted and accepted reality on its terms. I bring this memory up as a moment of realization for me. This level of contentment drove me towards a new appreciation for beauty within its terms. We all live in a world of fear and anxiety which drives all of our decisions on a daily basis. Edmund Burke wrote in Section II “Terror” of his philosophies of beauty and the sublime, “No passion so effectually robs the mind of all its power of acting and reasoning as fear.” [1] This raw emotional drive is a basic animalistic reaction, yet it should not stop us from abandoning what it exposes. At the moment of real terror, we are subjected to the ultimate truth, both physically and emotionally. What we know from that point on propels a natural fight or flight instinct. Beauty in design, like all emotions, is driven by real experiences and, while the eye of the beholder may have their opinion on aesthetic decisions, designers must recognize real beauty through intention and motivation. From Peter Eisenman’s Holocaust Memorial to the new African American Museum experience in Washington D.C., these builds are driven by an understanding of their meaning. They provide spaces that are uncomfortable, memorable, and heuristic. These examples are also poignant reminders of moments in history, defining a generation or generations and how we have learned from them. Burke’s text continues, “beauty should not be obscure; the great ought to be dark and gloomy: beauty should be light and delicate; the great ought to be solid, and even massive.” We have the opportunity to make statements with our designs and provide raw emotion to validate intention. “We saw that the fact that something is perceived as beautiful is bound up with an urge to protect it, or act on its behalf, in a way that appears to be tied up with the perception of its lifelikeness.” [2] Elaine Scarry seeks to define in her text what beauty is and why it has been criticized as a distraction. This, in design, is also seen from a raw emotion. Beauty is so contentious a factor in design that we often choose to mimic other successful designs rather than create something new, challenging, and unproven. These factors are what make architecture so intriguing. It’s a massive form of social experimentation and some would rather avoid confrontation than drive innovation. Mitrovic even compares Architects to mathematicians, “Works of architecture are, then, not created but discovered, like mathematical theorems.” [3] Scarry continues in her text, “Gods of many traditions are held to be beautiful, but gods do not come into existence to be beautiful; their beauty simply follows from, or is part of, their perfection and cannot be decoupled or held independent from it.” This text is referring to the unattainable, or as Aristotle explained it, “the Unmoved Mover in the purest form”. Design strives for perfection and beauty, similar to how we feel about God being the perfect specimen. We fear its failure or doubt its success when we should be pushing creative movement through purpose and objectives. Achieving these goals is true beauty, raw and exposed and readily open to scrutiny with the confidence to be seen as original. Grandpa Buschmeyer was a cold man. He was not sensitive or compassionate. Yet, his indifference to my childhood was from a purely moral decision. He was a sergeant in World War II, working on B-17’s in England and never once told me a story about the war. I never knew he was in the war or what he had seen. He knew true fear and never wanted it for his family or to even to have his family endure the experiences of what he had seen. He, in his own way knew how to protect us all from true terror and for that we all loved him for it. He was a complicated man, yet, at the moment of death, he put fear aside and faced it in the most beautiful way possible. Sources: Burke, E. (1756) “A Philosophical Inquiry into the Origin of Our Ideas of the Sublime and Beautiful” Scarry, E. (2001) “On Beauty and Being Just” Princeton University Press Mitrovic, B. (2011) “Philosophy for Architects”. Princeton Architectural Press

As architects design, the concept of Place is always an underlying factor. To create a functional layout which remains relevant to its location, it must cater to the clients needs. But authenticity is a defining element of a community’s ethos. New buildings must consider their environments to understand what is appropriate and may be vulgar. How we research a neighborhood, city block or identifiable character of a community often provides the answers to what works best visually. Yet as technology is more prevalent in our society, how do we maintain creativity, even if it goes unnoticed? I was born in 1983. I am technically a Millennial (1981-1996). I was raised in a sleepy farm town in eastern Indiana by a Quaker pastor and music teacher. We were simple, pragmatic…and very frugal. Legos, Lincoln Logs and erector sets were a staple in my childhood. I had the derogatory Huffy bike I called, “The Tidal Wave”. The TV show, “Stranger Things” was a close representation my childhood. Around 1989, however; the personal computer became affordable for the layman. The game of choice was, of course, “Oregon Trail.” Yes, I died a lot from dysentery and many of my children were bitten by snakes, but I loved that game and it defined my generation, at that point in time. It also initiated a rift in the millennials. Home entertainment systems like the N64 and PlayStation introduced better and more realistic games but I and my fellow floppy disc brethren remanence about the yellow monochromatic Magnavox, telling us our wagon had broke down. We had become the Oregon Trail Generation, or as Cassie McClure, from the Las Cruces Sun-News eloquently puts it, “remembering a time before the digital age, but barely.” [1] This divide of the millennial generation expresses the real dissent technology has had in a first world society. Half of us played Oregon Trail and half of us never had the pleasure. In “The Phenomenon of Place”, Christian Norberg-Schulz relates the object of identification to concrete environmental properties, often developed in childhood. As it stands today, technology is the epicenter of our society. From Facebook and Twitter to Adobe and Revit, we are all reliant on communicative software to march through the day and into the night. “In fact, modern man for a long time believed that science and technology had freed him from a direct dependence on places. This belief has proved an illusion; pollution and environmental chaos have suddenly appeared as a frightening nemesis, and as a result the problem of place has regained its true importance.” [2] Norberg-Schulz relates “place” to the physical and psychic senses. In other words, a sense of security is created by understanding and relating to environmental order through orientation and identification. We have devoted so much of our humanity on convenient technology and communication, that we have lost our childhood understanding of Place through a denial of necessary physical interaction to develop. This new “Nurturing” philosophy shows no support to the understood “Nature of Things”. We don’t really know how kids these days will develop where the iPod (2001) has always existed (I recognize I just became an old man in that sentence). The understanding of Dasein is defined as “thrown into” situations. This philosophy is driven by the guiding principles of civilized humanity. Compassion, fear and guilt, are aspects of Dasein. The Mitrovic text studies the philosophy of Martin Heidegger who states, “A human being is essentially a being-of-the-world…” [3] and Dasein is what provides authenticity to our lives. “One could compare the Christian understanding of creation with thrownness, guilt with the teaching about original sin, authenticity with salvation through fear of death, and so on.” Heidegger is saying that authenticity is what drives us to live our life through conscious, independent and repercussive decisions that define our personalities. I bring this up to compare the reliant, human need to be independent and yet depend so heavily on technology in order to thrive. We have become a society of techies and struggle to find the benefit or just recognize the inconvenience of what our parents generation considered stable, honest living. We no longer need to work in an office to do a job, 43% of Americans claim they spent some time working remotely. [4] Our entertainment resides around social media, living vicariously through celebrities lives (it is estimated in 2017 that in a lifetime, over 5 years and 4 months will be spent on social media [5]). Our technology has introduced us to a new, uncharted reality. Mitrovic claims, “Human relationship to places is thus constituted through dwelling. The process of building makes a place by creating and connecting spaces.” Our dwelling is now our technology, and our connected spaces are solely through fiber optics. While this is an inevitable reality, it does not need to be the constant. The intention of science and technology was also to provide relief from so much responsibility and blend health and lifestyle within an everyday life. Fitbit constantly discloses our lack of movement through subtle shame by showing missed daily goals. Social media is broadening our understanding of world needs and is promoting social goodness. Even industry standard software (AutoCAD and Revit) is providing proficient and reliably communicative applications that share more information in less time, at a stable cost, benefiting the client most. “To dwell between Earth and heaven,” Norberg-Schulz says, “one must experience meanings; only when the man-made environment is meaningful can man be at home.” I have a three-year-old son and struggle daily to not rely on technology to raise him. The lifestyle I am fostering is reliant on convenience and technology, all of my own doing. Streaming TV and high speed internet are essentials to get through the day. My memories of childhood were of curfews and skinned knees. I want my son to have the same experiences of living, breathing and playing as I did, even in this modern age of managed screen time and digital engagements. I know he’ll never know the joys of buying enough gun powder to decimate the buffalo population on his way to Oregon, but I know with attentiveness and diligence he’ll ride that huffy to school every day and have his own, none digital stories to tell. I’ll end this tome with a question, Jacques Derrida identified voice to designate an immediate presence of a speaker, “the emphasis on the priority of speech…sees a wider emphasis on the idea of presence.” As we become more and more reliant on technology, do we see a concern that architecture as art and a representation of our current society will become flagrant, unnecessary and ultimately more utilitarian? Will society reject the need for architecture as beauty and serve solely as shelter to protect their technology? I find the function of design imperative on what our culture is currently expressing. We should never abandon creativity for strict convenience. But I design buildings every day, so I may be tremendously biased. Sources: Norberg-Schulz, C. “The Phenomenon of Place” Mitrovic, B. (2011) “Philosophy for Architects”. Princeton Architectural Press www.nytimes.com/2017/02/15/us/remote-workers-work-from-home.html www.adweek.com/digital/mediakix-time-spent-social-media-infographic/ www.lcsun-news.com/story/life/sunlife/2016/05/20/my-so-called-millennial-life-old-west-pioneers-digital-age/84227566/

The Entrepreneurial Learner Students of today are entrepreneurial learners, many are non-traditional students who want to be allowed to drive their own success. Changes are needed to be responsive to these unique student needs. They want to exercise their curiosity, share their experiences with their peers, and become immersed in the experiences that will shape the rest of their lives. These successful entrepreneurial learners are driven by autonomy… partially a resultant of the technology that is so integral to their everyday lives, but an autonomy driven by the vast amount of choices they have. Spaces should facilitate education in innovative and collaborative ways and blur the lines between learning and practice, and be flexible enough to accommodate evolving pedagogies. Accommodating Classroom Pedagogies As with most all institutions, classroom spaces are at a premium. Therefore, careful planning and a creative implementation plan will be required to facilitate a successful project and not impede the educational process. Phased construction can also have cost implications; therefore, a resourceful construction phasing plan must be determined early in the process. Criteria such as material availability, time of year for the construction process, and other factors will need to be carefully planned to make the best use of the State’s funding for a phased project. Experiential Instruction This basic concept of cognitive learning is only the beginning of understanding brain science and its impact on the educational experience. It has created an awareness that students learn best with access to a wider range of tools and has led to the changes we see in educational pedagogy: Classroom variety is imperative. Spaces require both visual and physical access and allow for quick “ownership” changes, i.e. flexible furniture. The education pedagogy is evolving into a more multi-sensory approach to both teaching and learning: hearing, seeing and doing. Technology is fully integrated: both projection and on interactive surfaces. Not only are teachers “plugged in”, so are students, with technology that switches from laptop to laptop to share information. Informal learning spaces, or “collision” zones, provide a choice of destinations where students and faculty can meet and discuss concepts outside the classroom. Synthesis renovated the Heine Pharmacy Teaching Lab at Purdue University with the concept of a multi-sensory teaching approach in mind. This quick summer renovation project required careful and thoughtful planning in order to be implemented in a 3-month time frame. The results allow faculty to easily move throughout the room and to interact with all students. Students can work individually, in 2-person groups at the fume hoods, or in 4-to-6-person groups at the lab benches and the layout allows all students to have unimpeded views of the front of the room during pre-lab activities. #ResponsibleCreativity

Our team is comprised of exceptional design and engineering professionals who each have an average of 35+ years of experience. Their first-hand knowledge and expertise will ensure that an assessment will identify, retain, preserve, protect, repair and replace the fabric of a facility. With rigorous constraints, historically significant buildings offer unique challenges. In addition to programmatic changes, these facilities often require particular efforts to restore the building’s structure and exterior envelope while updating functional requirements such as mechanical, electrical, and plumbing systems. Renewed interest in revitalizing these structures has positioned our experience in historic materials and construction types to address your desire to protect, preserve and yet update your community assets. St. Mary's of the Woods Campus Building Assessment Performing a Building Assessment is the key to gathering accurate information of the facility conditions and generating cost data, which will result in a comprehensive report. This report may be used to decide what investments should be made in facility improvements and will provide a carefully constructed action plan for moving forward. There are four different types of Building Assessments that will give you the critical information needed for your Plan. Building Envelope Assessment The building envelope is all of the elements of the outer shell that maintain a dry, heated, or cooled indoor environment and facilitate its climate control. Building envelope design is a specialized area of architectural and engineering practice that draws from all areas of building science and indoor climate control. Young Hall at Purdue University Our team will evaluate the complete exterior of a building and then compile an action plan as well as cost options. Sample categories would include brick or stone masonry, wood trim, siding, roof systems and metal trim, windows, doors, etc. Our evaluation will identify recommendations for repair, replacement, or renovation. With your input, we will prioritize repairs for budgeting purposes to support capital planning strategies. Architectural Assessment Facilities may need to accommodate new uses. Functional facilities with ever-changing programmatic operations, uses, and services. We can assess the programmatic and spacial functions of a facility and compare existing conditions to current and forecasted use requirements. We will work with you to identify the functional assets and liabilities. Those findings are translated into a report with recommendations that align with institutional business plans, anticipated growth, and market changes. Code Assessment Our code expertise and building analysis will position you to make informed and proactive investment decisions, maximizing the safety of those who work, visit and stay at your facility. Whether it’s through assessing life safety code adherence, ADA guidelines, ease of access, an enhanced experience for travelers or guiding a campus towards a single vision, your solution will be found and clearly documented for planning implementation. Indiana War Memorial Changing codes, uses and infrastructure can create a variety of challenges for you as it pertains to life safety and code compliance. Our expertise will allow you to better understand these specific deficiencies and prioritize upgrades and modifications that fit within your budget. Cost opinions and budget analysis will help the you make informed decisions about scope and direction of your facility. Historical Renovation Any analysis of a building must be based on accurate and objective data. This includes understanding the facility’s original intent, current conditions, remediation cost, functional adequacy, and future use. Without this information, it is impossible for building owners and facility managers to understand the options and decide upon the investments required. The architects at Synthesis understand how important this step is to developing a substantive plan that institutional leaders can incorporate into their budget. Grants supporting preservation rely on respectful use of historical materials. The Synthesis team will prepare a comprehensive assessment which respects the Secretary of the Interior’s Standards for the preservation of Historic Places. City of Bedford Milwaukee Train Depot The Synthesis team believes that knowledge is critical to formulating the analysis. Expertise – the deep knowledge that comes from research and experience – enables us to develop a comprehensive audit that will deliver exceptional value to you. This drives us to explore, question, and continuously advance our understanding of how the built environment influences historic preservation. #buildingassessments