This webinar is part of the Interiors Academy

This webinar will showcase several projects which highlight approaches to interiors that speak to the occupants and users of each of these spaces. From using color as a wayfinding tool to the use of natural tones and textures to promote connectivity, these projects demonstrate the value received from a focus on building occupants and interior spaces.

Lee H. Skolnick, FAIA, Principal, SKOLNICK Architecture + Design Partnership will present the Jackie and Harold Spielman Children’s Library at Port Washington Public Library. He will go behind the scenes to share his studio’s experience with and process for re-envisioning and renovating the library, which serves children from birth to ‘tweens. With a “Tree of Knowledge'' theme based on developmental principles in learning behavior, the upgrade was designed to better serve the youngest Port Washington residents and their families. The focal point of the design incorporates this overarching tree motif and a vibrantly colored, leaf-inspired wayfinding system that uses environmental graphics to assist young visitors in self-guided discovery. The redesigned space also incorporates multimedia elements, the latest in interactive technology, a new Information Desk, and comfortable seating for children, parents, and caregivers to leisurely read and discover the magic of books. The Children’s Library received the 2018 AIA Long Island Archi Award for Non-Residential Interiors and the 2018 Benjamin Moore & Company Color Award.

Angie Lee, AIA, IIDA, Partner & Design Director-Interiors at FXCollaborative will present the 1 Willoughby Square project, whose interior is organized to promote social and natural connectivity; a strategically-located side core and column-free, exposed structure allows for wide-open work environments without obstruction and surrounded by daylight. Connectedness is further enhanced by interior atria, exterior terraces and three "super-floors" incorporating higher ceiling heights, amenity spaces and exterior loggias. Rejecting the conventional all-glass formulation, the design is a contemporary take on the famed New York industrial loft with gridded, oversized windows, distinctive glazed brick spandrels and exposed concrete structure.

Wid Chapman, AIA Color should be thought of as another dimension in architecture—a companion to form, space, light, and surface considered early on in a project. It does more than demark, accent, or highlight a space—it dynamically changes the visual, emotional, and experiential nature of a design. During the Covid-19 pandemic, as our homes became ersatz offices, schools, restaurants, spas, theaters, and more, we became more sensitized to the role that the differentiation of spaces can have on our psyches and that color plays in this experience.

In this webinar, Wid will present color through the eye of several of his firm’s projects, showing how it interacts with light, works with surface to change the material experience, melds with form to create sculpture, and relates to space to create distinct functional environments that actively affect our daily lives.

The presentations will be followed by a moderated discussion focused on how these innovative custom home projects address several key issues.

Photo courtesy of FXCollaborative

	Lee H. Skolnick, FAIA is founder and principal of SKOLNICK Architecture + Design Partnership, an internationally renowned firm that synthesizes art, science, and architecture to create memorable and meaningful experiences. In addition to bringing his philosophy-based interpretive design and planning services to a broad range of cultural, institutional, corporate, and private clients, Mr. Skolnick writes, lectures, and teaches extensively. He was awarded the Lifetime Achievement Award by the Long Island AIA, is an Honorary Research Fellow in the Museum Studies Program at the University of Leicester, and is co-author of the book, “What is Exhibition Design?”. He currently sits on the boards of various arts and design organizations including Architecture Omi, where he is founding chairman of the board of directors, the Longhouse Reserve, where he chairs the museum committee, and the board of A Blade of Grass, an organization that provides resources for artists. His design work has been widely published and has received many awards of excellence, including the “AD 100 Architects” by Architectural Digest and local, state, and national AIA Honor Awards.
	Angie Lee, FIIDA, AIA, is a Partner and Design Director of Interiors at FXCollaborative, a New York City-based architecture, interiors, and planning design firm. With over 25 years of experience, Angie integrates emotional design narrative, technical precision, and artistic intuition. Angie leads the firm’s award-winning interiors practice, providing strategic vision and oversight for interior environments across a wide range of scales and project types. Committed to an inclusive philosophy of design, she is recipient of the 2019 HiP Award for design leadership in the workplace category, and is President-Elect of the International Interior Design Association’s International Board of Directors.
	Our practice is led by Wid Chapman, AIA, who received his architectural education at the Rhode Island School of Design. He is a former chair of the interior design department of Parsons the New School for Design, where he currently serves on its senior faculty. Wid has guest lectured in the U.S. and globally in Brazil, the Dominican Republic, France, India, Malaysia, and Singapore. A lifestyle design authority, he is co-author of the topical books Home Design in an Aging World (Fairchild Books, 2008) and Unassisted Living (Random House, 2011).