The CVT Headquarters Client / The Center for Victims of Torture Design Firm / Perkins+Will Minneapolis
An on-going series of case studies that feature projects by IIDA members participating in the 1+ who are making pro bono service an integral part of design practice.
PRO BONO CASE STUDY / Nº9
DIALOGUE CLIENT / DESIGN FIRM
© PUBLIC ARCHITECTURE MARCH 2016
An on-going series of case studies that feature projects by IIDA members participating in the 1+
Project The CVT Headquarters Location St. Paul, Minnesota Completion 2014 Client The Center for Victims of Torture Client liaison Ruth Barrett-Rendler Design lead Perkins+Will Design team Anne Smith, IIDA Russell Philstrom, AIA + All Staff Support Area 13,667 sq. ft. Pro bono services 1300 hours $22,000 (est.) Project collaborators Gardner Builders Fluid Interiors Schuler Shook Briggs and Morgan TEGRA Group Master Technology Group More info www.cvt.org www.perkinswill.com https://vimeo.com/102022177
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Design /
The Center for Victims of Torture (CVT) needed a different kind of space for our headquarters in the Twin Cities. We coordinated our work between four different sites, which was complicated and had become an enormous cost. We experienced many missed opportunities in cross-organizational learning and lost time commuting between the different locations.
The Center for Victims of Torture (CVT) was a perfect fit for Perkins+Will’s (P+W) Social Responsibility Initiative. CVT’s new executive director was looking to transform the organization in order to alleviate its incredible inefficiencies from having two administrative offices. The relationship started with conversations about P+W and our offerings through the 1+ program. It was fortuitous that we began communicating when we did, because CVT’s leases were up in a year and they were starting to fret over where they would go.
Ruth Barrett-Rendler, Deputy Director, The Center for Victims of Torture
Perkins+Will (P+W) reached out to us about our predicament and I suggested a tour of our clinic site in order to better understand each other before we moved further down the road. Torture is a tough topic for people to hear about and we don’t go deeply into the details of what our clients experience when we give general talks on our work. CVT heals and rebuild lives – we much prefer to focus on that process than atrocities of the past. P+W spent an extraordinary number of hours learning about us, asking really important questions about how we worked together and
PRO BONO CASE STUDY / Nº9
Anne Smith, IIDA, Interior Project Designer, Associate, Perkins+Will Russell Philstrom, AIA, Project Architect, Associate, Perkins+Will
CVT started about twenty years ago in an old Victorian home on the University of Minnesota campus. The University had leased it to them for a dollar a year, so it was great financially. But architecturally, it was a big three story home that didn’t work well in terms of having several little rooms, a lot of stairs, and almost no collaborative space. The space really became troublesome since
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An on-going series of case studies that feature projects by IIDA members participating in the 1+
Nonprofit /
how we wanted to work together. They taught us how space can reflect our core values. P+W also conducted interactive exercises with staff, including a questionnaire, several focus groups, and open discussions in order to better understand everyone’s perspectives on their ideal work space. These are a few examples of the huge efforts P+W’s designers put into understanding our needs from the earliest stages. We believe that an environment where stress can be reduced to the fullest extent possible is best for our staff and the people we serve. There are certain design elements that P+W absolutely brought to the space, like a focus on natural light, which really go a long way in mitigating stress levels. One thing P+W did was move the offices off of the outer walls so that all the natural light flows straight to the staff. Even though our administrative offices would not have clients walking in the door, we wanted to mirror the open feeling developed for our clinic space. This focus on lighting was a significant
PRO BONO CASE STUDY / Nº9
“Pro bono projects have a real element of empowerment for staff to get involved in their community.” — Anne Smith, IIDA design change from what we were working with previously and brought about higher levels of comfort. P+W brought design ideas that would not have occurred to us. Now that we have been living with the re-design for a year, we are astonished we hadn’t thought about similar changes before. We transitioned from a space where almost everyone had an office to a design where everybody is in workstations. They designed a space where an open floor plan with workstations did not interfere with the need for collaborative areas. The incorporation of smaller, more intimate
places such as huddle rooms, conference rooms, and informal conversation spaces all connected to what P+W heard from us about our key value of collaborative work. These diverse spaces also provided more possibilities for privacy so that our staff has the ability to retreat to these areas if ever necessary. P+W was also mindful of our concerns about a loss of privacy and increase in noise with the lower walls. They enagaed our noise concens, explaining that lower walls actually lower ambient noise as opposed to increasing it. In terms of privacy, our staff works with victims of torture, so naturally, there are sensitive conversations that occur. P+W heard our concerns and managed to find a great balance in maintaining privacy while still opening up the architecture to reflect our open and interactive relational style. The real show-piece of our new space is the lunch room which changed the way people spend
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An on-going series of case studies that feature projects by IIDA members participating in the 1+
Design / both client and administrative work occurred there. As CVT became more successful and expanded, they soon built their own healing center in St. Paul specifically for their client services. Then they received notice that continuing in the Victorian would require a large investment into the building and it was too costly for them to bear that burden. That’s when we started talking seriously about relocation and consolidation. Early on, CVT considered moving to a completely new space, so we worked with the real estate professionals at TEGRA. We then discovered there were leasable spaces available within their other administrative building in St. Paul. This discovery allowed us to use their existing site and expand from within. We suggested an open floor plan design, which needed explanation, so we coached CVT on why we proposed this change. Their old workspace in the Victorian had tall wall cubicles and single offices, meaning there were a lot of ineffective spaces as well as a lack of places to eat and gather. We identified a shift between “me space” as P+W calls it, to ample shared space; in other words, “give up a little personal space so you can have more communal possibilities.” This idea resonated with them fully since they are a community-oriented organization. Once they could envision the design, they understood the benefits in making that shift. Overall the construction went fairly smoothly. It was quite complicated because we had to buildout the new space and once they moved into that new area, the space they had previously occupied had to be remodeled as well. Schuler Shook provided full pro bono lighting work which was an important element in the design. They supplied the layout and specifications as well as contracted vendors and determined appropriate costs. Imrpoving the lighting of the space was a priority for us throughout the project. The building is beautifully timber-framed with exposed brick exterior walls, but the lighting was atrocious. The old space was actually darker because of all the direct lighting. Getting the right type of light created a space that accentuated and celebrated its exisitng attributes. CVT’s large art collection, was also an important consideration in creating
PRO BONO CASE STUDY / Nº9
nice lighting. A lot of the art had been donated by clients or acquired by outreach programs over time. The artwork told a fantastic story of their organization and the healing process, so we wanted to highlight it and make it a key focus while improving the natural light. While we mostly worked on the administrative side of the organization, we recognized the mix of departments that interact with partner organizations or employees all over the world, in places like Africa, South East Asia, and the Middle East. Technology became an extremely important factor in the design. It was critical to connect everyone in a digital way that made the organization feel like it was whole, without disregarding people who weren’t physically present. The new lunchroom is the star of the space. CVT’s earlier lunchroom was a dismal place to be; it had one table with four seats and they had about thirty staff members. Because they are a communityoriented organization, it was a real win to have made the space comfortable for large gatherings like coffee hours, birthdays, or other celebrations. Similarly, we incorporated a large multipurpose room where they can fit at least fifty people with all of the technology necessary to broadcast presentations to their staff around the world.
“P+W was truthfully able to look at our six core values of dignity, hope, client centered care, engagement, learning, and stewardship and incorporate them into our space.” — Ruth Barrett-Rendler
Previously, whenever they had monthly meetings, they resorted to traveling outside of their spaces and renting a place from month to month because of the lack of available space. Now they have a substantial multi-purpose room to utilize for events unimaginable before, such as Donor events, film festivals surrounding human rights, even informal brown bag lunches. Combining the two offices with a technological platform to include staff members abroad, all within an improved space layout, has had tremendous positive impact on the CVT’s work. Providing an increasingly collaborative, open-work environment has allowed people to further engage with CVT’s mission. This focus on their mission eventually translates into more clients receiving the services they need to regain their lives from
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An on-going series of case studies that feature projects by IIDA members participating in the 1+
Nonprofit / their “between-business” moments here. There is a place to rest when you have a cup of coffee. There are now bulletin boards for staff to promote programs or events they are involved in outside of CVT. We pull tables together for twenty people or we sit individually. It is the most pleasant room in the facility and has proven itself to have been worth the time spent in the design process and in the material selection. I strongly believe the existence of that lunchroom has increased staff satisfaction and productivity. P+W was also a strong partner in developing relationships with businesses to support the build out with both labor and supplies. Together with TEGRA and our contractor Gardner Builders, P+W recruited donations of labor, floor tiles, carpet tiles, and other materials. Their work didn’t end with the design; they were committed to see the beautiful space realized. P+W understood our budget restraints and helped us meet that gap. After we moved in, they participated in our events honoring contributors in order to keep those partnerships going. There are some very tangible benefits to this space, including the ways that we work better together. As a staff we coordinate and plan better. We’re able to move through these processes more quickly, and with improved outcomes. The team at Perkins+Will kept our mission in front of us, integrating our six core values of dignity, hope, client centered care, engagement, learning, and stewardship and into our new space. The space now reflects CVT’s maturity and expertise and is an excpetional vehicle to continue to further our mission. Our staff is very grateful for all the work that went into this process, and recognizes the hours that it takes to provide a workspace where everyone can feel comfortable doing such challenging work. We bring people to walk through our space now in a way that was impractical in the past. When folks come in here they can see the broad span of our work: our policy advocacy, communications, direct services, and the individuals who are doing the work. CVT is made up of these staff members, and now there is a way for them to engage with visitors, partners and others when they come through. You can’t put a dollar amount on that.
PRO BONO CASE STUDY / Nº9
Design / the atrocities that happened to them. You feel good knowing that these designs are tangibly affecting people in a positive way every day. P+W is absolutely a leader in sustainability. On this project, we reduced the amount of lighting energy by 30% and water consumption by about 35%. We specified the use of any material that was low PFC, local, and healthy, so that the CVT occupants would have a healthy environment. P+W is one of the lead architecture firms to sign onto the AIA 2030 challenge. We want to design all our buildings and spaces to be more energy efficient with the ultimate goal of becoming carbon neutral. At our office in Minneapolis, we genuinely take an integrated design approach to both pro bono and traditional projects. We utilize our connections as interior designers, especially with IIDA, in receiving these materials. At one of our project meetings, Russell asked us to reach out to designers they had connections with in order to build those relationships and get them on board with the team. We also worked closely with Fluid Interiors, a furniture dealer who donated a lot of
their time in selecting furniture pieces for this project. The long-term benefit of our pro bono program for our office is staff engagement in non-profit work, as well as the extra energy brought to these projects because of the close engagement with mission-based organizations. In the end, pro bono work brings the best out of people, and that has lasting effects. It not only motivates more of that type of work, but allows for that energy to be transferred into our other projects. Pro bono projects have a real element of empowerment for staff to get involved in their community.
“Providing an increasingly collaborative, open-work environment has allowed people to further engage with CVT’s mission, which is ultimately strengthening their program to become more effective.” — Russell Philstrom, AIA
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An on-going series of case studies that feature projects by IIDA members participating in the 1+
1+ PROGRAM The 1+ program is a first-of-its-kind effort to encourage pro bono service within the architecture and design professions. It connects nonprofits with architecture and design firms willing to give of their time. Learn More PUBLIC ARCHITECTURE Public Architecture is a national 501(c)(3) nonprofit based in San Francisco. It engages architecture firms, nonprofits, and manufacturers to commit to design for the public good through its nationally recognized 1+ program. Learn More INTERNATIONAL INTERIOR DESIGN ASSOCIATION IIDA is the voice for Commercial Interior Design. They elevate the value of the profession to clients and support members as recognized leaders in the industry. Learn More IN PARTNERSHIP Along with Public Architecture and the commitment to the 1+ mission, IIDA encourages its Members to become involved in their communities and bring Interior Design where it is needed. Learn More
Š Photography: Brandon Stengel