WASHINGTON—June 28, 2010—The Society for Environmental Graphic Design (SEGD) presented RTKL with two merit awards—one for their Washington office design and one for Zero Waste, a temporary installation. The SEGD awards, presented on June 3, recognize exceptional graphic design that enhances the built environment. SEGD chose the winners from a field of 430 entries.
“These projects exemplify what we represent as a firm: new solutions, creative thinking, collaboration and sustainability,” said Thom McKay, vice president and co-director of the firm’s Environments Studio.
RTKL’s Washington Office
The new 60,000-SF, LEED-CI Platinum office exemplifies the future of sustainable workplace design. The space reflects RTKL’s culture and functions as a tangible expression of its commitment to environmental stewardship. Following an intensive immersion process, the design team developed five core activity zones—Greet, Seat, Meet, Eat and Retreat—each representing different components of how the office functions.
The environmental graphics incorporate a variety of media, such as signage, digital animation, large-scale wall graphics and printed collateral material. The hand-drawn feel of the program showcases the lighthearted and whimsical aspects of the firm’s personality, such as bathroom mirror graphics that illustrate proper hand-washing techniques. The design team utilized sustainable elements when possible, and picked durable materials to ensure longevity.
The jury commented, “In a moment when digital media has come to replace the hand drawing that typified architecture in the past, these designers found a way to combine a very contemporary color and visual sensibility with the judicious use of witty, hand-drawn iconography, with great success.”
Zero Waste
Zero Waste was a temporary installation for an exhibition sponsored by AIA Dallas. The annual event introduces architects and architecture firms to the public and highlights the benefits of quality design on the built environment.
RTKL focused its installation on a cross-disciplinary exploration of RTKL’s firm values, including collaboration and sustainability. The team used 100 percent recycled materials: cardboard plotter tubes, particle board from discarded storage shelving and borrowed LED lights. Zero Waste constructed their sculpture from over 300 plotter paper tubes and assembled them into square layers which they rotated so the final form could be viewed from 360 degrees.
"Here's a brilliant example of how beautiful design solutions can result from ingenuity, frugality, and fresh thinking,” read the jury notes. “It's also an eloquent reminder of the waste we're all complicit in creating."
About the Society for Environmental Graphic Design
SEGD is the global community for people who work at the intersection of communication design and the built environment.
http://www.segd.org
About RTKL
RTKL is a worldwide architecture, engineering, planning and creative services organization. Part of the ARCADIS global network since 2007, RTKL specializes in providing its multi-disciplinary services across the full development cycle to create places of distinction and designs of lasting value. RTKL works with commercial, workplace, public and healthcare clients on projects around the globe.
www.RTKL.com