FORT WAYNE RANKED ONE OF BEST CITIES FOR MILLENNIALS

Best Cities for Millennials

Hoch Associates loves to be centered in the heart of Fort Wayne and part of its exciting future. Vocativ, an online Internet blog released the 2014 livability index and Fort Wayne is no stranger to exciting lists regarding the livability for its citizens. The list was designed for the Millennial generation, those under 35. While the entire list is comprised of 35 cities, Fort Wayne was the only one to make the list from the Hoosier State. We are proud that Fort Wayne was singled out for being the real Cinderella story. After years of stagnant growth and even in the 1980’s losing several manufacturing jobs, the city created new programs and focused on diversifying the workforce, transforming neighborhoods and buildings, creating several new acres of beautiful green space, researching and developing its long forgotten riverfront and welcomed exciting new groups such as YLNI (Young Leaders of Northeast Indiana) and Millennial 2020 which work together to create a stronger and more vibrant community for the Millennial citizens.

With the city now being named one of the best for Millennials, this is an opportunity to unleash an exciting new future. Ranking in the top percentile in areas such as cost of living, housing (rent and ownership) and low unemployment, Fort Wayne has quickly ose among the ranks of its piers and now vying for the Regional Cities Initiative which will provide several million dollars in seed funding for future developments if granted. Hoch Associates continues to support the city and is excited to share in its future.

HOCH MOVES LOCATIONS IN INDIANAPOLIS

Hoch Associates is excited to announce our official move to the Mozzo complex in Indianapolis. We are now in the heart of the Fountain Square district of downtown Indy and can’t wait to get involved in the community. Located in the old Holy Rosary Italian neighborhood Mozzo, meaning hub in Italian, is an upscale urban complex that projects an energetic and creative vibe which is a perfect fit for our enthusiastic Indy team. We can’t wait to welcome visitors and clients into our new space and show them what Hoch Associates can offer them.

Our focus at Studio Indianapolis is Telecommunications and Data Centers lead by sector manager Brian Hobbs. They are enjoying the openness and community atmosphere of the Mozzo complex and are excited to take part in the Fountain Square activities. The favored Fountain Square activates among the Indy team include the music festivals, art crawls and holiday festivities throughout the year.  For more information about Fountain Square please visit their website at http://discoverfountainsquare.com.

WORKPLACE EFFECTIVENESS: IS IT YOUR ENVIRONMENT?

Gensler recently released a Workplace Survey that notes workplace effectiveness in the office has dropped since 2008. Even with the downturn in the economy where we saw most business trying to do more work with less employees, Gensler’s survey saw effectiveness drop in all four work modes – focus, collaboration, learning, and socializing – leading to an overall decline in the ability of U.S. workers to do their jobs.

One of the most interesting parts of the article is although most people would argue that this downturn in workplace effectiveness is from a change in design to open office concepts where people can become more distracted by their surroundings, in fact the survey found that all workplaces environments were included – even private offices.

There are many reasons for this downturn that are pointed out, some are individual factors, but many are design related. As designers, we can take from the survey that a balance in work spaces provides the best option for employers to have the most effective employees. As the article notes:

“To really drive performance, companies must create work environments where workers can shift between various work modes and feel comfortable working privately or collaborating with colleagues.”

EXPLORING NEW DESIGN METHODS

Exploring New Design Methods

The design phase of a project is one of the most exciting parts for both the client and design team, as the reality of ideas and program come together, the first images of what the project might look like are presented.  For the sake of keeping this post short, I’ll skip over how the design phase works (at least for now!) and instead share a relatively new method the architectural world is seeing in recent projects throughout the world.

Using Rhino3D &  and a plugin known as Grasshopper, this parametrically designed facade explores how design can change with a set number of parameters and quickly adapt depending on the scenario. This exercise (over lunch) explores how one of our favorite pizza places downtown Fort Wayne can change with some basic parameters (the 816 address and depth of a wood fin) to create a new visual interest depending on where you are walking along Calhoun Street. Once the basic shape is created, the plugin can equally divide the surface and create the multiple rib effect that could be sent to a local CNC shop for fabrication. The parameters can quickly be changed with the move of a slider, providing a new option on the fly.

Many more parameters could be used including sun /daylight analysis to help provide shading for the upper level, color effects, or other options the client may request.