ISSUE 005 - FALL 2021 by cadizcollaboration

INNOVATION

DESIGN SCIENCE

FALL 2021 ISSUE 005

CREATIVITY

T H E N E X T B I G T H I N G A R C H I T E C T U R E

I N T E R I O R S

L A N D S C A P E

CONTENTS

2021 THE NEXT BIG THING

RHA ARTICLE: THE ECOLOGY CENTER : CULTIVATING COMMUNITY

CONVERSATIONS WITH:COLOR THEORY WITH JANIS CANNON

CAMBRIA HOTEL, NAPA, CALIFORNIA OPENING

ZAVI TEXTILE CADIZ COLLABORATION LAUNCH

PRODUCTS WE LOVE: ASTEK

24 LCI ARTICLE: WATER IN THE WEST: ESSENCE OF EXISTENCE

2021 THE NEXT BIG THING

A moment of calm before THE NEXT BIG THING… Looking back on the past months or year, one thing that we may have never expected is having the luxury of a reflective moment. But it’s also a time to appreciate the view ahead as much as the uncertainty and obstacles we leave behind. Recently I spoke at New York School of Interior Design (NYSID) Teaching Green Symposium and it ignited my recommitment to sustainability. There is no longer a moment, opportunity, or resource to spare. In researching some new design metric tools for our projects, I realized we have everything we need already in hand to move from where we are to net positive design solutions. We share this challenge with all our manufacturers, brands, builders, and clients. This past year has put us to the test of working with increasingly limited natural resources, but we remain collectively resilient and have worked around obstacles with CREATIVITY. In this issue we talk about approaches to water wise design, local ecology and organic farming, and the use of color theory. Color plays an important role in the design and the feel of a space while using less physical resources. We also spotlight our Cambria Napa Hotel that recently opened this fall, where we earned a high achiever rating from Health by Design MINDCLICK. This new tool has helped us understand where we currently are and how to continuously grow as a leader in the industry by understanding our sustainability metrics from an independent source. We haven’t been perfect but with each and every project we strive to continue to learn and embrace best practices for the global greater good. We all have the power to reshape our future. Our design team’s focus is to elevate style, incorporate best sustainable practice, and lessen our planetary impact. Positive change is possible. Come along with us. Thank you for your continued business and support. With gratitude,

c o l l a b o r a t i o n

Lorraine Francis, AIA, LEED BD+C Design Principal lorraine_francis@cadizcollaboration.com www.cadizcollaboration.com

With each CadizXPLR issue, I struggle to convey something inspiring and insightful given the turmoil that seems to surround us. Whether relative to a pandemic, social justice, droughts, or climate change, sometimes I feel we see despair at every turn. Maybe I’m misunderstanding what is at hand. While it could be viewed as negative and concerning; I suspect it may simply be perspective. Often times, I feel we focus on the present and lose context of both the past and the future. While there is value in being present; the past and future are relevant and critical for balance and understanding. Whether we look at parables, poems, or inspirational writing, we are always faced with alternative views. We often understandably yearn to be among the correct and affirmed, but the irony is that everything is perspective. And there is value and truth in every corner. This is why I enjoy Design and Architecture. It’s often easy to design within a bubble, and dictate the design and solution. However, I believe it is selfevident that collaboration produces the richest results. We all have something to offer, and no single individual holds all the answers. If we hope to yield the best result for any solution, we must be willing to accept and welcome ideas contrary to our own. While it can be easy to resist and abstain from collaborative solutions, whenever I find the value of an alternate perspective, I find an enormous burst of growth. This is why I appreciate this profession with such a passion. Although I can find countless references, today I’m drawn to the gentle building blocks of success from famed NCAA basketball coach and player John Wooden; Ambition, Adaptability, Resourcefulness, Fight, Faith, Patience, Integrity, Reliability, Honesty and most important, Sincerity. Whether a pandemic, social justice, droughts, or climate change; collective humanity can overcome any of it if we work together with mutual respect and devotion. Once we pit one individual against another, we are destined to fail. But if we respect each other, regardless of perspective, we are bound for success. I believe this is something that John Wooden and all past visionaries understood. This is something I yearn for every day and I believe it’s something that we can all benefit from. Have a nice day. :-)

By John Hill, Principal Architect https://www.rhainc.net/about-rha/ our-people/john-steven-hill Robinson Hill Architecture, inc. www.rhainc.net

Water is the essence of life. Without it, living organisms would be reduced to inert material like sand and rocks. With a little water, simple life forms can take hold and thrive. Humans have always relied on Mother Nature to provide water or have innovated ways to supply water to regions where very little water exists. Water has always seemed abundant so is often taken for granted by the average American. We just turn on the tap and- presto- we have water! But there has always been a delicate infrastructural balance in the way water has been stored, distributed, used, and conserved. With a growing population and the accelerating exhaustion of our natural resources, we have to diligently work towards protecting one of the most vital ones - the planet’s water. As landscape architects we must lead the way, not only by re-calibrating our vision of our communities’ landscapes, but by being continually mindful of the impact our designs have on our limited water resources. With the way our California regions are plagued year after year by droughts and wild fires, we can’t help but have potential visions of Arizona’s urban and desert environs when thinking of our local future landscapes. These very real threats and dangers are undoubtedly brought about by climate change- not something the average California citizen is used to or likely willing to wholeheartedly embrace. Even though it’s quite evident that advances have been made in California landscape design that utilizes drought tolerant plants and desert themed design, we don’t have to succumb to ‘all rockscape’ street medians and parkways just yet. With proper design and planning, gardens and public landscapes can still have more green and lush overtones, especially when paired with sensible state of the art irrigation technology and suitable plant palette selections. It’s just this sort of environmentally sensitive landscape design approach that we’ll need to adopt as standard practice, along with a copious number of larger hydrology harvesting and conversation measures. If we want to make a substantial impact on our current and long term water shortage situation, we’ll need to implement these measures (and many others not detailed herein) at a civic and public level. I hope you find the discussion on the subject within this edition enlightening.

By David Salkowitz, Director of Design LandCreative Inc. https://www.landcreativeinc.com 2021: LIFE IN FULL BLOOM

CONVERSATIONS WITH

JANIS CANNON THE IMPACT OF COLOR IN HOSPITALITY Janis Cannon, SVP, Upscale Brands, Choice Hotels International

Lorraine Francis: I’ve been doing some initial research on the biological and psychological effects that color has on people and how we can take advantage of that, especially in hospitality, and I’m so interested in your point of view. Janis Cannon: Thanks, I’m happy to have the conversation with you. From working on Cambria Hotels, you know that you always start with a design philosophy and color is a big part of how that design philosophy is brought to life.

COLOR IN BRANDING LF: Why does color matter so much for brands in general and how do they tend to think about color? JC: Often, brands use color to define their purpose. UPS brown is about reliability and dependability and McDonald’s red and yellow are about energy and fueling up. The yellow of their golden arches is also a statement of consistency and quality. Luxury brands also define themselves with color associationsTiffany’s robin’s egg blue speaks to the fragility of love and Hermes orange elegantly shouts, “I’ve made it”. It’s interesting how Hermes orange is not far from road crew orange cones and markers, yet it means something completely different when associated with a brand’s positioning. Hermes has been able to make it mean something quite extraordinary in the luxury space and create such a strong legacy brand of quality. This same orange can manage to live in two spaces with different branding positions. LF: Yes, some other brand associated colors that come to mind are Fanta’s orange, which is a different tone then Hermes and feels confident and fun, Apple’s gray and white, which feels neutral and calm, and Whole Foods’ green, which suggests trust and well-being. JC: In terms of retail, Apple is a great example. It’s a company that’s built on creativity and innovation and they use so much white space. White space is the opportunity, the blank canvas for you to be able to create and innovate.

DESIGN PHILOSOPHY AND COLOR PROCESS LF: In terms of design philosophy; can you speak a bit about how color gets explored during the hospitality design process? JC: When you understand who your customer is, one of the major parts of that is color because it’s what people react to. As you build brands and design spaces, projects start with site plans which don’t have color. You first figure out, can it work? Is it going to function? When the interior design comes in and delivers the color palette, it brings in the message of your brand design philosophy and your design strategy becomes so important. I’ve had experience with designing guest rooms and corridors where we built them out of white foam board initially. Then we brought in target guests in to see how they respond before adding color. We’re trying to understand if we’ve nailed the functionality before we begin to layer the brand elements on top. If you go the other way, you can have people react really well to something because they’re responding to the color, but maybe it doesn’t have the functionality that it should. That lack of functionality is going to emerge exponentially when the hotel has been built. Once we had the initial data, we’d go through the process of overlaying things like color and textiles to make sure we were designing appropriately for the right target. With global brands, you had Indian, Singaporean, UAE and all of the various populations right there, so we could actually get our target guests there to experience the design and provide the information we needed.

COLOR IN HOSPITALITY BRANDING LF: Have you seen an evolution in hotel branding, particularly with color? JC: When Crowne Plaza moved from burgundy to fuchsia in their logo, it was one of the first companies that rebranded with that color. That change was really a statement about paying homage to the history and legacy of the brand, but delivering it in a modernized way. The color burgundy, which had become somewhat of a flat color over time evolved into something more vibrant by adding a fresher pink and red behind it. Now a lot of other brands actually use that same color in their brand identity. LF: I always love having a story to enrich the design philosophy, which is one of the reason it’s been great working on Cambria Hotels with Choice. With our Cambria Hotel in Santa Clara, California, the yellow pop was inspired by the banana slug and other tones found in the nearby Big Basin State Park. And yellow and blues in our Cambria Hotel in Sonoma, California related to the bees, pollination and honey, and the local fields and grapevines- it creates a friendly, energetic, inviting quality. JC: Yes, and for Cambria Sonoma we also tied in the idea of yellow as golden sunshine, which is like the warm color of Chardonnay, which became part of the Cambria hotel design launch story as well.

LF: It makes me think of the drive from Cambria Sonoma to Cambria Napa and those beautiful green, rolling hills. That green creates such a sense of trust and wellbeing, which is such an important aspect right now. We brought that green into the Cambria Napa lobby and added hints of puce to reflect the richness of red wine varietals. Even though the guest rooms are timeless, we still integrate that small pop of color to bring energy and connect you to the public spaces. JC: Yes, because it has to be one cohesive story, so you’re not completely eliminating that. At Sonoma, you don’t have as much yellow in the guestroom as in the lobby. You have different lobby flooring, mosaic tile around the bar, those beautiful green bar stools, accents of blue, the gallery wall, the fireplace, and everything is accessorized. And then you scale back one step with the journey to the guest room, and scale back even one step further when you actually arrive in the guest room itself. That ties in with what we’re trying to do through Choice Hotels- to create design that’s very approachable, warm, and friendly, but has a level of sophistication and feels elevated. That’s where color, neutrals, and the textiles themselves are so important because that’s where the richness really comes in.

CONVERSATION WITH JANIS CANNON

COLOR USE IN OTHER INDUSTRIES AND THE ART OF WAYFINDING LF: In researching other industries like Healthcare, Education and Residential it’s interesting to see how color influences feelings of safety and wellness and how color gets incorporated. For instance, last year I was doing some studies on design and aging and it was fascinating to see how color could influence Alzheimer’s patients to eat more regularly by bringing in a certain color of plate, like red or other warm colors, to provide visual contrast and make food seem more appetizing. In education it’s been shown that learning is more successful in a colorful environment rather than a drab gray school building. How do you research color from different sectors and how does that research influence your brand’s design influences? JC: One of the interesting sectors we’ve been studying is gaming. It informs us about the importance of views in terms of one’s physical orientation and how different lines of sight to different areas of a space like a lobby allow people to orient themselves. It’s important that people feel empowered and in control within their environment. LF: How does the gaming industry play with color in order to have an impact for empowerment? What color are they using? JC: Many casinos have a lot of color along with noise and light to initially attract you. But then they use color

for wayfinding within the gaming environment. So you may see a labyrinth of different corridors that lead you to different areas but maybe they’re delineated by the colors that they’re using on the floor. They may use red for energy, or to suggest hunger, or the idea that you want to attain something. Other pathway colors can be selected, which brings in the idea of control. It’s about allowing you to see many options at once, so you can choose where you want to be. You don’t feel like you have to go with or follow any certain path. LF: I’m not a big gamer, but I like that notion of wayfinding, and that power of choice. Speaking of noise, I wrote about the idea of Elevated Essentialism in our last CadizXPLR issue and how non-visual senses like sound are really important to our experience of a place, so I like to think about all of the senses that good design speaks to. We designed the Sheraton Spa at Wild Horse Pass in Chandler, Arizona where we used a gradual gradation of color to transition you into the physical space but also to bring you deeper into yourself. The director of engineering was questioning why they had to have 20 colors of paint in storage, but it was actually an affordable solution to bring you more psychologically and emotionally inward as you got closer to your journey towards healing and rejuvenation.

CONVERSATION WITH JANIS CANNON

COLOR ZONE USE LF: You mentioned different color zones in gaming. How do you see color effecting different zones from a public lobby to the corridors, to the guest room? JC: In hotel design color is often the first step in bringing to life a brand promise for the guest. It’s not just the color of the year or color trend, rather how important it is in your hotel experience to use color and color intensity in different zones or areas. When you think about theater, the lobby is like the stage. Guests in the lobby feel very much like they’re “on”, when they’re in that area. As they start to journey to the guestroom beginning with the elevator and the corridor, they begin to rest and relax a bit and feel more respite. You’re delivering that sense with colors, which get quieter as you start to journey to your guestroom, which is like backstage at the theater.

When you get to your guest room and open the door it’s just like going into the dressing room. For an actor or an actress where they sit down, they close the door and they’re able to take their mask or their makeup off and they’re able to be themselves again. It’s so important for color to bring connectivity and energy in the lobby, create more calm in your journey to the guestroom, and soften in the guestrooms themselves for a heightened sense of peace. LF: That reminds me of a project in our residential design practice, where we’re using chakra colors for different zones and moods. In areas of community like the kitchen and family rooms we’ve been using shades of yellow and green to encourage optimism, creativity, balance, and kindness. In areas of retreat or quiet like bedrooms we’re using more blues and purples for calm, peace, wisdom, and areas of reflection.

WELLNESS AND BIOPHILIA TRENDS LF: When it comes to the pandemic and wellness, do you see anything that has changed and had an impact on your brand with color?

sections for public/private; nesting and cocooning. It was easy for us to rearrange furniture or furniture groups together in new ways.

JC: It’s a great question because initially there was a lot of trend information and customer information about how people wanted more Medi spa (medical spa) color because it suggested an elevated level of cleanliness. So the trend was going very much towards pastels; very pale, light tones. But the reality is while that was so important during the peak of the pandemic, as vaccines became more available and regulations eased, travelers were really looking for the experience they had pre-pandemic.

Rather than the communal table being the center point of the lobby, we moved them to the back and were able to arrange our furniture and lobbies in such a way that people could still be with other people yet feel that they were very much cocooned. We’re able to have these areas feel private, even though they are still part of a public area so a guest can have a more public, social experience.

Unlike pre-pandemic, we’re seeing things like not incorporating a throw on every bed, but from a color perspective, it’s very much back to the spectrum. There are bright colors that people are looking for and there are also natural tones. We talked about the essentialism around the greens for wellness. People are also looking for more natural materials, but it hasn’t changed the overall direction that everything has gone: Quiet. LF: In conversations about what’s changed since the pandemic, the reality is that hotels take a really long time to build. With discussing the idea that this will be over in three years, you really get people on board with longer term vision. We’re not just changing for a pandemic-related trend that’s based on current anxieties. The reality is that the design has to work timelessly no matter what. JC: One of the things that Cambria has done really well is that even though we had open-concept lobbies, they were always designed with different

LF: I think Cambria Napa works in that way, where you have the fireplace and an area behind it that can be more quiet than the front or by the bar area or windows and closer to the pool. So there are a lot of different areas depending on your mood. I like the whole cocooning and nesting conversation because I think people are feeling that having a little bit more room around them is critical, rather than being in a place like the Ace Hotel or Public Hotel in New York where everyone’s typically right next to each other. JC: Yes, the Ace Hotel NYC is a great example where the communal table has been the centerpiece of the lobby, that and the American flag have been the hallmarks for that space. We do see people don’t necessarily want to sit next to somebody they don’t know. They feel safe being in a public area now, but they don’t necessarily feel safe shoulder to shoulder with someone unfamiliar. We even see it in the way guests ride elevators. Some people will wait and say they’ll catch the next one; others will get on without it bothering them.

CONVERSATION WITH JANIS CANNON

STORYTELLING, SPACE AND PLACE LF: How do you work with designers about the importance of color for your brand? JC: For us, it’s all about sense of Space and sense of Place. That’s why we created the design philosophy around 70% neutrals and 20% of layering with a little bit more brightness and intensity, then we have the last 10% as the pop of color. It’s not just in the the built environment in design, it’s in everything. We incorporate that same color theory if we are designing a uniform a name tag, or if we’re developing creative materials or digital ads. That same design philosophy sits above everything in the brand framework. That’s what really creates that consistency of the brand promise- what the brand stands for. It also communicates what the guests

can expect and then delivers on that expectation. LF: How do you see the 70/20/10 philosophy being different than other brands and what is its impact on your success? JC: Well, you have to identify who the target customer is. A big part of that is also understanding the competition and where they play, and then identifying a need state that a particular target customer has that’s not yet being successfully fulfilled by a competitor in the space. You have to be really close to macro trends as well, you have to build something sustainable because creating hotels is an expensive proposition. It has to have staying power. When you know who

your customer is, first and foremost, and you know what their need states are that you’re trying to solve for, that’s really what creates your brand purpose at that point. The reason that you exist is because you can do that better than anybody else. There are brands out there that are already playing in more saturated color because they have a more euphoric or jovial kind of customer and that’s what that type of guest looks for when they travel. What we know about our guests and what they’re looking for when they travel is they want to stay at their best. So their best is, “Help me be at my best at work, help me be at my best in leisure, help me be at my best in life overall.” In order to be able to do that, you’ve got to be able to provide a sense of restoration that helps you be able to stay at your

best. We also learned that our guests are cerebral and lifetime learners, so they want to feel connected to the place itself. Doing things that are shouting at you with color and too bold and in your face would not be aligned with our customer, which is what we addressed with our 70/20/10 principle. Seeing the 70% neutral allows them to really feel they’re in charge and experiencing things directly on their own in their own unique way, and then the layering adds elements of comfort. Then they want the pop of color, which gives them that little bit of energy- all of those aspects come together and there’s really a warmth about it, a sense of hospitality. CONVERSATION WITH JANIS CANNON

LANGUAGE OF TEXTURE, SCIENCE OF COLOR LF: Texture is also important. We just launched a collaborative textile line with Zavi Textiles this past summer. I worked directly with mills from Turkey, Italy, and China and it’s heavily based on texture. There’s a beauty in looking at a chair from 20 feet away and seeing a texture in the fabric that’s still distinctive from a distance. From my past airport terminal design experience, when you look down a concourse at the carpet, you don’t want it to just turn into gray, you want people to be calm at an airport and not have anxiety. Texture is important in large spaces to make you feel comfortable. We’re always playing with that psychology of color and texture. In my research, there hasn’t really been a lot of science about color, in terms of quantifying how it truly affects people. We’ve done research on biophilic design, working with Interface and Terrapin Bright Green, to really understand the return on investment for the guest experience through biophilic experiences. Say you have a lobby that looks out over an ocean or beautiful trees- are people sitting there longer and dwelling to spend more money on F&B because of the view? We did a whole study on the ROI of biophilic design to understand if adding a biophilic lens to the design process would increase revenue or improve the guest experience. With color there hasn’t really been a study to

determine if it helps with therapy for mental illness, or whether certain colors will calm you down or create a different reaction. With color have there been any studies that you’ve been involved with or research from other industries as to why color matters? JC: Well, I think there’s a lot of desktop research where there has been scientific research around what different types of what colors mean, and how people behave and respond to them. We use a lot of that in making decisions even in our brand identity and the colors that are used in our logo. Is it delivering on what your brand purpose is and what your brand stands for? What does that color say to the world and more importantly, how do people feel when they see it? I think that’s why you see so much red in the food and beverage industry, whether it’s Coca-Cola or whether it’s McDonald’s. You had a great example about how even in some assisted living facilities; at meal period they’re using red plates where people might not be as hungry. Hopefully a red plate is going to make the food more interesting and palatable to eat. To your point, I haven’t seen any research that says if you put up a patient in a room that’s yellow and a patient in a room that’s blue, that one recovers quicker than the other because of the color- but I do think there’s a lot of desktop research that’s available.

CONVERSATION WITH JANIS CANNON

BIOPHILIC STUDY VS. COLOR STUDY LF: For biophilic design, there’s been research that a hospital stay is one day less when you have a view outside to nature, so you’re going to heal faster. Since color is a little more subjective than looking outside to trees that are beautiful and calming, I wonder if you might react differently to yellow and I might react differently to orange, even though they’re kind of in a similar hue. Or what you talked about with IHG and other international brands. You have people from different cultures who may react differently to the exact same colors. JC: Biophilic design is really about bringing the outdoors indoors. The reason we’re seeing such strong growth in biophilic design is because no matter how hard we try, we can’t replicate nature; we can’t get all the way there. It becomes about how we bring the living natural elements inside, not just a piece of wood or wooden table, but the tree itself. LF: Bill Browning, he’s brilliant, from Terrapin Bright Green developed his 15 different principles of

biophilic design and has an interesting approach to public spaces, like you’re on the savannah in Africa. You have the elephant that want to be in the middle of it, and you have the lion that’s up in the tree who wants to see everything from above. You need these different cocooning and nesting areas depending on how you feel. You may want to be energetic at the communal table or to be in the corner at a banquette with a backrest so you feel calm. And similarly with color, you can create energy where you feel calmer or more energetic depending on the space, so these aspects all relate together. JC: I love that because it really is true that if you’re pulled out of the center of the lobby, it’s more about observing versus creating the energy that’s in the middle. Whereas as you move further out to the outskirts it’s like the lion or the big cat that’s watching because they’re predators so they’re waiting to see where the opportunity is.

DESIGN LENSES AND FUTURE VISION LF: Whether it’s biophilic design or color theory; to me as a designer it’s another lens in my toolkit to tell a story of the brand. First and foremost you need great design and function, but also the tools of color and biophilic design. They enhance the toolkit for storytelling. JC: Absolutely, and what makes you a great designer, Lorraine, seeing that you’ve now done a couple of Cambrias with us, is that great designers have a view. It’s a future view and a vision as well. It’s seeing what’s coming and making sure when hotels open that they have the sustainability factor. At the same time, the best designers from hospitality or a brand perspective are also the designers that say, “I understand what the brand is trying to accomplish, and my design lives within the freedom of that framework.”

get to the service experience if you arrive at the hotel and you’re disappointed in the design, or you cross the threshold and say, “This isn’t a hotel for me.” What the interior designer delivers is really the first expression of that brand promise. LF: I agree. Color theory is still very subjective based on cultural context and individuality and there is still no clear roadmap, but the growth and awareness has deepened. It will be exciting to see how it continues to evolve. Thanks so much for spending time with me today; it’s been a great exploring color with you. JC: It’s been great speaking with you as well.

I think that the best designers are those that really do take the time to understand who the target customer is and why the brand exists. What is this brand’s promise and value proposition? You can’t CONVERSATION WITH JANIS CANNON

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C O N F L U E N C E C O L L E C T I O N

CONFLUENCE CONNECTIONS THROUGH NATURE The framework for our Zavi 2021 Spring textile collection is deeply Biophilic. We fundamentally need nature to function and thrive, but we’ve often designed our environments in ways that overlook and alienate us from it. Biophilic design aims to connect our inherent need to be with nature to our everyday environments. With this collection, we subconsciously connect these disparate realities, bringing the beauty and form of the outdoors into our modern built world. Confluence weaves organic textures, movement, flow, and colors from nature into the built environment, strengthening our natural connections.

NATURE INSPIRED The Confluence collection presents patterns with varying techniques, textures, details, and scale. With inspiration drawn from a variety of organic elements, each selection seeks to ground and complement the designer’s vision for the space by bringing in natural references.

TEXTURE In any work of art, texture refers to the tactile nature of the surface quality. Nature provides textural references through every object and element, infusing vitality and a sense of realism to each design in our collection.

MOVEMENT In Confluence, movement is a key element in various patterns, reflecting the process of growth and metamorphosis in nature over time. Mirroring and interpreting patterns of natural movement brings a sense of ease and honesty to the designs.

FLOW Another important aspect of our collection is flow. Flow is about directionality, and gently leading the eye from one area to another. While patterns of flow can appear different on a surface level, they invariably create harmonious balance and reveal similar structures.

COLOR Nature provides a perfect departure point for creating color harmony within design. Intentional color application helps each Confluence textile fully come to life. Color can attract attention, create a mood, and influence our emotions and perceptions.

ZAVI TEXTILE CADIZ LAUNCH

WATER IN THE WEST: ESSENCE OF EXISTENCE

by Paul T. Wong from Land Creative, Inc.

There’s a reason the Mesopotamian cradle of civilization sprang up where it did- location, location, location. Situated between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers, the proximity to lifegiving water made agriculture possible, which helped lead to the formation of permanent villages and so much more. As humanity expanded across the globe, fresh water sources were in high demand but not always available. 24

THE STORY OF SUPPLY

Here in the United States, the history of the water supply is a complex one. Today, we sometimes take the nation-wide infrastructure that includes a million miles of drinking water pipes and 800,000 miles of sewer pipes for granted. But the creation of the first water distribution system in the country in 1652 had nothing to do with delivering clean drinking water or transporting wastewater: it was designed to help combat fire in Boston, Massachusetts. It took until the mid-19th century for humans to even understand the need to separate drinking water from wastewater and until 1972 before wastewater treatment became mandatory throughout the country.

In the western US, the story of how we transformed an arid desert region into a densely populated collection of urban oases is intrinsically linked to the lengths we went to source and transport water, often across vast distances. As western migration and the California Gold Rush led settlers across the US, leaders of burgeoning cities like Los Angeles were able to learn from earlier water supply crises in the eastern US and engineer water systems ahead of time, before the rising populations could exhaust the limited local supply.

WATER IN THE WEST: ESSENCE OF EXISTENCE

As this great migration and development continued, the west’s new inhabitants arrived with firm ideas of what the landscape should look like. For many, the romantic ideal of an English or European garden was something they yearned to recreate. This led to a massive increase in green, non-native foliage being introduced into a natural desert landscape, adding to the demand for water.

In Southern California, our water is largely imported from Northern California snowpack via the California Aqueduct. This 444-mile long system of canals, tunnels, and pipelines conveys water from the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta. Our second major import source is the Colorado River Aqueduct, which begins at Lake Havasu in Arizona. The lake collects water from the Colorado River as it flows south through Utah, New Mexico, Arizona, and Nevada. Along with groundwater, these two aqueduct systems are the largest water sources for our personal, agricultural, industrial, and hydro-electric needs.

WATER IN THE WEST: ESSENCE OF EXISTENCE

CHANGING CONDITIONS While the presence of these complex systems may sound like we’ve sorted our water systems and distribution out at this point, we’re now facing serious issues with aging infrastructure, strained supply, and increased demand. Historically, water consumption has risen dramatically as access improved. After World War II, the American dream included mowing a luscious green lawn on the weekends, and this status symbol further added to the country’s demand for water. In recent years, water conservation methods have become more critical, exacerbated by recent drought conditions, environmental changes, and increased incidences of fire. Some local water districts have shifted to recharging ground water artificially by redirection methods or through injection wells. Other districts have shifted to using more reclaimed water, typically treated municipal wastewater. Even with these supplementary methods, we find ourselves with increasing demands and diminishing sources.

WATER IN THE WEST: ESSENCE OF EXISTENCE

California is currently experiencing a state wide Tier 1 drought, recently declaring a drought emergency for the second time in the last ten years. As of May, our state wildfires have already burned five times more land than they had in May of 2020, a year with the worst fire season on record. The lack of rainfall has led to historically low water levels in our major reservoirs, with the Hoover Dam reservoir at its lowest level in its existence. Arizona is planning water cutbacks to reduce its draw from the Lake Mead reservoir, which will have a huge impact on agriculture.

As agriculture is affected, so are the economy and the food supply. California’s service industries generate the largest part of the state’s gross product. It leads the country in crop and livestock commodity income by state, growing over 200 crops, some exclusively. Producing almost the entirely of the nation’s almonds, olives, dates, figs, apricots, kiwis, pistachios, nectarines, prunes, and walnuts, the state is a literal lifeline in the diet of the entire country and in many other countries that local crops are exported to. Add to that the vast amounts of strawberries, avocados, lemons, grapes, peaches, melons, plums, oranges and tomatoes and it is easy to see how vital it is to fruit production. Beyond fruit, California also grows significant amounts of lettuce, carrots, broccoli, cauliflower, garlic, asparagus, celery, mushrooms, peppers, onions, rice, beets, wheat, hay, and cotton. The health of California’s crops has a direct effect on lives and livelihood far beyond the reach of our state borders.

WATER IN THE WEST: ESSENCE OF EXISTENCE

FIRE SAFEGUARDING Protecting humanity and our crops, forests, homes, and businesses from the increasing incidences of fire has never been as challenging. As drought conditions persist and deepen, fire danger increases accordingly. Fire Departments are implementing and enforcing more stringent design restrictions and regulations in an effort to help curb the onset and destructive spread of fire. This includes proving defensible spaces around structures, incorporating fire resistant plants, and avoiding prohibited plants in high fire areas. It’s important to design the layout of plants to reduce the fire ladder effect- effectively with smaller shrubs or no shrubs under any trees. Trees are set back further from the structure, and in some case no trees are allowed if structures are too close together. This all means that the planting design review process is under much greater scrutiny, project reviews by local authorities are more stringent and less forgiving, and landscape plans must consider and meet evolving city ordinances and fire codes. This necessitates having fire safety as a key driver in the design development process and throughout the life cycle of the project.

WATER IN THE WEST: ESSENCE OF EXISTENCE

TURF ALTERNATIVES Where once the ideal was a perfectly manicured lawn, the trend has been to augment greenery with mulch and cobblestone, which drastically reduces water use and provides a visual canvas upon which plants can be featured thoughtfully. There’s now a significant focus on reducing or eliminating watered turf areas all together. Nevada has enacted a ban on non-functional grass and as a drought restriction. As architects and designers, all of these changes and increased focus on this vital resource necessitate impacts and adaptations as we navigate current conditions. For those who still crave that bright sea of green, synthetic turf offers many advantages, including a reduction in water consumption. These upsides need to be taken in context, given that the material can become hot to the touch easily and has environmental impacts. While synthetic turf is created from recycled materials, the production of the original material and the recycled product both involve polluting petroleum and create waste, not to mention impacts when it ultimately ends up in landfills.

WATER IN THE WEST: ESSENCE OF EXISTENCE

ONE DROP AT A TIME Once a project has been planned and the plantings are selected, designing the irrigation system is integral to the success and longevity of the design. We’ve all seen poorly designed irrigation systems, incorrect irrigation head layout, over spraying water on sidewalks or streets, scheduling the system to turn on at the wrong time – during the day instead on at night. Most Landscape Architects and Irrigation Consultants have moved to designing low flow or drip system irrigation systems. Although long used in certain types of agriculture, it has now also become far more common to utilize drip irrigation methods in commercial and residential applications. Drip irrigation pinpoints the water to precisely where it’s needed, and reduces evaporation, run off, and other water waste. Other agricultural irrigation methods may come into play depending on crop type, such as the sprinkler, surface, and subsurface. In California, farmers are responding to drought conditions by adjusting irrigation methods, fallowing areas of land, or changing crop types to those that require less water. Given that farming and agriculture in California accounts for roughly 80% of the state’s water use, it is tantamount to continue to find conservation methods and new ways of delivering water precisely where and when it is needed.

WATER IN THE WEST: ESSENCE OF EXISTENCE

DESIGN REALITY

While adaptations to a changing environment are easy to view as sobering, not everything in our water history and future is a doomand-gloom scenario. In the last decade in the US, water use has actually been dropping to levels not seen prior to 1970. This downward trend is a key indicator that the conservation message is gaining a larger audience, and that we are learning to be more efficient with our most important resource. As creatives, doing our part to raise water awareness in the built environment and create functional, beautiful, and adaptive spaces should remain a motivation guideline for us all. Water is obviously a major consideration in every landscape project. Diminished supply is on ongoing factor that helps inform the necessary approach to programming different types of spaces. Drought conditions coupled with people spending more time outdoors since the onset of COVID-19 presents a unique set of challenges in current and future landscape architecture. The need to strike a balance between conservancy, utility, and aesthetics in outdoor spaces has never felt as heightened.

Using plants that attract pollinators helps create a habitat for them, as well as birds and butterflies, adding to the way the end users enjoy and interact with the space. The look of future gardens will have more native plants, so the appearance is more rustic and natural versus the more formal and manicured designs of the past. By taking a regenerative permaculture approach with a focus on native plants and how they interact with the ecosystem, we create a net positive environmental effect. Landscape architects are on the forefront of driving this movement of ecologically responsible design and practice. Our efforts and choice in planting and irrigation system design influences how clients, landowners, developers, and the public interact with them. Ultimately, this leads to their adoption and application of new water-usage standards and their retrofitting of existing systems and established landscapes to be more water wise.

One way to create visual impact with an eye towards conservation is through the use of water wise plants. By carefully curating grasses, trees, groundcover, shrubs, succulents and vines that are native to a project’s location, a landscape is created that is more drought tolerant and able to naturally support the local ecosystem.

WATER IN THE WEST: ESSENCE OF EXISTENCE

The Ecology Center : Cultivating Community By John Hill from Robinson Hill Architecture, Inc.

One of the most rewarding aspects of our field and focus is creating meaningful work that has a positive effect on our environment and community. Reflecting on past projects, The Ecology Center in San Juan Capistrano is truly a gift that keeps on giving. As Consulting Architect, we contributed to escorting the project from entitlement review through to completed built structures. RHA is gratified to have assisted in not only the design and permitting of the individual buildings, but also the coordination of the Entitlement approvals and utility infrastructure for this unique educational center for environmental awareness and sustainable living.

THE ECOLOGY CENTER : CULTIVATING COMMUNITY

Rich with History The 28 acre farm site is anchored by the 140 year old Congdon House, the first wooden structure ever raised in San Juan Capistrano. Over the decades, the house was inhabited by various farming families and purchased and renovated by the city in 1990. But the story of The Ecology Center itself begins with Executive Director Evan Marks. As a world traveler, organic farmer, and ecological design consultant, Marks was eventually called back home to help educate and evolve his local Orange County community. When Marks saw the Congdon House and neighboring organic farm in 2008, he realized the potential of the underutilized site. His vision for creating a privately operated, multi-focused organic varietal farm and community center let to his leasing the land from the city and developing a robust cultural attraction that continues to evolve. With Mark’s vision in mind, it was RHA’s pleasure to use our knowledge of Entitlements and Site Due Diligence to contribute instrumental insight during the early development and repositioning of the site. By understanding the “why” behind the effort and the goals in mind,

we are better equipped to help increase the property’s potential in the most cost effective way. Whether assessing existing buildings or vacant property, our Due Diligence Services helped to offer a nuanced understanding of existing assets and potential liabilities. The non-profit organization has beautifully realized and expanded their vision with a site including a farm stand, gardens, kitchens, studios, and dynamic exhibits, with the Congdon House serving as offices for the center’s operations. The Center combines organic farming with fresh farm-to-table culinary training; educating the local community on how modern-day farming can be restored to its original concept of local supply for local consumption. This concept embraces cultural access, use, and education, as well as entertainment and social accommodations.

The Ecology Center is able to produce a robust seasonal variety of certified organic vegetables, fruits, herbs, and flowers. One of the ways they achieve this is by growing multiple complimentary crops and utilizing crop rotation methods across growing seasons. Much of the harvest can be purchased daily at their onsite Farm Stand, in addition to artisan bread, tortillas, bulk pantry items, house care products, organic seedlings, and tools for kids to practice gardening. The open air structure of the stand was intended to allow for air flow and natural light to enter, augmented by the addition

of ceiling fans to help cool the produce and lighting to enable varying hours of operation. They center also has a Farm Share program, with subscriptions available for weekly boxes full of fruits, vegetables, and herbs from their own farm and their farm partners. Pantry items are even available directly from their website. Their renowned Chef’s Kitchen offers curated experiential dining experiences from resident chefs that help illuminate the bioregion’s particular history and agriculture and the “farm to table” philosophy.

From Field to Table

THE ECOLOGY CENTER : CULTIVATING COMMUNITY

Learning and Growing

When it comes to educating, The Ecology Center carefully curates experiences to help shift our culture towards creative and enjoyable solutions to help heal and improve our planet’s ecology. Onsite cooking classes help instruct participants in using local, organic foods in innovative ways. And by teaching children about farming through workshops, co-ops and field trips, they encourage the next generation to live healthier and more sustainable lives. With mentorship as their central tenet, their apprenticeships for vocational training serve to continue their mission in the community and at large. Fostering connections is important to the center, building a stronger, more mindful community and expanding the organization’s reach. Through facilities, gardens, and exhibits built with experiential design, hands-on learning cultivates more meaningful and longlasting understanding of the world around us. RHA helped to create facilities and structures that are mindful of the environment and accommodating to the large amount of visitors the center sees each year.

Giving Back

With their Nourishing Neighbors program launched during the pandemic, the center and its monthly sponsors began providing boxes of produce and pantry items to families with food insecurity. While they already were committed to donating 20% of Farm Share produce boxes locally, this initiative responded to changing needs by including more food variety in the boxes to be distributed through community organizations. By creating volunteer opportunities they provide ways for locals to help support the staff, their mission, and their substantial programming efforts. Fundraising events like their annual Green Feast help to gather people together to explore the center’s newest developments and enjoy a unique culinary experience with entertainment, an auction, and keynote speakers. It was important for RHA in the planning of the site to help ensure adequate space and services for larger scale events like these.

THE ECOLOGY CENTER : CULTIVATING COMMUNITY

Keeping it Interesting There is never a dull moment with the center, with their full calendar of events and programs ranging from farmers market pop-ups in various neighborhood location to free films where the public can enjoy a picnic while learning about sustainable food culture. Staff-led Community Farm Tours are a great introduction to the center and its practices and are open to the public at no cost. The Eco-Literacy Book Club meets every other month to discuss ecological books in a collaborative learning atmosphere. In all that they offer, The Ecology Center has a clear focus on nourishing families, preserving resources, and respecting the land we live on and creating lasting changes in our attitudes towards it.

THE ECOLOGY CENTER : CULTIVATING COMMUNITY

Designing Connections

As architects, it’s about more for us at RHA than simply creating structures and buildings. Having the opportunity to work on projects like The Ecology Center illuminates that fact by allowing us to help design and witness tangible human experiences. In this case, these experiences lead to community building and profound connections that contribute to our collective well-being and help create a more positive future. 48

Project Team: Architect: Andrew Seiger, AIA Consulting Architect: Robinson Hill Architecture, Inc. Landscape Architecture: Chris Brown Civil Engineer: Pasco Laret Suiter and Associates

THE ECOLOGY CENTER : CULTIVATING COMMUNITY

CAMBRIA

NAPA

With the recent grand opening of The Cambria Hotel Napa, we’re so excited to share some early site photos and our approach to the use of color to help tell the story of place. 50

Our aim for approachable luxury and local connections was strengthened by our color palette- both indoors and out. The expansive views from the lobby help establish connections to the natural world, which we tied in through our warm neutral color palette with accents of sage, magenta, and puce. These tones were inspired by the nearby rolling hills and grapevines of wine country. You’ll find these hues playing throughout all of the public spaces, whether splashed across the kinetic and organic mural wall covering from Astek, gracing the elegant barstools, as accents in the biophilic carpet patterns inspired by the agrarian landscape, or as pops of color at the high contrast pool patio. Our entrance lobby mural further grounds our connection to this beautiful valley with an abstract aerial map.

CAMBRIA NAPA

Keeping with Cambria Hotels 70/20/10 color philosophy, you’ll see that these accents play against a field of neutrals, and are more prominent in the public spaces. As you journey towards the guestrooms, the palette softens for added relaxation but still boasts a few bursts of more saturated color for contrast and energy. We hope you’ll have an opportunity to experience this property and that you enjoy your visit as much as we enjoyed our color and design journey.

CAMBRIA NAPA

P R O D U C T S W E L O V E ! 56

We deeply enjoy expressing our creative vision through the help of incredible vendors like Astek, one of the leaders in the industry of digitally printed and specialty wallcoverings. For our Napa Cambria Hotel, we wanted something special in our 2-story atrium lobby. With a goal of working with an artist to co-create the perfect mural to highlight the Napa Valley, the choice for a collaborator to implement our vision on digital media was clear.

Astek works with clients worldwide to meet their design, digital printing, wallcovering, and signage needs, which instills unrivaled confidence. The depth of their knowledge in industries like hospitality, commercial, retail, and film makes them well rounded and flexible. They’re equipped with a professional in-house design studio and an extensive portfolio of largeformat UV digital printers. We knew they would deliver an exceptional print, match our colors and coordinate installation seamlessly with our general contractor. Their approach is one of dedication to innovative design, commitment to quality, and excellent customer service, which makes them stand out. From an environmental prospective, we also appreciate that their printing process is completely VOC-free. This means they use zero solvents in their products, making a safer workplace for their employees, a safer product for their customers like us, and a very eco-friendly printing process.

Creatively, their collaborative process allows us to art direct the design with our muralist. Their design team works with ingenuity and skill on their custom design projects and truly creates art that elevates spaces like Napa Cambria. We love the movement and color they captured in this mural, evoking the spirit of an abstract aerial landscape, nodes of wineries, and the rich soil that’s native to Napa. With their experience in everything from large-scale printing to on-demand routing, their technical capabilities and sophisticated equipment always brings our vision to life. Their advanced technology allows them to print on many different substrates, match to a subtle degree in color, and print at high resolutions and speeds without sacrificing quality. We couldn’t be happier with the end result!

PRODUCTS WE LOVE!

We would love to hear from you! Please reach us at : lorraine_francis@cadizcollaboration.com www.cadizcollaboration.com 3195 B Airport Loop Drive Costa Mesa CA 92626 949.667.2508 O 949.922.0591 M