Suit up for Self-Worth
As designers, we understand that not all projects begin with a clean slate nor a pristine environment. Often times, we have to begin by mitigating the “old” area in a manner that allows it to “newly” exist without causing further harm to the occupant.
In construction, abatement requires the careful follow of procedures designed to control the release of hazardous “fryable” molecular content from detected “hot” material. Remediation is necessary to make sure the underlying cause of the problem is properly addressed. The extensiveness of the abatement or remediation procedure largely depends on the type and quantity of “toxic” material that requires disposal.
VOV Approach
The unfortunate caveat to abatement is that it does not come without a price tag. Remediation impacts schedule as well as overall budget, but without it we simply continue to bandage the issue. The opposite VOV (vinyl over vinyl) approach may buy time and cost less, but it cannot be maintained long term. Eventually, abatement will be necessary and health risks are heightened in the duration.
Awareness of the issue is only the first step. Short term “fixes” only camouflage the issue and prolong the abatement if it is not prioritized. Simply masking the issue is not facing it. The initial “detect” testing results may sting, absolutely, but if they are not accepted and removed they will linger. Toxicity will remain even if it is uninterrupted. Immediate “fixes” will only mask underlying insecurities. Budgetary and timing egos will render inauthentic and dishonest environments and extend the risk. True, without full remediation the project may look the same in the end aesthetically, but the question is, as designers, do we want this to become our standard practice? It isn’t yielding transparency. It’s allowing barriers and monopolizing habits. At project opening we will watch end users enter a space deemed “clean” with the internal knowledge that the ceiling above their expensive weaves or floors beneath their designer stilettos are still contaminated. Unaccounted for. Disguised.
“E” Motion
Simply put, emotion = energy in motion. We may attempt to constrain and control it, but awareness, acceptance and surrender is the only way to redirect the wavelengths. Fear of loss (may it be time or budgetary) is only trumped by action. Creativity is erected from limitation. What we allow to remain unaddressed will continue to contaminate. Or as more eloquently stated by Carl Jung, “What we resist will persist”.
As designers, we have taken oaths to protect human safety and welfare (insert your own here). We need to get fired up about this and step into our power. We must use our design intuitions to make beneficial changes. We need to forgo design pride and ego. We must attempt to execute genuine stability in our work. Eliminate what is not serving our environment. Transform the fear into excitement.
Growth in our work often comes from ongoing battles. We learn to reinvent by asserting boldness. It is not enough to be proud of the external result. We have to be proud of what we healed behind the drywall, behind the grid, behind the finished face. Our design worth and integrity outweigh the pain of the process. Individual projects substantially complete and new cycles open as doors shut, but it is our commitment and our value we take to the next job and we need to stand firm in our worth.
Bondage
We have all wondered why we have gotten hired only to be told what to do. Why our expertise is needed to only be puppeted. The demising walls of our projects don’t constrain our design intentions. If that were the case, airports wouldn’t see more kisses than wedding halls and hospital rooms wouldn’t hear more prayers than churches. We are in control of our intended use of space, but the external use beyond what we have received permit for is out of our hands. Our control is relinquished once the owner receives C of O (certificate of occupancy). As designers, we know misuse of intention often must be walked away from. We executed the result we were hopeful to see, but after receival of the intention we are bound only to our personal contract. The challenge lies in the surrender of misuse. The integrity lies in our side of the execution of intention.
So designers, I challenge you to hold onto your integrity and intention. Surrender what you can’t see from your house. Thrive on those intentional night owl and early bird design manifestations and don’t allow uncontrollable misuse of your solid intention devalue you into an exhausted pigeon.
By design,
Q.
How many times have we heard design is subjective? This is our industry mantra. Do you see what I see? Subjective-ness? Nearsighted-ness? Farsighted-ness? Can farsightedness be a metaphor for seeing the big picture? True, design is in the details, but detail is excrement if the big picture is not understood. Maybe the inability to decipher something so close to you means that you actually need to get a new 
So, is the problem actually ‘vision’? Or is it design introspection? What we need to remember (as designers) is that our vision is not a one lane bridge. If it was, there would be no need for presentations, no need for approvals. Part of the fun in what we have chosen to do for most hours of our day relies on the client’s belief in it. And that my design friends, IS counterintuitive to how we have been told to live our lives.
A previous Director of Architecture of mine once told me that “You don’t have to know everything, but it is imperative you know how to manage it”. This has resonated deeply with me throughout my career. There have been times I have felt out of my comfort zone for sure. Times that I have come across an issue that I had no historic precedence to use as guidance. But in times of anxiety, as I searched for solutions, what has provided me comfort is remembering I am not alone. As we become 
Since Las Vegas is a city of chance (and hopefully luck) and so many high rollers are of Chinese decent, it was imperative to have high-profile casino and game room layouts, concepts and FFE selections reviewed by a feng shui specialist. Though I learned quickly about favorable orientation, each time I selected a new material finish and presented it, I would find something ‘unacceptable’… some materiality that carried ‘bad omen’. For example, in one of the high roller table game suites, a custom light fixture had been designed that contained facets of antique mirror. This was unacceptable to our specialist because the glass was believed to house improper spirits that could not escape the room due to the unclarity of the reflective surface. The antique-ness is also believed to cause the feeling of distortion or disorientation and to the gamer looking for luck, this created unease immediately.
I often asked myself when I was designing for hotel resorts in Las Vegas, “Where do I go from here”? In the resort industry, I was (knowingly) fortunate for padded budgets, custom demands and exposure to the most exquisite finish materials available domestically and internationally. So 
Baby steps (for both myself and the end users)… Before you jump off the deep end, you (end users) need to understand that someone is there extending their arms – me (you, designers). This is our job. This is our obligation. This is our duty. This is our (design) value.
Once your end user realizes you are working for them, you gain (design) leverage. They will let go. They will trust you to make decisions they are unable to visualize based on your (design) credibility. Based on your interpretation of their information – the feasibility of their needs on paper. They gain trust via the reasons you have drawn out that they are unable to have something they requested. They will buy in on code issues and requirements when you can walk them through the space limitations.
Quinn Lyttle 
