Beyond the Blueprint: Designing Experiences with Light, Sound & Color
A case-studies conversation on architecture, technology & multisensory design
What does it mean to create an experience, not just a space? This program brings together leaders in architecture, landscape, interiors and lighting design to explore how light, sound, and color shape the way people feel in buildings and landscapes, long before they consciously register the architecture and design itself.
This event examines multi-sensory design through built work across a variety of project types and scales— from custom residences to cultural, civic and commercial spaces — and its impact on the user experience.
Intended as a case study-style, thematic conversation, not a product showcase, this program will appeal to professionals, educators and students alike: Attendees will leave with ideas and inspiration, as well as practical advice on how design decisions get made; where lighting, materials, and technology help or hinder; and how expectations set by our digital lives are reshaping what people expect from physical space.
Agenda:
Panelists:
BILL HYNES, PLA, LEED AP is a builder, designer, and thinker with a passion for environmental advocacy and craft. He collaborates effectively with clients to solve design problems in an artful and sustainable manner, and to create and construct beautifully designed spaces, with an eye to improving the built environment for our generation and those to come. Bill believes landscape is a critical piece of infrastructure requiring investment, which with the right foresight yields distinct opportunities and experiences.
An influential advisor to the City of Sausalito, he served on the board of directors for Sausalito Beautiful, including five years as its president.
DAVID DARLING, FAIA, NCARB, IIDA is a founding principal of Aidlin Darling Design, formed with Joshua Aidlin in 1998 with a shared interest in exploring design across a wide range of scales, programs, and disciplines.
Founded on a closely held conviction that design can engage all of the senses and improve the human spirit, his work explores the connection between design, art, food, and place. His diversity of practice is reflected in recognition ranging from his recent induction into Interior Design Magazine’s Hall of Fame, two James Beard Awards for restaurant design, and a Smithsonian Cooper-Hewitt National Design Award for his firm’s complete body of work.
JODY PRITCHARD, IALD, LEED AP ID+C is a lighting designer, creative thinker, and cofounder of San Francisco-based PritchardPeck Lighting.
Drawn in by the mix of art and geometry in lighting, she brings both creative curiosity and technical rigor to her work. Jody specializes in residential and landscape lighting, with experience spanning hospitality, workplace, façades, and other corners of the built environment. She is especially interested in how light, material, and color shape the way we feel in a space. When she’s not thinking about light, she’s usually writing songs or finding an excuse to get outside.
MELISSA O'REAR, LEED AP, NCIDQ currently leads as a Design Director and Senior Associate at Gensler, shaping design impact across a diverse portfolio of projects. She brings an open, calm, and articulate approach to design, thoughtfully listening to clients' challenges while pushing creative boundaries without compromising program goals or budgets. Melissa prioritizes end-user needs, creating unique spaces that reflect each company's brand and culture.
With workplace design experience across the U.S. and internationally, she has partnered with organizations ranging from startup technology companies to global firms. Melissa is a trusted resource for design guidance and workplace strategy.
LISA BOQUIREN (Moderator) is a seasoned strategist and design & architecture aficionada working with architecture and design firms, and construction companies on brand strategy and branding, marketing and communications.
Lisa also produces and moderates convergent conversations, and has presented during San Francisco Design Week, and at AIA Los Angeles and AIA San Francisco. Recent conversations held at the Center for Architecture + Design include, Success in the Businesss of Being MAD (Maker, Artist, Designer), and The Space Architect (Film Screening + Filmmaker Conversation). Her editorial work appears in SHLTR, SPACES and Small Firms, Great Projects (AIASF's publication for which she serves as editorial advisor)
Learning Objectives: (1 LU - Pending Approval)
- Explore how architects and designers shape end-user experiences across a variety of project types and scales, and client types
- Compare the philosophy and processes across design disciplines (architecture, landscape, interiors and lighting) for creating user experiences
- Apply strategies for specifying and integrating lighting, sound, and sustainable materials systems so that technology supports, rather than competes with, design intent.
- Identify how lighting and electrical systems, acoustic design, and material choices combine to shape user experience and comfort in a space.
About Seeless:
SeeLess Solutions designs and produces architectural LED gypsum lighting — fixtures built to dissolve into a space rather than compete with it, giving architects and designers a tool as refined as the projects they create. SeeLess Solutions is part of Team Powerfull, a family of businesses spanning systems integration (Powerfull Systems), electrical infrastructure (Powerfull Electric), and solar (Powerfull Solar), operating as a unified, one-stop-shop ecosystem for high-end residential and commercial projects.
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