Firm Faces #3
One of the most unique presentations of a firm's personalities is Atlanta-based Cooper Carry's stand-alone site Cooper Carry Talks. On that page one is confronted by 12 cropped faces (of 32 possible ones, changed by refreshing or clicking "shuffle"), faces which start talking when ones moves the mouse over them. Each person then has one or more short snippets of video that fill the screen when that snippet is clicked. Lauren Perry Ford's snippet below describes how the private sector eventually succumbed to the public sector's desire to build sustainably, as the former saw that healthier buildings "may contribute to their bottom line."
The videos are characterized by the tight close-ups of the thumbnails, a shaky camera, and an off-camera glance, making the sound-bites a bit stylized but ultimately very consistent, so a certain homogeneity comes across. It's hard to listen to more than a handful of snippets before one gets the idea. It's apparent from the words that the firm is aligned with sustainability and other quality-of-life concerns, but one must leave the site and venture into the firm's project page to see how the ideas translate.
The videos are characterized by the tight close-ups of the thumbnails, a shaky camera, and an off-camera glance, making the sound-bites a bit stylized but ultimately very consistent, so a certain homogeneity comes across. It's hard to listen to more than a handful of snippets before one gets the idea. It's apparent from the words that the firm is aligned with sustainability and other quality-of-life concerns, but one must leave the site and venture into the firm's project page to see how the ideas translate.
That's really cool. I only checked out a few (I like the Paris one especially) but they were very interesting.
ReplyDeleteThat Paris one is one I did listen to, as well. He also had a snippet about driving with Mr. Koolhaas. Not bad.
ReplyDeleteI love these posts. Keep it up.. maybe next you can tackle the division of labour and class warfare within firms. ;)
ReplyDelete'Cool' interviews, but again look at their work. I would guess 5% max of their work is 'sustainable'. They have a goal for every employee to become LEED certified. Great - yet when it comes down to the design, sustainability is one of the last design criteria on their mind. Cooper Carry is only interested in money and ensuring that their principals receive a good retirement fund.
ReplyDeleteIt just shows that a little eye candy goes a long way.
jason - While your speculations are difficult to corroborate, I'll admit that many practices -- especially large ones -- do see sustainability as a marketing feature, and this page could be interpreted as that. What I think sets a firm apart is the incorporation of sustainable features (materials, processes, siting, etc.) even when the project is not targeting a LEED accreditation. Yes, LEED is good for advancing the cause, but it's not the only way of judging or determining if a building helps or hinders its context environmentally. If Cooper Carry is a firm that works sustainability into ALL their projects is, like your speculations, hard to determine.
ReplyDeleteThey are not speculations. I know this first hand.
ReplyDeleteSo, you work(ed) there?
ReplyDelete