• Featured,  Form,  Print Edition

    The Michael Jordan level

    Widely known for his gravity-defying leaps on the basketball court that earned the nickname “Air Jordan,” Michael Jordan is a businessman and former NBA player, with a basketball career and baseball days a legacy among sports fans—one that has extended into products and dining establishments celebrating Jordan’s accomplishments. The six-time NBA champion opened his first restaurant in 1993 through a…

  • Design Spotlight,  Featured,  Print Edition

    Trina Sandschafer, AIA, LEED AP

    Vice President; Design Principal; Team Leader Corporate, Hospitality, Residential Kahler Slater Inc. | Chicago, Illinois   Scale, proportion, light: For Trina Sandschafer, AIA, LEED AP, vice president, design principal, and team leader of corporate, hospitality, and residential at Kahler Slater in Chicago, Illinois, they are often the defining elements of her architectural philosophy and client-based design approach. It is in…

  • Design Spotlight,  Featured,  Print Edition

    Catalyst for innovation

    In 1956, Arthur Kornberg, American biochemist, realized a pursuit in biochemistry that forever changed the landscape and nature of biology. Kornberg’s discovery of DNA polymerase I not only led to the 1959 Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine—shared with Severo Ochoa for his discovery of RNA polymerase—but also served as a catalyst for a biotechnology revolution. Kornberg’s exploration in enzymes…

  • Creative Endeavors,  Featured,  Print Edition

    Choreographed by design

    From within the renovated walls of a landmark-designated site in the Traverse City State Hospital Historic District, a husband-and-wife-led team of kitchen designers, project managers, interior designers, and craftspeople are continuing a mission established long before relocating their design studio to the former Steward Residence on South Division in Traverse City, Michigan. Initially founded in 2003 as a cabinet supplier…

  • Featured,  Print Edition

    Great Lakes By Design: Raising the Bar

    CONTENTS DESIGN CORNER 17 Concrete Pig | a design-build furniture studio pushing the envelope of the expected through sculptural and often gravity-defying work in concrete and in wood 18 Encaustic | the investigative painter and sculptor who welcomes the unpredictable entropy of wax and mixed metals 19 Alt Pen | the minimalist ball point pen designed as a precision tool kit by a product design firm…

  • Creative Endeavors,  Featured

    Virginia Tile opens in Troy

    Since 1928, Virginia Tile Company has become a leading tile distributor in the Midwest, serving 14 states with its two distribution hubs in Livonia, Michigan, and Kansas City, Kansas and network of showrooms. Fulfilling the needs of residential and commercial building industry customers, the company is a provider of porcelain, ceramic, stone, glass, metal, and mosaic design solutions, with select…

  • Creative Endeavors,  Featured

    Vintage curation

    “If I am offering design as a service to someone else, I can solve problems that maybe the client did not even know they had or make their space more functional, but more importantly, more enjoyable. Good design truly does bring joy to people,” said Kim Tanner, owner of Strangelovely in Godfrey, Illinois. Strangelovely is a classic vintage furniture and…

  • Featured,  Form,  Print Edition

    Enriched space

    Communities are defined by a set of unspoken social and cultural norms, strengthened by shared beliefs and often united by similar factors such as inclusion, safety, education, engagement, and sustainability. While each is unique, there is a common potential and ability for fostering healthy, supportive environments for the people who make up that community. In Toronto, Ontario, ZAS Architects +…

  • Creative Endeavors,  Featured

    In conversation: Graham Stanton

    In an industry disrupted by the cancellation and rescheduling of events due to COVID-19, Chelsea Farrugia and Robin Wilson, co-founders and co-owners of Graham Stanton Co. in Detroit, Michigan, pushed forward with their new business venture, navigating the uncertainties that came with it. Graham Stanton, a woman-owned, event experience firm offering full-service event planning and floral design, was first established…