From the MARS Ascension Vehicle at the Johnson Space Center to the Merchandise Mart in Chicago, the products of Parker Nussbaum's sketches continue to reach new heights and audiences. The Houston-based industrial designer is well-versed in rapid prototyping and creating objects that marry both beauty and function. In June, Parker helped launch Rottet Collection during NeoCon 2017, and he's been on a roll ever since. In this Sketch Series installment, we delve into the organized chaos behind Parker's work.How did you first get into sketching/drawing?I have always liked drawing and actively sketched throughout most of my youth. I was lucky in that my parents took me to a lot of art museums growing up, so I learned to love the visual arts and explore them in my free time.It was not until college, however, that I really hit my stride and started to gain knowledge of form, composition, and technique. The transformation did not come easily. Having your drawings and ideas slammed during critiques pushes you to try to be more clear and fluid in form and style, not to mention learning the technique for industrial design drawing of Vizcomm (visual communication), which took a while to grasp.Today I still keep sketchbooks around and continue to further my skills in drawing and idea generation. Right now I have three in rotation: one for work and notes, another for product design ideas, and a personal one where I draw the most freely.Tell us about your drawings.Most of these drawings are some of my favorites from past projects. The bicycle-related drawings explore the functionality of bicycles and bicycle accessories for a startup project I worked on in conjunction with the [Gerald D. Hines] College of Architecture and the [C.T. Bauer] College of Business at the University of Houston, my alma mater. The living chandelier and oxygen-generating devices are studies from my thesis exploring different implementations of living media to combat indoor air pollution. The space craft design drawings are some human factor studies I did on the Mars Ascension Vehicle at NASA in conjunction with Lockheed Martin, studying flight seats and sleep hardware.They are quite different in their scope of product, but I wanted to show more fleshed-out drawings rather than the visual madness which constitutes most of my sketches.What do you sketch when you’re not at work?Nine times out of ten, it’s something from work that I just didn’t feel I got right. Usually through this sketch exercise, my perfectionism begins to lose its edge and the drawings descend into chaos. It’s in the chaos that I either find clarity or just begin to draw forms.Occasionally I’ll practice drawing people or landscapes, but usually they are very abstracted or quick expressions of a moment.What was the last thing that inspired you?Recently, I had the chance to see the David Hockney retrospective at The Centre Pompidou in Paris, and was truly inspired by the breadth and quality of his work. Not only was his style fluid and emotional, it also managed to retain a quality of simplicity and optimism. I read a quote by him on one of the signs that described how he wanted to master as many painting techniques/styles as he could, so that his work would not be typecast by art critics but instead retain a timeless quality. I think that is an admirable goal.What are your favorite tools?I actually really prefer to draw on loose leaf paper. 80-lb Hammermill paper is my standard. It handles Copic markers really well and does not wear out fine-tipped pens nearly as quickly as other types of paper. If I am going to use a sketch book, I have come to prefer the MUJI Size A6 Notebook, since it fits in my back pocket but still has enough structure.For drawing utensils, I love Marvy LePens, the MUJI 0.5mm black ballpoint, Pilot Fineliners, and Faber-Castell pencils. When do you find the time?I do some sketching at work on a daily basis, but it’s rough - almost like a data dump, spilling out shapes, notes, and thumbnail ideas. I suppose the really tight and clean drawings I do are at home on the weekends when everything is a bit quieter and I can focus on the minutiae. I like when the drawing experience transcends into being a meditative experience.
Have you ever wondered what it’s like to work at Rottet Studio as an intern? In our first ever blog feature, we give you a glimpse into the lives of our Houston, LA, and New York interns! Hailing from all across the globe, our interns are as diverse as the projects they’ve worked on this summer. We discussed with them their expectations, career goals, and their favorite part of their internships.Jayati is currently pursuing a Master’s degree in Interior Design from Parsons, The New School and will graduate in May 2018. She completed her undergraduate studies in Interior Architecture & Design in New Delhi, India.When Jayati is not working, she enjoys photography and travelling. She also loves puns and word play, although, in her words, she "tends to lose always while playing Scrabble."What are your long-term career goals? How has your internship at Rottet Studio shaped or informed these goals?After completing my Master’s [in Interior Design from Parsons], I plan to learn more about Retail, Hospitality and Installation Design. My internship at Rottet has helped me gain real-world experience outside of the typical boundaries in a classroom. It has also helped me network and has given me specific insight into Hospitality Design projects.What did you work on this summer? What was your favorite part of your internship/the summer?I worked on several projects - a private residence and a few hospitality projects.For the residential project, I assisted with the Media Room, worked on construction drawings for the bathroom spaces and made design concept presentations for client meetings. This allowed me to get hands on experience, as I was dealing directly with furniture companies in the city and incorporating their products into my design. Additionally, I learned about the different material palettes used in residences.For a hotel project in the Caribbean, I worked on planning a space for the restaurant, which was very exciting as it ties directly into my career interests. I also helped others by procuring their materials for the design concept board and the material board, which helped me understand how an integrated story is put together piece by piece. Creating a material board really helps in visualizing a space, which was particularly helpful for this themed resort that faces the sea.Eric has a liberal arts background as a graduate of Brandeis University with a double major in psychology and architectural history. Currently, he is pursuing his Master’s in Architecture at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA).Merging an interest in travel with his pursuit of higher education, Eric drove from Boston to Los Angeles to attend UCLA. "The trip took me 14 days, and across 14 states,” he says. “I stayed in Chicago for 4 days, and enjoyed visiting Farnsworth House by Mies. Starting from Chicago and ending at Santa Monica, I followed and completed the full length of the historical Route 66. This adventure marked my total visit of 26 states in America."How did you approach architecture and design prior to your internship at Rottet Studio?My multi-disciplinary background has instilled in me the belief that architecture should be grounded in human experience. This perspective of architecture draws on my additional interests in psychology and the social sciences as essential instruments of a building’s composition. While psychology and social studies examine the human experience from micro- and macro- perspectives that give insight into the human mind, emotions, and behavior, architecture serves as an effective means to implement these understandings through space.As part of my thesis on social media and its impact on architecture, I was able to conduct case studies, field visits and interviews in the headquarter offices of Facebook, Instagram, and Pinterest. My research examines social media’s influence on interpersonal behavior and our notions of space. Through an analysis of social media companies’ headquarters, the project investigates how architecture responds to pervasive social networking systems, exploring issues of transparency, decentralization, and fluidity.What did you work on this summer? What was your favorite part of your internship/the summer?Although I only started four weeks ago, I have assisted with many projects in the LA office, including the design and modeling of the Viking Cruise Shanghai Experience Center, construction documents for office renovations and reconfigurations, rendering a showroom in Hawaii, and drawing company standards for door hinges. I would say that I enjoyed all of the projects equally, because each one deals with a different aspect of the design process. The mix of experience from schematic design, visual presentation, and finish selections, to the detail and construction drawings is really exciting and fulfilling for an internship.What were your expectations at the beginning of the summer? Did your internship meet your expectations?I have really enjoyed my experience working at Rottet, which has provided quite a different learning environment from the architectural training at UCLA. The interior design projects focused heavily on creating not only spatial character, but atmosphere, as well. How to make a space “feel” comfortable, welcoming, and elegant is a design problem that I had not previously encountered in my architectural education. Setting the atmosphere entails furniture and material selection, pattern selection, and setting up scenes and focal views. I believe these experiences, which I do not often have the chance to practice in architecture school, will advance my understanding of human-experience-focused architecture.Isabelle went to Texas A&M University where she studied Environmental Design. She is returning to Texas A&M this fall for her Master’s in Architecture. Though Isabelle remains unsure of what her plans are after graduate school, she is excited to continue her education in Architecture.How has your internship at Rottet Studio shaped or informed your goals?So far, my internship at Rottet has helped confirm that I would like to work with hospitality projects. This internship has also established a personal appreciation of and fascination with the area where architecture and interiors meet.What have you worked on this summer so far? This summer I have been helping Amber [Lewis, Associate in RS Houston] with 555 Howard, a residential project in San Francisco, and working on choosing furniture and pricing for the River Oaks Condos in Houston. I have also helped Zina [Sharif, Librarian] organize and clean up in the library and done some walk-throughs of Hotel Alessandra with Anja [Majkic, Associate Principal].What was your favorite part of your internship/the summer?I have a few favorite parts of this summer. I have loved working with Amber and Zina, I enjoy the happy hours when the office gets to socialize a little, and it’s always fun when Bernardo and Anja make jokes.Quina attended Stanford University and graduated with the Class of 2017. She has a B.S. in Engineering, with a concentration in Architectural Design and a minor in Human Biology. Her path to architecture was unconventional, to say the least: "When I went to college I was planning to get a PhD in Plasma Physics and work as a physicist developing nuclear fusion as a source of sustainable, safe, and efficient energy."However, her interest in design and the arts hails back to her days in high school, when "...I made countless fashions (dresses, tops, pants, accessories) out of 100% recycled and found objects to promote environmental awareness and action." Quina is also an artist and plans to study classical painting techniques at the Florence Academy of Art in Italy in the future. From painting to physics, Quina plans to channel her diverse talents into a career in architecture and design.What are your long term career goals?In the future I hope to be an architect, artist, and designer! I am still conflicted on exactly what I enjoy and do not enjoy. Currently, I can picture myself working in a combined field of architecture, furniture design, jewelry design, and fashion design. Moving to LA and exploring the fashion district has definitely gotten me fired up about fashion design, which is something I sort of abandoned a few years ago.What have you worked on this summer so far?So far I’ve worked on a number of projects, mostly in hospitality. I’ve worked predominantly in AutoCAD. My favorite aspect of working at Rottet has been being surrounded by individuals who are so passionate about what they do. It is amazing and an inspiration to see people working so hard to ensure their visions turn into a beautiful space for others to inhabit and enjoy.Loren is currently completing her undergraduate studies at Syracuse University. She was born in Israel and moved to America at the age of 4 -- she still goes back to visit every year. She loves animals and her favorite animal is, in fact, a penguin. Loren plans to apply her Psychology major to pursue a career in Real Estate, specifically the marketing and/or design side of it. She also aspires to utilize her bilingual skills in the future to form relationships between the New York and Israeli Real Estate markets.Loren considers Psychology to be a key determinant in her career path:"I believe pursuing a major in Psychology was extremely beneficial, as I was able to attain knowledge on the human brain and truly comprehend exactly how we as individuals function. This has assisted me in forming interpersonal skills and understanding exactly how to market to the consumer."What did you work on this summer? What was your favorite part of your internship/the summer?I worked on assisting the Marketing team with numerous tasks such as award submissions, social media outlets, and updating the press database. Additionally, I worked on blog posts for rottetTALK. My favorite part of my internship was working on the blog, as I was able to gain insight on the employees and the projects of Rottet Studio. I was able to go in-depth with the Project Evolution series and understand exactly how a project went from an idea on paper to a finished development. Furthermore, I was able to converse with the designers behind the project and learn about what inspires them.What are your long-term career goals? How has your internship at Rottet Studio shaped or informed these goals?Prior to working at Rottet Studio, I was aware of my fascination with interior design, but I was unsure exactly how I wanted to incorporate it into my career. This internship has provided me with great insight and knowledge of the industry and has validated my aspiration of working in Real Estate, particularly on the marketing side. Furthermore, working at Rottet Studio allowed me to advance my business development and interpersonal skills, which I hope to utilize in my future career.Jessica Wang is currently obtaining a Master’s in Architecture at UCLA. She previously completed her undergraduate studies in Tongji University in civil engineering. Her extensive portfolio truly exemplifies how she applies her passions in art, music, and mechanics to architecture and design. In addition to writing screenplays, Jessica’s notable schoolwork includes devising a habitable space for people to live underwater in response to the threat that rising sea levels pose to coastal communities, as well as manufacturing the VULCAN Pavilion, a temporary structure inspired by the spatial forms of silkworm cocoons, which exhibited during Beijing Design Week and was awarded the Guinness World Record for the Largest 3D Printed Structure in 2015. Through the VULCAN project, which Jessica took part in through the Laboratory for Creative Design (LCD), she learned digital design and fabrication methodologies.What are your long-term career goals? How has your internship at Rottet Studio shaped or informed these goals?Architecture school emphasizes training students about value judgment, which enables us to tell “big stories” from a “big perspective." However, Rottet Studio has taught me how to express these humanistic ideals on a form and tectonics level.I hope, with experience, to be a main designer with the knowledge to discuss and execute my ideas in detail.What did you work on this summer? What was your favorite part of your internship/the summer?I've worked on presentations, such as the Viking Branding Book, material selection for the 8th and Figueroa project, and construction documentation for Dual Max and the UTA London project.I love the presentation part most. Doing construction documentation makes me feel like I live in a world of black and white. When preparing presentations, I have the chance to participate in schematic design, meet and communicate with people, familiarize myself with different materials and brands, and make watercolor plans and rendering elevations. Here, I have the opportunity to draw a colorful world for myself.
Welcome to the first installation in our Project Evolutionseries, where we take you behind the scenes of a project's development from concept to completion. Recently, we helped to open the Renaissance Atlanta Airport Gateway Hotel, as covered in Boutique Design and Curbed Atlanta. We spoke with our New York-based design team to learn more about the inspiration and process behind this groundbreaking new hotel.The development of the Renaissance Atlanta Airport Gateway Hotel by Marriott was inspired by the idea of creating a new experience for the business traveler filled with modern luxury comforts and amenities. The development of this property was grounded on rebranding, expanding, and redefining the typical airport hotel, which is conveniently connected via SkyTrain to the Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport. Rottet Studio was tasked with creating an elevated and inspiring experience for travelers seeking an escape while maintaining comfort and style. Our designers aimed to incorporate inspiration by the local life, culture, and energy of Atlanta.The design aesthetics throughout the hotel follow a raw, industrial, and natural theme, relayed through honest materials such as exposed concrete and raw and unpolished steel.The LobbyTo emphasize the moment of arrival, guests enter through revolving doors to a large, open lobby. A long, linear table functions as both the reception desk and "discovery table" and offers a site for communal gathering, where guests can check themselves in on iPads and also meet and collaborate with other people. Overhead, a custom light fixture resembling water dripping from moss infuses the lobby with greenery, while swanky chair swings echo porch swings prevalent in the South. An original abstract mural, which is one of eleven in the hotel, displays a world map depicting the concept of Atlanta as a world community and business hub. The lobby is intended to be a big living room with no boundaries, a calming yet convivial environment in the hectic world of travel.The public areas of the hotel each offer a unique point of view that reinforce different parts of a traveler's journey-departure, arrival, homecoming.The Bar and RestaurantHickory & Hazel, the bar and restaurant in the hotel, is unpolished and low-key with a special personality. The bar was designed to be intentionally imperfect, lik e a local favorite neighborhood hangout, with raw concrete ceilings and brick walls contrasted with polished wood.Meeting Rooms
The meeting rooms span over 6,290 square feet and are named after the commonly used Aviation (Military) alphabet, promoting the idea of travel throughout. A long felt runner with inspirational text in French runs from the wall and continues onto the ceiling, a nod to the notion of global cultures and languages convening in Atlanta.
RestroomsThe public restrooms feature the various seasons, inspired by The Chronicles of Narnia, where each door leads you to a different season in a new world.GuestroomsThe guestroom corridors offer natural light and views of lush greenery via large windows on either end and help connect guests with the outdoors rather than feeling trapped in a hallway. Each corridor features two millwork niches for local art installations so that when the elevator doors open, guests see something different on each floor. Tally marks, fashioned by a local artist using wooden sticks, denote the floor numbers while each door displays a question mark on it, inclining the guest to wonder what lies within.The 204 guestrooms, which include eight suites, represent a mixture of typical Atlanta fashion and modern design; they are salon-styled but also feature residential furniture.In the frosted glass shower, a mirror reflects the outside view and also expands the space, while a custom wall mural by Ryan Coleman finds an unexpected home behind the toilet. Each junior suite displays custom hand drawn murals by local artists, providing a human element to the whole experience.We heard from the designers themselves about what they consider to be the differentiating factor in this hotel. Both point to the use of local artists in creating this unique experience."The most unique part of this property is the number of custom murals painted throughout by young local artists, ranging from the large scale murals in the public spaces, often painted on brick walls, to the smaller murals in the suites," said James Cull, a senior associate in the Rottet Studio New York office. "The fact that each suite has an original mural is impressive—no two are the same! To have all of that custom artwork hand-painted on site, especially in guestrooms, provides a rich and varied experience for visitors, and especially to repeat guests!""The most unique part is the art for sure, but the most important and special thing is to bring the energy and surprise to all the guests," said Ashley Liu, a designer in the Rottet Studio New York office. "From artworks, details to the quotes on every floor, we created little surprises here and there, and hope to bring an unforgettable experience to guests."
California Dreamin'
West Side Blues
Red White Blue and Black
Bridging the Gap
Behind Bars
Chasing Pipe Dreams
Watching from the Sidelines
Balancing Act
With a background in architecture, it is easy to understand Associate Principal Harout Dedeyan's fascination with the built environment. Even when he is not working, the Los Angeles-based employee enjoys mixing business with pleasure - that is, incorporating architecture into his illuminating photography. For this Sketch Series we asked Harout to show us what life looks like through a short-shift lens.Tell us about your photographs.The photos you see here are part of a series called Art on Architecture, something I started two years ago. I shoot buildings that are used as canvasses, or I use them as backdrops to public art. Sometimes the architecture gets left out and I just shoot the art, other times the reverse. I then print them on archival paper, create handmade postcards and send them to people dear to me, with whom I want to stay in touch.I love this old fashioned exercise in an age of electrons traveling at the speed of light. I don’t want anyone to ‘follow’ me or ‘like’ my pictures. Sometimes it’s very soothing to slow down and go back in time.I also enlarge and frame the pictures, hoping one day to have the opportunity to show them.How did you first get into photography?On my 12th birthday, my aunt Elizabeth gave me a Kodak Instamatic. After the first roll of black and white film I was hooked. Throughout the years the Instamatic morphed into an SLR, medium format, 4x5… What followed were classes in architectural and product photography and a small side business shooting architectural models. My trick was getting very close and using a short shift-lens giving the model a very realistic look at eye level instead of the bird’s eye views prevalent at the time. Eventually architecture became a career, photography turning into a hobby.What are some of the subjects that you’re interested in photographing?I’m mostly interested in photographing the built environment. I like responding to places, looking at marks and traces, making the over-looked noticed, acknowledged through my photographs.What was the last thing that inspired you?I once saw an exhibition by Robert Holgren called Toy Camera Works. A successful commercial photographer puts his expensive gear and gizmos aside and uses a toy camera for his personal work. It was inspiring, and very appealing.
Sketch Series Banner_RUTHIE
1044_001_Page_3
Left Brain
Right Brain
1044_001_Page_4
Logo brainstorm for a friend's medical company - Communiclear was a working name
"The Kiss" (1880-1881), Auguste Rodin at the Baltimore Museum of Art
"Bather Fixing Her Hair" (1930), Aristide Maillol at the Baltimore Museum of Art
Street Art in Melbourne, Australia
Profile Template_RUTHIE
Ruthie Chen has a notebook for each side of her brain - one for meticulous note-taking and list-making, and one for more free-form journaling and sketching. "I go back and forth between using design as a mode of expression and communication, which are two different things," Ruthie says. "All design, art, and writing contains aspects of both, but you should always ask who your audience is - the answer should rarely be 'myself.'" In this Sketch Series installment, we asked the Houston-based Marketing Assistant how she strikes a balance between the two. How did you first get into sketching/drawing?I used to hoard notebooks, scribbling or writing in the first few pages before tossing one aside for another – my childhood room is still littered with them. I started journaling regularly right before middle school, but I didn’t start keeping a sketchbook until my high school art classes required one.These days, I have two notebooks – a daily planner for work that I use to keep track of to-do lists, appointments, and meetings, and a personal sketchbook. I find that I go through spurts with my sketchbooks. I’m so used to recording visual information with my phone first that capturing a moment on paper seems almost counter intuitive at times, even if the process of doing so is ultimately the most authentic way to commit something to memory. To be honest, sketchbooks feel intimidating to me; I’m precious to a fault about what goes on the page and tend to overthink things. As a result, my sketches often lack a certain spontaneity and freshness, something I am slowly trying to overcome.Tell us about your drawings.Many of the pages in my sketchbook are a combination of words and visuals, which I think reflects how my brain works. Mostly, they’re a reflection of what’s around or in front of me at the time. I’m still in the imitative stages of capturing things visually – meaning, I can copy from a photograph or draw from life, but I can’t conjure images from my mind without a concrete visual reference. For instance, I tend to record my dreams verbally because I find that, vivid as they are, visuals don’t quite do them justice.What do you sketch when you’re not at work?Scenes from travel or day to day life, hand-lettering and typography, and figure drawings. I like to take a sketchbook with me when I travel – it forces me to take the time to document new sights and sounds that I wouldn’t have otherwise noticed.In terms of hand-lettering, I follow a lot of typography and design accounts on Instagram which are endless sources of inspiration. I’ve recently been interested in monogram logos – in the way the same letterforms can be manipulated over and over again to create vastly different effects, almost like a mini optical illusion. There’s so much you can do with the negative space between forms or the perspective to make something clever and visually arresting.I’ve always loved drawing the human figure – during my first figure-drawing exercise in high school, my teacher instructed us not to take our eyes off of the model or our pens off of the paper. It was a true lesson in abstracting forms and learning to draw what you really see, not what you think you see. The female form, in particular, is interesting to capture because it carries so much historical and cultural weight - the body is both personal and political.What was the last thing that inspired you?A close friend lent me a copy of Private Citizens by Tony Tulathimutte. The novel follows four twentysomethings in millennial San Francisco as they navigate their careers and relationships. The writer's observations are so sharp and darkly witty - one in particular stood out to me: "Cities that tolerate everything tolerate mediocrity."What are your favorite tools?For taking notes and drawing, I love MUJI Gel-Ink Ballpoint Pens in 0.38mm or 0.5mm. I have them in every color. I am a meticulous note-taker, probably some sort of deeply ingrained habit from school, and the MUJI pens allow me to write quickly with minimal resistance. When I need to use pencil, I’ve actually grown really fond of the Paper Mate Sharpwriter Mechanical Pencils that we stock in the office. My current sketchbook is a classic hard cover Moleskine with blank pages, but I prefer the soft cover with dotted grid pages. Once in a blue moon, when I’m feeling ambitious, I like drawing with charcoal and conte crayon. When do you find the time?Ha - I don't. I try to wake up a few hours early at least once a week to sketch or write - my ideas are the most fresh in the morning.
Sketch Series Banner_ASHLEY
4
170125_Loews Stair Railing Design__Page_3
170125_Loews Stair Railing Design__Page_4
Pigs
Bathroom Design
3
Bang Chair
Handbag_Final Product Photo
He & She_render
11
8
Profile Template_ASHLEY
Ashley Liu's doodles are as vibrant and playful as the designer herself. The New York-based employee has sketches dating back to her design school days, though she typically approaches drawing with a fun and whimsical approach. From conference calls to the streets of South America, Ashley spoke with us about the role that her doodles play in not taking herself too seriously.How did you first get into sketching/drawing? I started to sketch when applying to design school. I actually don't keep a regular sketchbook. I usually grab any available papers or even napkins when I want to draw.Tell us about your drawings. I made these stair railing sketches and 3D detail studies for a current hotel project in San Francisco, California. We presented different options to the client based on my design:Here are a few doodles from a super long conference call with all consultants:This bathroom design was for a school project, designed for a Christian Louboutin store, with high heels displayed on the walls: When I was studying at the New York School of Interior Design, I took an accessories class at the Fashion Institute of Technology where we designed handbags, chairs with different "hairstyles," and other fun iterations of furniture design:What do you sketch when you’re not at work?Anything - anything that comes into my mind! I sometimes draw food when I’m in a restaurant, and buildings and street views when I’m traveling. In my last trip to Cartagena, Columbia, I sat in a cute restaurant, ordered a cup of coffee, and asked for milk for my coffee. The waitress didn’t understand English and I don’t speak Spanish, so she kept giving me sugar, spoons, all kinds of stuff, but not milk! So I ended up grabbing a piece of napkin and drew on it, and then she smiled, and gave me milk. I think she ended up keeping my drawing.What are your favorite tools?A black pen – it looks more professional and cool!What was the last thing that inspired you?The Tree Hotel (The 7th room).
Sketch Series Banner_MARK
Sample Sketchbook Pages_Page_2
Stone Shop Drawings for the Presidential Bungalows at the Beverly Hills Hotel
Stone Shop Drawings for the Presidential Bungalows at the Beverly Hills Hotel
Quick sketch on a half-sized field set
Profile Template_MARK
Welcome to our "Sketch Series," a periodic peek into the notebooks and minds of Rottet Studio designers. Through their notes, doodles, and working sketches, we hope you get a glimpse of the design process behind some of our award-winning projects - and the tools we grab when inspiration strikes. In this installation, we hear from Mark Borkowski, AIA, LEED AP, a Los Angeles-based senior designer, about how his sketches take different forms depending on the function they serve.Tell us about your drawings. When I heard about this segment my first thought was, “I’ve got this covered, easy.” But as I started looking through my sketchbooks, I wasn’t finding any good sketches, just lots of notes and basic brutish sketches that help me work out how to detail something. Not much to write home about. Needless to say, I was a bit baffled. I knew I had done several decent looking sketches and yet I wasn’t finding any of them, at least not in any of my sketchbooks. So I went back to work and let it go for a bit. Later in the week, when I was showing someone in the office a detail from another project in one of my half size sets, it finally dawned on me that all my really good sketches are littered throughout my half-sized field sets and Construction Administration responses to things like submittals and RFIs. It is only when I needed to communicate a design or detail idea to someone out in the field that I was doing some of my best sketch work.The sketches included cover a full range: pages from my day-to-day sketchbook, scans from submittal responses, scans of pages from my half-sized field sets. The submittal responses have the most polished sketches based on time and the need to communicate design intent. The sketches from the half-sized sets are a bit rougher, with a certain immediacy to them that comes from sketching something while standing around a group of subconsultants trying to describe the finer points of our design (or sorting out a ‘Plan B’ based on field conditions). Finally, the sketches in my sketchbook are a loose kind of shorthand with very little organization or polish - I know what it is supposed to represent, so there’s not as much need to dress it up.How did you first get into sketching and drawing?It goes all the way back to grade school/high school, when I would doodle regularly in my subject notebooks for each class. Little vignettes and sketchy marginalia are littered throughout the pages, sharing space with the inventor of the cotton gin, Avogadro’s number and quadratic equations. In college, one of the things the architecture program impressed on us fairly early on was the need to keep a design sketchbook, so I started to keep a ‘formal’ sketchbook for my design classes. Meantime, the trend of sketching in my class notebooks continued, just with a bit more of an architectural bent. As for my current sketchbook, I would characterize it as a junk drawer for my notes, rough calculations, square footages, furniture piece names, fabric names, meeting notes and yes, the occasional sketch.What do you sketch when you’re not at work?Usually work-related things. When there is a particularly challenging detail I am trying to work out, I will think about it as I am going about my business at home. If something comes to me, I will sketch it out on whatever is handy: backs of envelopes, business cards or newspaper articles. It does not have to be a pristine surface, just a space to allow me to hammer out some of the thoughts I have at the time that I need to get down before they slip away. It gives me a chance to test my idea and decide whether it will work or not, as well as refine it to a point where I can formally draft it up.What are your favorite tools?The Bee Paper, Super Deluxe 9in. x 6in., 93lb 150gsm 60 sheet notebook. It has a sticker on it that says, “The Only Sketch Book You Will Ever Need” (underline theirs) which I find to be a humorous statement. Yeah, it is the only sketch book you will ever need… until you run out of pages and have to buy another Bee Paper Super Deluxe sketchbook!I like this sketchbook for the heavy weight paper that allows me to write/draw on both sides of the sheet without much in the way of bleed through. I also like it because it is spiral bound and can be folded over to one sheet, which takes up less space on the desk and gives you a nice flat surface to work on. As for drawing utensils, I generally stick to the Precise V5 rolling ball ink pens. I tend toward pen/ink sketches and only venture into pencil when I feel like getting softer transitions and gradients, as well as graphite all over everything. It can get quite messy for me, which is why I gravitate towards ink pens for most of my sketch work.Are there certain techniques, themes, subjects or explorations that you tend to focus on?For some reason, stairs show up in a lot of my sketches - that and volumetric studies, when I am trying to figure out the three-dimensional footprint of something based on reviewing a bunch of two dimensional references. The other things that seem to show up a lot are enlarged details, relating how things fit together. These tend to be wall, ceiling, or door elements which usually find their way into a detail at some point down the road.What was the last thing that inspired you?I don’t know if it was inspiring as much as it was thought provoking. There is a blog I follow and in one of the posts, the artist was trying to recreate/reinterpret a drawing done by another artist from several years prior, which was seen as something of a masterpiece in the realm of illustration. After a few attempts, the artist was still having trouble reproducing the essence of the original with the reinterpreted subject matter. To try and figure it out, he enlisted the help of the readers, showing the original along with all the attempts to rework it, and asked them to weigh in on the matter. For some reason, I got completely sucked in. What was it about the first illustration that resisted reinterpretation? And what moves or modifications could the artist possibly make to get close to the flavor of the original? What does that say about emulating the work of others and that work’s ability to or resistance of being copied? There is value in trying to copy something, for sure, but it comes more from the analysis of what makes the copy turn out good, bad, or mediocre when compared to the original. In a way, it forced me to think more in terms of criticism than in execution or technique.
Sketch Series Banner_ANA MARIA
Chelsea Market, New York.
2. Chair Study
1. Chair Study
The American Wing at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York.
The American Wing at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York.
Umbrella Study
Profile Template_ANA MARIA
Ana Maria Nater spends her evenings doing rapidfire sketches using salvaged materials - chopsticks and ink, a discarded newspaper clipping - as part of a drawing class. We asked Ana Maria, a designer in our New York studio, what inspired her to start drawing again and how taking pen to paper has made her a better designer.Tell us about your drawings.These are some sketches I’ve done so far in a class I am currently taking at Parsons School of Design. Right now, we are just doing very rapid sketches of objects - literally in seconds - as we need to learn how to abstract what we are seeing (chair, stool, umbrella, etc.). We are also learning how to use different drawing tools. For example, some of my sketches were drawn using chopsticks and ink in whatever material I could find laying around the room. We've recently started to sketch some interior spaces (Metropolitan Museum and Chelsea Market), and then we will start to learn how to render them.I am taking this class because I’ve always been a big fan of free-hand drawings and after seeing the Valencia Texican Court sketches [by Maksim Koloskov], something sparked inside me and motivated me to take a class! I think that sketching is such a useful tool for designers to communicate their ideas. Even a scribble can become a great design later on.How did you first get into sketching/drawing?I’d say ever since I was in elementary school, I've enjoyed painting and drawing. Every summer as a child, I was enrolled in the art camp that the Museo de Arte de Ponce (in Puerto Rico) offered. I have a travel sketchbook that I sketch in from time to time, but I have to admit haven’t used it in a while. I used to take it everywhere I traveled and tried to sketch something that caught my eye in every place I went.What do you sketch when you’re not at work? I really like going to public spaces to sketch, whether they are of interior spaces or exterior ones. I enjoy sketching buildings because I think that even if the building does not physically change, the light, the people, and the weather make for a different experience each time, which I try to capture in the drawing.What was the last thing that inspired you?Art Basel Miami 2016.What are your favorite tools?I like to sketch with Pigma MICRON pens and when I have the time and space, I like to get a little creative and just use a chopstick and black ink. I really like for the lines not to be perfect, and the chopstick/ink combination gives you different line weights with just a stroke.When do you find the time?I haven’t lately, which is why I enrolled again in a night class to try to force myself into doing something I like and truly enjoy. I hope that after this class it becomes a habit.
Sketch Series Banner_MAKS
1048_001_Page_03
Hard line pencil drawing of the Hotel Valencia Riverwalk
Watercolor rendering of Hotel Valencia Riverwalk
Final watercolor and line rendering of the Hotel Valencia Riverwalk
1046_001_Page_9
1045_001_Page_2
1048_001_Page_05
1046_001_Page_6
1048_001_Page_01
1048_001_Page_04
Profile Template_MAKS
Welcome to our "Sketch Series," a periodic peek into the notebooks and minds of Rottet Studio designers. Through their notes, doodles, and working sketches, we hope you get a glimpse of the design process behind some of our award-winning projects - and the tools we grab when inspiration strikes. In this installation, we hear from our in-house artist and renderer, Maks Koloskov. Hailing from his native Russia, Maks is a prolific artist whose body of work is as varied in scale, subject matter, and medium as it is impressive. He recently completed on-site signage and custom mural work at the new Valencia Cavalry Court in College Station, Texas and his sketch of James Turrell's Skyspace at Rice University was selected as a winner in Architectural Record's 2016 Cocktail Napkin Sketch Contest. Be sure to check out Maks' Instagram, where he posts new artwork daily.Tell us about your architectural renderings. I find it easiest to use a SketchUp model as a base, mainly so I can get the right view - it can be as simple as walls, ceiling heights and square blocks for principal elements. Typically, I prefer to have an eye-level view to give a direct experience of the space, and for that reason I don’t like to use wide-angle shots. The limited cropped view can give a better sense of the space than an all-inclusive one. Next, I prefer to do a hard line pencil tracing over the SketchUp model to give a sense of structure to the sketch, throwing in some loose, hand-drawn pieces of furniture and such. Then, I do a color drawing, either with marker over trace paper or with watercolors over the pencil drawing that has been lightly printed onto watercolor paper. The hand coloring never has line work in it, to maintain the loose and textural feel to the unique elements. Lastly, I use Photoshop to enhance or subdue parts of the rendering. I keep these two files separate, which gives me the opportunity to alter the color without affecting the lines, or vice versa. Here are some of these steps illustrated: How did you first get into sketching/drawing?I’ve been drawing and sketching for as long as I remember, but started doing it on a regular basis in summer of last year. I always have a sketchbook with me.What do you sketch when you’re not at work?I guess a common interest is architecture, but in general I sketch anything that catches my eye, and I do it at the moment, not putting it off for later. It might take few seconds or almost an hour, depending on time constraints. Normally I start to get bored after 30 minutes of drawing, so I try to keep it fast.What was the last thing that inspired you?I was watching a documentary about Keith Richard where Tom Waits said that sometimes, “You are looking at a frame and then you realize that the most interesting thing going on in the frame is happening outside of the frame.” Recently at the Hiram Butler Gallery, I saw a Murray Moss collection of photographs from old newspapers that had editors' cropping marks, leaving the “unimportant” parts of a picture out of the frame. I’ve been thinking about it.What are your favorite tools?I always have with me a small (old Soviet gasmask) bag with a sketchbook, a fountain pen, a couple of small jars of ink and ink nibs, a few pencils, brushes and a tiny box with several watercolor colors. I prefer to use basic timeless materials, like ink, watercolor, and lead pencils. For example, watercolor paints basically have not changed since their invention years ago. The binding base for this paint has always been the same, which is made from a milky juice that comes from a small thorny tree found only in the heart of Sudan. For my sketches, I use a lot of spiral sketchbooks made by Canson.My Lamy Safari fountain pen is probably the most used tool in my bag, though I often draw with ink and a bamboo stick that is cut in an angle at its end.When do you find the time?I make time, you can always find 15 minutes for a sketch. Recently, [renowned textile and product designer] Suzanne Tick came to our office and she was saying that you have to allocate 30 minutes a day to do something for yourself and just do it.
Emmy_EBlast_Header_ALT-01
Rottet text-01
Actor Courtney B. Vance, recipient of the the award for outstanding lead actor in a limited series or a movie for The People v. O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story and Angela Bassett at the Backstage Creations Giving Suite benefitting the Television Academy Foundation Educational Programs at the 68th Emmy® Awards at the Microsoft Theatre L.A. Live on Sunday, Sept. 18, 2016, in Los Angeles. (Photo by Willy Sanjuan/Invision for Backstage Creations/AP Images)
Left: Lauren Rottet welcomes actress/singer-songwriter Minnie Driver, who plays the lead role of Maya DiMeo in the ABC sitcom series Speechless. Right: Emmy nominee and comedic actor Will Forte poses with Melody Faircloth. (Photo by Willy Sanjuan/Invision for Backstage Creations/AP Images)
Actress Felicity Huffman, second left, and William H. Macy at the Backstage Creations Giving Suite benefitting the Television Academy Foundation Educational Programs at the 68th Emmy® Awards at the Microsoft Theatre L.A. Live on Sunday, Sept. 18, 2016, in Los Angeles.(Photo by Willy Sanjuan/Invision for Backstage Creations/AP Images)
Anthony Anderson, star of NBC's black-ish and three-time Emmy nominee, lounges on the Rottet Collection Cubist Curve Sofa by Lauren Rottet.(Photo by Willy Sanjuan/Invision for Backstage Creations/AP Images)
Actress Felicity Huffman, left, and William H. Macy at the Backstage Creations Giving Suite. (Photo by Willy Sanjuan/Invision for Backstage Creations/AP Images)
Rottet Studio was behind the scenes at this year’s
! As the chosen designer of the official
by
, Rottet Studio transformed the space into an elegant and clean lounge, providing the perfect setting for the Emmy winners, presenters and nominees to top off the star-studded night.Among the Emmy Winners who visited the lounge were Aziz Ansari, Hank Azaria, Margo Matindale, Peter Scolari, Rami Malek, Courtney B. Vance, Regina King, and Sterling K. Brown. Also lounging in the space were performer Tori Kelly, Emmy Presenters Anthony Anderson, Constance Wu, Damon Wayans, Joel McHale, Keri Russell, Larry David, Leslie Jones, Matt LeBlanc, Michael Weatherly, Michelle Dockery, Minnie Driver, Randall Park, Terence Howard, Tracee Ellis Ross, and Emmy Nominees Angela Bassett, Felicity Huffman, William H. Macy, Niecy Nash, Ty Burrell and Will Forte. Among Producers were Charlie Haykel, Danette Herman, Don Mischser, Juliane Hare, along with Director Glenn Weiss.
Christina Consalvi Quote-01
Featuring drapes, pipes and lights provided by
, rugs graciously lent by
, a bar cart by
and lamps and pillows from
, the temporary suite at the
in Downtown Los Angeles was carefully conceived by Laurence Cartledge and Melody Faircloth of
. While relaxing on
furniture donated and designed by Lauren Rottet, celebrities also received complimentary Rottet Collection by
candles and other specially designed gift bag goodies.“I’m pleased to say that we received many compliments on the design and furnishings. Many found it very elegant and befitting the vibe of the evening perfectly!” said designer Lauren Rottet, FAIA, FIIDA.We’d like to thank our sponsors and partners for helping us create a simple yet stunning space. We’d also like to extend a special thanks to all who stopped by in person or shared our Emmy excitement in sentiment! We are truly grateful for the opportunity to showcase new furniture pieces and exclusive scents from Rottet Collection and humbled by the positive feedback.
Emmy award-winning actor Courtney Vance celebrates a successful night with Lauren Rottet. (Photo by Willy Sanjuan/Invision for Backstage Creations/AP Images)
RC Candle
Outstanding Actress nominee Niecy Nash shares a laugh with Lauren Rottet. (Photo by Willy Sanjuan/Invision for Backstage Creations/AP Images)
Sarah WilliamsSarah Williams, wife of comedian, actor and show host Joel McHale, unwinds in the Backstage Creations Giving Suite Photo by Willy Sanjuan/Invision for Backstage Creations/AP Images)