fbpx

2023 Design Trends: Designing The World of Tomorrow

The ways in which we live, move, and work are changing fast, and we, at Optima®, believe that up-and-coming architectural trends continue to address many of the challenges faced in modern life. Some solutions focus on more space, more storage, less clutter, and more flexibility. Others address affordable rent, resistance to climate change, and sustainability. These trends, along with a  myriad of others, inspire us and those who are at the forefront of designing the world of tomorrow. Here are some of the trends on the horizon in 2023.

Biophilic Urbanism

Biophilia, a term coined by Erich Fromm in 1964, is the human interaction and appreciation for nature. In 2023, this trend is continually on the rise as we seek to develop buildings that are ecologically friendly in their use of resources. Biophilic design can revolutionize the way we manage stress, increase productivity within offices and educational spaces, and improve mental health, through the use of nature inside and outside of buildings.

While biophilic design is very much at the forefront of architectural trends, it has been central to our work at Optima for decades. Our passionate connection between the built environment and nature continues to be as fluid as it is concrete, reflected in our signature innovation of vertical landscaping. The widespread adoption of this essential design principle, we are excited to welcome others into the process of bringing people and nature closer together.

Sonoran Village®
Optima Sonoran Village®, Vertical Landscaping

Modular Construction

Modular construction has been at the forefront of Optima’s DCHGLOBAL Building System since its conception in 2009 . We began our experimentation with modular construction with Relic Rock, reflecting our commitment to building homes flexibly — in horizontal and vertical directions — sustainably and efficiently anywhere, anytime. 

As part of the broader architectural community seeking modular solutions around the globe, we’re excited by the opportunity to celebrate sustainability and versatility as core values at Optima, while ensuring enduring aesthetics and affordability.

Sonoran Desert, AZ
Relic Rock, Sonoran Desert, AZ

Smart Materials

Through the integration of smart devices in our homes, cars, phones, and wrists comes Smart Materials. Recent developments provide that these materials could eventually respond to changes in pressure, temperature, moisture, and UV radiation, giving architects unfathomable flexibility. Along with an expanded toolkit for designing and building.

Our respect for materiality and space is important for the 360-degree approach to sustainability, and the inclusion of these new and unexplored materials gets us excited about their potential for the environment at large. Part of our role at Optima has been ensuring the environment remains protected with the inclusion of smart materials such as bird glass or green concrete within many of our buildings.

Bird glass
Bird Safe Glass

Community-Centered Design

It is a universal truth that the built environment functions better if those who use it are involved in the process of creation. Designing buildings with community in mind makes for rich and diverse environments where people can be themselves, while also giving them a sense of ownership in the places where they live, play, and work.  As we enter 2023, we are seeing greater collaboration between architects, developers and their communities across the globe — much the way Optima has partnered with the cities, villages and neighborhoods where we have put down roots for more than 40 years.

 

An Inside Look at Architect Lingo, Part V

Interior of Relic Rock, Optima DCHGlobal, demonstrating the Corbusian principle of the free ground plan
Interior of Relic Rock, Optima DCHGlobal, demonstrating the Corbusian principle of the free ground plan

An intricate and technical field, the world of architecture produces a unique dictionary of jargon all its own. At Optima, our team works in a highly collaborative atmosphere where we all, from architects to property managers to construction superintendents, share ideas and hold conversations across disciplines — so naturally we all encounter the lingo of our architects. As part of our ongoing series “An Inside Look at Architect Lingo,” today we continue to decode the secret language that we’ve all come to know and love.

Corbusian

Just like the word Miesian from our previous installment in this series, Corbusian is a homological word that nearly explains itself. It refers to anything of, pertaining to, or characteristic of the Swiss architect Le Corbusier. Of the many narratives and philosophies he published, Le Corbusier famously published the seminal L’Espirit Nouveau in 1920, revealing his famous “five points of architecture.”

These five points include the pilots (a grid of concrete or steel columns replaces the load-bearing walls), the roof garden (vegetation or landscaping that covers a rooftop), the free ground plan (the absence of load-bearing walls allows flexible use of the living space, which can be divided by screen elements), the horizontal windows (cut through the non-load-bearing walls along the facade and provide the apartment with even light), and the free façade (pen and closed sections on the façade enable the separation and connection of the exterior design from the building structure). Anything including these characteristics, then is Corbusian.

Rendering of Optima Verdana
Rendering of Optima Verdana

Mullion 

As exotic as the word sounds, the definition for mullion is pretty simple. A mullion is any vertical element that forms a division between units of a window, door, or screen. This division can be both functional or purely decorational. When dividing adjacent window units, the primary purpose of a mullion is to provide a rigid support to the glazing of the window. 

In Modernist architecture then, where endless glass curtain walls abound, the mullion becomes an integral part of maintaining the structural integrity of these all-glass fixtures. 

Muntin

Muntin is not to be confused with the above mullion, though the two do share similarities. Muntin refers to a rabbeted (or recessed) member for holding edges of window panes within a window sash. Muntins are also sometimes called glazing bars or sash bars. These days, muntins are often decorative in nature, ranging from the simple to the complex – often a counterintuitive design element in Modernist disciplines.

However, as you might recall from our blog on the history of glass, at one point in time it was extremely rare to obtain large panes of glass. Everything was built by patching very small and very expensive panes of glass together, and in this context, muntins were extremely critical.

Stay tuned for future features on the world of architecture lingo at Optima.

Optima Sculpture Spotlight: Kiwi

A subtle but enhancing feature of many Optima projects, our sculptures adorn courtyards, amenity floors and common spaces. David Hovey Sr’s devotion to space and form translates from architecture to three-dimensional pieces, which are placed throughout our buildings to add a distinct aesthetic flair to our Modernist spaces. 

Greeting both residents and visitors at the entrance of Optima Signature, the sculpture Kiwi was named after the same bird native to New Zealand, where David Hovey Sr was born. Although the sculpture is reminiscent of an animal, Hovey’s vision was something much more abstract. Starting out as a handful of freehand drawings, the sculpture was layered until it formed a tall, stacked piece. Set against the bold red of Optima Signature, Kiwi’s bright yellow color pops amidst the neutral-toned buildings within downtown Chicago. 

A yellow abstract sculpture, Kiwi, stands before Optima Signature.

The finishing touch on Kiwi’s Optima Signature location was installation; the base was carefully cemented into the ground to protect it from the bustle of downtown and the intense Chicago weather. Aside from its prominent location at Optima Signature, Kiwi is also featured at Relic Rock and Whale Bay House

David Hovey Sr’s passion for sculpture reflects our collective passion for enhancing the spaces we build and exploring new interpretations of form, color and design. Stay tuned for more features on our other sculpture pieces. 

person name goes here

Maintenance Supervisor

Glencoe, IL





    Acceptable file types: *.pdf | *.txt | *.doc, max-size: 2Mb