These are the designs for a synagogue expansion in the Akron area. Set to begin construction in late spring of 2010. These images only reflect the approved designs for the Ark and the memorial wall. The plans are to use Jerusalem stone on the new Ark and possibly incorporate the materials from the existing Ark to create other elements in the design.
How do you brand a building? Especially when the entire building was designed by the architect to reflect the logo of the company that was to occupy it? We were approached last year to create a presentation for a bank project in the Middle East. We never expected to see any results from it, but thought that it would be a good exercise. Think of it as a purely academic exercise in branding and signage, we came up with a few ideas that we thought were interesting and met the desires of the client. We went a little crazy, but feedback from the client was very positive.
We started by trying to highlight the color scheme of the bank’s brand. One idea was to put two beacons on the roof of the building in the colors of the company’s logo:
Other ideas for the outside of the building included lighting to highlight the logo design of the building itself. We especially liked the LED net of lights that would alternate the colors of the company brand, but could also be programmed to change for any particular festival, holiday or celebration that might take place. The entrance to the building would feature a huge LED screen that could broadcast advertising, messaging or other information. 
The interior wayfinding signage would be deeply etched glass over dark stained wood panels.
Interior offices and conference rooms would feature movable walls of glass and wooden panels. The glass would be etched with a variety of branding messages from a simple logo to a variety of words that reflect the core values of the company, and offering varying degrees of privacy.
I wrote before about the plans to turn a defunct grocery store into a new grocer and distribution center. Among the plans for the site are a cafe, organic produce, green paper goods, and wholesale distribution. Think Costco meets Whole Foods. Adaptive reuse of the existing building means less wasted empty real estate. Among the things discussed were solar power, geothermal, bio fuels, waterless urinals, tying to the bike path, storm water management, and grey water reuse. Here are a few of the preliminary renderings for the project just to wet your appetite.
Model of the Oberlin site
one look at the inside
Robert's Twitter 
