“We think loosely as we’re putting the pieces of the puzzle together. As the pieces come together, we unite them with inspirational elements to create a functional, creative, complaint space.” ~ Joanne Boché

For Joanne Boché being creative within the constraints of compliance, functionality, innovation and deadlines is her default mode. The team at the architecture and interior design firm Roberts Boché Associates creates spaces for the workplace environment and also specializes in the design of medical facilities. For Joanne, the main purpose of creativity is to inspire those who are in the spaces designed by her team. For clients to feel welcome, for employees to feel great about the space they work in and to alleviate stress and fear for those visiting medical facilities, and to help them feel as calm as possible.

One of the ways they achieve this in medical facilities is by using the “Biophilia” hypothesis, the idea that humans possess an innate tendency to seek connections with nature and other forms of life. Psychoanalyst Erich Fromm described it as “the passionate love of life and all that is alive”. The RBA team creates this feeling of nature by using calming colors and providing visuals to the outdoors to bring nature inside of a space using artwork, ceiling tiles that look like the sky, a living wall with plants or even an LCD screen with swimming fish. “Way finding” using good signage, marking on the floors or wall colors that define an area help reduce stress for patients and families when they arrive at a medical facility and feel rushed, lost or frightened.

Since there are always compliance challenges of codes, required clearances, and life safety issues her team’s approach to creativity within constraints is to keep trying different ways to put the pieces together, like a puzzle. “The beginning stages are more about imagining, creating loose hand sketches or electronic CAD designs and then layering on functionality, shapes, movement within the space, and adding layers of colors, views, wall feature elements which are opportunities for something inspirational on the walls.” Creating impact with a logo wall, wood planking, accent paint, embellished wallcovering or other applied dimensional materials is essentially what sells the design.

Sometimes, after presenting a brilliant idea client’s budgets become constrained and the team has to get even more creative and dig deeper to salvage the idea. And to spark their creativity? Joanne and her team get their own inspiration from experiential educational events, touring other spaces, and learning about the newest types of fabrics, carpets, tiles and other materials and their collection of ideas on their Pinterest page.

Joanne’s advice on creativity in general? “Trust your intuition and don’t second guess yourself. The creativity ability is there”.

You can learn more about Joanne and her team, and see their Pinterest page of inspirations at www.robertsboche.com

Kerry Lee, a 25 year Benicia resident, is a Certified Intentional Creativity® Teacher and Coach, officiates creative ceremonies and weddings, leads group workshops, experiential retreats, mobile social painting parties, customized corporate team building and corporate social responsibility events. Find her at KerryLeeArt.com / #TheAlchemicalArtist

Sharing is caring!