The story behind our human-centered research

The LAB at BKSK exists to instigate and propel meaningful research and discourse. We encourage you to join our open dialogue.

At BKSK, we are guided by the philosophy that great design has meaning and consequence. We believe that what we build, how we build it, and how it comes to be used matters. And we have experienced, first hand, the powerful and growing network of design thinkers who strive for higher performing, longer lasting, and more holistically delightful spaces.

We also believe that to build this better future, and to nurture our planet today, we need to work together. The LAB is our platform for facilitating this collaboration, both within and outside of our studio. It is our means for empowering the building industry to achieve greater environmental and societal impacts. With the right tools and a dash of courage, all designers have the capacity to be disruptive changemakers. The LAB is here to catalyze the change.

Propelled by partner-in-charge Julie Nelson, the LAB’s resources include in-depth analyses of design strategies, building material investigations, curated inspirations, evaluations of industry practices, and select third-party research. We explore these resources through human-centered themes that blur the boundaries between projects, disciplines, and geographies. Our explorations are roughly organized into nine Syntaxes, or nine frameworks for understanding how design impacts our world.

As we continue to rigorously unpack the link between the built environment, natural environment, and human condition, we will share our findings and our questions here. Through the LAB, we encourage you to read, to learn, to laugh, and to interrogate. And above all, we encourage you to join our open dialogue.