CUEMA x MONTEREY x JANA ITZEN
Jana was recently a speaker at CUEMA's Annual Leadership Conference in Monterey, CA. So you may be asking, what does an architect speak about to a room full of California's Water District Executive Managers? How about, Architecture's Role in Transforming Organizational Culture. There are many factors to change, and architecture is a vital part of the equation. Supporting and inspiring change.
Deep questions like "Why is CULTURE important?" and "Who does it affect?" were addressed alongside bold ideas of "identifying a new value system or vision." It was great. However, I have to believe some in attendance were asking themselves how this all has to do with architecture. So, Jana then brought in the inspiration of Zappos.com CEO Tony Hsieh and his efforts to use architecture as a key component of revitalizing the old downtown Las Vegas. Hsieh is known to say, “If you get the culture right, most of the other stuff will just take care of itself.” Well said Tony. Well said.
Perhaps the most engaging portion of her session was the Case Study. ITZEN worked with General Manager Ken Deck and the Rowland Water District to transform their customer experience in the Lobby/Payment area as well as the functionality of their Boardroom. Coming soon is a full writeup on the Project along with visuals on our Portfolio page, but here is a quick glimpse at a couple areas of interest with the RWD project.
During the question and answer period Jana even let me in on the action to talk about design as an iterative process. Involving not just the "design team", but most importantly the client as well.
Martin Querin of the City of San Jose toasting before we enjoy the amazing halibut catered at the Monterey Bay Aquaruim.
Just just because...
On Weathering...
Can you spot the architects in the photo?
And lastly, a big thank you to the entire CUEMA Board Members for inviting us to share and engage with you in Monterey. We're looking forward to next year!
And Drew, thank you for sharing your photography to make this post all the more interesting!
photos: TRESPASS Photography