The Agati Video Podcast

Libraries today are so much more than book storage. They’re community hubs. Study rooms, children’s programming, craft clubs, and more all share space with thousands of books.

In this episode, Curtis Hoff and Mike Ryan of Diversified Storage Solutions share their design expertise. Their work spans libraries, schools, universities, and museums. You’ll hear how they use space-optimizing storage to meet modern needs.

Key Takeaways:

• “You’re not just looking at shelving anymore. It kind of disappears into the space.”
• “We try to give the customer what is the best thing for them. And if that’s us, great. And if it’s not, that’s also okay.”
• “We can almost double, sometimes triple, the storage capacity of these spaces.”
• “Always pay attention to the details.”

About the Guests:
Curtis Hoff is a Storage Consultant and Mike Ryan is a Project Designer with Diversified Storage Solutions. They advise on and design spaces for schools, libraries, museums, athletic facilities, and more. Most recently, Agati worked with DSS on the William Penn Charter School.

Links:

• Diversified Storage Solutions
• Agati Library Shelving

When architects design a library or courthouse, they have to meet modern technology, regulatory, and safety requirements. But what about the feeling these spaces are meant to create?

Barry Hoffmann, founder and principal architect of Hoffmann Architectural in Searcy, Arkansas, works through that question on every project. With over 25 years in architecture and design, he focuses on understanding each client's needs and bringing traditional character and modern function together in the same space.

In this episode, Barry talks with Joe Agati about making decisions on projects with complex requirements. Barry discusses designing civic spaces meant to last for generations, and the lessons he's learned over a decades-long career. He also discusses his work with Agati on the White County Justice Center.

Links:

• See the White County Justice Center installation: https://www.agati.com/installation-gallery/white-county-justice-center/
• Watch the full conversation on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dn33Jzfho4Y

Toni Gocke Wyre understands that in design, you have needs of a community to meet, the maintenance systems that keep a space beautiful over time, and the sense of worth people feel when they use a space built with them in mind.

As Director of the Interior Design Program and Clinical Instructor at the University of Arkansas and Principal-Owner at DesignWyre Studio, she brings award-winning experience across education, healthcare, and corporate interiors, work that has earned her recognition as one of Arkansas Business' Top 40 Under 40 and a Woman to Watch.

In this conversation, Toni and the Agati team explore how design shapes the way people see themselves and their community, from the hierarchy expressed in a courtroom to the quiet power of a student walking into a space and realizing it was made for them. She makes the case for widening the circle of stakeholders to include the facility managers, custodians, and everyday users who live with a space long after the ribbon is cut, and shares the design trends carrying over from healthcare into schools and public buildings today.

Drawing on projects including the White County Justice Center, Toni shows what it looks like to give the people who use a space a real seat at the table.

AGATI Director of Design and COO, Joe Agati Jr. visited Madison College where Facilities Designer, Ally Adams, proudly took Joe around campus to see the variety of areas these higher ed study carrels are serving students.

After the tour, they sat down in a school-color-scheme inspired geometric-patterned POD Duo for our latest AGATI Video Podcast Episode discussing Ally's background and 26 years of experience furnishing higher ed study spaces. AND to hear her perspective, firsthand, on the problems POD Duos are solving for students on campus!

Watch this brief 3-minute Video Short as Ally shares why she’s been a POD Study Carrel repeat customer for the last 7 years & counting! 

• After testing a few, the student demand for POD Duo Higher Ed Study Carrels was so high, more had to be installed throughout the college.
• POD Duos provide flexible, community-building higher ed study carrels for both introverts and extroverts to study, meet, and engage outside the classroom.
• Flexible for solo or group use, they take up little extra space than a single user carrel, and are easy for staff to move.
• Durable with ZERO reported structural or reupholstery issues EVER.

Madison College is the largest owner of the AGATI POD Duo Study Carrel in the nation. 

AGATI is the leading expert in designing Higher Ed Study Carrels.

Check out the POD Duo Product Page here.

See more Higher Ed Study Carrels here.

Discuss your project with an Agati Furniture expert here: 

AGATI’s Director of Design and COO, Joe Agati Jr. visited Madison College where Facilities Designer, Ally Adams, proudly took Joe around the various campus areas with POD Duos, the study booths for two students.

After the tour, they sat down in a school-color-scheme inspired geometric-patterned POD Duo for our latest AGATI Video Podcast Episode discussing Ally’s background and 26 years of experience furnishing higher ed study spaces. 

Watch our on-site Podcast Episode to learn valuable insights from Ally and Joe’s conversation. And to hear her perspective, firsthand, on the problems POD Duos are solving for students on campus!

Why is Madison College is the largest owner of the AGATI POD Duo Study Carrel in the nation? 

• After testing a few POD Duos, the student demand for these study booths for two students was so high, more had to be installed throughout the college.
• They provide flexible, community-building for both introverts and extroverts to study, meet, and engage outside the classroom.
• Flexible for solo or group use, take up little extra space than a single carrel, and are easy for staff to move.
• Durable with ZERO reported structural or reupholstery issues EVER.
 
AGATI is the leading expert in designing study booths for two students.

Check out the POD Duo Product Page here: https://www.agati.com/product/pod-duo-study-carrels/    

See more Higher Ed Furniture here: https://www.agati.com/product-type/study-carrels/  

Discuss your project with an Agati Furniture expert here: https://www.agati.com/contact-us/ 

As human needs evolve, public spaces such as airports must adapt to meet those needs. Passenger experience is ever so important and must be considered while planning and designing airports. In this AGATI Video Shortcast, Joe Agati Jr., Director of Design at AGATI Furniture, sits down with aviation architecture experts to explore how they’re improving the airport passenger experience journey—one design choice at a time.

Watch the short video ON UPGRADING AIRPORT PASSENGER EXPERIENCE AS TOLD BY AIRPORT ARCHITECTS AND DESIGNERS:

• John Groves, Senior Interior Designer at AECOM, collaborated with Agati on the Boston Logan International Airport project.
• Derrick Choi, Aviation Leader at Gensler, brings nearly two decades of aviation architecture expertise, with a portfolio spanning from airport cities to private general aviation hangars.
• Matt Dubbe, National Design & Market Leader at Mead & Hunt, worked with Agati on Glacier Park Airport, Eastern Iowa Airport, and Grand Island Airport.

WANT TO BROWSE AGATI’S AIRPORT EXPERIENCE?

Click here to see AGATI’s Airport page.

READY TO REQUEST INFORMATION FROM OUR EXPERTS?

Click here for personalized assistance with your airport.

Courthouse design involves a balance of functionality, aesthetics, and safety. From 10 years of specializing in justice facility design, Michelle Graham, project architect at DLR Group, knows how to meet every requirement.

Listen to the short audio for Michelle Graham and Joe Agati Jr.’s quick tips on designing a courtroom facility, including:

• Collaboration with judges is imperative throughout the design process since they’re the ones who know the most about their courtroom needs.
• Furniture can set the right tone within the courtroom.
• Thoughtful design choices can serve as a powerful tool for justice reform, removing the oppressive nature of courtrooms in favor of something more welcoming.
• Courtroom furniture creates physical separation and a sense of equity in the space.

Watch the full length podcast on The Role of Architecture and Design on Effective Justice Facilities.

WANT TO BROWSE AGATI’S COURTROOM EXPERIENCE?

Click here to see AGATI’s courtroom page.

READY TO REQUEST INFORMATION FROM OUR EXPERTS?
Click here for personalized assistance with your courtroom.

Joe had the opportunity to talk with several guests about how a library redesign project has gone from ideation to implementation. Each of our guests, including our team here at Agati, have been working together on an incredible redesign of the John C. Hitt Library at the University of Central Florida, which has been in the works since 2003.

To help take a deeper look at this redesign is Frank Allen, Senior Associate Director of the John C. Hitt Library; Amanda Rienth, a Principal at Steinberg Hart with extensive expertise in both public and academic libraries; and Delia Nevola, the Principal-in-Charge of the project with Steinberg Hart with expertise in higher education, library spaces, and more.

In this conversation, we discussed the history of this library redesign project, what has been working now that they’re utilizing the redesigned space, and what lessons were learned from such a robust project.

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🎧 Prefer to watch? You can catch every podcast conversation on our YouTube channel!

👉  You don’t have to sacrifice design for durability. Learn how Agati Furniture design for human behavior through innovative furniture solutions: https://www.agati.com/

👍  Don't forget to SUBSCRIBE so you don't miss any future conversations we share on the Agati Video Podcast!

👉  Check out the show notes for this episode: https://www.agati.com/blog/allen-rienth-nevola-26

Today, Joe is joined by Toni Lombardozzi, who he met at this year’s ALA Annual Conference in San Diego, for a conversation about a ten-year project to update several library facilities in Charleston, SC. Toni is the project manager at Charleston County Public Library in Charleston, SC. Combining fifteen years in the design and construction industry and close to a decade of working specifically with libraries, Toni carries a unique cross-discipline perspective on the realities of translating library needs into physical spaces.

In this conversation, we discuss what Toni and her team considered when choosing furniture for their facilities, what they are considering for contextual design for various communities, lessons learned in undertaking a project that has spanned 10 years, common roadblocks they’ve encountered, and more.

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🎧 Prefer to watch? You can catch every podcast conversation on our YouTube channel!

👉  You don’t have to sacrifice design for durability. Learn how Agati Furniture design for human behavior through innovative furniture solutions: https://www.agati.com/

👍  Don't forget to SUBSCRIBE so you don't miss any future conversations we share on the Agati Video Podcast!

👉  Check out the show notes for this episode: https://www.agati.com/blog/toni-lombardozzi-25

Today, Joe is joined by Michelle Graham for a conversation about architecture and design in justice facilities. Michelle is a project architect at DLR Group, a firm committed to elevating human experience through design. Michelle holds a Master of Architecture from Tulane University and is a licensed architect and designer with a focus on justice facilities, including corrections facilities and courthouses.

In this conversation, we discuss the compelling nature of courthouse architecture, how architecture can play a role in justice reform and bring comfort to people on their most difficult days, the role furniture has in creating feelings of safety between separate parties, and more.

//

🎧 Prefer to watch? You can catch every podcast conversation on our YouTube channel!

👉  You don’t have to sacrifice design for durability. Learn how Agati Furniture design for human behavior through innovative furniture solutions: https://www.agati.com/

👍  Don't forget to SUBSCRIBE so you don't miss any future conversations we share on the Agati Video Podcast!

👉  Check out the show notes for this episode: https://www.agati.com/blog/michelle-graham-24/