Defining a Loft...

A floor consisting of a large unpartitioned space over a factory or warehouse or other commercial space.

Raw Loft
A loft space that is unfinished. A raw loft may not include a kitchen, toilet or sink. If the loft lacks a bathroom than communal facilities would be available. Most newly renovated "raw" lofts include their own bathroom. Raw is used to describe a loft with no or few amenities. In a raw loft everything from heating and plumbing pipes to brick walls and wiring will be exposed. However, raw lofts can still be spectacular on the inside, especially after some tender-loving care. The view, high ceilings and lighting may be enticing, and the potential can be endless.

Hard Loft
The conversion of buildings to lofts - result in what is known as the "hard loft." These are buildings with history and character. They have a harder edge of either concrete construction, or "mill" construction of exposed old brick and original wood posts, beams and floors and / or heavy timber construction. They will have the original exposed ductwork, electrical, and plumbing which are features used to complement the décor. Hard lofts are what people typically think of when they picture a loft, leave plenty of room for creativity.

New Hard Loft
With the high demand for lofts and the lack of available buildings suitable for authentic industrial style loft conversion, we now have "new hard " lofts. Loft developers say the four main features that define a loft are the high ceilings, open spaces, exposed building materials and big windows. Developers are now replicating these main features. New hard lofts will duplicate the authentic details of a hard loft with the additional improvement of being more energy efficient.

Soft Loft (Upscale)
This upscale style loft will have partitioned bedrooms with walls that may reach the ceiling. Soft lofts are usually found in newly constructed loft buildings. Soft lofts will tend to look more like traditional apartments and are usually more energy efficient than a hard loft. They have the elements of a hard loft but with softer edges. The softer edges may include carpet covering the floors and drywall encasements hiding the ductwork, electrical, and plumbing. Some may have walls that may not reach the ceiling, which are sometimes called three-quarter length.

BI-LEVEL LOFT
A Bi-level loft is a loft that has a second mezzanine level that overlooks the floor below. A loft does not necessarily have to have 2 levels.

Generation X'ers and Y'ers

~this is an article I Found at Law Practice Today Online,
It offered some really info on genreation X and Y, and there differences.
Which are the subject of Our next Project, Hipster Haven.




Generation X and The Millennials: What You Need to Know About Mentoring the New Generations
by Diane Thielfoldt and Devon Scheef
August 2004
Which of the following means the most to you?

• Elvis joins the Army.
• Jimi Hendrix dies
• MTV debuts.
• Kurt Cobain dies.

Your answer, of course, depends on your age—or more specifically, on the generation you belong to. While pop music milestones may not seem all that important, the sum total of experiences, ideas and values shared by people of different generations makes for a melting pot of work approaches and priorities. Once you understand where the newer generations are "coming from," as a Boomer (born 1946-1964) might say, it’s easy to target your mentoring style to bring out their strengths and make the most progress. Remember to discard biases and pre-conceived notions, and you and your mentees from all generations enjoy your generational differences—and similarities!

Generation X	Millennials
Born 1965-1976 51 million	Born 1977 – 1998 75 million
Accept diversity Pragmatic/practical Self-reliant/individualistic Reject rules Killer life Mistrust institutions PC Use technology Multitask Latch-key kids Friend-not family	Celebrate diversity Optimistic/realistic Self-inventive/individualistic Rewrite the rules Killer lifestyle Irrelevance of institutions Internet Assume technology Multitask fast Nurtured Friends = family
Mentoring Do’s · Casual, friendly work environment · Involvement · Flexibility and freedom · A place to learn	Mentoring Do’s · Structured, supportive work environment · Personalized work · Interactive relationship · Be prepared for demands, high expectations

Source: The Learning Café and American Demographics enterprisingmuseum 2003.

Generation X: Declaring their Independence

The 51 million members of Generation X, born between 1965 and 1976, grew up in a very different world than previous generations. Divorce and working moms created "latchkey" kids out of many in this generation. This led to traits of independence, resilience and adaptability. Generation X feels strongly that "I don't need someone looking over my shoulder."

At the same time, this generation expects immediate and ongoing feedback, and is equally comfortable giving feedback to others. Other traits include working well in multicultural settings, desire for some fun in the workplace and a pragmatic approach to getting things done.

Generation X saw their parents get laid off or face job insecurity. Many of them also entered the workplace in the early '80s, when the economy was in a downturn. Because of these factors, they've redefined loyalty. Instead of remaining loyal to their company, they have a commitment to their work, to the team they work with, and the boss they work for. For example, a Baby Boomer complains about his dissatisfaction with management, but figures its part of the job. A Gen Xer doesn't waste time complaining-she sends her resume out and accepts the best offer she can find at another organization.

At the same time, Generation X takes employability seriously. But for this generation there isn't a career ladder. There's a career lattice. They can move laterally, stop and start, their career is more fluid.

Even more so than Baby Boomers, members of Generation X dislike authority and rigid work requirements. An effective mentoring relationship with them must be as hands-off as possible. Providing feedback on their performance should play a big part, as should encouraging their creativity and initiative to find new ways to get tasks done. As a mentor, you'll want Gen Xers to work with you, not for you. Start by informing them of your expectations and how you'll measure their progress and assure them that you're committed to helping them learn new skills. (Members of Generation X are eager to learn new skills because they want to stay employable.) Gen Xers work best when they're given the desired outcome and then turned loose to figure out how to achieve it. This means a mentor should guide them with feedback and suggestions, not step-by-step instructions.

The Millennial Generation: Up and Coming

Just beginning to enter the workplace, The Millennial Generation was born between 1977 and 1998. The 75 million members of this generation are being raised at the most child-centric time in our history. Perhaps it's because of the showers of attention and high expectations from parents that they display a great deal of self-confidence to the point of appearing cocky. As you might expect, this group is technically literate like no one else. Technology has always been part of their lives, whether it's computers and the Internet or cell phones and text pagers.

Millennials are typically team-oriented, banding together to date and socialize rather than pairing off. They work well in groups, preferring this to individual endeavors. They're good multitaskers, having juggled sports, school, and social interests as children so expect them to work hard. Millennials seem to expect structure in the workplace. They acknowledge and respect positions and titles, and want a relationship with their boss. This doesn't always mesh with Generation X's love of independence and hands-off style.

All Millennials have one thing in common: They are new to the professional workplace. Therefore, they are definitely in need of mentoring, no matter how smart and confident they are. And they'll respond well to the personal attention. Because they appreciate structure and stability, mentoring Millennials should be more formal, with set meetings and a more authoritative attitude on the mentor's part.

Provide lots of challenges but also provide the structure to back it up. This means breaking down goals into steps, as well as offering any necessary resources and information they'll need to meet the challenge. You might consider mentoring Millennials in groups, because they work so well in team situations. That way they can act as each other's resources or peer mentors.

Top

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Diane Thielfoldt and Devon Scheef are the co-founders of The Learning Café. They collaborate with clients to make peace with multiple workplace generations, create leadership development initiatives, and craft mentoring initiatives that work.

Their work on generational issues is featured in the thought-leadership compendium Human Resources in the 21st Century, published by John Wiley & Sons Inc. Their breakthrough advice on generations in the workplace is featured in Love ‘Em or Lose ‘Em: Getting Good People to Stay. They are the co-authors of Mentoring: A How-To Guide published by the American Society for Training & Development, and their popular Talks on Talent have provided practical guidance
on making mentoring work to thousands of business people worldwide.

Living Waters- Bathing and Culture

Precedence: For my cultural model for bathing I choose Judaism and my specifically the act of Baptism, its symbolism and processes. Through Baptism Judaism has used "living water" ( water from nature ) to cleanse the spirit to show acceptance of God in their lives and as an act of purifying the soul from sin. Water in this is not only therapeutic for the soul but for the mental and physical as religion has been know to influence these.

Baptism a poem by Aumdoc

bathing in several spaces,

blending and mingling,

to cleanse old and new

fragranced and balanced,

primal tub of salted fluid,

mingles with my cells essence

a font in the night,

baptism of fluid moonlight,

and shadow

the fluid conforms to my body,

the moonlight envelopes my soul,

the shadow is my true self

old, old eyes.... yet a knew vision,

soaking and opening,

tales told and told.... the story unfolds

One of the things more specifically that was considered in my design process is a river as living water... In the Southern part of the US many baptisms have taken place in rivers and I developed my design on the idea of a river baptism and the idea as well that at a baptism event community id brought together to celebrate a dedication of ones self to ones beliefs.

Perspective of Living Waters Community Center: This area is where all therapeutic bathing occurs for everyone, friends and family gather here to have public and private conversation , privacy offered by the copper enveloped spaces provides for a more secluded space in a very public facility.Ramps are provided so that all can access all areas of bathing space and assistance is available when requested.

Floor Plan: the flow of traffic is very linear which gives you the since that you are going somewhere very specific and this journey is very special because you cannot enter the water spaces at just any point , you must go through the space which also encourages interaction between everyone.




Section of entrance and pool beginnings: This space is where you enter and exit the bathing area and may proceed to exit the center "Spa" it is equipped with a warm bath for those who prefer not to dip into the cold pool.

Elevation the length of the space : Show cool pool area where there is whee chair access and water levels of only 3 feet for easy play and wave action. The area is also equipped with seating space on both sides that offers a place to rest and relax.




Elevation of Curtain Wall and exit to other areas of the Center" Spa": In this 4.5 ' deep wall are 2 water falls that carry 60% living water to the pools in the space. also here is a tree encased in in the wall that acts a visual reminder of life and the power of water. The tree also acts as a visual aid to bring your eyes up to the ceiling to the unique track lighting installed.


Reflective Ceiling Plan: Shows layout of meandering track lighting (like the meandering of a river) and recessed and sky lighting that is in the space.


The final Perspective is of the Copper secluded swimming areas, these areas are the conversation spots of the facility with a circular shape they promote communication for group or individuals who require a more private place to relax.



FF&E:

Flooring: Dark Brown Corkin passageways and concrete flooring in pools
Walls :
Curtain wall : Mosaic tile
All others: polished and painted concrete. with with 4x 4 tiles throught in Cobalt blue and white.
Railing throughout space: Black painted stainless steel
Private bathing space:
Walls: sealed Copper
Seating: Keranji hardwood
Hardware:
Door Handles: round steel wire pull handle

Sketch Model of Secluded Space for bathing: