Getting Away and Getting Inspired
Inspiration. Renewed focus and energy. Fresh new perspectives. These are some of the best souvenirs to bring home from vacation, and they don’t take up any room in your luggage. Getting away can be hugely beneficial when it comes to getting down to work - especially for Quorum staffers who are in the business of creating environments meant to enhance and enliven clients’ everyday lives.
In addition to rest and relaxation, travel also offers a window into the wider world and how people in other places live and work. Seeing how people from other cultures (and even other regions of the United States) interact with each other and the world around them can bring new perspective and meaning into our own lives.
Isola del Garda
Itsukushima Shrine, Japan
Masada, the Desert Fortress
Patty Potter, director of marketing for Quorum, says of travel, “I love that it’s not something you leave behind when you travel back home. You bring back everything you saw and experienced in the form of memories, so it’s a part of me now. I can’t help but be changed and have a fresh perspective about what I’m doing.”
Italy, Israel, Ireland, Japan, the Netherlands, the Caribbean, California, Colorado, Arizona, and Washington are just a few of the destinations that have recently inspired and energized Quorum employees. Creatives who spend their professional lives focused on spaces and places can’t help but come home from vacations with broadened horizons and fresh ideas to incorporate into their work.
“One’s destination is never a place, but a new way of seeing things.
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“On most trips the architecture, design and scenery is what inspires me. I believe travel is important for one to experience different cultures and lifestyles. Travel rejuvenates me, gives me clarity, and helps me generate new ideas that I can bring through in designs,” says Karin Taylor, director of interior design.
According to Doug Moon, AIA, principal at Quorum, “We may have different languages and environments, but we also approach issues and design problems similarly. We should continually look to other viewpoints and learn how to solve design issues using each other’s experiences.”
Principal Kim Dowdy says, “Traveling and seeing new things revitalizes you. And as architects, everywhere we go we always look up when we walk into a building.”
Quorum employees are encouraged to get out and see the world and to take breaks from their day-to-day work lives. “Rejuvenation is important in a service industry,” says Scott Wilson, AIA, principal. According to Potter, “I’m so grateful that I have a job where they encourage me to travel and take time off from work to do other things. I work because I enjoy it, but I also work to travel and visit friends in different parts of the world.” It’s an added bonus that personal adventures can bring professional benefit.
“What did you do on your summer vacation?” At Quorum this question isn’t just a grade-school conversation starter. It can also be the spark that ignites creativity, innovation and ideas right here at home.