I didn’t imagine that I’d spend so much of my time in my new job talking about the bathroom. But here we are midway through my first year at the Siebel Center for Design, and bathrooms have made for a couple of really formative experiences. …

I’m building a dorm room in my office. I’m constructing a loft bed, hooking up a PS4, and hanging some posters — in the quietest, most corporate building I’ve ever worked in. I’ve asked for a standard-issue student desk and the most uncomfortable chair the facilities staff can find. Why…