Commercial Interior Designers: David Hacin On How To Design Office Spaces That People Love To Work In

Accommodate different work styles and provide options for flexible arrangements such as breakout spaces and hoteling. One size does not fit all and it is worth the time to research up front what a company’s specific needs are.

As part of our series called “How To Design Office Spaces That People Love To Work In”, we had the pleasure of interviewing David J. Hacin, FAIA.

David J. Hacin, FAIA is the Founding Principal and Creative Director of Hacin, an interdisciplinary architecture and design firm founded in Boston in 1993. Along with a 30+ person team dedicated to design excellence and client service, David has received extensive media coverage and over 80 regional, national, and international awards in recognition of the studio’s broad portfolio of architecture, interior design, graphics, and branding. With more than 35 years of professional experience, he has been personally recognized for his public service to the City of Boston and received numerous awards for his contributions to design.

Thank you so much for joining us in this series! Before we dive in, our readers would love to learn a bit more about you. Can you tell us a story about what brought you to this specific career path?

I am the son of a Swiss architect and was indoctrinated into the architecture and design world from the start. Fortunately, I found it was my true calling and my work has provided a deeply fulfilling career. My parents were located between two continents, and I ultimately decided to practice in the US upon graduation- Boston was the perfect city to bridge the American-European divide for me.

Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you started this career?

A thirty-year career in architecture inevitably leads to thousands of stories, and they are all interesting for different reasons to different people. Instinctively, I’ve gone with my gut on who to work with and what projects to work on. Without going into too much detail, when I didn’t do that and rationalized trying to work with someone I didn’t connect with on a personal level, it proved to be disastrous. Fortunately, I learned that lesson early on so most of my stories are about making new friends.

It has been said that sometimes our mistakes can be our greatest teachers. Can you share a story about a mistake you made when you were first starting and a lesson you learned from that?

To piggyback on my previous answer, I believe it’s also important to know what you know and know what you don’t know. What I’ve learned is that I’m not a general contractor or a structural engineer, or a landscape architect, but I make it a point to surround myself with really good ones.

Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?

I have two life lesson quotes: my father always made us ask ourselves “what’s so great about being right, if it makes everyone’s life miserable?” and my mother has always reminded me that life is not a dress rehearsal. In other words, show up.

None of us are able to achieve success without some help along the way. Is there a particular person who you are grateful towards who helped get you to where you are? Can you share a story about that?

When thinking about who helped me get to where I am, a number of people come to mind who had the faith to hire me in the absence of experience and just believed in me. This includes my sister who enabled me to open my new firm with a commission for a house, and a number of other clients along the way who jumpstarted our practice. They were all risk-takers and, in that sense, mentors.

What are some of the most interesting or exciting projects you are working on now? How do you think that might help people?

As always, we have a wide variety of projects being designed in our office, including senior housing, historic preservation, restaurants, and more. What I’m particularly excited about right now are projects that compel us to learn new things as a firm. As examples, we’re currently designing a mass timber project, which we’ve never done before, as well as developing homes under the new Massachusetts energy code and working on our first multi-phase residential community. These are all things that require stretching and learning and I find it’s not always about the most glamorous projects, but the ones that help you learn something new (because if you’re not learning, you’re dying).

Thank you for that. Here is the main question of our discussion. What are your “Five Things You Should Do To Design Office Spaces That People Love To Work In” and why. Please share a story or example for each.

1. Hire good people who are engaged and excited about the work they’re doing. Designers have to enjoy their own work in order to design workplaces that others will enjoy.

2. The physical office space itself is obviously important for many reasons, but its location in the community is also important. We’ve always been connected to our neighborhood and our studio is about more than just its physical space but it’s also its place within our neighborhood of the South End and the SoWa Art + Design District. In the same way, when designing an office space, think about how the employees will be able to connect to the office’s surroundings.

3. Accommodate different work styles and provide options for flexible arrangements such as breakout spaces and hoteling. One size does not fit all and it is worth the time to research up front what a company’s specific needs are.

4. Recognize that any office design is a moment in time and that it will change. What’s right for right now might not be right next year and success sometimes means being willing to pivot. Recently at our office, we have started experimenting with adding more private spaces and just installed our first phone booth. We don’t believe in “once and for all” answers and keep relationships with clients open after project completion so we can help them adjust to new needs.

5. Create spaces for enjoying wine and cheese at the end of the day. It works for my crew.

You are a person of great influence. If you could start a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. :-)

I’m passionate about demystifying the language of design and creating more opportunities for equity and inclusivity in our industry, providing ways for everyone to participate. Good design should not only be for the very elite but should be treated as a basic need.

We are very blessed that some of the biggest names in Business, VC funding, Sports, and Entertainment read this column. Is there a person in the world, or in the US whom you would love to have a private breakfast or lunch with, and why? He or she might see this, especially if we tag them :-)

I’m interested in people who are bridge-builders and in the highly polarized environment that we’re in right now, I’ve been taken by people like Isaac Saul of Tangle who are trying to help us cut through the noise, connect, and see each other in authentic ways.

How can our readers further follow your work online?

You can keep up to date with what’s happening at our firm by following us on social media at @hacindesign or our website, www.hacin.com. Additionally, I’ve recently been contributing to Common Edge and you can read my essays here.

Thank you so much for joining us. This was very inspirational!

And thank you so much for the opportunity!