In mid 1979, Gail and I left Kansas City and moved to Boulder, Colorado via a summer in Washington DC. The plan was not to go to Boulder but to California to build a retreat center (Work #64). This project fell through at the very last minute. I designed my first environment explicitly intended for a new way of working that summer in DC (Work #65) - this project also fell through. It was then that Gail and I moved to Boulder and started what is now MG Taylor Corporation. Our first environment was built in 1980 (Work #73).

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Ca
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Matt Taylor
St.
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A 1

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Barbara Hubbard
Design, Build, Operate
Matt Taylor
Greystone Mansion, Washington DC.
Not built
The first Management Center design. This project was to convert the garage of Barbara’s Mansion into a collaborative work space to support her many futurist activities. The large WorkWalls, real time video and computer documentation system were a part of this design. It was based on a way of working. I had been thinking of this “method” for a couple of years. This design was the first expression of it.

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City of Boulder
Design Concept and facilitate consortium
Matt Taylor and Langdon Morris
Boulder, Colorado
Design not built - consortium executed a project
This was our first contract in Boulder which ended with the first DesignShop process we did in our new environment (Work #73).

The project that we designed was a small subdivision of adjustable components inside a multi-acre “greenhouse.” This proved to be a bit much for the city fathers and the public/private consortia that was assembled to implement the project. A project that did get build grew out of the consortia, however, and some of the ideas that drove the first design found their way into the project as much as this was possible given the more conventional approach. The consortia was very successful which was the big gain from the DesignShop event.

The first design, itself,still intrigues me and incorporated several innovations that have yet to be proposed anywhere that I am aware of. The basic concept was to build a giant greenhouse and a cluster housing grid within it. A light weight, movable system could then be used to assemble different living units as each family group required - and easily change, as requirements changed. A certain percentage of the footprint would always be dedicated to landscape and gardens - a commons - between units and within each unit. Parking and mechanical systems would be under the building. This concept accomplished considerable land utilization with a sense of urban oneness and the freedom of country living. Radical. The scale and scope of the AI armature systems of today is almost “up to” this task considered “impossible” 21 years ago.

With modern means and materials, this concept can be executed today on an economical basis.

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Jack
Design and facilitate design/build team.
Matt Taylor
Boulder, Colorado
Not built
This was my first experience of a project that became dominated by the in-place real estate development model (outside of design/build developers) with all the ins and out s of feasibility studies by large accounting firms and so on. I was appalled. I saw a project destroyed and a small developer picked clean by the big time consulting professionals.

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Acacia Mutual Life
Design
Matt Taylor & Jim Toohey, design lead
Washington DC
Not built
This was a navigation center with individual work spaces for an executive team and their support staffs. The collaborative work area is in the center with individual work areas and small team areas around the parameter. Work #93 followed this general schema. The CEO’s office (in the lower lh corner) was to be kept intact to be used by any member of the senior staff for ceremonial functions as appropriate.

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Gail and matt Taylor
Design - Build - Use
H. Angelman; Armour Rice, Gail & Matt Taylor
St. Augustine, Florida - Mobile
In Use
Camelot is total architecture. She requires a level of integration that view land-based structures achieve.

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Capital Holding Corporation
Design - Build - Use
Matt Taylor
St. Augustine, Florida - Louisville, KY
Not Built
This layout demonstrated that it is possible to get the workplace density required by modern economics AND more space per knowledge worker WITH a user controlled flexible layout. It took nearly 12 years, from the time of this sketch, to develop the WorkFurniture components and secure a Patent on this system. This layout was originally drawn to demonstrate an office landscape approach for the new Agency Group office building in Louisville, Kentucky but a conventional open office layout system was used instead. We did do the Management Center portion of the building on the first floor (Work #87). This sketch, along with Work #75, have become the basis for the Armature, WorkPod and CubeOffice systems - now the AI Foundation 2 Series product line.

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Gail and Matt Taylor
Design - Build - use
Treetop Homes 1967; Matt Taylor remodel 1991
Hilton Head SC
Sold 2000
Treetop Homes has built the Sealofts for more than 35 years. This one was part of a development of 73 on Deer Island a part of Hilton Head. Unfortunately, the Sealofts were divided up into pie shaped rooms with a furred area in the center to house a noisy air conditioner. We opened the space up, put the HVAC in the storage area below and cleaned up the details. The character of the environment instantly changed. Gail and I lived in the Sealoft for nearly 10 years until we relocated to the West coast and sold it to on of our associates. For the first 5 years, it also served as the home office of MG Taylor Corporation. It was a compact environment - 800 square feet - on the intersection of a march and a forest, 5 minutes walk from Harbour Town one of the most active resorts on the east Coast. Our total cost, purchase and remodeling was less than $130,000!

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US Airforce
Design - Build - use
Matt Taylor and Jerry Headly
Hilton Head SC - Tullihoma, Tenessee
In Operation
A 8,000 square foot space to support the DesignShop process. An old NCO club was extensively redesigned. 40 Design Shop events were held in the first year for the USAF, NASA and the aerospace industry. The facility sit on a human-made lake that is used as cooling water for the testing facilities. This provides ambiance for working retreats just a few miles from the Base. This Center won a USAF award and became the place where many Airforce and aerospace innovations took place in the 90s.

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Capital Holding Corporation
Design - Build - use
Matt Taylor and Donny Weber - Weber and Weber
St. Augustine, Florida - Louisville, KY
Sold and Destroyed
A 11,000 square foot Management Center built on two levels accomplished by lowering the first floor slab four feet. A knowledge worker deck was suspended above the main work area which enjoyed high ceilings of varying height. A steel Armature system delivered power, phone, LAN and multimedia to 150 nodes throughout the space.

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Vanguard Corporation
Design - Build - Use
Matt Taylor
Hilton Head SC - Pennsylvania
Not Built
As a concept, it fully employs the Pod and Armature system to an extent that has not yet been built. It is also, as yet, the only NavCenter that has been conceived as a dedicated rapid-prototying and project incubation environment.

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MG Taylor Corporation - knOwhere Stores
Design Build Use
Matt Taylor
Hilton Head, SC
Operated by knOwhere 1996 - 2001
This space was created between Christmas 1995 and January 4th 1996 and upgraded, over a ten day period, the following May. It was from this environment that the EY relationship and transfer was designed. The Store operated until the summer of 2001.

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Matt Taylor
Study
Matt Taylor
Hilton Head SC
Study for future Project; See Powers residence project #69 for an early expression of this idea. I have played with this concept on and off since the late 50s. It is an Earth-sheltered residence with a lightweight column and joist system that allows a structurally independent, variegated window wall system. This project employes the muti-module system which is the same for the Bay Area Studio project (#96).

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MG Tatylor Corporation and knOwhere Stores
Design-Build-Use
Matt Taylor & Inga Hanks
Hilton Head SC - Boston, MA
Sold to CGEY 1998 to be used for their ASE DesignShop Events, this environment was built in 30 days over the 1996 Christmas holiday period. It was a remodel of an old jam factory building. The 20 foot by 20 foot spacing of the columns presented an interesting challenge given the size of the groups that had to be accommodated. An integrated video feedback system dealt with the sight line issues. As a place to do the DesignShop process, this has been the most productive environment we have ever built. It is also recognized as one of the most comfortable in support of long, intensive, multi-day, large-group work-processes. The wood arches act as an armature visually integrating the center bay-to-bay areas, formed by the concrete columns, and housing electrical, LAN and a/v lines. Within this 20 foot by 20 foot grid nearly everything is flexible. WorkWalls fold out from the exterior columns other WorkWalls, workstations, storage units and book cases roll into place - providing utility and creating defined work spaces for a wide variety of uses.

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MG Tatylor Corporation and knOwhere Stores
Design-Build-Use
Matt Taylor with John Norway and Inga Hanks
Hilton Head SC - Palo Alto CA
Operated by knOwhere, Incorporated
The most extensive modification to the existing structure of any of the Management, NavCenter or knOwhere Stores. Because of this and because of the ambiance of the Palo Alto weather, a fuller integration was possible between inside and outside than with past built projects. This is only a beginning, however. As of yet (mid 2001) the full potential of the designed-in inside/outside opportunity is not being fully employed. The USE aspect of this project lags behind the concept and it’s implememntation (so far, about 50% completion). Although there is a great deal of physical “architecture” yet to finish with this project, the greatest challenge will be to fully employ it. Design, Build, Use. The PA knOwhere Store is the main LAB of the MG Taylor - knOwhere enterprises. The building was designed to evolve with both the business of knOwhere and the community of which it is a part. As the shopping district changes so will the character of knOwhere’s walk in business. Progressively, the building will open up to the street as it was designed to do. The a/v integration and capability will become greater. The uses will expand. Today, the knOwhere store houses retail, group process areas, display areas, office hoteling, business incubation and a great deal of infrastructure: iSP services, audio/visual capture, display and editing and printing capability.

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Continium Health care
Design-Build-Use
Matt Taylor and Inga Hanks
Hilton Head SC - NY, NY
Operated by CHC
This design is related to the Orlando Management Center (Work #81) grammmer with a significant difference.The OMC, built in 1985, was completely custom work. The Continium NavCenter is built from system - from manufactured goods. It took 13 years to get to this point

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Detroit Edison
Design-Build-Use
Matt Taylor and Jim Lucky
Hilton Head SC - Detroit, Michigan
Operated by Detroit Edison

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Herman Miller Corporation
Rework of project Under Construction
Matt Taylor with Bill Stumpf
Hilton Head SC - Holland, Michigan
Not Built per this Concept

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Matt Taylor
Design-Build-Use
Matt Taylor
Palo Alto, CA
In Design Development
This is a strictly personal project. The environment for my future practice of architecture. The original projected build date was 2002. This may prove optimistic for reasons of finance. Maybe not, however. It depends on the growth of MG Taylor and my “exit” strategy. The financial idea is that the building is built cash and has an “annuity” to cover all maintenance and expenses. It is an instrument of architectural practice in several ways: first, it is a signature project - and example of the work I can do; second, it is a place to work - the knowledge factory to produce the work; third, it is a “homestead” that provides the basic necessities of living making the financial aspects of building a practice much easier. Total architecture in effect. In this regard, an extremely intimate work. The scale of the work is also Intimate. The building is designed, in this regard, to be more like a boat than a typical land structure. The Studio is a development of a concept I developed in New York in the early 60s (#20).

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HP Star Team
Design-Build-Use
Matt Taylor
Palo Alto, CA - England
Project Dormant
I suppose that when I build this one to the full extent of the concept’s potential I will consider that I have achieved a big piece of what I set out to do in architecture. This project still gets me up in the morning. Someday, I will get it done. This work was inspired by the Coleridge poem and was not put on paper for over 40 years. I had the architectural idea before the client or the application. This application is for a self contained innovation center to be built in a remote landscape. The public and collaborative functions take place in the 5 domes and personal and sleeping facilities are provided in the towers. Clusters of small towers are sprinkled throughout the landscape for additional guests, contractors and staff. Each of the “apartment” units are about the size of the Bay Area Studio project (#96). There is not a building on the planet that has the variety of spaces that Xanadu does nor is there one that can accommodate a greater range of human creative experience.

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Christopher Allen
Design Build Use
Matt Taylor
Palo Alto, CA - Berkeley Ca.
In Design Development
This project is the prototype of a new building type. It is the equivalent of what the Usonian House did for residential design. This is a rethinking of the the small office buildings in a traditional medium-density urban setting. As such, it has the ability to adapt to a large number of cities in the USIt is composed of flexible interior and exterior components so that the specific layout of the office spaces and reflect the exact needs of various tenants as they change over time without the need for remodeling. I first envisioned this kind of flexible layout for a residential project in 1956 - See Work # 4.

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Kennedy Space Center
Design
Matt Taylor
Palo Alto, CA - Cape Canaveral
Projects dormant
An interesting challenge.

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Confidential (at this time)
Design community developmenet system
Matt Taylor and MG Taylor Corporation
Palo Alto - Baltimore
In Design Development/Grant application
This is the complete end-to-end redevelopment process. The Master Planning Process (Work #37) will be employed by a community-based NavCenter that will also do for-profit corporate work.

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Matt & Gail Taylor, Jeff, Sheri & Todd Johnston
Design-Build-Use
Matt Taylor
Palo Alto, CA
Schematic design
An extended family and family business compound designed as an alternative to modern suburban living patterns. This is a reworking of the Cooper house (Work #17) concept employing adobe, as well as, gunite and precast concrete. The iterations complex is a co-housing, multi-generational family work and living environment for a northern California site designed to over look the ocean from high bluffs. iterations is the IP and social entreprenuering entity of gail and myself and our sons Todd and Jeff. The is the “business” that we will run when we are financially retired from business. Earnings from our MG Taylor company investments will flow into iterations and from this environment we will do the projects that spurred us to develop MG Taylor in the first place. This may - or not - be the predominate living environment of any of us. It is proposed (by me) to be where we will “live” and have guests - and work - when we do the family business. My archictural work, for example, will be carried out from another place (Work #96).

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Roe
Design - Project Management
Matt Taylor
Palo Alto, CA - Seol Korea
Program proposal - (password required)
A large office building in Korea for a major wireless corporation. Three tasks make up this project: first, a better concept of the project in it’s totality; second. Employing a NavCenter to facilitate the meta-design, the design/build team and the integration of the environment to the corporation’s activities; third, a specific design for the the building’s public spaces and office areas. The challenge is to find an architectural grammar and expression that is a synthesis between traditional Korean art and architecture and the appropriate expression of a 21st Century corporation with international expectations.

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Study
Design
Matt Taylor
Palo Alto, CA - Northern California
Concept development

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SETI
Design,/Facilitate
Matt Taylor
Palo Alto - Hat Creek
Program Development
An iteresting challenge: a Visiter Center in a remote part of Northern California.

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Matt Taylor
Design Build Use
Matt Taylor
Palo Alto - Mobile
Concept Development
This will be the first iteration of the mobile unit component of my Bay Area Studio (Work #96). It will be built on a traditional bus platform and be finished much like a cross between a boat and a traditional Japanese house - a “land yacht.” It is designed to support both my architectural work and my MG Taylor work. This iteration will be powered by diesel set up to run on soy fuel (and any mixture of vegetable oil and petroleum). Solar cells will augment the diesel generator. The main living area exterior wall folds down to make to a tent covered multipurpose area. WorkWalls (which face inward when closed) fold out to make the sides of the room. This multipurpose area is suspended by diagonal cables so the the entire area is cantilevered. This way only the bus needs to leveled and the slope under the multipurpose area is immaterial to stability.

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Mendoza College of business
Design, Build, Use
Matt Taylor
Palo Alto -
Program development
This is the design for an interactive learning environment of a major American business school. This is a just under 10,000 square foot space in the basement of the college’s building. This means we have to get natural light and ventilation into the environment. The drawing green areas are landscapes that are feed by light tubes (in two cases) and Light wells with opening glass skylights. The basic concrete superstructure other than the light wells will be left almost entirely as is. A full Armature System will be employed which will define the spaces and provide all wire chases. A step down from that will be light weight moving screens that can define even smaller spaces and provide texture and color to the environment. Then, the WorkWalls and then the individual pieces. Other than the Armature, the landscape areas and the one storage area the only ”fixed” item is the multimedia and interaction pit in the center. This create a highly flexible place with the vast majority of the budget going for item that can be easily moved if the space needs to be put to a new use.

1979 to mid 2001 produced 41 projects in 22 years 15 of which were built with eight more in active development.

Clearly this period, 1979 to 2001, is the FOCUS period and platform for moving to ACT. What makes this so? It is the maturity of the market place and the beginning acceptance of the the design, build use process. It is the fact that ALL of the various architectural ideas that I have explored are beginning to find there way into a single integrated approach.

Part 3 of this chronology documents my full “return” to architectural practice as my primary work effort. This practice model will be made of three aspects: Large-scale (globally distributed) projects in collaboration with a ValueWeb of “cathedral builders;” distributed “publishing” of buildable plans and specifications coupled with an interactive design, build use information service with a focus on low cost, self-sustaining solutions; and, the design and building (and most probably, operating) of cutting edge prototypes that push the state of the art and constitute the highest level of architectural ART.

It is my goal to be involved in hundreds of large-scale projects, to publish plans that will be executed in the thousands and to complete over the next 20 years a few hundred art pieces as examples of my philosophy and craft in the “purest” form. All of this work will be done in context of the Master Planning process (see # 37). These three seeminly different practice strategies actually make one integrated approach to architecture and meet the social, legal requirements of all the major categories of work. Large-scale projects have, by their nature, certain financial and complexity aspects that require a large consortia of design/build professionals. The mass housing and small office market another set of conditions and constraints. “ART” pieces are produced for “patrons” and provide the opportunity to explore the outer dimensions of architecture. It is a major way how R&D in architecture is done. The three together make a whole practice.