Josh Loar

Josh provides unique, bespoke consultation to global clients to help them achieve their goals. He designs AV Systems for performing arts facilities, museums, corporate and university campuses, themed entertainment, and more. As Blue Team Principal, Josh leads our Corporate Social Responsibility efforts across the global group.

I’m a Senior Consultant, focused on AV systems design and team leading. I’m also the Blue Team Principal, which means that I am responsible for steering our Corporate Social Responsibility efforts. This includes, but isn’t limited to, our philanthropic giving, education and outreach, volunteering, environmental sustainability, and accessibility. I believe in the power of well-crafted spaces to foster creativity, connection, and community. These goals are at the center of my work. I strive to make every space I work in, from the virtual collaboration spaces I share with clients and colleagues, to the literal buildings we design, a welcoming space for all. I consider the implications of design decisions deeply, not only for cost and usability, as any designer would, but for the planet, for the region in which we’re specifying, and for the users of the eventual facility.

What Excites You Most About Your Work

I love helping people, whether that’s by ensuring that the equipment I specify is the most suited to the users’ purpose, or ensuring that front of house positions are accessible to people with a range of abilities, or teaching a guest lecture to aspiring students. My favorite aspect of my work is that on any given day, I am challenged to use my mind in a wide variety of ways to ensure I am being helpful!

What Does Great Design or Experience Mean to You

A great design for a facility results in a place that meets several criteria:

• It is able to perform all the functions it is supposed to serve (e.g. allow for a producing organization to do shows in every configuration they want).
• It is welcoming. A good facility feels good when you walk inside it – it doesn’t feel imposing, or difficult. It should be easy to navigate, and comfortable for a range of people.
• It is a space with an identity. My favorite spaces are those where the owners/operators have invested a great deal in how they intend to occupy and use the space. It is not generic. It has a personality, or maybe many personalities, and it reveals itself to a guest or a user through interaction.
• It uses visual language to help tell its story – from wayfinding to character, visual identity is a big part of what makes a building seem alive. I don’t like desultory space.

What Clients/Colleagues Value About You

I’m fun! But seriously, that’s a big part of it. I can lead difficult conversations with stakeholders who disagree about things, and keep the mood light and positive. I try always to center joy in the process. Even difficult compromises can be joyful if we remember that we’re lucky! We’re very privileged to be able to spend our time thinking about space, about activity, and about how to combine the two to create facilities that hopefully will outlast us all!

What We Won’t Learn from Your CV

I’ve been playing the drums for nearly 40 years – I used to teach drums and percussion, and have played on records and with bands in many genres. I also play many other instruments and compose and produce music.

A Place That Shaped or Inspires You

I used to work in a raw, tiny theatre that had formerly been a puppetry studio. It had space for maybe 30 audience members seated. It hosted some of the most transformative theatrical productions I’ve ever witnessed. Space doesn’t have to be fancy to be useful!

Coffee, Travel, or Creative Ritual

I am a fervent tea drinker. I always have at least three different kinds of tea in the house – always Chinese, as I prefer the clean crisp taste to the earthier Indian teas – and I always travel with good tea.

A Book, Podcast, Building, or Creative Work That Inspires You

I’m a huge fan of Thomas Heatherwick’s “Humanise”, a book about design and the spaces we occupy, arguing that the human element, and the human experience of place, must return to the center of architectural and design work.

Cultural Value You Most Identify With

I identify most strongly with Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion. I am a huge believer in the idea that we are generally, as a species, better off when we listen to one another, take lessons from one another’s lived experience, and synthesize a whole that is greater than the sum of its parts. This means that on any design team, I want to see people from as many different walks of life as possible, and I want to learn from their insights the things I haven’t had the chance to come to on my own. We’re all stronger together, and when we diversify the voices at a given table, and then include those voices and respect them, our designs, our spaces, and our lives all benefit. I am always working to make Charcoalblue, and the projects I work on, more inclusive for everyone.