William Sims Jr., a renowned workplace design strategist and former chair of the Department of Design and Environmental Analysis at Cornell, passed away at 86. His innovative research, primarily with Frank Becker, shaped workplace design strategies for Fortune 500 companies, focusing on the interaction between people and their environments. Sims advocated for quantitative assessments to enhance facility planning and management. His mentorship and leadership were pivotal in advancing the department's reputation for rigorous, practical design research. Colleagues remember him for his impactful guidance and dedication to supporting diverse disciplines within the department.
"Bill always wanted research on people and settings to be connected to the actual physical environment... He challenged his faculty and colleagues to do good research that designers as well as their clients could use to produce places that would better support human needs."
"Bill was a wonderful guide to me, my teaching career and our entire department... His leadership as DEA chair was a steady hand to our diverse department, where he continued to support all three of our disciplines: facilities management, human factors and interior design."
#workplace-design #human-centered-design #organizational-analysis #research-mentorship #environmental-design
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