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Out There, On the Horizon
19 September 2008, 04:20 PM
This is a “Coming
Attractions” post. Lately, I’ve been thinking about
new blog posts and that has led to new ways to use
the blog. I’d sincerely love to hear any of your
comments or requests for topics. So if I’ve mentioned
anything here that sounds interesting, or if you have
an idea for a post, please drop me an email or post a
comment.
Project Profiles: Our documentation of our work is nothing to brag about, but we’re trying to do better. It seems that photographing a project always takes more time than we allocate. This, combined with our tendency to prioritize current work over less urgent tasks, has left us with about five years worth of projects to photograph. This spring, we’re going to go on a photo blitz of our work. We’re excited about this effort. Of course, our portfolio galleries will have more projects as a result, but the images are only part of the story. One of the best aspects of our work is the story behind each project. There is always an interesting background that includes design process, construction tales, and terrific people. The before-and-after images of our addition and remodel work are fun to study. All of this would be impossible to sit down and crank out. So look for project profiles, stories about a single project, it’s history, images, and cast of characters. These should be fun to produce about once per month. I’ve thought of categorizing these as our ‘Project-O-The-Month.’ We’ll see…
Contractor selection: I’d like to share some thoughts on selecting a contractor. It is very difficult to get the appropriate fit. I find myself saying the same thing to every client regarding this topic. I’ll put it all in a post and share it here.
Justifications for hiring an architect: Of course, I’m a little biased on this issue, but I’ve spent a lot of time wrestling with whether our participation is a necessity or a luxury. I believe strongly in the value that we bring to any project. I’ll share some thoughts on this.
On the boards: Being a small firm, getting a new project is a lot like adopting a puppy. It’s cute, exciting, fun, and it might take some house training! I’d like to begin writing about our new projects as they arise. It will be fun for our new clients to share our post with their friends and family, and it will begin a process of documentation of our work that will extend through the completion of the project.
Dream Jobs: Frequently, Stacey and I will say to each other, “I wish we could design one of those…”I want to write about that. We’re about to begin a barn and cabin combination for a couple who own land two counties away. We’re very excited about this project. It’s a dream job for sure. I’d be very interested in developing blog topics about projects we'd like to do in the future.
Our 'green ethic' is something that deserves specific attention. We're dedicated to making good choices for our clients and that certainly includes making choices that protect the planet. We've got a lot to say about this one. It will be on ongoing topic for sure.
Client blogs are a lot of fun. There are several resources out there that make blogging very easy. I'd like to do a post describing how to start your own project blog. It's a remarkable undertaking to design and build a project. It is a very challenging, exciting and potentially rewarding experience. I can't express how fascinating all of these stories are. They shouldn't just fade into memory, they should be preserved and shared.
Guest posts: I would love to have friends, assoicates, and clients share their thoughts in this blog. We're not really thrilled with the idea of testimonials. I've never read one that didn't sound canned. Instead, maybe we could have clients simply share their experiences of their projects here. I'd also love to have architect friends from other regions share their thoughts on design and process. This could be interesting and ongoing.
What else? I've got a lot of ideas taking shape. I want to know your ideas too. Please email or leave a comment. I'll consider every request.
Project Profiles: Our documentation of our work is nothing to brag about, but we’re trying to do better. It seems that photographing a project always takes more time than we allocate. This, combined with our tendency to prioritize current work over less urgent tasks, has left us with about five years worth of projects to photograph. This spring, we’re going to go on a photo blitz of our work. We’re excited about this effort. Of course, our portfolio galleries will have more projects as a result, but the images are only part of the story. One of the best aspects of our work is the story behind each project. There is always an interesting background that includes design process, construction tales, and terrific people. The before-and-after images of our addition and remodel work are fun to study. All of this would be impossible to sit down and crank out. So look for project profiles, stories about a single project, it’s history, images, and cast of characters. These should be fun to produce about once per month. I’ve thought of categorizing these as our ‘Project-O-The-Month.’ We’ll see…
Contractor selection: I’d like to share some thoughts on selecting a contractor. It is very difficult to get the appropriate fit. I find myself saying the same thing to every client regarding this topic. I’ll put it all in a post and share it here.
Justifications for hiring an architect: Of course, I’m a little biased on this issue, but I’ve spent a lot of time wrestling with whether our participation is a necessity or a luxury. I believe strongly in the value that we bring to any project. I’ll share some thoughts on this.
On the boards: Being a small firm, getting a new project is a lot like adopting a puppy. It’s cute, exciting, fun, and it might take some house training! I’d like to begin writing about our new projects as they arise. It will be fun for our new clients to share our post with their friends and family, and it will begin a process of documentation of our work that will extend through the completion of the project.
Dream Jobs: Frequently, Stacey and I will say to each other, “I wish we could design one of those…”I want to write about that. We’re about to begin a barn and cabin combination for a couple who own land two counties away. We’re very excited about this project. It’s a dream job for sure. I’d be very interested in developing blog topics about projects we'd like to do in the future.
Our 'green ethic' is something that deserves specific attention. We're dedicated to making good choices for our clients and that certainly includes making choices that protect the planet. We've got a lot to say about this one. It will be on ongoing topic for sure.
Client blogs are a lot of fun. There are several resources out there that make blogging very easy. I'd like to do a post describing how to start your own project blog. It's a remarkable undertaking to design and build a project. It is a very challenging, exciting and potentially rewarding experience. I can't express how fascinating all of these stories are. They shouldn't just fade into memory, they should be preserved and shared.
Guest posts: I would love to have friends, assoicates, and clients share their thoughts in this blog. We're not really thrilled with the idea of testimonials. I've never read one that didn't sound canned. Instead, maybe we could have clients simply share their experiences of their projects here. I'd also love to have architect friends from other regions share their thoughts on design and process. This could be interesting and ongoing.
What else? I've got a lot of ideas taking shape. I want to know your ideas too. Please email or leave a comment. I'll consider every request.
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Big Show
09 May 2007, 03:07 PM
The AIA Expo In San Antonio was unbelievably huge. We had allocated about four hours to tour all of the booths. In the first four hours, we had covered about a third of the show. The photo shows one of the three main rooms of the expo. We took brochures from hundreds of exhibitors on materials and equipment. It was a conspicuous overload of information, but very helpful.
One thing that occurred to all three of us was how resource intensive this whole show was. There was an incredible amount of energy and materials invested in transportation, setup, and display. Some of it was noble - we learned a lot about sustainable materials, but some of it was a bunch of the same old stuff.
I'll make posts and references to some of the interesting things we picked up very soon. Each exhibitor swiped our cards for our info. We'll be receiving email and product literature over the next couple of weeks. I'll share as it comes in.
24,000 Architects and Al Gore
07 May 2007, 09:34 PM
We're back from the convention and exhausted. We're fired-up too.
We were told that there were 24,000 in attendance - I'm sure they weren't all architects, but that's a lot of folks. There was an enormous emphasis on the crisis of global warming throughout the entire convention. The closing speaker of the final General Session was Al Gore. He was great - incredibly funny and inspiring. The news is pretty bad, of course. Lots of melting ice and carbon dioxide. Buildings contribute somewhere around 40% to the carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. It's up to architects to find an implement better ways of building. That is an unbelievable challenge. Look for some changes from us in the near future. Also, check out our 'green' page for some ideas that you can implement on a daily basis. We can choose to fail or act to make a difference. Here's the link to the AIA's article about Al Gore's Address.
introduction, aia convention
23 April 2007, 10:20 PM
This page is dedicated
to sharing some of our thoughts on architecture, our
practice, and anything else of interest to us at the
moment. I'll try to make posts regularly. Check back
to see if I'm keeping up!
Next week, our entire office is going to the AIA National Convention in San Antonio. If you'd like to see what it's all about follow the link here. Al Gore is the featured speaker along with David Suzuki and others. We're excited. If I'm cool, I'll make a post or two from San Antonio. We'll see...
Bret
Next week, our entire office is going to the AIA National Convention in San Antonio. If you'd like to see what it's all about follow the link here. Al Gore is the featured speaker along with David Suzuki and others. We're excited. If I'm cool, I'll make a post or two from San Antonio. We'll see...
Bret