parkco.net
Safari Update
04 October 2008, 04:37 PM Filed in: photo
safari
I am not a
good photographer. It's okay, really. As a result, I
get a pile of bad photos and maybe a few that look
okay. Stephen is much better than I am. Between the two
of us, we've amassed 1000+ photos of three houses so
far this summer. We're sorting right now, and I hope to
have some new images up very soon.
The good news is that the projects we've photographed so far look great. It's always a treat to see our clients at home, moved in and settled, and enjoying themselves.
We'll post an update here when we get more images up. I need to do some reformatting too.
The good news is that the projects we've photographed so far look great. It's always a treat to see our clients at home, moved in and settled, and enjoying themselves.
We'll post an update here when we get more images up. I need to do some reformatting too.
|
Out There, On the Horizon
19 September 2008, 04:20 PM Filed in: parkco
news
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.
SRI has "Got Us Covered"
03 July 2008, 04:22 PM Filed in: interest
One of the
best things about our work is that we get to work with
some terrific people. Southern Reprographics
handles
our big printing jobs. They do our presentation
boards, construction drawings, and any other random
thing we ask them to do. They're about as fine a
bunch of folks as you'll ever meet.
One of the worst things about our work is that we occasionally have to produce building specifications. Architecture is a wonderful profession that balances artistic expression with the pragmatics of problem-solving. If you put architecture in a centrifuge and spin out all of the passion, vision, and inspiration, you'd be left with the dry pulpy residue that is building specifications. We do specifications for one reason. We have to do them. Otherwise, I'd rather save the trees by saving the paper.
Now, here's how it all fits together. We just completed a spec that is about 300 pages long. It was torture, of course. I checked it and rechecked it for consistency. I was very impatient with the task and very relieved that it was over. I emailed the files to Southern Reprographics to print. I gave them specific instructions and waited for them to call to say they were ready for me to pick up. Instead I got a call from Deanna. She said that they had caught an error in my Table of Contents. The section numbers on a few sections were inconsistent with the actual section numbers. Not only did they catch my error, they offered to fix it for me. It was only changing a few numbers in the index, but what fantastic service! It would have been perfectly okay for them to have just printed the files without even looking at them. I wouldn't have ever expected them to catch my mistake. Wow!
So, to our friends at SRI, Jacob, Deanna, Derrick, Lisa, Ginger, Debbie, Mason, Ferris, and everyone else, thanks guys! You are always a pleasure to work with. You make us look good!
Bret
One of the worst things about our work is that we occasionally have to produce building specifications. Architecture is a wonderful profession that balances artistic expression with the pragmatics of problem-solving. If you put architecture in a centrifuge and spin out all of the passion, vision, and inspiration, you'd be left with the dry pulpy residue that is building specifications. We do specifications for one reason. We have to do them. Otherwise, I'd rather save the trees by saving the paper.
Now, here's how it all fits together. We just completed a spec that is about 300 pages long. It was torture, of course. I checked it and rechecked it for consistency. I was very impatient with the task and very relieved that it was over. I emailed the files to Southern Reprographics to print. I gave them specific instructions and waited for them to call to say they were ready for me to pick up. Instead I got a call from Deanna. She said that they had caught an error in my Table of Contents. The section numbers on a few sections were inconsistent with the actual section numbers. Not only did they catch my error, they offered to fix it for me. It was only changing a few numbers in the index, but what fantastic service! It would have been perfectly okay for them to have just printed the files without even looking at them. I wouldn't have ever expected them to catch my mistake. Wow!
So, to our friends at SRI, Jacob, Deanna, Derrick, Lisa, Ginger, Debbie, Mason, Ferris, and everyone else, thanks guys! You are always a pleasure to work with. You make us look good!
Bret
Have Camera. Will Travel.
13 June 2008, 04:34 PM Filed in: photo
safari
Next week begins our much-discussed but yet unexecuted project photo safari. With any success, we'll post images of new work. There's a lot out there and we're going to attempt to capture as much as we can.
If you're among our clients, give us a call or email to schedule a time to come photograph your project. Also, if you'd like to follow our safari progress over the next few months, drop us an email. I'll add you to our update list.
Another Client Blog
24 May 2008, 10:21 AM Filed in: projects
Lisa, Don,
and "The Little One" are dutifully plying their talent,
resources, brains and brawn toward the revitalization
of an old house in Fayetteville. This house has been a
multi-family apartment for as long as anyone can
remember and the neighbors are thrilled to have it
return to single-family. Follow their heroic saga at
their project blog, NunkProTunk.
Temple Story
19 May 2008, 04:04 PM Filed in: projects
Since October of '06, we've had the privilege to work with the Temple Shalom of NWA on the design of their new Temple. This project has tremendous significance for Fayetteville. It is the first dedicated home of this Jewish Congregation that has been around Northwest Arkansas for 30 years. It expands the diversity of our community. It has also catalyzed a unique reaction among many faiths.
This project has brought together some unexpected alliances. Fadil Bayyari is a respected general contractor from Springdale, Arkansas. He's also a Muslim man of Palestinian heritage. After a disappointing attempt by the Temple Shalom to buy a house to convert to their worship space, Mr. Bayyari offered his assistance to the Temple if they ever needed help with construction. The congregation accepted the offer and began a search for land. Parkco came into the picture about a year later when we were hired to provide architectural services.
This has been a fascinating project for us. We've learned a tremendous amount about Judaism and Judaic architectural history. More importantly, we've learned about faith, good faith, and humor.
The following links tell the story of the project. You'll recognize some noteworthy publications. This project has broad national interest.
Let's Slow Down
19 April 2008, 04:07 PM Filed in: interest
I ran across this article
on treehugger last week. Being skeptical of trends,
fads, and buzzwords, I felt compelled to investigate
and likely dispel the whole notion as simply a
marketing manipulation. It wasn't so easy. The Slow
Design Movement (initiative? concept?) seems to be
rising as a reaction to our mass-produced,
over-processed, and increasingly inauthentic world.
SlowFood The Slow Food idea has been around for a while and is an offshoot of the greater Slow Movement. We have friends and clients who are involved with Slow Food, and it seems to be very meaningful and resonant with them. The general idea is to resist the forces of our culture that emphasize speed, mass-produced, and highly-processed food. Fast food is a perfect example of the problem. Instead, slow food emphasizes locally produced, authentic, minimally-processed real food. It also encourages the idea of slowing down to enjoy it. The whole idea seems inarguably logical to me.
So what about design? How do you make it authentic, healthy, and life-enhancing? It is necessary to answer these questions convincingly if Slow Design is going to become an influential movement. Like Slow Food is to fast food, Slow Design, for better or worse, has an identifiable antithesis. Everyone recognizes suburban sprawl. It is mass-produced, environmentally brutal, and profoundly inauthentic. Unfortunately, there have been few alternatives available in the past forty or so years. I suppose that is what gives me the most hesitation about discounting this 'new' idea as simply a flash in the periphery. It may be that our cultural conscience is ready for a new way of thinking about design. I found the Slow Home. John Brown, Slow Home's editor, is a fine Canadian who states the case very eloquently. I mostly agree with Slow Home's 10 steps and I even signed The Declaration. I'd sincerely encourage anyone who is interested in good design to spend a few minutes exploring Slow Home.
10 steps
Now, about this Slow Design thing: We may have been practicing a form of Slow Design for about ten years already. We've just never had a tag line for what we do. When we started our firm, Stacey said to me that she didn't care if she never designed another project whose first design objective was to max-out the site for parking (there was a lot of asphalt in the early days of our careers!). When she said that, I was absolutely astounded. I didn't want that either. We started our self-employment adventure with the idea that we would emphasize custom design, authenticity and function-sensitive solutions. We wanted to host an interactive environment with our clients that would allow them to participate in the design process. This would assure their satisfaction with the end product since their participation was crucial to the project moving forward. This client interaction led us to trust our client's instincts. We learned to listen very carefully. We discovered that instead of being commissioned architectural artists, we were more effective as 'facilitating architects.' The product of our effort was no less satisfying and our creativity has never suffered as a result of our open process. Rather our work was more authentic and reflective of the client's hopes, tastes, dreams, and capacity. It's slow for sure; it takes a lot of time to do it right!
So, Slow Food, Slow Design, what next? Slow Retail? Slow Manufacturing? Maybe that's coming too. Slow Energy? Slow Investing? Local products, services, or ideas, naturally produced, regionally accessible, sensitive to the environment, and responsive to regional demand. I think they're all possible. I'll be reading more about this slow business...slowly. Check our links page for additional gleanings.
SlowFood The Slow Food idea has been around for a while and is an offshoot of the greater Slow Movement. We have friends and clients who are involved with Slow Food, and it seems to be very meaningful and resonant with them. The general idea is to resist the forces of our culture that emphasize speed, mass-produced, and highly-processed food. Fast food is a perfect example of the problem. Instead, slow food emphasizes locally produced, authentic, minimally-processed real food. It also encourages the idea of slowing down to enjoy it. The whole idea seems inarguably logical to me.
So what about design? How do you make it authentic, healthy, and life-enhancing? It is necessary to answer these questions convincingly if Slow Design is going to become an influential movement. Like Slow Food is to fast food, Slow Design, for better or worse, has an identifiable antithesis. Everyone recognizes suburban sprawl. It is mass-produced, environmentally brutal, and profoundly inauthentic. Unfortunately, there have been few alternatives available in the past forty or so years. I suppose that is what gives me the most hesitation about discounting this 'new' idea as simply a flash in the periphery. It may be that our cultural conscience is ready for a new way of thinking about design. I found the Slow Home. John Brown, Slow Home's editor, is a fine Canadian who states the case very eloquently. I mostly agree with Slow Home's 10 steps and I even signed The Declaration. I'd sincerely encourage anyone who is interested in good design to spend a few minutes exploring Slow Home.
10 steps
Now, about this Slow Design thing: We may have been practicing a form of Slow Design for about ten years already. We've just never had a tag line for what we do. When we started our firm, Stacey said to me that she didn't care if she never designed another project whose first design objective was to max-out the site for parking (there was a lot of asphalt in the early days of our careers!). When she said that, I was absolutely astounded. I didn't want that either. We started our self-employment adventure with the idea that we would emphasize custom design, authenticity and function-sensitive solutions. We wanted to host an interactive environment with our clients that would allow them to participate in the design process. This would assure their satisfaction with the end product since their participation was crucial to the project moving forward. This client interaction led us to trust our client's instincts. We learned to listen very carefully. We discovered that instead of being commissioned architectural artists, we were more effective as 'facilitating architects.' The product of our effort was no less satisfying and our creativity has never suffered as a result of our open process. Rather our work was more authentic and reflective of the client's hopes, tastes, dreams, and capacity. It's slow for sure; it takes a lot of time to do it right!
So, Slow Food, Slow Design, what next? Slow Retail? Slow Manufacturing? Maybe that's coming too. Slow Energy? Slow Investing? Local products, services, or ideas, naturally produced, regionally accessible, sensitive to the environment, and responsive to regional demand. I think they're all possible. I'll be reading more about this slow business...slowly. Check our links page for additional gleanings.
The Bungalow Blog
07 December 2007, 01:37 AM Filed in: projects
We've finally lucked into having a client willing to document the experience of the design and construction process. Not only that, these folks are blogging the whole show. Follow the Williams as they navigate their way through the discovery, negotiation, purchase, design, demolition, construction and completion of a 1925 classic bungalow. We've had a great time working with them. They have terrific intuition about the project and their creative approach to getting things done has been great fun to watch. I'll continue to post about this project, so check their progress here as well as their site.
Big Show
09 May 2007, 03:07 PM Filed in: parkco
news
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 Filed in: parkco
news
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.