Archi-Table – Any (cran) Berry Salad
It’s Thanksgiving. That historic American holiday where we celebrate existence, friendship, family and sharing that may digress into gluttony. Most of your treasured Thanksgiving recipes tempt your culinary skills with different utensils, appliances and some form of basting. But, I’ve been banished from cooking since the early 1990’s because of an unfortunate incident with a wok, cayenne pepper & a computer. I won’t share the entire story here, but it is a story worthy of a future blog article. So, my holiday recipe swap is a family favorite that requires NO skill, heated appliances or cayenne pepper. This recipe is my mom’s Cranberry Salad. read more →
The First One — A Tale of Two Projects
It was the best of times, it was the worst of times…that introduction to an American classic (Charles Dickens, A Tale of Two Cities) is an equally fitting introduction to my Tale of Two Projects, both hope and despair, wisdom and foolishness, real and imagined. It was the year of our Lord one thousand nine hundred and ninety when I started my architectural engineering career in a moderate-sized design firm. It was a simpler time. We did things by hand. Our phones had cords. We used reference books and wrote with pens. We woke up every day and drove to an office. We talked to people face-to-face. We typed reports on a manual typewriter or word processor. We made our own lunch and we didn’t have the distractions we have today. It was a time when a man, an architect could be alone with his thoughts and solve, or sometimes create, problems. read more →
My Hero – Citizen Architect!
Everyone needs a hero. I know what you’re thinking. Marvel bombarded us with blockbuster superhero films the past decade and you could easily mistake my hero worship for one of those spangly-outfitted heroes. But, the hero to which I refer is not the tall-building-leaping or high-tech-toy variety. My chosen hero may have great toys but the similarities end there because my hero is the chick with the bic, the man with the plan, it’s Citizen Architect! read more →
Work/Life — A Merger
Imagine you’re driving along a two-lane, one-way highway. You’re comfortably cruising at a pace marginally higher than the speed limit because your travel music, Flight of the Bumblebee, inspires your cruise control. Traffic is light and life is good because all is in order, but ahead you spot the inevitable “MERGE” sign. read more →
Why I’m an Architect – It Was a Happy Accident
Why are any of us architects? Bob Borson, an inquiring architect, twitter presence & blogging God asked the same question of his closest virtual-architect friends and asked them to share their stories in his blogging brain child, the #Architalks forum. I read many entries and solicited myself a belated invitation which Bob graciously accepted so here’s my becoming an architect story. read more →
Kitchen Design — Stages Trump Triangle
The triangle. It’s a spectacular shape. It’s strong, efficient and aesthetic. Think of the real and virtual triangles you encounter everyday…yield signs, trusses, diagrams, fractals, games, love, kitchens…kitchens? Of course, countless kitchen diagrams identify an optimum kitchen work triangle between the fridge, sink and oven. There’s no denying those are critical work centers in every kitchen; however, an efficient working triangle doesn’t automatically create a well-designed kitchen. read more →
The Agent – Value Beyond Construction
I often wonder if my architecture work matters. So much of what an architect does suffers mistranslation and loses design intent. By the time an idea cycles through construction, numerous people guess what it should be rather than clarify what it is. Unless a client hires the architect to monitor construction there’s no link between the design inspiration and the finished construction. One in 12 clients hires me to observe construction because they don’t understand the value. This story reveals how the “one” recognized an architect’s value beyond construction. read more →
The Multi-Client — Is Your Architect Faithful?
You did it! You found your architect and (s)he is all yours. Does hiring your architect and paying your initial deposit ensure a faithful exchange or does your architect have competing interests? Once you hire the architect, (s)he immediately earns four clients and accepts obligations that extend beyond your desires. Is this a conflict of interest? Is your architect loyal? Since you paid the architect, (s)he should be working for you, but also works for these 3rd party tag-a-longs; the State, the Code and the Contractor. read more →