Project Could be a Dream — Sh Boom
Remember a time when music, people and life was light-hearted and pleasant. Ah, Life Could be a Dream, Sweetheart, but how about architectural projects? The dream project is the project that compensates the provider, in my case the architect, after design and construction completion and continues to pay dividends. Why would you need a project that pays and continues to pay? Because, architecture is a labor-task profession. A design firm exerts an amount of time/labor to finish tasks and receives compensation for design or consulting task completion. It’s a laborious trade similar to other Architecture, Engineering and Construction (AEC) trades. Effort exerted = money received, but what if the initial architectural effort paid in perpetuity? read more →
Inspire — A Clover
Can something unassuming, like a clover be the inspiration for something substantial, like an architectural project? Yes and yes. In fact it has been, is and will be as long as there are architects who are inspired by the wonders around them. read more →
Renewal — Re-Ranch
renovate, remodel, restore, refresh, recondition, refurbish, renewal…re-Ranch. While the definition of most of those words are self-explanatory, the term “Re-Ranch” might make you wonder. Allow me a moment to share the Re-Ranch journey. It begins with a remodel idea that evolved to a rebuild and finally resolved as a different remodel. The Re-Ranch story starts in a small Texas town, with a man named Ray and his wife Becky. read more →
Ugly is in the Details
Enemies are the factions that want the opposite of your best intentions. Your right is their wrong. Their action is your reaction. This polarity is especially true regarding your friends-in-survival, air and water who ironically can be a building’s worst enemies. I call this gang The infiltrators, most notably the air assassins & wiley water who lurk in the environment ready to attack your building nooks and crannies. When infiltrators attack they leave mayhem and destruction in their wake. Air and water damage is ugly. What can you do to prevent damage? Ugly is in the details! read more →
Site Context — Man and Natural Influence
Getting to know a person can be easy. You sit down, share a cup of your favorite brew and ask questions. Almost effortlessly, you discover similarities. It might be something physical you notice immediately like height, eye color or hair color (whether bottled or bald). But as you converse, you learn about unique hobbies, interests or values that define the person. The inquisitive dialog is how you become acquainted with each other. That’s how I spend the first part of home design — getting to know the family. But in getting to know the site, I engage in a very different type of dialog. read more →
Design Guts — Inside Your Architect
If you’ve spent any time reading this website or chatting with me, you know I design projects based on your lifestyle, preferences and land. The notion of people and place permeates my design exercises and every design decision I make. Heck, it’s even my tagline — personalized homes — blending lifestyle, environment and community! And when you think you’ve heard enough, I remind you again I design for you and your environment. Ok, enough already, but you might be interested in knowing what design challenges and features I like. read more →
What’s This GREEN Stuff?
I’m an architect and I’m green! Well, I think I’m green or at the very least I like what some people in the construction industry call “green behavior”. By “green behavior” I don’t mean new or inexperienced. I mean earth-friendly, but I didn’t always think this way. It was my perception of the biggest problem in the industrial world that inspired my environmental awareness. Like many people who have nothing better to do, I think about nothing and a wandering mind dangerously analyzes problems — at least mine does. Anyway, my perception of the industrial world’s biggest problem is a theory called — the generation gap. Some behavioral historian (this is casual writing no credible references available) defines the generation gap as “the time it takes from the moment we realize we have a problem to do something about it”. And I think it’s this perception that the world has an environmental dilemma that drives this green stuff. read more →
Eco-Chic v Eco-Geek — A Fine Line
I thought I was living green. I convinced myself a hybrid vehicle, curb-side recycling, motion-lights and energy-star appliances grant me eco-chic status. I’m not alone. Many sustainable-thinkers tout their “living green” contributions. I brag about our super-insulated home, tankless hot water heater, aerobic septic, water conservation, recycled paving and drought tolerant plants. Congratulations to you and me for recycling and conserving resources, but I realized living green means practicing good green habits and being vigilant about changing other habits to live greener. To be green, I have to continually think green and live green. My goal is to transcend eco-chic and become an eco-geek. read more →