Not enough hours in the day? Here are six things you can do to get through your to-do list with time to spare.
Month: July 2016
How to Get Existing Customers to Keep Coming Back
Hanging onto existing customers is a sure way to help your business thrive. Here are four ways to gain customer loyalty.
Top Mobile Payment Systems for Retailers
Mobile payment solutions for small business. Here’s an overview of the options available for mobile credit card processing.
How to Keep the Peace in a Family Business
Don’t let conflicts in your family business get in the way of your success. Follow these tips to help avoid problems and keep the peace.
How to Reach Decision Makers and Purchasing Agents
How do you meet decision makers? How can you find people who have the authority to make purchases? These ideas can help.
Pokédrone allows Pokémon Go users to catch out-of-reach species
Tech brand TRNDlabs has customised its miniature drone so Pokémon Go video game players can access Pokémon in difficult places and avoid walking into hazards (+ movie). (more…)
How America’s diet has changed from 1975 to now
New York gives thumbs up to subterreanean Lowline park
Geocaminos Office / Arias Recalde Taller de Arquitectura
© Javier Callejas Sevilla
- Architects: Arias Recalde Taller de Arquitectura
- Location: Calle el Castañal, 18008 Granada, Spain
- Author Architect : Luis Gonzalo Arias Recalde
- Collaborators: Manel González de Ribot, Juan Miguel Quirosa García
- Project Year: 2016
- Photographs: Javier Callejas Sevilla
- Construction Company: GEOCAMINOS SL
© Javier Callejas Sevilla
The engineers at Geocaminos, an engineering and civil works company, came to us with the idea that their offices needed to be the faithful image of their business activity: construction materials needed to accurately and truly express how they are used, all other superfluous aspects had to be done away with. Their offices had to mirror the pure nature of basic construction materials.
© Javier Callejas Sevilla
Given the reduced budget and time frame to carry out the project, we decided to make the most of the interior space of the commercial premise—maintaining it just as we had found it, to introduce a mezzanine—its structure made out of steel plates that are used as auxiliary materials in civil works, to use glass for the partitions and leave all of the services in plain sight.
© Javier Callejas Sevilla
Diagram
© Javier Callejas Sevilla
The upper level is accessed by a folded metal plate, suspended by tensors held to the ceiling, which eliminate vibrations and compensate the flexion of the structure while conforming a guardrail.
© Javier Callejas Sevilla
The office unit is separated intentionally from the facade, generating a double height space that enhances the entrance area and introduces a spatiality that is unexpected for an office premise. The separation between the facade and offices allows the crossing of glances and views to the outside.
Section
Section
The proposal relies on the denuded surfaces of concrete, structural steel and brickwork to define the unfinished aesthetic experience. Defects are not repaired, they are kept and highlighted, standing in contrast with the technical precision of the structure that is inserted into the premise.
© Javier Callejas Sevilla
Four Outstanding Housing Projects Win 2016 AIA/HUD Secretary Awards
Four housing projects have been awarded the 2016 AIA/HUD Secretary Awards. Given by The American Institute of Architects’ (AIA) Housing Knowledge Community, in conjunction with the Office of the Secretary of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), the award is given to projects that “offer examples of important developments in the housing industry.”
“Each of these developments are innovative housing opportunities offering seniors and families alike a place to thrive,” said HUD Secretary Julián Castro. “These winners prove that affordable and accessible housing can become part of the fabric of any neighborhood and reinforce the principles of inclusiveness and opportunity.”
The prize is given to projects in four categories: Excellence in Affordable Housing Design; Creating Community Connection Award; Community-Informed Design Award; and Housing Accessibility – Alan J. Rothman Award. Read on for a brief description from each of the winners.
Category One: Excellence in Affordable Housing
Recognizing architecture that demonstrates overall excellence in terms of design in response to both the needs and constraints of affordable housing.
Lakeside Senior Apartments; Oakland, CA / David Baker Architects
© Bruce Damonte
The project is home to 91 very-low-income and special-needs homeless seniors, many of whom have been displaced with the Bay Area’s rapidly rising housing costs. The building has extensive on-site services and is designed to support independent living, with strong transit connections to downtown Oakland and San Francisco and access to crucial retail offerings, including a pharmacy and grocery. The high-density housing—138 units per acre—provides indoor and outdoor community spaces at both the ground floor and upper levels. The central west-facing main courtyard opens visually toward the street and is warmed by afternoon sun. A rooftop suite of community spaces overlooks the lake, maximizing views for the most users. Designed with a complementary series of sustainable strategies, the building is pending LEED for Homes Mid-Rise Platinum Certification.
© Bruce Damonte
Category Two: Creating Community Connection Award
Recognizing projects that incorporate housing within other community amenities for the purpose of either revitalization or planned growth.
Dorchester Art + Housing Collaborative (DA+HC); Chicago / Landon Bone Baker Architects
© Barry Rustin
As a former Chicago Housing Authority project sitting vacant since 2007, the Dorchester Art + Housing Collaborative (DA+HC) stands as the cornerstone of the recently revitalized Greater Grand Crossing neighborhood. The project embodies a successful collaboration between private, public, and non-profit sectors committed to transforming the neighborhood into a cultural incubator through the reactivation of abandoned buildings and cultural foundations in the under-invested neighborhood. The DA+HC features a rehabilitated block of 32 of the original 36 two- and three-bedroom townhouse units that now provide mixed-income housing. Four of the center units were removed to create the focus of the development—a 2200-square-foot Arts Center complete with a dance studio, work and tech shops, and public meeting space, offering arts creation, education, performance, and display space for people of all ages.
© Sara Pooley
Category Three: Community-Informed Design Award
Recognizing design that supports physical communities as they rebuild social structures and relationships that may have been weakened by outmigration, disinvestment, and the isolation of inner-city areas.
Disaster Recovery Round 2 (DR2); Houston / buildingcommunityWORKSHOP
© buildingcommunityWORKSHOP
Disaster Recovery Round 2 (DR2) launched five years after Hurricane Ike devastated the Texas Gulf Coast. The DR2 program sought to fill the remaining gap in home repair and replacement while offering homeowners choice in their disaster recovery experience. DR2 was designed to bring together the expertise of local design architects and insight from residents directly affected by the storm to build single-family, high-quality, cost-effective, sustainable designs. Through a series of community lead charrettes, the design team gathered contextual information for every affected neighborhood, including demographic research and documentation of neighborhood form and character. This approach created a collaborative relationship with the city, residents, and local designers ensuring the process supported local professionals as well as benefited residents. Over 206 homeowners have met with the design team to select the housing options that best meet their needs.
© buildingcommunityWORKSHOP
Category Four: Housing Accessibility | Alan J. Rothman Award
Recognizing exemplary projects that demonstrate excellence in improving housing accessibility for people with disabilities.
Port Townsend Residence; Port Townsend, WA / FabCab
© Dale Lang
This house was designed to meet the homeowners goal of creating a home accommodating to them both – he uses a power wheelchair whereas she does not. Careful site planning was essential to create a continuous accessible route from the street through the home to the terrace and onto the common garden space. The attached carport accommodates the wheelchair-accessible van with its ramp, creating a covered route from the front entrance into the van. An open plan ensures easy circulation within a modest 1,325 sf footprint. The telescoping pocket doors to the bedrooms also allow flexibility in how to use the rooms and how connected they are to the living spaces. The entry door and sidelight feature vertical glazing to allow viewing of the external approach from any height. The kitchen and bathrooms are designed to facilitate use from both standing and seated positions. This project demonstrates that universal design and accessibility features are compatible with a warm and modern aesthetic.
© Dale Lang
The jury for the 2016 AIA/HUD Secretary Awards included: Jamie Blosser, AIA (Chair), Atkin Olshin Schade Architects; Ariella Cohen, Editor-in-Chief, Next City; Kevin Harris, FAIA, Kevin Harris Architect, LLC; David Lee, FAIA, Stull and Lee, Inc.; Rachelle Levitt, U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development; Lynn M. Ross, U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and Suman Sorg, FAIA, Sorg & Associates, P.C.
Sig Nordal 