Many small businesses that never had to worry about nonexempt employees now will. Here’s what you need to know about the new overtime exemption rules.
Month: October 2016
How to Avoid Online Shopping Pitfalls this Holiday Season
Shopping online is a convenient way to buy holiday gifts and other things. Get the best prices and protect against online shopping problems and fraud with these tips.
Design Your Business Plan to Fit Your Business
Business planning is about results. For every business plan, you need to make the contents of your plan match your purpose. Don’t accept a standard outline just because it’s there.
Hiring Employees – How to Hire the Right People
Make hiring employees easier with the tips and techniques here for recruiting, interviewing and choosing the right people for your business.
Business Books and Manuals
Books and manuals for business owners and entrepreneurs starting a business, and for prospective franchisees. Published by Business Know-How and selected advertisers.
DAM Selects the Top 10 Architectural Books of 2016
© unsplash user Kazuend. Licensed under CC0
The Frankfurt Book Fair and Deutsches Architekturmuseum (DAM) have announced the results of the 2016 International DAM Architectural Book Award, their annual list of the ten best architectural books published in the past year.
This year, books were selected from 214 entries and 88 international publishers, based on criteria such as design content, quality of material and finishing, innovation, and topicality. The winning books feature a wide range of topics and graphic styles, and feature projects from all over the world.
Find the top 10 and additional shortlisted books below.
DAM Architectural Book Award 2016 Winners
African Modernism – The Architecture of Independence. Ghana, Senegal, Côte d’Ivoire, Kenya, Zambia
© Uwe Dettmar
Publisher: Park Books
Edited by: Manuel Herz
Authors: Manuel Herz, Ingrid Schröder, Hans Focketyn, Julia Jamrozik
Design: Marie Lusa
Photography/illustration: Iwan Baan, Alexia Webster
The book presents 80 Modernist structures in five countries, Ghana, Senegal, Côte d’Ivoire (Ivory Coast), Kenya and Zambia, which were built in the 1960s and 1970s, the first years of independence, when people’s hopes were at their highest. And to our eyes they seem unfamiliar and new, even though some of their architects were from Europe. Remarkable discoveries, our usual image of Africa with all its disasters and misery is transformed to one veering towards cool mid-century Modernism.
© Uwe Dettmar
Dieter Kienast -Stadt und Landschaft lesbar machen (Dieter Kienast – Readable City and Landscape)
© Uwe Dettmar
Publisher: gta Verlag
Authors: Anette Freytag
Design: Büro 146. Valentin Hindermann, Madeleine Stahel, Maike Hamacher with Tiziana Artemisio and Barbara Hoffmann
Photography/illustrations: Georg Aerni, Christian Vogt
In “Stadt und Landschaft lesbar Machen” Anette Freytag vividly breaks down how design, theory, and presentation are interwoven in Dieter Kienast’s work, and how the latter is a combination of artistic, scientific, intellectual, and social aspects (gta Verlag). This makes the book clearly different from existing illustrated books.
© Uwe Dettmar
Habitat Marocain Documents – Dynamics Between Formal and Informal Housing
© Uwe Dettmar
Publisher: Park Books
Edited by: Sascha Roesler
Author: Jean Hentsch, Udo Kultermann, Sascha Roesler, André Studer, Theres Studer
Design: Adrian Ehrat
Category: Construction history monograph
This is an evolutionary building monograph on a small series of three settlements built towards the end of the French colonial era (1954-56) in Casablanca, Morocco, by the two young Swiss architects Jean Hentsch and André Studer. They built a structuralist masterpiece, which attempted to adopt approaches to regional vernacular architecture and enable future transformations of the rigid structure. This approach can be followed by means of the architects’ very historical looking travel photos of the country at that time. The actual transformations that occurred during the next 60 years are then shown, and thus the life of these structures, revealing a typical dilemma of well-meaning Westerners, whose cultural prejudices collide with the residents’ actual living habits.
© Uwe Dettmar
Housing Cairo: The Informal Response
© Uwe Dettmar
Publisher: Ruby Press
Author: Marc Angélil, Charlotte Malterre-Barthes u.a.
Design: Charlotte Malterre-Barthes, Something Fantastic (Julian Schubert, Elena Schütz, Leonard Streich)
Photography: Students on the Master of Advanced Studies in Urban Design course at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH) in Zurich
Housing Cairo documents the aspect of informal urbanization in this metropolis with 20 million inhabitants. The book is the result of a Master’s course (Master of Advanced Studies in Urban Design at ETH Zurich) supervised by Marc Angélil, and using photographs and plans traces the city’s historical development through to the present day. Taking a district on the west bank of the Nile as an example, the methods of construction used in the very dense cluster is analyzed using photos and drawings.
© Uwe Dettmar
Das leichte Haus. Utopie und Realität der Membranarchitektur (The Light House. The Utopia and Reality of Membrane Architecture)
© Uwe Dettmar
Publisher: Spector Books
Author: Walter Scheiffele
Published by: Stiftung Bauhaus Dessau
Design: Ludovic Balland Typography Cabinet, Basel, Siri Bachmann
The author Walter Scheiffele bases his publication on the 1926 book “Der Raum als Membran” by Siegfried Ebeling (1894–1963). At that time the latter developed his theory of biological architecture. On the basis of Ebeling’s biography, the books relates the history of lightweight construction and the theories behind it. It ranges from the Glass Chain and Bruno Taut, Paul Scheerbart, Hermann Finsterlin, and Hugo Junkers’ metal building projects, to Frei Otto and Werner Sobek. Interviews with contemporary architects were conducted and feature in the book.
© Uwe Dettmar
Publisher: Princeton Architectural Press
Author: Paul Lewis, Marc Tsurumaki, and David J. Lewis
Edited by: Sara Stemen, Jennifer Lippert
Design: Lewis.Tsurumaki.Lewis
The idea is so surprisingly obvious that one really wonders why no one ever thought of it until now: 62 buildings from the 20th century are presented in freshly drawn cross-sections (strictly speaking: cross-section perspectives). These cross-sections reveal not only the spatial qualities in each case, but also provide information about the way the edifices are constructed. Walls and floors are literally cut open, revealing some surprises: Who knew that Le Corbusier’s chapel in Ronchamps is far less solid than previously thought? Insights resulting from the method behind the cross-section make the book a textbook, which all architecture students ought to consult from their very first semester on. It contains a wealth of discoveries about structures that are seemingly familiar and have often featured in publications, which makes close study along the edges of the cross-sections a pleasure.
© Uwe Dettmar
Nadogradnje – Urban Self-Regulation in Post-Yugoslav Cities
© Uwe Dettmar
Publisher: M BOOKS
Authors: Martin Düchs, Monika Grubbauer, Hanna Hilbrandt, Vladimir Kulić, Sven Quadflieg, Dubravka Sekulić
Edited by: Sven Quadflieg, Gregor Theune
Design: Sven Quadflieg
Photography: Gregor Theune
Based on a series of photos by Gregor Theune, this book addresses the phenomenon of adding stories to and extending existing residential buildings, as well as the continued construction of their type in the successor states to former Yugoslavia (“Nadogradnje”). It presents a good two dozen of these photographs, which are peculiarly fascinating: Time and again stories are added to pre-fabricated buildings form the socialist era – not infrequently in the form of timber-clad huts with gable roofs.
© Uwe Dettmar
The Other Architect. Another Way of Building Architecture
© Uwe Dettmar
Publisher: Spector Books/CCA
Edited by: Giovanna Borasi
Design: Jonathan Hares
“Architecture as production of ideas” (Mirko Zardini)
This exhibition catalog, which was produced in collaboration with the Canadian Centre for Architecture, is about “The Other Architect”, in other words not about forms of architecture and the classic production of architecture, but about how new spaces and laboratories for working and reflecting in can be created outside traditional structures and beyond built edifices. It is not about building or buildings, but about thinking. The book is a collection of some 20 examples dating from the 1960s to the present day. They include, for example, the international ILAUD Group, IAUS in New York, and Forensic Architecture from London.
© Uwe Dettmar
This is Frank Lloyd Wright
© Uwe Dettmar
Publisher: Laurence King Publishing
Edited by: Liz Faber
Author: Ian Volner
Design: Laurence King Publishing, Art Director Angus Hyland
Illustrations: Michael Kirkham
This short publication is a skillful mixture of a monograph about the legendary American architect Frank Lloyd Wright that by all means deserves to be taken seriously, and an entertaining closer look at a highly colorful character – an esteemed teacher, failed businessman, bon viveur. Even Wright’s extravagant dress style gets a mention. Short articles, sumptuous illustrations, and a cover made of hard cardboard give “This is Frank Lloyd Wright” the appearance of a children’s book. It is a clever disguise for a successful introduction to the work of one of the greatest architects of recent times – educational literature at its best.
© Uwe Dettmar
Völlig losgelöst – Architektur der 1970er- und 1980er-Jahre in der Nordwestschweiz und den grenznahen Regionen (Completely Detached – Architecture of the 1970s and 1980s in Northwest Switzerland and Border Regions)
© Uwe Dettmar
Publisher: Park Books
Authors: Christian Flierl, Ulrike Jehle-Schulte Strathaus, Roger Ehret
Design: Andreas Hidber
Photographer: Christian Flierl
Apart from the title “Völlig losgelöst”, which refers a to chapter of Pop music from the 1970s and 1980s, in terms of format and design this work initially appears to be a classic illustrated book. The book has recent architectural photographs of buildings from the era to which its slightly attention-grabbing refers. Using an extremely calm visual idiom and desaturated colors, Christian Flierl photographs buildings of which we are hardly still aware. Pleasantly short interviews by Ulrike Jehle-Schulte Strathaus and other authors, as well as a historical context help the reader understand this era and accept its aesthetics long after. Given the compelling nature of its content, theme, and style, this book deserves to keep on being perused and discovered.
© Uwe Dettmar
DAM Architectural Book Award 2016 Shortlist
- The Architectural Heritage of Sri Lanka (Publisher: Talisman Publishing)
- Architecture Reading Aid Ahmedabad (Ruby Press)
- Designing TWA – Eero Saarinens Airport Terminal in New York (Park Books)
- Himmel aus Beton – Gisela Erlacher (Park Books)
- Martin Rauch, Gebaute Erde – Gestalten & Konstruieren mit Stampflehm (DETAIL)
- Stadtbilderklärer Gera-Lusan (Mitteldeutscher Verlag)
- SUDU: Research / Manual (Ruby Press)
- Up Up: Stories of Johannesburg´s Highrises (Hatje Cantz)
- Veduten der Normalstadt (Franz Schiermeier Verlag)
The award ceremony will be held on October 19, 2016 in the library at Deutsches Architekturmuseum and all winning books will be presented at the Frankfurt Book Fair from October 20 to 23, 2016.
This year the external jury comprised: Werner Huthmacher (photographer), Torsten Köchlin (designer), Karoline Mueller-Stahl (lector, author), Christoph Scheffer (arts editor hr-iNFO radio), Martin Seelinger (architect, treasurer of The Society of the Friends of Deutsches Architekturmuseum).
The internal jurors were: Peter Cachola Schmal (Director, DAM), Annette Becker (curator, DAM), Oliver Elser (curator, DAM), Christina Budde (curator, architecture education at DAM \ coordination, DAM Architectural Book Award 2016).
News via DAM.
Note Design Studio uses clay to sculpt new shapes for Sancal’s Tonella chair
Be Your Best Self, Try Patience!
As an obstetrician, whether I like it or not I have to be patient. Pregnancy takes time to allow a baby to develop enough to survive the outside world. Although many pregnant women including myself grew weary of being pregnant, few if any of us would want to trade places with a woman whose pregnancy lasted only long enough for her to deliver a premature baby who did not survive or a baby that had to remain weeks or even months in the hospital. Labor takes time for a woman to deliver. Yes, we sometimes have to intervene for the sake of the mother or the baby, but sometimes intervening too early can lead to procedures that may have otherwise been avoided. Interestingly enough although I chose a profession that requires patience, I do not consider myself a patient person except when I exercise my profession. But what I realize in just the same way we needed time to develop as babies in the womb, we need time to develop into our best selves and that certainly requires patience.
I was sitting at a dinner event with a lovely lady recently and she had a goal to loose 30 lbs. We discussed the steps she was taking and she was indeed doing all the right things but she lamented that she had not lost any weight. When we spoke further she revealed that she started the process only two weeks ago but she wanted to loose the weight instantly. I reminded her that she didn’t gain the weight instantly and encouraged and reassured her that if she stuck to it she will see the results.
I want to offer you the same encouragement in each and every aspect of your journey to be your best self. If you reflect on your life, chances are you will recognize that your successes were not overnight. If you are a professional, it often required years of schooling. If you are a business owner it likely required countless hours to allow your business to grow. Unfortunately sometimes we fail to apply the same lessons of patience, time and effort to our personal life in the same way we do to our professional life. If your goal is weight loss, adjust your food choices and eating habits, increase your exercise but give it time. The vast majority of people who loose weight quickly by fad diet regain it in short order. If your goal is learning a new language, that also requires time, effort, commitment and patience. If your goal is to improve your ability to meditate to reduce stress, it takes practice and hence time; the list goes on and on.
My own personal journey of patience was perhaps most tested in the time it took for me to meet the man who is now my husband. I had never hoped or expected to be married in my early twenties but as I approached my mid thirties without a prospect in site, I became anxious and frustrated. To say that I was kicking and screaming may not be an understatement. Although I did not appreciate some of the benefits at the time I can now look back with gratitude; gratitude that I had time to establish myself in my career; gratitude that I had time to better understand the woman I am and the type of person who would suit me best; gratitude that I had time to cultivate friendships, which with the business of family life I have now I would never had established; gratitude that I had time to travel to many different countries; gratitude that I had time to discover hobbies I enjoy. My main regret about that time was not that it took so long to meet the right man but that I lacked the patience to fully enjoy the process.
So whether you are blessed with patience or are reluctantly forced to be patient, the category in which I sometimes feel I belong; patience is an invaluable virtue in your journey to becoming the best you. It does not mean inactivity. It does not mean lack of persistence. It does not mean giving up on your dreams. But it involves the recognition that if you stick to what you need to do and apply your best efforts the results may likely take longer than you wish.
But I do believe that if you stick to it, it will come!
The post Be Your Best Self, Try Patience! appeared first on Change your thoughts.
An Open-Air House / Arnau Estudi d’Arquitectura
© Marc Torra Ferrer
- Architects: Arnau Estudi d'Arquitectura
- Location: 17178 Les Preses, Girona, Spain
- Project Year: 2016
- Photographs: Marc Torra Ferrer
- Author Architect: Arnau Vergès Tejero
- Collaborators: Xevi Bayona, Jordi CusidÛ Carrera
© Marc Torra Ferrer
From the architect. Stretching itself out on the meadow, looking at the sky and all that is close to it: tree crowns, nearby mountain peaks, clouds, flying birds… the open-air house establishes the relationship with the surroundings through the courtyard, open to the sky and elevated things, and at the same time protects itself from the road and the neighbouring houses.
This design project is located in a residential district build on an old vegetable plot and crops demarcated by pumice walls. The house is situated in one of the ends of this site and borders on a road in the north-west, on other houses in the south and in the east, and there are trees from the four winds. In this location, we lay out a ground level house, opaque in the north, changing towards the south and open to the sky through the courtyard, which is conceived as a big connecting space of the house. The garden, raised a bit higher than the rest of the plot, is equipped with automatic shutters, allowing different intensity level of interaction with the neighbourhood: from full opacity to complete openness, passing though the blinds with the changing angle of their slats. The L-shaped wall, built from its own reused pumice stone it the alter ego of the Persian blinds with their adjustable slats; its task is to isolate the house from the wind and the cold from the north as well as from the noise and the visibility of the busy road.
© Marc Torra Ferrer
Floor Plan
© Marc Torra Ferrer
Over the former mosaic of vegetable patches, we draw a new 1.5 X 1.5 m plot, in which we fit the whole project. This order is expressed in the structure and also gives us answers about the layout and wall coverings. Inside the wall, almost left free-standing because of the linear skylight, there is a corridor, which is in charge of organizing the program for this dwelling: a space which connects the changing areas of the house with the sky always above and follows the relentless rhythm drawn by the structure.
© Marc Torra Ferrer
The open-air house wants to come across friendly to the neighbourhood, bashful to the road and rooted to the ground; it wants to be a refuge of peace and quiet in the bustle of modern life. The open-air house is just a meadow of fresh grass where one can listen to birds and count the clouds floating above.
© Marc Torra Ferrer
Sig Nordal 