This week we've hand-picked five of the most promising opportunities on Dezeen Jobs, including vacancies at interior architecture studio Johnson Naylor and architecture firm David Chipperfield Architects.

Senior designer at Johnson Naylor

Interior architecture firm Johnson Naylor is looking for an interior designer to join its studio in London. The practice recently converted a world war two pumping station into a holiday home on Dungeness beach in England's Kent.

Browse all roles for designers

3D visualiser at David Chipperfield Architects

David Chipperfield Architects has completed the London outpost of art gallery Bastien, featuring an exhibition space, private showroom and small office. The firm has a vacancy for a 3D visualiser to join its team in London.

View all visualisation jobs

Project architect at Coop Himmelb(l)au

Coop Himmelb(l)au is searching for a project architect to develop design concepts at its Vienna office in Austria. The studio completed the Museum of Contemporary Art and Planning Exhibition, a huge curved art complex in China's Shenzhen.

See more project architect opportunities

Architects at Allies and Morrison

Allies and Morrison has created a masterplan for Madinat Al Irfan, a new city in Oman which will be transformed from a desert valley into a 624-hectare urban centre. The studio is recruiting for architects at its London office with experience across the masterplanning, commercial, residential and mixed-use sectors.

View all architecture positions

Furniture/industrial designer at Starck Network Agency

Starck Network Agency has an opening for a furniture/industrial designer at its practice in London. French designer Philippe Starck has collaborated with luxury car brand Bently to create a smart power dock for the vehicle manufacturer's new Bentayga Hybrid model.

See more industrial design roles

See all the latest architecture and design roles on Dezeen Jobs

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The top architecture and design roles this week include positions at Johnson Naylor and David Chipperfield Architects - Dezeen

The four American men who played a key role in shaping the so-called Deal of the Century have a history of speaking the language of Israel's far-right, showing complete indifference toward the plight of Palestinians.

As US President Donald Trump announced the 'Deal of the Century' on the long-standing Israeli-Palestine conflict last week, the president - facing his own impeachment trial - failed to evoke any positive response both from Palestine and the international community.

The deal was doomed to fail for many reasons, ranging from its false premise to the absence of Palestinian leaders who snubbed the move outright. Another reason why the deal came across as a hoax was down to its key architects: Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner; pro-Zionist American casino mogul Sheldon Adelson; war hawk Mike Pence; and the US ambassador to Israel, David M. Friedman, a strong supporter of Israeli settlement construction.

With arbiters like those, the trajectory of US policy towards the Palestinians, already deferential to Israeli interests, lost whatever little semblance of partiality was left.

Here's a quick look at the deal's four architects Kushner, Adelson, Pence and Friedman and their controversial positions on the question of Palestine's future.

Jared Kushner

Born in 1981 in New Jersey, Kushner is the grandson of Joseph Kushner who was a Jewish Holocaust survivor from Novogrudok, Belarus.

He grew up in New Jersey's Orthodox Jewish community and attended Jewish schools that drew parallels between Judaism and Zionism.

Kushner's classmates were expected to draw maps of Israel without consulting any books or notes, just from memory, and they often identified West Bank by its biblical names, Judea and Samaria, an expression Zionist leaders use to lay claim to the Arab lands.

In 2003, Kushner graduated from Harvard University and reports emerged that his father donated $2.5 million to boost his son's chances, a charge his family denies.

He came under the spotlight in 2007, the year when he married Trump's daughter Ivanka Trump. By 2016, Kushner was helping his father-in-law to become the US president, managing his online campaign. Ever since he has played an important role in shaping America's foreign policy, taking a central role in 'resolving' the Israel-Palestine conflict.

Kushner has previously come under criticism over his murkybusiness dealings and links with far-right Christian evangelical groups. In 2017, 10 evangelical leaders issued statements in support of Kushner, describing him and his wife as an example of God to use a young Jewish couple to help Christians.

After Trump unveiled his notorious Palestine deal, Kushner defended it, disregarding underlying political questions of territorial control and Palestinian sovereignty. In a TV interview, he bragged about reading '25 books' on Israel and Palestine, a claim that came across as a desperate attempt to establish some kind of authority over the subject. He was also condescending and racist as per some observers towards Palestinians, as he claimed they are "going to screw up another opportunity, like theyve screwed up every other opportunity that theyve ever had in their existence.

As the US elections draw close, it seems Trump wants to keep enjoying Evangelicals support as he did before, when he received more than 80 percent of his votes from the group following his promise to become Israels best friend during his campaign.

Since the beginning of his presidency, Trump has taken several actions against Palestine. His Israel-centred policies are the combination of Christian supremacy and Evangelism, following his decision to appoint Kushner as the Senior Middle East Advisor tasked with creating a so-called peace plan between Israel and Palestine - a move overwhelmingly supported by the US evangelists.

Sheldon Adelson

Growing up in Boston, Adelson was the son of a cab driver with sixth-grade education. As his wife claims, he was beaten up for being Jewish when he was a child. He is an entrepreneur who started more than 50 businesses and lost his fortune in the late 1960s when he was in his thirties

In the mid-1990s, he became extraordinarily rich when in 1995 he sold the pioneering computer trade show Comdex to the Japanese conglomerate SoftBank for $800 million and started business in gambling by opening his Venetian casino resort in 1999 in Las Vegas.

He saw former president Barack Obama as a threat and spent $150 million in a futile attempt to unseat the socialist and anti-Israel president in the 2012 elections. It was not enough just to back Newt Gingrich.

However, in 2016, the Las Vegas billionaire donated $82m towards both Trumps and other Republican campaigns and his views, including his remarkably staunch support for Netanyahu has become the official US line.

His commitment allowed him to push for the appointment of Bolton as national security adviser which would be an important step towards killing the nuclear deal with Iran. As the New York Times reported, he became a member of shadow National Security Council.

Consequently, following Trumps announcement about the US decision to pull out of the Iran agreement, he was reported to have held a private meeting at the White House with Trump alongside Bolton and Pence.

He was also the man who pushed the US to move its Israel embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. Adelson was vocally supportive of the move to recognise Jerusalem as Israel's capital, he even offered to pay for a new US embassy there. He cheered on the president as details of the new proposal were read out.

Adelsons considerable support for Republicans is in no small part motivated by what he regards as their more reliable support for the policies of Netanyahu, which appear intent on preventing the creation of an independent Palestinian state.

Mike Pence

The vice president of the US, said: "Israel's enemies are our enemies, Israel's cause is our cause. If this world knows nothing else, let it know this: America stands with Israel".

Pence used to work as a lawyer and became governor of the Hoosier State in 2013. He describes himself as a pretty ordinary Christian, a conservative and a Republican. He also said: "I made a commitment to Christ. I'm a born-again, evangelical Catholic."

He grew up in an Irish Catholic family and he and his family attended Grace Evangelical Church in the 1990s.

Trump chose him as the vice president as he believed that Pence has a strong pro-Israel sentiment which would help him strengthen his relations with Jewish voters.

In 2009, he stated his support for Israel and said: "Let me say emphatically, like the overwhelming majority of my constituents, my Christian faith compels me to cherish the state of Israel."

David M. Friedman

Prior to becoming the US ambassador to Israel, Friedman, 60, was Trumps top bankruptcy lawyer. He's well known for supporting the illegal Israeli settlements on the Palestinian lands, a position that makes him radically tilted in favour of Israel and blemishes his role as an independent arbitor in the Israel-Palestine conflict.

Unlike previous American ambassadors, who avoided making public appearances in East Jerusalem, Friedman attended a business conference held at an illegal Jewish settlement in the West Bank, an act that was seen as a major diplomatic transgression by a top American official.

Friedman has even shown his disregard toward the Oslo Accords, an agreement that leaves Jerusalem to be negotiated by Palestinians and Israel, strongly rejecting any unilateral move on the future of the city.

Source: TRT World

See the rest here:
Why the architects of Trump's Palestine deal were inherently biased - TRT World

The following is republished from The Paul R. Williams Project. For an expanded timeline complete with events from material history and society happening concurrent to milestones in the architect's life, refer to the extended version here.

Learn more about the remarkable life of Paul R. Williams on "Hollywood's Architect"

In the course of his five-decade career, Paul Revere Williams, an African American architect born in Los Angeles on February 18, 1894, overcame prejudice and designed thousands of buildings; served on many municipal, state and federal commissions; was active in political and social organizations; and earned the admiration and respect of his peers. In 1957, he was the first African American elected a Fellow of the American Institute of Architects. The path he has forged has served as an inspiration for young architects to this day. Learn more about the man and events that shaped his life in this timeline.

Paul Williams' father, Chester Stanley Williams, works at the original Peabody Hotel at the corner of Main and Monroe as a waiter from 1884 through 1893.

Chester S. Williams, Paul R. Williams' father, opens a confectionery shop with John Brame at 163 Beale Street in Memphis, Tennessee. A confectionery store sells sweet foods, including candy, cakes, pastries, candy fruits and ice cream.

Today Abe Schwab's, a dry goods store, is located at 163 Beale Street.

That same year Chester Stanley Williams and Lila A. Wright are married on February 25 in Avery Chapel, A.M.E. Church, Memphis.

Paul R. Williams' parents, Chester and Lila, move to Los Angeles with Paul's older brother, Chester Stanley Williams, Jr. His parents open a fruit stand on Olvera Street. (L.A. Times, February 28, 1993) Olvera Street is one of the oldest sections of downtown Los Angeles.

A view down Olvera Street | Security Pacific National Bank Photo Collection, the Los Angeles Public Library

Chester S. Williams is listed in the Los Angeles city directory as a waiter living at 842 Santee Street. Paul R. Williams is born at the Santee Street home on February 18, 1894.

Chester S. Williams, Paul's father, dies in 1896 when Williams is two years old. His mother dies two years later in 1898, leaving Williams and his brother orphans.

The 1898 Los Angeles city directory lists Lila Williams as living at 1405 Silver Street and working as a dressmaker.

When he is six years old, Williams attends Sentous Avenue Grammar School on Pico Boulevard. He writes about this school later in his life and says that he is the only African American student in his class.

In the 1900 U.S. Census, Los Angeles is ranked 36th in the nation based on population. Slightly more than 102,000 residents live in Los Angeles, and of that number, only 3,131 are Negroes.

As a comparison, Neyland Stadium at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, seats 102,000.

The 1910 census data lists Paul R. Williams living with Emily P. Clarkson at 784 E. 15th Street in Los Angeles. Clarkson is later variously described as Williams' foster mother, godmother or guardian.

In a 1970 interview with Maggie Savoy, L.A. Times' Women's Editor, Williams describes Charles Clarkson as his foster father. The First A.M.E. Church dedication stone (Williams is a life-long member of the church) lists "C. I. Clarkson" as a trustee in 1903. This church elder may be the same Clarkson who fosters the orphaned, four-year-old Paul R. Williams.

In 1963, Williams contributes design plans for a new building for the church at 25th and LaSalle.

First A.M.E. Church of Los Angeles | Laurie Avocado / Wikicommons

A young Paul Revere Williams | Security Pacific National Bank Collection, Los Angeles Public Library

In June 1912, Paul R. Williams graduates with a class of 174 students from Polytechnic High School, Los Angeles. Polytechnic High School is described in a June 21 Los Angeles Times (1912) article as "the acme of present-day high school educational results."

For the next four years, he pursues a self-directed education studying architecture and improving his skills. As a member of the Los Angeles Architectural Club, he participates in the training and competitions offered through the Society of Beaux-Arts Architects (1913-1916); he studies architecture at the University of Southern California (1916-1919); he works as an apprentice in the offices of local architects and landscape designers.

By 1913, Paul R. Williams is working in the firm of landscape architect/city planner Wilbur D. Cook, Jr. where he gains experience in integrating house and garden design plans. Cook's ideas influence Williams' designs and are evident in the extensive landscaping for the 1926 Baird/Stewart/Garza House.

Cook is known for his landscaping work in Southern California, including the original gardens at the Beverly Hills Hotel, the City Park in Anaheim now Pearson Park and Irving Gill's Dodge House. Cook recognizes Williams' superior drafting and drawing skills when he assigns him the task of creating the hand-drawn perspective sketches for the park in Anaheim.

Baird/Stewart/Garza House, Glendale, CA. 2010 | David Horan for the Paul R. Williams Project at the Art Museum of the University of Memphis

After working with Cook, Williams writes that he works for Reginald Davis Johnson from 1914 to 1917. (1942 AIA document) Johnson, a Pasadena architect, is noted for designing luxury homes. His revival residential designs with patios, loggias and courtyards aim to create a "true California style" appropriate to the climate and way of life. (California Southland, Sept. 26, 1926) Williams' work is influenced by these ideas.

In an interview, Williams remembers his early career with Johnson. "The first thing he did was put me on a $100,000 home in Santa Barbara. I'd never been in a house that cost more than $10,000. I couldn't guess how a person could spend that much money. I soon found out." (Los Angeles Times, October 11, 1970)

Williams is certified as a building contractor in 1915 and can build small projects. The California State Board of Architectural Examiners is the agency that maintains these records today, but the agency existed under a different name and mission in 1915. (Wesley Howard Henderson's unpublished research)

William studies architectural engineering at the University of Southern California from 1916 through 1919.

Designs Commercial Building

In the March 30 issue of Los Angeles Builder and Contractor (later known as Southwest Builder and Contractor), Williams is listed as the designer for a two-story commercial building on South Los Angeles Street. Louis M. Blodgett, a successful African American millionaire, is the builder. Paul Williams later builds both of Blodgett's homes in 1922 and 1953.

Registers for the Draft

On June 5, 1917, Williams registers for the U.S. military draft. He self-reports that he is an architectural draftsman working for Reginald Johnson.

Marries and Begins Work for Arthur Kelly

Williams marries Della Mae Givens on June 27, 1917. Della supports his career by "providing him with a comfortable setting in which he could visualize, create and turn his ideas into structures." (Los Angeles Sentinel, August 8, 1996) The Williams become a "power" couple on the social and philanthropic scene of Los Angeles.

He begins working with Arthur Kelly, whose design practice specializes in hotels, residences and public buildings. Williams works for Kelly from 1917 to 1921. (AIA papers) An example of Kelly's work is the dormitory at Westlake School for Girls in Los Angeles. Playboy Mansion West, Hugh Hefner's Los Angeles residence, is another of Kelly's designs.

Enters 2nd White Pine Architectural Competition

Williams submits an entry to a national competition sponsored by the influential White Pine Monograph Series to design a house for $12,500. He doesn't win a prize, but his entry is published in an issue of The Independent, one of the first national publications to reproduce his work. Williams' design entry is described in the article as an "unsymmetrical plan ... with picturesque exterior ... Practicability has not been sacrificed to make the design interesting."

White Pine Architectural Competition

Williams wins a Mention in 1918 for his design for a Lakeside Home in a national competition sponsored by the White Pine Series of Architectural Monographs. In 1919, he enters the same competition with plans for a Community Centre Building. This design receives Special Mention by the panel of judges. "... it is an expression of a Community Center Group, has the charm of a New England town, and the Community Building is unmistakably a wooden structure."

Renderings for both winning entries are published in the Monograph Series and can be seen in the Gallery.

Paul R. Williams' simple, compact and "well thought out" entry for the Hollow Tile House Competition is awarded first place by a panel of important regional architects, including John C. Austin. The judges write that Williams' superior renderings, tasteful exterior treatment and lack of "useless ornaments" contribute to the ease and economy of construction. His landscape design fits with Southern California conditions and extends the usable living space.

At 25 years of age, Williams lives at 784 E. 15th in Los Angeles with wife Della and Emily P. Clarkson, who is listed as his godmother in the 1920 U.S. census. Williams describes his occupation as "draftsman at an architect's office." He soon moves to 1271 West 35th Street a modest home in the black community of South Central Los Angeles where he lives for 30 years.

In 1920, he is appointed to the L.A. City Planning Commission by the 23rd Mayor of Los Angeles (Meredith P. Snyder) and serves on the commission until 1928. The city is changing dramatically with the railroads connecting Los Angeles to the rest of the nation. Land is cheap and abundant. Unlike cities in the East that accommodate growth with taller buildings, Los Angeles can spread out. The L.A. leaders want to plan for the city's future growth with a planning commission.

In January 1921, the Southern Chapter of AIA names the periodical Southwest Builder & Contractor as the official publication for public announcements. The June 1921 issue of Southwest Builder & Contractor lists Paul R. Williams's official certification to practice architecture in California. Williams later becomes a registered architect in the District of Columbia, New York and Tennessee. (AIA Directory 1960)

Also in 1921, Williams begins work in John C. Austin's architectural firm where he works until 1924. Austin's firm is known for large public and commercial projects. The Shrine Civic Auditorium and Hollywood Masonic Temple (1922 Timeline Architecture) are projects in Austin's firm during the years of Williams' employment. Williams describes his position in Austin's office as draftsman.

Shrine Civic Auditorium exterior. 1939 | Works Progress Administration Collection, Los Angeles Public Library

Early commissions for wealthy clients

Flintridge, named for and developed by Senator Frank Putnam Flint, is a wealthy, segregated suburb near Pasadena. Williams designs scores of homes in this upscale community, including this house for Katherine Flint, the Senator's widow. (It is a smaller version of the couple's original residence.) In later interviews, Williams remembers his professional relationship with the Senator, I got my start doing better homes ... from him." (Los Angeles Times. October 11, 1970) Eventually, he designs at least ten spec homes in the Flintridge area, and "the development has one of the greatest concentrations of Paul Williams' houses" in the region. (Personal communications, Tim Gregory, noted regional architectural historian, 2013)

The Louis Cass residence in Flintridge is typically described as Williams' first significant residential project for a wealthy white client. His biographies link the two men as high school classmates, but current research does not support this. Williams attended Polytechnic High School and graduated in 1912. Cass was an athletic star at Los Angeles High School, according to local newspaper accounts. After two years at Stanford University, he was named captain of the football team. (Los Angeles Times, November 27, 1911, and August 8, 1913) Cass becomes a successful insurance executive and is one of the founders of the Automobile Club of Southern California. In 1954, Williams designs a ranch house for Cass and his wife Virginia in Temecula, California.

Despite warnings that the African American community is not large or wealthy enough to support an architect, Williams finds work in this growing segment of society. After acquiring his architectural license, he begins to make important connections, including African American businessman Louis M. Blodgett. Blodgett, a Los Angeles entrepreneur with interests in construction, real estate, insurance and the funeral industry, hires the young architect to design a home in 1922 (and later in 1953). In 1924 Williams designs the Second Baptist Church one of the first major construction projects in the Central Ave area of Los Angeles.

Wins Special Mention in Small House Competition

In 1923, the Community Arts Association of Santa Barbara sponsors one of the earliest small house competitions in the United States. The cost to build the house could not exceed $5,000. Williams receives a "Special Mention" for his meritorious design. The judges note his creative placement of a fireplace on the outside terrace. Eight years later, Williams' entry is published in a catalog available nationwide of small house plans.

Williams joins AIA and opens an office

In 1923, Williams is notified by the Executive Secretary of American Institute of Architects (AIA), the national organization, of his election to membership. The Southern California Chapter of AIA elects Williams as an Associate member on September 30, 1922 a prerequisite for National AIA membership. He is the first known African American member in AIA.

In the 1962 AIA Directory, Williams writes that he opens Paul R. Williams & Associates in the Stock Exchange Building in downtown Los Angeles. He continues working for John C. Austin until he establishes his own client base.

Monrovia, California Administrative Group

Williams' and Milton W. Nigg's proposal for a group of administrative buildings is selected by the Monrovia Trustees from a number of competing proposals. Their winning rendering illustrates a complex of mission-style buildings with red tile roofs and stucco walls set in a park of mature oak trees covering a half block. (This particular architectural style is a popular choice for public buildings and private residences in Southern California throughout the 1920s.) The Monrovia Administrative Group is one of Williams' earliest successes for a large scale public complex.

The initial phase of the Administrative Group (Fire Department and Hall of Justice/Police Department/Jail buildings) is completed in February 1925. The swimming pool, bathhouse, tennis courts and athletic fields open later in the same year.

Second Baptist Church, Los Angeles

The Second Baptist Church, the first African American Baptist church in Los Angeles, opens its new facility in L.A.'s Central Avenue area. The building is designed by Williams and Norman F. Marsh, the official architect of the Southern Baptist Convention. The church pastor insists that all workmen constructing the church are from African American-owned businesses.

Second Baptist Church, Los Angeles, CA. 2010 | David Horan for the Paul R. Williams Project at the Art Museum of the University of Memphis

Designs for a Small Brick House Published

In 1925, the American Face Brick Association publishes the sixth edition of their The Home of Beauty: Designs for a Small Brick House. The book is a collection of "well rendered" and "meritorious" small house designs the professional group hopes will inspire and educate consumers and contractors to improve the quality of new American single-family homes. They also hope the competition and their publication will encourage a growing middle-class consumer to consider brick when building a residence.

A panel of well-known architects selects the best design ideas from a field of 400 entries submitted for competition by architects and architectural draftsmen from across the country. (The competition is coordinated by the professional journal Architectural Forum, formerly The Brickbuilder and the Committee on Competitions of the American Institute of Architects.) Though Williams' entry for a "simple cottage" is not selected as one of the finalists, his rendering for House, No. 150 is deemed worthy of inclusion in the 1925 publication. The editor's description of the Williams design recommends clients and builders chose a northeast-facing site "thereby providing morning sun in the dining room and a pleasant exposure for the living room and garden."

A note in the book's introduction states that working drawings/specifications and a list of materials are available to anyone for a $25 fee with proof that a "competent builder or contractor" had been secured.

Designs a Public School

It is announced in the Los Angeles Times that Williams is preparing plans for a two-story brick grammar school. This school at 1314 South Dacotah Street opens in 1926.

28th Street YMCA is completed

Williams' design for the 28th Street YMCA in the Central Avenue area of Los Angeles includes Spanish Colonial red clay roof tiles, a row of arched windows on the second-floor and smooth stucco finish. Bas-relief panels with busts of African American heroes, including Booker T. Washington and Frederick Douglass provide decorative detail in terra cotta with vines and scrolls. In 2011, it was decided by the Coalition for Responsible Community Development and Clifford Beers Housing that the building would receive a badly-needed renovation from Koning Eizenberg Architecture. The building rechristened as the 28th Street Apartments now has 49 affordable housing units and a 5-story addition behind the original structure. Williams design was preserved as much as possible, but a few elements were added to honor it, such as a figure of Williams himself on the first floor, a nod to the buildings original bas-reliefs of notable African Americans on the fourth-floor windows. The renovation has earned several awards for its environmentally-friendly design and commitment to preserving the original structure.

The 28th Street Apartments | Courtesy of Eric Staudenmaier/Koning Eizenberg Architecture

Home designs in L.A. duplicated elsewhere

In an article in the Los Angeles Times (July 24, 1927), Williams describes instances where visitors to the city see his home designs and want to build a duplicate home. "The Spanish homes built here are usually a wonderful improvement on their prototypes in Europe, a thing that is generally admitted by visitors here from Spain."

Williams is known throughout his professional career as one of the best California practitioners of revival-styling. His residential architecture in the Spanish Colonial style, as reflected in the Baird/Stewart/Garza house, is highly prized by upscale modern homebuyers in Los Angeles.

Continues to receive commissions for Flintridge estates

John Bishop Green hires Williams to design a large weekend home, including the latest "modern" conveniences electric refrigeration and automatic water heaters.

Los Angeles Times (June 5, 1927) describes this new residence in Flintridge as a project by "Paul Williams, one of Southern California's best-known architects."

Hollywood YMCA

Williams' firm is hired in 1927 to expand and improve the Hollywood YMCA. Williams' building opens in 1928. Similar to the 28th Street YMCA, this building is considered a Spanish Colonial Revival with ceramic and terra-cotta interior decorative details. Unlike 28th Street Y, there is only one main entrance. Williams reconsiders the users circulation within the building allowing the managers more flexibility and encouraging members to participate in different activities.

YMCA Hollywood, Los Angeles, CA. 2010 | David Horan for the Paul R. Williams Project at the Art Museum of the University of Memphis

Williams continues to design homes for wealthy during the Great Depression

Katherine Peachy hires Williams to design her house in Hancock Park a development for wealthy Angelenos. Some of Williams' original design details could not be executed until 1933. Many building projects are down-sized because of the Great Depression.

Atkin Residence

Jack P. Atkin moves into his luxurious 12,000 square-foot home, designed by Williams, in 1929 on the eve of the Great Depression. Atkin asks the architect to design a castle on a hill that would bring back "memories of his childhood in England." The 16-room Tudor Revival-style residence in Pasadena is built of brick with a slate roof. Williams utilizes expensive materials including oak, marble, custom-designed stained and leaded glass, and "In-Vis-O" Roller Screens for windows all at Atkin's request.

Atkin rents the property to movie studios and the house is the setting for the movies Topper (1937) and The Bells of St. Mary's (1937). The famous residence is destroyed in a 2005 fire.

Atkin Residence | Still from "Hollywood's Architect"

Williams designs for Hollywood elite

Hollywood is "depression proof." During the Great Depression, the public goes to the movies to forget their problems and enjoy the luxury of air conditioning. The famous Hollywood sign is erected in 1924 to promote a neighborhood development Hollywood Land. The sign becomes a symbol of glamorous Hollywood.

The Depression slows work for many architects, but Williams' office remains busy. By 1934, Williams completes over 36 residential estates. Many of his clients are important in the movie industry directors, movie stars, producers, set designers, even make-up artists including Otto Preminger, Corrine Griffith, Burt Wheeler, Lon Chaney, Bill (Bojangles) Robinson, Charles Correll and Jacob Paley.

Paley Residence exterior with curving driveway. c. 1938 | Courtesy of California State Library, Mott-Merge Collection

In addition to his work on residential estates, Williams designs many of his most memorable commercial projects in this decade: Angelus Funeral Home, Music Corporation of America (MCA) headquarters, Saks Fifth Avenue and Sunset Plaza Apartments. He also begins a life-long relationship with Howard University.

Saks Fifth Avenue on Wilshire Blvd. c. 1938 | Courtesy of California State Library, Mott-Merge Collection

Thoughts on the Role of Interior Decorators

In an interview in 1970 with the Los Angeles Times' Maggy Savoy, Williams discusses his philosophy of design: "...know when to quit ... People don't always know what they want. It is the architect's job to help them find it, and keep within the bounds of grace."

When starting a project, Williams prefers to employ the ideas of an interior designer early in the process. In his career, Williams works with many important designers and design companies: Harriet Shellenberger, Bullocks of Los Angeles, Frank Baden of Webber Spaulding, Dorothy Draper, Edward F. White, Paul Laszlo & John Luccareni.

Small House Plan Service publishes winning design

In 1923, Paul R. Williams wins honorable mention for his design of a small house entered in a competition sponsored by the Community Arts Association of Santa Barbara. The Community Arts Association is a pioneer in the movement to develop "better standards of small house architecture." Eight years later, his winning entry is included in a catalog of designs published by Theodore A. Koetzil, director of the Small House Plan Service. Koetzil selects the Williams' design for publication in his catalog because "on studying the design today it is found still to hold its position in the first rank...the design is unquestionably good architecture of today." (Los Angeles Times, December 6, 1931)

Williams is active in the community

In 1933, Williams is appointed to the first Los Angeles Housing Commission by Los Angeles Mayor Shaw. He serves on this municipal commission until 1941.

Throughout his life, Williams continues to be active in the community. In 1942, for example, he is named to Citizens' School Committee, a group that "has no other purpose than to bring about the election to the Board of Education the best possible timber." (Los Angeles Times, April 19, 1942) Later in 1942, Williams, along with 43 leading architects, opens an advice service at Mary Louise Schmidt's Architects Building-Materials Exhibit to foster a closer relationship between architects, owners and manufacturers. (Los Angeles Times, November 6, 1942)

More:
Visual Timeline: The Remarkable Life of Paul Revere Williams - KCET

The 115th annual Saskatchewan Urban Municipalities Association [SUMA] convention kicked off over the weekend in Regina, giving cities and towns from across the province a chance to meet up and discuss what ongoing issues they're facing in their communities, and what we're facing in the province as a whole.

The annual convention brings together elected and non-elected officials from across Saskatchewan's urban municipal governments. Over the course of the four days, civic leaders participate in education sessions, keynote addresses, and receive opportunities to meet with provincial political leaders.

While many of uswere relaxing and enjoying time with family on Sunday, SUMA attendees had a busy schedule.Day 1 saw sessions on emergency preparedness, government ethics, cement compliance regulations, and generating feasible futures for communities. The first day of the convention was also the day of the regular Saskatchewan mayors caucus meeting.

Moose Jaw Mayor Fraser Tolmie is heading into his final year as chair of the City Mayors Caucus at the convention, and he says this year should be a busy one.

"We have quite a few things that are coming up. It's a great opportunity for us and council to meet with other cities and talk about some of the issues we're dealing with. These are things that we get to share with cabinet ministers about whats going on in our cities. So it's very important, its a good time for us to share."

Included in this year's event is a trade show featuring products and services that cater to municipalities and a number of educational interactive panels for municipal leaders to attend.

Today convention-goers will take part in discussions with SaskPower, and participate in the SUMA sector meetings. The sector meetings allow municipal leaders of similar size to share difficulties and triumphs with each other. The idea being that governments can learn from each other. However, the highlight of Monday's agenda will be the address from Premier Moe. The annual keynote from the provincial premier should also allow for some questions from convention-goers.

Mayor Tolmie described some of the other topics they will be discussing.

"We keep talking about the meth issue that's going on across Canada, and that's concerning. We're closest to the people in municipalities and so we've got to pave the roads, make sure there's clean drinking water, make sure our parks are clean, and that we're providing services for our citizens."

On Tuesday convention-goers will gather for the SUMA president's ball and the municipal awards banquet.

The convention will wrap up on Wednesday with the regular bear-pit sessions with provincial ministers.

Here is the original post:
SUMA Convention Kicks Off in Regina Over The Weekend - DiscoverMooseJaw.com

EDWARDS When someone actually asked them what they think about the community where they live, residents of the West Edwards area clearly said they want a stronger voice in both the current operation and future development of their neighborhood.

In fact, they presented 60 different recommendations focused on topics including equity, funding, resilience, access to affordable and healthy food, social isolation, bike and pedestrian infrastructure, health, early childhood education and more as part of an Urban Land Institute Study that launched last November.

Thats a huge amount of recommendations, noted Emma Sloan, health policy planner for Eagle County Public Health and Environment.

The countys outreach with the Urban Land Institute was a bit unusual. The countys public health department headed up the effort, rather than the countys community development department. Sloan noted that it was a movement back to the roots of community planning when public health concerns gave birth to planning and zoning.

The Urban Land Institute provides leadership for land use issues and works toward creating and sustaining thriving communities worldwide. The organization has more than 1,400 members in Colorado, and its district council is committed to applying best practices in land use through community workshops, educational events and professional development programs.

In November, one of those workshops focused on West Edwards. This week, the Eagle County Board of Commissioners got a preview of what the workshop report will say.

Sloan noted that the high-density West Edwards area has experienced continued growth and is a central point of the Eagle River Valley. Whats more, there are 20 separate zone districts in the West Edwards area. For the study, two community tours were organized and a group of participants that included county employees, community residents, land consultants, business owners, community organization representatives and special district representatives participated.

The Eagle River mobile home park is a dominant feature of the West Edwards area and according, many of the priorities identified for the larger area are tied to that neighborhood.

Issues regarding the park operations range from concerns about water quality to a new state law allowing the county more regulatory power over the park. Workshop participants stated they wanted to form a homeowners association for the park.

Faviola Alderete, Healthy Communities coordinator for Eagle County Public Health and Environment, said the workshop participants from the mobile home park supported the creation of an HOA to give them the opportunity to have power and a voice.

She added that many of the recommendations identified during the sessions are the responsibility of the property manager, but residents want training regarding the states new mobile home park law. The states new Mobile Home Park Oversight Act specifically allows park residents the right to meet and establish a homeowners association or resident council. The act also gives the county authority to adopt and enforce rules for safe and equitable operation of the mobile home parks. With the new rules in place, workshop participants cited a desire for the county to help with mediation between residents and the property owner.

This (the November workshop) gave residents a chance to say what is the first step, Alderete said.

Sloan noted there are eight recommendation highlights from the workshop specifically address issues at the mobile home park:

Beyond the mobile home concerns, West Edwards residents cited the need for community gathering spaces and a secondary entrance to the neighborhood. They also said they want more trees in the area to reduce heat and beautify the community.

Sloan said neighborhood residents also identified a need for more parking. Folks are dependent on their vehicles for work, she noted. The need for parking spaces was a surprise outcome of this study.

Looking ahead, on March 19 the county commissioners have scheduled a joint meeting with members of the Edwards Metropolitan District Board of Directors. County representatives hope to have the final report from the Urban Land Institute workshop prior to that session.

This study has provided us with the opportunity to demonstrate to the community members of how their voice is important, said Rebecca Larson, deputy director of Eagle County Public Health and Environment. The community wants to be involved. They want to be part of the changes that happen in their community.

More here:
West Edwards residents want a voice in their future - Vail Daily News

This month, Democrat and Chronicle reporters and editors arespending time in the fourthlocation forourmobile newsroom initiative, in the David F. Gantt Recreation Center. The project is taking our reporting team into communitiesin the north-east and north-west of the city. The new commitmentis intended to help ensure the news and information from the Democrat and Chroniclemore closely meetsthe needs of under served communitiesand to open up ways to reach new readers.

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Theconversations have led to range of new stories including a guide to delicious affordable eats in the northeast, a celebration of the life and the ministry of Rev. Norma Ortiz and,an in-depth look at the long-awaited La Marketa development on North Clinton;set against a backdrop of urgent community action to address dangerous activity driven by the opioid crisis.

More: News you can use: D&C news staff will be all ears at mobile newsrooms across the community

Now we're building on that communityengagement and getting ready to launch another service for readers, by creating conversations with readers through atextmessaging systemcalled Groundsource.

Groundsource is new way to deliver text based news to underserved communities(Photo: Matthew Leonard)

In much of Rochester, internet access remains elusive for many lower-income households and the affordability of unlimited talk and text mobile plans mean they're an important tool for many families.This accessibletechnology can be seenin markets across the country delivering readers information ontopics like affordable housing, employment andeducation. In Detroit, for example, one outlet calledOutlier Mediastarted outletting people know if their rental home is at risk of being sold to recover back taxes owed by their landlord. In Oakland CA, a Spanish-language news service El Tmpano began to foster more civic engagement among Latino immigrants there through a listening tour to better understand the needs of community.

In the spirit of news your can really use, one of the first services for readers who opt into theDemocrat and Chronicle's text delivery systemwill be a job newsletter containing employmenttips and opportunities.

We're also looking for community input on what informationpeople could most use.

Democrat and Chronicle(Photo: Rochester Democrat and Chronicle)

Read or Share this story: https://www.democratandchronicle.com/story/news/2020/02/05/text-messaging-news-service-launching-meet-needs-underserved-rochester-communities/4333734002/

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Get job tips and opportunities, other news you can use with our text-based information system - Democrat & Chronicle

Editors note: This story originally appeared in the current edition of the Roaring Fork Weekly Journal, an Aspen Daily News sister publication.

Brightly colored and teeming with life, the residences of the Roaring Fork Mobile Home Park sit atop prime real estate, just across the Roaring Fork River from downtown Basalt. Seen by everyone who walks across the bridge by 7-11 or drives into town through the roundabout, theyre about as integral a part of Basalt as youll find.

Except that theyre not. If you look at a map showing the towns oddly shaped boundaries, youll see that theres an island of unincorporated land lying in Pitkin and Eagle counties right near the middle of the largest of the three barely connected blobs that make up Basalt. Thats the RFMHP. It means that the parks residents, though they literally live within Basalt, arent Basalt voters and cant serve on town council or some committees, such as Planning and Zoning.

Look more closely at the map and youll see that the middle blobs western border also makes a conspicuous detour around another mobile home community called Homestead Park. Clearly a part of Basalts desirable Old Town neighborhood, its residents nevertheless live in Eagle County, as do the residents of the Aspen Basalt Mobile Home Park, which sits in an island in the westernmost Basalt blob, adjacent to Willits.

Thats how a town wherein roughly 50 percent of the students in the public schools are Latino can have an official demographic makeup of 86 percent white and just 16 percent Latino, and it gets to the heart of a longstanding issue in town: Though there is a sizable Latino population in the area, there are very few Latinos in leadership positions helping to ensure that all perspectives and communities are given a voice in local doings.

Given the strange contouring of Basalts town limits, it might seem like one step in alleviating the problem might be to talk to the owners of the mobile home parks where the residents are largely Latino about annexation into the town, but that could mean bad news, according to Basalt Mayor Jacque Whitsitt.

If you want those people to be protected and have a roof over their heads leave them alone, she said. What do you think happens when a trailer park is annexed? For an annexation to happen the landowner has to voluntarily ask for it. The reason a property owner with a trailer park asks to be annexed is because they want to kick all those people out and put a ton of development there. Thats, Im gonna say, 99.9 percent of the time.

As if to prove Whitsitts point, just downriver from the RFMHP sits the still-unfinished Pan & Fork parcel, where longtime mobile home park residents were uprooted to make way for a river park and considerable commercial and residential development. Though the circumstances are slightly different, the RFMHP, like the erstwhile Pan & Fork park, sits in a flood plain and would seem a prime candidate for redevelopment for safety and economic reasons.

Fortunately, said Whitsitt, thats less likely to happen if the mobile home parks continue to not be a part of town.

Those people are protected, she said. Nothing will happen to them. They will remain safe for as long as they are in the county. And I guarantee you, if somebody wants to buy that park and wants to come into the town and annex, they will all be gone, and there will be a development there.

Its a credible concern, but with developments like the large Tree Farm project in El Jebel already going on in unincorporated Eagle County, its fair to question what kind of security the parks really have, whatever their official address, and whether they really would be doomed if they were annexed.

Located at the western side of Basalts Old Town neighborhood, Homestead Park is nevertheless part of unincorporated Eagle County and not included in the Town of Basalt.

The parcels of land that are being developed that have not been annexed, that remain in unincorporated Eagle, are being developed, and that has happened rather quickly, said Basalt Town Council member and current mayoral candidate Bill Infante. Annexation is not equivalent to development. Annexation means democratic enfranchisement.

Said former town manager Bill Kane, also a candidate for mayor: I have to believe there might be some scenario where there would be some mixture of replacement housing built on the site. I would doubt that any one of the three property owners would do it (annexation) out of the motivation to kick people out. I cant imagine thats the case.

Infante favored providing residents of the mobile home parks with all the information they need outlining the pros and cons of being part of Basalt and then letting them guide the decision of whether to be annexed or not. He and Kane also thought it would be helpful if the people in the parks could somehow buy the land under the trailers, which would make annexation more attractive.

That would be a solution, said Kane.

Regardless of whether the parks ever come under the umbrella of the Town of Basalt, there are still opportunities for Latinos to get involved in town government, and all three mayoral candidates the third being former town councilman Robert Leavitt felt the town should be doing more to encourage that sort of involvement.

Securing more diverse representation on town council is one of the goals in our strategic framework. We want more diversity on council, said Infante. This is about socioeconomic exclusion. These are low-income people. We need to include them because theyre part of our community, and part of that inclusion means getting them the vote.

Infante favored aggressively soliciting better Latino representation, but at the same time, as Leavitt noted, its a two-way street. The town needs to reach out to the community, but the community needs to reach out to the town as well. You dont need to be a voting citizen of Basalt to come talk at a town council meeting. You cant force people to be involved. Weve tried through the years with limited success.

For Leavitt, whose wife is a mentor in the pre-collegiate program, fostering Latino leadership starts with getting young people, such as the ones whove expressed an interest in helping with his mayoral campaign, excited about public engagement.

If were getting young people involved in the community, theres a good chance theyre going to be involved in the community as they grow up, he said.

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Basalt still grappling with lack of Latino representation - Aspen Daily News

In two very different settings on either end of the urban core are new multifamily developments that both stand in the place of former blight and decay along rapidly growing parts of the San Antonio River.

The Mission Escondida Luxury Apartments (MELA), at 1515 Mission Rd., are only a few minutes drive from the center city and sit along a quiet section of the Mission Reach of the river. Southline, at 226 Newell Ave., extends the footprint of the bustling Pearl campus closer to the Museum Reach and a busy highway.

Though both boast a similar list of amenities and floor plans intended to attract young professionals, they share another common trait: MELA is situated on land once occupied by a decaying trailer park while Southline replaced old buildings and a storage yard belonging to Texas Towing.

Both developments also began leasing in October and new residents are settling in 15 at MELA last Saturday alone, and Southline is already 31 percent leased. Both are managed by Embrey Partners.

The Rivard Report recently toured each site to get an inside look at how the highly anticipated residential communities have taken shape.

The word escondida means hidden in Spanish, and when White-Conlee Development partnerScott Weems first stood on a footbridge and saw the land across Mission Road from the Riverside Golf Course, he thought it was a peaceful and beautiful setting. But people didnt know it was here, he said.

Soon, they did, as controversy embroiled the project. The land was occupied by residents of the Mission Trails mobile home park. Though neglected and decrepit by most accounts, with living conditions so deplorable the residents sued the owners, the trailer park community became a symbol of the toll of neighborhood gentrification.

In 2014, White-Conlee acquired the land for $4 million, and spent another $1 million relocating the residents to other trailer parks on the South Side, then demolished the abandoned and burned-out trailers, and prepped the site for construction.

After a long and contentious process to rezone the area and gain conceptual design approval, construction on MELA began in summer 2017. Its been a challenging development, but its also been very rewarding, Weems said.

The first of five buildings was completed in December. Weems said the final structure in the complex is expected to be finished in May, bringing online a total of 360 studio, one-bedroom, and two-bedroom apartments. So far, MELA is 9 percent pre-leased and 2 percent occupied.

The units range from $999 to almost $2,000 for the base monthly rent, priced according to the location within the complex and views of downtown from the windows and balconies. There are no subsidized or low-income units.

The median gross rent in San Antonio, which includes rent and utilities, is $958, according to census data. The listing service RentCafe reports the average rent for an apartment in San Antonio, which has increased 2 percent since 2018, is $1,039. But the majority of apartment rentals are priced between $701 and $1,000.

The MELA clubroom a space with soaring ceilings, modern furnishings, a business center, and fitness center is open and ready for resident use. Upstairs, a demonstration kitchen provides space for events and meetings, and patios equipped with widescreen TVs overlook a 500,000-gallon pool that is situated at the heart of the complex.

Other amenities include an onsite dog daycare operated by Pawderosa Ranch, bike storage and free bike rental, a game room, and access to the trails of the Mission Reach. White-Conlee donated acreage to the San Antonio River Authority for a linear park near the development that provides public access to the river.

MELA is being marketed to downtown workers, service members based at JBSA Lackland and Fort Sam Houston, and to those drawn to the Mission Reach trails. Weems, an avid cyclist who is renting a two-bedroom unit for that reason, also thinks Escondida will also appeal to those who have roots on the South Side.

While the typical goal of this multifamily developer is to sell the property to an investor within a year or two, Weems said White-Conlee will keep MELA in its portfolio for longer than that. With another six-acre plot of land adjacent to the apartments yet to be developed, the group may move on to that yet-to-be-determined project next.

Southline is the newest multifamily residential development at the Pearl, and much about the four-story community, from the repurposed storage tanks to the library barn door, came from the historic brewery.

The whole idea of the property is to look like an old mercantile building turned multifamily living, so a wealth of original pieces [from the brewery] were used to create that feeling, said Katie Ellis, Southline community manager.

Adjacent the Museum Reach of the River Walk on the southern end of the Pearl, Southline is situated on a strip of land once occupied by Texas Towing and near the site of the seedy former Fox Motel. Construction began in 2016.

Most of the 223 units at Southline are one-bedroom apartments and 30 percent are two-bedroom floor plans, all with 10-foot ceilings, designer kitchens, and custom built-ins. Many of the balconies overlook the River Walk and the fiberglass F.I.S.H. installation beneath a highway bridge.

The rent varies according to unit size, the interior finishes, and location within the development, and range between $1,480 and $2,800 a month.

At Pearl, were very pleased to have Southline because it fills a niche between the Can Plant on one end and the more exclusive and expansive Cellars at the other end of the spectrum, said Lewis Westerman, senior director of real estate at Silver Ventures, the group behind the Pearl. Embrey Partners also manages the Can Plant and Cellars.

Community amenities at Southline include a pool with private cabanas, library, a culinary caf and lounge, fitness center and a fitness lawn, dog park, private River Walk access, and bike storage. Parking is provided in the basement level.

Preleasing and move-ins began in October, and the development is currently 17 percent occupied.

See original here:
New Apartment Developments Open on Mission Road and at the Pearl - Rivard Report

Looking around at our young, still developing suburbs, I see wide, wild fields being dug up for the foundations of new, large single-family homes with sloping driveways, expansive roofs and well-lit, grand entrances. Or large, multi-story luxury senior apartments and condominiums with beautiful walkways and underground parking. Or lovely, new, smaller one-story homes for those ready to downsize.

What I dont see is investment in housing for those who have more modest income or additional housing for those who need rental assistance or, least of all, housing for those in danger of homelessness.

Choosing where to live and with whom has been a point of pride in our democracy. For generations, immigrants to this country would live where others who spoke their native language and shared their customs settled. That is why our state has so many families who share German, Swedish, Norwegian, Somali and Hmong heritage. We have lived where our people live.

But as our young country has moved through waves of new immigrant settlement, national expansion to the Pacific coast, the ruinous Civil War and shifts in our basic economy from agriculture to industry to technology, the social supports of living among familiar people has mostly collapsed. We are now a mobile society, focused less on the importance of social welfare and support for everyone, black or white, young or old, that smaller, established communities afforded to most everyone.

American emphasis on personal independence, competition and effort have eroded our social safety nets of community and necessary cooperation, values that for generations saw the establishment of hospitals, universities, nursing homes, public transportation and housing projects that addressed our common needs together.

Most of us think that people get the housing they deserve and live where they do because of their individual effort or lack of it. Its a simplistic and incomplete view of a basic human right.

This past November, the entire editorial team of this newspaper devoted time and energy to a series of stories helping readers come closer to the human cost of homelessness in Scott County.

Nearly every week, one or more stories in this paper mention the struggle of teachers working with homeless students, law enforcement encountering people without adequate or stable shelter, churches confronted daily with requests for cash, shelter or food assistance, and our various county social services struggling to keep up with the multiple causes of homelessness: low basic wages, skyrocketing rents, family crises, drug abuse and addiction, medical debt, chronic severe mental health and joblessness.

Our country depends on all our willingness, financially and socially, to address this serious housing crisis together. The greatest problem that advocates for low-cost and transitional housing face in America is the social resistance local homeowners have to placing these alternative housing buildings in their own neighborhoods.

Those who resist these lifesaving efforts believe that their own economic security is at stake, either by lowering the value of their own property or threatening what they believe is the safety of their chosen neighborhoods.

Beacon Interfaith Housing Collaborative, a coalition of 100 congregations in the metro area, is dedicated to growing solutions to our chronic homelessness problem by advocating for public projects and managing housing for people in transition. One such project is in development in Shakopee called Prairie Pointe. Using money from personal donations, private funding and county dollars, this proposed 50-unit permanent housing project would not only provide housing but also child care, career and food supportive resources necessary to help people move toward self-sufficiency.

Housing for all is no threat to our own economic status. People living out of their cars in rural parking lots, children moving between area shelters trying to get through third grade or others recently released from county jails with no job or housing are the real threats to our suburban quality of life.

The solutions are available to us, but we must all be willing to create affordable housing near our own homes and neighborhoods. Its incumbent upon us to challenge our unspoken assumptions about people in poverty, about what we consider basic human needs and how we meet them, and upon what we really base our personal and financial security.

I hope you will join me in being open to learning more about the causes of American homelessnes and how we can continue to work to address this in our suburban communities. Every one of us needs and deserves a home.

Rev. Lynne Silva-Breen, M.Div., M.A., LMFT, served for over 20 years as a Lutheran parish pastor. Shes currently a family therapist/pastoral counselor and can be contacted at inspiringchange.us. She is one of several area pastors who write for Spiritual Reflections, a weekly column appearing in this newspaper.

Read more:
Spiritual Reflections: We must welcome affordable housing around community - SW News Media

By Terry Schrimscher, Sponsored Content

For many families, the changing seasons can spark an interest in household tasks. The arrival of spring, in particular, can be a signal to plant a garden or do landscaping. It may also inspire homeowners to freshen up with new paint or a good spring cleaning.

If you are working on some routine maintenance around the home or preparing to list your home on the real estate market, it might be wise to add pest control to your task list. A termite infestation can damage your home and reduce the value of your property. In fact, a termite inspection is a routine part of the closing process in most real estate sales.

We know that termite swarm season will be coming up in another month or two said Fred Smith, General Manager of Vulcan Termite and Pest Control. Customers are going to see termites around their windows, around their doors, and we feel its our obligation to the public to jump on those calls just as quickly as they come in, said Smith.

Vulcan Termite and Pest Control began as a small family business, in 1965, and quickly expanded from termite control into a full pest control service. Today, the Pelham-based business works primarily in five counties surrounding Birmingham.

According to Smith, Vulcan services a lot of homes in the Trussville area and has reached into Anniston, Gadsden and Huntsville, among other.

We do a lot of work up on Smith Lake, said Smith. A lot of our customers in the Trussville and Pinson areas have lake houses. Weve been blessed with the opportunity to go to those customers houses and take care of their lake house and their home here in town, he said.

It gives you a good feeling when your customers believe in you so much that take you with them to work on their vacation home, said Smith.

Trust is one of the main reasons Smith believes the company has continued to grow throughout its nearly 55 years in business. Vulcan currently employs 32 people and has expanded into commercial work servicing local restaurants and office building.

One of the things weve been blessed with is the people who have been here for a long time, said Smith. Ive got several employees that are working on their 20th year with the company. Ive been here for 20 years. One of the things, I believe, we do well is training, he said.

Vulcan retains a board-certified Entomologista scientist who specializes in the study of insectswho regularly reviews the latest pest control techniques and updates the training for the termite and pest specialists who interact with their customers.

Vulcan recently added wild animal control as a new service for customers. Specialists have removed everything from armadillos and racoons from property to squirrels from attics.

Hows your wildlife is one of our advertising sayings, said Smith. Were taking care of those things that get up in your attic and cause problemsthose things that go bump in the night. We do a lot of exclusion work with wild animals. We dont like to kill them if it is not necessary, he said.

Smith offered a word of caution on the process in dealing with wild animals. Many regular pest control companies are not equipped with the correct tools and training to remove the animals safely. Some customers will by a trap for the animals and find out the hard way that trapping the animal is only part of the process.

Vulcan can remove the animals safely and also inspects the home to seal any holes or entrances the animals might use to return. The company offers a warranty period for an added sense of security for customers who might have a recurring unwanted animal guest.

People looking for termite, pest control, or wildlife removal can find Vulcan Termite and Pest Control online at vulcantermite.com. For more information, visitors can use the contact form on the website or call the office at (205) 624-0100.

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Protect your investment with Vulcan Termite and Pest Control - Trussvilletribune