Blue Springs residents are getting a much clearer image about what a community center might look like if one is constructed in the city.

During the final community center feasibility meeting Tuesday at the Blue Springs Freshman Center, more than 50 residents looked at plans for a possible facility.

At almost 85,000 square feet, the potential community center includes a Child Watch area; indoor playground for children 7 and younger; a game room for children 11 to 16; a cardio and weight-lifting space; a large community/event room that at full size could accommodate up to 240 people; staff offices; a catering kitchen; gymnasium; three aerobic studios; a three-lane, 25-yard swimming pool; a warm water leisure pool with slides, spray features and a spa and a warm water therapy pool designed for senior citizens. The Blue Springs Parks and Recreation Offices would also be relocated to the community center in the plan.

In addition, there would be a performing arts center feature in the community/event room that would allow for an elevated stage for theater and musical performances. The room could also be subdivided into three spaces. According to the architects, such a facility would cost just more than $37.54 million to construct. About $500,000 of that has been set aside to make the community center a green facility that conserves resources.

We really took what residents told us (in designing the potential facility, said Steve Blackburn, architect with Barker Rinker Seacat Architecture. We also see this as a sustainable facility that will save water, save energy and use solar hot water heating for the three bodies of water.

The architects also outlined potential sites for such a facility. The first is a 12-acre spot at the southwest corner of White Oak Plaza at the corner of U.S. 40 and Missouri 7. The second is in the future Missouri Innovation Park just south of the proposed Mizzou Center and east of Adams Dairy Parkway. Both sites are centrally located within the community, and each has its own advantages and disadvantages.

While the White Oak Plaza site is easily accessible and has current utility access, it would require the demolition of the current shopping center as well as much of the parking lot. A commuter lot would also have to be relocated. At the Adams Dairy site, access to the 12-acre property is limited, with few options to create additional access points.

The design team is expected to make a presentation to the Blue Springs City Council Feb. 19. It will then be left up to the council to decide the next steps, such as placing a tax increase on an upcoming ballot to pay for construction of a community center.

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Architects unveil amenities in possible Blue Springs community center

SAN RAMON, Calif., Jan. 7, 2013 /PRNewswire/ --Kovarus, Inc., a leading systems integrator specializing in increasing IT efficiency by architecting and integrating business-aligned IT solutions, today announced that it has acquired Back Office Architects. Back Office Architects is an IT services firm that delivers high quality Microsoft and Virtualization solutions to companies who rely on a high-performance infrastructure and demand superior customer service.

(Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20080708/AQTU138LOGO)

Through the acquisition, Kovarus will provide new and existing customers with a more robust offering of business-aligned IT solutions. In addition to Kovarus' deep expertise in data center technologies such as virtualization, server, storage, networking and cloud computing, the combined entity will now include the proven Microsoft application expertise that customers require including support for Windows Server, Exchange and Active Directory.

"We are very excited about this acquisition and what it will bring to our customers," said Patrick Cronin, principal and co-founder of Kovarus. "Kovarus has been recognized as a premier provider of cloud solutions. The acquisition of Back Office Architects provides us with a critical component in truly providing our customers end-to-end solutions in the Microsoft stack and bridging those solutions to our cloud offerings."

Back Office Architects is recognized in the industry for their superior track record delivering successful mission-critical solutions and providing exceptional customer service. The executive team brings more than 25 years of IT management and consulting experience having built and grown consulting operations for such companies asTaos, C2, Keynotes and Cohesive Technology Solutions.

About Kovarus

Kovarus focuses on increasing IT efficiency for their clients by architecting and integrating business-aligned IT solutions. The company's holistic approach to helping customers deliver IT-as-a-Service (ITaaS) focuses on the people, process, and technologies for enabling IT management and service delivery. This includes deep expertise in data center technologies, including: virtualization, server, storage, networking and cloud computing. Kovarus enables its customers to dramatically simplify their IT operating model and cost-effectively deliver the resources their organizations need to succeed in today's highly competitive environment.

Kovarus has been chosen as a premier partner by leading technology companies including VMware, EMC, and Cisco, and has successfully helped a wide range of private and public sector customers drive business innovation and success. Founded in 2003, Kovarus is headquartered in the San Francisco Bay Area with additional locations in Sacramento, Seattle, and Denver. For more information on Kovarus, please visit http://www.kovarus.com.

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Kovarus Bolsters Microsoft Application Expertise With Acquisition Of Back Office Architects

SAN FRANCISCO, Jan. 9, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- IA Interior Architects (IA) is pleased to announce the firm's 2013 appointments.

Francis Bruns (Dallas), Sheri Ginett (Raleigh), Pietro Silva (San Francisco), and Reetika Vijay (Boston) are promoted to Principal.

Karen Adela (Corporate), Arnold Bautista (Corporate), Paul Comeau (Boston), Karen Dahlstrom (Seattle), Mark Gundacker (Corporate), Erik Hodgetts (New York), Josh Khanna (Seattle), Buzz Riley (New York), Stephanie Schmitz (Denver), Kristen Streeter (Washington, DC), Kit Townley (London), and John Varholak (Washington, DC) are promoted to Senior Associate.

Melissa Carter (Raleigh), Patrick Chatfield (Seattle), Heather Dausch (New York), Stephanie Douglass (Washington, DC), Jason Flory (Corporate), Lindsay Foster (San Francisco), Courtney Harms (Denver), Clinton Johnston (Corporate), Yoko Matsuno (New York), Chester Mietus (Chicago), Lisa Piper (San Francisco), Neil Schneider (Chicago), Matt Sisk (Washington, DC), and Matthew Wasylciw (San Francisco) are promoted to Associate.

"These appointments represent not only hard work, but also commitments to enhancing the client experience and raising the bar in our industry. I am extremely proud of each of these individuals and am grateful they are part of IA Interior Architects," said David B. Mourning, AIA, FIIDA, President and Chief Executive Officer.

ABOUT IA INTERIOR ARCHITECTS

Founded in 1984, IA Interior Architects is the first and largest global architectural firm focused exclusively on interior architecture and workplace strategies. IA helps clients in diverse markets worldwide align their business strategies and core values with the dynamic use of space. IA has offices in Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Dallas, Denver, London, Los Angeles, New York, Orange County, Raleigh, San Francisco, Seattle, Silicon Valley, and Washington, DC and has partner affiliates in Europe, Middle East and Africa, Asia and Australia, Canada, and Latin America through the IA Global Alliance. For more information, visit http://www.interiorarchitects.com.

Press Contact Sofia Zimmerman 917.579.5702 s.zimmerman@interiorarchitects.com

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IA Interior Architects Announces 2013 Firm Appointments

Architects - Alpha Omega - Guitar Cover for Audition
Rich Lester #39;s Architects Audition

By: Richardwlester

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Architects - Alpha Omega - Guitar Cover for Audition - Video

Architects Mission - Walk and Talk
A walk and talk about an architects mission, dealing with change and innovation, etc.

By: ArchitectandTalk

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Architects Mission - Walk and Talk - Video

Timothy Hursley

Seismic Shifts will feature paintings, drawings, sculptures, photography, mixed media, videos, and architectural models created between 2005 and 2012, a number of which are new works. An electronic catalog by Dr. Marshall N. Price, curator of modern and contemporary art, will be available in conjunction with the exhibition, both at the museum and online at nationalacademy.org.

We are delighted to present the boundary-breaking work of these ten artists and architects at the National Academy, says Carmine Branagan, director. While these individuals all have singular voices, it is collectively through their groundbreaking work that they have created seismic shifts in the thinking about and perception of contemporary culture.

Three unique public programs will also be offered during the exhibition. On February 27, Dr. Leslie King-Hammond will moderate the discussion Art, Politics, Protest: Dr. Cornel West and Faith Ringgold in Conversation. On March 15, a gallery tour will take place with Dr. Marshall N. Price, curator of modern and contemporary art. And on April 17, artist David C. Driskell and cultural critic and scholar Greg Tate will discuss Thornton Dial's legacy following the screening of a documentary on the artist's life and work.

For more information, visit nationalacademy.org.

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National Academy Shows Visionary Work of 10 Architects and Artists

The triple-glazed facade of Christian Kerez's Leutschenbach School in Zurich is emblamatic of the transparency that's currently popular in new school design. It is unknown how, if at all, the elementary school shootings in Newtown, Connecticut, will affect school design going forward.

The Newtown, Connecticut, elementary school shootings on December 14 that killed 20 students and six staff members have prompted many to call for a ban on semi-automatic rifles, or assault weapons.

In the week since the shootings, others have said video games should no longer contain such violent content. And some are urging that access to mental health care be expanded. But schools themselves shouldnt be radically redesigned to fortify against future attacks, according to some architects.

While fortress-like buildings with thick concrete walls, windows with bars, and special security vestibules may be more defensible than what is currently in vogue, they are hardly the kind of places that are optimal for learning. Edmund Einy, a principal at GKKWorks, says that whats been done so far in many urban schools in the name of safetysuch as slapping bars on the windowshas had a pernicious effect on students morale and performance. Einys new Blair International Baccalaureate Middle School, in Pasadena, foregoes bars. But administrators must greet students before they are allowed to go inside, which led GKKWorks to create an entry plaza. Theres not much more we can do, he says. What are we going to do, put kids in prisons?

Mark Simon, a founding partner of Centerbrook Architects and Planners, agrees. I think [bars and other fortifying techniques] send the wrong message to both kids and teachers, he says. Based in Centerbrook, Connecticut, Simon has designed 20 school buildings, including five public elementary schools, though none in Newtown. Buildings tell stories, and when a building is designed that way, it tells you that it doesnt trust you. And kids intuit that theyre not trusted, he says. In fact, Simon adds, improved security can be achieved through a more open layout, like with his King & Low-Heywood Thomas School in Stamford, Connecticut. Its focal point is a large rotunda encircled by offices, so administrators have clear views of the hallways and the comings and goings of students. Simon admitted, though, that the school was more concerned with divorced parents snatching kids, say, than an intruder with rifles.

In recent years, glass has become the material of choice for the walls of many schools, which have cottoned to the idea that students will be more stimulated in rooms bathed in natural light. An exampleaccording to Thomas Mellins, an architectural curatoris Ennead Architects Frank Sinatra School of the Arts in Queens, N.Y., where a transparent faade allows close-up views of ballet and other classes. (Mellins exhibition, The Edgeless School: Design for Learning, is on view at New Yorks Center for Architecture through January 19, 2013.)

For his part, Mellins doesnt rule out that the shootings may result in design changes; he just hopes law enforcement talks to architects early in the design process. But, Mellins says, I dont think safety concerns translate into a simple and direct agenda, like build this way, dont build that way.

In a sense, school design has baked-in security concerns ever since the mass school shooting in Columbine, Colorado, in 1999. Doors now routinely lock after the first bell. Metal detectors are also common. Possibly, more steel could be used in doors, but that seems to be sort of in the opposite direction of where schools have been headed, says architect Jerry Waters, of Portland, Oregons Dull Olson Weekes Architects. School buildings make up 70 percent of the firms portfolio. Waters adds, When someone has the intent to kill, Im not sure if architecture can solve that problem.

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After Newtown, Architects Weigh School Design Changes

The street entry of the U.S. consolate in Guangzhou, China, designed by Skidmore, Owings & Merrill. It is scheduled to open in May.

The U.S. Department of State has named the architects selected to compete for commissions in its new Design Excellence program. The Bureau of Overseas Buildings Operations (OBO), under the direction of Lydia Muniz, chose 11 very different firms from among 88 applicants to design new embassies, consulates, and diplomatic buildings. Nine others were chosen for renovation and rehabilitation projects. Two firms, BNIM and Weiss/Manfredi, made both lists.

Aside from those two, others being considered for new buildings are Ennead Architects; SHoP Architects; Steven Holl Architects; the Miller Hull Partnership; Mack Scogin Merrill Elam Architects; Moore Ruble Yudell Architects and Planners; Richrd+Bauer; Skidmore, Owings & Merrills San Francisco office; and Studio Gang Architects. The other firms selected to compete for rehabilitation and renovation projects are Architecture Research Office; Beyer Blinder Belle Architects & Planners; CO Architects; Clive Wilkinson Architects; Goody Clancy; Krueck+Sexton Architects; and Zimmer Gunsul Frasca Architects.

For nearly three decades after the Iran hostage crisis of 197981 and a series of embassy bombings in Africa and the Middle East, the State Department constructed one-size-fits-all buildings in fortified exurban areas. Security, economy, and speed trumped design. But a new era was signaled by such choices as Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (SOM) to design the U.S. Embassy in Beijing. The ambitious Design Excellence program, similar to the one at the General Services Administration and, like it, under the directorship of Casey Jones, was launched to symbolize the American values that prevailed after World War II, when embassies were designed by Eero Saarinen, Walter Gropius, Marcel Breuer, and Edward Durell Stone.

We are honored to have the potential of extending this legacy, says Marion Weiss, cofounder of Weiss/Manfredi. Our ambition is to amplify the identity of a site that already has a life of its own. The State Departments priorities are evident in the embassy under construction in London by KieranTimberlake. Davis Brody Bond is working on an embassy in Jakarta and is designing another in Mexico City with Tod Williams Billie Tsien Architects.

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State Department Names Architects for Design Excellence Program

Oleg Noga - Architects - These Colours Don #39;t Run (drum cover)
Oleg Noga, 19 years old! I #39;m from Ukraine, Poltava! this is my new drum cover on my favourite band Architects. I #39;m recording this cover, because when I start listen this band I will have get a great drum experience thanks to Dan Searle! Check it out, subscribe and don #39;t forget about LIKES on my facebook music page and repost to your friends! Thanks for watching! My facebook - facebook.com/olegnogamusicianchannel My twitter - twitter.com/OlegNoga My vk - vk.com/olegnoga.drums

By: Oleg Noga

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Oleg Noga - Architects - These Colours Don't Run (drum cover) - Video

Honolulu Architects Share Insights
Two of Hawaii #39;s top architects talk about what it takes to make it in that profession, and what some of their favorite buildings in Honolulu are -- and why.

By: CareerChangersTV

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Honolulu Architects Share Insights - Video