Home Builder Developer - Interior Renovation and Design

Grafton Architects
Learn more about Grafton Architects, whose work appears in the Royal Academy exhibition #39;Sensing Spaces: Architecture Reimagined #39;. For more information on th...

By: RoyalAcademyofArts

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Grafton Architects - Video

Architects - AEC Consultants

By: yell

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Architects - AEC Consultants - Video

2013 Jane Jacobs Forum - Women as City Builders - Clip 2
On Thursday, November 21st a dynamic panel including leading female architects, landscape architects, planners, artists, development and community developmen...

By: Municipal ArtSociety

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2013 Jane Jacobs Forum - Women as City Builders - Clip 2 - Video

THE United Architects of the Philippines (UAP) will conduct its annual conference to be participated by 250 to 300 architects from the entire Visayas Region. The theme of the colloquium is Hugyaw Visayas. It will be hosted by UAP-Bacolod, UAP-Negrense, and UAP-Mt. Kanlaon. The forum will be held on January 30 to February 1 at Natures Village Resort in Talisay.

The three-day activity includes seminar-workshop, sports activities and cultural tour. One big event is the architectural tourism, Panglugayawon sa Silay (A Journey in Silay), a walking tour that features the heritage houses of Silay that have been identified as architectural landmarks by the National Historical Commission. This will be on February 1 and the guided tour will be facilitated by Architect Julieta Gaston-Patosa; Raymund Bayot, curator ofDizon Museum; and yours truly.

Participants will assemble at Casa Grande (ancestral house of Gen. Aniceto Lacson) for Pamahaw sa Hacienda (Breakfast in the Hacienda). I will brief them on the nature of the tour that will feature Silay, the Silaynons, and their houses made by sugar. Each house has a story to tell love lost, love found, gambling decadence, sweet life, rise to power, sugar politics, and hometown delicacies.

In the past, Silay was Paris of Negros. Its culture has been honed by sugar and its future is determined by the people moving the sugar industry. The architects will be greeted first by San Diego Pro-Cathedral that is arguably the most audacious expression of Silays faith and religiosity, with Councilor Solo Locsin. The silver-colored Byzantium dome was inspired by St. Peters Basilica in Rome. Lucio Bernasconi, an Italian architect, was commissioned by Don Jose Pepe Ledesma who financed 80 percent of the construction cost.

Our Gone with the Wind mansion is the Adelina Ledesma Ancestral House. This American tsalet has a drastically lower ground floor with neo- classic columns, and railings. It tells of a love story beyond romantic proportions. The Digna Locsin Consing Heritage House displays American period horizontal clapboard sidings with Art Deco grillwork and decorative brackets. French-style windows with glass panes complete the look. It is a living witness to the illusion of reality that is sugar.

The German Locsin Unson Heritage House reminds me of a diplomatic hacendado, Nonoy German and his demure wife, Inday Fe. It is an outstanding example of the neo-Spanish style that became so popular after World War II. The Federico Lacson Locsin House shows strong proto-Modernist lines and a play of roof levels of the 1930s, and the absence of ventanillas. It stands firm as a solid emblem of politics and public service.

This heritage house still follows the classic Visayan bahay na bato proportions with a double media-agua roof, and the floors (first and second) have grills and a discreet main door. This is the Delfin Ledesma Heritage House. Another house along Calle 5 de Noviembere is the Carlos Javelosa Jalandoni Ancestral House which is an example of the American period adaptation to the classic Bahay na Bato that evolved with influences from American 19th century saltshaker houses with wooden horizontal clapboard facades.

A neo-Spanish Mission style that was popular during the American Period is the Dr. Jose Corteza Locsin Heritage House. American concrete was utilized as the preferred material, with a Misador or watchtower in the rear. Dr. Locsin became a senator of the Republic of the Philippines later. This Silay house welcomed special guest and dignitaries.

Along Rizal Street is the Antonio Novella Sian Heritage house. This is an example of a streetwise townhouse, with an interesting chamfered corner treatment, glass paned windows, media agua double roofing and missing ventanillas, typical of the Visayas. El Ideal Bakery, a landmark as far as hometown delicacies are concerned, is the Cesar Lacson Locsin Heritage House. This heritage house still follows the classic bahay na bato proportions, but with glass panes and iron grilled ventanillas.

I would like to acknowledge the help of the Camera Club of Negros and the Heritage Conservation Society for providing us the necessary materials that the Silay City Tourism Office is using to prepare the Archi Tourism Info Sheets for the visiting architects. Thank you also to Lyn Gamboa of Negros Cultural Foundation for the coordination. (To be continued)

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Pacete: Archi Tourism in Silay (First of Three Parts)

22 Jan 2014 12:15

Salford town hall worked with architects body Riba to carry out the search for the best design for a new pedestrian bridge across the River Irwell.

This is what a major new footbridge in Salford will look like after a nationwide contest involving top architects.

Salford town hall worked with architects body Riba to carry out the search for the best design for a new pedestrian bridge across the River Irwell.

The new bridge will cross a new site, which will be known as The Meadows, being built as part of the Irwell River Park project.

It is part of a 650m redevelopment of Salford Central, Chapel Street, Salford University, and Peel Park.

The elegant, curved bridge was created by Tonkin Liu and Arup. But prestigious firms from Paris, London, Stockport, and Altnricham were also in the running.

Irwell footbridge plans

Salford council launched the competition with the Royal Institute of British Architects (Riba) last year.

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Revealed: Spectacular new footbridge to cross River Irwell

City Hall concept design with 'swoosh'

Members of committee tasked with picking a design for the new Fargo City Hall appeared to favor a design element in one of the options presented Wednesday that would include a concave semi-circle mirroring the convex circular edge of the adjacent Civic Center. Committee members dubbed this design the "swoosh."

One of the options for a new Fargo City Hall has a two-story commission chamber as a separate building to the east of the Civic Center. Adjacent to the east of the chambers would be a three-story office space that would run along the edge of Second Street.

One of the Fargo City Hall options had two towers - a four-story office space on the western edge and a two-story office space on the eastern edge along Second street, with a wishbone-shaped atrium sandwiched in between.

FARGO Swoosh, there it is.

Architects presented three City Hall concepts to the committee tasked with picking a design for the new government building on Wednesday morning. All of the drawings had a skyway connection to the Fargo Civic Center and large, glass atrium spaces for the public.

But what the committee seemed to like most was a design element from the third option a concave semi-circle that would mirror the convex circular edge of the Civic. The committee dubbed this design the swoosh, and itll likely appear in more conceptual drawings as the committee hones in on a final design, architect Terry Stroh said.

The committee made up largely of city staff and two residents did not pick a final design Wednesday. It only looked at three concepts and listed pros and cons of each.

All three designs have the roughly 75,000-square-foot building sitting in the northern half of the Civic Center parking lot, a decision the committee made earlier this month.

The group will meet again in two weeks, when the architects will present more options using feedback from Wednesday.

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Fargo City Hall committee likes 'swoosh' design for new facility

Avon, Minnesota (PRWEB) January 23, 2014

Miller Architects & Builders has broke ground on Seitz Stainless Addition in Avon, MN.

Seitz Stainless, owned by Jeff and Janet Haviland, has been in business over 20 yearsbased near St. Cloud, Minnesota in the heart of Minnesotas dairy country. The rough terrain that made crop farming so difficult also transformed the area into one of this countrys major dairy-producing areas, and as such the area has seen more than its share of stainless equipment. Seitz Stainless has capitalized on that infrastructure providing custom and contract fabrication of stainless and high alloy-based tanks, pressure vessels, heat exchangers, and custom equipment for food, dairy, pharmaceutical, beverage, and semiconductor applications. The Havilands are expanding to fill a need in the market, and to handle larger projects.

The new 12,750 square foot addition is a Butler pre-engineered steel building featuring slab-on-grade construction with infloor heat. The addition will house two, five-ton cranes and one, ten-ton crane. The new addition also includes a loading/unloading dock with five doors, new septic system and restroom upgrades to code compliance.

Miller Architects & Builders is extremely proud to have the opportunity to team with the Jeff and Janet Haviland on this exciting project from architectural services through construction.

Established in 1874, Miller Architects & Builders is one of the Midwests premier design/build commercial construction firms specializing in commercial construction. Miller Architects & Builders constructs all its facilities using your local labor. Miller Architects & Builders (http://www.millerab.com) is headquartered in St. Cloud, MN

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Miller Architects & Builders Breaks Ground on Seitz Stainless Addition in Avon, Minnesota

These are proving to be tough times for Chicago hospitals designed by architects who pushed the envelope of modern architecture to explore the design possibilities of the circle.

In the Streeterville neighborhood, Bertrand Goldberg's Prentice Women's Hospital is being dismantled by Northwestern University, which plans to build a new research facility at the site after a long fight with preservationists.

And now in Uptown, a similar fate appears to await the former Cuneo Hospital, designed by a distinguished but lesser-known Chicago architect, Edo Belli. A demolition permit has been issued for the long-shuttered building while a small but determined group of preservationists and neighborhood activists continue efforts to save it.

Like old Prentice, Cuneo's design has both fans and detractors.

Naysayers argue that the demise of the curvilinear structure at Montrose and Clarendon avenues, distinctive but in bad repair, would be no loss to Uptown's skyline. The hospital was operated by the Missionary Sisters of the Sacred Heart until it closed in 1988, then used for some years as a children's shelter.

Yet Preservation Chicago named Cuneo to its list of the seven most noteworthy threatened structures in 2012, praising its "whimsical yet thoughtful approach to hospital design, including a roof line that resembles an artist's palette."

That may matter little because the local alderman, James Cappleman, favors a developer's plan to replace the old hospital with a high-rise development.

Cappleman notes that the building lacks landmark status. Ward Miller, director of Preservation Chicago, acknowledges that is unlikely to change because "the city has been traditionally loath to landmark boarded-up structures that need rehabbing."

The issue is scheduled for a vote Monday by the 46th Ward Zoning and Development Committee, made up of representatives of block clubs and neighborhood organizations. Ultimately, the alderman will make the call.

John Holden, a member of the committee, said Cuneo's fate has gotten less than a "robust hearing." A developer who wanted to offer a plan to renovate and repurpose the building wasn't encouraged, according to Holden.

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Old Cuneo Hospital headed for demolition

Washington, DC (PRWEB) January 23, 2014

When beginning an interior commercial architecture and design project, the initial programming phase has long served to guide the direction of the design. But according to the commercial architects and design professionals at OTJ Architects, becoming increasingly popular and effective is the idea of taking the programming phase one step further by conducting a vision session.

The firms architects and designers have seen first-hand that one of the best ways to learn about an organization and its space needs is through full client interaction; conducting interviews with key personnel is fundamental to obtaining information regarding space usage, projected growth or organizational changes including the following:

And while a program summary details all space requirements, a vision session can help to visually communicate design aesthetics for those same space requirements. The vision session, which showcases photos, drawings and specifications from previous projects, helps to determine various options for the overall look and feel of the new space. This collaborative meeting allows the project team to effectively discuss and target design objectives. Once the priorities of an organizations vision are fully understood, the project team can apply this knowledge to the design and ensure the vision aligns with the overall project goals as well as the established budget.

We use feedback from the vision session to document the projects future direction with keywords and images and also update the programming materials if necessary, said Lance Jaccard, Partner at OTJ Architects. This session gives us a real-world glimpse of what type of space the client is looking for with direct comparisons to previous project work.

Which is just what happened with OTJ client, Analytic Services, Inc. OTJ held a vision session for the group to review images from previous projects exemplifying the following areas of design: transparency, open areas, specialty spaces and company branding.

Staff members tagged each photo with a colored sticky note based on his or her preference - red for dislike, blue for like and yellow for lets discuss leading OTJ to discover that employees enjoyed the concepts of writeable surfaces, subtle finish palettes, a variety of seating types, workstations as communities/enclaves, library workspace and a reception area that doubled as meeting space. This vision session helped the project team understand the design goals of the organizations employees, while also promoting ways to effectively utilize the space and achieve a decrease in square footage.

So, what are the results of thoughtfully designed office spaces that take into account the needs and wants of its employees? According to YFS Magazine, when employees enjoy a workplace concept that appeals to their senses and is conducive to smooth operations, they feel proud of working at a company that caters to their needs and values an environment that aids them in successfully accomplishing their work.

So when looking to renovate or re-design your existing office space, consider a vision session as a way to keep employees happy and spirits high the dividends will be seen in increased productivity and improved recruitment and retention.

Contact OTJ Architects to discuss your architectural needs today.

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Commercial Architects at OTJ Share Benefits to Conducting Vision Sessions

Glass media blasting Wildwood log home restoration
http://www.wildwoodloghomerestoration,net wildwoodloghome@gmail.com 425-971-1713 Glass media blasting remove all kinds of stain. This process renews your log to alm...

By: christo free

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Glass media blasting Wildwood log home restoration - Video