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| Structures | March 28, 2008 |
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Kitchens Take Home’s Center Stage
By Philip Guarino
The magnetic pull that our kitchens exert seems almost primal and perhaps it is, for it is a room where at least three of our most basic needs (food, shelter and warmth) are apt to be satisfied. But as popular as it’s been, for decades the typical kitchen was a strictly functional and enclosed space featuring stove, sink, refrigerator, storage and perhaps a small table and chairs. In New England, with its large stock of traditional, historic housing, this has been especially true.
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Transforming Green Design Into Luxury
By Harold Simansky
The decision to build green can come from many sources. Some may see it as a responsibility we should all undertake. Others may be attracted by the financial opportunities that exist in tapping this new consumer trend. Still others may be inspired by former Vice President Al Gore and his fellow celebrity boosters of environmentalism.
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FHA Provides Guidance on Design Obligations
By Joshua Rucker
Understanding one set of codes and requirements is one thing, but to fully comprehend how multiple codes and requirements interact with each other and how they relate to those with disabilities is a subject that takes experience and patience. Numerous accessibility requirements are incorporated in the design and construction of new multifamily housing. The accessibility requirements under the Fair Housing Act are just one set of obligations an architect has to be aware of while designing his/her next housing project.
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Collaboration Produces Winning Teams
By Kathie Chrisicos
When it comes down to it, the goal of every home renovation or new construction project is the same: Make your client happy in a timely, cost-effective manner and be proud of the final product. Easier said than done, right? In most cases, it takes a partnership of all the parties involved to reach the overall goal. Working with an effective team from the onset creates better results and far fewer headaches. The collaboration between architects, contractors and interior designers gives you the ability to focus on what you do best and offers your client a clear vision from beginning to end.
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Tracker-Based Systems Reduce Consumption
By Charles Nadel
Everyone is interested in lowering their electric bill and reducing their carbon footprint, and one way to lowering your consumption of fossil or nuclear-fueled electricity is to install a photovoltaic system. Unfortunately, not every roof can accommodate a photovoltaic system. The typical problems encountered are appearance, roof orientation, roof condition, shading issues and, most importantly, system cost.
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Identifying Ways to Balance Needs, Impact
By Maryann Thompson
With longer, warmer days just around the corner and the expectation of daffodil- and tulip-sightings growing, it seems winter just might loosen its tight grasp on New England again this year. As that happens, New Englanders flee the confines of our houses for gardens, parks and bike paths, eager for fresh air, outdoor exercise and sunshine. While the cutting chill of winter’s gusty winds and cement-like snows may not be chief among winter’s charms, its landscapes, absent of leaves, devoid of color and blanketed with a layer of snow, are as visually striking as perennial gardens in high color or flame-red autumn leaves.
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Attracting Business Lies in a Firm’s Marketing
By Brenda Richards and Kathleen Soldati
We recently heard the following advice from a 20-something on how to market to young people: “We don’t want you to come to us. We want you to give us a reason to find you.” That comment is the essence of the adage “business comes to the expert.” Your audience needs to be aware of your knowledge and perceive it as beneficial to them. To build that awareness, it is essential that you share your knowledge through the vehicles your audience is paying attention to – advertising, newsletters, e-mail, columns, articles, panel discussions or seminars. You start by assessing the knowledge your firm possesses, distill it and then disseminate it in a way which will result in your designers being recognized as the “go-to” experts.
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Architects Must Plan Ahead for Retirement
By Jack Beauregard and Ryland Hanstad
Retirement isn’t what it used to be. A growing wave of baby boomers is getting ready to exit their companies, but they do not want to retire in the traditional sense. Successful business owners and professionals, including architects, are moving into “the platinum years” – the 10-30 years between leaving one’s full-time practice and actual retirement. In order to successfully navigate the transition, they need to be aware of good exit planning and financial planning practices.
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Communication With Architects Is Key
By Gerald Lee Morosco
Working with an architect to conceive a custom design for your home can be one of the most remarkable, memorable and lasting endeavors of your life. Residential architects
are as varied as their clients. Having a basic understanding of how to work with a prospective architect will go a long way toward
a successful relationship.
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Bringing Homebuilding Into Modern Era
By Paul Townsend
If I suggested that the next time you buy a new car, your best approach would be to have the manufacturer deliver the components to your driveway and have a crew assemble them there, you’d question my sanity. Yet most home construction occurs just that way, without taking advantage of modern production methods that have benefited nearly every other industry sector. Isn’t it time for home construction to move into the 21st century?
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Air Quality Is Essential to Comfortable Living
By Ulrike Passe
Natural or hybrid ventilation and green design in architecture are strongly related. Good air quality is as essential to comfortable living as thermal comfort. Both can be achieved with thorough spatial design strategies in most climates. A recent research report conducted by the National Institute of Standard and Technology indicates the enormous energy-saving potential of these modes of building operation for low to mid-rise commercial office buildings in the U.S. Similar possibilities exist for the residential market. The study and a growing number of precedents in Europe also indicate the need for different ways to build and a change in user-building interaction to make these strategies successful, as the relationship of energy and air is complex.
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Specifying Product Traits Offers Clarity
By Paul R. Bertram Jr.
Daily exposure to products that assert an environmental green marketing claim of some sort has created great confusion in the public eye about how such claims should be considered. Are the products actually green, or are they simply unsubstantiated marketing ploys that have become known as greenwash? Criteria for evaluating products for potential purchase has become extremely complex. The extent of such claims has created market confusion that all products are green. An office of the Environmental Protection Agency hosted a meeting of “green” industry stakeholders in Chicago last November in conjunction with the U.S. Green Building Council’s 2007 GreenBuild show. Industry representatives, including stakeholders from green-rating programs, eco-labels, life-cycle assessment specialists, government agencies, environmental groups, associations, manufacturers, research organizations, LEED-accredited professionals, architects/specifiers, retailers, public health advocates and certification testing laboratories, all considered the topic: “What is Green?” The meeting summary by the EPA reported that the immediate next step is to pull together a core group of individuals to generate some conclusions from the discussion and to then examine potential roles for existing organizations and models to develop a new leadership coalition.
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Historic Lighting Is Original Green Light
By Doreen Joslow
When most folks think of antique lighting, the current green revolution doesn’t come to mind. Ironically, historic lighting is, well, historically “green.” Think back to the time when lanterns, chandeliers and sconces were being made. A time of low energy-usage; a time when the words “local” and “sustainable” were a way of life, not a lifestyle that’s considered special by today’s standards in the wake of global warming trends. Some of today’s lighting craftsmen still incorporate the methods used when the originals were being produced. Designs of the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries live on because their designs are good, useful, aesthetically pleasing and, if made well, long-lasting. Now designers and builders can add “green” to that list.
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Precast Foundations Can Exceed Expectations
By Cameron Martin
Expectations. This is the driving force behind the changing culture that exists in today’s building industry. The expectations are being laid out by government agencies, energy companies, homeowners, builders, architects, developers and various product manufacturers. Expectations ultimately trickle down to the homeowner, who is left with many questions and concerns about what products they will purchase for their home. Expectations have forced homeowners to look for products that provide and offer affordability, quality, durability, energy-efficiency and marketability – not to mention the importance of scheduling projects to meet tight timelines. Along with homeowners, builders are investing time and money, learning how to meet ever-growing needs and expectations of a changing culture. The challenge is to force expectations into the realm of affordability and practicality. In this phase of self-discovery and research, builders and homeowners alike are finding that precast foundations systems can help them meet and exceed many of their foundation expectations.
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Bringing a Historic Home Into a New Century
By Doug Hanna
Owning and restoring a historic property can be rewarding, though at times an unpredictable experience. Many owners of historic properties rightly view themselves as custodians, entrusted with the task of preserving and maintaining architectural details through the years. However, they often find that the scope of restoration work can be difficult to gauge, and local agencies having jurisdiction can vary widely as far as what is expected and required of the owner.
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Visual Elements Create Unique Interiors
By Holly Alderman And Kevin Currier
We’re not on canvas anymore. New choices for interior design applications to make a place one-of-a-kind are evolving with advances in digital printing and art. New tools for art and photography are leading to exciting decor innovations, not only for special high-style residences but for all varieties of homes, from seacoast and rural cottages to urban developments to renovated brick-mill buildings and everything in between. Even if one has no experience with digital art or digital tools, it is easy to imagine new possibilities for digitally inspired, custom interior design and accessories.
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