Home Builder Developer - Interior Renovation and Design

Now that I had already installed gigabit pro and generated the first bill, it was time to finally migrate from Verizon to Xfinity Mobile because:

The key thing to remember here is that I waited for the Xfinity Gigabit Pro to be fully installed before starting the process.

What I liked:

This finishes the initial part which was straightforward. Now comes the porting part which is not easy. I had to chat with Verizon to get that part going. Here is how it went:

One PIN is good enough for all lines

The PIN can be generated from either phone if it expires

It is ok if one number is ported first and I generate the PIN again after a few weeks to port over the next number from the next phone

Remember that if you leave Xfinity Internet, they will add a $20 to your monthly bill. I wont because I have Xfinity Gigabit Pro

Even removing the two Apple watches from the plan, my Verizon bill is:

~ $85 per month for 5 gb on Verizon

With Xfinity Mobile I will be paying ~ $15 per month for 1 gb internet (even that we dont use now at home). With $250 paid over 24 months for a 128gb iPhone 12, the bill comes to:

~ $42 per month with 1 new phone for 1 gb on Xfinity Mobile

We use around 8 gb per month (that is the max we have ever used no matter how much we have tried to use because we are not crazy enough to stream audio or video on cellular) when we go back to work, so that would be $60 per month (shared). So total with the phone at that time would be $60 + $24 = $84

~ $84 per month with 1 new phone for 10 gb on Xfinity Mobile

If one more person joins the plan later, with a new phone, we would still use under 10 gb (I know how much we use), so it would still be:

~ $108 per month, with 2 new phones for 10 gb on Xfinity Mobile

Only one of us use cellular data a lot, if that person moves to unlimited at $45 per month for that line and the other person uses 3 gb per month at $30 per month, that would be $45 + $30 + $24 = $99 per month

~ $99 per month with 1 new phone for 3 gb per month on one line, unlimited on other line on Xfinity Mobile

To be continued

Read the rest here:
How to migrate your iPhone and Apple Watch to Xfinity Mobile from Verizon after getting Xfinity - Medium

Cooking is part of many holiday plans. But be aware that the State Fire Marshal's Office is seeing an increase in kitchen-related fires.Kitchen fires, along with fires related to home heating, are the most common types of calls the Morgan City Fire Department responds to at this time of year.The most important thing a homeowner can do is have a smoke detector, Morgan City Fire Chief Alvin Cockerham said Wednesday.Cockerham said unattended cooking is something that is common in fire calls they respond to, with people saying they were just gone simply for a few minutes.Thats all it takes sometimes, he said, noting that leaving something unattended on the stove for five minutes or forgetting it in the oven can lead to a fire. It may seem like five minutes, but its probably longer than five minutes.The State Fire Marshals Office urges people not to leave the home when cooking and not to leave the kitchen when cooking using a stove.Along with those steps comes the smoke detector.Smoke detectors save countless, countless lives, Cockerham said. Thats one of the best things anybody can have.As of Dec. 11, State Fire Marshal Chief H. Butch Browning reported that 70 people statewide had died this year due to fires.While that is currently less than the fatality counts of the past few years, its too many, and we dont want to see anymore, Browning said in a recent news release.For those unable to install a smoke detector due to disability, etc., the State Fire Marshals Office has the Operation Save-A-Life program, which works with local fire departments and district to install smoke alarms for free.Cockerham said his department can install those locally if Morgan City residents need them.To register online with the State Fire Marshals Office for the program, visit http://www.lasfm.org.As for heating, Cockerham said a pre-winter checkup on heaters is a good idea.Its always good to have your heater checked out before winter time gets here just as a safety precaution to see if its burning right, to see if its not full of dust, he said.Another crucial element for safety is a carbon monoxide detector, Cockerham said.We get several calls a year with carbon monoxide, the chief said. People having detectors and they work, and sometimes you dont even realize that youre breathing that stuff.Fire extinguishers also are good to have in a home, the chief said.As for Christmas decorations, Cockerham says they should be checked to ensure wiring doesnt have any frays. While he said power strips can be used, Cockerham recommended only using one that is both heavy duty and is approved by Underwriters Laboratories.Not one of these small ones that you buy, and theyre cheap, he said.However, Cockerham said do not overload the strip.He also said that its never a good idea to leave Christmas decorations on overnight and to make sure you water your Christmas tree daily if it is live.If you keep water in it, keep constant moisture in it, its less likely to catch a fire if something does happen, Cockerham said. That dont mean it wont, but its just less likely.If residents do have smoke in their house, however, Cockerham urged them to evacuate everyone and call the fire department to handle the situation.It may be a light fixture. It may still be something minor, but if you dont know where its at, then the best thing on the safety side is to get out of the house, he said.

The rest is here:
Staying safe at home: Winter increases the need to practice home fire safety - StMaryNow.com

In 2015, I married Will. In 2019, we finally took our honeymoon. It wasnt the result of four years of planning. Rather, after letting life get in the way for too long, I found a crazy deal on flights to London and booked them. I didnt consult Will, but I knew from his endearingly deep appreciation for grime music, Cockney rhyming slang, and Guy Ritchie movies, itd be a trip of a lifetime for him. Carried away with the excitement of surprising Will, I concocted a plan where Id take him to the airport under the guise of a trip to Chicago. Then, once we arrived at the airport Id declare we were headed to London!

After I realized that was insane, we talked and decided to make it a honeymoon of Wills design, since I normally plan everything. He wanted to drive around and visit mountain bike trails. Though Im supremely confident on pavementin another life I was a messenger, and in a normal year I race Pro/1/2 fieldsdirt, and the obstacles that come with it, was a new challenge for me. But wed recently both started mountain biking, and I was excited to try out my skills in a new place with my ride partner for life. We also booked a camper van to fulfill our desire to try van lifeand combine the travel and accommodation costs. Will picked the destinations and I planned the route. Wed make our way across the south of England to visit the U.K.s Whistler, BikePark Wales, hitting quaint towns with trails along the way.

Im still not sure if I should be annoyed or honored that he thinks so highly of me.

We landed in London, picked up Bonny the Van, an adorable Citron Relay complete with a bed, kitchen, and well-secured succulents, then unpacked our bikes and immediately broke them. Short on sleep and low on food, I had the bright idea to shorten my dropper post cable before we started our journey. Will followed my lead, and we were so distracted by how sick our bikes were going to look with more aesthetically pleasing cable lengths that we didnt notice we hadnt eaten a single thing all day. With our brains short-circuiting from fatigue and hunger, we both botched what should have been very simple jobs. I cut my cable too short, and Will removed both his cable and housing to a point where he was unable to reinstall either. We surrendered, decided to figure it out after wed eaten, loaded up Bonny, and started the journey west.

Courtesy Ayesha McGowan

After a first stop at Stonehengemy one request for the tripwe made our way to the nearby Croft Mountain Bike Trail in Swindon and parked for the night. Will was adamant about not riding until he had a functioning dropper post. With a shrug, I put on a headlamp and took my first-ever night ride alone. Riding at night wasnt nearly as terrifying as Id always imagined. I love the peace of night rides on the road, but the fear of sharp rocks, pointy sticks, and hungry predators swirled as I approached the wooded trails. (I figure in the daytime, at least Ill see them coming.) Something did actually leap out at merepeatedlyand even if it was consistently my own shadow from the headlamp, I remained convinced there was a large animal pouncing out of every corner. At least the adrenaline rush was a lot of fun.

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Croft was reminiscent of our local trails, South Rockdale Park in Conyers, Georgia. They were flowy and relatively flat, nothing too steep in either direction. The mild jumps, occasional roots, and (barely) elevated bridges were within my ability, but also near my limit. I got back to the van, feeling exhilarated and confident. Maybe this whole trip would be a little easier than I expected.

The next day we hunted for a bike shop to fix our mess. At our first stop I found a new dropper post cable I could install. But Will needed his bottom bracket removed, and shop after shop informed us that they were too swamped to fix his bike today, tomorrow, or anytime during our trip. We even took our chances on a Google listing that turned out to be a friendly and confused guy named Phil fixing bikes out of his home. He took the bike in only to bring it back outside minutes later to explain this was beyond his ability. The situation was too ridiculous to get angry. Wed let jet lag and empty stomachs nearly derail our honeymoon.

Will and I complement each other in that rarely does one thing stress us both out. Really, Will only gets anxious over running out of gasI can live on E. I was annoyed at his insistence on a working dropper post, but as the problem-solver and usually anxious one of us, I kept making calls and googling shops. Meanwhile, with a full tank in Bonny, Will was unfazed. Wed simply either bike the U.K.s greatest trails or have a different trip.

Finally, the Swindon Cycles Superstore lived up to its name, took mercy on our pathetic souls, and got Will up and riding the next day. It meant wed have to change our plans a bit, but wed get to ride bikes!

Courtesy Ayesha McGowan

After a few loops around Croft, we loaded up the van and headed west to our next stop, Woodchester Cycle Trails. We were expecting something at least on par with Croft. We found a not-quite-400-meter pump track.

It turned out to be exactly what I neededa chance to nail my fundamental skills and receive an impromptu pep talk. A local boy around 9 or 10 years old took a break from practicing his pumps and jumps to admire our bikes, tell me I looked like a pro, and ask every question that popped into his head: Where are you from? What do you do? We bonded over our lack of confidence and rode together, pushing each other a little bit more every lap.

What he and friends that joined later lacked in technical pointers, they made up for with cheerleading. I can handle a bike, but Im still scared of demolishing myself off a jump. The kids insisted on teaching Will and me how to jump off a berm. And while their advice was no, go faster! it eventually stuck and I was getting both tires in the air.

Courtesy Ayesha McGowan

I still didnt understand Wills insistence on an operational dropper post. The trails we rode back home were all doable without one, and Croft was no different. But I trusted him.

The next day we reached BikePark Wales. I was in shock. Id never experienced anything like it. Even just the prep to ridesigning waivers, buying lift tickets, and attempting to wrap my mind around the billboard of a trail mapwas overwhelming. I followed Will onto the shuttle van, dazed. That trail map clued me in that this was a place where you follow gravity, like when Ive gone snowboarding, but I was still processing what Id signed up for. As the van ride kept going up, around a turn, and up again, I became aware of a few more details that werent like the mountain biking I was used to. As I glanced around at the other riders in the van, I noticed they were staring at us. We already stuck out like sore thumbs as Black cyclists in rural U.K., but I also saw a lot of full-face helmets and all sorts of padding. There I was in my road-racing kitmy only protective gear was a helmet and glasses.

It was only once we reached the dirt lot at the top that I fully realized the dire situation Id gotten myself into: We were at a downhill bike park and there were no beginner trails. I could have done a bit more research beforehand, but I was trying this new thing where I wasnt in control of everything. I trusted Will. But Will trusted back a little too much, like that I knew where we were going and that Id made the conscious decision to throw myself down a gravity trail with almost no protective gear. Even he had knee pads. Im still not sure if I should be annoyed or honored that he thinks so highly of me.

My roadie mentality told me that rocks, gravel, and roots were obstacles to be avoided at all costs. I had to relax and let my mountain bike deliberately roll over them.

We settled on the easiest-looking intermediate trail, and I did my best to follow Wills lines. Whenever it seemed like too much, I took it slow. I dont have the ego to get myself hurt when I have no idea what Im doing. The downhill features, the berms, rock gardens, and jumps, mimicked those of the trails Id done before, now just bigger and faster. I remembered to breathe, look where I wanted to go, pedal through the berms, and trust my bike. My roadie mentality told me that rocks, gravel, and roots were obstacles to be avoided at all costs. I had to relax and let my mountain bike deliberately roll over them. Wills insistence on a dropper post was making more and more sense. And now on the steepest trail Id ever ridden, I learned that going downhill made it even easier to roll over things. As the adrenaline started to build, I allowed myself to ease off the brakes enough to pick up speed.

I reached the bottom, put my heart back into my chest, and promptly made my way to the gear shop, where I scooped up the first elbow and knee pads that fit from the bargain box. I knew I had more runs in me.

I never imagined my honeymoon would be a weeklong intensive mountain bike training camp. I learned so much in just a few days and walked away with way more experience, confidence, and vocabularyand not just bike park. Our adventure of errors also built more trust in our relationship. Despite feeling very unprepared for BikePark Walesand wishing Will had encouraged me to bring protective gearIll admit that Will was right to feel that I was capable of the challenge. It was definitely not the trip I would have planned for myself, but it gave me a new appreciation for the U.K., van life, mountain bikes, and going with the flow. But Will is also never again allowed to plan anything sight unseen. I will ask all the questions.

Courtesy Ayesha McGowan

HOW TO TRY #VANLIFE

With no established Airbnb of camper vans, city-specific rentals are common. But the largest renter in North America is Escape Campervans, with fleets in 13 cities starting at $40 per day. Mileage, and gear like bedding and a kitchen kit, cost extra.

Wed done our fair share of camping and can get creative. We started a system of peeing in empty pasta sauce jars, but because we werent exactly in the backcountry, we made friends with the bathrooms at 24-hour supermarkets.

Bonny had a water heater for warm showers and it was glorious, but thats not standard. If your van lacks a shower, there are three options: buy a solar shower plus pop-up shower tent; park at a campground, like KOA, with amenities; or get a national gym membership, such as Planet Fitness.

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I Thought I Knew My Spouse. Then We Honeymooned at a Bike Park - Bicycling

The Maine Emergency Management Agency staff and partner agencies are monitoring the latest storm that is moving heavy snow into Maine overnight along with cold temperatures.

Citizens will wake up Thursday to various amounts of snow across the state and hazardous weather conditions. A winter storm warning remains in effect from 10 p.m. this evening to 4 p.m. Thursday. Concerns include travel, possible power outages and below freezing temperatures.

The State EOC will be active while continuing to assist with COVID-19 fulfilment efforts. Most county Emergency Management Agencies are activated now.

Those in danger of running out of heating fuel should contact their fuel company as soon as possible and be sure to clear a path to the fuel pipes and tank to expedite the delivery process. Lowering the temperature in your home can help conserve fuel, but the temperature should not be set below 55 degrees to avoid pipes from freezing.

To prevent frozen pipes:

- Locate and insulate pipes most susceptible to freezing, typically those near outer walls, in crawl spaces or in the attic. Use insulation made especially for this purpose.

- Wrap pipes with heat tape (UL-approved).

- Seal any leaks that allow cold air inside where pipes are located.

- Disconnect garden hoses and shut off and drain water from pipes leading to outside faucets. This reduces the chance of freezing in the short span of pipe just inside the house.

- Let hot and cold water trickle at night from a faucet on an outside wall.

- Open cabinet doors to allow more heat to get to uninsulated pipes under a sink or appliance near an outer wall.

- If you plan to be away, have someone check your house daily to make sure the heat is still on to prevent freezing, or perhaps drain and shut off the water system (except indoor sprinkler systems).

If pipes freeze:

- Make sure you and your family know how to shut off the water in case pipes burst. Stopping the flow of water can minimize the damage to your home. Call a plumber and contact your insurance agent. Never try to thaw a pipe with an open flame or torch.

- Always be careful of the potential for electric shock in and around standing water.

Those using alternate heat sources should be sure to follow the manufacturers guidelines. Generators should not be used inside or in an enclosed space such as a porch or garage. They must be properly installed and situated at least 15 feet away from a home or business. Those using generators or alternate heat sources should also have working Carbon Monoxide detectors.

Those who must seek shelter elsewhere should have a plan in place to identify where they will go and how they will get there if they dont have transportation. Those with accessibility challenges should contact family, neighbors or emergency services to ensure their needs will be met.

- Never warm up a vehicle in an enclosed area such as a garage to avoid Carbon Monoxide poisoning - Make sure tires are properly inflated and in good condition - Check windshield wiper fluid

- Ensure the vehicle is clear of all ice and snow

- Never mix radial tires with other types of tires

- Keep your gas tank at least half full to avoid the gas line freezing up or running out of gas and becoming stranded

- Bring a fully-charged cell phone with roadside assistance numbers in your contacts

- If you become stranded in your vehicle, stay with the vehicle and tie a brightly-colored cloth to the antenna or use another type of distress signal

- Run the engine and heater just long enough to remove the chill in order to conserve gas Be sure to let someone know when and where you will be traveling and when you expect to arrive at your destination.

For additional preparedness, shelter and safety information, please visit MainePrepares.com, or visit MEMA on Facebook or Twitter. Shelter information is also available by calling 2-1-1 or contacting your local town office, fire or police department.

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Tips to avoid frozen pipes (did you turn off the valve to outside faucets?) - PenBayPilot.com

anchor

All images courtesy of Trahan Architects.

Trahan Architects and Spackman Mossop Michaels haverevealed their design for the renewal of Luther George Park locatedin downtown Springdale, Arkansas. Commissioned by the Downtown Springdale Alliance, the park is a part of the city's larger plan to create dynamic public spaces and plazas that can support public art, performing arts, and seasonal outdoor markets.

"The Downtown Springdale Alliance is thrilled with the work of the design team ofSpackman Mossop Michaels and Trahan Architects. Luther George Park redesignedwill be transformative to the beautiful, diverse culture and vibrancy of downtownSpringdale," said Jill Dabbs, executive director of The Downtown Springdale Alliance, in a statement.

The 14-acre park will facilitate community engagement by providing a sustainable venue for recreation, play, and outdoor performance. The design draws its inspiration from the native landscapes of Arkansas. Two-hundred new trees will be introduced to the site, providing shade for the local community and habitat for local wildlife.

"The park is about bringing people together from across the community and providinga space to connect to one another, and to the natural world," said Wes Michaels,ASLA, founding principal of Spackman Mossop Michaels, in a statement.

The Performance Pavilion is a central focal point of the new park. Its organic form creates twists and lightly touches the ground, giving it an illusion of floatation. The pavilion will host performances of up to 3,000 people. Moreover, the shell can also host smaller events, such as move nights for groups of fifty to one-hundred people.

Trey Trahan, FAIA, founder & CEO of Trahan Architects, said in a statement: "We believe strongly in the power of landscapes to inform our architecture theperformance pavilion draws inspiration from the rolling hills of the landscape and thestrong axial connection between the river and downtown Springdale. It is both anicon and deeply embedded in the context."

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Trahan Architects and Spackman Mossop Michaels reveal design for Luther George Park Masterplan and Performance Pavilion - Archinect

Cy-Fair ISDs much-anticipated new visual and performing arts center a multitiered facility with the capacity for an audience of 1,500 people is expected to be complete in 2022, making its debut as a venue for student shows and performances.

The future VPAC, and an adjacent administration building, are currently in the design phase and are intended to be completed by December and November 2022 respectively. Both will be constructed on a 26-acre plot of land located west of Cy-Fair High School near U.S. 290 bordered by Cypress North Houston Road and Matzke Road. The projects were approved as part of the $1.762 billion bond passed by voters in 2019.

Brandon Ross, representative with PBK Architects, who are designing both buildings, said the intention of building them both on the same parcel was to allow ease of access for the community.

Its an efficient use of a parcel for the district and it allowed us to maximize the use of that land to house both buildings, Ross said during the Dec. 14 school board meeting. All of the appropriate site parking, paving, delivery loading areas are on one site. It allows for a smaller floor plate, a more efficient building, stacking things vertically in both buildings and supporting them so that visitors, occupants and employees can completely access both buildings.

The VPAC will house 1,500 audience members in its auditorium. The four-tier building will have two levels of orchestra seating and two balconies. The orchestra space was built closer to the audience to create a more personal experience.

Related: Cypress Creek EMS says operations will stop unless funds are paid by Harris County Emergency Services District No. 11

This central facility will provide both some relief in size and in quantity for future activities, Ross said. Its set up to support true visual performing arts to support your band, orchestra, dance (and) arts. Its truly an all-inclusive facility. It has spaces to support all of those.

The VPAC will have infrastructure in place for additional lights, displays for events, and technology that could be installed at a future date. The lobby will also be used to host art displays and exhibits.

The lobby is a very key element, Jorge Tiscareno with PBK Architects said. Its not only the first (time) youre welcoming the public and the audience, it is actually like another area for performances, displays and galleries.

The admin building will include a five-story office area and a public space for board meetings, a one-stop shop for staff and the community.

On HoustonChronicle.com: Houston area ISD law enforcement and education experts discuss the role of school police

We stacked the five floors in the office tower and separated them from what we call the public area, which is the board room, the conference center and some of the shared spaces, Ross said. That achieved multiple things: a safe and secure building and also allowance of the organization of the stacked floors to support the administration better and separate the two.

Ross said the buildings design takes into account the function of different departments, and which departments regularly collaborate.

It also allowed us to include some internal stairs so there could be more collaboration between departments and smart adjacency, Ross said. When we met with those departments we not only learned about each department itself but who they interact and who they need to work with the most.

Ross said PBK is designing office spaces in the admin building with safety and health in mind, including adequate space to accommodate social distancing safe air circulation.

According to a PBK project schedule, the construction phase for the projects is expected to occur from May 1, 2021 to Sept. 30, 2022.

chevall.pryce@chron.com

Oytro

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PBK architects outline features of future visual and performing arts center, administration building in Cy-Fair ISD - Houston Chronicle

Springdale, Arkansas, will be the latest city to get a major parks reimagining, as the New Orleans and New York-based Trahan Architects and New Orleanss Spackman Mossop Michaels have revealed a total overhaul of Luther George Park.

The project continues the Walton Familys reshaping of Northwestern Arkansas, as the parks modernization was funded through a Walton Family Foundation Design Excellence Program grant. The upgrade was commissioned by the Downtown Springdale Alliance to help jumpstart development in downtown Springdale and bring more public plazas and outdoor entertainment to the city.

The new master plan for the 14-acre Luther George Park will add 200 new native trees and will re-center the park with a new Performance Pavilion, a curving, multipurpose archway that can do everything from host concerts to act as a passive shade structure when not in use.

The pavilions Cor-ten steel cladding will weather and patina naturally over time, letting it gradually blend in with the environment. The pavilion will front the parks great lawn and will be bounded in the rear by berm, creating a natural seating configuration and helping to further disguise the structures impact on the landscape. In a press release announcing the overhaul, the design team attributed the pavilions future flexibility to the theater rigging integrated into the structure itself. Once complete, the pavilion will be capable of accommodating up to 3,000 concertgoers and about 50-to-100 movie viewers at a time on the smaller lawn at the back (in a post-COVID world, of course).

We believe strongly in the power of landscapes to inform our architecture the performance pavilion draws inspiration from the rolling hills of the landscape and the strong axial connection between the river and downtown Springdale. It is both an icon and deeply embedded in the context, said Trey Trahan, founder and CEO of Trahan Architects in the same project announcement.

No timetable for the projects completion, or cost, has been announced at the time of writing.

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Trahan Architects and Spackman Mossop Michaels will overhaul a major Arkansas park - The Architect's Newspaper

Littleton, MA Maugel Architects and Nauset Construction announced the completion of the new 60,000 s/f headquarters for Workers Credit Union (WCU) located on Russell St.

Renovations included demolition of the existing building down to the structural steel and construction of new additions. The new headquarters houses WCUs corporate offices, a number of departments, conference rooms, training rooms, a caf, an outdoor dining patio and a fitness center. Hill International served as the owners project manager.

To create a timeless, elegant design that appeals to all generations, Maugel creatively blended traditional and modern design elements throughout the space. The exterior design features traditional masonry walls with cast stone piers, cornices and lintels that complement more modern elements, such as double-height curtain walls, a glass cantilevered entrance canopy and a metal outdoor pergola.

The interior design juxtaposes modern elements, such as metal and glass, with more traditional elements of wood and terrazzo. A central spine with a two-story lobby allows for expansive views through the depth of the building to the exterior.

This has been an incredible journey. Our new headquarters will be a place of purpose to improve the daily lives of our members and through them, the greater community, said Bob Lockett, chief strategy officer at WCU. It took the combined efforts of a very talented group of people to bring us to this day. The building will not simply be a place to work, it will be a place where families are protected, homes are created, dreams are fulfilled and the journey to financial wellness is begun.

On the first floor, a main circulation path leads to a large caf and training rooms. Folding interior glass walls enable the caf, training areas and adjacent corridor to be opened to create a large gathering space. The caf has access to the outside through a pair of glass doors opening to a colonnade and an outdoor patio featuring a metal pergola and areas for lounging and dining. Adjacent to the patio is an employee entrance equipped with bike racks, benches, and recycling. The employee circulation path showcases a variety of seating areas that encourage impromptu conversation and collaboration.

The second-floor lobby showcases a monumental terrazzo staircase with glass guardrail, floating wood slat ceilings with cove lighting, a multi- colored green moss wall with an abstract design reflective of the WCU logo, and decorative light pendants that spiral down through the double- height space open to below. The upper reception area features a stone, wood, and accent- lighted reception desk with a back-painted branded glass wall.

To promote employee well- being and maximize natural light into workspaces, large open office areas were placed along exterior walls with large windows. The natural light filters through the space, enabling users of internal glass-walled offices and conference rooms to enjoy the borrowed light. Gathering nodes and breakout spaces were thoughtfully placed along pathways to promote collaboration.

It has been an honor working with Workers Credit Union and the outstanding team of the Blackham Company, Nauset Construction, Hill International, RRC Engineering and BLW Engineers to create an iconic workplace, said Maugel project architect Cindi Cascio. This beautifully re-imagined building will now take on a new life supporting Workers Credit Unions amazing work serving the community and improving lives.

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Project of the Month: Maugel Architects and Nauset Construction complete Workers Credit Union headquarters - New England Real Estate Journal Online

Chinese Opera Base in the Qingyun Hutong / Origin Architect

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Text description provided by the architects. Spaces, in urban, may be formed overnight, but the soul of the city must not be shaped if it is not deposited, immersed, and chafed for a long period of time.

OriginLocated on the south side of the Forbidden City in Beijing, the Qianmen District has witnessed the rise and fall of the city for centuries. Qingyun Hutong No.23-29 courtyards lie on the eastern area of the Qianmen District, just like a miniature imprint in this grand epic. South courtyard, facing the theater stage of the Pingyao Pigment Hall across the alley, once sheltered Mei Lanfang, a Peking Opera master a hundred years ago. He used to train his voice in the courtyard brewing his unique artistic style. Once being the Guandi Gao Temple, there were abundance of well-structured halls following strict order during the heyday of religion in the Middle Courtyard, and the Hutong streets nearby were all named after it. The North Courtyard was occupied decades ago by an electron tube factory, so called "modern industry", with steel-framed and red-brick-wall.

However, these old buildings and memories are gradually vanishing. In recent decadesafter experiencing the era that families lived crowdedly and moved out collectively, the houses in yards are abandoned, collapsed and destroyed. That causes the rapid disappearing of urban texture and cultural memory. And now in the large courtyards, except for a dilapidated house remaining in the South Courtyard, two wing rooms in Guandi Gao Temple, as well as the roof-collapsed run-down factory, the rest have crumbled into dust and disappeared in a pile of rubble. The restoration project aims to restore the city's cultural context, preserve cultural memory and revitalize city and communities through appropriate intervention.

Tiny Hutongs and Successive courtyardsThe architect first carried out in-depth archaeological research and analysis of the process of land change. The remaining buildings are protected, the damaged part of the buildings are selected carefully for rebuilding to develop a courtyard group, so that the defective space texture of city can be recognized again. At the same time, a series of "Tiny Hutongs" are introduced into the courtyard by the specially reserved gaps, which are the inward extension of the outer city streets and drive the continuous flow of the inner and outer spaces of the whole courtyard group.

Memory CarrierArchitecture is not only an inorganic substance, but also a living history. During the redevelopment, the historical diversity of real remains has been affirmed and respected, and the conflicts between the damaged and intact, the red brick and gray brick, the factory building and courtyard are all-inclusive and even strengthened. The residual wall left by the Gao Temple is preserved as it was, as a witness to the interchange of history. Some buildings have been reinforced and patched as necessary. The inclined and collapsed walls are supported by terraced brick buttresses, and the old residual columns are butted up and down with new wood to restore their structural strength. The new measures are firmly anchored and grown together with the old members. After archaeological cleaning and excavation of mounds and rubble, several groups of hard fahlunite column bases Mei Lanfang's former residence have been rediscovered and returned to their original places. Other old objects and materials scattered around--old cornerstones, old bricks and tiles--are collected and randomly mixed into the new walls and floors as time fragments.

In the middle of the brick wall of the rebuilt house, a large number of dispersed glass bricks are inserted like clouds, and the existence of the house entity is weakened, which is not only a confession of one's fictional identity, but also a questioning of the reincarnation of being born and destroyed. Several other solid brick walls are penetrated by irregular steel members, keeping the memory metaphor of drilling holes through walls in the compound yard era. A thick trunk that has been dead for many years has been cleared out of the soil from the middle yard and placed on the wall where it was found to witness the coming and going of people in the future together with other still lush trees in the courtyard.

Weathering steel is used as the main intervention material in the factory building, and the air leakage hole on the red brick wall is closed. The internal structure is integrally strengthened by butting the same type of new angle steel with the old beam-column angle steel. New materials and old stuff are scattered in every corner and talking to each other in different ways, silently tell their real times and changes, and weave a touchable memory of time together.

Opera and CultureStemmed from the original historical accumulation, this place is defined as a compound of Hutong spaces and opera culture, which pours impetus into the revival of the surrounding communities and cities. Unlike large-scale centralized modern theatres, a series of places for opera creating, rehearsals, performances and salons form small-scale scattered communities, attracting emerging small cultural creative groups.

The old factory on the north side and the attached building of Guandi Gao Temple have been respectively transformed into an opera rehearsal factory and a special little theater. The drama and cultural exchange salon grown on the site of Mei Lanfang's former residence on the south side opens to Sanli River on the south side, bringing riverside scenery and tourists into the interior. Several creative spaces scattered in the middle and continuous internal streets connect all parts. For the purpose to ensure the modern comfortable conditions of various spaces, the park is equipped with various facilities and systems, and the air-conditioning equipment in each room is hidden under the ground or in the wall as required by the conditions.

As the future operation maturing, it is hoped that the new drama and cultural activities will break through the boundaries, spread along the flowing roadway to the depths of Hutong, and be integrated into the deep cultural foundation of the old city of Beijing.

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Chinese Opera Base in the Qingyun Hutong / Origin Architect - ArchDaily

John S. Chase is the Texas architect you wish you knew aboutor perhaps should have already heard of. Inspired by the work of Frank Lloyd Wright with his own postmodern twists, Chases work has left a mark in East Austin, on the Texas Southern University and University of Texas campuses, and in churches all over the state. Now, a new University of Texas Press book, John S. ChaseThe Chase Residence, celebrates Chases remarkable 60-year career. The book explores how Chase turned his own Houston home into the centerpiece of a larger body of work through a process that was in equal measure architectural, social, personal, and political. This new story of the Chase Residence, still home to Chases widow, Drucie, demystifies how Chase fashioned a space to fit his familyand simultaneously fixed his place in architectural history.

John S. Chase was also a trailblazer for architects of color. He entered the University of Texas soon after its desegregation and soon became the first Black person to obtain a masters degree in architecture. He was also the first state-licensed Black architect in Texas. At one point, Chase served as the first Black president of the Texas Exes, UTs alumni association. And he was a founding member of the National Organization of Minority Architects.

The Chase Residence was a collective effort. It was written by David Heymann, a professor of architecture at UT, and includes a lengthy essay from co-author Stephen Fox, an architectural historian as well as contributions from architecture students Heymann took on his visits to Chases own home in Riverside Terrace, considered a timeless masterpiece among the many houses, churches, and other edifices he built. That group, led by Heymann, tracked down Chases own architectural drawings, made new drawings of key details, and persuaded Chases family and friends to contribute photos that bring the homes long history to life. Best viewed at night, the Chase house, even after nearly 70 years, remains a lantern, a beacon in the city. It is a landmark and a landmark accomplishment.

Chase artfully created his house beneath loblolly pines with windows that fully embraced Houstons humid greenhouse climate. Its vast interior courtyard offered views of leafy tropical plants and gave his boys, John Jr. and Tony, space to ride bikes around a koi pond. The den where Chase worked offered vistas of family life even as he continued to sketch out a fast-growing list of projects for his firm. Inside the original house, Chase tucked a bar behind a bookshelf so that visiting Baptists ministers, teetotalers who frequently commissioned him to build churches, would not spot liquor but could be quickly extracted from an alcove when politico friends arrived for cocktails.

Churches remained a mainstay of Chases practice in the 1950s and 60s, Fox writes. Many churches designed by Chase still stand proudly in Austin, Dallas, and Houston, too. In Houstons Fifth Ward, Chase built the First Shiloh Baptist Church in 1954 and 55. The church features a towering brick sanctuary with dramatically rising roof planes and a bell tower, a landmark on Lyons Street fit for a congregation established for more than 100 years. A marker outside the church today marks its historic status and Chases contribution, too. Through those early works, Chase had become a starchitect.

Gradually, Chases other projects took form as other private homes, more churches, and landmark buildings that rose across Texasand beyond, as Foxs essay explains. One of his very first jobs in 1952 was a building for a group then known as the Colored Teachers Union in Austin. He later earned major commissions from clients like Texas Southern University and Tuskegee University in Alabama. Many of his masterworks still stand on TSUs Houston campus, including its Humanities Building, with a stunning rounded entrance bay, its student center, and its law school.

Eventually, Chase designed buildings on the campus of his alma mater, tooincluding UTs utilitarian San Antonio garage and the track and soccer stadium. But UT wasnt always good at remembering its famous alumnus. He doesnt appear in the school yearbook, for example. The first on-campus show featuring his work didnt occur until after his death in 2012. But recently, one of his early Austin works, the 1952 headquarters for the teachers union, was acquired by UT. Its now being remodeled and refitted as part of the universitys community engagement programsin a way, taking Chases architectural journey full circle. Theres also a John S. Chase scholarship fund at UT for promising Black students, particularly those with an interest in architecture. And now, at long last, theres a UT Press book honoring his legacy and his home.

As his clientele and family expanded into the 1960s, so did the Chase residence. The Chases welcomed their third child, Saundria, to the family. In 1968, when she was six, he began a renovation and simultaneously enclosed the atrium to create a vast two-story gathering space for a whos-who of famous friends and clients, including the late Congressman Mickey Leland, actor Gregory Peck who was in town for a Democratic fundraiser, and other luminaries like John Connally, then governor of Texas. One iconic photo shows Leland, a regular at the Chase home, lounging in that atrium with Saundria, by then a young adult. The Chase house, always in a state of flux, continued to evolve. This new book, as Fox writes, honors an architect who was part of a larger artistic movement that powerfully imagined, and gave compelling form to, new ways for African Americans to live in the American South, with dignity, assurance and distinctive modern style, too.

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A New Book Celebrates the Work of Architect John S. Chase - The Texas Observer