Home Builder Developer - Interior Renovation and Design

The parklets that have taken over commercial corridors all over the Bay Area didnt just get built on their own. In many cases, they were the result of community coming together with scores of professionals offering their services for free or with heavy discounts.

Architects, designers, contractors and artists have been quietly volunteering their time during the pandemic for parklets, with one San Francisco landscape architect estimating that the work would have cost around $20,000. They sprang into action sometimes working weeks at a time not only to help local restaurants, but also in the hopes of sparking ideas about what public space could look like in the future.

And they want to do more.

In San Franciscos Richmond District, landscape architect Alec Hawley of Fauvescraper Studio created pamphlets for merchant associations in his neighborhood to help businesses navigate the new parklet permitting process. He also offered his design services for free, noticing parklets pop up around the city that failed to meet accessibility and safety codes.

In the midst of this pandemic and people closing their businesses, the last thing they need to do is read through paragraphs and paragraphs of literature to understand how theyll possibly save their business by bringing some of it outside, he said.

After weeks of silence, three Outer Richmond restaurants took him up on his offer: creative neighborhood favorite Cassava, noodle specialist Kio Ramen and comfort food spot Eat Americana.

He worked through different budgets for Kio Ramens less than $2,000, he passed along instructions for a series of colorful milk crates that served multiple purposes: They propped up donated redwood slabs to function as counters, held succulents Hawley pulled from his own garden and, lined up side by side, look like a rainbow. The design was simple enough that owner Iris Wongs family built it on their own. But it was effective Wong said dinner services have actually been busier than pre-pandemic because customers like the parklet experience so much.

My customers feel like theyre just sitting in a garden, she said.

Cassavas parklet is much more elaborate, with dividers between tables, colorful wooden slats and a mural painted on the exterior. Its a reflection of owner Yuka Iorois desire to create as safe a space as possible as well as to aesthetically contribute to the neighborhood. Hawleys friend, contractor Mike Tinnea, gave a steep discount on building it. And muralist Pablo Raiz Arroyo painted the goldfish on the sides for free. For the most part, Ioroi just had to pay for materials.

Hawley estimates his work spent on the three parklets, pamphlet, community meetings and other related advocacy work during the pandemic would add up to roughly $20,000. At its peak, he was spending five days a week on pro bono work, staying at his computer until 1 a.m. to juggle everything.

Ioroi called Hawley a godsend. Without the parklet, she wouldnt be able to seat anyone outside, and now outdoor dining accounts for 50% of Cassavas business.

In Oakland, efforts have been organized not by one person but by the Oakland Indie Alliance, an advocacy group for small business owners. The group sent an email to its members this summer asking who couldnt afford to build a parklet on their own, and 30 immediately responded. Three parklets have been built as a result, with two more under way.

While huge, elaborate parklets costing anywhere from $10,000 to $30,000 have gone up all over San Francisco, there have been fewer in Oakland.

Its the equity issue, said Oakland Indie Alliance Executive Director Ari Takata-Vasquez. People who didnt have access to resources for their businesses generally also didnt have access to build parklets.

Takata-Vasquezs goal is to help business owners who have traditionally seen fewer resources. Two of the first parklets went to Sobre Mesa, a Black-owned bar, and La Frontera Mexican Restaurant in East Oakland.

Turner Construction tagged in to build parklets downtown while the industry group fundraises to pay for more contractors thats been the main bottleneck so far, along with getting donated materials. Its been remarkably easy to find architects and designers who wanted to help, Takata-Vasquez said.

As much as this whole time has been terrible, this is really the silver lining, she said. Oakland has always been a place thats looked out for Oakland, and that hasnt been wiped out by COVID.

In Berkeley, multiple design firms have created free design guides for business owners in the hopes of demystifying the process and as with Hawley, some direct work with restaurant owners followed.

Landscape architecture firm Groundworks Office sketched out parklets for two Berkeley wineries, though they havent been built yet. The work takes time. Though many parklets look structurally similar, Groundworks David Koo said it takes about a week just to present sketches because of the many small, important details in designing a structure for a public area where nothing is standard. The width of the sidewalk can vary. Plus, are there trees? Bike lanes? Parking meters?

It also needs to be simple and cost efficient, said Kristen Sidell of Sidell Pakravan Architects, which has already completed parklets for Berkeley restaurants Vanessas Bistro and La Mediterranee. She and partner Rudabeh Pakravan enlisted a contractor, graphic designer and muralist to work pro bono for the Vanessas Bistro parklet. For La Mediterranee, the owner had his own restaurant staff build the parklet, with Sidell and Pakravan swinging by to create the swooping blue graphics. Theyre now in the early phases of designing parklets for several other restaurants and coffee shops.

Its not rope and a wine barrel, Pakravan said. Were trying to find a happy medium between something that feels like a permanent part of the cityscape and something quickly erected.

Ultimately, architects and designers said it was a no-brainer to jump in and offer their services during the pandemic. Some felt guilty that their financial livelihoods werent interrupted, while others called it a moral imperative. At the same time, there is another pull: Building these parklets is one step in creating a more vibrant, people-centric city, where space to gather in public is more valued than cars. The pandemic proved that cities can adapt.

The parklets arent the interesting thing its the change that I think is potentially afoot throughout these small districts, said Groundworks co-founder Brennan Cox. Weve taken all this parking away, and hopefully the pandemic will go away, but were still going to have these quaint places to eat outside.

While San Franciscos COVID-19 Economic Recovery Task Force has proposed keeping the parklets through 2023, Berkeley and other cities havent made any formal declarations about how long these parklets may be allowed. But optimism is part of what drove these architects to build sturdy parklets that are up to code and can last.

Its like incumbency: When something is there, its a lot harder to take it away, Pakravan said. Were really hoping theyll stick around long-term, and we think theres a good chance.

Janelle Bitker is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: janelle.bitker@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @janellebitker

More:
Restaurant parklets are expensive, so Bay Area architects, artists have been designing them for free - San Francisco Chronicle

The patio style was innovative when architect Paul Revere Williams used it in the 1920s through the ... [+] 1970s.

HomeAdvisor, a platform that connects homeowners to home improvement contractors, has created a visual tribute to Paul Revere Williams, a trailblazing Black architect whose work carried the glamour of classic Southern California style to the rest of the world.

Williams opened his practice in the early 1920s when Southern Californias real estate market was booming, according to the American Institute of Architects. His early practice focused both on small, affordable houses for new homeowners and revival-style homes for his more affluent clients.

As Williams reputation grew, so, too, did his client list. Between the 1920s and his retirement in 1973,Williamsdesigned more than 2,000privatehomes for legendary figures in business and entertainment. He counted Frank Sinatra, Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz, Tyrone Power and Barbara Stanwyck among his celebrity clients.

Williams left his mark in the citys most glamorous and exclusive enclavesBeverly Hills, Brentwood, Bel Air and the Hollywood Hills. His architecture design varied from casual ranch-style to Colonial Georgian.

In recent years, A-listers such as Denzel Washington and Ellen DeGeneres have lived in Williams homes. He also designed public housing and a host of civic, commercial and institutional buildings. Regardless of style or use, his work shared the common threads of elegant composition and perfect proportion.

Karen Hudson, granddaughter of Paul Revere Williams, inside the lanai at her home in Los Angeles ... [+] designed by Williams.

Paul R. Williams: Classic Hollywood Style, a book written by Williams granddaughter, Karen Hudson, gives a visual tour of the prolific architects most spectacular houses, with a special focus on their roles not only as places for high living but also as venues for world-class entertaining.

They feature many characteristics that were innovative when he used them in the 1920s through the 70s and are considered common practice now like the patio as an extension of the house and hidden, retractable screens, the book states.

Williams was deeply involved in the Black community in Los Angeles and in African-American affairs nationally.He spoke about the challenges he faced in an article for The American Magazine.Without having the wish to show them, I developed a fierce desire to show myself, Williams wrote in a 1937 essay, I Am a Negro. I wanted to vindicate every ability I had. I wanted to acquire new abilities. I wanted to prove that I, as an individual, deserved a place in the world.

Eight of Williams works have been named to the National Register of Historic Places. In his support of Williams nomination for the American Institute of Architects Gold Medal in 2017, William J. Bates, a fellow of AIA, wrote: Our profession desperately needs more architects like Paul Williams. His pioneering career has encouraged others to cross a chasm of historic biases. I cant think of another architect whose work embodies the spirit of the Gold Medal better. His recognition demonstrates a significant shift in the equity for the profession and the institute.

Link:
Visual Tribute Honors The Trailblazing Legacy Of Black Architect Paul Williams - Forbes

KEYSTONE Depending on where you are, luxury can mean something a little different.

In warm places, it might mean large homes with plenty of space for pools or outdoor activities. In the mountains, it often means catering to the active mountain lifestyle.

Tim Sabo, an architect and designer with Allen Guerra Architecture in Frisco, said he always starts a project by looking at the driveway, where the space is going to be and where the views are.

First and foremost, it comes down to the site and where the views are from the site, Sabo said. People love to see the mountains from their house, so we orient a lot of the spaces to the views.

When designing homes in the mountains, architects are also sure to look at their orientation in relation to the sun. While some people may have heated driveways to manage snow, something as simple as putting the driveway in the direction of the sun will do, said Zane Levin, an architect with Collective Design Group.

(Were) just thinking about where the sun is throughout the day, Levin said. If people like to wake up to the sun, then we may orient the master bedroom in the eastern side of the home. If people dont like the sun in the morning, then we may put the master bedroom on the western side of the home.

While many luxury homes are built with winter in mind, Sabo said he still has lots of clients who want to have a deck for cooking and spend time outside.

Weve always got outdoor spaces that are somewhat protected from the heavy snowfall, he said.

Snowfall is a major factor in the design of winter homes. Both Sabo and Levin focus on orienting the roof of homes in a way that will prevent snow from building up around windows or doors.

Were looking at rooflines very diligently, making sure were never shedding snow in front of doors or in front of garages or allowing them to pile up in front of windows if we can help it, Levin said. The roof is quite key in understanding how snow is ultimately going to fall off the home and into the areas around the home.

While architects are tasked with finding ways to design and orient the home for winter elements, interior designers must think about how people use the spaces.

We always look at the convenience factors in the beginning, said Lisa Yates, a senior designer with Collective Design Group. Typically, that would be for a ski-in, ski-out, so you want to have a well-appointed mudroom.

Yates said the mudroom and ski storage are key factors in the design of luxury homes. When designing the homes, she looks at features like durable cabinetry, boot warmers and even built-in water bottle fountains for the mudroom.

In the winter, its just so important to have a place for all of the gear, and a lot of people like to be able to hide it behind doors, she said.

Yates also looks at ways to make homes more fun and relaxing in the winter environment. For example, hot tubs continue to be in style. Yates said shes seeing more and more hot tubs that are built into the ground so people dont have to climb up to get inside them.

Gyms and saunas have become more popular, as well, Yates said.

Were seeing saunas more and more in residential homes and applications, she said. (Theyre) not just the little steam closets but full-out rooms that we build to be a sauna.

Yates said Collective Design Group also has started heating homes with radiant heat to create more comfort in the wintertime.

Every tiled surface, the wood floor, everything has that nice, cozy feeling to it, she said.

Because so much can go into the design of a luxury home, its important for clients to have a good relationship with their designers and architects.

Every project, whether its a small project or a massive project, has a budget, Levin said. To these clients, the budgets important no matter what the budget is. So having open communication and talking through that throughout the entire design process and into the construction process is really important.

More here:
Designers and architects focus on weather and convenience in building luxury mountain homes - Summit Daily News

Founder and Principal Casper Mork-Ulnes.

For this week'sStudio Snapshot, Archinect spoke with Casper Mork-Ulnes, Founder and Principal of San Francisco and Oslo-based firm Mork-Ulnes Architects.

We talked about his approach of managing offices on two continents as a nimble 10-person practice, touched on strategies of combining two design mentalities Scandinavian practicality and Californian optimism as a unique asset, and learned how lessons from Norwegian work culture could contribute to increased productivity among the entire team.

Can you tell us how Mork-Ulnes Architects was founded?

The office was founded in 2005 when I was given the opportunity to work on a project for a friend. I had long thought about starting my own practice and was very fortunate to be able to take this opportunity to set up an office.

How many people are currently employed at the firm? How is your office structured?

We typically are around 10 people currently we have 7 designers in San Francisco and 3 in Oslo along with a bookkeeper. Our office structure is a relatively flat, non-hierarchical structure. What makes us unique in many ways is that we are a small and nimble international practice in contrast with most other international firms that tend to be large organizations. We divide the staff into teams based on the needs of current projects, but since we are a small practice, most of the team has something to do with each project in some way.

Can you talk about the benefits and challenges of maintaining operations on two continents?

We think that having two locations is a great benefit to our clients, and certainly with Covid, it has become more apparent that we can design global projects remotely. Construction administration makes it necessary to have boots on the ground locally, but we find that this can be done with a good local partner. We sometimes joke that having two offices on different time zones also allows us to work almost around the clock when we have deadlines.

The only real challenge with the 9-hour time difference is for me personally having to take meetings late at night when working with our West coast clients. We have projects as far west as Hawaii which means a 12-hour time difference to Oslo, but that is a challenge I am grateful for allowing us to take on work in diverse geographic situations. Being the son of a diplomat, I spent my childhood traveling and living in many different places. I have perhaps therefore always been interested how different places can generate specific design solutions inherent to each different situation.

How do the mentalities towards architecture and design in Norway and California compare with each other?

In many ways they stand in contrast to each other, so we approach projects with both Scandinavian practicality and a Californian can-do spirit of innovation.

On the one hand, the Californian influence on our work is the spirit of optimism, resourcefulness, and comfort with experimentation thats always been present in California. While the Norwegian influence is more grounded and based on being very rational, functional, practical, and also climate-driven in a very different way.

Obviously, California's climate is also very different from Norway's. Whereas a typical Norwegian building is trying to protect from the environment, a characteristically Californian building is often open and extending outwards. So one is more introvert and protective while the other is more open and extrovert. We are often balancing these two forces depending on where we are working, but clearly the California Modernist tradition of indoor-outdoor relationship, as a way of being, is always a definitive driver behind our work.

So I think it is right to say that our work is often negotiating between these two different regional contexts and that we are always optimistically looking for a synthesis between them.

Would you like to scale up and grow your team? What do you consider the ideal size for your practice?

I am interested in always being part of the design process, so I personally do not really want the practice to grow so much that my position becomes only administrative. That said, as we are starting to get larger commissions, we also need to scale our team to allow us to support these types of projects. So there is definitely a tension between the desire to do bigger projects and keeping a nimble and close-knit team.

Describe your office culture. How do you nourish it?

Our office culture is such that hopefully everyone feels that their ideas are welcome, equally valued, and that we work as a team. We also value a positive life-work balance maybe especially due to our Norwegian roots so we encourage everyone to take time to recharge their batteries, prioritize their private lives, and spend time with their friends and families. This stands in contrast to the culture of many US firms, but I think there is a lot to be learned from the Scandinavian work culture. Happy and healthy architects are a lot more productive than overworked ones.

What have been the biggest challenges starting and running your own practice?

The ups and downs of the economy is probably the most challenging part of running a practice, though we have been very fortunate to work with some excellent consultants who've brought a sense of planning strategy and order to those of us who like to dwell more on the conventional design side of the practice. The administrative part of the practice is unfortunately very important, and this is something we are not taught in school, so it is often the most challenging aspect of running a successful practice. Surrounding yourself with people who are good at this has been very helpful to me.

How has your practice shifted in response to the Covid-19 pandemic on a day-to-day level?

While we are accustomed to working remotely given that we have two offices over 5,000 miles apart, I think working virtually has still affected the DNA of the office culture. We have also had new hires during this period, so getting to know them via a screen is different than normal, but I think we have fared OK, and I hope we can maintain our office culture when the pandemic subsides. Our Oslo office has been open through most of the pandemic since we are only 3 people, and we are lucky to have ample space. So we have been very lucky here versus our US office in that sense.

Pre-Covid, we were starting to be invited to prepare proposals for a more diverse types of projects like masterplanning, housing, mixed-use, restaurant and hospitality projects. However, these projects have mostly been put on hold due to Covid. That has really been the biggest issue from a business standpoint. On the flip side, we have been faring pretty well given that we are beginning to be known for our cabins and houses, so we have seen quite a bit of new projects in that sector.

Finally, seeing how Covid has affected our team as individual is the most unfortunate effect of the pandemic. We have office wide meetings twice a week, and I try to speak to the team as much as I can. But Covid has clearly affected everyone mentally and socially, so that is something I hope we can all mend as we pull out of the pandemic.

Describe your work. How do you define your own unique style and approach?

I would like to think that our clients would say that we listen closely to their brief and find unique solutions that address their specific situations. All of our work is context-driven with that context being many different things like specific site conditions, budget, schedule, cultural specificities etc. We try to use these challenges as motivators to create good and unique solutions. I would also say that we try to create pared-back, precise and refined design solution for all of our projects deducing the essential character of the building to a unique and clear solution.

What do you want your firm to be known for?

Making good projects that are a clear resolution of the brief. Hopefully, all while being mindful of their context be it economical, cultural, or site-specific etc.

Where do you see Mork-Ulnes Architects in 5 years?

We hope to be building more projects in Europe and finally execute one of our larger mixed-use projects (which seem to take a very long time to push through planning and the development phase). Prior to Covid, we were also starting to explore new project typologies in the US which is exciting, while also working with new types of clients.

Do you have a favorite project? Completed or in progress.

It was a labor of love to design our own mountain cabin, so that project is my favorite from a personal perspective because it gives me and my family so much joy. Our kids love to ski, and we love to have friends and family come and visit and enjoy the beautiful nature of the area and hopefully the architecture as well.

If you could describe your work/practice in three words, what would they be?

Pared-back, resourceful, playful.

Original post:
Mork-Ulnes Architects on Balancing Californian and Norwegian Design Spirits - Archinect

Together with Cassion Castle Architects, London studio Pearson Lloyd has designed and retrofitted a Victorian workshop to house its own studio as well as workshops, meeting rooms and an exhibition space.

Yorkton Workshops is set on Yorkton Street in east London and comprises two distinct buildings a warehouse structure next to a Victorian workshop which the studios retrofitted to suit Pearson Lloyd's vision of its headquarters.

The designers came to the decision after initially looking at constructing a new building for the site.

"Before commissioning Cassion Castle, we spent a year looking into the feasibility of building a new building on the site," Pearson Lloyd co-founder Tom Lloyd said.

"However, we finally made the decision that we wanted to make the absolute most of the existing fabric of the building from both a sustainability point of view," Lloyd added.

"Over the long term, the embedded energy within the existing fabric far outweighs any reduced efficiency in its thermal performance where we have not been able to upgrade its performance through insulating."

When the studio acquired the 560-square-metres (6027-square-foot) Yorkton Workshops in 2017 it was "a mess," it said, but it worked to keep much of the original design.

"Working with the existing fabric of the building, the ambition was to express the old and new in as honest a fashion as possible," co-founder Luke Pearson added.

"We have left as much of the original fabric exposed as we can and wanted to maintain the sense that we are working in workshops, as this was the original function of the buildings."

Elements that were kept from the external envelope were updated, including the concrete ground-bearing floor slabs, and new roofs were added. A large industrial-steel staircase now welcomes guests into the entrance area.

"The environmental impact of all design decisions was prioritised from the outset," Cassion Castle Architects founder Cassion Castle told Dezeen.

"This started with the early decision to retain as much of the existing structure as possible to reduce embodied carbon," he added. "In addition a range of measures were employed in order to reduce the energy consumption in use including super-insulation and air-tightness, photovoltaics, and passive user comfort."

"We also recycled many of the materials from the demolition back into the finished building."

Yorkton Workshops had a number of constraints that Cassion Castle Architects, which was also the main contractor, worked around.

"In some cases the existing material was very uneven, but structurally sound and full of character, so we retained and worked with it, instead of just removing it for the sake of ease," Castle said.

"As a company we often work as both architect and main contractor as we did on this project. This combined role enabled a more reactive ongoing design process whereby we would continually uncover something unexpected and re-detail around it."

The Victorian part of the building now houses meeting and events spaces, while the warehouse space holds workshops and studio space.

Pearson Lloyd wanted to retain a sense of being in a workshop and chose the materials for the project accordingly.

"Key choices include the wood-fibre acoustic ceiling, the steel stair, the workshop floor (made from the same material as stage floors and haulage trucks) and the reclaimed and refinished pitch pine floor," Pearson said.

"The orange staircase colour is drawn from the colours that tools and industrial equipment use to signal their function. Practical and universal and direct."

Yorkton Workshops also contains an outdoor garden, a roof terrace that bridges the Victorian and warehouse wings, and a gallery space.

"We are very interested in the idea of an event space that we can use to engage with the wider community of East London whether creative, social or educational," Lloyd said. "Hopefully this will emerge as a reality after Covid 19."

Pearson Lloyd moved into the studio in September of this year and is currently occupying it at reduced density because of Covid-19. The studio's recent work includes a tubular steel flat-pack chair for Danish brand Takt.

Cassion Castle Architects also worked with Tom Lloyd on a garden workshop that embraces "timber and craftmanship".

Photography is by Taran Wilkhu.

Go here to see the original:
Pearson Lloyd unveils own studio designed with Cassion Castle Architects - Dezeen

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Urban context of Shenzhen Science & Technology Museum Zaha Hadid Architects. Visualization by Slashcube

In true parametric fashion, the design team atZaha Hadid Architectsreveals their plans for a new museum located in Shenzhen, China. The new Shenzhen Science & Technology Museum will be the "pearl" of the city's technology and innovation corridor in the Guangming Science City. The latest visuals showcase voluminous forms and eye-catching undulating terraces, and U-shaped volume.

According to the team at Zaha, "The design is a volumetric response to the distinct conditions of the site. Responding to the city to the east, the design is defined by its solidity and dynamic curvilinear geometries that express the many urban circulation routes."

The museum is approximately 1,345,483 sq. f (125,000 sq.m) in size and is set to be a focal point for the area as a physical hub for Shenzhen as a leader in innovation and technology. According to the museum's design team, the new design exudes an "intuitive orientation and navigation" that focuses on the visitors' experience as they explore the site's interior and exterior.

The atrium courtyard opens out to the site's natural landscapes of Guangming Park. The building's layered terraces and curved facade are familiar staples to many of Zaha's designs. Its sleek and shiny exterior is complemented by its interior details, sustainability efforts, and building performance.

"Detailed computer modeling and wind tunnel testing have provided extensive analysis of thermal performance, natural lighting, wind levels and air quality to maximise the effectiveness of the buildings envelope in reducing energy consumption while ensuring visitor comfort and the preservation of its collection."

The museum has already generated responses from the public as on-site construction is now underway. Many celebrate the new museum design, while others express concerns about its carbon footprint and how it will respond to the area's climate. However, according to the project's official release, the museum's "full life-cycle performance and adaptability for future configuration are also evaluated and assessed to reduce embodied carbon and achieve the highest Three-Star rating of China's Green Building Evaluation Standard."

This year, the firm announced another Shenzhen project that aims to add to the city's expanding urban landscape, theOPPO Shenzhen headquarters.The museum is planned to be completed in late 2023.

Read this article:
Zaha Hadid Architects reveals details of their latest museum project, Shenzhen Science and Technology Museum - Archinect

7 Louisiana Channel Interviews Exploring the Architecture, Thoughts and Design Values of Renowned Architects

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As a platform for the Louisiana Museum of Modern Art, Louisiana Channel has been stimulating conversations around architecture, art, and the creative world at large. The architecture series provides fascinating insights into the thought process of distinguished architects and their work. Discover seven of the most inspiring interviews created over the past year, discussing a wide array of subjects from exemplary projects, to cities, to architects' design philosophy.

German architect Anna Heringer talks about the recently inaugurated Anandaloy centre in Bangladesh, a social space that became a catalyst for local development. The architect shares her commitment to sustainability and touches on the importance of the transfer of know-how to local communities through participatory building processes.

Junya Ishigami talks about Tokyo and what he sees as the defining traits of the vibrant and diverse metropole. Discussing what he likes about the city, the Japanese architect underlines Tokyo's polycentrism and explains how being made up of different small town allows the city to preserve its very local characteristics.

The architect speaks passionately about time as the most important human resource and why this notion should be applied to architecture: "Architecture outlives the human life." Anupama Kundoo reflects on the sense of urgency governing the current design process and urges architects to take time to rethink their work and refine their designs.

"Architecture, I believe, is necessary to mark collective memory." One of the leading contemporary American architects, Peter Eisenman, here shares the thoughts that went into building the Holocaust Memorial in Berlin, and how he sought to transform a feeling of "being lost in space in time" into the memorial.

Jens Thomas Arnfred and Sren Nielsen, co-founders of the award-winning Danish practice Vandkunsten Architects, talk about nurturing the sense of community through design and reflect on the studio's preoccupation with planning in a way that gives the residents "a chance to meet each other and be together about something."

"If things created by humans should function next to natural things, the passing of time is necessary. Only the passage of time will bring forward the kind of landscape I want to create," says Junya Ishigami when talking about his award-winning project, the poetic landscape Water Garden.

Indian Pritzker Prize-winner Balkrishna Doshi narrates how he became an award-winning architect, his traditional Hindu beliefs and culture, and why he considers a building a living, growing organism.

To see more architecture videos, check ArchDaily's full coverage of Louisiana Channel's series of interviews.

Originally posted here:
7 Louisiana Channel Interviews Exploring the Architecture, Thoughts and Design Values of Renowned Architects - ArchDaily

Many nations around the world are currently on a mission to reduce their carbon emissions within the next few decades. While one method is to rely more heavily on renewable forms of energy generation, some researchers are searching for ways to remove excess carbon dioxide from the atmosphere altogether.

That's where strategies like carbon capture and storage could come in handy. However, most CSS solutions are pretty utilitarian and designed for industrial applications.

A French architectural firm has come up with an interesting concept for a "carbon eating" residential tower that might just be a vision of the future of city living.

RELATED: 15+ PROJECTS THAT COULD END AIR POLLUTION AROUND THE WORLD

You've probably heard the term "carbon capture" before, but what exactly does it mean? More accurately called carbon capture and storage, CCS for short, is any use of technology that draws carbon dioxide from the air and storing it, for example, inundergroundgeological formations. The aim is to prevent the release of large quantities ofCO2into the atmosphere.

It more usually refers to capturing carbon dioxide at the source from fossil fuel-powered sources. but can also be applied to other post-emission technological solutions like "artificial trees" and carbon scrubbing towers, etc. When referring to other methods of capturing carbon dioxide, not from the source, the process is more commonly known as carbon sequestration.

For the former, some such technologies are capable of removing up to 90% of carbon dioxide from combustion gases in electrical generation and other industrial processes, such as cement production.

Carbon capture is achieved using various methods, including post-combustion, pre-combustion, and oxyfuel. The former, as the name suggests, removes carbon dioxide from flue gases from industrial processes.

Pre-combustion methods are those that occur prior to the fossil fuel actually being burned. This usually involves the conversion of the fuel into a mixture of hydrogen and carbon dioxide.

The latter, oxyfuel, involves the production of lower amounts of carbon dioxide through the use of almost pure oxygen during the combustion process. Post-combustion and oxyfuel technologies can be fitted to new plants or retrofitted to older ones.

Pre-combustion, on the other hand, requires large amounts of modifications to the existing plant in order to be installed. This makes it more viable for new builds.

Carbon capture and storage is, as you might imagine, an economic and technically challenging process. In fact, the IPCC has estimated that carbon capture and storage is likely to increase the cost of electricity generation by between one and five percent kilowatt-hour.

These estimates are, of course, entirely dependent on the fuel involved, technology, and location of CCS solutions.

As previously alluded to, carbon sequestration is, as defined by the USGS, "the process of capturing and storing atmospheric carbon dioxide. It is one method of reducing the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere with the goal of reducing global climate change."

It is normally used in reference to the long-term storage of carbon in plants, solids, geological formations, and the oceans. This process can occur both naturally and also via some human activities.

The concept has received much interest over the last few decades in an attempt to increase the rate of carbon withdrawal from the atmosphere, through changes in land use and forestry, but also through some geoengineering techniques too.

One of the most common ways to sequester carbon dioxide is through the planting of trees and other vegetation, especially in urban areas.

There are various buildings and concepts for buildings that have the aim ofreducing carbon in buildings at their heart, but one of the most interesting is Mandragore.

One of the latest in carbon-free projects, the idea comes from the French architecture firm Rescubika. The firm proposes an enormous "green" residential tower building cited in New York City's Roosevelt Island. This ambitious building really pushes the envelope for sustainable design and also hopes to change the meaning of living in a dense urban environment.

The building is very bold in its design but it is also pretty easy on the eye. Mandragore was designed for the "City of Tomorrow Project," which envisions a carbon-neutral New York City by 2050.

To help achieve this, and fit the remit form carbon-free buildings for the city, Rescubika settled on using a carbon sink concept for the tower. This would mean going beyond simply being carbon-neutral, and making the building carbon negative building -- meaning it will absorb more carbon dioxide than it produces over its lifetime.

The building's design is, by all accounts, inspired by the human-like form of the mandrake plant.

While a nice idea in concept, could this building actually be made a reality?

The idea is to combine the very latest thinking in sustainable architectural techniques, such as maximizing the use of passive heating and cooling (e.g. stack ventilation), use of natural materials where possible, and incorporating a massive amount of vegetation.

According to the designers, the2300 feet+ (730+ meter) building would include somewhere in the region of 1,600 trees and almost 300,000 square feet of living plant walls over its 160 floors.

But the design goes much further than that. The architects also envisage the building following a concept of "energy sobriety". This concept calls for a shift in mindset when it comes to people's use of energy.

It would involve making different lifestyle choices to minimize a person's carbon footprint, and ultimately, impact on the environment.

For example, the building will be mixed-use, but not in the traditional sense. The design includes home offices that have been included to encourage residents to ditch the commute and enable them to work from the comfort of their own homes.

While the building is still in the conceptual phase, it may be a brief glimpse of the future of city living. Who knows, it may become the template for many future urban developments in the not too distant future!

Watch this space.

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Architects Propose World's Tallest Tower That 'Eats Carbon' in NYC - Interesting Engineering

Charlotte Worthy Architects, a high-end residential Architecture firm in Manhattan, is seeking an Administrative Assistant for a part-time to full-time position. The Administrative Assistant would begin his/her role in a part-time capacity and transition into a full-time capacity.

Duties include, but are not limited to:

Project-Related Responsibilities:

* The ideal Administrative Assistant would be willing to learn AutoCAD to assist the Architects and Principals with various drawing tasks

Administrative Responsibilities:

Marketing Responsibilities:

In-Office Responsibilities:

* In-office responsibilities will resume when the firm returns to the office.

Applicants should have strong communication, organization, time-management, and interpersonal skills. Proficiency in Outlook, Word, Excel, Powerpoint, and Adobe is required. We are looking for a professional, detail oriented, and energetic candidate to fill this role and are eager to fill the position with the right person. Please be willing to learn new skills and adapt to the demands of the position as they change and grow.

Interested parties should send a cover letter and resume toesther@charlotteworthyarchitects.com

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Charlotte Worthy Architects, LLC is hiring a Administrative Assistant - Part-Time to Full-Time in - Archinect

A WWE Hall of Famer, Pat was legendary for his contributions to the industry dating back to the late 50s. The first-ever WWE Intercontinental Champion, Pat was also the man who came up with the idea for the first-ever Royal Rumble, which has been one of the most legendary and memorable events in WWE for over three decades. In his book titled, Accepted: How the First Gay Superstar Changed WWE, Pat explained how he came up with the concept for the first Royal Rumble. The difference between WWEs Royal Rumble and a traditional over-the-top-rope battle royal is that the participants come into the match at two-minute intervals not all at the same time at the beginning of the match. I wanted to create something special. You did indeed, Pat.

I remember Pat being there for my very first match against Charlotte Flair at NXT Takeover in 2014. He was there all day backstage reminiscing with anyone who would let him share old stories. I specifically remember Pat with an iPad in his hand, sitting with Bret Hart at a table watching one of Brets matches. Pat was saying he wasnt great with technology, but someone helped him pull up a match of Brets on the iPad, and Pat was marvelling at Brets in-ring work. In any conversation Ive ever had with Pat, he expressed to me how much he loved watching Bret perform. The image of Bret Hart and Pat Patterson sitting together, laughing, reminiscing about the industry they both love, stuck in my head. I remember thinking of how legendary it was to see two of the greatest Superstars this industry has ever seen, from two different generations, talking about the sport they loved. It also reminded me of how WWE brings people together in the best and most unexpected ways.

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Natalya Neidhart: Pat Patterson was one of WWE's architects - Calgary Sun