Almost literally. This is an image of a parking garage attached to a mixed-use development we did in Austin. The crux of the problem: you’re replacing a nice parking lot in front of an existing office building such that now the office tenants only get to look at your concrete monolith until the end of their dreary days. Read the rest of this entry →
There are as many different types of architecture as there are motivations for building something. Individuals want their dream home in which is bound up all their hopes and desires for the future. Corporations want a headquarters that is an iconic embodiment of their industry. Theater companies what a vibrant and engaging space that is a vehicle for creativity. With every design there is excitement, hope, and pride.
Mostly. Read the rest of this entry →
David Baker, one the TAXIs architects
TAXI is a mixed-use development in the RINO [River North], an eclectic arts district of Denver set along the Platte River, just to the north of downtown. Nestled in the southeast armpit of I-25 and I-70, TAXI reclaims the old Yellow Cab headquarters and maintenance facility. I enjoyed a tour of the site while at the AIA Convention this year and was happy to have two of the architects involved in the project as guides. The first was Alan Eban Brown, a local award winning architect who is known for his sustainable residential architecture, and who officially lead the tour for the convention. The second was David Baker, a San Francisco based designer (who’s work I’ve followed for years, as we both primarily focus of urban infill, mixed-use use projects, with a heavy residential component), and who showed up informally to walk the tour with the crowd.
Portfolio, schmortfolio….
Over the last few months I’ve spent a lot of my time slogging through interviews of prospective talent about to, or having recently graduated from college. Architecture is an almost unique profession that combines the very creative with the very practical, and navigating the thin edge between the two is difficult for some fresh grads. I’d like to offer a few tips for those looking. Read the rest of this entry →
White Buffalo is one of our Micro Unit Projects (Fort Worth)
The news source Mother Jones, whom I enjoy reading a lot, today posted and article “Report: Mansions Getting Bigger, Rental Apartments Getting Smaller” in which Erika Eichelberger notes this is a “metaphor for the lopsided economic recovery” and that “many younger and minority Americans have not experienced any recovery at all, and some are still losing wealth. Hence the need for more shoebox apartments.” Read the rest of this entry →
Not that I contribute to this blog enough to have had any impact yesterday, but I did shut it down in a show of solidarity with the other thousand or so websites protesting CISPA with a blackout of the internet. It wasn’t a huge impact, but I felt it was important.
Firewheel is an urban Town Center multifamily project located in Garland Texas. The Firewheel Town Center opened in 2005 and is located at the intersection of Bush Turnpike and State Highway 78. While it’s a bit dripping in historicism for my taste, it has pretty rigidly followed recent trends of ‘traditional’ urban town center place making. One could easily argue that, in many ways, it is just a traditional mall, sans roof, with a ring of parking around the perimeter and no viable connections to the surrounding neighborhoods. And I’d agree with them. However, there is a modest amount of small scale office space, and coupled with the incorporation of residential product, the plan provides a nice start at economic diversity and mixed uses. Read the rest of this entry →
The Gallery on Turtle Creek is a midrise residential project in the heart of one of the most popular areas of Dallas. At seven stories and approximately 230 units, I’m hoping this offering is going to provide a new option for high end contemporary urban living. With a vertically integrated stack of amenities at the main corner, including a two story fitness and and outdoor rooftop terrace, as well as a Read the rest of this entry →
You might ask, “Why do you have a picture of a crusty old basketball official on your architecture blog?”. It’s a fair question. To explain, we need to go back a few years.
Rowlett Form Based Code Meeting
Last night the Rowlett City Council approved the Form Based code we’d spent the last year or so putting together. While it was a fight, in the end, I think Rowlett will definitely be better for the code. That optimism still hinges on a lot of factors, including the quality of city staff involved (which right now is excellent, but as with everything, you can’t predict the future). I’ll elaborate on this more in an upcoming post where I’ll talk more to whole experience of the process, but suffice it to say, in my eyes, the citizens won this day.
If you’d like to view the FBC you can link to it here.
