“It is to experience something of a heteropticon or peripateticon, in which moving eyes and feet on nearby bridge and stair and elevator all offer felicitous encounter and interrupting incident.”

What? Maybe I’m not even an Architect because I struggle to understand this. Actually I had to look up a couple of the words in the dictionary! So as I continue my quest to conquer the blogosphere, I remain committed in my search for ideas to write about and I promise to avoid words which require a dictionary for interpretation.

Hmmm, that makes me think, maybe I should consider discussing my maturation of an architectural pedagogy…………

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The other day my 8 year old son came home from school with the idea to make a piñata. Since it wasn’t his birthday, nor anyone else’s I could think of in the neighborhood and knowing that he isn’t necessarily the “arts and crafts” kind of kid, I asked him, Why? His answer was short and sweet. I can smash it and it’s full of candy. Ahhhh yes, destruction and candy, my 8 year old’s Holy Grail.

So began the weeklong after-dinner project of constructing a piñata. All said and done, building a piñata is fairly simple and a fun thing to do with your children. We simply blew up a balloon and started the paper-mache process of flour, water and newspaper strips. Tip #1: Use a plaster or glue mix to give the piñata additional strength. After four layers of newspaper strips, our paper-mache looked like a big egg, of course this was the point at which my son explained he was interested in making a snake piñata! Tip #2: Decide on what you are making first, and then use the appropriate balloon or cardboard to shape your paper-mache creation. After lengthy discussions it was decided that we would make an octopus. With brown, purple and blue crepe paper in hand, the decorating and designing commenced. Tip #3: Consider your strategy for filling the piñata with candy, and how to close it up prior to decorating. Once decorated, we realized that the hole to fill the piñata was on the bottom of the octopus head rather than the top. The solution for this gravity challenge would have to be accomplished with the design of the tentacles. We cut the leg shapes (8 in total) out of foam core, decorated them and glued them together in an “X” arrangement which allowed for a 3” diameter foam core plug to be glued at the top of the “X”. Using picture wire we basically sewed the plug and accompanying octopus legs to the paper-mache head. Tip #4: Do not use picture wire. 

 The day of reckoning had finally come. With a crowd of young neighborhood kids, a plastic yellow wiffle bat and a red bandana, the piñata was hoisted over the basketball hoop. Evidently, my son had spent the week making the proper negotiations amongst his neighboring friends to have first the first “cut” at the purple octopus piñata. With the anticipation growing, blindfold in place and bat at the ready, the piñata was put in motion. I’m not sure that there could have been a more anti-climatic ending if we had planned it. The picture wire used to make a loop for the rope at the top of the piñata, combined with the weight of five bags of candy, combined with sudden pulling on the rope, combined with gravity, essentially created instant piñata failure. Tip #5: Did I mention “do not use picture wire”? Wire cuts paper-mache like a hot knife through butter.

While the piñata was never struck, the driveway did the job perfectly, splitting the octopus head and delivering its candy payload to happy children. Next time (because I’ve been informed “we need to do this again!”) there will be a little better planning and some strategic design and material revisions!

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“But times they are a changing”. Just about everyone in our office has succumbed to the allure of Apple’s exquisitely designed products. I use my iPad when I go on the road to show prospective clients samples of our work, our website and take notes. Now with the new AutoCAD app, I can be out on a job site and review drawings with the contractor on my iPhone or iPad. Granted, it is easier and far less expensive to replace a paper copy when it falls into a mud puddle, but come on, technology is cool.

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The real problem is that uninformed, non-users have a simplistic misperception that the library is a building filled with shelves of just books, not an important source of all types of “free” electronic media including CDs, DVDs and audio books and perhaps the only local resource for verifiable electronic reference materials. For example, who is better suited to research a topic online, me with my computer at home/work, trying to filter through several hundred thousand hits on Google, which may or may not be accurate or a professional librarian, with access to subscription only databases, who is trained to weed out the superfluous and focus the search to the most pertinent and useful information? Most importantly, the librarian is then able to cross reference with “in house” hard copy media for additional resource.

Make no mistake; the public library is so much more than just materials. For young and old and everyone in between, it is a hub for interacting and connecting to other information, people and cultural events, a thought provoking environment to question, to share ideas and information. It is a place to attend program related performances and lectures, for small business meetings, group study, tutoring and book groups. All these different uses and functions warrant appropriate space. Even as technology rapidly changes the way information is delivered, the need for physical space will still be critical. The key to the future will be flexible open space, giving the library the means to adapt.

Throughout history, the “library” has stood as the intellectual and cultural center of great civilizations. The concept of the Public Library, free and open access to all, is one of the cornerstones of our great country and is supported by the Bill of Rights. I feel strongly, that the way people view their library, is the true barometer of that community’s core values. The role of the modern public library is to offer its patrons an experience as well as a service. Along with an excellent school system, it represents the community’s broad commitment to the pursuit of knowledge, a fundamental element to the furthering of human intellectual growth. One of our key supporters said it best, “Libraries are not just symbolic. These are important institutions for the preservation, proliferation and application of knowledge. It is good to have a physical place to go. It gives you the world.”

 (For more information on the impact of libraries, go to: http://www.docstoc.com/docs/18009029/LibrariesHow-they-stack-up )

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If you tell me you want a “green home” I can hand you some color swatches — sage has been very popular.  “An eco-friendly home then,” you say. “Eco” is short for ‘ecology,’ but in this case it’s a stand-in for ‘environment.’  Either way, anyone who has been to a construction site knows that building is not “friendly” to the ecology or environment of a building lot.

When most people with good intentions think of an “eco-friendly home”, they are likely to be thinking about the finishes: bamboo flooring, CFL bulbs, low-VOC paint and carpet, and concrete countertops to name a few.  Those are nice products, but these types of “green” products are only part of the puzzle.   Our goal as architects is to build an environmentally responsible home with a whole-systems approach to its design and construction. We want thorough insulation and a building envelope without air leaks. With a proper envelope, the energy efficient heating and cooling system will have less work to do, reducing your fuel costs. Add to that water-saving plumbing fixtures and the house has already taken big steps toward reducing its environmental impact.

Sure all those environmentally-friendly products are appealing, but they need to be judged in terms of how they will affect the whole system of your home.  That said, definitely do go for the low-VOC paint.  Just don’t ask for green!

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Project coordination starts early in the design phase of a project. The architect must consider mechanical, structural and functional issues as the design unfolds. While the structural engineer might think a drop beam is the easiest solution to span a new opening, the architect and owner may have had a flush beam in mind. If these differing thoughts are not reconciled or understood during the design process, someone may be in for a surprise in the field and perhaps a very expensive change order.

Ultimately, having a successful project comes down to the coordination between the contractor and their sub-contractors. Nothing is more important than quality job supervision. Not having the proper supervision on a job is the equivalent to an intersection without traffic controls, it’s a joke!. A good job “super” will have studied the construction drawings prior to a shovel hitting the ground and will know the project pitfalls.  They are savvy enough to know when to alert the design team about construction issues and still maintain the ability to keep the job on track. Coordination between the owner, contractor and architect is paramount to an enjoyable and successful construction experience.

Listen, everybody knows that the Joker is wild, that’s why it is always better to be the King!

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So what causes an ice dam? In the simplest terms, it is non-uniform surface temperatures on the roof. Heat from inside the house is transferred to the roof surface through gaps in insulated portions of the structure by convection, conduction and radiation. Another big source of heat loss is through air infiltration. Classic areas of trouble are found with recessed lights in a cathedral ceiling, skylights and poorly vented and flashed roof eaves.

There are two kinds of solutions, short term and long term. Short term solutions like roof rakes and heating coils can help, but they don’t get to the root of the problem. Also, be careful, if executed poorly these solutions can damage your roof. Long term solutions address the causes of ice dams, namely poor insulation and air leakage. Blower door tests and radiation cameras are useful tools in assessing these issues. Increased insulation, air infiltration barriers, waterproof membrane flashings, proper ventilation are all methods of solving this problem. Remember that each situation is unique. Consulting with an Architect will help to find the solution right for you.

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