News

Moonlighting

July 10, 2017

Photo Credit: ABC Television

Maddie Hayes: Wipe that stupid grin off your face.

David Addison: This is the smartest grin I know.

Moonlighting, or outside professional practice, is prohibited by the firm for which I work. It has never been a problem for me, as I never felt like I didn’t have enough to do in my day job. That is not to say that I have not been asked for help by friends or family. The closest thing I have done to moonlighting is writing about my experiences as an architect, but that is a far cry from providing architectural services.

There are certain liabilities that comes with working for friends or family (not to mention the risk of losing such friends…). I am not insured for such activities – at least that is an excuse I can use that won’t hurt someone’s feelings. I don’t really think I want to work for friends or family. To me, that sounds about as good an idea as loaning your dead-beat uncle some cash. It probably won’t end well, and it will make Thanksgiving dinner really awkward if you expected that money back.

Cue television flashback harp music:

My parents were set to build a house in New Mexico a few years after I graduated from college. I had only seen the land in pictures, and it wasn’t really pretty. It was rocks, sand and scrub. My step father had this grand idea that he wanted a log cabin. In the desert. No amount of logic from a kid in his mid-twenties would sway him. “Where are you gonna get the trees, Al?” “How’s that log cabin gonna do in 120 degree heat? – I don’t care if it is a dry heat, that’s actually worse!”

This is either a view from the Viking Spacecraft or a view of my mother’s lawn. (Photo credit: NASA)

So with all of the diplomacy of a newly minted architect, I gently suggested that my parents start by talking with some local home builders. This was a climate that I was unfamiliar with. I was not familiar with the appropriate building materials or the prevailing HVAC systems for that area. All of this was essentially true, but it was not information that I could not have gathered had I really wanted to. I knew that a parent was not likely to yield to the sensibilities of their former ward. Let some experience builder tell them they are crazy. I walked away.

This is an actual view of my mother’s home. The amount of green is deceptive from space. (Photo Credit: Google Earth)

So they were convinced. Log cabins were not the way to go. Guess what? Adobe! Well, stucco anyway, was the exterior choice they made. Flat roof. Spanish colonial sensibilities. All this they thought they came up with themselves. Not from the kid with a minor in architectural history. Not from the kid who was working on a job in Phoenix around that time.

Oh well, they got their house, and it was appropriate to the climate and context. I am sure Thanksgiving dinner will still be awkward, just for different reasons.

This post is part of the ArchiTalks series (led by Bob Borson of Life of an Architect ) where a group of us (architects who also blog) all post on the same day and promote each other’s blogs. This month’s theme is led by Michael Riscica and is “Moonlighting”. A lot of other talented writers who also are architects are listed below and are worth checking out:

Bob Borson – Life of An Architect (@bobborson)
Should Architects Moonlight?
Jeff Echols – Architect Of The Internet (@Jeff_Echols)
The Ironic Blasphemy of Moonlighting and what Architects are Missing Out On
Lee Calisti, AIA – Think Architect (@LeeCalisti)
moonlighting more than an 80s sitcom
Lora Teagarden – L² Design, LLC (@L2DesignLLC)
Moon(lighting) changes with the seasons
Collier Ward – One More Story (@BuildingContent)
Moonlighting
Jeremiah Russell, AIA – ROGUE Architecture (@rogue_architect)
hustle and grind: #architalks
Michael Riscica AIA – Young Architect (@YoungArchitxPDX)
Moonlighting for Young Architects
Stephen Ramos – BUILDINGS ARE COOL (@BuildingsRCool)
Architects do it All Night Long
Brian Paletz – The Emerging Architect (@bpaletz)
Starlight, moonlight – tick tock
Jeffrey Pelletier – Board & Vellum (@boardandvellum)
Is Moonlighting Worth It? Probably Not, But We All Try.
Kyu Young Kim – J&K Atelier (@sokokyu)
Dancing in the Moonlight
Keith Palma – Architect’s Trace (@cogitatedesign)
The Howling
Tim Ung – Journey of an Architect (@timothy_ung)
An Alternative to Moonlighting as a Young Architect
Mark Stephens – Mark Stephens Architects (@architectmark)
Architalks 28 Moonlighting
Gabriela Baierle-Atwood – Gabriela Baierle-Atwood (@gabrielabaierle)
On Moonlighting
Ilaria Marani – Creative Aptitude (@creaptitude)
There is no moonlighting. It’s a jungle!
Jane Vorbrodt – Kuno Architecture (@janevorbrodt)
Crafted Moonlighting

My Mentor

June 8, 2017

One would expect in a profession that requires an internship program that mentorship would be an integral part of most firms. Sadly, this is not always the case. My first job out of architecture school was at a large Japanese A/E/Construction firm in the NY area. I languished there, partly due to my inability to speak the native tongue, so this employment didn’t last long. I returned to the firm in my hometown where I worked for a summer and at breaks. I’m still here, 20 years later. One of the best decisions I ever made.

Gregg Scott, FAIA, my mentor.

Many of my colleagues from school have job hopped a half dozen times or more. The reason I never moved on again is innately related to the mentor I landed with at my current firm. I wrote another post about how much I learned driving him around to meetings in my early years. I didn’t just drive him. I was a participant in the meetings to which we were traveling, but I learned a lot about the profession and leadership while he worked in the passenger seat, engaged in phone calls for at least 75% of our travel time.

One of the most rewarding pieces I’ve written professionally was a recommendation to the Jury of Fellows for the AIA and how my career was affected by my mentor’s engagement. It was also one of the easiest things to write, although I did work on paring it down to the essentials. For his advocacy, I wrote:

“I became the architect I was supposed to be because of Gregg, not for the skills he taught me; but because he encourages young professionals to develop talents they may not even know they have. The time Gregg spent on my mentorship was vital to my career development and it continues to this day – 20 years later.”

Gregg’s goals in mentorship: Education and Having Fun!

Now, I am at a crossroads in my professional life. In about a year, my mentor will retire. Gregg was inducted into the College of Fellows this year. I am now nearly the same age as Gregg was when he took me under his wing. I didn’t become an architect like Gregg. More so, I developed skills he didn’t have. Gregg is a brilliant designer, communicator and marketer. I was never meant to be the people person as he is. I developed technical skills and, after leading progressively larger and more complicated projects over the last 20 years, I now assist all projects in the office with code review and quality control. Gregg never tried to turn me into something I am not. He let me become what I was supposed to be.

Gregg can poke fun at himself, too. His pants can ride up.

20 years later, our office has a more defined version of a mentorship program; at least more defined than a kid driving a partner around all the time. I have weekly conversations with two people in the firm. One has been out of college a few years, the other is quite a bit older than me actually (he made a career change later in life). I can only hope that I can offer these two people, and other still, a fraction of the empathy, support and guidance that I received. Because that is what it is really all about – paying it forward.

This post is part of the ArchiTalks series (led by Bob Borson of Life of an Architect ) where a group of us (architects who also blog) all post on the same day and promote each other’s blogs. This month’s theme is led by Michael Lavalley and is “Mentorship”. A lot of other talented writers who also are architects are listed below and are worth checking out:

–>Bob Borson – Life of An Architect (@bobborson)
This is NOT Mentorship
–>Marica McKeel – Studio MM (@ArchitectMM)
ArchiTalks: Mentorship
–>Jeff Echols – Architect Of The Internet (@Jeff_Echols)
Mentors, Millennials and the Boomer Cliff
–>Lora Teagarden – L² Design, LLC (@L2DesignLLC)
ArchiTalks: Mentorship
–>Jeremiah Russell, AIA – ROGUE Architecture (@rogue_architect)
teach them the way they should go: #architalks
–>Eric T. Faulkner – Rock Talk (@wishingrockhome)
Bad Mentor, Good Mentor
–>Jeffrey Pelletier – Board & Vellum (@boardandvellum)
Mentoring with Anecdotes vs. Creating a Culture of Trust
–>Mark Stephens – Mark Stephens Architects (@architectmark)
Mentorship
–>Gabriela Baierle-Atwood – Gabriela Baierle-Atwood (@gabrielabaierle)
On Mentorship
–>Ilaria Marani – Creative Aptitude (@creaptitude)
Mentorship
–>Stephen Ramos – BUILDINGS ARE COOL (@sramos_BAC)
The Top 3 Benefits for Architects to Mentor and to be Mentored
–>Brian Paletz – The Emerging Architect (@bpaletz)
I’ve got a lot to learn
–>Jarod Hall – di’velept (@divelept)
The Lonely Mentor
–>Nisha Kandiah – ArchiDragon (@ArchiDragon)
Mentorship : mend or end ?
–>Keith Palma – Architect’s Trace (@cogitatedesign)
Mentor5hip is…
–>Tim Ung – Journey of an Architect (@timothy_ung)
5 Mentors that are in my life
–>Samantha R. Markham – The Aspiring Architect (@TheAspiringArch)
Why every Aspiring Architect needs SCARs
–>Mark R. LePage – EntreArchitect (@EntreArchitect)
Influence
–>Emily Grandstaff-Rice – Emily Grandstaff-Rice FAIA (@egrfaia)
Gurus, Swamis, and Other Architectural Guides
Drew Paul Bell – Drew Paul Bell (@DrewPaulBell)
Advice From My Mentor

A Dictator of the Worst Kind

May 17, 2017

I am sure all careers involve tasks that are far from exciting. Many of those tasks surely involve paper work. Architecture is no exception. For me, it is writing meeting minutes. In 20 years, I have probably written hundreds, maybe even thousands of meeting memos. These documents record the issues discussed at meetings, obviously. The goal is to describe what happened, who is on task to follow up, and when. In the design phase it is usually listening to the Owner describe the program requirements, and recording decisions. During construction, minutes can be as dry as gypsum board. Not very glamorous, but I have spent many hours of my life dictating meeting minutes.

Dictating? Yes. When I started out, most people used a microcassette dictator to record their voice, essentially reading the minutes. That’s how I did it too. This was before your phone was your personal assistant. A very lucky person in our clerical staff was entitled to listen to my dulcet tones for who knows how long. We do very large projects. Sometimes our meetings go for two days, literally. The tapes are 60 minutes each side. I’ve filled both sides occasionally. You thought you had it bad. Imagine the poor person who had to listen to me drone on for two hours.

The height of 1990’s technology. It’s kind of like the thing Star Lord has in Guardians of the Galaxy, only smaller.

I don’t typically still dictate. I will occasionally, but only if there is a good reason. I can type reasonably well. I have also dabbled in voice recognition software for punch listing. Nonetheless, when someone has to listen to a tape of someone else and type along, there are bound to be hijinks.

I remember one hysterical typo that made it through spell check many years ago. I was dictating the minutes of a meeting that involved a skilled nursing facility. These buildings typically have serving pantries for residents’ meals. What is it called when a word contains other words within it? Never mind, just drop the ‘R’ from ‘PANTRIES’ and you see where I am going with this. I caught the ‘panties’ in my proof read, thankfully.

I cannot help but to try and be somewhat creative with word choice. I mean, you can only say ‘shall’ and ‘follow-up’ and ‘schedule’ so many times. I blame it on growing up with an English teacher for a mother. Just a few years ago, I was writing about a project to replace a critical cooling tower for an apartment building. Obviously, one would endeavor to do this work in cooler weather rather than hot. I could have said that. Instead I said, “It was discussed that there would be no air-conditioning shut down in the throes of summer.” I don’t know from where the term “throes of summer” came. I was watching a lot of Game of Thrones at the time I suppose. I thought it fit, but apparently, the person at the other end of the microcassette thought it was hilarious.

Within a few days of me turning in that tape, I found this in my email:

My Fabio fifteen minutes.

A little while later, I found the photo taped to a bit of foam core and placed on our library shelves in the office, in the Mike’s Pick section. Mike is our managing partner. It stayed on the shelf until almost Christmas. I finally checked out the book permanently before our client party.

The best seller’s list…

The lesson learned is, always find passion in even the minute details of your job.

Changes

April 10, 2017

For those who may frequent architect curated blogs, it may be an easy sell that design professionals can bring an inherent value to the process of transforming spaces. Our business is all about changes, whether we are creating a new building on a bare site, or reimagining an existing shell into a client’s new vision.

While creating a brand new ‘something’ out of ‘nothing’ is always satisfying, the most drastic and simplistic method of comparing how the world looks without the touch of talented designers may be the ‘before and after’. That is just the visual juxtaposition of what someone used to have, and how it was changed for the better. Clients, regardless of their ability to visualize the built environment, can immediately get the ‘before and after’. The more drastic the change, the easier to grasp the change.

A casual dining option ‘Before’

The same casual dining option ‘After’

The above Cafe was renovated in the same footprint to update it. We were blessed with high ceilings and an abundance of natural light. Not only were the aesthetics changed, but the options and services were as well. That takes a commitment from the operator to invest in both buildings and staff.

But what happens when someone’s preconceptions must be changed? Of an entire building type?

In some areas of the country, the idea of a Senior Living Environment may invoke images of rest homes. The physical environment can reinforce this idea…or it can change your perception. There are about 2,500 Continuing Care Retirement Communities in the U.S. Depending on where you live, the current level of acceptance of this living option may be drastically different than others. Where I sit, there are more than a dozen non-profit retirement campuses within 20 miles. That means that the percentage of retirees that choose this option is extremely high, so the familiarity rate is also high. This is not the case in all areas. Many have an antiquated view of the facilities and services available to them.

Many people think of this…

…or this. Sewing must be the activity of the day, right?

Catering to more active residents requires a change in the way services are provided to clients by the community, but may also require updated infrastructure and facilities.

Activities…before. In the past we designed these suffleboard courts in VCT, yes.

Activities…after.

Outdoor livin’…before. Rocker upon rocker.

Outdoor livin’…after. Active outdoor amenities. Bocce, outdoor kitchen…

Roof top living amenities.

This kind of change is unrelenting. Trends only last so long. Years ago, all retirement facilities had several shuffleboard courts and sewing centers in their activities centers. Now there’s bocce, and pickle ball, and water polo. Many residents in communities still work. Who knows what Millennials will be in to when they finally get to this stage of their lives? I have already been involved with my fair share of renovations of my OWN work over the last two decades. That is okay, because we should always be thinking about who will be living here tomorrow.

And don’t think that changes are limited to amenities. Communities cater to clients like they have never before. You have dogs? We have a dog park. You like to garden? We have a place for you to do that, too. You want to customize your kitchen? Sure! You like to live in the buff? We got that, err, covered? Or is the right term uncovered?

The large glazed area in the photo center is the master shower.

View from the shower.

That’s right. This unit was custom made apartment for folks who wanted virtually no walls or doors within their unit. The place was decked out with four electric fireplaces and four ceiling fans…and a see-through shower.

I am guessing the next folks to move in here may not like the layout, so certainly, I see change in the future.

This post is part of the ArchiTalks series (led by Bob Borson of Life of an Architect ) where a group of us (architects who also blog) all post on the same day and promote each other’s blogs. This month’s theme is led by Lora Teagarden and is “The Architecture of Change”. A lot of other talented writers who also are architects are listed below and are worth checking out:

–>Lora Teagarden – L² Design, LLC (@L2DesignLLC)
Architect(ure) of Change
–>Collier Ward – One More Story (@BuildingContent)
Architecture of Change
–>Jeremiah Russell, AIA – ROGUE Architecture (@rogue_architect)
architecture of change: #architalks
–>Eric T. Faulkner – Rock Talk (@wishingrockhome)
Change — The Document Evolution
–>brady ernst – Soapbox Architect (@bradyernstAIA)
The Architecture of Change: R/UDAT
–>Brian Paletz – The Emerging Architect (@bpaletz)
Architecture = Change
–>Michael LaValley – Evolving Architect (@archivalley)
My Architecture of Change / Hitting Pause to Redesign My Life
–>Brinn Miracle – Architangent (@architangent)
Architecture of Change: Building a Legacy
–>Samantha R. Markham – The Aspiring Architect (@TheAspiringArch)
3 Things I Hope Change in Architecture
–>Nisha Kandiah – ArchiDragon (@ArchiDragon)
The art of Architecture of Change
–>Mark Stephens – Mark Stephens Architects (@architectmark)
The Architecture of Change
–>Marica McKeel – Studio MM (@ArchitectMM)
ArchiTalks : Architecture of Change
–>Lee Calisti, AIA – Think Architect (@LeeCalisti)
architecture for change
–>Michele Grace Hottel – Michele Grace Hottel, Architect (@mghottel)
architecture of change
–>Jeffrey Pelletier – Board & Vellum (@boardandvellum)
Imagining the Future of Architecture

–>Rusty Long – Rusty Long, Architect (@rustylong)
Architecture of Change

The Building "Doctor"

March 30, 2017

I am not a doctor – I think that much is clear. I don’t even play one on TV.

I do have a bag in my car that I call my “doctor bag”. Primarily because of it’s size and the fact that it contains tools for when I make house calls on buildings. I suppose I could just call it a tool bag, but it doesn’t have the same zing.

I developed the kit over the years because I am called on to survey existing buildings quite often. In the Senior Living sector, we often add on to existing buildings and sometimes re-purpose them, which requires us to see what we’re working with. Other times, there is a code infraction, and we need to see how to fix it. I keep this bag in my car at all times. It is pretty compact so it doesn’t take up too much room. It is highly portable, which is important. And it contains what I have found to be some essential items.

This is my bag. The hard hat is there for scale, but it rides in the car with me all the time too.

So that is the size of it. I could maybe get one pair of shoes in there, but it indeed holds almost anything I might need when assessing a building.

OSHA, OSHA, OSHA.

1. So in the old days, we could show up on active job sites and no one cared if we architects had any protection or not. Well not today. So along with my hard hat, I need a high visibility vest unless I want to be yelled at by the Super.

#1 – Yellow is my color, no?

2. Protect your eyes. Whether an active job site or not, I want to keep the junk out of my eyes. I have been in my share of attic where I can see the fiberglass floating around and above enough ceilings, where pieces of the tiles fall all over my head.

#2 – These bad boys fit over my regular glasses, so my eyes are safe PLUS I can see!

3. Protect your lungs. For the same reason I want glasses, I sometimes need a mask. We keep them around the office because building buildings can be dusty or worse.

4. Protect your ears. Building buildings is often noisy. too.

#3 – Disposable breathing mask and #4 – ear protection.

5. Protect your hands. I have to climb into attics far more than I ever dreamed. Have you ever spent a lot of time handling old fire protection treated lumber? I have.

#5A – Heavy gloves protect from splinters and undesirable materials.

#5B – Vinyl gloves add no weight or bulk to my kit, so I threw a pair in, just in case.

Okay, so all I have done so far is protect myself from the building. What’s up with that? What do I use to actually evaluate a building?

6. Light. I sometimes carry other sources of light, but this one has a hook and a magnet so it can sometimes be set up so I can go hands free to make notes or sketches. There is a band of tape over the battery case because I have actually dropped it and lost the batteries in blown in fiberglass insulation in a roof. Trust me. You do not want that to happen.

#6 – This thing was so cheap, but oh, so worth it.

7. So…this next one is self-explanatory.

#7 – Take extra batteries for all devices.

8. I just got this head lamp to augment number 6.

#8 – Additional light is always good.

9. Measure twice, climb into the attic only once.

#9 – Old reliable, analogue measuring device.

10. I said measure twice… Sometimes, in an attic, you literally can’t get to where you want to measure. So a laser measuring device can save many scraped shins. Full disclosure, I don’t keep this in the car, I wouldn’t want it to get stolen or expose it to the hot and cold.

#10 – Such a time saver.

11. That’s not a knife… Yes it is. A small Swiss Army pocket knife can be the ultimate multi-tasker. It can scrape off paint or gunk off of something you need to read. It can see how soft a timber beam is. It can even open a beverage at the end of the day…

#11 – Just don’t try to take it on an airplane…

12. Electrical tape.See #6. I wish I had this tape when I dropped and broke the back of my flashlight.

#12 – Can also be used to mark things and not damage them.

13. Seriously, a selfie stick? Yes. I just got this one. See ‘Door Labels And Where to Find Them’ for why. Sometimes you need a picture of something you can’t see from where your eyes are. I can reach the top of a 6′-8″ door, and maybe a 7′-0″ door. But not an 8′-0″ door, Not without a ladder. And a ladder doesn’t fit in my bag.

#13 – I hope to test this out soon. I can imagine there will be other reasons besides door labels that I would find this useful.

14. My phone (not pictured). I didn’t take a picture of it because that is what I use to take pictures.

15. 360 degree camera. These are great to get all the walls, floors and ceilings of the space in one shot. You can view the photos in a proprietary viewer, and it really does save time.

#15 – This doesn’t stay in the bag all the time either. It, like the lase, is shared company wide.

16. Notebook and many colors of pens.

#16 – And be sure to wear pants and shirts with lots of pockets…

So that is my doctor bag. Maybe this will give you an idea of what to have on hand on your next survey.

House or Home?

March 6, 2017

The bulk of my architectural career has and is spent designing structures that are not considered Residential per the building codes. Some may call it Commercial. Much of it is Institutional by Code. But that does not mean it is not someone’s Home. You see, I primarily design buildings in the Senior Living sector; have been my entire career.

When I began my career more than 20 years ago, there was already a movement under way to make retirement and senior living spaces much more residential. Even in dwellings classified as Skilled Nursing Facilities, the idea that these building should feel like someone’s home had been one that many providers had embraced. The problem was that most of the providers (at that time) had buildings that looked like hospitals instead of your home.

A Cruciform Church. Early hospitals took their shapes from churches. Thus, so did the early nursing home.

Beddington Corner Hospital. (source: historic-hospitals.com )
The economy is easy to see. The result is not necessarily a religious experience.

What can you do for an existing building?

I feel the best way to illustrate how our buildings fulfill the qualifications of “home” is by showing how we can improve existing condtions. The difficulty lies in all of the regulations associated with a facility that provides nursing care to its residents. The International Building Code identifies these buildings as an Institutional or I-2 building. NFPA reviews these buildings in (almost) exactly the same way as a hospital (Health Care). In either case, the Use Group enclosed therein is the second most hazardous category according to code. What would be worse in terms of hazard? Think fireworks factory. The hazard to Skilled Nursing Facilities is exiting…someone bed or chair bound is not able to get out on their own; or not capable of self-preservation in CodeSpeak. Also in Institutional buildings, nearly all aspects of the building have to be accessible. So features required in these buildings are not similar to those you have in your home, nor in a building pre-1990.

So what can we do?

Sometimes an improvement to the exterior facade can make a significant impact with easier application as it is, more or less, surface applied. However, most Institutional buildings are non-combustible construction, so there are limits. You can’t just add anything to the exteriors. In new construction, you can utilize scale and materials to humanize the sequential experience. Many vintage Skilled Nursing Facilities are economic ‘blocks’. Even modest additions to the exterior may improve the approach to a building.

Mennonite Home Exterior – Before

Mennonite Home Exterior – After (Obviously). The addition to the right created a one-story, human scale.

But let’s face it, the folks who reside in these buildings spend nearly 100% of their time inside.

What about the interiors?

In new buildings, it is much easier to provide open, residentially scaled rooms on the interior with connections to the outside. In the many, many renovation projects of nursing homes we have done, it is much more of a challenge. Traditionally. resident rooms line up in a continuous 8-foot wide corridor up to 120 feet from the original nurse’s station. One way to bring some residential life to these facilities is to blow out a couple of rooms to allow the addition of a living room with access to windows. Many of these buildings are non-combustible, as I said earlier, so exterior and corridor walls are often concrete block and they do not have tall ceilings. You can see the challenges.

Corridor – Before. Hard and highly reflective surfaces are not atypical in vintage nursing homes.

Corridor Concept Sketch

Corridor – After. Sometimes all you have to work with are finishes and lighting.

Another issue is that whether there are 15 or 50 residents, they all need to eat in a dining room. No one has a dining room with seating for 50 (well, no one that invites me over for dinner anyway). These rooms need to be broken up visually into human scaled rooms. Some times that means providing a serving (residential looking) kitchen with several smaller rooms around it for dining.

Dining Room – Before. No connection to the outside or the community at large.

Dining Room – After. Here we had the opportunity to add skylights to add natural daylight.

Adding just a bit of privacy and homelike environments can also do wonders for one’s main living area. This is especially true in a double occupancy room.

A Double Room – Before. Only the thin curtain between you and a neighbor.

A Double Room – After. There is still a curtain, but the interior window provides a more substantial barrier.
FYI: the window wall is not a full height wall so as to not trigger sprinkler revisions.

There has been a more recent movement for skilled nursing called the Green House Project © about 10 years ago. And while the word “house” is in the name, the feeling of “home” is what is intended. This method limits the occupant count to 10, favors a universal worker for more homelike care, and has strict spatial rules. This project is an actual Brand-name developed by a doctor and requires a lot of staff training. The concept has a lot of merit and you can learn a lot more about it on their website here: The Green House Project

It turns out that concepts we (not just my firm but others, too) had in the 1990’s have only just made it to the Code books. In 2012, the NFPA 101 Life Safety Code addressed the ability to allow a kitchen to be open to the corridor (with a whole lot of provisions). Nearly the same provisions made it to the 2015 IBC. In fact, the Commentary shows a floor plan illustrating the open kitchen concept with a plan by our office in 1995. For twenty years, we had to convince State and Local jurisdictions that it should be allowed, so that is a little sweet reward to be the example in the Code Book!

ICC used this 20 year old project of RLPS’ to illustrate a brand new concept in the 2015 IBC.

While many may not consider what our office does as “residential”, I would argue that it is extremely important to our end users in the buildings we design that the spaces, “Look like, act like, feel like home.” This quote is attributed to one of our clients, who had the vision to create the first freestanding Hospice facility in Pennsylvania. That’s another topic in itself.

This post is part of the ArchiTalks series (led by Bob Borson of Life of an Architect ) where a group of us (architects who also blog) all post on the same day and promote each other’s blogs. This month’s theme is led by Keith Palma and is “House or Home”. A lot of other talented writers who also are architects are listed below and are worth checking out:

Bob Borson – Life of An Architect (@bobborson)
The Designation between House and Home

–>Lora Teagarden – L² Design, LLC (@L2DesignLLC)
House or Home? It’s in the story.
–>Collier Ward – One More Story (@BuildingContent)
House or Home? A Choice of Terms
–>Jeremiah Russell, AIA – ROGUE Architecture (@rogue_architect)
house or home: #architalks
–>Eric T. Faulkner – Rock Talk (@wishingrockhome)
House or Home — Discover the Difference
–>Michele Grace Hottel – Michele Grace Hottel, Architect (@mghottel)
“house” or “home”?
–>Meghana Joshi – IRA Consultants, LLC (@MeghanaIRA)
Architalks #24 : House or Home
–>Brian Paletz – The Emerging Architect (@bpaletz)
House or Home? – Depends
–>Michael LaValley – Evolving Architect (@archivalley)
House or Home? Train for One, Design for Another
–>Greg Croft – Sage Leaf Group (@croft_gregory)
House or Home
–>Jeffrey Pelletier – Board & Vellum (@boardandvellum)
Designing a House into a Home
–>Kyu Young Kim – J&K Atelier (@sokokyu)
Making a House a Home
–>Keith Palma – Architect’s Trace (@cogitatedesign)
I don’t design homes
–>Mark Stephens – Mark Stephens Architects (@architectmark)
#ArchiTalks #24 House or Home? #RefugeeCrisis @GrainneHassett mentioned
–>Jarod Hall – di’velept (@divelept)
A Rose by Any Other Name…
–>Mark R. LePage – EntreArchitect (@EntreArchitect)
Emotional Marketing for Architects: House or Home?
–>Marica McKeel – Studio MM (@ArchitectMM)
ArchiTalks: House or Home?
–>Jeff Echols – Architect Of The Internet (@Jeff_Echols)
House or Home? The Answer to Everything
–>Jarod Hall – di’velept (@divelept)
A Rose by Any Other Name…
–>Samantha R. Markham – The Aspiring Architect (@TheAspiringArch)
6 Ways to Make your Architecture Studio feel like Home
–>Nisha Kandiah – ArchiDragon (@ArchiDragon)
Dwelling on a Macro scale
–>Tim Ung – Journey of an Architect (@timothy_ung)
Architalks – A House is not a home
–>Rusty Long – Rusty Long, Architect (@rustylong)
House or Home

What’s in a Style?

February 1, 2017

What’s in a Style?

What does the Code Guy know about style?

This is either for an instant architect disguise or a Harry Potter costume, or both. But it certainly conveys our style.

Turns out…I know a little, thank you very much. I haven’t always been the Code Guy. I have always looked at buildings, however. In college, I completed a minor in Architectural History. Maybe not too much Egyptian revival architecture made its way to these shores, but much of our architectural history, and thus style, is based in the past. Greek, Roman, Renaissance, you name it.

But in all things (well, almost all things) I am the first to admit that I may not know everything, and what I did know, I may have forgotten.

These are two useful resources I’ve come across that I’d like to share.

This is an early printing, it has been updated, but I think very similar to the original.
Except somehow Lee’s name fell off the cover…?

The first is primarily for exteriors: A Field Guide to American Houses, originally published in 1984 by Virginia and Lee McAlester. This volume discusses basic geometries as well as the various structural components that are shared by all styles. It then goes into detailed accounts of nearly every style that entered this continent from indigenous Native American, to Gothic revival, to the Prairie Style. It delves into identifying features, principal sub-types, shapes, decorations, details, geographical and chronological details. Along with pictures! Included are volume isometrics, elevation variants, as well as carving details, shingle patterns and carpentry sketches of which I would be proud were they mine. Of course the book includes actual photographs of examples across the country, too.

This book would be a great reference source during a renovation of a styled house, or if you want to nail down what type of variations are in the neighborhood where you might be building, or if you need to add a little detail to a more give an exterior a little more “oomph”. This book should really have been distributed to all those builders across the land that slapped every available foam shape on a house regardless of how they relate: heavy quoins maybe don’t go well with those skinny stick-style spindle work…

This book can be used like a field guide just as are guides to flora and fauna. “Ahh, the Cape Cod, in its natural environment. Breathtaking…”

The other volume deals primarily with the interiors of buildings: The Elements of Style, Edited by Stephen Calloway and Elizabeth Cromley.

Much more a text book sized volume than a field guide. Heavy too!

This book is a wealth of interior detailing based on various styles. This book, too, reveals a more or less chronological ordering of styles: starting with Tudor and Jacobean, and running the gambit through Colonial, Georgian, Victorian (both British and American) to Arts & Crafts and Modern. Where this book is unique is that within each “Style” the chapters are tabbed with various detail categories, such as: windows, lighting, staircases and woodwork. So, say you’re working in an American Beaux Arts house renovation and you want to know what types of light fixtures work. Page 413 is a cream tab and has 11 detailed line drawings of representative chandeliers, sconces and lanterns. The next page has as many details on decorative metalwork in a house such as this.

Where applicable, this book has some nice photos, some in color. There are kitchen stoves, doorbells, fireplaces, and I even found my 1940’s bathroom lavatory. This book works on two continents, and even translates the British “skirting board” to the American “baseboard” for the reader. It even has a directory of suppliers for both sides of the Pond. The 1991 original copyright may date some of this information, however.

Our country is BIG! And the styles in one city will be totally different in another part of the country. But there is no reason to guess at what details go with which styles. There are probably hundreds of other books that could easily match a newel post for that Federal stair. Even effective detailing can be achieved in new construction that is maybe a bit larger than a normal house. Our office works all over the country designing senior living campuses. A client in Williamsburg, VA probably has a pretty good vision of the style for their buildings. Let us not confuse our styles!

This post is part of the ArchiTalks series (led by Bob Borson of Life of an Architect ) where a group of us (architects who also blog) all post on the same day and promote each other’s blogs. This month’s theme is “Style” A lot of other talented writers who also are architects are listed below and are worth checking out:

–>Bob Borson – Life of An Architect (@bobborson)
http://www.lifeofanarchitect.com/style-do-i-have-any/
–>Lee Calisti, AIA – Think Architect (@LeeCalisti)
style…final words
–>Lora Teagarden – L² Design, LLC (@L2DesignLLC)
The AREsketches Style
–>Collier Ward – One More Story (@BuildingContent)
Good Artists Copy; Great Artists Steal
–>Eric T. Faulkner – Rock Talk (@wishingrockhome)
Name That Stile!
–>Michele Grace Hottel – Michele Grace Hottel, Architect (@mghottel)
“style”
–>Meghana Joshi – IRA Consultants, LLC (@MeghanaIRA)
Architalks : Style
–>brady ernst – Soapbox Architect (@bradyernstAIA)
What Style Do You Build In?
–>Brian Paletz – The Emerging Architect (@bpaletz)
You do you
–>Michael LaValley – Evolving Architect (@archivalley)
Defining an Architect’s Style
–>Jarod Hall – di’velept (@divelept)
What’s Your Style?
–>Greg Croft – Sage Leaf Group (@croft_gregory)
Architectural Style
–>Jeffrey Pelletier – Board & Vellum (@boardandvellum)
Should You Pick Your Architect Based on Style or Service?
–>Samantha R. Markham – The Aspiring Architect (@TheAspiringArch)
5 Styles of an Aspiring Architect
–>Kyu Young Kim – J&K Architects Atelier (@sokokyu)
Loaded With Style
–>Nisha Kandiah – ArchiDragon (@ArchiDragon)
Regression or Evolution : Style
–>Keith Palma – Architect’s Trace (@cogitatedesign)
Stylized Hatred
–>Mark Stephens – Mark Stephens Architects (@architectmark)
Architectalks 23 – Style

–>Jeremiah Russell, AIA – ROGUE Architecture (@rogue_architect)
style: #architalks

Code Minute with the Yeoman – 001 Doors

January 13, 2017

Old Doors

Doors can tell us a lot about existing facilities. Fire walls, barriers and other fire resistive assemblies may not be 100% apparent in wall construction but if there is an opening in the wall, it must be protected and may provide enough clues to draw conclusions about the existing conditions.

This is not the old Door to whom I am referring.

Ordinarily, we look for labels on doors that come from the factory. These may tell us what the rating is. The protection afforded to the door can lead us to the wall rating based on the building code. Certain walls will require specific ratings on doors and windows within them. Two hour fire walls typically mean a 90 minute opening protective. A one hour fire barrier or partition typically needs a 45 minute rated door. Cross corridor doors in a one hour smoke barrier are typically 20 minute rated. The labels are normally on the hinge side of the door about 5 feet off the floor. But not always.

On these doors, you can see the labels on both sides on the hinge rail where we would expect to find them.

What happens when there is no label but you’re pretty sure that the door should be rated? It may even have wire glazing in the opening, but there is no label on the side. Well, here is where I have to break my “No Selfie” rule. Up until recently, some door manufacturers placed the labels on the top rail of the door. This can be challenging to see in a standard walk-around evaluation of a building. But if you place your phone camera on selfie mode (and stretch real high), you can usually find the label, if it is there.

No style points but I can read that this door is a 20 minute fire door.

Unfortunately, there are times where you just have no luck. The label may be on the side but it is painted over. Or missing.

Here is a door that probably did have a label on it, based on the rectangular surface marking.

In these cases, qualified contractors can field certify doors and relabel them. Quite frankly we see this a lot. And with NFPA 2012 requiring yearly inspections of all fire doors in nursing facilities and hospitals, the absence of labels should be addressed in any CMS type facility.

And here’s a bonus…

Can you find the door in the above photo? Obviously, there is a set of uneven doors there, but the facility has “hidden” the door from dementia patients. They went so far as to include a lit candle in the vision panel and allow light to come through around the flame to make it look like it is burning. The problem is, in the very first section covering doors in the International Building Code, it says “Means of egress doors shall be readily distinguishable from the adjacent construction and finishes…” and “shall not be concealed by curtains, drapes, decorations or similar materials.”

The above case, which may dissuade dementia residents from focusing on getting out, is probably not meeting the intent of the code here. I always imagine egress features as if I was looking at them through a haze of smoke and ash, because that is when you need to see the way out the most, right? This paint job is rather convincing. In a smoke filled building it may be too convincing.

The information presented above is intended for general information only. It is in no way intended to provide building or life safety guidance for any specific project or for any specific jurisdiction. Always consult your local authorities or hire a professional for any particular project issue.

Gingerbread 2016

December 12, 2016

You wouldn’t think it, but one of the most hectic times of the year in our architecture firm is the annual Gingerbread display in December. Started before my time here in 1987, the ‘Display’ as it is known has grown from a simple gingerbread house display on a countertop to an immersive, larger than life experience. The original objective was to create a fun activity for our clients at our annual Holiday party held each year in the first week of December. Every year we say it is too big and should be simplified, and every year it gets just as big, in one way or another.

A lot of people spent a lot of time on the display.

This year, the idea was to do a simple streetscape in the city, 3 story townhouses in an ‘L’ shape. Sounds good, right? Until the scale of the display doubles from 3/8” = 1’-0” to 3/4” where the size of a 6 foot tall person in the display grew from just over 2 inches to 4 1/2”. For someone who makes a lot of the people for the display, this was a big deal. Normally we can reuse a lot of the people from year to year. A Santa from last year is just as good as a new Santa. But not this year. All the people to populate the display had to be made from scratch and twice as large.

The simplicity of the theme this year was diluted by the idea to include some “Underground” activities, even though these ideas were not really hashed out. During the initial meetings, all that was discussed was a ‘Rat City”, which I thought was distinctly Un-Christmassy. So when it came to sign up for Display entries, rather than doing a house I decided to work on the Underground, to make it more festive than a subterranean city of mutant rats.

I don’t know when exactly I got the idea, but I think I Googled something like “Santa on the Subway” and I came up with this picture:

The concept photo (credit:BRENDAN MCDERMID/REUTERS)

One way to enliven the Underground was to fill it with dozens of Santas. To be clear, the intent was to have a subway station stop with all the department store Santas getting off work and on their way home to their own families. So I thought that several of us could work on doing a subway station, since that fit well with the Underground theme and as part of it, I could make a lot of the Santas to fill the platform.

Along with one other co-worker and my two kids, we embarked on creating a Subway scene for the Display.

Step One: Make Fondant Santas.

Step Two: Make more Santas.

Starting the Subway car and platform.

The completed platform.

Santas headed home. If you look really hard, you’ll see Where’s Waldo.

Simple, huh?

We thought this looked like the clock tower from Back to the Future, so we made Doc Brown & the DeLorean.

No Display is complete without a dragon!

The movie theater has a working tablet showing the Mickey Mouse movie on the inside.

There you have it, one simplified Display. Hopefully next year we don’t decide to simplify it too much more. It’ll be life sized.

If you’re interested in the whole process of the Display, start to finish, I wrote a series of posts describing it starting here: Gingerbread 2013: Part one

The Reluctant Code Guru – Revisited.

November 14, 2016

The following post is included in a blog series called ArchiTalks, and is the 22nd topic. Full disclosure: I posted this about 18 months ago, but the assigned topic from the ArchiTalk’s leader fit this post exactly. Trying to recreate it seemed futile.

The topic is “Then and Now: How my career path evolved since graduation”.

When I was hired here at RLPS a mere 20 years ago, my position was to assist one of the partners, Gregg Scott, on his particular projects. His position included leading projects as partner-in-charge for several clients, but he was/is also the main business development person for the firm, doing interviews for more work, lecturing at conferences and keeping clients happy and coming back. As opposed to developing the same strengths Gregg had by the bushel: as his underling, my job evolved into a role that augmented the skills Gregg didn’t have time for. I became a very young project manager/project architect on day one.

On my first day on the job with him, he told me we were running up to visit three projects in Northeastern PA, and to “wear a blazer”. Each of the projects was in a different state of completeness – one in early design, one in construction, and one post construction. After a couple of months and a few meetings with these Clients, Gregg eventually left me on my own, without the life vest of having him attend all the meetings with me. Gregg was out of town very often, so in place of his direct guidance back at the office, he encouraged me to utilize the office resources, which included not only code and technical books, but the people in our office who had the knowledge to help me. I had only been in the field nine months prior to starting with RLPS, I had very little experience with Codes, especially in the Department of Health arena.

My part of the library.

Of those three first jobs were included a very messy skilled care facility addition and renovation starting in the design phase, a personal care provider in a mansion from the 1800’s currently under construction, and a large retirement community that had just been completed. I had to very quickly learn the ins and outs of building codes, health codes, constructability, construction management, and the coordination with our engineers and the in-house drafting team. All of whom had many decades more experience than I did. I was lucky that Dave the Contractor was (mostly) gentle with me and helped lead me to the proper decisions sometimes, Tom the Structural Engineer didn’t laugh at me when I thought it was his job to fire proof the steel, Bill the Drafter I had on the job with me was able to draw the sections based on his vast experience, and we had an in-house resource for code support, Paul. All that and I was making the transition from MicroStation to AutoCAD.

After a few years’ time, I eventually became a more traditional project manager, leading a variety of projects for any of the partners-in-charge at our firm. But having been left to sink or swim in my early days, I had developed an ability to find things out for myself, whether calling on Code Officials or Plan Reviewers for guidance or consistently bugging our in house Code Expert. When I did bug Paul, I always gave my best effort to read and understand the Code before I interrupted him, which he appreciated. I used Paul as a resource to verify my interpretations, not as a substitute for reading the books.

Fast forward to 2014 and my annual review with the Partnership at the firm…this review is an opportunity to discuss how things are going and perhaps how things in the office can improve. All suggestions are considered (I was the one to suggest sparkling water to be added as an option to the soda fridge – score!). We had been operating without the benefit of Paul’s guidance for a few years at this point, so I happened to mention that, based on the upswing in new projects at that time; a lot of designs were progressing without a seasoned project architect on board to review for fundamental code analysis. It is always better to head off an issue early, I said, because I had been on the receiving end of some very difficult positions once the project got into Design Development with me at the helm. Some examples: bathrooms or kitchens far too small to be accessible, fire walls separating buildings that would be extremely hard to build or would require rated adjacent windows, occupant loads too large not to be separated or needed additional exits – just to name a few. It would be great, I said, if someone could look at these plans before we have the Owners super excited about a building that will be too difficult to build without various changes.

Some of the literature at my desk.

Well, be careful what you wish for. That guy is now me. I was not suggesting that we get one person do this job more or less full time, let alone it being me. I wasn’t sure I was qualified me to do it, really. I had been an unofficial resource for codes in the office for some time. I had a lot of experience (as much as anyone in the office I suppose) with Department of Health work that included NFPA reviews. I had a pretty good grasp on the International Code Council (ICC) codes as well. Everyone from partners to drafters were already stopping by with questions. But I had no formal training in code compliance or quality control. I also wasn’t sure I would be able to give up working on one job for months or years at a time, as I was accustomed to do.

Turns out I can still work for the Clients I have a relationship with, just in a more managerial way. I have to adjust my thinking sometimes, but I can still be a team member. And I started to really like seeing more projects our office is working on, where I may have never seen them prior to the finished product photos. Analytically I am able to look at early plans and try to sort out construction types and area/height limitations, building separations, occupant loads, etc. As I understand it, others don’t find this as interesting as I do. I describe it as “reading the Matrix”. I try to look at any limitation or hurdle with a problem solving eye, very much the same as I do when I am laying out building programs and adjacencies in floor plans. It is just another type of problem to solve – split the building this way, provide sprinkler coverage to get height increase, perhaps change the construction type…and not knowing everything there is to know about the project or client just means that I need to think in terms of options. You can do this or that and get to five stories – you choose.

The Matrix – Isn’t this how everyone sees buildings? I see clearances and ratings as readily as doors and windows.

I also do a lot of reviews of projects near the end of Construction Documents as part of our quality assurance procedures. This way I get to see the (almost) finished product and see which options they went with. I try to go through the code sheets as if I am seeing it cold, however. I try to take on the persona of the Plan Reviewer. I try to take out any of the questions I feel may be asked with the help of a red pen.

Codes change of course, as we experienced from the SBC, BOCA and the UBC to the ICC family of codes. We work all over the country and, in my opinion; there is really no unified building code. Every jurisdiction has multiple amendments and approves the more recent codes at their own pace. Various State agencies require conformance to the NFPA Life Safety Code while local jurisdictions review under the International Building Code. And why is it International when only US States and Territories use it? And depending on the State, there is potentially a 12 year difference in the Code edition enforced – 2003 vs. 2015 Editions. So one of the more challenging parts of my position is figuring out what we have to comply with. This is not always so easy to find on the State and Local websites. In one case I found one department did not yet know that a legislative change revised the way townhomes were reviewed, essentially taking out of the State’s purview and putting it solely into the local review. Anytime there is an overlap of responsibility between the State and Local, it is just an opportunity for potential conflict. It is all part of the fun!

So, a couple of years later, I am primarily the office “Code Guy”. There are still several jobs in construction that I had run, and am still involved with projects where I had been the primary contact for several years. But now I am integrated into the front ends of many projects, assist project managers with issues, attend preliminary code reviews with them at the Authority Having Jurisdiction (AHJ), assist in the QC/QA process, as well as assist any client having code issues with existing facilities, etc.

It is challenging work, but there is a variety and overview that I find refreshing. I had just recently worked on three projects with extremely long timelines, each taking 5 or more years to design and build. I felt a little pigeon holed in those projects and felt like I didn’t get to see anything else we were doing as a firm. While I have to broaden my depth of understand of code issues as I look at up to a dozen projects in a week sometimes, I see more projects, I work with a wider range of people in the office and I even correspond with a broader cross section of Clients in my new position.

The one area that I am still getting used to is the interruptions. I have come to realize that my work days are now a series of disruptions with some intermittent scheduled work in between. When I am working on any of my projects, I am often doing complex calculations or I have my head in the Code book(s), reading and rereading sections of code. This is not an ideal task to interrupt, at least not for me. I never claimed to have any Codes memorized. In fact, Codes have a tendency to change with each edition, so it is not wise to rely on memory alone. Certain tasks can take me into a section I have never really read before and the Code is not always particularly black and white for every situation. I don’t carry code books to the coffee pot or the rest room, but that doesn’t deter people from stopping me to ask questions along the way. That doesn’t seem particularly sanitary in any case.

Read, interpret and retain, right?

Everyone has their strengths, though, and where one has strengths where many others are unsure, you’re bound to be popular. Maybe I need a take-a-number dispenser like at the deli. I’ve always liked those paper hats they wear, too.

Now serving: Number 32.

The position I am in now all relates to whom I started working with and how I was able to fill in and learn a set of skills that were needed to round out those first three projects I started working on with Gregg. Had Gregg been the technical guy, I may have never become the Code Guru. I really don’t like that name though – sounds like I teach yoga on the side. Other considerations are: Code Sage, Code Shaman, Code Illusionist, Code Whisperer, Code Soothsayer or Code Clairvoyant. Whatever you call it, I never, not in a million years, suspected I would be in this position. If you would have asked me when I was 22 if would ever want to do this day in and out, I am sure I would have said no way. But that is a dumb kid talking, one who doesn’t have twenty years of experience and doesn’t see the inherent value in staying out of trouble.

This post is part of the ArchiTalks series in which Bob Borson of Life of an Architect selects a theme and a group of us (architects who also blog) all post on the same day and promote each other’s blogs. This month’s theme is “Then and Now…” A lot of other talented writers who also are architects are listed below and are worth checking out:

–>Bob Borson – Life of An Architect (@bobborson)
http://www.lifeofanarchitect.com/then-and-now-architectural-design-or-accounting/
–>Matthew Stanfield – FiELD9: architecture (@FiELD9arch)
Where It All Went Right
–>Marica McKeel – Studio MM (@ArchitectMM)
From Then to Now…Residential Architect
–>Jeff Echols – Architect Of The Internet (@Jeff_Echols)
Well, How Did I Get Here
–>Lee Calisti, AIA – Think Architect (@LeeCalisti)
then and now
–>Mark R. LePage – EntreArchitect (@EntreArchitect)
The Biggest Surprise of My Life as an Architect
–>Lora Teagarden – L² Design, LLC (@L2DesignLLC)
Then & Now…and the middle
–>Nicholas Renard – Renard Architecture (@dig-arch)
15 Years of Architecture
–>Jeremiah Russell, AIA – ROGUE Architecture (@rogue_architect)
then and now: #architalks
–>Eric T. Faulkner – Rock Talk (@wishingrockhome)
Then-Now: A Schematic Story
–>Michele Grace Hottel – Michele Grace Hottel, Architect (@mghottel)
then and now
–>Stephen Ramos – BUILDINGS ARE COOL (@sramos_BAC)
Big Ass Buildings
–>brady ernst – Soapbox Architect (@bradyernstAIA)
Pens & Fizzy Drinks: Or How to Set Measurable Career Goals
–>Brian Paletz – The Emerging Architect (@bpaletz)
How did I get here?
–>Michael LaValley – Evolving Architect (@archivalley)
Reflection on My Wonderful, Unexpected Career
–>Emily Grandstaff-Rice – Emily Grandstaff-Rice FAIA (@egrfaia)
Being the light in darkness
–>Jarod Hall – di’velept (@divelept)
The Joys of Being an Architect
–>Anthony Richardson – That Architecture Student (@thatarchstudent)
Then and Now
–>Kyu Young Kim – Palo Alto Design Studio (@sokokyu)
Career Path: Follow Your Heart
–>Nisha Kandiah – TCDS (@SKRIBBLES_INC)
Then & Now : Still Chasing the Dream
–>Tim Ung – Journey of an Architect (@timothy_ung)
10 Lessons Learned from a Young Architect
–>Mark Stephens – Mark Stephens Architects (@architectmark)
#Architalks 22 – Then and now