July 2011
2 posts
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why Stacey Farinholt is a bad-ass
Stacey Farinholt, ASLA, loves you. Alot. And in return you trample her grass?
She’s designed AIA and GRACRE award winning landscapes, been published by the New York Times Magazine and University of Virginia Press, critiqued and advised at VCU and VT, volunteered and community serviced to educate others about and preserve our region’s natural environment. Stacey’s design work...
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June 2011
6 posts
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June 18th: National Will Scribner Day!
Let’s all celebrate our bearded leader’s 40th Architectural Anniversary! Go Will, go!
new neighbors: sparks and stella
Welcome to new Manchester District neighbors Michael Sparks Design and the apartment dwellers of Stella 360. (photo by Dena Sussman)
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do what you gotta do
archinect has an intriguing story about do it yourself dams after the late spring flooding we;ve read so much about. It has been a season of infamously sensational weather, with massive tornadoes wiping out large swaths in the south and midwest, and heavy rain events causing many to consider if the term 100 year flood should be reevaluated. These dam solutions are born of necessity. It would...
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congratulations and the S-word!
Congratulations to Knoxville architects Sanders Pace on their Custom Home Grand Award for their Cape Russell Retreat in Sharps Chapel, TN! As the awards season continues please note the number of 3000+ sf homes patting themselves on the green shoulder. Then revisit the Cape Russell Retreat article and note the the integrity of small scale architecture and the absence of sustaina-speak. Truly a...
May 2011
6 posts
2 tags
modern richmond delivers with their film series
Our friends at Modern Richmond deliver again with the launch of their 4th Wednesday Film Series. Last night they pleased a large group gathered at the Virginia Center for Architecture with the East coast premier of Modern Views - A Conversation on Northwest Modern Architecture.
The practitioners and historians featured in the work have a bevy of background information if you are interested in...
the people that you meet each day, pt 2
Sustainable Neighborhhods, part 2:
Luckily there are a number of practitioners who are deeply engaged in the design, development and construction of neighborhoods more sensitive to tomorrow’s resources. They have recognized the positive impacts sustainably designed communities create not only for their inhabitants but also for neighboring properties, and ultimately the economics of the...
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who are the people in your neighborhood, pt 1
Sustainable planning comes in many models, scales, and styles, often taking a hit by the design community for the ecotopic goals of a developer catering to deep pocketed clients. But stand back, naysayer, lets look at a couple of ideas that work - as ideas:
The Ahwahnee Principles (1991) give a thoughtful foundation to sustainable planning by offering guidelines from several distinct...
movie night: modern views
Modern Richmond, VCA, and La Difference team up to present Modern Views - a conversation on northwest modernism on Wednesday, May 25th from 7-8:30. See the VCA website for details.
awards season
Tis the season of awards. We’ve nabbed a few recently and saw see some compelling work by regional colleagues in the latest glossy print. Among them:
Weinstein Friedlin Architects wins a Modern Steel Construction award for the Buckner Companies Home Office in Graham, NC. H&A also appears in the MSC Awards for their PowerPlant at Rocketts Landing work.
Frank Harmon’s tiny...
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kindred spirits: dbox
While SMBW’s design duo Chris and Amrit constantly turn our heads, they too look outside 403 Suite 200 for inspiration. Amrit introduced us to dbox some time ago. Their integration of cgi and site imagery is typically flawless. Chad Oppenheim’s structural clarity always impresses.
April 2011
10 posts
5 tags
turning our head: yeager design + fabrication
Charles Yeager and Ann Walsh have a website! Not only neighbors, the in-house keepers of the flame make it happen… and they make it happen in ways to make you drool. Check out their project gallery and call them. They’ll make you laugh and leave you with a piece you will appreciate for decades. We encourage our clients to work with them and their projects show up in great detail in...
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turning our heads/turning his body: Tony Orrico
Dancer and visual artist Tony Orrico meshes movement and memory in his recent work. A great post from Brain Pickings tells his story. Be sure to watch the lower of the two videos.
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turning our head: hannsjorg voth
Hannsjorg Voth’s land art pieces are our architectural school projects realized. But it is his drawings that really turn our head - full of information, simply conveyed. It is time for a field trip…
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turning our heads: tonneson
Jack-of-All-Landscapes Bill Tonneson’s recent sculptural works turns our heads. He recently completed this “porch light” for an Eddie Jones designed home in Montana. We continue to appreciate Tonneson’s unique approach to a design problem and the painstaking way his team crafts the work.
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education: what are they doing down there?
Studio H’s final design project for 2010-2011 takes shape in model form in eastern North Carolina. The Windsor Super (farmers) Market has bays wide enough for pick-up access, rises above flood level, and will use the studio’s shop to prefabricate the trusses. A vernacular and progressively efficient solution for any designers - but these kids are in high school! Way to go Emily,...
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SMBW wins two 2011 AIA Richmond Design Awards!
SMBW wins two 2011 AIA Richmond Design Awards! The Boys & Girls Club of Central Virginia, Cherry Avenue Unit received an Honor Award and the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts won a Merit Award.
Jury chair Frank Harmon, FAIA noted the hidden lower level of the BGC project’s sensitive and clever relation to the sloping site and the simple, open plan feeding into the courtyard blurred...
architecture week: 4.14 + 4:15
4.14 Legal Issues Lecture: Online Communications & Social Media:
A discussion and legal perspective on the privacy rights, copyright and employment in the electronic age, and how to minimize risk while using email, Twitter and Facebook. Presented by Wilcox Dunn and Hobie Andrews. Please RSVP to info@aiaric.org 12pm-1pm, Virginia Center for Architecture
4.15 2011 AIA Richmond Honors...
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stockton clay's slave trail markers are up!
The Richmond Slave Trail interpretive markers are up. Read the paper, put on your shoes, beat the crowds… Good job, Burt!
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architecture week: 4.13
The often updated AIA Richmond Facebook page keeps us informed about Architecture week. Tomorrow’s events:
These folks are opening up their offices. Go and take a look at their work environments AND the work. BCWH - 1840 West Broad Street #400 3 North - 201 West 7th Street Baskervill - 101 South 15th Street #200 Odell & Associates - 2700 East Cary Street Glave’ & Holmes - 2101...
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architecture week: 4.11 + 4:12
Take me to the river.. .
Monday 4.11.11
Architecture and the Parks I: A facilitated public design charrette for Horseshoe Pit Shelters. Gillies Creek Park, Richmond. 10am - 4pm 322.9556
Film: Citizen Architect - Samuel Mockbee & the Spirit of the Rural Studio Documentary concerning the Aubrun University Design/Build program in Hale County, Alabama. Focuses on the Jay...
March 2011
9 posts
3 tags
tomato
+81 Graphic Passport. Tomato is collaboration.
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baaaa! baaaaaa! baaaaaaa! baaaaaaaaaaa!
Go Rams! We’re butting our heads and wearing our horns for you!
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culture: by our hands - va indian cultural arts
The Cultural Arts Center of Glen Allen sponsors By Our Hands - Virginia Indian Cultural Arts until May 8th in the Gumenick Family Gallery. And its free…
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culture: Richmond Slave Trail
Richmond marks the 150th commemoration of the Civil War with exhibits, lectures and tours. Perhaps the most telling of these tours will be the Richmond Slave Trail, an experiential path following the first footsteps of slaves arriving in our region. Fabrication of the educational markers nears completion and installation begins soon. Stockton Clay Architects (BAM Architects and SMBW) is proud...
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style weekly is amused!
Style Weekly votes the VMFA’s amuse restaurant their restaurant of the year! We vote them Richmond’s best weekly newspaper. Thanks to Don Baker and his culinary crew for a great write up.
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getting there: six-eleven wins at nahb
Roanoke native Aaron Dykstra won the Best Track Frame award at this year’s North American Handbuilt Bicycle Show with his Six-Eleven stainless steel track frame. We love seeing a Virginia native doing so well. That he named his company after a Roanoke-built locomotive hearty enough for hauling passengers through the Blue Ridge is worth writing home about, too. Keep it up, Aaron!
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culture: slinkachu
Slinkachu keeps us laughing. Thanks to the folks at Build Blog for reminding us to laugh.
Will Scribner featured in Richmond Times-Dispatch
Founding partner Will Scribner is featured in Monday, March 14th’s “Metro Business” section of the Richmond Times-Dispatch in an article title “Building Dreams - Will Scribner’s work marks Richmond.”
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smbw archive: river gardens, wilmington, nc
The River Gardens project is divided into two primary building volumes
stretching west-east across the block. The north bar contains the bulk of
the program and is clad in zinc shingles with masonry accents, generous
glazing and wood sunscreens or “shuttered walls.” Structured parking
occupies two partially below-grade levels along Church Alley to the
north. Townhouse units define a primary...
February 2011
8 posts
3 tags
4 tags
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smbw archive on facebook
we’ve been adding photos to our facebook page, including this one from the Fellowship Community Church in Salem, Virginia.
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unbuilt archive: YCAPP
YCAPP, Youth Challenged Advised and Positively Promoted, is one of the leading human service providers in the region. Their mission is to nurture and mentor emotionally and cognitively challenged and at-risk youth through a variety of programs including in-school and at-home counseling, supplemental educational programs, vocational and career exploration, and residential sites for young...
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unbuilt archive: wytestone suites, 1998
Located at the corner of Eighth and Cary Streets in downtown Richmond, Wytestone Plaza re-establishes the corner of the city lock. The south facade of the 16-level structure overlooks the James River and combines five levels of office space with a 105-suite hotel. Both pedestrian and vehicular access occur off Cary Street, accommodating tenants, guests, and staff with six levels of below grade...
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archive: supreme court of va
SMBW worked with Wiss, Janney, Elstner Associates on leak assesment and repair on the Supreme Court of Virginia. WJE’s toolboxes overflow with handy gadgetry, and their belts sag with tool sheaths. They came to Richmond ready to discover breached seals and failing waterproofing. We used the results of their study and a host of historic drawings to prepare a repair document set. We love...
January 2011
19 posts
3 tags
movie night! trimpin
Even if you don’t know the work of sound sculptor Trimpin, you will want to see Trimpin: the sound of invention.
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detail: rigor
The structure of a western Washington retreat by Suyama Peterson Deguchi sets the tone for detail design. A modern take on Japanese joinery, the details remain constant - absent are the playful tectonic moves seen in a previous detail posting. The language employed here is strict and rigorous offering a strength and clarity to an otherwise playful project. If you are fortunate to live in the...
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details: layers and opportunities
Bohlin Cywinski Jackson’s Point House is a study in the layered detail. The expressed orthagonal structural and enveloping elements at the entry are carried throughout the residence. The rigor of this langauge is still less strict than some; steel cladding playfully peels down to reveal a bench. Long live the Peter Bohlin detail!
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archives: wachovia bank, 1998
The corner site for this urban branch of Wachovia
Bank was designed within the framework of
corporate design prototypes, while using modified
suburban ideas about parking. For instance, the
building was sited at the sidewalk with parking in
the back, and was developed with an aesthetic
suitable for the urban environment. The design
responds to the early twentieth century art-deco
...
6 tags
unbuilt archives: Rose Hills Valley Lake Mausoleum
Rose Hills Memorial Park in Whittier, California encompasses 1,500 acres and is the largest cemetery in the United States. Our firm was commissioned to design a new 3,000 crypt mausoleum complex located in a developing one hundred acre precinct within the park. The site is positioned at the head of a planned four acre lake that sits within a man-made valley know as Sycamore Valley. The...
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education: Studio H
Studio H challenges high school students living in agricultural based Bertie County, NC with numerous design problems throughout the school year. Built project #2 are some of the coolest chicken coops this side of eggutopia! Join them this weekend to see the three completed designs. Next up, an open air farmers market…
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kindred spirits: Build LLC + Build Blog
Seattle based Build LLC’s work stands out on its own. Their Park Modern project exemplifies the efficient and tight economic floor plans emerging from the Pacific Northwest in the past 10 years. But check them out for their Build Blog. It is worlds apart from the mere flashy image cut and paste blog posts prevalent in the design world. Their well thought posts result from discussion,...
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culture: details - vanilla bicycles
We were again wowed by Vanilla Bicycles at the NAHBS last year in Richmond. It is nice to know that craftsmen in other industries spend as much time thinking through the micro aspects of a project. The three inch and six inch scale view can captivate and revolutionize. And Sacha, thanks for the Stumptown Coffee.
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kindred spirits: welcome to rva, tumblr!
http://www.richmondbizsense.com/2011/01/17/monday-qa-growth-is-their-theme/
http://www2.richmond.com/entertainment/2011/jan/13/2/tumblr-moves-in-to-rva-43378-vi-23546/
