TLCD Architecture is the leading architectural firm in the North Bay expanding through design excellence, diversity of work and community enrichment.
Need a little inspiration for the New Year?
Get lost in the complete list of Interior Design magazines ‘Best Products of 2009’, Click here.
Several items I spotted we are currently using in new projects (Big Ass Fans, Bernhardt Allee Chair). This is a great resource to find great new designers and manufacturers on everything from lighting to kitchen fixtures to outdoor furniture and more.
Pecha Kucha.
What is Pecha Kucha? Pecha Kucha is a presentation format that works to develop fast efficient ways of relaying information to other people. It is based on the idea that each presentation has only 20 slides and each slide is up for only 20 seconds, therefore each presentation is only 6 min 40 seconds.
http://www.wired.com/techbiz/media/magazine/15-09/st_pechakucha
http://www.pecha-kucha.org/presentations/
I took part in this presentation style a few times when I was at UO and can say you learn a lot about how to present information both graphically and verbally when you are constricted to this format. Plus if a presentation is bad you only have to sit through 6 min 40 seconds of it.
Just thought others maybe interested in learning/trying it.
On Wednesday December 16th, a significant milestone in the Kaiser Santa Rosa project was reached when the new emergency fuel tank was landed on its pad. The project, which grew out of a conversation with the Hospital in January 2009, involves adding a new 15,000 gallon above-ground fuel tank with provision for an additional 15,000 gallon tank in the future in the yard at the hospital. Currently, the hospital is served by a 10,000 gallon underground tank that is 22 years old and reaching the end of its service life. The new tank and fuel system will allow the hospital to decommission their existing underground tank at a future date while keeping emergency systems available without interruption.
Backing the tank down the fire lane, there wasn’t much room for error. Here, he avoids a light standard by ¾ inch. It should be noted that the driver kept his elbow out the window for the entire time he was backing this massive tank down a very narrow fire lane.
Of course, the tank was oriented backwards on the trailer, so it had to be rotated 180 degrees.
And there it is.
While this isn’t the most photogenic project we’ve done for the Hospital, when completed our work will significantly improve the hospital’s ability to serve our community.
We got authorization from the Owner in May and were able to permit the project through OSHPD and have the tank onsite 7 months later, which is testimony to the good work of Chris Baumbach and Simon Hsieh and the working relationships we’ve developed with HMH, Peterson Mechanical and OSHPD.
Tuesday at noon I’ll be presenting three buildings I visited in Chicago in early November. The New Modern Wing of the Chicago Art Institute is Renzo Piano’s latest work in the US. The daylighting of the galleries is spectacular. I also visited the Klarchek Information Commons at Loyola University of Chicago. This three story commons sits at the edge of Lake Michigan and uses a very sophisticated natural ventilation system. The Spertus Institute for Jewish Studies is the newest landmark on Michigan Avenue. The faceted glass facade encloses gallery and library spaces within a daylit lobby. The detailing of this building is very nice. Hope to see you at noon on Tuesday.–Alan
In case you hadn’t heard… the high performance design we’re doing today is soon going to be the standard. For myself, the presentation today on updates to Title 24 was a wealth of great information. Some highlights include:
– New requirements for the use of rigid insulation
– Roof reflectance ratings are now measured by ‘aged’ reflectance (3 years)
– Daylighting requirements of 50% for certain spaces over 8,000 sq. ft.,
– Multi-level photocell daylighting controls mandatory requirements for classrooms, conference rooms, and more…
If you want to catch up, you can find it here:
Title 24 Updates, by Martyn Dodd of Energy Soft LLC
Just one week after kicking off the TLCD 1/2 Ton Holiday Food Drive, our amazing team has donated over 470 pounds of food! 
The goal is 1,000 pounds of food for the Redwood Empire Food Bank and we are just about half way there. Remember, TLCD will match $1 for every pound of food donated, so keep the canned goods and staples coming. The food drive will continue through the New Year and will end on Wednesday, January 6th.
Martyn Dodd of EnergySoft, LLC will discuss non-residential building envelope & lighting requirements affecting commercial new construction under California’s 2008 Title-24 Energy Efficiency Standards scheduled to take effect Jan 1, 2010. Attend this program to learn how the latest version of the Standards will affect building design in your commercial new construction projects. Mr. Dodd will highlight aspects of the Standards that are new for 2008. Changes for 2008 are primarily aimed at further reducing peak electricity consumption, and incorporating greater energy efficiency measures.
Topics slated for discussion include:
What is 3form Wood? It’s an architectural decorative panel consisting of a thin wood veneer, perforated in different patterns, encapsulated in their trademark ‘ecoresin’ (40% pre-consumer recycled content).
Why is it cool? The razor-thin veneer allows light to penetrate through, creating the potential for a beautiful glow. There are several nice crisp perf. designs, not one of which I would immediately shrug off. Good job 3form! PLUS you can do custom. Yah, I don’ t want to know how much that costs.
Speaking of… how much does it cost? The wood varies widely in cost depending on pattern and also thickness. For example at 1/8inch it starts at about $1100 per 4×8 panel and at 1inch (which is rarely ordered) it is approximately $2000. If we lazer cut it adds $300 per sheet. (1/2inch $1500)
Specs: 48″x96″ panels, available in the following gauges: 1/8″, 3/16″, 1/4″, 3/8″, 1/2″, 3/4″. Wood species available: bamboo, rosewood, walnut, white oak, zebrano slip match, zebrano chevron.
How can I get my hands on some? We have a few samples on hand. Check them out in the Martini Lounge. Let me know if you want to contact our Rep.
More info: http://www.3-form.com/materials-varia-wood.php
Side note: we’re using something similar from Veritas on Minnie Cannon Elementary. Check it out here. Scroll down to ‘wood’ on the interlayer tab.
You know the drill.
Friday afternoon around 4pm… the general contractor for the new college student services building phones you and says the IOR is being unreasonable and is demanding that the newly installed water closet in the accessible toilet compartment be removed and completely reworked. Why? The IOR measured the clearance between the ceramic wall tile and the centerline of the water closet and it came out to 17-1/2″… 1/2″ short of the code required dimension of 18″. Is the IOR correct? Is the dimension finite?
Please take a few minutes to read the DSA Interpretation of Regulations document IR 11B-8, “Use of Predetermined Construction Tolerance Guidelines for Accessibility” to see what their take on the issue is. Understanding the rules makes the design and documentation process easier.
http://www.documents.dgs.ca.gov/dsa/pubs/IR_11B-8_11-19-09.pdf
Amorette and I would like to introduce everyone to Enzo, who was born last Friday.
All three of us are happy and doing very well and we would also like to thank everyone for your support, gifts, and well wishes.
Thank you all for attending our kick-off of the Fit Force Winter program. This quarter we’re focusing on healthy eating over the holidays and helping the community. A big part of this effort is the 1/2 Ton Food Drive challenge! We kicked it off at Wine Wednesday with over 110 lbs. and it will continue until January 6th.
Your mission is to bring in 22 lbs. of food, which is pretty easy to do. A typical can of food weighs about 16 oz./1 lb. Weigh your bags on Sandy’s scale in the main kitchen (tap the front of the scale first, wait for the zeros). Then tally up your poundage on the chart.
You may be wondering what type of food to bring. Non-perishable staples with an emphasis on proteins, like beans, canned tuna/chicken, peanut butter, rice, pasta, cereal. You get the idea. Pick out something you would like to eat, and share it with another family. No glass, please.
TLCD has pledged to match $1 per pound of food. Help us reach our goal of 1,000 lbs/$1,000. The Sonoma County Redwood Empire Food Bank and TLCD Fit Force is counting on you!
If you would like to keep an eye on your nutrition and exercise over the holidays, or perhaps starting January 1, here is a good free online food journal: www.fitday.com
Here you can see your body mass index (BMI) and set nutritional goals like weight loss, vitamin intake, etc. Of course, the results are only as good as the data you put in, so if you can’t find what you’re eating in the fitday database, you can create your own custom foods (look on the nutrition facts of what you’re eating) or find many mainstream foods at calorieking.com
If you decide to journal, try to keep it up for at least a few weeks! This is a lot harder than it sounds. If you miss a day, don’t give up, just get back on the wagon.
Oh – if you need a little inspiration… studies show that people who consistently keep a food journal while trying to loose weight typically lose twice as much as those who don’t.
Good news, today we heard the Sonoma Valley Community Health Center has selected TLCD as their designer for their new clinic! We have been pursuing this project with Nordby Construction as a design build team for over three months. The project will be located in Boyes Hot Springs, near Sonoma and will be approx. 20,000 sqft. of new construction. The client is very excited about this project and selected our team over two more experienced and qualified teams. Kudos to all involved for their efforts, especially Sara, Domenica and Suzanne!
Also today John Dybczak and I also met with a new client for the renovation of an existing Psychiatric Hospital. The prospective owners have been working with TLCD to procure the property and navigate the escrow process which has recently been closed. They’re eager to move forward with the project and we have begun programming!
Last Friday I attended Insight 09, an AIA-sponsored collection of seminars focusing on design, marketing, and business development. I attended the second day of the conference which had special emphasis on the role of online marketing and social networking. The day was packed with four seminars: “Strategic Communications Planning: the Art of Differentiation from RFP to Final Interview,” “Digital Relationship Management,” “The 2.0 Practice,” and “Business Development Using Your Website as a Marketing Hub.” I particularly enjoyed the first session on Strategic Communications Planning, delivered by Daniel Sapp which offered a unique approach to structuring interviews and delivering a message. The third session about Web 2.0 had by far the highest attendance, with focus on Facebook, Twitter, and Blogging for A/E/C firms. Speakers for the Web 2.0 Practice included Mark English of Mark English Architects, Rebecca Firestone author of The Architect’s Take blog, Joel Robare of JR Studio, and Mike Plotnick of HOK Corporate Communications. Overall, this was a very informative event, especially for a firm who is just getting its feet wet in the world of online marketing.
Is this the future of healthcare? If it is someone will need to design these mobile clinics.
Challenges: Create a solar-powered, light weight, camel friendly design.
“Kenya’s camels recently started sporting some unusual apparel: eco-friendly refrigerators! Some of the African country’s camels are carrying the solar-powered mini fridges on their backs as part of a test project that uses camels as mobile health clinics. Organizers hope the eco-friendly transport system will provide a cheap, reliable way of getting much-needed medicines and vaccines to rural communities in Kenya and Ethiopia.”-inhabitant
Necessity is truly the mother of invention. This is a great, check it out!
For those of us who are Ducks, and those who just want to watch good football, Thursday Night is the annual Oregon Civil War Game at Autzen. The Oregon (BCS#7) and Oregon State (BCS#13) game will mark the 113th Civil War game in Oregon history and the first time the game will determine the Pac-10 Champion and secure a trip to Rose Bowl.
The game starts 6:00 PM and is on ESPN.
For those of you who are unable to watch ESPN you can watch online for free with a live internet broadcast at www.espn360.com.
Also if you want to watch previous games, espn360.com stores games broadcast on ESPN for replay online. I recommend watching the Sat, Nov 21 Game against Arizona (unless you are an Arizona fan).
It may not be to everyone’s liking but I think this is a beautiful building.
I ran across this building in a magazine a few days ago and thought it was a very unique solution to a standard box tower. The building is called the Aqua Tower and designed by Studio Gang Architects.
The primary building is a standard rectangle tower but the facade is animated with a series of projecting balconies. The result I think is quite interesting. Below are links to some images from the project rendering and actual images of the project.
http://plusmood.com/2009/06/aqua-tower-studio-gang-architects/
http://www.studiogang.net/projects_e1.htm
