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Archive for March, 2010

Mar 29

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Guy Messick Instructor at Cal State East Bay Seminar

Guy Messick, our Director of Design Technology will be one of the instructors at the upcoming California State University, East Bay’s Building Information Modeling (BIM) Program.

The program focuses on implementing BIM into a business operation to optimize productivity, enhance a firm’s ability to manage the building design and construction lifecycle, streamline work processes and deliver projects more efficiently. While others talk about the power of BIM, this course is designed to help in planning and transitioning to a BIM methodology through a clear and concise format.

There will be an informational meeting on Tuesday, March 30th from 6:00-7:30 pm at CSUEB’s Oakland Center. This session will allow for Q&A, an opportunity to meet the instructors, network with other prospective attendees and mostly importantly help influence the course content.

For an informational flyer, visit <http://www.ce.csueastbay.edu/info/BIM/bim_flyer.pdf>

Mar 28

Tolay Lake Park

Tolay Park

Farmstead at Tolay Park

Sunday I took a long (nine mile) walk in one of Sonoma County’s newest parks, Tolay Lake Regional Park. It is on Lakeville Highway southeast of Petaluma and I believe is about 1,700 acres. Tolay Lake is a  seasonal wetland and large parts of the park are still actively grazed. The access to the park is currently limited and you must attend an orientation session to get a pass to the park, currently open on weekends only. This time of year the hills are  fantastically green and there is a fairly easy couple of mile walk up to Three Bridges View Overlook. From the top of the hill you can see a sweep of the bay area from Mt. Diablo and the Carquinez Bridge to downtown San Francisco and around to the west to Novato and Petaluma. If you have the inclination get there soon while everything is  fantastically green! http://www.sonoma-county.org/PARKS/pk_tolay_dayuse.htm
aB

Mar 26

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6th Annual Celebration of Left Coast Design

On Thursday evening, Suzanne and I attended the 2010 IIDA Honor Awards at the historic Fox Theater in Oakland. The awards are open to design firms of all sizes, focus and interest practicing in the Northern California region of the IIDA (International Interior Design Association). TLCD submitted the Mahoney Library under the category called “Serve” which includes public spaces where people gather. We arrived just as the slide show scrolled through the images we submitted for the Mahoney Library, so it was nice to have that recognition in front of 600 members! The Northern California Chapter is one of the most active in the nation and the caliber of design reflected in the winning projects was truly impressive. While TLCD did not win for Mahoney Library, we continue to be inspired by the passion for interior architecture in this region.

Each year the IIDA also selects a firm to receive their “Pioneer Award” and this year’s recipient is Architecture For Humanity. If you’ve never checked out this organization or their website, it’s well worth it.

Mar 26

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DSA Deferred Approval for AFSS to Be Eliminated

Click on the image to learn more

DSA has instituted Policy 10-01 which states that DSA will no longer accept projects with automatic sprinkler systems (AFSS) as a deferred approval. Beginning July 1, 2010, projects must be submitted with a complete AFSS plans, hydraulic calculations, product data sheets and seismic bracing design. Projetcs that do not have complete documentation will be rejected as an incomplete submittal. Refer to DSA publication “Plan Submittal Guidelines: Automatic Fire Sprinkler System (AFSS)” for specific design and submittal requirements.

Mar 24

Career Day at TLCD

This morning approximately 30 middle school students from Roseland Accelerated Middle School visited our office to learn about the profession of architecture.  We divided them into two groups.  Guy and I met with them in the Garage and discussed what an architect does, how one becomes an architect, the design process, and how we build virtual buildings.

Alan and Suzanne met with the other group in the ‘Martini Lounge” and discussed sustainability and interior design.  They also showed the students our demonstration green roof.  The groups switched locations at the midpiont of their visit so that both groups had the opportunity to hear all 4 of our presentations.

The students asked great questions.  The very first question asked was “how much money do you make”?  Fortunately I’ve done presentations to middle and high school students before, and was ready for this question.  These students are much smarter than those of us who forgot to ask this important question when we were their age!

Most of these students graduated from Roseland or Sheppard Elementary Schools and will eventually matriculate into Roseland University Prep School, a charter high school that prepares students for college. This is significant because few of these students come from families with any college background, and they otherwise would have had little or no exposure to college or professional careers.  Hosting their career day activity is one small opportunity for us to help expose these students to career choices they might otherwise never have the opportunity to learn about.

A special thanks to Alan, Suzanne and Guy for participating in this event.

Mar 24

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Get to know Simon Hsieh

Established fly fisherman and Project Captain Simon Hsieh arrived at TLCD Architecture last June with a broad knowledge of international design and construction. Read his bio here.

Mar 22

“Greening” Classrooms at Cardinal Newman High School

In this short video, TLCD architects Jeff Blechel and John Dybczak discuss the “green” features in effect at Cardinal Newman High School.

Mar 19

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Green Roof gets a Haircut!

It was a beautiful sunny day, the last day of winter officially, and the perfect time to give our green test roof a spring haircut. Jamie and I got out the weedeater and a rake and went at it Friday at noon. Only one sprinkler head met its demise for the cause. The clippings went out to Kenwood where they were properly composted. Jaime and I got our eco-credits for the week and the roof got its first hearty drink from the irrigation system.  With only 4″ of soil the roof had dried out considerably in our short burst of warm weather. Our plan for the spring is perhaps to raise some healthy veggies on the roof garden to enhance our Wine Wednesdays. Stay tuned!
aB

Green Roof Maintenance Crew at Work. Note John Deere T-Shirt.

Mar 18

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Craig Gaevert tours the team at West College

This weeks Wine Wednesday took place in the field with Craig Gaevert offering a comprehensive tour of the West College Utilities Facility. With combined space of over 40,000 square feet, this facility includes an impressive new training center, a large shops building and it centralizes many of the City of Santa Rosa’s departments under one roof. The building boasts many green features, including raised floor ventilation, energy-efficient lighitng, solar panels, bioswales and sustainable building materials and finishes.

Mar 17

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Nate Bisbee selected for NBBJ’s “40 Under 40″

Nate Bisbee has been selected as one of the top “40 Under 40″ to be honored at the upcoming North Bay Business Journal’s 2010 awards on April 27th. This event honors outstanding young business and community leaders in the North Bay and we are thrilled to see Nate receive this well-deserved recognition. Nate has played a role in designing some of the regions most high profile projects for Community College clients, the City of Santa Rosa and Sonoma County. In addition to recently becoming an Associate Principal at TLCD Architecture, Nate is the firm’s Design Director and is deeply involved in the community. Congratulations Nate!

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