Thursday, March 22, 2012
Monday, March 19, 2012
Playhouse Design Competition!
I really admire a blog called “Life of an Architect” for many reasons. This is one of those: he is hosting a Playhouse Design Competition! All the rules and directions are below. Be sure to check out the blog too.
The entries for the first annual Life of an Architect Playhouse Design Competition are due in 29 Days (April 16th, 2012)!!! Who can enter? This competition will be open to anyone from anywhere – the only entry criteria is the following: § there is no entry criteria! That’s pretty much it, so there really isn’t a good reason not to submit. Oh, did I mention that there’s no fee required to enter!! It just keeps getting better and better doesn’t it? What do I submit? All submissions are required to be in electronic form with a file size not to exceed 5MB. For the judging process, you should submit plans, elevations, sections, perspectives … whatever you feel best conveys your design. Whatever drawings you do choose to create need to be arranged on a 24″ x 36″ board oriented vertically – this is very important that you follow these submission guidelines. I would humbly request that no animations be submitted. Right below you will see an example of the sort of entry graphic I am talking about …
You might remember this playhouse from none other than frequent Life of an Architect collaborator and talented designer Scott Taylor (see the feature post on this design – including construction drawings – here). This is the format you should use as an example, even paying attention to the types of drawings Scott included – he did a great job conveying his design intent along with just enough information on how this playhouse might be built. **You are not required to generate construction drawings unless your design is selected as a winner** .How do I register? Please send an email to me – bob@lifeofanarchitect.com and put “Playhouse Competition” in the subject line. In the email, tell me who you are, what you do (architect, intern, student, housewife, phlebotomist – etc.) and current location of residence (just city, state, country – I don’t need your home address). If you want to include some additional biographical information about yourself feel free. I will respond to your email and send you the design guidelines (these playhouses have to get moved around so there are size limitations). .Judging The judging process will be handled in two rounds; the first round will be a review of all the entries judged by me and up to 4 other people who will be chosen at a later date. The number of qualified entries we receive will determine how many entries will advance to the final judging round but I am shooting for around 20%. The criteria used for judging will be: § creativity § appeal § originality § buildability, and § the ability of the playhouse to be built for approximately $4,000 in material costs On the costs, there are lots of people who don’t know how much stuff costs and that’s okay. The point is that you need to be considerate of the cost as you are designing your playhouse – which means designs that require CNC routers, GFRG castings, or cast in place stainless steel will most likely not advance to the final round. Entries can be submitted by individuals or by a team, it doesn’t matter and will not be a consideration during the judging. I will also feature all the entries that advance onto the final judging round here on the site. .Timeline Registration is currently happening!! – so send me that email (bob@lifeofanarchitect.com with “Playhouse Competition” in the subject line – remember?) April 16th – design submissions will be due. Deliverable will be a 24″x36″ vertically oriented JPEG or PNG file format emailed to bob@lifeofanarchitect.com (file size not to exceed 5MB). In the case of multiple entries by a single designer (person or group), please send each entry by itself. Do not place any personal information (like your name) on your digital submission – I want to keep things fair during the judging process. April 23rd – initial round of judging (by celebrity judges not yet selected) to bring number of entries to be judged to manageable number of finalists will be complete with the finalists announced here on the Life of an Architect website. April 30th – the final judging round will be completed and the winners will be announced here on the Life of an Architect website. May 28th – Winners are required to prepare construction drawings (with possible value engineering considerations) for their entries and submit final construction drawings to the designated contractors. Playhouses will be constructed and ready for delivery to Dallas CASA by the beginning of August to be raffled off. .Reference information? If you want, here is a link to every post I’ve written on the Parade of Playhouses (here) which includes construction drawings and a ridiculous number of construction photos and insider tips. .Information on Dallas CASA Dallas CASA (which stands for Court Appointed Special Advocates) is a nonprofit organization of community volunteers trained and supervised to serve as voices in court for abused and neglected children. On any day in Dallas County, there are nearly 2,000 children waiting for a safe place to live. Many times the CASA volunteer is the only constant in the child’s life during this very difficult process. Parade of Playhouses raises funds for Dallas CASA to continue serving more children who need safe, permanent homes where they can thrive. .Special Thanks to:
This is the second year in a row that AUI Contractors has stepped up and funded the construction of several of these playhouses. I became familiar with AUI thanks to Tim Guedry, a friend of mine dating back to high school who is now the Director of Commercial Construction Services for AUI. Considering that I am primarily a residential architect, their financial commitment speaks to how much they care about the work Dallas CASA is doing in the community. |
Wednesday, March 14, 2012
Kentucky to be warmer and wetter than normal this spring
The NOAA Climate Prediction Center is forecasting Kentucky to be warmer and wetter than normal spring (when do we get normal?). This is happening while the drought in Texas and Minnesota extends…
More maps and data can be found on the NOAA website:
Monday, March 12, 2012
Bulbs for home and for commercial properties
Bulbs are a great way to kick off the growing season. Some are very early bloomers, even blooming with snow on the ground! Others can take off in late May. Bulbs add a splash of color that is both good for homeowners as well as for commercial properties. Their cost is minimal considering the will come back year to year. If they are planted at a good depth (it depends on the size of the bulb but usually twice their size is how deep to plant), you can plant annuals above/around them. My favorites are: Allium (showy ones all the way down to chives), Crocus, Galanthus (Snowdrops), Lilium (Lilies), Narcissus (Daffodils), Muscari (Grape Hyacinth), and Scilla (Squill). I tend to stay away from Tulips – the squirrels will eat them like apples before they can put out roots to keep them anchored. They also decrease in strength over the years, while Daffodils will multiply!
Monday, February 27, 2012
Integrated Pest Management: What's the fuss all about?
UK agriculture has made a 35 minute video about Integrated Pest Management which gives a more complete picture for dealing with plant problems. The first three minutes give a quick summary of what IPM covers:
Cultural – right plant for the right space
Biological – using insects and other animals to controls pests
Genetic – selecting cultivars with traits that are resistant
Mechanical – physical removal of the problem
Regulatory – controlling what plants (and therefore the pests) using quarantine or regulations to prevent the spread
Chemical – chemical treatment of the problem (right chemical at the right time)
The remaining part of the video covers the first four items listed above in more detail such as selecting quality plants, planting and maintaining them well, and how to deal with common disease/insect problems.
Monday, February 20, 2012
Rain Garden animation
It can be difficult to visualize a change in the landscape such as how a rain garden functions. The enclosed animation takes a photograph of a Highlands landscape island and shows how it can be transformed into a rain garden. An existing “bee hive” inlet is raised to allow for the water to first soak into the ground. If there is too much rain water, the excess goes down into the inlet before it is allowed to flood the parking area. As the rain stops, the water in the landscape island recedes. So the animation shows how the view from a photo can be transformed to illustrate an ecological change – infiltrating water in a landscape area.
Wednesday, February 15, 2012
Invasive Plants! Oh My!
Invasive plants (or more correctly, non-native aggressive plants) tend to take over whether it’s a commercial landscape or a residential landscape. These plants have proven to take over landscape areas, reproduce easily and can spread beyond their original location (making their way into our parks and natural areas).
Some plants are readily known to be invasive:
Honeysuckle (along I-64 around Cannons Lane)
Johnson Grass (taller grass found in roadside ditches such as River Road or along I-71)
Multiflora rose (thorny and ugly)
But some of the plants may surprise you:
Winged Euonymus (or “Cardinal Bush”)
Miscanthus (Silver Reed Grass, shown in the picture)
English Ivy
Kentucky 31 and Bluegrass (both are aggressive taking over native areas)
So what is being done in Jefferson County, KY? Well, first thing is when a landscape plan is required in the county one does not receive credit for plants on the prohibited list such as the ones shown above. And instead, other plants are preferred. To learn more about our county plant lists, see our Louisville Land Development Code at:
http://www.louisvilleky.gov/PlanningDesign/ldc/LDCMarch2006.htm (See Chapter 10, Appendix 10A and 10B)
General information on any state can be found at
http://www.invasivespeciesinfo.gov/unitedstates/main.shtml
Kentucky Exotic Pest Plant Lists
http://www.se-eppc.org/ky/list.htm
Tuesday, January 31, 2012
2012 Plant Hardiness Zone Map available
The 2012 version of the hardiness zone map is available on the USDA website. And yes, the map is changing. Louisville’s West End is now zone 7a. Clifton, and all points east, are zone 6b. Louisville used to be in hardiness zone 6b as of 1990. The hardiness zone map is based on average annual minimum temperatures. It will be interesting to see how a year like this year will affect future maps…
Friday, December 09, 2011
Limbwalker Tree Service root aeration
Limbwalker Tree Service shows what root aeration can do for mature trees in this short video
Thursday, September 22, 2011
Infrared urban aerials of Louisville and Park(ing) Day
The series of images shown are photo manipulations of a large infrared aerial in MSD’s office. Their image shows the developed part of the city in white/blue while the more heavily vegetated part of the metro area is shown in red. The map never carried much weight for me since what we value about a city, it’s density, came off as unassuming white. And what we value about open space and rural quality was red, not a color we associate with vegetation. So by changing the image where the developed part was in red and the vegetation in green, it demonstrates more of the city’s impervious quality. It illustrates how insidious an urban inner city can be without open space and parks. That’s why having Park(ing) Day – a day with temporary parks built in parking spaces – can be so good at raising awareness to the need. It’s interesting to note apart from the parks that surround downtown, Churchill Downs’ infield is the largest open space…
Thursday, August 18, 2011
Promoting landscape architecture http://asla.org/design
A group of landscape architects were out promoting the profession today.
Saturday, August 06, 2011
Art Car parade on Frankfort Ave (then to St Marks) at 3pm today
There is an art car parade on Frankfort Avenue around 3pm that will end at St Marks for a barn dance. More info here: http://www.kentuckyartcarweekend.com/
Only in Louisville…
Friday, August 05, 2011
Thursday, August 04, 2011
Announcing Olmsted Parks Photo Contest: http://www.olmstedparks.org/contest/
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Saturday, May 21, 2011
Loss of canopy
Friday, May 20, 2011
Tuesday, May 10, 2011
Drought outlook: not good for Texas (cooler/rainier in Lou for coming month)
The National Weather Service Climate Prediction Center indicates more persistent drought for Texas and surround areas.
Louisville will have below average temps and above average rains for the next month…
Friday, May 06, 2011
Drawing Water: Where it falls and where it's used
David Wicks has made a very lovely illustration of water from where falls to where we use it. The farther it's "pulled" to where our cities use it, the darker the line.
Friday, April 22, 2011
Sustainable stormwater landscaping on the Louisville Belvedere
Verdant Design and Diane Secor have been working with MSD to develop sustainable stormwater features to the Louisville Belvedere. Currently, the rain water from the elevator building has been redirected to a rain barrel (called a Raintainer) and out to a rain garden made up of local, native plants. The mayor’s, MSD’s Bud Schardein, and Waterfront’s David Karem’s speeches can be found on Verdant Design’s website.
A public meeting on May 10th at 7pm at KY Center for the Arts will showcase the upcoming project phases. The city’s website will have updates and more information on the meeting.
John Pacyga, ASLA, RLA, LEED AP
502-794-8519
Sustainable stormwater landscaping on the Louisville Belvedere
Verdant Design and Diane Secor have been working with MSD to develop sustainable stormwater features to the Louisville Belvedere. Currently, the rain water from the elevator building has been redirected to a rain barrel (called a Raintainer) and out to a rain garden made up of local, native plants. The mayor’s, MSD’s Bud Schardein, and Waterfront’s David Karem’s speeches can be found on Verdant Design’s website.
A public meeting on May 10th at 7pm at KY Center for the Arts will showcase the upcoming project phases. The city’s website will have updates and more information on the meeting.
John Pacyga, ASLA, RLA, LEED AP
502-794-8519