Building a Sustainable Augusta

Should we build local businesses that can finance a downtown revitalization or restore buildings to attract outside companies to move in? As an architect, this may be a surprising answer. Being integrally tied to the construction industry, our profession must develop a deep understanding of boom and bust economic cycles, and in particular recognize that real estate and construction is a support sector of the economy, not an economy unto itself.

It is clear that over the long term, our currently emerging strategy is flawed in that it will perpetuate the outflow of capital from the CSRA. Businesses, for all their flaws, build what they need. Governments build what they think businesses need. If we want to create a sustainable vibrant local economy, we must focus our efforts on supporting local startup businesses that will hire local people and return profits to the local economy. Governments can encourage this development through tax incentives for local investment and grants to support small businesses and research.

If we do this, we will create a lasting prosperity to sustain the long term revitalization of our area and mitigate the extreme cyclical nature of the real estate and construction industries.

Architecture, why bother?

I often wonder if ancient times had any architects that were not temple builders. We live in a world where virtually nothing is built for the ages, and yet we build so much. We have architects with all types of specialties; residential, commercial, retail, laboratories, stadiums, hotels, hospitals, prisons, schools, interiors, landscapes, urban planning, factories, government, and of course religious buildings. I've personally worked in 11 of those types, though the vast majority of my work has been divided between commercial offices, interiors, and laboratories.

Perhaps it is due to a lack of understanding about ancient society, but I find it hard to believe that there were more than a small handful of architects in Rome at any given time. According to Roman census figures there were approximately 5 million citizens within the empire in first century B.C. If we generously say the were 20 architects, that would have meant one architect for every 250,000 people.

In contrast, I entered architecture school at Georgia Tech with over 100 other young students. Even with attrition, we graduated over 30 new architects from one school in one year. There are currently 154 accredited Architecture programs in the United States. We have roughly 105,000 architects in a country with just under 315,000,000 residents; giving us a ratio of one architect for every 3,000 people. Once minors (20% ~600), unemployed and underemployed (15% ~450), and retirees (12% ~ 360) are removed, that leaves one architect for every 1590 employed adults in America.

These statistics present the obvious dilemma that leave so many architects feeling disgruntled and frustrated. I however choose to look at what opportunities this creates for society. Architects receive a unique education that involves creative technical problem solving, subjective arts and humanities, geometry, history, physics, and philosophy. We are roughly equal parts artist, engineer, and lawyer. We must be proficient in each to succeed, and our career is determined by which one of these roles we gravitate most strongly towards.

This lack of specialization is the fundamental strength of architectural education and allows Architects many options for how best to contribute to society. Among my architect friends I know graphic, web, and video game designers, politicians, inventors, writers, salesmen, public policy advocates, furniture designers, attorneys, construction managers, chefs, professors, and traditional architects. I have lived primarily as an architect and entrepreneur, but mostly I thrive on the enjoyment of the creative process itself. The moment inspiration sparks is a thing of beauty, hope, and joy. Whether you're designing a building, a company, or an urban plan, good design has a way of taking on a life of its own. The proper framework allows the process to become organic and the end product to become self defining. Truly great work challenges you to match wits with it in order to not limit the potential of the design.

Truly great work makes you better...

the Stories of Buildings

Architecture is storytelling to the soul. I help people and organizations understand, translate, and narrate those stories to the world. For me, each story is a chapter in a great book that is both read and written together.

I've always been a bit puzzled by the ego of many architects. The belief for many seems to be that buildings are an expression of the architect's personal philosophy and attitudes towards the world. The problem with this approach is that buildings and architecture, when at their best, become an embodiment of the ideals of those who inhabit and use them.

Our philosophy of architecture has always been to help unleash the creativity of the end user through the development of an intimate understanding of their difficulties, desires, and ambitions. We take this approach of empathy towards the users so that a building not only provides usable space, but becomes a usable, functional expression of the client and end users needs and aspirations.

In many ways, we believe the architect's role is to facilitate the creative process for the client. This does not mean however that the we become a drafting and permitting service for them. It is our responsibility to respectfully challenge their existing notions to find unexpected and innovative solutions.

Ultimately, these things are critical for companies. A building or space is a highly visible component of a company brand that impacts both external and internal perceptions of a business. The care and thought behind every decision becomes obvious after several thousand cumulative man-hours in a space. The building quite literally portrays an identity, it is a realization of identity through the built form. Your hopes, your needs, your story.

These stories become our journey to understand and help shape attitudes about the world we share.

Renaissance Mill

For an architect, Nikola Tesla has had an unexpected and amazing impact on my work. It began at the start of my career when I was asked to learn about and be inspired by the work of several notable scientists in the field of electricity before designing the Headquarters for the Electric Power Research Institute. Through my study, I was not just inspired by the ingenuity of Tesla, but also by the idealism that drove his pursuit. One quote in particular has always resonated deeply with me:

“War cannot be avoided until the physical cause for its recurrence is removed and this, in the last analysis, is the vast extent of the planet on which we live. Only through annihilation of distance in every respect, as the conveyance of intelligence, transport of passengers and supplies and transmission of energy will conditions be brought about some day, insuring permanency of friendly relations. What we now want is closer contact and better understanding between individuals and communities all over the earth, and the elimination of egoism and pride which is always prone to plunge the world into primeval barbarism and strife... Peace can only come as a natural consequence of universal enlightenment...”

Nikola Tesla, 1919  

Following this, I attempted to use alternating current itself to create a metaphorical architectural language for EPRI to both show their dynamism and aspirations to the outside world, but internally to help facilitate a corporate culture that has become more open and collaborative.

Most recently I have been revisiting the ideas of Tesla to help create a revitalization effort in my hometown of Augusta, GA by converting the abandoned Confederate Powder Works building into a new cultural and economic center for the city. The mill is designed not only to harness the renewable power of the Augusta Canal, but also serve as a research and technology incubation facility, and public design studio and workshop where people can come, study, learn, collaborate and work together to manufacture a better future.

While the mill itself may seem a large and potentially daunting project, we have found significant support from our community from the grassroots to the institutional and government levels. We continue to take positive incremental steps forward together as a community and are finding that their is in fact a strong culture of innovation and collaboration that is present and can be nurtured.

I am thankful for Tesla. He has been a wonderful guide towards making the world a better place.

(proposed Renaissance Mill, copyright CONima, inc., ALL RIGHTS RESERVED)

Why Innovate?

Innovation is the result of curiosity, knowledge, and understanding. Can we figure out how to do something new, or better than it was done before? Can we continue to grow and become better as we move forward? If innovation is not pursued then we must admit that we are no longer progressing, that our best days have already been seen.

I've always been bothered by the phrase, "Don't reinvent the wheel." Is the wheel really that perfect? Over time it's continually been improved. Spokes and tires have been added to improve performance and durability. However, a wheel still only follows one vector on its own so steering wheels have been attached to allow turning. Should we abandon wheels altogether? A sphere could turn in any direction if we could just figure out how to balance a load on it while controlling its movement. Wheels themselves serve merely to hold us to the ground when perhaps we should fly.

Everyday we make the future. Why not make it better?

CONima Architects' latest project is in Bloomberg Businessweek

Our recent design for Innovation Endeavor's new Palo Alto office space was featured in Bloomberg Businessweek's article on the unconventional Venture Capital Firm funded by Google's executive chairman and former chief executive officer Eric Schmidt

http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/eric-schmidts-newest-vc-fund-07282011.html

The space was designed to be a continually evolving collaboration space that could be reconfigured in minutes for any situation. Every detail was done so that those in the space could see connection details and structural support for everything from the building structure, to the furniture, and that virtually every surface was a potential collaboration point; using such details as plexiglass walls which allow dry erase markers, and simultaneously make the interior wall structure visible.

Constructivism's reflection in the post millenium world

In design, inspiration is pulled from many places. A place you've been, a time in your life, a simple story. Lately, I've been feeling inspired by the contrasting geometry in Russian Constructivism. Below are a few images.

First is the cover of a book on construvist architecture from the British Library that focuses on the comparitive contrasts of the organic and mechanical using a human hand and compass. The overlay of the text is often important to emphasize the underlying geometry of the composition.

The next image is a propaganda poster by El Lissitzky entitled "Beat the Whites with the Red Wedge"
Also, see it's influence in an album cover from Franz Ferdinand.

Art or Craft?

One of the great questions in architecture is whether architecture is an art or a craft. It is often posed to prospective architects in school as a way to make them question what they are looking for in the profession and how they perceive the role of their work in society. The common assumption being that by calling it "craft" it identifies a technical aspect to the creation of it requiring education and training in the engineering aspects that are needed to construct a building; whereas calling it "art" gives it an intellectual, philosophical, and spiritual significance that mere engineering does not possess.

To answer this question however is simple once a distinguishment is made between the two.

Art is defined as: the conscious use of skill and creative imagination especially in the production of aesthetic objects

Craft is defined as: an occupation or trade requiring manual dexterity or artistic skill

When taking these definitions into account, architecture does use skill and creativity, but the objects that are created are not purely aesthetic. However, architecture does involve both artistic skill and manual dexterity (in the form of construction knowledge, drawing, and specifying) to create. This is not to say that by being a craft, that great architecture is not also capable of transcending to also be 'art', appreciated for aesthetics regardless of function. With that said though, great architecture is still a craft as well.

Much in the same way that all squares are rectangles, but not all rectangles are squares; architecture is a craft, but on occasion is capable of being art as well.

Midnight Oil

As I push my way through multiple 14 hour workdays, my mind has begun to stray from the task at hand. What seems more interesting to me now than coordinating a multifloor bathroom redesign and whether or not I will meet my deadline, is the role of stress in creativity, and the human capacity for motivation.

In architecture school I would often complain that programmatic and code requirements were totalitarian like obstacle in the path of great design. The truth however is that these obstacles are the only possible way to achieve great design. Not only do they provide purpose, whether filling the needs of a client or ensuring safety and accessibility to the occupants, they provide the basic challenge that must be struggle with and against in order to create something that is both beautiful and original.

What also strikes me is how significant the role of music is in creative enterprise. It allows your mind to be free from sensing all that present and around you. By engrossing your senses, it allows greater focus. The constancy of its rhythm allows you to charge through the night as if you were charging into battle.

However, this is not a thesis. The Stanford drawings are waiting for me…

Architectural Styles Defined: Modern Architecture

Part 3 in our series of articles on the misuse of terms as they apply to the architectural style of a building, and how that misuse leads to poor communication between clients and professionals. Here’s an in-depth look at what defines “Modern Architecture:”

Mies Van Der Rohe's Farnsworth House:

image source farnsworthhouse.org

Let me start by saying "Modern Architecture" is a misnomer. The term modern simply represents the current style of the day that reflects society's impression of itself to the world. Modern architecture as we know it today however started with the International Style, Bauhaus, and the impact of cubist art on the form of a building. Like most styles, it began as a rejection of what was accepted and as an embrace of new technologies. In this case, the progression of steel as a building material allowed greater spans, previously impossible cantilevers, and minimized the ratio of thickness for vertical support. All of which meant that buildings could now be built proportionally in such a different way that they actually didn't even look as though they were capable of standing.

'International Style' Le Corbusier's Villa Savoye:

image source wikipedia

While these buildings are examples of classic modernism, the problematic term is 'classic'. Soon after, a new wave of architects began a new interpretation of how to reconcile the traditional forms of architecture with the new styles and technology in what they called 'Post Modernism'. At the same time, another movement began called 'Brutalism' which spiritually could even be considered a hybrid between modernism and the craftsman movement for truth in materials by leaving rough exposed concrete and using the wooden formwork in many cases to create the finish texture of the concrete.

'Postmodernism' Robert Venturi's House for his mother:

image source about.com

'Brutalism' Paul Rudolph's Westport House (demolished):
image source nothingliving.com

As technology advanced, the limits began to push further. Architects began a new style a 'Deconstruction' which was based on taking traditional geometry, breaking it apart, and then recombining it in different forms. Simple things such as the value of right angles finally came into question, as architects attempted to incorporate new ideas such as chaos theory into space and form.

'Deconstruction' Peter Eisenman's Casa Guardiola:

The question however is, "What is Modern Architecture?" Within the styles described above, the consistent threads are challenges to traditional forms, proportions, and materials; an openness of space, flexibility of arrangement. For the greater part, modern architecture displays a truth in materials and construction. The problem with modern architecture is in the term 'modern'. As time passes, others will decide if the architecture of modernity in the last century is unified as one style and what that style would be called. In the present, there is a strong departure from classic modernism / minimalism, and the deconstruction movement. Whether it remains a pure departure or experiment within 'modernism' such as post-modernism and brutalism remains to be seen.

Picture of the Day - 2/17

Filament 2:

One photo I took in a series done for the Electric Power Research Institute in 2005. This photo seems to capture an almost dancing energy in the bulb by capturing the image with the least amount of current I could pass through the bulb while still activating the filament.

Picture of the day - 2/14

textural wave:

One of the gifts of photography is the macro lens. The ability to see the world from an extreme close up perspective informs the way we design, thinking of how things are seen through multiple scales and ensuring that a design reads well at a distance, yet also maintains visual interest when up close.

Picture of the day - 2/13

A picture I took on a recent trip camping in Idaho. I stopped at the riverbank and spent the late afternoon seeing how many rocks I could balance in the water. I love this shot because for me it became architecture when the bug decided that it looked like a nice place to rest.

What is Inspiration?

When beginning the process of building design, one first must come up with a concept. A concept can be anything. A piece of furniture, a faucet, a certain way in which spaces must relate, a pool, a prevailing wind, or an optimum view. The concept is the driving force that dictates, to a certain extent, how the building will look and function. It can be seen (sometimes clearly but often not) in every detail and every space as it permeates through the general design of the structure.

Some ask, "why bother?" As designers, we respond that the concept is the soul of the building: its reason for existence. Whether or not it is evident to everyone who uses the building is not important. When we look at a Picasso we see beauty but do not necessarily understand every line, every abstraction, every choice of color. In a building a concept may be understood in a similar manner. We may see that the focus of all the windows is a view of a mountain, or that the house harnesses the summer wind to cool a veranda. But we may not initially understand more subtle choices until we spend an hour or a decade in the building. The concept provides for a level of depth that creates a more interesting structure. Like the Picasso, we may see layers of thought made into physical form. The concept allows the building to communicate with the person, revealing those layers to those who wish to uncover them.

The concept is an important part of design. As designers, we use the concept as a tool and as an organizational principle. As inhabitants, the concept exists in every room, every wall, waiting for us to discover its purpose and thereby further our understanding of the building and ultimately, ourselves.