Congratulations to our newest Architect!

As part of CONima since 2004, Billy Guisto has made invaluable contributions to the development of our office, designs, and production values. We are proud to announce that he has completed the requirements for architectural licensing.

CONima Architects raises $9,000 for San Carlos School District

The Spring Fling gala for the San Carlos Educational Foundation was an immense success. CONima Architects' donated services to design a house received a high bid of $9,000.

Dental Remodel Progress

The dental office is coming together. Still to come: cabinets, glazing, furniture...should be complete in a couple of weeks!

Saba selects CONima Architects

CONima has been selected for branding and design services for Saba's Redwood Shores Headquarters. CONima's role will be to enhance Saba's brand image by creating a consistent architectural language throughout its facilities and to oversee its multiphase implementation throughout 2010.

Dental Office Remodel Update

The dental office remodel is progressing well. After the demolition of some existing interior walls, new electrical and insulation was installed. Gypsum board was then erected and the wall texture was applied. The rotting wood columns were removed from the front of the building. The old doors and windows were replaced with new contemporary ones. The roof has now been replaced and the exterior of the building has been painted with colors that give a more modern look.

Mercedes Kiosk Project

Almost ready for install...check out this photo of the new kiosk we are installing for Mercedes-Benz Research and Development.

The kiosk is the newest addition to the history museum we designed at the North American Headquarters for MBRDNA, and will be completed in the next two weeks.

Lease Negotiations

During the negotiation process of the lease of the property, the landlord is considering providing more money to make improvements if the tenant is willing to upgrade the exterior of the building.

Below is an elevation drawing of the improved exterior of the building.

The design was inspired by California-Mission style architecture. A false wall was created with a parapet extending above the roof to give more presence to the entry and also to create more room for the signage. We re-used the existing columns in the front to form and arbor and added exterior lighting along the walkway to the parking lot.

Dental Office Finish Board

This is the client approved finish board showing finishes for cabinetry, countertops, glazing and paint colors. Next we will be moving on to the dental equipment specifications.

Space Planning/Schematic Design

This is the architect's plan for the dental surgery. Several changes were made to the owner's original plan.
The entry door was moved from the side to the front of the building to face the street. This made the surgery more inviting and noticeable.

Five consultation rooms were placed around the central garden to give patients a calming, peaceful atmosphere.

A separate children's waiting room away from the adult waiting room was created for children to watch T.V and play computer games.

The reception area was relocated from the center right to the center left of the surgery in between the adult and the children's waiting rooms. A large window opposite the reception would provide plenty of natural light and again a view of the garden.

The restrooms were enlarged and modified to meet accessibility needs for disabled people.

A curved ceiling element running through the length of the surgery was introduced to define areas and circulation paths.

Programming and Pre-design

The next stage was to meet with the client and go through the programming to find the spacial relationship requirements. Included in our discussions were how many exam rooms were needed and what equipment would be going into them.

The owner's original drawings for the building showing survey dimensions. (Owner's drawings do not match existing conditions)

Pre-design bubble drawing showing early space planning.

With the programming information and the bubble drawing we could see how all the spaces could fit together with the existing building.

Case Study Of A Dental Office Remodel By CONima Architects

CONima Architects was recently contracted to remodel an existing building and transform it into a dental office.

Currently the building is in a poor state of repair and has been unoccupied for the last 4 years. We're using this as a case study of how to rehabilitate a commercial space and to address the challenges of a dental/medical facility within an existing building. Over the next coulpe of months we will be showing the progress of this project.

The existing waiting room.

A view of the dated existing bathroom.

A before picture of the reception area.

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.