THE DOGRUN/2013
The Dogrun
a place to share ideas
"A growing number of architecture firms are requesting Health Product Declarations from building product manufacturers, and the industry's response will affect what they specify going forward." Lake|Flato is proud to be included in this EcoBuilding Pulse article by Katie Weeks .
Earlier this month, I had a wonderful opportunity to revisit The Big Apple a.k.a. New York City. Besides attending a conference and meeting fellow architects and practitioners, the highlight of the visit was being able to see new sights and explore new areas that I had never been to before. What I like about NYC is that there's something to see and explore during every visit. First item on the trip was the visit to the recently completed Franklin D. Roosevelt Four Freedoms Park. Located on the southern tip of Roosevelt Island in New York City's East River, this glorious Park was the last work...
The Bridge House is a primary residence for a family in Houston, Texas. The original house on the property was built in the 1930’s and underwent a series of additions throughout the years. The house is very large and inefficient for a single family, so the client approached us to design a new house that would be more open, well-connected, and environmentally responsible. The two acre site is along a creek off Buffalo Bayou and has a verdant ravine running through it. The “bridge” concept is based on an existing wood bridge that runs over the ravine to the house. Our design explores the use of...
This past weekend I had the amazing opportunity to run from Republic Square Park in Austin to the USS Lexington in Corpus Christi. The race was the fourth annual running of “Capital to Coast” – a 223 mile relay race for teams of 12 incredibly committed runners. After 36 legs and very little sleep, my team crossed the finish line on the beach in Corpus Christi in First place, destroying the previous course record by more than two hours. Though I’ve been running for my entire life, I had never done a long distance relay and had no idea what to expect. I quickly learned the routine – One person...
"I knew David and I would become good friends when I heard his answer to an intro question at his first office meeting: “What is your favorite color?” The answer, of course, is gray. Jump ahead a few months and we found ourselves working together on the same project, and jump ahead a few years, now after his return from grad school, and I’m lucky enough to still be working with him. His old friends nicknamed him Red, but here we call him Little Chef, or LC, as in that lovable rat from Ratatouille, you know, the one with all the talent! You can count on David for just about anything – he has a...
In an industry where increased [and necessary] attention is being given to materials - what they are made of and where they come from - Lance Hosey reminds us that there is a third dimension we must not forget about. Read this recent post to consider how the selection of building materials can also be used to promote social equity...and check out the Living Building Challenge's new program --- JUST
This past weekend several Lake Flato riders took to the road on the MS 150 along with the rest of the “Grackles”. The following is a slightly different perspective on the ride. For those of you who remember Claire Matucheski, she is a past LF intern and former 3 rd St. Grackle. She is standing between Seema and Corey (second from right) in this picture at the Shell. Claire went off to attend school at the University of Michigan for Graduate studies in August and was not able to return to ride in the MS 150 event which was held over last weekend. I promised Claire if she would send me...
Last Saturday, the fourth annual TEDxSan Antonio was held at the Rackspace Global Headquarters. I learned during the introduction that Rackspace has been webhosting TED.com since its inception, so it was the perfect venue to host the live conference. The locally organized TEDx committee, charged with curating "Ideas Worth Spreading", programmed the day with 20 speakers covering a wide range of heady topics, including stem cells, urban parks, prison reform, vulnerable leadership, and, just for good measure, sex. While learning was the expected objective, this year what was more surprising were...
Every year (for now 8 years) the Third Street Grackles fundraise for and ride in the Bike MS: Ride to the River , a two-day 157-mile bike ride that raises money for multiple sclerosis research and other services supported by the National MS Society. This year the ride was shortened a bit -- day two was canceled due to a bad weather front -- but day one was glorious enough on its own. And I was able to celebrate a little personal accomplishment: 100 miles was the longest I've ever ridden in a day by 70 miles! The Grackles have some phenomenal fundraisers--both helping the cause immensely and...
Have you ever known a Renaissance woman? Linda Perez is the first person who comes to mind when I hear that moniker. Linda gained local fame when her emotional Pecha Kucha talk elicited both tears and a standing ovation (the only I’ve ever witnessed) at the Center for Architecture, San Antonio. Linda is someone you meet and quickly want to get to know better. I first met Linda at the Pearl Farmer’s Market, where she was selling her grass fed beef. Many folks, local chefs included, enjoyed Linda's beef. We would all still be supporting her business were it not for the crippling drought Texas...
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