clairematucheski's picture

Austin Urban Apiary

Just this year, the W Hotel in Austin became home to its own urban apiary, or collection of beehives. The colonies, which are maintained by the non-profit Central Texas Bee Rescue , are located on the rooftop of the 39th floor where they are expected to produce 100-200 pounds of honey annually. Their hard work is already featured on the hotel's food and drink menus as well as in the spa. With international concern over declining bee populations, apiaries like the one at the W Hotel are becoming more and more essential. This population decrease is often referred to as Colony Collapse Disorder...
davidericsson's picture

Lessons from Zumthor

This past June I had the chance to visit three works completed by Peter Zumthor. Each building provided insight into Zumthor's care for construction and material, choreographing sequence, and the design of the aperture. Below are lessons learned from each of these buildings. Unterhus Construction -Zumthor utilized the local vernacular construction method-Strickbau- to construct Unterhus. It features logs joined at points of intersection with a locking toothed double notch joint. You can see this "knitted" pattern of timber on both the exterior and interior of the cabin. Spatial Sequence-...
jsmith's picture

DIGITAL PINUP: Seaholm Intake Competition Entry

The Seaholm Intake was once the pump house for the Seaholm Power Plant and now sits empty on the shores of Lady Bird Lake in Austin. Our team's entry Connect/Reveal/Clean envisions The Intake as a culturally vibrant, multi-functional space that encourages visitors to slow down, engage with the natural systems that flourish in Austin and experience the blurring between land and water; urban and natural. This vision 1. Connect s Austinites both physically and experientially to Lady Bird Lake and the larger community at The Intake and beyond; 2. Reveal s the original function of the building in...
gregpapay's picture

Why Wouldn't Our Architecture Be This Good?

For those who are unaware (no one who knows me, that's for sure) our family bought a Tesla Model S about 7 months ago. It is a spectacular car, simply a better driving experience, a complete and transcendent shift in how a car operates and interacts with its clients. If you want a test drive, just ask me to lunch...however you'd better block out a few hours! Santana Row Showroom - Packed! Two weeks ago, my son Nicolas and I went to the first Teslive conference in Silicon Valley. This was a conference conceived and executed by the moderators at the site teslamotorsclub.com, with heavy help...
clairematucheski's picture

LEED Platinum in Leon Springs

Last week our Leon Springs Residence was featured on Jetson Green, a website focusing on sustainable homes, natural materials, and green technology. The LEED Platinum home features many sustainable features namely a 17,000-gallon rainwater catchment system which meets 100% of the home's potable water needs. To read more about the building's photovoltaic array, regional and low-VOC materials, and sun shading strategies, check out the full article here .
vyuan's picture

PechaKucha San Antonio Volume 11 - Tuesday, August 27 at the Josephine Theatre

The next PechaKucha Night is coming soon to a theatre near you....the Josephine to be specific. It's happening on Tuesday, August 27th, and you know the drill - come early for a good seat. Little known Lake|Flato factoid: Our very own Robert Trinidad met his wife Cynthia at....the Josephine Theatre! Check out the presenters: 1. Thomas Miller , Theatre Director 2. Jennifer Datchuk , Ceramic Artist 3. Chris Davila , Art Consultant 4. Jeremy Mandrell and Anne Ng , Chefs 5. David Alcantar , Artist 6. Jeff Mulholland , Community Activist 7. Jeret Pena , Mixologist 8. Richard Reed , Anthropologist
matthewwallace's picture

Casual office conversation leads to bonding over scuffed brown shoes

On a recent Thursday afternoon David Lake's filibuster on why Roger Federer is the best tennis player that has ever lived was pleasantly interrupted by the simple recognition of similar worn brown clogs. Upon discussion it seems Cotton Estes (at left) and Matt Wallace (right) had obtained the shoes within the last decade while David (top) made his purchase during his glory days at UT in the 1930's.
mattmorris's picture

Scott Visitor Center

In the middle of July Tenna and I made a trip to the 2013 Boy Scouts of America National Jamboree. The Summit Bechtel Reserve is the new Jamboree home for the Boy Scouts of America. Previously located at an Army Base near Washington DC, this site in West Virginia is their new and permanent location. Hosting about 40,000 to 45,000 people this is its inaugural year. The purpose of our trip was primarily to visit the site of the Scott Visitor Center - currently under construction - but also to take in and observe the Jamboree in progress. We spent an entire day there as visitors where we had to...
sierrahaight's picture

FAB FOUR

We have a couple new faces - and one familiar - that joined the office this month as part of our full-time architectural staff. Adrianna Swindle - Born and raised in San Antonio, Adrianna chose to earn her Master of Architecture at the University of Texas San Antonio. Since she joined LF a couple of weeks ago, she has been assigned to the Austin Central Library team. Outside of the office she is interested in land development, neighborhood development and historical research in San Antonio. Adrianna also serves on the city of San Antonio Technical Advisory Committee to the Planning Commission...
randpinson's picture

Digital Pinup: Alamo Brewery

Lake|Flato Architects is pleased to announce that San Antonio’s own Alamo Beer Company Brewery is on its way. Located east of highway 281 and just south of the historic Hays Street bridge, the 18,000 square foot brewery is uniquely positioned at the gateway to the Dignowity Hill neighborhood. In addition to crafting crisp, tasty brews, the project aims to catalyze the city’s growing east side, providing a vibrant destination for locals and visitors alike. The design organizes and connects the 3 primary programmatic elements: brewery operations, administrative offices, and beer hall. The...

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