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1) Disclosure The more data, the better. This year we are making a commitment to collect utility data from as many projects as possible and – with the owner’s permission – publish the utility data of our projects on our website. We will also encourage other firms to disclose the utility data of their projects. As demonstrated by the various 2030 Districts, utility disclose is key to understanding use patterns and decreasing energy consumption. Each January, beginning this year, we will publish our firm’s energy consumption, water consumption, and transportation emissions for the previous year...
This past September, the Central Texas Balcones chapter of the US Green Building Council kicked off its first year of the Green Schools Challenge . The 2013-2014 afterschool program, based on the National Wildlife Federation’s Eco-Schools curriculum, engages 4 th and 5 th graders in green building practices by guiding them through a process of measuring their school campus, designing a project to improve their school, and evaluating the outcome of their project. In the first few weeks of the Challenge, students get a basic review of topics related to healthy, sustainable, energy efficient...
During Greenbuild 2013 I had the unique experience of touring the Eastern State Penitentiary in Philadelphia. A short walk from downtown, Eastern State was the world's first designed prison intended to inspire penitence and rehabilitate its prisoners through the "Pennsylvania System" of isolation. Al Capone counted among the notable tenants during ESP's operating years from 1829 until the very recent 1971. The original plans called for one-story cellblocks stretching out in a radial pattern from a central guard station. Each cell was originally accessed only from a rear exercise yard, where...
A group of Lake Flatonians attended the San Antonio AIA Awards Banquet last Friday. It is always exciting to put projects up for award consideration and very rewarding and humbling to be selected for recognition. It ended as a very memorable evening that saw the firm win a record 6 design awards including top honors for our Desert Residence and Cranbrook Kingswood Girls' Middle School. Out of a total of 88 submissions only nine received built design awards.The jury of Josh Shelton of El Dorado (Kansas City), Rusty Smith of Rural Studios (Auburn University) and Wendy Pautz of LMN Architects (...
This past summer Cameron and I ventured to Hamburg to visit former Lake|Flatonians Heather Weiler and Jeremy Fields. Hamburg was a surprising mix of city & greenspace, modern & traditional, and beer & pretzels. Both Heather and Jeremy have settled into life abroad, Heather is currently working for MOKA studio doing incredible renderings and Jeremy is working for Trapez Architektur fulfilling his dream of designing beautiful buildings that can be captured with a single hand gesture. The top image is of Central Park which is Hamburg's version of San Antonio's La Tuna Ice House. An...
PechaKucha San Antonio is happening next Tuesday, November 19th at the Coates Chapel at the Southwest School of Art. I know I say this every time, but it's going to be AMAZING. Just trust me. Doors open at 6:30 for a happy hour and the Randy Beamer show starts at 7:30. All this for just $5. Downtown parking in city lots and meters is free as part of the city's Downtown Tuesdays initiative. (Now you have no excuses.) Hope to see you there! The PK12 presenters: Margaret Craig, Printmaker Nan Cuba, Author Tracy Edwards, Doula Richard Farias, Activist Carlos Montoya, Bicycle Mechanic Wes Harvey,...
Join us this evening at Trinity University where Thomas Woltz of Nelson Byrd Woltz Landscape Architects will speak as part of the Institute of Classical Architecture & Art (I.C.A.A.) Lecture Series. Woltz will discuss his firm's process of gathering information of a site's natural and cultural history to shape responsive designs that are inextricably linked to context. Lake|Flato has had the opportunity to partner with Nelson Byrd Woltz many times, including most recently on the Georgia Tech Engineered Biosystems Building in Atlanta, Georgia (pictured above). The lecture will be held at...
This year was another impressive show of Halloween spirit and ingenuity. Costumes ranged from borrowed to very homemade; one included ordering special blinking plastic eyeballs direct from Japan. Who is your favorite? above: A-blink-in, The Flakenet (L|F intranet) The Dogrun What Does the Fox Say? The Witch and the Wardrobe (Lion not pictured), Walter White Jimmy Johns Delivery Girls Free Range Dixie Chicks Willy Wonka, Cotton as Cotton Flap That Boxer and Trainer, College Student
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...
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...
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