The Dogrun
a place to share ideas
Ted Flato is packing up his materials from the desk where it all started 25 years ago! It's time to make room for some new people starting next week, so he's parting ways with his old drafting desk station to keep everything contained in his library office. Feel free to spark your own spring cleaning frenzy!
The Papays took KLRN up on their offer for free tickets to watch the movie 'The Revenge of the Electric Car' last night at the LOL Comedy Club. Somewhere around 150 EV fans packed the floor to watch the movie and hear discussion from industry reps. The movie chronicles the path of four groups trying to break ground in the EV world, from GM down to a custom shop in southern California. I'm not sure the rest of the Papays we're loving it, but dad's dreaming of a post ICE world. Here's the trailer. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jkRIu5a6Sb0 And Nico channeling his inner electrons with some dorky...
About a year ago, Bob and I nailed two samples of Cambia wood siding to a south facing exterior wall of Jamey Garza's studio compound in Marfa. After a year in the desert sun, through the diurnal fluctuations of temperature, the sample looks almost the same as a year ago. Cambia is a thermally modified wood (domestic and FSC). This treatment improves the dimensional stability and decay resistance of the wood. We plan to use Cambia on the Kruger's deck and hope it performs the same way!
Above: northeast-living Rocking X Ranch is private ranch house and family retreat that is an addition to an existing residence located in North Texas. Consisting of six independent structures nestled among a grove of oak trees, each structure serves a specific function. A central “living room” acts as the public pavilion of the compound while the two guest wings, two accessory buildings and motor court complete the courtyard. Breaking up the program in this way allows the compound to be used comfortably for both large groups or just a family. The structures, built of local indigenous...
I got back recently from a photographing spree around the Lakes District of Chile…. The climate and natural resources of this region have yielded some interesting building traditions. Wood shingles, lapped board siding, and corrugated metal are employed with a lot of variety and creativity. Similar to Lake | Flato’s home base of San Antonio, German colonists of the 19 th century brought to the Chilean landscape some sophisticated tools and building forms from northern Europe. And also similar to San Antonio, local climatic conditions, available resources, and labor pools at hand began to...
Rebecca is our ultra-charged, intern-managing, Revit-conventioneering, kitchen rule-enforcing, cyclist wo-man! Learn more about what keeps her going with our ten questions. Hometown: Leawood, KANSAS! Years at LF: 5 years Achilles Heel: Lemonade! The best in town is at CIA Bakery. Happiest Place: In my Womb Chair with a cup of french press Memorable Book: Unaccustomed Earth by Jhumpa Lahiri Prized Possession: Sorry non-cyclists, my Pinarello F3:13 Current Obsession: www.zillow.com Last Accomplishment: Becoming a Certified Revit Architecture Professional, hehehe :) Favorite Thing about San...
There is no way to prepare for South By Southwest. Each year the world famous music, film and interactive festival utterly transforms the city of Austin. For two weeks, the city is truly the cultural epicenter of the (western) world. Being so close, many a Lake Flatonian endured the traffic on I-35 to migrate North in the hope of perhaps catching a glimpse of the next breakthrough act, or at least enjoying some free tacos. The atmosphere on 6 th street was comparable to a political revolution or black Friday in Walmart, not that I have experienced either. The music blared from every possible...
In 2010 Lake | Flato completed work on the renovation of the Visual Arts Center at the University of Texas. Since its opening the new facility has been getting a lot of use from its clever inhabitants who are continually exploring their building's capacity for exhibiting and generating art, both in ways it was designed for and also in ways that the design team never could have predicted. A recent use of the building's architecture for artistic purposes came when Travis Weller of Austin's New Music Co-op was commissioned to compose and perform a piece of experimental music using the Visual...
This weekend retreat for a San Antonio family is located in Horseshoe Bay, Texas. With 2850 sf conditioned and 1150 sf unconditioned porches/outdoor areas, the house maintains a low profile from the street while opening up to the vistas of Lake LBJ. A central entry hall and staircase bisect public zones from private and allow direct access down through the house to the lake. While the conditioned portions of the house are humbly grounded to the sloping terrain, porch elements are cantilevered for a lighter, floating treehouse effect. Primary components of construction include structural...
A commentary by a former Lake Flatonian and a response by a native San Antonioan in the Rivard Report made me think of my own feelings towards my adopted city of San Antonio. As a newcomer to the city, I have my "challenges' with the lack of density, the suburban sprawl, big truck culture, food/grocery options and a certain levels of convenience I was accustomed to in Portland. However, on the flip side, this city has (at least) three advantages: 1. Amaziing life! It has a vibrancy, creativity and "folksy" friendliness that is so much at the core of this place. From the store clerks to the...
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