CAL POLY REACHING OUT

Here's a recent interview Cal Poly Magazine published with Jana and a couple other alumni touching on some of the lessons she's learned on leadership on her journey.  

 A big thank you to our Alma Mater Cal Poly San Luis Obispo and  Robyn Kontra for reaching out.  

Check it out below.

CAL POLY MAGAZINE - Winter 2017

LEED-ING LOCALLY AT TK1SC

An evening at tk1sc recently was crafted for us to SEE, touch and sense how LEED certification is playing out in a local office of MEP engineers.  Roger, Ray, Ron, Eileen and Peter (whew!) hosted the AIAOC event to fill us on in on their first hand experience of LEED for Commercial Interiors.  Offering us the unique perspective of acting as both the engineer AND the client.  

Ray leading the tour (in great shoes).  And those straight/rotating spot light are simply, awesome.

Business As Usual points VS. Stretch points
I thought this was a great way to put it.  We've been fortunate to play a part in many LEED certified projects over the last few years at all levels.  Add in the fact that working in the state of California by default ups any project's sustainability quotient and you start to have pretty sustainable Business As Usual criteria.  

Know the Real Costs
One of the classic questions raised when talking whether or not to go for LEED certification on a project is, how much more will it cost the project?  Well, when you are doing Business As Usual you could say not much.  To take it one step further Roger stressed knowing to the best of your ability the Real Costs of those stretch points.  Like any rating system, it can also turn into a game of points.  And sometimes those for those points are going to cost more.  Realistically, but a bit dry in subject is also the need to account for general administration fees and the hours per credit that you incur.  All $ to account for.  

How about some LEED CI takeaways...

• space out the 2x4 light fixtures.  30 footcandles is working pretty well for them with a little supplemental task lighting as desired.  
• commissioning is a given, and even some HVAC commissioning done prior to construction helps.
• the building and its owner play a role
• a 1st generation space is a great advantage for some points where just the fact of doing something new is business as usual.  But there are many points not applicable due to the lack of re-use opportunities.  

ARCHITECTS IN CHICAGO

Once a year, architects from around the country and abroad gather for the AIA Convention.  At the last minute, we joined in the fun and education of ChicAIAgo.  So here's our AIA Convention 2014 - recap:

We were there to primarily learn.  I was lead to believe Pharrell was going to be there (which he wasn't)... but to my surprise there was Theaster Gates.  Awesome.  He inspired us to RE-imagine how spaces are RE-activated how to raise money.  i.e. issue marble etched bonds.  Brilliant.  Thank you Theaster.

Then there are the more technical seminars, but we can talk about energy efficiencies gained by splitting a large floor plate, how you decide to top or bottom support a folding door, or why your proposal cover letter is a bore over an espresso one day.  Not here.

Besides the knowledge shared of knowledge, it’s always great to catch up with friends and colleagues at conference that span the continent..  And doing so on the backdrop of this famous architecture competition was a bonus.  It had been a while since I had hung out with gargoyles.  

Truthfully though, I probably get the most excited by what I get to experience and observe when I travel.  So here's the rest of the Chicago story through the lens of an ITZEN.

What I was really trying to get a glimpse of here is Jeanne Gang Studio's Aqua Tower, but the awesome spire shadow still makes me smile.  

What I think Robert Ivy was trying to say...

And just in case anyone was wondering about Cal Poly San Luis Obispo's Architecture undergrad program receiving a nationally ranking of #1, there was a booth to show off the creative projects being explored on the Central Coast.  It was great meeting Assistant Professor Mark Cabrinha, some of the his past students, and then catching up with Margot McDonald and the always delightful Tom di Santo.  Can't say enough about all that is going on up there.

Jana found a few moments down in the subway.  I find this gesture on the wall tile awesome.  There are times we don't need to be blindsided, we just need the subtle hint, subtle gesture to lead us to what we are looking for.

Light, it tends to come at us from all directions, but does it need to?

How to spot an architect.  

We tend to focus so much on things like adjacency and how that affects property value.  It is reality.  But throw in the juxtaposition of railroad tracks next to the Modern Wing of the Art Institute and you wonder.  Did anyone say "Why are we spending all this money for Renzo Piano to design a bridge with a cantilevered overlook of the railroad tracks?" I mean, I enjoy it.  But..

Always putting Tom Fowler's lessons into practice.

This convention was especially great as it gave some needed quiet moments to look a bit more closely at our business and the image we are portraying. 

One of the unique aspects of ITZEN architects is that we want to be a part of telling your story.  We are passionate about design, design that goes beyond architecture and extends into many different aspects of our daily lives. Well designed spaces create opportunities for interaction, for growing relationships with others. They can create space for quite reflection and productive work. Design can influence our attitudes and set the tone of the atmosphere we are trying to create. Be it in our home, our place of work,  or our place of worship.

The title of our blog is OUR STORY, which is really our client's story interwoven with ours.  Thanks Chicago for the many facets of education we soaked in.

FROM PEN PAL TO THE PLAYGROUND

A few of us here at the office have pen pals in Ms. Anderson's 4th grade class at Rea Elementary in Costa Mesa, CA.  And while telling one pen pal about life as an architect is cool, why not use our tie to the classroom and start the next generation on a little architectural education!   

So last week Jana spent a morning teaching the young and eager minds about architects, architecture, measuring and then even giving them a design project of their own.  She went bold and started off by asking the question, "What is an architect?".  Then transitioning to much simpler topics like taking measurements and math, but not before talking about some of the other skill sets an architect might employ...that of a scientist, designer, researcher, artist, and problem solver.

And then she went analog... pulling out her triangle and scale.

While it may appear that Jana is complimenting the student on his choice of shoe style and color, this is actually where measurements went practical.  She taught them about measuring their own foot and then using that as a unit of measure.  Never done that yourself?  Well, there you go... have fun.

And, that's how we get to the playground.  After spending time talking about measurements, some simple math and planning, Jana took them outside to talk about a playground.  (And yes, this is Southern California in the Winter)  

We'll see what the students come up with for their playground.  Jana went easy on Ms. Anderson and didn't give them a deadline.  Well, back to that pen pal letter...

photos: Ms. Anderson

ON MDC EVE...

In preperation of the AIA's Monterey Design Conference up here on the coast of California, I listened to an interview with Kanye West. He recently caught the ear of ARCHITECT magazine via BBC Radio. And now, he caught my ear. For me, it was the type of interview, discussion, or at times monologue that challenges your brain. How you think about things. Not comfortable with everything being said kind of experience. I loved it.

And just to see if I can entice you to listen (or at least watch the 15min video excerpt), here are some of my favorite, most challenging lines out of Kanye:

I know how to make perfect. But that's not what i'm here to do. I'm here to crack the pavement...

I hang out mostly with architects.

(in regards to his latest album, Yeezus) …not having to speak with the textures of the time.

and perhaps the cleanest, most concise item...I WANT THE DOPENESS.

THE LINK TO ARCHITECT'S COVERAGE AND PART 1 VIDEO

THE LINK STRAIGHT TO THE BBC RADIO INTERVIEW ON YOUTUBE

Oh, and how did this prepare me you may still be wondering? Well I plan on similar mental stimulation all weekend by the likes of KENGO KUMA, HON. FAIA, MARCIO KOGAN, HON. FAIA, FUTURE CITIES LAB, FREELANDBUCK and of course THOM MAYNE, FAIA. So, I needed to shock my system.

GOLD MEDAL CLIENT

A couple weeks ago one of our clients mentioned that he had just returned a book to the library about how to work with an architect. It blew us away! He gets it. And then yesterday amidst light conversation a friend innocently asked, "What does an architect do?" I smiled.

Through these couple of conversations there's been a bit of a revival in me to educate people what we do as architects and with clients how can we have the greatest possible relationship. Whether it's working with your architect, contractor or dentist... the relationship matters. How we relate, understand and communicate can propel our project further than anyone could have imagined. So, we found some articles that others have written and each have their own positive spin on working with us (architects):

On the official, serious side of the discussion is the AIA's (our professional organization) website How Design Works For You. And you can specifically check out the section Working With An AIA Architect (you have 2 here at ITZEN).

Bob Borson's eloquent wit is fantastic to read. This article is focused on The Architect's Ego.

houzz is such a great resource to residential architecture. In their article on How to Work With an Architect you get simple points to focus on.

Dwell's bold magazine you've probably seen on your friend's coffee table... and well, yes they to answer Five Questions about Working With Architects

And just so we reach beyond the architecture world, US News focused really well on How to Talk with an Architect

GREEN, GREEN HOMES

The Orange County Great Park is the host to a Net-Zero home, that of which will be arriving not soon enough via the year 2020. AIAOC organized a visit today to learn a few things about universal design, some success stories and what to do next time for a Net-Zero home. John Morton Of SCE taught us all a few things with his open book attitude on the design and construction of the house.

Speaking of open, forget the cameras (especially camera 4), but every 10 seconds this house is logging data about everything from plug loads to water usage to kW coming in from the solar panels. Awesome. If we can't track it, we're not going to learn!

A few of my highlights...

1. I'd gladly donate the undersink area to save 600 gallons of potable water a year.

2. 3d diagrams. Can't get enough of them. Everything just makes sense.

3. Harvesting the sun, yes. Pull it up on an iPad and there are smiles all around.

John had a great line today about water usage. About 19% of energy in California is used for water. Transporting, heating, cooling, purification... So, reducing water usage is also reducing energy usage. And I like those two things. (disclaimer: facts and figures not verified, nor do they need to be. the principal is the same)

Last lesson of the day: Make it legitimate, give it a plaque.