design+make blog

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The prairie is a deceptively tough environment, lacking shelter from the wind and sun. But as tough as surviving exposure to those elements is, it pales in comparison to the prairie’s most dominant force, fire. Fire defines the prairie, pruning the tallgrasses back to their roots while weeding out non-native inhabitants both natural and man made. Fire must drive both the aesthetics and performance of the materials of the project...(more)

2/24/2016

Architects Involvement...

Crafting Innovation

Environmental Conser...

Building with Fire...

A Local Construction...

Design in the Minds of...

Landscape of Change

The Customer is (Not)...

Architecture Courts the...

A Future Observing...

Project in the Prairie

Computer Numerical...

Theory & Feasibility

Designing Never Stops

Telling Your Story

Herding Cats: A Lesso...

What is a Designer's...

Digital Design_Hand D...

Understanding Materi...

All Night? All Right?

Construction Safety

Communicating in the...

A Future for Seaton Hall

Biophilic Design

2 Pavilions: Diverging...

The Value of Shop Dra...

Stretching the Mold

What we can Learn...

Women in the "Making"

Failing Fast & Failing...

The Power of Mock...

The Next Chapter

Value Competiton

Design Intentions

Budgeting & Architec...

Building Relationships

Art with Plumbing

Having Your Own Pla...

Communicate Early...

The 7 Phases of Fab...

Art Intertwined with th...

Can You Please Every...

Building with Kultur

Creative Power_Brain...

The Three Schedules...

Building New on Indig...

Women in Charge

A Sunday Afternoon in...

Designing in the Mod...

Thriving on Collaborati...

Looking at the Whole...

Studio Desk 101

Making Competence

FAT: Flexible, Adapt...

Architect's Self Evalu...

Benefits of Design B...

The Truth in the Deta...

Studio Expansion: W...

design+make apprec...

Optimistic Continge...

Client Conversation:...

Great Expectations

The Future of Dry Fit...

Communication Brea...

Prototyping as a Tool

Expressive Diagraming

Blood, Sweat, and Provi...

design+make+sustain

A Departure From Fine ...

Facility Optimization as...

The Need for Quality C...

design+makeDISCUSSION

Taking a Public Interest

Conditional Making

Holding it Together

Keys to Graphic Commu...

This Program Has Been...

Expanded Partnerships...

Preserving Graduate Le...

Careful Consideration o...

Making the Switch

Pushing Back on the Be...

Roof_Ground_Winner

Girl Scout Camp Assesm...

Today, as Carson suggests, the effects that the human species have had on this planet are daunting. Though many try to deny it, evidence of human-caused climate change has become certain1, but we continue undeterred, living in a way that certainly cannot be sustained for more than a few hundred years. Suburbs, chain stores, and parking lots, connected by a complex system of ever-widening highways, surround every modern city, seemingly choking out the forests, prairies, and many other ecosystems that once sustained life in these places...(more)

Crafting Innovation // Brent Higgens

3/2/2016

Material driven workshops are the key to design innovation. What we know through experience about building materials dictate how we utilize them. When someone mentions steel, we think of large steel wide flanges, soon to be hidden and never seen again. Wood reminds us of something stained and coated, to demonstrate the natural beauty of the grain. However, when we limit ourselves to these preconceived ideas we miss out on opportunities to make our architecture innovative. Not necessarily in the sense of conceptual innovation, but in terms of a broader understanding of the physical nature of materials. What is innovation and why is it important?...(more)

Architects rarely have direct input on the construction and detailing of a project.

In a recent article from the popular online blog site Life of an Architect, certified architect Bob Borson defines what it is to be a practicing architect. It is his opinion that the role of the architect varies depending on the size of the firm, and he states that their responsibilities range from “the drawing a building…to writing spec sheets.” This definition however, seems to be missing the importance of the architect during the construction phase of the project. In regards to arguably the most important phase of a project...(more)

Architects Involvement in the Construction Process:

Is Design-Build the Future? // Luke Custer

Environmental Conservation and the Moral Implications of Building // Jake Rose

Building with Fire:

A Paradoxical Relationship// Blake Toews

3/4/2016

2/26/2016