Updates on the latest projects, ideas and trends in interior design, landscape, architecture, space planning and more.
With the economy in a down swing, gas prices at record highs and salaries stagnant, money is tight for many San Diegans. And for many homeowners looking to upgrade their residence, the cost of purchasing a new home is unrealistic in today's market. To realize the dream of a new home without breaking the bank, many homeowners are turning to remodeling. Through remodeling an existing home, homeowners can potentially save hundreds of thousands of dollars.
Jeff Hollander, AIA, LEED AP
Architect Shelly Hyndman specializes in meeting the particular challenges and rewards of designing places of worship. She fell in love with the process 20 years ago while working on her first church project, the collaborative design of the striking double tower Temple of the Latter Day Saints in La Jolla, now a San Diego landmark.
The design industry continually evolves with changes in design technology. And like technology, those changes are occurring at an exponential rate. The latest example of this phenomenon -- Building Information Modeling, or BIM -- takes design into a virtual world where a three-dimensional building model incorporating all design disciplines can be crafted in real time.
The distinctive mission style was one of the earliest influences on San Diego's architecture and still holds sway today, followed more recently by other trends such as Spanish, contemporary and modern, a fact reflected on local college campuses.
Seeking views, Sara Antani bought a 17th-floor condo last August in a new Manhattan high-rise with floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking the Hudson River.
Domus Studio Architects is designing three new fire stations for the City of Encinitas, which recently approved spending an estimated $13.5 million to reconstruct older fire facilities throughout the coastal community.
Green is the most popular color in the world right now, and many businesses are jumping on the bandwagon in green practices for their own business and/or for the products and services they provide. However, there are still many businesses that see the value but are not willing to pay for it. Photovoltaics (PV), or solar electricity, in particular has been the biggest question mark. Concerns include cost, lifespan, return on investment, the list goes on. Most of it is just a lack of education on how much money you can actually save while caring for the environment.
Zimmer Gunsul Frasca Architects (ZGF), a nationally recognized architecture, planning and interior design firm, has teamed up with San Diego-based M.W. Steele Group to create a new City Hall and Civic Center Complex that promises to be a striking addition to the urban core and downtown skyline.
The National Association of Home Builders recently reported that it expects the remodeling industry to be in a steady decline for the next decade due to the slowing housing market. In a slowing market, homeowners have less incentive to remodel their home if its value is dropping.
The 2007 California Building Code went into effect at the first of this year, and with it came important changes affecting how architects and builders prevent water intrusion in buildings. Few in the industry, however, understand how drainage planes work and how to implement them, which is essential to effectively address section 1403.2 of the revised building code.
Waning construction and a sluggish economy have not prevented many prominent local architects from forging ahead with ambitious projects. Indeed, many San Diego-based firms are finding this economic slowdown to be a prime time for expanding their professional staffs and capitalizing on business opportunities.
Mixed-use development has reached a new level of evolution. In the past, traditional hospital campuses have never been a place where people particularly want to be. They are typically isolated and are not particularly attractive developments for retail, commercial and hospitality components. Yet the opposite can be true.
Green has matured into a new, unavoidable business reality. Firms are convinced that not only is there goodwill in green, but good returns. As a result, the ubiquitous phrase "Triple Bottom Line" (3BL) coined by John Elkington in 1994 and traditionally defined as "People, Planet, Profit," now drives strategic policy inside many large companies.
With the slow down in the economy due in part by the housing market and oil prices, architects are finding that staying diverse and having a good network, has helped them stay afloat in these hard times.
Thomas J. Schoeman, president and CEO of JMA Architecture Studios, says he's "fortunate" enough to fly regularly into two of the Southwest's top destination cities -- Las Vegas and San Diego.
Seeking views, Sara Antani bought a 17th-floor condo last August in a new Manhattan high-rise with floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking the Hudson River.
Explore the latest innovations in interior design, landscape, architecture, space planning and more.
Catch up with this creative industry with the latest issues and trends in style, materials, landscaping, interior design and more.
In this special report, we profile architects and firms, and their projects. We'll look at the long-term benefits of green building design and focus on what it takes to design a building that stands the test of time.
The Daily Transcript is proud to be a sponsor of San Diego Green '04, a conference on sustainable design to be held Friday, Sept. 17 at the San Diego Natural History Museum in Balboa Park.
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