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To be completely honest, when the emails first circulated around the SHP office asking for volunteers for the Architectural Foundation’s Design LAB, I didn’t spend too much time reading them. It’s not that I didn’t think it was interesting, but I am not a designer and there was no way I was qualified to help […]

“80% of success is showing up” – Woody Allen. There are many variants on the theme quoted, but they all allude to the same thing:  a person can’t progress if they are not there.  Every year, millions of days of school attendance are lost for a host of reasons.  In a study in North Carolina in 2011[1], parents reported that about 60% of absences were for illnesses and injury. 

As architects, we’re always studying, learning from and drawing inspiration from the world around us. It’s why we attend industry conferences (like the Summit on Sustainability) and best practices calls, why we ask questions like, “what’s next?” and why we find ways to get involved with the local design community. It’s also why we must think about the value our buildings contribute to the society at large.

If you’ve followed along with my blog, Building My Green Life, you know how strongly I feel about making smart, sustainable choices in life and in my work. With approximately 40% of energy use in the U.S. attributed to buildings, the architecture, design and construction community is both the problem and the solution to reduced energy consumption at home, and abroad.

The Fitton Center for Creative Arts, through its theater, galleries, community space, and art classes for both kids and adults, is a centerpiece of the Hamilton, Ohio community. Recently, the Fitton Center underwent a significant expansion of its black box theater.  In addition, approximately 20% of the project’s $3 million budget was dedicated to improving […]

Like a lot of my contemporaries, I’ve wanted to be an architect since I was a little kid. As you can imagine, becoming president of AIA Cincinnati is a very personal realization of my dream to not only become an architect, but to represent my fellow architects on a professional level. It’s humbling, and makes […]

In my last blog post, I shared some thoughts from the Design Futures Council’s 2014 Summit on Sustainability, which was held in September. One of the ideas that left me feeling inspired was Ed Mazria’s 2030 Challenge. Big Idea Over the past 10 years, Mazria’s research into building sector energy use and carbon emissions has […]

One of the most rewarding aspects of space design is solving the unique challenges each project presents. Since no two projects are exactly alike, every design must deliver unique solutions that address the specific project’s parameters. This is especially true when designing a modern space in a traditional building, as was the case when establishing […]

“Holy cow, this is a smart group of people.” That’s the phrase that runs through my mind every year when I arrive at the Design Futures Council’s Leadership Summit on Sustainability. Design Futures Council (DFC) is a group of thought leaders who come from the design industry; the group’s overall goal is to be a leadership voice within the industry. That means leading in technology, sustainable design, design as a whole, advocacy… and the group takes its job seriously.

Allison McKenzie of SHP presented a seminar titled “Acoustics: The Sounds of Sustainable Design” on Monday, June 9th at NeoCon 2014.  NeoCon is North America’s largest design exposition and conference for commercial interiors, held June 9-11 at the Merchandise Mart in Chicago.