Architects Miguil Arraiz Garcia and David Moreno Terron designed and assembled this cardboard pavilion for the ‘Fallas’ festival in Spain. 3000 hexagonal boxes were glued and filled with earth to help anchor it to the plaza. The fear I had for it is shown at the end of the video… but on purpose. Fun, sculptural study. Take a look.
A battle is raging even though you don´t know from Noel Arraiz on Vimeo.
We have a large project underway going up west of the Twin Cities Metro. The facility will be a base for commuters to catch a transit bus downtown.
The 3-acre structure includes a two-level parking deck and a main terminal building. The upper level of the terminal building is employee space with a gracious terrace. The main level houses the ‘grand lobby’ along with ticketing, restrooms, vending, etc.
We chose a warm red brick blend along with Minnesota limestone for our main material pallet. A steel canopy extends across the loading area and is suspended with steel rods to large tapered limestone piers. This tapered pier is repeated (on a larger scale) at the corner near a major intersection and will include a large steel art piece depicting a plan view of an adjacent river. Stay tuned to see how it turns out!
We get to create some fun things! A Client asked us to design a mailbox to go along with the home we designed for them. This video shows a bit of that process. Take a look!
Here is a video describing the Fundamentals of Design, primarily focusing on branding. It is a great little synopsis of what we as architects think about but on a more grand and complex scale.
Source: Erica Gorochow
As if I can’t find enough ways to embarrass myself… I was asked to be part of a panel to discuss Social Media at the AIA Minnesota Convention this week. While I mainly focused on the ‘Weblog’ and Twitter, I put this video together equating Social Media to being invited to a party. My 12 year-old daughter helped pull this together. We added most of sound in later as we discovered the microphone battery was dead… so I may have pushed the Foley a bit! Enjoy!
Options for Approaching Social Media from michael huber architects on Vimeo.
Also, I tested out an egg timer thingy with my old GoPro. Below is a brief timelapse of the start of the seminar. GoPro Hero 3 Black on order!
It was awesome to be part of the Design Team and help the Mississippi Watershed Management Organization create a new educational and office facility. This past weekend was the Grand Opening. I gave building tours, ate cookies, and meet a ton of great people. Below is a video put together of the event by John Akre of the Minneapolis Television Network. We appreciate him taking the time to document the day!
And if you want to see some of the landscape features in action, check out this video by MWMO showing that ‘Green is Not an Afterthought’.
A simple idea turned into a non-profit organization dedicated to make a difference in urban environments. We are using ‘white roofing’ more and more as people become educated to the energy and financial impact not only for the building itself but to its surroundings as well. Learn more at The White Roof Project.
The layering of technology in our homes is inevitable and already occurring at an accelerated rate. We built our home only 8 years ago and some technologies I had anticipated have been passed up by others. Who knows were we will be in another 8 years? This video from Openarch takes a stab at that vision. Some fun (and silly) ideas ensue. Enjoy!
Openarch || FILM from Openarch on Vimeo.
Today we speak with Tom Graf, founder of Concrete Arts. Tom is extremely knowledgeable and passionate about concrete. His company is on the innovative edge with chemistry, finishes and the basic limits of concrete. A few questions discussed include:
-What is the history of concrete?
-What ways is concrete being used today?
-What types of finishes and sealers are available?
-Explain the sustainability of concrete.
Please subscribe to these podcasts also via iTunes. Search for the title ‘Design & Other Fun Stuff’.
This is Part 1 of a series where we take a 1920′s era house and transform it into modern and fresh home for an old friend… not that we are old! Follow along (subscribe!) as we face many design, budget and construction decisions as well as navigate through the process of remodeling in an urban setting.
Today we speak with Bill Gautsche III of Pella Windows and Doors. Bill guides us in understanding what is important when selecting windows for your project. A few questions discussed include:
-What are the basic components that make up a quality window?
-What are the different types of windows?
-Clarify the difference of R-value versus U-value.
-What options are there for glass and what is important to be aware of?
-How are windows installed? New construction versus replacing existing units.
-What future technologies do you see related to windows?
Resources can be found at:
Pella and HERE for information and installation videos
Please subscribe to these podcasts also via iTunes. Search for the title ‘Design & Other Fun Stuff’.
We are in the final design stretch! The details need to be refined, actual materials selected and, most importantly, make sure we are on track with the budget. The preliminary drawings are out for pricing and we hope to move forward so construction can start right away in the spring. Click on the images to see some of the interior concepts.
