Archive for June, 2010

June 08, 2010

Jim McPherson – ‘Demolition Should Be the Last Resort’

by: Jim McPherson

Tweet As I mentioned yesterday, there was some strong disagreement in the historic preservation community about my post Why Not All Buildings Should be Saved. It’s important to hear all points of view on this subject and have a constructive discussion about it. Below is Jim McPherson’s point of view about the Leighton Knipe house and historic preservation in Phoenix. Jim is a respected leader in the community. He serves on the board of the Arizona Preservation Foundation and is the winner of the 28th Annual Governor’s Heritage Preservation Grand Award. He reminds us that we already have a strong…

June 07, 2010

Bob Graham on Why the Leighton Knipe is Worth Saving

by: Taz Loomans

Tweet Last week I posted my point of view about why not all old buildings should be saved. I used the Leighton Knipe house as an example of an old building that isn’t necessarily worth fighting for. But a few people in the historic preservation community disagreed with me. One of the people who’s spoken out about the Leighton Knipe house is Bob Graham, a local architect doing important work in historic preservation and other urban projects. I interviewed Bob to get his point of view about why he thinks this building is important and why it should be saved:…

June 02, 2010

The After Hours Building – Well Intentioned, Well Executed

by: Taz Loomans

Tweet What I love about the After Hours building is that it is sustainable because it is well-designed. In fact, it’s an example that good design and green design are actually synonymous. The merzproject is the architecture firm behind this building and they deserve a great deal of credit for getting lots of little things right. They deserve even more credit for getting the BIG things right though. But before I go any further I want to give the owners of After Hours, Russ Haan and Mike Oleskow the bulk of the credit for this incredible project. Without their vision…

June 01, 2010

Phoenix – Let’s get on the Solar Highway!

by: Taz Loomans

Tweet As you know, we probably live in the sunniest place in the country. This may become a frustrating thing in the coming months when we might be praying for an occasional cloudy day in July, but it’s what we have to deal with here in the Valley of the Sun. Our constant companion, the sun, is actually a blessing if we consider that Phoenix is supposed to become a ‘solar city’ according to Mayor Phil Gordon’s Green Phoenix plan. (Currently Phoenix has received a $25 Mil grant from federal stimulus funds for the Green Phoenix plan and will be…