Archive for the ‘architecture’ Category

May 10, 2010

Another Phoenix Infill Lot Wasted on a Circle K

by: Taz Loomans

Tweet I’ve been driving by this new building in construction the past few months. It’s on 11th St. and Indian School. My first thought when I found out what it was was – oh great, all we need in this city is another Circle K. There’s hardly anything getting built nowadays and for good reason, we have way too many existing buildings waiting to be reused. And one of the few new buildings is a Circle K – a brand new gas station and convenience store? Convenience gas stations are, as you might know, the bane of our Phoenix urban…

April 26, 2010

A Beautiful New Building in Paradise Valley

by: Taz Loomans

Tweet Last week, I was invited by Alison King of Modern Phoenix to a SMOCA tour of Paradise Valley Fire Station No.1 by LEA Architects. What a treat it was! I had never heard of LEA Architects prior to this and I thought I knew of all the architects in town doing great work. LEA Architects comprises of a father-son team which I found to be unusual and charming. Lawrence Enyart and his son Lance Enyart were present at the tour to tell us about their building. I found both father and son to be accessible and down-to-earth, a refreshing…

April 14, 2010

What is The Arizona School?

by: Taz Loomans

Tweet This week I’m sharing my thoughts on last week’s Modern Phoenix Home Tour and Expo. A few important ideas emerged over the course of events and I’d like to share them with you. On Monday I talked about the Panel Discussion on the Restaurant Revolution. Yesterday, Donna Reiner taught us about the mid-century modern banks in Phoenix. Today I’ll talk about the most important, inspiring and entertaining lecture I’ve heard in a while and that is Reed Kroloff’s talk on The Arizona School during the Modern Phoenix Expo on Saturday. Reed Kroloff was once a tenured professor and Assistant…

April 13, 2010

Phoenix Mid-Century Modern Banks: Treasures in our Everyday Environment

by: Donna Reiner

Tweet Today’s guest post is written by Donna Reiner, PhD and Bank Maven. Donna spoke at last weekend’s Modern Phoenix Expo about Mid-Century Modern Banks in Phoenix. Some of the banks Donna highlighted are buildings you might drive by all the time and not give a second thought to. They are a part of our everyday fabric and we may not notice them, but on closer inspection, they are fantastic examples of mid-century modern Phoenix architecture. Donna’s work with banks is important because it helps raise awareness of these historic structures so they don’t fall into disrepair or worse, get…

April 12, 2010

A Review of Modern Phoenix’s Panel Discussion on The Restaurant Revolution

by: Taz Loomans

Tweet I enjoyed attending the various events last week set up by Modern Phoenix. The entire week-long series of events was immaculately organized by Alison and Matthew King and their team and was well-attended as always. I didn’t have a chance to go to all the events, but this week I’ll post my thoughts on the events I did get to attend. Let’s start with Thursday night’s Panel Discussion on The Restaurant Revolution hosted by David Tyda. The panel comprised of: Wendell Burnette of Wendell Burnette Architects – Project: St. Francis Restaurant Peter Koliopoulos of Circle West Architects – Project:…

April 06, 2010

Phoenix Mid-Century Modern Climate-Responsive Design

by: Taz Loomans

Tweet In yesterday’s post, I explained the basics of building orientation and the appropriate types of shade for the east, west and south sides of a building. Today I’m going to show you some examples of how shading is used brilliantly in some of Central Phoenix’s mid-century modern buildings. This mid-century modern beauty on Osborn and 4th Avenue uses these curved precast concrete panels to create shade for the windows on the south side. Not only does the shade work well, as you can see in the photo below, it’s also fundamentally integrated with the design of the building making…

April 06, 2010

The Single Most Important Energy-Saving Strategy in Phoenix

by: Taz Loomans

Tweet The most important and fundamental energy-saving strategy you need to know about in Phoenix is shading your home from direct sun and heat gain. Well-positioned shade around your house can save you up to 40% in your cooling bills. We explored creating shade from a planting perspective on the Blooming Rock blog on the week of March 15, 2010. This week, I’m revisiting the topic of shade because it’s so very important for our climate especially with the upcoming hot weather. I’ll be talking about shade from an architectural perspective and today we’ll start with a primer on home…

March 31, 2010

How to Get Good Design on the Cheap in Phoenix

by: Taz Loomans

Tweet There’s a misconception out there that good design costs more. And if you’re lazy, it does. You can always buy good taste, right? Just go to the most expensive stores, buy the most expensive things and you’re bound to get good design. But where does that leave most people who can’t really afford to buy their way to good taste? Newsflash: you don’t have to be Donald Trump to live in a cool house. With some creativity, a good eye, some time and hands-on research you can find inexpensive ways to add design to your home while being environmentally…

March 30, 2010

Why Architects Have Lost Their Relevance and How to Get it Back

by: Taz Loomans

Tweet Architects have a reputation for spending their client’s money to live out their design fantasies. Admittedly, there’s a reason for this reputation. It happens. This is a big problem and it’s one we in the design industry need to address. This reputation has led to our marginalization. No wonder architects have little clout when it comes to convincing municipalities or developers to build smarter, better, efficient developments that work well. People with money who want to build something have lost faith that architects will spend their money wisely. This is only because it’s true for the most part. Many…

March 29, 2010

Your Contractor Doesn’t Know Jack About Design

by: Taz Loomans

Tweet So stop expecting to get a great result when you cut out the architect/designer. I’ve noticed in residential remodeling that many people decide to save money by not hiring an architect/designer and instead rely on a contractor alone. They expect a contractor to suggest solutions that will look good, perform well and be healthy for their homes. But they got another thing coming my friend. Your contractor is most likely going to install what he’s always installed before, in the cheapest and fastest way he can. He’s most likely not going to give you options, think out of the…