We’ve been asked to developed a site master plan for the Richard Bolling Federal Building, which we’ve been working on the building renovation for five or six years now. The site plan is in collaboration with Young + Dring landscape architects and will incorporate a number of sustainable site initiatives including capturing drainage via swales and berms as well as collecting underground water from a natural water source into a cistern to reuse for site water.

The original program called for a parking lot for parents to use as they drop their children off for in-house day care in the mornings. The design we’ve been working on is aimed at a more efficient use of space for a lot that will only be used two to three hours a day by no more than twelve people. The parking lot doubles as a public terrace when it is not being used for parking. The paving pattern identifies traffic lanes and parking spaces are demarcated by planters, trees, and benches. The terrace also has ample room for bike racks.

north terrace after

north lawn before

construction photos of Andrews McMeel Universal in the Boley Building. Photos courtesy elinebarger.

I don’t think this is necissarily post worthy, however I have been getting back into visualization a little at work using Max to do some renderings of the interior of the Mainstreet Theater.

Also, another one I did a few months ago for a condo building in the Kansas City Crossroads Arts District.

From the architects website:

Tony Wai Design Practice Inc. is an architectural office based in Vancouver, British Columbia. The work of the firm ranges in scale from furniture to residential projects to highly conceptual proposals. Our approach towards design solutions is not predetermined – it is based on research, response, and client interaction specific to each project. The goal of the resulting work is to create an architecture that is connected to context and program – to create an architecture that is inspiring and significant.

Tony Wai received a Bachelor of Arts and Science with distinction majoring in both Architectural and Visual Studies at the University of Toronto in 2003. He earned a Master of Architecture degree at the University of British Columbia in 2006. Tony worked with Hughes Condon Marler Architects and Patkau Architects in Vancouver before establishing Tony Wai Design Practice Inc. in 2007.

I highly recommend this book.

There is no better way to end an eight month hiatus from the blogosphere than with a list of architecture books. These are a few that have made it on to my Amazon Wishlist in the last week or two, a mix of texts on practice, theory, and building technology…

Architectural Practice: A Critical View

Architecture: The Story of a Practic

Architects and Firms: A Sociological Perspective on Architectural Practices

Ethics and the Practice of Architecture

Programming for Design: From Theory to Practice

Biomimicry: Innovation Inspired by Nature

High Performance Building

On Weathering: The Life of Buildings in Time

Rethinking Technology: A Reader in Architectural Theory

Fire and Memory: On Architecture and Energy

Atlas of Novel Tectonics

Some quick shots from STL last weekend. Today we’re headed to Boston for a long weekend, hope to have new images to post afterwards.

Byron Mouton is an established architect, designer, and the founder of bild. A New Orleans native with roots in residential construction and carpentry, as well as the craft of custom furniture, he has over 20 years of experience in the field of architecture. Byron’s design focus merges investigations of assembly and space with technical sophistication and material research and his work embodies elegance and simplicity, from the detail to the whole.

*all text and info from AIA KC.
**images from www.bildit.com

I found out a while back that the recently completed offices for Meers Marketing, although not a recipient of an ‘07 MOD award (more to come) will be featured in a television commercial for Sprint. Local production company, Bark Productions will be shooting the spot. I’m not sure if it will be getting regional or national air time, I don’t know even know when they are shooting it, but I’ll be sure to post details as they arise.

On the way back from The Boley this afternoon we took a few minutes to peak our heads in the new Sprint Center and take a lap or two around the concourse. The tickets for admission for opening day were free of charge, however, the lady handing them out was very adamant about the “suggested” five dollar donation to get in.

I must say, I think Kansas City has got something fairly unique here. The glass curtain wall exterior that has landed in the middle of downtown offers quite an experience of the city from the inside. With that said, some of the views, like the one above of the new power and light district brought to us by Baltimore developers the Cordish Company leave much to be desired. That, however is a different post for a different day.

One of the biggest successes of the Sprint Center, in my opinion, is the way it connects visually and experientially, if not formally, the west and east sides of the downtown loop by offering continuous views. From the H&R Block Building on the west ones view pans south through the Crossroads and around to he Richard Bolling Federal Building on the east.

The interior is a bit drab with some questionable material choices in key locations, and oh how I wish they wouldn’t have painted the concrete. Bull all-in-all a much welcomed unique, simple, and clearly articulated approach to arena design.