On June the 15th 2019, the City of Davenport Florida broke ground on the construction of Fire Station No. 2, a building designed by Parlier + Crews Architects. The structure will be a much needed addition to the city’s main Fire Station. It will be located on the current Public Works property which is on the west side of the existing rail line that runs through the town. With the main station on the east side of the tracks and with the large amount of growth that Davenport is experiencing, it was determined that having the new Fire Station would bring a new level of safety to the west side residents in the event of an emergency while the rail line is occupied by a long freight train blocking road crossings. The new building is designed to be expanded in the future. Construction services are being performed by Mid-South Contractors and is expected to be completed by the end of 2019.
Christmas Greetings to our Clients and Friends
We, at Parlier + Crews Architects, would like send all of our Clients and Friends Christmas Greetings and wish you a Happy New Year.
Thank you for the opportunity to serve you this past year.
Mark and Scott
Architects - Post-Hurricanes
As summer 2017 drew to a close, for the first time in 166 years of weather records, two Category 4 Atlantic hurricanes hit the United States in the same season—just 16 days apart. Each brought its own superlatives: Harvey, the continental U.S.’s wettest storm ever, drenched southeast Texas with as much as 51 inches of rain, while Irma maintained a devastating maximum wind speed of 185 mph over a record- setting 37-hour period. Among Texas, Florida, and the Caribbean, where both storms brutally battered small island nations before making landfall on the continent, more than 130 lives were lost, and early estimates of total damages are approaching $300 billion.
In some ways, both hurricanes proved less severe than expected. In Houston—the Harvey victim with the highest visibility—most hospitals in the Medical Center and many major cultural buildings (including the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, which is undergoing a significant expansion by Steven Holl Architects and Lake|Flato) went largely unscathed, apart from the expected flooding of below-grade construction sites and subterranean garages. Inhabitants of residential neighborhoods built on higher ground, located in the upper reaches of watersheds, and equipped with good drainage infrastructure saw significantly less flooding, with little to no water entering buildings.
Click Here to read the full article.
Deconstructivist Architecture
In my previous post, I talked about buildings that use moving elements as a part of the architectural aesthetic. One example that I mentioned was the campus at Florida Polytechnic University, designed by Santiago Calatrava. His work sometimes falls into the category of Deconstructivist Architecture, which is defined by Webster's as an architectural movement or style influenced by deconstruction that encourages radical freedom of form and the open manifestation of complexity in a building rather than strict attention to functional concerns and conventional design elements (as right angles or grids).
I just came across a webpage that shows images of several different examples of Deconstructivism. Some of them include work by Calatrava.
Click Here to view these images.
Also, if you would like to see more work by Santiago Calatrava, click Here to visit his website.
Buildings that "Move"
Buildings that have moving parts (aside from swings doors and sliding windows) have always amazed me. Even though this article doesn't show any buildings by Santiago Calatrava, his "creations" are a great example. We can experience one of his more recent on the Florida Polytechnic University Campus.
Florida Polytech, by Santiago Calatrava
Click Here to read the article and view the videos.
High Design in Small Town America
For those of us who either live in or grew up in a small town, the following article shows that innovative design can truly happen anywhere as long as the community is behind it.
Driving along Alabama’s State Route 61 is like a journey through the land that time forgot. Past catfish ponds and rolling pastures, the highway pauses for a moment where it swells to form downtown Newbern (population 189), a rustic collection of warehouses and storefronts from the turn of the last century. But over the last couple of decades, Rural Studio, Auburn University’s design-build program, which is based here, has left its mark, erecting a fire station and other structures. For its latest endeavor, the school has transformed a diminutive masonry bank building into a modern, 1,600-square-foot library—Newbern’s first—that maintains the local down-home spirit while providing an inviting community resource.
To read the whole story, click Here.
Steve Job's Right-Hand Man
As the founder and chairman of the world-renowned British architecture firm, Foster & Partners, Sir Norman Foster continues to grow his international presence by bringing the legacies of others to life.
Recently, Apple's newest campus, coined 'Apple Park' by Steve Jobs and designed by Sir Foster, opened its doors in Cupertino, California.
The campus' modernistic, circular ring stretches 175 acres and houses nine entrances, a visitor center, and Apple departments strategically placed for efficiency, all surrounded by a park. With construction of the project reportedly totaling $5 billion, the 2.8 million square-foot structure houses 13,000 employees. The campus' dazzling grand opening in April prompted the arrival of thousands of employees and visitors in the following weeks. Its unique layout and exquisite interior design were the result of an ingenious collaboration between two of the most creative minds the world has ever known: American entrepreneur Steve Jobs and British Architect Sir Norman Foster.
Click Here to read the whole story
Like Father, Like Son
I came across this article recently and found it to be very interesting and contained information that I never knew about the families of some of the architects that I have studied and always admired. It was posted originally to commemorate Father's Day a few weeks back.
Read below:
A father's deepest passions and strengths are often passed on to his children, which is especially true for children who choose to follow their father's career paths.
As we celebrate Father's Day, we admire the architectural dynasties who have given the field so much, including legendary buildings and distinct methods. Famous architects by the names of Frank Lloyd Wright and I. M. Pei left more than stunning buildings behind, they also raised children who can carry on their legacy of excellence.
Click Here to read the whole story.
Small Changes with BIG Impacts
In touring offices for facility planning projects that I work on, one thing I see in nearly every office is unused space. Sometimes this is an empty office, other times it’s a space that’s too small to be used as an office or one that’s inconveniently located (perhaps tucked away in a remote corner). These spaces often sit empty for months or even years, accumulating the usual office litter – outdated computer accessories, storage boxes, even old files that should have been shredded years ago. If you have a room like this, one of the easiest things you can do is to repurpose it as a space that can be used by multiple people in your office. Here are several easy and inexpensive options for office makeovers.
Click Here to read the whole story.
A "Plug" for Architecture
Click here to see the newest commercial from the American Institute of Architects (The AIA)
"Dream BIG"
Yesterday, I took my 7 and 8 year old children to the Orlando Science Center for a fun afternoon of learning and play. We were very fortunate to catch the showing of the IMAX film "Dream BIG". It is geared toward all ages and it is very inspirational to anyone (child or adult) who has interest in how things work or just loves to design solutions to problems.
If you have the chance to see this 45 minute movie, it is well worth the time. You'll truly be inspired by the people featured in the stories.
Click HERE for a link to the website.
Solar Power...things to consider!
When you're ready to invest in solar, keep all of these steps in mind to design the best roof possible
Energy use and production is one of the largest sources of carbon emissions in the US, as well as one of the costliest expenses for businesses and households. To improve efficiency of resources, many building owners have developed an interest in solar photovoltaic (PV) panels. Rooftop solar installations can provide long-term economic and environmental benefits for building owners, and future tax breaks, technological advances in solar panels, and caps on carbon production may further increase the return on investment (ROI) for renewable energy sources.
At the same time, certain variables make it difficult to generalize on immediate returns. The viability of systems varies greatly, depending on the cost of electricity at the installation site, as does the price that state utility regulators set for the re-purchase of excess renewable power generated by the installation. The cost of installation itself can also vary, depending on the capacity of the roof to support panels.
Due to this uncertainty about the present-day economics behind panels, clients may be more interested in reserving space for a later installation. Whichever they prefer, here are eight factors to consider when designing a solar-ready roof.
Read the entire article by clicking the following link:
Designing for Health
Meeting the WELL Building Standard means fully incorporating health into the design process
When it comes to using design to improve public health, Little Diversified Architectural Consulting and Boeman Design couldn’t be more similar.
Little, a mid-sized architectural firm, and Boeman Design, a husband-wife team in Chicago, are both using healthy building design as a market differentiator. Both have clients interested in healthy building design as a way to increase employee productivity, recruitment, and retention. And both work on projects that feature new design techniques as catalysts for improving the health of people all over the world.
So it was natural for the two organizations to pursue WELL Certification on their projects. “We got in on the ground floor of the healthy building movement because we strongly believe that designing for human sustainability provides a more holistic approach to architecture,” says Carol Rickard-Brideau, AIA, partner and workplace global practice leader at Little. Rickard-Brideau started doing research into how architecture intersected with the field of human neurobiology more than a decade ago.
At a conference where she was giving a presentation, someone told her of a new standard focused exclusively on the health and well-being of people in the built environment—the WELL Building Standard™, which was pioneered by Delos. Today, WELL is administered by the International WELL Building Institute™ (IWBI) and third-party certified by GBCI. She soon met with Paul Scialla, founder and CEO of Delos, and was part of the first cohort of architects that participated in the WELL Building Standard training at the Cleveland Clinic. “It was a lucky happenstance,” she says.
To read the full article, click on the following link:
You know your streets are crowded when...
Here is a clever (and probably very expensive) solution to traffic congestion as envisioned in China.
A model of a Transit Elevated Bus (TEB) debuted at the ongoing 19th China Beijing International High-Tech Expo. TEB is a purely homegrown invention of China. Its passenger compartment rises far above other vehicles on the road, allowing cars to pass underneath, which will largely increase the utilization of road space.
Aerial Perspective
This is an interesting article on the aerial perspective which is a view that we all know well but rarely get to see live...unless from an airplane.
http://www.archdaily.com/785740/civilization-in-perspective-capturing-the-world-from-above
See how many of the places you can name.
The Future of How We Design
This article gives us a great view into the future of how we design buildings...and anything else for that matter.
What is Architecture?
Here is a video that speaks to what Architecture is and what Architects do.
Interesting Video, "How to Make an Attractive City"
Davenport Public Works - Under Construction
P+C Architects would like to share one of our new projects that is now under construction in the city of Davenport, FL. The project is for their new Public Works Facility and it is scheduled to be completed by Fall of this year (2016).
The photograph below shows the project in an early construction phase with most of the structural steel framing in place.
This rendering shows what the finished product will look like when construction is complete.
Public Fitness
While enjoying the Community Playground in Winter Park, FL the other day with my family, I came across something that I thought was really interesting and it speaks to a community's commitment to providing opportunities for all citizens to live a healthier lifestyle. What the city has provided is an area along a walking/jogging path to perform various exercises similar to what you would find in a gym.
I am sure that we have all seen these before in our own communities, but I have never seen them installed with such quality and with as many options. As you can see in the photos (which are not of Community Playground. The ones I took were not as good as what I found on the internet), all the exercise machines are made with high grade steel and don't require much maintenance. Also, they do not have the added complication of weights that need to be adjusted. It is all resistance training (some of the machines have the option to adjust resistance).
Here is a link to "HealthBeat":