Jason T. Radice

Something similar to this was actually in the NY Slimes a few weeks backs from one of their guys. You know if they admit it in there, it ain’t rosey. Problem is, so many people just gave up looking for work…they are no longer counted. They are not the 99%, they are the 99 Weekers. Plus, the number of actual ‘available jobs’ counted has been…[Read more]

FYI, a ‘duh’ article in the Washington comPost:
 
http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/economy/new-study-shows-arch…
 
Study found that architecture and arts/humanities degrees have the highest unemployment rates. Nobody building anything = no jobs in architecture. Arts/Humanities degrees always have the highest unemployment rates…so that is…[Read more]

The law that passed DOES NOT allow for intertstate commerce with private heath insurance. If you ain’t got it, you have to buy it right from the the government “pool”, which is still not totally defined.

The problem with group insurance is that you can only do it on the the state level, and usually through some kind of recognized corporation (I don’t know if they would recognize some kind of co-op or group buy). You cannot purchase health care across state lines, so it doesn’t make sense for National ASLA to try to offer it. It is is the ONLY pr…[Read more]

Nothing unusual there. Don’t blame Land8. The market sucks so bad that fast food jobs are the highlight of many regional career jobs. I’d rather enjoy the cathardic hum and delicious fumes of a mower than standing all day getting spattered with grease, dealing with NASTY customers and asking if they want fries with that. For some of us, it is…[Read more]

I think many places are coming to realize that the code really doesn’t help things. You cannot really quantify your way to good design. You can get ‘nicer’ landscape often with fewer trees and shrubs if they are placed correctly. Spacing a tree ever 25′ doesn’t mean that much, and even total vegetaitive cover (while allowing more flexibility)…[Read more]

I think Marc was referring to Masters of the Land.
 
The approach you take as ‘vital team member’ will forever relegate us to third-party status. LAs today need be either be in the project lead, or share in control of the project with the architect. We do the site, they do the building.
We already have engineers trying (and suceeding) in doing…[Read more]

When you look at a Gehry, Meier, Piano, or Calatrava, are you not looking at art? The sculptural elements are all there. The careful arrangements of volumes, the colors, and material choices, just as Michelangelo carving marble would do. It is the same as it ever was. Inspiration is a moot point, as the same exists in painting or sculpture. P…[Read more]

That, and the site redesign…

Sounds like a bad term paper to me.
The whole premise that architecture IS art has been settled since the Greeks of antiquity. Architecture is indeed a fine art, in fact it is considered the “Mother Art” from which all other classifications and media developed from. Classical architecture also combines the various art forms of painting, sculpting…[Read more]

One of these days, I’ll get mine fully operational.
 

You might want to look to architectural elements. Namely, neoclassic pieces. Banks and older government buildings used classical Greek and roman designs for a reason. Even the building material is important. Stone is used to denote weight, permanence and stability. If it’s built out of stone of a classical style, it looks like it has been there f…[Read more]

There are other ways (if not better) to acheive the same results without using structural soils. Even though they are sold in the US, they are not without controversy. It is an expensive way to go, especially if you do not have the required ‘ingredients’ that make the product. There are tree pits with a suspended tree grate, trenches with s…[Read more]

Sounds like a custom detail and fabrication job.

Other than being aware of it, school is not the place to learn that anyway. Appreticeship in practice is where. It takes a while, and learning the diff types (mostly CSI or Masterspec in the commercial world) won’t really occur until you have to put a package together for an employer (which most already have standard specs already chosen ) or if…[Read more]

You’re going to want to bump that mulch thickness up to a minimum of 3″. 2″ doesn’t do anything but suck moisture off of the top layer of soil. 3″ is minimum for weed supression. 
 
You’ve got a good start on it from the posts here, but I agree you should be investigating why these things exist, and how they got the numbers. There are tons of o…[Read more]

It is interesting, especially from a European point of view. The secret is to play our cards right. This assumes that the dollar will remain weak, which is why the European automakers are building plants here (that, and to avoid import taxes, and break away from the euro-unions). I don’t see wage hikes in China having all that much impact, as…[Read more]

Glad you have so much work. There is indeed activity. Much of it localized (as you can see in the ABI) and quantity differs by the type of work you do. But taken as a whole, the industry continues downward, and any growth is neither substantial or prolonged. I know a few places (especially in architecture) that are working OT (paid or not)…[Read more]

Thanks for the flattery…and thanks for the links. I will have to add those in my daily news-troll on the web when I have the time. Mostly, because I am lazy and hate to read too much, I keep the business channels on in the background for much of the statistics…every thursday AM, the jobs numbers come out, I keep an eye on the ABI as it is…[Read more]

1. AutoCAD
2. Ability to rotate/align hatch patterns and command line input
3. Like – Universal compatibility among all platforms and it’s a blank slate (you can do pretty much anything and control your workflow) Dislike – cost, sometimes buggy, and the constant reworking of the interface rather than expanding capability and efficiency.
4. I also…[Read more]