Jason T. Radice

Also, the only LA I know that has actively designed for the inclusion of the homeless is Walter Hood with one of his Oakland projetcs. Most LAs try to keep the homeless out of their designs. Municipalities do not want to spend hundreds of thousands of dollars on a project for their benefit. Besides, that money could be put to much better use…[Read more]

Just saw the thing online..UGGGG. It doesn’t look like a prison, prisons are nicer than this. It looks unfinished, or in a state of abandonment. The design is downright Soviet..or gulagism. What was the school thinking of? In places such as schools, form needs to follow function, and there is a long wstablished method for design. These…[Read more]

NCARB just went through this with the architects. You had to register and/or finish by a certain date, or you had to take it over again. Thats the way it is…there are deadlines, and if you want the license, you must get it before the changes or prepare to take a section or two again. CLARB cannot drag this thing on forever or it defeats the…[Read more]

Nope, all the testing is done on PCs
 
I can see getting rid of one of the multiple choice sections, that always made sense. I have mixed feelings about the charretes however. The computer may make things too easy for site design and grading, like it is with the AREs. The facilities will at least be equalized now, as I very much disliked the f…[Read more]

You sir, are correct. Solar panels lose efficiency (how much power they can generate given a particular light level) when they get hot. Kind of iroinc being that you point these things directly at the sun. Anyway, a cooler roof will mean more efficient solar panels, as will air curculation around the panel-box (freestanding vs. attached to a buil…[Read more]

Depends on the client. You sometimes need slick graphics and nice renderings to sell the job, especially in this economy where there is such fierce competition. In a firm I worked for, 3D models were a loss-leader. They did not make any money on them, in fact they lost money, but they attracted better clients with deeper pockets. They made out…[Read more]

I think it is kind of ironic how “sketchy”, flat, and unrealistic the recent style of renderings are, especially when using the computer. When I started using the computer all those many years ago, the goal was to get it as REALISTIC and ACCURATE as possible, (you know, photorealistic?) beyond what was capable with hand drawings. I’m not seeing th…[Read more]

I don’t think so…if there is somebody who creates a really unique, functional, and pleasing style…it WILL be copied. Not so much with hand anymore, but look at how much of even the computer generated stuff all looks the same.

I’ve had nothing but bad luck with Corel. It is way to clunky and tempermental. I worled in a firm that used to render, and it took forever and we constantly were losing things off of it. It is horrible for creating presentations as well. I did used to use it in the sign making industry, which prefers it because it is inexpensive and works well…[Read more]

It is just like any form of art, styles come and go. What is popular now is because of what is taught to be popular, or what is stylistically pleasing at the moment. “Here, buy this book and use it to guide your drawing” says the professor. All of the great artists had ‘clones’ who either apprenticed with their style or copied it to make money.…[Read more]

I’d be far less worried about rooftop planting than infill gardens in vacant lots in former industrial rust-belt cities. It would be interesting to see if there have been studies on this. And I prefer progressive metal/rock (essentially classical music with electric guitars) and other types of music as well. As long as it ain’t pop or rap.

I love heavy metal.
 

I wouldn’t eat any of that stuff, especially grown in NYC. You have no idea what kind of stuff in in the soils, and as far as roof top, what the plants are pulling in from the air. You use plants for soil remediation, so, they are sucking  in all them pollutants, and it has to go somewhere…into the leaves and fruits you eat.
 

Great blog post…thanks for the info!

Having desinged a number of water theme parks myself, the posters are correct that there is a rather large team of people who design the park, as they are enormously complex. An LA, architect, or even specialized park planner may lay out the design. I know one large company who really left it to the park manager to lay the placement out in…[Read more]

I’m seeing the opposite in MD…and among the different allied professions. Firms that were busy are slowing down as projects from a few years ago finish, and new work is rolling in slowly if at all. I’ve seen some activity in hiring, but not of experienced people. And what is available for expereinced people has been part time temporary (contract…[Read more]

You ain’t kidding! Geez. I can see their point, rather their frustration. I know of firms that literally receive many hundreds of applications from people who are not qualified (more like overqualified) for the position. If this is a small firm without a dedicated HR department, it takes time away from getting other work done to sift through all…[Read more]

I’ve tried to get samples for a very small “green roof” garden demonstration that i was putting together, but never got to because the plants died (not enough sun on my back porch). I would find a local supplier and call them. I’ve found they usually will not ship small amounts specially mixed for you, but if they are working a job and have some…[Read more]

I think he is getting, when compared to his live-in studio, how clinical and impersonal LA, and design in general, has become. It takes no real talent to be somewhat creative, you can fake your way through it. We all know hacks, and the computer just makes that easier. I’ve seen it myself, not so much with LAs (though I can think of one), but m…[Read more]

For the past few years, I’ve been able to see a good deal of the fireworks in DC from the Speaker’s balcony of the US Capitol. I don’t get to see much of the concert or all the fireworks because I am working, but what I do see is quite something. Luckily, I get to see much of the concert the night before at dress rehersals.