Jason T. Radice

I tend to respond to the site and surroundong context. Lot shape, topo, regulating lines, and traffic flow. Certain situations require certain solutions, and you get to know that from experience. I also rely heavily on environmental psychology techniques to design patterns and spaces for heavy pedestrian areas. Because I deal mainly with sites…[Read more]

Get the PPI charette review books. It might be expensive, but it shows you a correct solution AND the common mistakes people make, and most importantly, what the reviewers are looking for when they grade your test. They do an excellent job with these books if you use them correctly. They got me through, and I cannot recommend them highly enough.…[Read more]

The much publicized hardscape of the aquarium at the Inner Harbor. Great design and good quality install.

The major issue with rail is the cost. Look at slAmtrak. It loses VAST quantities of taxpayer money due to insane overhead costs, which include labor and equipment maintenance. Most routes are subsidized, as they cannot make money whatsoever. Even in very dense urban areas, the metro rail or subway systems also bleed money. Private enterprise used…[Read more]

Wow, great topic. One that is close to my heart.

While I agree that the expression of opinion or conveyance of information can be somewhat confrontational to some, ultimately, it is irrelevant. It’s a message board. However, it can be somewhat educational for those with a truly open and inquisitive mind. Most are stuck with their own opinion u…[Read more]

They should have made those in Baltimore out of Corten..would have looked sooooo much better (and more natural). Plus, you don’t have to paint them – ever. They used Corten @ the Getty in LA with nicely hidden welds. Stunning.

Why ruin a perfectly good automobile?

I never put anything on my cars…period. I take the dealer logo off, I take the dealer plate frame off, and if I need a window sticker, I make it easily removable. Just think of all those people who have stickers on their cars and are having second thoughts about their support or ideology…ever try to take…[Read more]

Yes…there are. Like Great Falls mentioned below. There are also the Civil War Battlefield parks, especially dense in NoVA. There is also many landmarks such as Mount Vernon (which has a great new visitors center), the Pope-Leighey House (One of Wrights Usonian Homes), Old Town Alexandria, and Skyline Drive/Blue Ridge Parkway (highway along the…[Read more]

In total agreement with standardization and having the right tools to do the job efficiently. I am consistently surprised at how many of my former employers did not actively seek time and labor saving software or hardware, and then refuse to spend the money on the best equipment to fulfill those goals when presented with a cost/benefit analysis.…[Read more]

As far as New Urbanist, there is Kentlands, Maryland…designed by Andres Duany and Elizabeth Plater-Zyberk. It is located in Gaithersburg, MD…a trip up 270 from Fairfax. It’s an okay development, while cutting edge at the time, has been far surpassed. It also is not very aesthetically pleasing and is not ageing well. Its just a dense glorified…[Read more]

I’m old school…but would LOVE LandFX. I draw a schedule and text right in AC. Once I have it set up, I can copy it from project to project. Simplest is sometimes the best. BTW…I have never had great luck importing Excel into AC..it always seems to come out blocky…that, and you have to change thing in TWO pieces of software, and still do…[Read more]

I know that some of the cyptic code comes from the early days of CAD when Microstation did not support layer names…only numbers. Those numbers would be a universal set for an office where, lets say “26” referred to a gas line easment and the specific line type showed red on the screen, .05 pen weight, and was dashed.

Some architecture firms…[Read more]

Modified National CAD Standard…

For small jobs, I like to block in the base files (because I generally have to modify and correct them anyway) in order to get proper line weights and to actually close all of the shapes properly. I also dump the 3D data as it becomes just too cumbersome to deal with when you add a few hundred other blocks for…[Read more]

Judging by the efflorescence on part of the wall, it looks like you already have water issues behind the stone. I’d strongly suggest not putting a water feature on the wall, as it has not been designed for it. You will need lots of waterproofing behind the stone, as well as additional depth for the plenum tank to distribute the water for even flow…[Read more]

You can try this stuff for the pens and markers (and paint) but nothing will stop the etching and carving. Perhaps better lighting and a fake camera shell or two might prevent it. Or camp out there a few nights and surprise the culprits. Other than that, there is nothing you can do, kids today are disrespectful pigs (much worse than my…[Read more]

For commercial around here, the civil always controls the site, unless the architect chimes in. This is because the first submission is always the site plan. They usually do some sad landscape design as well just to get approval. If its a third party LA, there is often problems getting things changed because of gov’t reviews already done, or the…[Read more]

Many offices are still old school, or have too many old school people still in them. If you have less than 5 years, all you are is production. And if you are a woman, make that 7 years. I’ve unfortunately seen this first hand. Architecture (landscape less so) is still a men’s club in many respects. And many places still either hire you as a CAD…[Read more]

I’ve only worked in architetcs and developers offices. The developer was great…the one with the money is the boss. Within the architects offices, you still have old school egos who think you plany pansies all day, and then you have some who appreciate the skills ans what a lifesaver you can be. I can’t tell you how many times and to how many…[Read more]

Andrew is correct, this rig was inspected, permitted, and even won a safety award from the government! The oil industry is one of the most tightly regulated businesses in the nation, and BP was playing ball with the gov’t with massive political donations (mostly to Obama, believe it or not) for ease on regulation and inclusion in the alternative…[Read more]

I do have one disagreement with your last statement. Americans ARE different than any other peoples in the world. Back in the Revolutionary days (and before), this was a wilderness outpost, even in our largest cities. Most chose to be here, they emigrated for religious freedoms and pure opportunity that existed with a new land. It was the values…[Read more]