Blog: As We See It

• Family-Friendly Downtowns

  Urban designer Sarah Snider, Assoc. AIA, LEED AP, is part of a new project that examines the relationship of cities to their residents.

   

• Nils Finne's New Video

  Seattle architect Nils Finne's smart, low-key use of Internet marketing to spread the word about his firm helps secure work across the country.

   

• Garden Dialogues in Your City

  The Cultural Landscape Foundation is hosting a series of Garden Dialogues, or small group garden tours, all over the country in June and July. Maybe there's one in your city or town.

   

• Shop Class and the Future of Skilled Labor

  Who's going to build our buildings when nobody knows one end of a hammer from the other

   

• Motivating Employees to Act (and Feel) Like Owners

  It's about respect and autonomy, not about rules.

   

• Asphalt Road Surfaces as Solar Collectors

  Another great idea hiding in plain sight: Redirect heat from asphalt road and parking surfaces for productive uses.

   

• Llighthouses Available, Cheap

  I've been impressed on this visit with how my old hometown, DC, seems to be thriving, and that leads me to reflect on how cities in general will fare in the coming post-recession.

   

• Regional Design at AIA 2012

  The AIA 2012 session "Connect to the World and Community: Region-Based Design and Its Connection to Culture, Community, and Place" on Thursday, May 17, was packed.

   

• Legal Basics for Architectural Practice

  At the AIA 2012 National Convention in Washington, D.C., Charles R. Heuer, FAIA, Esq., presented “Did You Get the Owner’s Manual for Your Practice?”

   

• The Urban Rebound

  I've been impressed on this visit with how my old hometown, DC, seems to be thriving, and that leads me to reflect on how cities in general will fare in the coming post-recession.