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Archive for June, 2010
BLUE RIDGE PARKWAY RIDE Prologue - Day 0
Good evening. Back again for another cycling adventure. We have arrived in Waynesboro, Virginia at the Days Inn. As we pulled up it felt like de javu seeing the two story motel with exterior doors directly into the rooms. The drive from Indianapolis took us just about 10 hours including a stop at Arby’s for lunch. Hopefully the last chain restaurant until heading home.
We are driving a 15 passenger Ford van, with the back seats out to accommodate the five bicycles. My father, “Tonto”, once again will be driving the SAG. The cyclists include Tom King, Mark Lawrence, Kevin Fry and myself. We will be joined on Sunday afternoon by Jim Cunning.
Batteries Not Included
This past weekend I stumbled across the movie *batteries not included on TV. I haven’t seen this movie since I was a kid, but I remembered it had something to do with robots and that I had liked it.
Well, imagine my surprise to discover that the movie has preservation issues at its core. A large corporate development is planned for a city block, and all but one of the historic buildings has been torn down. The tenants of the final hold-out decide to make a stand to preserve their home, their community, because even without the benefit of the surrounding structures, there is still a community within the building. It seems like a hopeless struggle, with bulldozers waiting at the door, and a gang of thugs sent to “persuade” the tenants to leave.
Iconic Buildings Become Iconic Brands
RATIO has had the good fortune to work on several projects in Indianapolis that, over time, have become city landmarks. Our firm has always advocated for designs that tell stories – sometimes of the activities going on inside.
credit: www.indianamuseum.org
Sustainable Structures Without the USGBC Seal
Today, the decision to design more sustainable structures is sort of a no-brainer. As stewards of our environment, we need to create sustainable buildings – but whether or not you certify a building with the USGBC – that’s another discussion. Our recent design efforts at various universities have helped identify different attitudes regarding the question of whether or not to certify projects.
- At the University of Illinois At Urbana-Champaign we’ve designed an addition to their historic Huff Gym for their College of Applied Health Sciences. Here we are certifying this design and construction at the Silver level. UIUC’s Facilities & Services Planning Department is programming all projects more than $5 million to be at least LEED™ Silver certified and their Construction Management Department is applying LEED standards and practices to capital projects over $5 million.
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