Friday, November 28, 2008

Creating a virtural walk-through of your home

Sometimes, it is not easy to visualize how your home will look before it is constructed. I have had clients who preferred to change their minds about the design during the construction period. But, this is always more expensive than having our office build it virtually. Here is an example of how a project can be veiwed virtually before any wall is taken down and any construction fees are spent.


Friday, November 14, 2008

Your Customers, Clients, and Employees Need to Take "Ownership" of Your Workplace


Imagine how you would feel if you were in my shoes when the doors opened for the first time at Niketown, NY. During the period of time that I was the project architect who worked directly with the directors of Nike Image, a lot of other things happened in my life.


For one, my wife saw so little of me because I was at the office or flying to Beaverton, OR to work out design and construction details so she got us a Black Labrador to keep her company. We named the dog Jackson (the painter, Jackson Pollock’s studio was near the dog rescue shelter in the Hampton town where we adopted our dog).


A year later, my first son, David was born. David helped me refocus my priorities, but I was still committed to getting the Niketown, NY project finished. I really feel that part of David is still left within the walls of that building because he became so much a part of my life-even at work where I was able to enjoy my passion of architecture.


There was a lot of fanfare and drama at the grand opening. Celebrities came out of the woodwork and from all parts of the world. When Phil Knight, one of the founders of NIKE came, it was as if a rock star arrived. NIKE employees came out from their hidding places and exploded into a chant, “NIKE,” that echoed throughout the massive atrium space that was filled with curved walls and oval shaped fixtures to emphasize their image of “movement.” It was almost cult-like.


So, when the doors opened during that first day, it was as if I was leaving a big part of me there and to be watched over by strangers.


Have you had that feeling? When you have passion for something or someone, time just stands still. Everything seems to just fall into place and you take “ownership” of all that you do.

Our buildings can cause your clients, customers, or colleagues to feel a sense of belonging – I know because I was able to help NIKE provide that to their customers and employees. The secret of our success is that we design with a focus on the “experience” that you want others to feel while in your space.


Check out the earlier blog dated September 18, 2008 to learn more about how we helped choreograph an “experience” through architecture for NIKE and how we can do that for you.


Also, don’t miss out on downloading the archived radio shows (you can even listen to it as a podcast). You will find out various strategies that you can use in order to get the edge over any of your competitors while having the best fit of a building for your company.

Monday, November 10, 2008

A time to Celebrate

When I went to Texas Tech University, there were more games that seemed to be more about how well the marching band performed than the football team. In fact, being in the marching band, I remember that we would always dominate the half time, even when we marched in the Longhorn's football stadium in Austin, TX or in Aggie Land. So, my pride of Texas Tech was stemmed from my experiences in architecture school, Kappa Alpha Order, and the marching band.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_4l2te50r1I&feature=related

The football team seemed to do well when they were not playing on national TV. When the limelight was on them, they would often lose. That is not the case this year. This year must be the year of "change." It is amazing that our team is now ranked 2nd in the nation at the time of this post.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PoYwqUqgjyM&feature=related

It is not too often that I have the opportunity to gloat about how my alma mater's football team is doing. Oh, sure, they have won some upsets but they always seemed to be the spoiler instead of the team on top that everyone else is anxious to topple.

Hope you are enjoying your fall season. I know that watching the Red Raiders soar towards an udefeated season makes it a lot easier to deal with the crummy year that the Dallas Cowboys are having. The Dallas Cowboys.... that is a different story.