Topping Out Ceremony

Excellent news for Holyoke, MA! Yesterday, Deval Patrick and other important local leaders visited the Paper City for the capping beam ceremony at the new Massachusetts Green High Performance Computer Center.


 

WWLP 22: Last beam laid at Holyoke computing ctr 11.29.2011

Holyoke Massachusetts Green High Performance Computing Center completes first stage of construction

Massachusetts hopes to transform old landfills into solar, wind projects

http://www.enterprisenews.com/topstories/x2042555761/Massachusetts-hopes-to-transform-old-landfills-into-solar-wind-projects

Happy Thanksgiving!

All of us at Austin Design wish you and your loved ones a happy and relaxing Thanksgiving!

Are You Green Car Savvy?

Test your knowledge here to find out!

Behold: The 20 Dirtiest, Most Polluted Cities in America

http://www.treehugger.com/urban-design/behold-forbess-20-dirtiest-cities-america.html

Birds vs. Glass

Image from http://simple-article10.blogspot.com/2011/07/glass-spells-danger-for-birds.html

Each year millions, if not billions, of birds are stunned, injured or killed by flying into glass. 

Recently, on a more chirpful - ahem, cheerful - note, the U.S. Green Building Council has began offering credits to builders for bird-friendly designs: A New LEED Credit for Bird-Friendly Buildings.

Additional articles of interest:
Glass Spells Danger for Birds
How to Keep Birds from Crashing into Windows
Bird-Friendly Glass Designed with Help from Spiders

Indigo bunting

Installation of bird-friendly glass at 100-year-old enclosed

swimming pool in Plauen, Germany

Murphy Residence - Small House Design

Conceptual design - West facade














When we met with the homeowners of this waterfront property, they were excited to make improvements that would allow for greater comfort and enjoyment of their seasonal Vermont home and its beautiful views of Lake Champlain and the surrounding mountains.

This project is a work-in-progress and includes plans to:

• Add a dormered second story with a master bedroom and bathroom (on the north side), a guest bedroom and bathroom, a sitting area and balcony
• Expand the first floor kitchen, entry, and stairway to second floor
• Raise the house above flood level
• Minimize the expansion of the footprint as much as possible

Below are two additional views of the conceptual plan for the lakeside cottage, as well as "before" and "under construction" photography:

Conceptual design - North & west facades

Conceptual design - South & east facades



"Before" - North & west facades



"Before" - South facade

"Before" - East facade



"Under construction" - Raised and getting additional foundational piers





"Under construction" - Expanded interior stairway leading to second floor



"Under construction" - West facade, the house is beginning to take on its new look

View of Lake Champlain from the home's second floor

Lake Champlain

Stay tuned! We will continue to post updates and progress on the Murphy project as developments occur.

Earth's Natural Beauty in Time Lapse

Earth's Natural Beauty in Time Lapse

HGBC Haiti Construction Team

New tools, same slouch

Reconstructing Schools in Haiti





Image from http://en.kindernothilfe.org/

Kindernothilfe (KNH), a Christian organization founded in Duisburg, Germany that is dedicated to children's aid, commissioned Chilean architecture firm, HABITERRA, to rebuild a rural school in Coupeau.

The school was destroyed in the January 12, 2010 earthquake that ravaged Haiti.  Local community members, children, and their parents assisted in the rebuilding of the school.

To read more about this amazing project, please click on the links below:

Reconstructing Schools in Haiti

Report Execution Works - school in Coupeau

Construction plan 01

Construction plan 02

Construction plan 03

The Avant/Garde Diaries

Balestra Berlin's Kubik installation in Lausanne, Switzerland

Dwell brings to our attention The Avant/Garde Diaries - short videos of the lives and goings-on in the design world overseas. The video below features a group of professionals' and artists' lifestyles and projects in Berlin.

Interesting footage of a double-decker bus turned convenience store in a Berlin neighborhood, and an introduction to Balestra Berlin, appear in the video above.  Balestra Berlin is a German firm consisting of architects and artists in the fields of music, sound, lighting, animation, illustration, exhibition, event planning, photography and more.

Haiti's New Hospital

Rebuilding for Resilience

Image from http://www.worldbulletin.net/

In the aftermath of the January 12, 2010 earthquake that devastated Haiti, many organizations pulled together to discuss how to rebuild the country in a safe and stronger way.

Rebuilding for Resilience: How Science and Engineering Can Inform Haiti's Reconstruction

The Pro's of Renovation

Carol M. Highsmith, November 2008 (Library of Congress)/Public Domain

This article by Lloyd Alter explores the pro's of renovations and remodels: Renovation and Repair Creates Way More Jobs, Uses Far Less Material Than New Construction

copyright Woodcliffe Corporation

IEEE / Sirona Haiti Rural Electricity Project

Image from http://sironacares.typepad.com/

The SunBlazer solar charger project in Haiti brings electricity to rural areas of the country to support local entrepreneurs in their business efforts and to provide homeowners will dependable electricity.

Check out the links below to read more about the pilot program:

IEEE / Sirona Haiti Rural Electricity Project
Sirona Cares

Image from http://sironacares.typepad.com/

"...one of the most energy-efficient office buildings in the world..."

http://www.worldarchitecturenews.com/index.php?fuseaction=wanappln.projectview&upload_id=17996

Internet Education in Haiti



Image from http://buildingaschool.wordpress.com/



The Research and Education Network (REN) Haiti report, below, authored by a consortia of organizations from across the Western Hemisphere and France, explains the importance of improving healthcare and education in Haiti. The authors propose, among other things, a country-wide Internet network connecting schools, universities and clinics, to promote and support K-20 education and health services and medical resources throughout the nation. 

Please click the  link below to read the report:

Research and Education Network (REN) Haiti: A Collaborative Proposal to the Inter-American Development Bank 7 November 2011

Authoring organizations:

CLARA-Cooperation for Latin American Research and Education
CKLN-Caribbean Knowledge Learning Network
The Graduate School of Education at the University of Pennsylvania
MAGPI -Mid-Atlantic Gigapop in Philadelphia for Internet2
CyberBridges at the Center for Internet Augmented Research and Assessment (CIARA)
AMPATH-Americas Pathway Research and Education Exchange
University of Miami TeleHealth



Image from http://www.the-private-eye.com/



Spotty Horses

Pech Merle cave art depicting spotted horses













In Art History class, you may remember studying the captivating cave art of prehistoric painters. Their artwork appeared on the walls and ceilings of caves throughout the world, including the Lascaux, Chauvet, and Pech Merle caves  located in modern day France. 

Recently, scientists found that the spotted horses painted in Pech Merle were based on real-life versions, and were not simply creative twists of the artists' imaginations.

Read more on the exciting evidence in the two articles below:
Spotted Horses in Cave Art Weren't Just a Figment, DNA Shows
Ancient Cave Painters Were Realists, DNA Reveals



Occupy the Classroom

The messages of Occupy Wall Street (OWS) and similar demonstrations now occuring in cities and towns worldwide are critically important: People want economic equality. We also want corporate greed and injustices to stop.

In a similar vein, Nicholas Kristof of the The New York Times writes an article about Occupy the Classroom.

Like our friend and colleague Marky Jean-Pierre, President of the Honor for Haiti Foundation (FONHOH) with whom we're working to design an educational center in rural Haiti, Kristof believes it is of utmost importance to improve early childhood education.

Education in Haiti: The Way Forward

The Partnership For Educational Revitalization in the Americas (and the Caribbean) issued a report by Laurence Wolff on the subject of educational system improvements in Haiti, entitled Education in Haiti: The Way Forward.

Haiti Here We Come!

From top left to right: Joan Rockwell, Bill Austin, Chris Farley,

                                      Marky Jean-Pierre, and Anne Perkins
















Husband-and-wife team Bill Austin, Architect, and Joan Rockwell, Landscape Architect, will be traveling this month with Marky Jean-Pierre, President of the Honor for Haiti Foundation (FONHOH), to the Caribbean island nation of Hispaniola. They will visit land that has been donated to FONHOH to build an educational center in rural Haiti.

Originally from Haiti, Marky Jean-Pierre is dedicated to the improvement in the country's educational system and is a founder of FONHOH, a not-for-profit organization based in both Amherst, Massachusetts and Bon-Repos, Haiti. The organization focuses on adult learning and literacy, language education, teacher education and K-12 school improvement in Haiti.

Austin Design and Joan Rockwell & Associates have been working on site analysis and schematic designs for the educational center. The trip will be an exciting mission to delve deeper and improve our understanding of this important project.

UMass Grad Aids His Native Haiti By Improving Educational Access

Take Me Home, Country Roads

This newly renovated home is an urban family's countryside retreat and will eventually become the primary residence upon the husband's and wife's retirement.

Nestled in the foothills of the Berkshire Mountains in Western Massachusetts, the homeowners wished to integrate their more relaxed, rural lifestyle and surroundings into the design of their new home. By adding new living spaces, including a three-season porch, library, and additional second floor bedrooms, the family can soak in the spectacular views and serenity of the surrounding landscape.

From the diamond patterning in the exterior cedar shake detailing to the Stickley furniture interiors, the husband-and-wife team showcase their passion for Arts-and-Crafts-style architecture and interior decorating.

To view more photography of this project, please view our Flickr photostream.