FreeGreen Who's Next Competition

This is Ben & my entry for the competition. Please take a minute to follow the link and comment/vote if you can. The winner is determined 50% by public vote and 50% by jury!

ChaOs Hyperbole (hye-PER-buh-lee)

I'm making a commitment to update this blog regularly from this point forward. Much of it initially may be about the journey of starting my design firm. Heading out on my own has been sitting in the back of my mind for many years, this economy has provided the impetus. I'm excited and somewhat nervous but I think those are feelings all new business owners experience. You know you can do it, your gut is telling you it's time, it's getting the paying clients that seem to be the hardest part!

For those who don't know, I'll be focusing on set design for the theater, exhibit design, interior design, and furniture design. Once I get my license (the goal is within the next 12 months), I'll venture out in to the world of architecture. Until the point where I can actually call myself and Architect, I must stay with projects under 5,000 square feet.

I'm leaning towards the artistic realm for a couple of reasons. First and foremost, my mind works that way. I'm a concept designer, which means that I don't design just because something "looks good," my designs are based on a unique concept developed from the desires of the client and the context of the project. Decisions are made on how they reinforce that concept. It makes the design process smoother, cleaner and faster. Secondly it's because of the inspiration of the incredible artists I've had the opportunity to meet over the years and the belief in their craft. So many have the same attitude I have - nothing is impossible, you need only figure out how to do it. You ply your craft because you believe in the value it can bring to others who experience it.

Which brings me to the name of my design firm. Why ChaOs Hyperbole? Doesn't that seem like it might scare people off? Make them think the process or the product is going to be chaotic? What I'm actually saying with the name of the firm and trying to reinforce via the logo (an early version of it sits here with the post) is that life is chaotic, the built environment is chaotic, but it's a controlled chaos which should be embraced. The hyperbole is also a reinforcement that "chaos" is often an exaggeration, which is a fun play on the theme as a whole.

So I hope to keep you informed on this journey of starting a design firm and perhaps we can grow our aesthetics and experiences together.

If you'd like to stay posted please subscribe or follow me on Twitter @CarolineOLeary where I'll let you know when I update the blog.

Ciao

Materials - Puget Sound Region LEED Local

Courtesy of O'Brien & Company the following is a list of materials which may be useful for earning USGBC LEED® points for projects which occur in the Puget Sound region:


MR4.1/4.2 Recycled Content

Steel

· Rebar from Cascade Steel Rolling Mills with 71% Post –consumer and 24% Pre-consumer recycled content.

Roofboard:

· Dens Deck from Pacific Construction Systems with 90% Pre-consumer recycled content.

Cement Board

· Durock Cement Board by US Gypsum Company, with 20% Pre-consumer recycled content.

Gypsum Board

· ProRock gypsum board by CertainTeed, with 4% Post-consumer and 10% Pre-consumer recycled content.

· Gypsum board by BPB (also Regional) with 4% Post-consumer and 10% Pre-consumer recycled content.

Particleboard and MDF

· Roseburg Particleboard by Roseburg Forest Products, with 100% Pre-consumer recycled content. Also qualifies under Regional materials.

Insulation

· Sarna Therm Insulation by Sika Sarnafil, with 21% Pre-consumer recycled content.

· Unfaced Fiberglass Insulation and Sound Control Batts from Knauf, with 20% Post-consumer recycled content.

· Rigid Foam Insulation (R-tech) by Insulfoam, with 15% Pre-consumer recycled content. Also Regional.

· MDF by Sierra Pine, with 100% Pre-consumer recycled content.

Countertops, both qualify under Regional materials

· Paperstone with 100% Post-consumer recycled content.

· Squak Mountain with 2.5% Post-consumer and 49% Pre-consumer recycled content.



MR 5 Regional Materials

Wood

· Vancouver Door in Puyallup.

· FSC by FD Sterrit Lumber Company, also Rapidly Renewable.

Regional Steel Sources

· Infra-Metals, Inc; Cascade Steel; Pacific Stair Company; Dietrich; Harris Rebar; NuCor-Yamato Steel.

Asphalt

· Lakeside Industries



MR 6 Rapidly Renewable Materials

· Forbo Marmoleum Real, Johnsonite Rubber Base and Johnsonite Stair Treads by Gold Star.

· Acoustical Insulation, by Thermafiber

· Wood Framing FSC, by FD Sterrit Lumber Company. Also Regional.

· Wood Decking, by Lock Deck

· Wood, laminated, by Unadilla

· Radar Ceiling Tiles, Cornstarch, by USG.

Design - Theater Sets

Just about done with the first set design experience. It's something I've wanted to get in to for years but haven't found an opportunity.

It's definately been quite the experience. Set design is very conceptual, which is something I really like, but like anything that you design, you can't fill in the gaps until you're building and to some degree using the design. In the case of the play, as we've finally got the major structures built we're realizing that we have gaps due to the ability of a few major things:
The desire of those with the knowledge to build to actually build the thing
The time
Not having worked closer with the Director and Assistant Director (due to the gathering of us so late in the game)
Struggle for control
Non-volunteer (meaning paying job) deadlines

I think the most frustrating and exciting part of the experience is thinking about how in future plays we might worker closer with the production team and really have the set be an integral part of the movement of the cast. This seems desirable b/c that way they wouldn't have to:
Close the curtain (particularly important when there are multiple quick scene changes
"Turn down the lights" which leads to the ability to see the set being changed

I'll follow this post with an image of a backdrop not being used in the play due to the theater not having available fly's in the places we need. The back drops are 32' long x 8' high (four panels each at 8'x8'). Once the play actually opens (Thursday) then I'll get some more photos of the set actually up. It's very minimal, abstract and at the same time Bauhaus, or at least that's how I see it.

Cheers!

Musings on Jealousy & Poop

It dawned on me again for the umpteenth time in the last who knows how long that I spend an awful lot of time comparing myself to others. In particular to others accomplishments, skills, experiences, etc. I've throughout my life thought that this was a good thing because it made me want to be better, try harder, do more. What I'm realizing as I get older is that what it accomplishes now is self-sabotage.

This thought occurred twice today for two reasons. The first was as I was reading through my friends blog and thinking, "Wow, she really is a wonderful writer. So engaging and personal without being TOO personal. I want to write like that!" The second was while reading Architectural Record (December 2008). The archrecord2 article focuses on Ammar Eloueini and his research based work. While reading the article I was thinking about another entry I'm working on about material research and thinking, "I want to do that! How can I start designing installations?" After a series of reminders about how "it takes years Caroline" and "calm down, you're just getting started," and "for f's sake Caroline - learn how to focus on something for longer than two minutes and you may actually accomplish something," I managed to flip through another seven pages and stopped again. William Morgan reviewed the book Seventy-nine Short Essays on Design by Michael Bierut, and he includes a quote, a quote so adequate for this ridiculous wining I've been subjecting my brain cells through that it actually made me stop - and write this entry. The quote you ask?

...the more things you are interested in, the better your work will be

Is it true? I think that yes, to a point it is, but there's something to be said about being able to zoom in on something and really follow it through. To have the patience to explore one thing, one thought, one - something. To be able to commit to truly understanding rather than throwing it out like the wrapping paper you use once and even though you know you've not developed it to its fullest potential there's that shiny new wallpaper over there waiting to be tried.

I enjoy knowing a little bit about alot of things, more so than I think I would knowing alot about a few things, but it seems that this way of thinking, of doing, of being, will place limitations on where I can go in my career and so perhaps what I need to do is figure out where I WANT to go and learn how to walk a gray line between committing and flitting.

Patience is finally occurring in my life, perhaps focus will too.

So perhaps the point of all this is that I'm going to try to quit comparing myself to others and focus on MY strengths - like the fact that I can hold a two minute conversation with anyone, that I can spend years making a decision and somehow get people to think it's spontaneous when I finally do something about it, that I can read AND follow 3, 4, 5 books at one time and that I'm an idea person. An idea person. THAT is what I like about me.

Now on to my favorite story about the built environment from the news this week:

PIGEON POOP BLAMED FOR AWNING COLLAPSE

Seriously, you've got to love the AP for some of the newsworthy items they cover, and believe it or not, it is newsworthy!

Think about this, it's a design issue. Was it a canopy such as this or an awning such as this? My hunch is the former (this post may lead to a future post on how irritating it is when people don't follow the definition of a word - I know I'll probably get called on this sometimes and PLEASE feel free to do it) is what they meant and while the article from the Associated Press tenders the idea that the collapse is due to 4-5 inches of pigeon poo collecting I've got to wonder if maybe its due more to the corrosive effects of bird waste than it is to the weight of it.

Either way, there are seem to be two design issues here (the world is occurring in two's today)

1. The "awning" was designed in such a way as to allow for birds to have their happy hour rather than taking in to account that a perch is a perch and if you're gonna provide it they're gonna use it so let's try to find a way to either NOT provide the perch or...


2. The "awning" was not designed in a way which allowed ease of maintenance (ooh, this gets me thinking about my current project at the office, I may have to think about that over my vacation)

I could continue to elaborate on this but it's late, I'm tired and even though the office is closed tomorrow (today) I don't get to stay away because well, it's difficult to say you can't get there because of the snow when you live across the street