Author: Liz Stanton

Since graduating from Kansas State in 2012, Liz has gained experience from a variety of fields within the building industry. From drafting at a metal building manufacturer to working at architecture firms to assisting a real estate broker/developer, she has always had a passion for influencing the built environment. As a designer at Schemmer, Liz enjoys learning new things and refining her skills with help from other licensed professionals. She is pursuing an architectural license and hopes to continue to shape the spaces and places around her in a positive way.
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Design Solutions for Winter Blues

While the groundhog gave us hope that Spring will come early this year, I found myself struggling with a lack of motivation lately; in part, because of the season. In South Dakota, we’ve grown accustomed to bearing cold dark winters and short days. It’s not just you: twenty percent of Americans experience either the winter blues or Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD). That being said, we are not forced to submit to the elements and anxiously wait for warmer temps and brighter days to come. There are strategies to combat SAD, and we can incorporate technologies into the spaces we retreat to in the winter.

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Call to Action: “Making Federal Buildings Beautiful Again”?

It was 8:49 on Tuesday evening when an email notification came across my phone. I was watching a movie but decided I’d see what the email had to say. It was from a colleague regarding an article in the Architectural Record. The article by Cathleen McGuigan (editor-in-chief of Architectural Record) was about a preliminary draft of an executive order rewriting the Guiding Principles for Federal Architecture (a document written by the late Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan and issued in 1962 that mandates Federal architecture standards). According to Architectural Record, the new Guiding Principles will be rewritten and will be called “Making Federal Buildings Beautiful Again.”

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Myth Busted: Documents from Architect are not Direct Contractor Instructions

The Architect’s Handbook of Professional Practice explicitly addresses the limited content of the architect’s drawings this way: “It is important that all parties understand that construction documents are not intended to be a complete set of instructions on how to construct a building. Construction means, methods, techniques, sequences, procedures, and site safety precautions are customarily assigned as responsibilities of the contractor to give the contractor full latitude in preparing bids and carry out the construction phase.”

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December 2019 ABI (Architecture Billings Index) & Planning for the Next Recession

It’s a good idea to keep an eye on the market and predictions. Prepare for each possible scenario and react according to how things play out. Check out this month’s billing index from December 2019 to plan for the coming months. Architects, business leaders, public officials, and general public should all stay current on the economic condition. The ABI is an index that everyone should take a look at to stay informed.

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Disaster Recovery. We’re on It!

With stories in Australia with wildfires and earthquakes in Puerto Rico scattered throughout my newsfeed, global disasters are top of mind. We live in an age of information and technology, and have access to current events at our finger tips. With that comes the ability to affect change and help the situations we’re reading about. There are many avenues to aid in relief efforts. It’s hard to know where to get involved. Fortunately, the AIA has a program that specializes in disaster assistance.

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2019 Posts: A Year in Review

As we begin a new year, it is important to take a retrospective look at the previous one. We celebrate the high points and learn from the low. Happy New Year to our readers. We thank you for your continued support and can’t wait to read what 2020 has in store for Blueprint South Dakota and the architecture community. So, in case you missed it, here are the highlights from 2019.