A Debt to LEGO

When CNN (or any other mainstream news agency) shares something about architecture, I’m always interested. This was an nice “fluffy” find this weekend: https://www.cnn.com/style/article/lego-architecture-design/index.html I’m one of those architects who owe a debt to LEGO for sparking and fostering a curiosity about the built environment from an early age. This sentiment is fairly pervasive in…

What is an Award Winning Project?

Tim Hickman AIA, LEED AP, Principal at substance architecture When you enter an AIA design awards program you may wonder what the criteria for judging excellence may be.  This year Substance Architecture was invited to organize the awards jury for the AIA South Dakota 2019 Design Awards.  We were asked what we are looking for…

Notre Dame Cathedral competition announced

After the tragic fire at Notre Dame a couple weeks ago, attention quickly shifted to reconstruction- but the tricky question of the best way to rebuild may take a great while longer to reconcile. Straightforward preservation calls for reconstruction with matching materials when adequate documentation is available and sources for those materials still exist (both…

Happy Earth Day- AIA Announces COTE Top 10 Sustainable Projects for 2019

From AIA National: The 2019 COTE® Top Ten program highlights projects that meet the AIA Committee on the Environment’s rigorous criteria for social, economic, and ecological value. The COTE® Top Ten Plus designation denotes projects with exemplary performance data and post occupancy lessons https://www.aia.org/resources/6126355-2019-cote-top-ten-awards/?utm_source=real-magnet&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=hna19-3-cote-top-ten

Happy New Year from Blueprint South Dakota!

2018 was a great year for architecture and design in South Dakota- here are a few links to check out some of the best work that was completed nationally and around the world. Let us know what stands out to you and why! https://www.archdaily.com/907313/the-best-architecture-of-2018 https://www.architecturalrecord.com/articles/13833-notable-projects-of-2018?id=13833-notable-projects-of-2018&ajs_uid=3237H0803912E4W&oly_enc_id=3237H0803912E4W&ajs_trait_oebid=3782E0258467B1M

The New Age of Construction

Automation and robotics have changed the way the world operates immensely since their inception. They have typically been used to perform repetitive, menial tasks in order to increase efficiency and accuracy. There is no doubt they have had a monumental impact on many different industries. The construction industries have reaped the benefits of automation when it comes…

Intelligent Architecture

Driver-less cars, precision agriculture, artificial intelligence – although these may evoke images of futuristic cities only seen in sci-fi films, they may be our reality sooner than we think. It was recently announced that Sioux Falls may be a tester-ground for 5G internet technology. Senator John Thune believes this will change and propel our economic landscape…