Chase Kramer, AIA, is the Director of Design for TSP Inc. in Sioux Falls.  He received his M.Arch from ISU where he focused on urban design and sustainability.  Before that, he received a degree in Art from Augustana University.  He lives in Sioux Falls with his wife and four children. Beyond Architecture, he is an AI early adopter, musician, art lover, and fan of cheese and beer.

Fall Reflections: Part 2

A client recently asked “why are your fees higher than last time?” A bit of context… the question was in regard to Phase 2 of a larger renovation. The entire project was originally designed, comprehensively, under a separate fee. To accommodate budgets and schedules, it was split into two different, equal sized phases, for construction.…

Our Buildings Are Boxes | Are Building Our Boxes?

Why box-style architecture is bad… For my final post this month, I’ll return to more traditional and much loved past-time of mine, that is, criticism of bad architecture. We’ve got a problem around here. Our buildings are boxes. Or so many an architect (including me) would say. And its not necessarily localized to “here” per…

Design Competitions

While still not really a common request by clients in our state and region, design competitions are nonetheless become more prevalent. In recent years, some competitions have been more controversial than others, with such controversy focusing more or less on how they compensate (or rather, didn’t compensate) those competing. With that said, I will cover…