May is National Preservation Month, and Blueprint: SD will be highlighting relevant stories from the state, region and across the country to highlight some of the great work taking place in the field of architectural preservation and rehabilition. To begin this month’s focus, we’ve assembled a great list of resources to explore- for education, advocacy …
Introducing High-performance buildings
Cover image: A high performance building in hot and arid climate High-performance building is a design approach that aims to reduce the energy consumption and environmental impact of buildings while also improving the comfort and well-being of occupants. This approach involves the integration of advanced technologies, sustainable materials, and passive design strategies that work together …
SDSU School of Design: Getting to Know Sean Ervin
In case you haven’t noticed, there are many new faces roaming the halls of Chicoine AME Hall at SDSU, and it’s not just related to the constant influx of new students. The recent years have brought forth an array of bright-eyed professors with bright ideas, and a passion for shaping the future generation of architects. …
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Pride and Architecture
The gratefulness and thankfulness that is supposed to accompany this season is somewhat at odds with a culture that preaches one to be “proud” of one’s accomplishments or to take “pride” in their work. How often do we hear hear someone tell us to be “proud” of this or that, or even parents telling their …
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 …
Beauty: What It Is (and Why It Matters… to Architecture)
Full admission, the title of this post is stolen from the title of a book I just finished reading a few months ago, written by John-Mark Miravalle. While it detailed aspects of beauty from the traditional fine arts, it also was broad enough to cover the literary and culinary arts, and even touched on the …
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New Uses for Historic Buildings
Not all great historic buildings can be saved for their original purpose. Sometimes they are vacated due to new ownership, sometimes they become too small and many have accessibility issues. When a building is remodeled for a new purpose, architects call it adaptive reuse. Buildings that cannot find new uses are often abandoned and eventually …
Road to the Register
(Cover image by Sandra Lea Dickenson, AIA Emeritus) Her name was Margaret Wellington. She was the wife of Dr. Raynor Wellington, history professor at the University of South Dakota in Vermillion. Margaret was a member of the building committee for a new home for the First Congregational Church in Vermillion, South Dakota (now known as …
An interview with Pascale Sablan, Architect/Advocate: Part 2
We continue the conversation with Pascale in Part 2 discussing her personal journey through the architectural industry. AD: How have you been able to see the impact of your contributions to the architectural industry? PS: First, a few years ago I was lecturing at an AIA Brooklyn event and a young woman approached me after …
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Call for Presentations!
Present at Design in the Hills, 2022 AIA SD Annual Convention AIA South Dakota has issued a Call for Presentations for Design in the Hills, planned for July 14-15, 2022, and the AIA South Dakota Annual Convention and Expo, scheduled for Sept. 15-16, 2022.Those who have knowledge and insight that may be of value to …