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 …

2019 AIA SD Merit Award – Farmhouse Bistro – JLG Architects

For decades, a series of dilapidated farm structures on a rolling farmstead along Spearfish Creek defined quintessential rural Americana. When the original owner demolished the buildings and listed the property for sale, the new owner, Merideth Pangburn-Walker, decided to use the opportunity to create a restaurant that reflected the fondly-remembered old farmstead in both structure …

2019 AIA SD Honor Award – Passive House – SDSU DoArch

PROCESS: PH01:BRK is the most visible portion of the Passive House Initiative, an ongoing research project by the Department of Architecture at South Dakota State University to deliver high performance homes to the region that are faculty led, student designed, and contractor built. The initiative is seeking to become a regional leader and resource for …

2019 AIA SD Merit Award – Augustana University Hamre Recital Hall – TSP, Inc.

Augustana University students had performed in the same Kresge Recital Hall for nearly 50 years. Nestled deep within the interior of a large Humanites and Arts building, its color palette evoked the 1970s, and the acoustics scheme was abstract and minimalist. Augustana came to TSP to help them formulate a list of improvements for the …

BIM Data Utilization – Path of Travel Analyzer

by Iman Ebadi, Stone Group Architects The ongoing question in my mind is: How can BIM help us make educated decisions while designing buildings? I believe this tool is not only capable of performing existing tasks faster and easier, but it also opens doors to new opportunities. Building Information Modeling (BIM) is intended to be …

2019 AIA SD Merit Award – Northern State University Athletic Pavilion – COOP Architecture

Des Moines, Iowa-based substance architecture and Tim Hickman, AIA, LEED AP, served as juror, considering 28 submitted projects, for the 2019 AIA SD Design Awards.  One of the four awards given was for the NSU Athletic Fields & Pavilion project by record architect COOP Architecture. The building’s story is something like this; Northern State University …

We Are All Builders

By Rebel Hurd, Church on the Street There are challenges when working with those living on the margins of society. There are challenges serving those who live on the margins of society. There are challenges walking alongside those struggling with homelessness and poverty on the margins of society. What might it look like, if, instead of looking through a lens of …