Happy Thanksgiving from BPA!
As always we’re thankful for our amazing clients, consultants, staff and their families.
What are you thankful for this year?
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Last month, Pam Lowery of BPI invited some of the BPA interior designers to make a trip to Schluter Systems’ North American headquarters in Montreal, Canada. Schluter Systems hosted a workshop to discuss the challenges in traditional floor, wall, and exterior tile applications as well as new technologies available to address these issues. Working sessions and seminars were given throughout the visit with topics covering building efficiency and LEED, tile installations, proper drain installation, water-proofing and moisture management.
The ladies also made time to explore the cultural gem that is Quebec’s most populous city. They enjoyed a dining cruise on Le Bateau-Mouche down the St. Laurent River and under the Jacques Cartier Bridge, a walking tour of Old Montreal and the Port, a tour of Le Notre Dame cathedral, and a visit to world-famous Gibby’s Steakhouse.
A special thank you to Steve Brasington and William LeBlanc from Schluter Systems for graciously hosting the visit and to Pam for coordinating the festivities!
Schluter Systems: https://www.schluter.com/schluter-us/en_US/
BPA is excited to return to The Loveliest Village on The Plains for the 2017 Internship Fair hosted by Auburn University's AIAS chapter. We’ll see you on Thursday, March 23rd!
With the new year upon us and 2016 slowly fading in the rear view mirror, the Birchfield Penuel team is excited about the many opportunities on the horizon for 2017 and beyond. It is apparent that the entire nation is in transition, from our country’s political leadership to a shifting workforce demographic and significant technological advances that are revolutionizing entire industries. As a firm we feel change is a good thing, however each individual may react differently to the idea of a future to which we are not accustomed. As a species, we are creatures of habit, clinging onto the old and familiar until we are finally convinced that the new is an improvement to our old way of life.
The inevitability of change is real and as design professionals, we not only have the ability but the responsibility to embrace these changes. As a profession, we are the forefront of advancement - the early adopters of innovation - and we should be the visionaries to help pave the way for our society. Not only to insure that the world we live in will become more aesthetically pleasing, but to set the standards for the responsible stewardship of our surroundings and environment. Designers are and should be the forward thinkers, the problem solvers and sometimes the ushers for society’s conscience.
Although the new and innovative is often seen as positive, rapid change may have its own disadvantages. When the vehicle we are in is moving too fast, it can be difficult to see all of the detail around us; to plan properly for what is just down the road. Our culture tends to focus on being ahead of schedule, only to result in a disjointed product in the end. The idea that was initially inventive and exciting becomes hollow and meaningless without the necessary attention to detail and proper planning.
Not every project that we are involved in allows us to push the creative boundaries, initiate media attention or a design award. These opportunities are statistically few and the recognition can be fleeting. Our goal should be to treat each project as a step toward the future, an integral piece of the puzzle that requires careful planning and attention to detail and an opportunity to positively change the future in an enduring way, if only incrementally.
As a firm, our resolution is to continue to provide that extra attention to detail for all of our clients regardless of the budget, complexity, or prominence of the project. We will work even harder to make it apparent as to why BPA has been included as part of your team.
“We value this relationship and every opportunity to assist you in the future."
- Alan Crotwell, AIA, Associate Principal
2016 BY THE NUMBERS
A PHOTO RECAP
SOME OF OUR WORK FROM 2016....
Christmas Cheer from Hyde Engineering
Our friends at Hyde Engineering shared a little holiday project with us!
We got some good laughs out of it, and hope you do too.
Check out their website at :
http://hyde-egr.com/
On November 19th, BPA teamed up with Alcohol and Drug Abuse Treatment Center (ADATC) staff for a workday at their Pearson Hall facility in western Birmingham. ADATC is a non-profit facility that provides chemical-dependency treatment services. The team was able to make a significant impact in a short time with carefully chosen material solutions, brightening up the environment for those receiving treatment and improving long-term maintenance for staff.
A special thanks to Fred Armstead at Pearson Hall for allowing us to be of assistance for a few hours, and to the staff for their help. We would also like to thank the donors that supplied materials for our workday: Brown Sales/Acrovyn provided over 200 square feet of wall protection material; Sherwin Williams provided 12 gallons of interior paint; and Armstrong Ceilings provided 500 square feet of acoustical ceiling tile.
More information about ADATC can be found at https://adatc.org/.
In all seriousness, we've got a lot to be thankful for this Thanksgiving.
To all of our clients, consultants, families, and staff, we're most thankful for you.
You've made 2016 one of the best years yet.
Last Friday we had a double dose of Halloween fun. We participated in Dekalb Office’s annual pumpkin decorating contest that benefits Ronald McDonald House Charities of Alabama. Although there was some serious competition, the Birchfield Penuel team placed second with our Mario Kart themed pumpkins! As always, we enjoyed seeing the designs all of the other architects and designers came up with. We’re very grateful to join Dekalb Office in supporting an organization such as RMHC Alabama.
Dekalb Office has more pictures from the event on their Facebook page.
Back at our office, we ended the afternoon with a costume party! We had a wide variety of movie characters, goblins, mythical creatures, musicians, and internet sensations in attendance. All of the costumes were great, but some stood out from the crowd.
Most Original Costume
Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis
Funniest Costume
Ken Bone
Best Overall Costume
Cruella de Vil
BPA is so excited about the upcoming IIDA ArtRageous event! Come celebrate 10 years of art and design with the IIDA Alabama Chapter, benefitting Studio By the Tracks (studiobythetracks.org), the IIDA Foundation and the IIDA Alabama Chapter.
Entry is $15 online at www.iida-al.org, or $20 at the door.
Art from Alabama’s designers, craftsmen, and artists will be at silent auction, as well as art from Studio By the Tracks artists.
The evening includes musical entertainment at the Patio Bar, heavy hors douvres, and Egyptian photo ops, and features valuable raffle prizes from local vendors and venues.
Click HERE to RSVP!
When else are you going to have an excuse to wear Egyptian attire?
On May 14th, BPA teamed up with high school students from Central Park Christian School to move 30 bunk beds donated by Central Park Baptist Church to Stoney Creek Camp in Vinemont, AL. These bunk beds will be used in the new dorm facility that has just been completed. After a day of moving and transporting bunk beds everyone had the opportunity to enjoy the camp’s extensive zip-line trails.
Stoney Creek Camp provides summer camp experiences at no cost to inner-city and underprivileged children. Below is a link to the camp’s website to find out more about the camp and their mission.
Thank you to everyone who participated in our giveaway! We're excited to announce our winner!
Rachel McCoy has won:
16” x 20” DS Art print. Artist Don Stewart describes Crab (Ocean Blue) as a beachcomber’s bounty of nautical knick-knacks. It was featured as a mural at The Crab House at Pier 39, Fisherman’s Wharf, San Francisco. #234/1000
20 oz. Contigo tumbler with straw
Extra-long beach towel (36” x 74”)
20” diameter beach ball
Make sure to subscribe to our blog and follow us on Facebook and Instagram to keep a lookout for our next giveaway!
Last weekend was the 2016 American Institute of Architects’ Annual Conference, held this year in Philadelphia. It was an invigorating weekend with energizing speakers, hundreds of interesting seminars, city sketching tours, playful installations, the unveiling of new technology and gadgets, and even a historic moment. Here are some of the highlights below.
Robert Venturi + Denise Scott Brown, recipients of the 2016 AIA Gold Medal
Denise Scott Brown, studying her 2016 AIA Gold Medal
View of the Expo Floor, photo credits: AIA
Neri Oxman, Keynote Speaker, photo credits: AIA
An NCARB staff member showing a pilot version of ARE 5.0 off. photo credit: NCARB
Our own BPA designer, Allison Vosicky, outside the Expo Hall.
Neri Oxman, an architect and a professor at the MIT Media Lab, was the Keynote speaker for Day 2. She captivated the crowd with a presentation on the intersection of technology and biophilic design, and the possible applications for that work in the future of design and architecture.
In a historic, and emotional moment, Denise Scott Brown and Robert Venturi were awarded the 2016 AIA Gold Medal. As the AIA states,
“The Gold Medal is the highest honor the AIA can confer on an architect or architects. It acknowledges a significant body of work that has had a lasting influence on the theory and practice of architecture. “
This recognition is so noteworthy because not only was it the highest award an architect could receive, but never in the award’s 109 year history has it ever before been awarded to a duo. In fact, the AIA changed their bylaws so that they could award the medal to both Venturi and his wife, and life-long collaborator, Scott Brown. Mrs. Scott Brown was escorted to the stage and greeted by a powerful standing ovation.
This years’ #ILookup Film Challenge was launched during the conference. “The I Look Up Challenge calls upon filmmakers to share their vision with a 2-3 minute video exploring the power of architecture to create solutions and uplift communities.” – AIA. To kick off the challenge, the AIA released a short film documentary featuring Rural Studio, a community design-build program through Auburn’s Architecture school that several of our BPA architects and designers have had the privilege of participating in over the years. Here are both links to the Rural Studio Film and the ILookUp Film Challenge.
Summer has arrived, and so has our next giveaway! To celebrate warmer weather, longer days, and aquatic activities, we’re giving away the following items:
16” x 20” DS Art print. Artist Don Stewart describes Crab (Ocean Blue) as a beachcomber’s bounty of nautical knick-knacks. It was featured as a mural at The Crab House at Pier 39, Fisherman’s Wharf, San Francisco. #234/1000
20 oz. Contigo tumbler with straw
Extra-long beach towel (36” x 74”)
20” diameter beach ball
For a chance to win:
LIKE our Facebook post and SHARE our Facebook page to be entered to win!
FOLLOW us on Instagram and Twitter for an additional entry.
We’ll announce the winner on June 10th.
Birmingham's chapter of the American Institute of Architects is one of the most engaged in the country, providing numerous services to local architects. One of those services is regularly scheduled site visits for the chapter's Emerging Professionals, a group of Birmingham's brightest young architects and interns. These site visits not only help us better understand the tangible, real-world side of what we do, but also help us fulfill the on-site requirements of our professional licensure process. This week one of our interns took advantage of the most recent of these opportunities and visited the site of the future Southeast headquarters of Gray Construction.
Gray is currently renovating the former Booker T. Washington building at the corner of 3rd Ave. N and 18th St. in downtown Birmingham. The office building is situated at the very heart of one of downtown's brightest stars, the Theater District. We appreciate the investment Gray has made in the continued revitalization of our great city, and look forward to them occupying their new home.
Photo credit: Charlie Abram, Graduate Architect at BPA
This week on the BPA blog, we wanted to highlight the importance of design collaboration and its role in the development of community within our own city. Pratt City was one of several areas within central Alabama that was destroyed by the April 2011 tornados. The American Institute of Architects released a short film about the rebuilding efforts taking place in Pratt City. Check out our full blog for a link to the video and more info.
This past weekend, BPA joined the St. Vincent’s Marching Saints team for Walk MS Birmingham, at Regions Field and Railroad Park. The weather was beautiful and the energy of the event was amazing! It was St. Vincent’s 4th year participating in the Walk and the team ranked in the top 10 overall in fundraising, which is an incredible accomplishment. The Team and the Walk are both very close to their fundraising goals. Please visit the Walk’s website for more information on how you can help create a world free of MS: http://main.nationalmssociety.org/site/TR/Walk/ALCWalkEvents?pg=entry&fr_id=27185
Last week, Kari Davis with J+J Invision was kind enough to take the BPA interior designers on a tour of their carpet manufacturing facilities in Dalton, Georgia.
The trip began in Chattanooga with a glass blowing class at iGNiS Glass Studio, some spare time for a self-guided walking tour, and a fabulous dinner at Easy Bistro & Bar downtown. We stayed at The Bluff View Inn which was conveniently located to the Hunter Museum of American Art (seen behind us), the glass bridge shown above, and the pedestrian foot bridge that crosses the Tennessee River. In just an hour we were able to explore all of these things and soak up some sunshine along the way!
The next morning we made the short drive to Dalton where we spent the day learning the ins-and-outs of carpet production from the design team's studio (we even got a sneak peek of future designs!) to the packaging and distribution of the modular tiles. Unfortunately, we weren't allowed to take pictures on-site but promise we looked really good in our neon vests and headsets.
The mill tours are beneficial to both suppliers and specifiers because they provide a chance for interaction and discussion on future trends and needs in the industry. We were grateful for the good company, cuisine and experiences this trip had to offer!
"Then I realized.. Adventures are the best way to learn." - Author Unknown
