Do you need an architect?

One question I’m frequently asked by friends or family is, “When do you have to use an architect?  If I want to build a custom home, do I (by law) have to use an architect, and if not, why would I want one?”

It’s always a tricky answer because typically, someone building a single family residence is not required to use an architect, BUT there may be exceptions to this based on the square footage or area of the country (things may be more strict in an earthquake zone like California).  These laws are determined by states, and some are more strict with their rules than others.  I was recently looking in to my registration in Texas (I know, I live in Virginia, but I took my exams in Texas and am therefore registered there, which doesn’t really have much consequence for my job now since I am not a principal in the firm and will therefore not be signing and sealing drawings) and I found this great chart on the Texas Board of Achitectural Examiners (the folks that gave me a license) website which explains when to engage an architect in the state of Texas:

(Click on the image to see source).

I think this chart is really valuable for explaining which types of projects require an architect, though I doubt an architect created it because it is so hum-drum.  I’ve been looking and looking online and haven’t found one similar for other states, though I will keep you posted if I find one for Virginia.  The rules in this chart more than likely are applicable for most places, but this was of course created specifically for Texas so keep that in mind.

While searching for similar charts for other states, I came across this article from the Wall Street Journal about the value of hiring an architect, even if it is not required.  I heartily agree.

I think I can, I think I can

How are those New Year’s resolutions coming along? I guess this is just about the time when most folks either bend or break around the new habits they resolved to form. I know I made several personal and professional goals for the year, and I am trying my best to keep the momentum by reminding myself daily what I resolved to do.

Recently I read a great article on RealSimple.com called The 9 Secrets of Motivated People. As someone who has attempted to run a small business (that being just me), trained for and run three marathons,and been on the seeking end of employment more times than I’d like to recount, I know a little something about striving to maintain motivation. It takes effort every day.

In this article, all the tips are helpful, though the two I indentify most with as helping me in my struggles with motivation are #7 Challenge yourself and change things up, and #8 Keep on learning. While working for myself, these were both very necessary habits but not something I realized I could channel in order to maintain motivation. As a runner, I use both many of these 9 techniques to stay focused on a goal, but hadn’t always thought to apply them to my career goals.

You may be able to see where I am going with this. 2010 will definitely be a career-changing year for me. And I plan to use many of these techniques to power through it. I’ll try to keep you posted, though hopefully you’ll be witness to positive changes on the blog. My one year blogoversary is coming right up next month!

What are you trying to stay motivated to do?

Back by popular demand

Well, I don’t know about popular, but Dr. Jay has been bugging me to post and I finally decided that this was the weekend to come out of shadows I’ve been lurking in for over a month. Was the last time I posted really a month ago? I guess it was. I do apologize, dear readers, but life became very busy in December (there was a blizzard, the holidays, two separate trips to Georgia, a new starter for our vehicle, among other things) and I know that shouldn’t really have kept me from blogging, but they sapped me of time and energy and posting sank lower and lower on the priority list.

It’s a new year and I have new resound for the Babble though. I hope to be making changes to my site soon, which is one thing that has kept me from being overly-enthusiastic about posting. I want my blog-environment to be reflective of me and my design aesthetic. I’ve been super basic here from the start, so it’s time for me to finally figure out how to code something and make some changes. I’ll keep you posted.

On the architecture end, one piece of news I read in December and meant to write about is an interesting little thing that occurred in Switzerland back in November: the Swiss voted to ban the building of minarets. Though not supported by the government, a referendum vote on the issue passed with 57.5 percent of the voters and in 22 of Switzerland’s 26 cantons. Because the ban was backed by a majority of voters and cantons, it will be added to the Swiss Constitution, which could take up to a year. The Swiss Constitution, like that of the United States, guarantees freedom of religion.

(image of a minaret in Zurich courtesy of the NYTimes)

Do you think that’s ever happened before in a Westernized country: that an entire type of architectural form could be banned? As the article states, of the 150 mosques or prayer rooms in the entire country of Switzerland, only four have minarets, and only two more are planned. I’m not sure if those planned will be affected by this new law or not. The minaret form, tall and striking in the landscape, can be quite dominant, especially in a country where low-lying traditional buildings dot the landscape.

It’s striking to me that the Swiss people have such direct influence on the built form in their communities. When I visited Zurich for a school trip in 2005, the city was in the process of voting on the design of it’s first real skyscraper, which was an exception to its restriction on high-rise buildings. There was an exhibit with models and drawings of the various ideas created by about ten different architects from around the world, and citizens were invited to visit and observe the possibilities and then cast votes to determine the fate of the cityscape. It was amazing to me that something that in the U.S. which would have been decided by private, commercial parties or with the local government, was to be decided by citizens of the community. The Swiss have a completely different way of determining how their cities will be shaped.

Do you agree? Do you think Americans would ever show up for a vote banning a certain type of architecture, or to vote on a new building in their town or city?

Off to watch Herb and Dorothy, finally!

Are you ready for the holidays?

I am! Well, I’m getting there. I started tonight by putting up my new wreath. There are a few other door decorations up in our building, so I hope to wow the neighbors. Hopefully we’ll get our tree this weekend. Dr. Jay, are you reading this?

Sorry I have been MIA so far this month. An (almost) full month of blogging really took it out of me and I needed a break. But I’m brimming with ideas to post so hopefully I can keep some of that momentum from my November challenge.

I wanted to do an update on a few of my hanging chads out there… I know you are all curious about the newly painted apartment. I’ll do my best to represent the Before, During (when I freaked out about the color) and After (my happy place).

When we moved in, the apartment was an inoffensive tan. I think my landlady called it Safari Tan. I liked it alright, and even received a few compliments on it, but after a month or so I didn’t dig it so much any more. The floors in our place are light, and there just wasn’t any contrast between floor and wall surface. And then there’s the fact that there are some lighting issues in this apartment- not much natural light, very few overhead lights. It’s cause for shadows and distorted colors, and the tan was looking very peach-y to me at times. It got to a point where I just couldn’t stand it. Our land-lady agreed that I could paint if I would paint it back to Safari Tan when we move out if she doesn’t like the new color. Here’s a shot of our place in Safari Tan:

Again, I don’t think the true color comes through in any of these photos. I know, it looks totally fine in tan, but I just needed something different. I decided I wanted a "”sophisticated blue grey”. I went to my local hardware/crack Benjamin Moore dealer and got several samples which were promptly draft-dotted to the wall. For weeks. I looked at these blue-greys for literally a month before I was sure which one I wanted. It’s this large chip in the front, and all the others were the ones that didn’t make the cut.

Well, long story short, it’s not just greens and reds that are hard to get right in paint, it’s also blues. This particular paint boggles my mind. I still like the paint sample. I like it sitting on our table. But on five of our walls at once, in a small, poorly lit apartment? Oh, it suddenly became an aquarium. I don’t know what possessed me to keep painting after I saw how bright and blue it was. I guess I kept thinking it would dry differently or look better in different light. But by the next day I had my mind set to change it. Again. During my second week of work. Here are the next set of paints that I decided between on top of the crazy blue. This time I bought the mini-sample paints and painted squares on two walls which have completely different lighting. I will ALWAYS do this in the future.

Okay, it’s very difficult for you to tell from the photo above exactly how bright the blue is, but if you can see how much lighter the new colors are, and when you see the ultimate color that I went with, you’ll have some idea of how blue the original was. The color I ended up choosing was the first one, which is actually Ace paint (had to go cheaper the 2nd time around) in Dover Grey. But it also has blue in it, it’s just not as intense as the first color. I’ll spare you my whining from the week of painting hell (I think I already did that in a previous post) and I’ll finally show you the results:

One with the light on and one without. Oh, and we moved the furniture around.

I took these during my lunch break the other day when it was actually sunny here. We’ve had a series of dreary, rainy days and it’s pitch dark when I get home at night, so I knew I’d never get accurate paint color photos in those conditions.

So, there’s a little blue in it still, but I like the grey tones and frankly it’s a very soothing space to be in. And I’m so glad it’s done!

And one last update. The chair debate. Thank you to those that commented and offered your thoughts. Dr. Jay has actually relented that he doesn’t mind the chair so much (an afternoon of shopping and much time internet browsing may have convinced him) and he’s willing to consider it. And I decided that it’s crazy to order a chair online (it’s not available in a store) unless I at least first have a fabric sample, so I called last weekend and am having a fabric sample of the first chair and its sister chair sent to us. Then it will be decision time:

OR ?

What do you think? Click on the photos for their source info.