Category Archives: Architecture
Posted in Architecture | Codes & Regulations | Current Events by Steven M. Beattie, RLA (Senior Project Manager) on May 16, 2013
© star-one
Ever since I received classroom instruction at West Virginia University in the mid-1990s, accessibility has been a key component to my design process. Of course, back then we merely worried about the basics by providing ramps, curb cuts, and accessible parking spaces. Today, accessibility is a complicated, multi-level set of regulations and design guidelines that reach into every aspect of our society and daily lives – as they should. Over the years, I was guilty of questioning the regulatory guidance and why we needed to provide such a comprehensive approach which complicated design, sometimes limited the final design, and absolutely increased construction costs.
Today, I’m proud to say that I fully embrace accessibility, and make it the very first priority on any site design. In addition to the comprehensive checks and balances now in place to ensure accessibility that force compliance, I have witnessed over the years all types of people struggle in some of the same places I designed. Additionally, you can learn a lot when you have two young children and a stroller to push around. It was these experiences that have me now incorporating Universal Design Principles, as accessibility guidelines truly help all users, no matter your physical or cognitive ability.
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Posted in Architecture | Blogging | Employees | Landscape Architecture | Professional Development by Jillian Ibbs (Marketing) on April 16, 2013
Emily Diehl
Designer – Landscape Architecture
At Larson Design Group, we believe that our employees are our greatest asset. In this feature, we profile some of the staff members who contribute to our success. This month the spotlight is on Emily Diehl, Designer with LDG’s Landscape Architecture group.
Where did your career take you before joining LDG?
I worked full-time while attending Penn State to get my bachelor’s degree in landscape architecture. I worked a variety of retail jobs, managing employees and schedules, marketing, creating displays, stocking merchandise, and making sure my customers left happy. I am probably one of the few to say I truly loved working in retail. I loved being able to help so many people find things for their home, or that perfect shoe or tennis racquet. Yes, there is a lot of negativity surrounding the retail world, but I made it a goal to help people enjoy their shopping experience and in turn I enjoyed my job. I learned that you can’t make everyone happy; some customers will always find something to complain about. Also, the thought of leaving that comfortable work environment to come work in an office every day was very scary to me, but I did it and it turned out for the best. After 9 years, I still love being here.
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Posted in Architecture | Building Systems | Energy Conservation | Innovative Solutions | Sustainable Design by Serena Wray, LEED AP+ (Brand Architecture) on January 3, 2013
© Poofy
When I was a little kid, I was a tree-hugger. Literally. My mother recalls that at age four, I occasionally wrapped my small arms as far as they could go around my favorite tree in the backyard.
As the years went on, I became enamored with recycling in elementary school, energy efficiency in high school, and building reuse in my college architectural classes. Now, with “green” as the buzzword heard on every TV channel and seen in every store, you’d think I’d be in my glory.
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Posted in Architecture | Current Events | Site Design & Land Development | Sustainable Design | Urban Development by Andy Keister, PE, PLS (Chief Operations Officer) on December 12, 2012
The parking lot at Lycoming College before and after LDG’s redesign.
The rapid pace of change seems to affect everything in the engineering and construction world, even something as established as parking lots. First, let’s talk about design methods.
When I started doing retail/commercial site design 20 years ago, configuring a parking lot was a hit or miss process that involved analyzing multiple stall, aisle, and angle options in an effort to meet the client’s required stall count while complying with local zoning requirements. Once you developed a layout that met the numbers you needed, it was time to work around any stormwater and grading constraints that the site might offer, which may or may not require you to change your original layout.
Recently, AutoCAD introduced add-ons that allowed a designer to input all design variables such as stall size, angles, aisle widths, direction of travel, and boundary constraints. With a few clicks of the mouse, you could see several design options and stall counts. Now we’ve progressed to the point where our design software not only allows us to optimize our parking stall layout, but at the same time it can create preliminary grading and stormwater plans and estimate the cost for the site work.
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Posted in Architecture | Building Systems | Education by Chip Beam (C.A.D.D. Coordinator) on October 5, 2012
An LDG project created with CADD.
When people ask what I do and I say that I’m a CADD Coordinator, the response is invariably “What is CADD?” When working in the engineering industry, it’s easy to forget that the terms we use on a daily basis might be mysteries to other people. CADD stands for Computer Aided Design and Drafting. This is a type of computer program that allows users to interface with commands that mimic the pen and paper. CADD is frequently used by engineers, architects, and other design professionals to create 2D and 3D objects to portray a project. It is a generic term used to describe many different programs, just as ‘word processor’ describes Microsoft Word.
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