Category Archives: Architecture
Posted in Architecture | Building Systems | Communities | Site Design & Land Development | Transportation by David I. Balzer, Assoc. AIA, LEED AP+ (Project Coordinator - Brand Architecture) on February 1, 2012
Existing Piollet Mansion – 2011
Located at the intersection of Route 6 & 187 in Wysox, PA, the building sits at a key juncture that is heavily used by both local and natural gas truck traffic, making it a prime location. Sure it may be easier and less costly to simply tear it down and start from scratch, but that has never been a realistic option. The building’s history combined with the strong local support to restore it only reinforced Randy’s decision – to save as much as possible without hindering the proposed new store. The challenge then became to balance the restoration with the need to expand and modernize the building, then tie it all together without costing a fortune. Quite a challenge indeed.
But before we got too far, I proposed conducting an Architectural feasibility study which would document the existing conditions and determine what truly could or could not be saved. Randy agreed and a team was sent to perform a detailed building survey, documenting every wall, door, window, structural beam, truss, etc. Many of the original features are intact, but have fallen into disrepair and require considerable restoration. However, the building “shell”, which consists of the masonry bearing walls, foundation, roof & floor systems, is in pretty good shape and can be reused with some structural improvements.
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Posted in Alternative Energy | Architecture | Communication | Marketing | Social Media by Marty Muggleton (VP Client Development & Marketing) on January 26, 2012
This chart is the author’s personal opinion on who people choose to trust for news and truth, and who has the most ethical, moral, and/or legal responsibility to be accurate.
I’ve been working long enough that young people think I’m wise. Secretly, I think they mean old and just want to be nice about it. But these are gifted people, with a bright future and we have some interesting discussions. Broad but predictable range of topics – religion, environment, healthcare, politics, and the list goes on.
Over the holidays, I had a couple of interesting discussions on news, truth, and trust. These chats matched up with some free time that let me look at the relationship of news, truth, and trust a bit differently.
The primary role of media is news not truth. They mark the date of an event, and that establishes chronology. You hear on television and radio. “At 11:00 this morning…”. A book or published research attempts to offer truth, by reaching for cause and effect after the event happened. You read it. “We found measurable amounts of…”. Trust, I feel, is established by where you are and what you’re surrounded by.
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Posted in Architecture | Communities | Project Management | Site Design & Land Development | Structural Engineering by David I. Balzer, Assoc. AIA, LEED AP+ (Project Coordinator - Brand Architecture) on January 18, 2012
Piollet Mansion, 1950′s
A few months ago Randy Williams, the head of Dandy Mini-marts, came to me and said “I have a really great project for you Dave.” He began to explain how he recently acquired the old Piollet House, a historic Mansion and landmark in Bradford County, PA, and wanted to convert it into a new Dandy store. Dandy is one of our Brand Architecture clients and we’ve worked closely with them on many stores in the past, but none like this. I was pleased that we were given the opportunity, but I also knew the challenges associated with such a big undertaking. However, I shared Randy’s enthusiasm and appreciation towards this historic building and was eager to begin work.
Here’s a little history on the building… > Read the rest of this article
Posted in Architecture | Building Systems | Client Service | Economic Development | Leadership | Sustainable Design | Urban Development by Robert J. Gehr, AIA, NCARB (Vice President - Brand Architecture) on January 3, 2012
What is Brand Architecture?
This is a question that I get asked on a consistent basis.
At LDG we only provide architectural design services for Retail and Brand clients.
“Brand” referring to an organization that utilizes a proven business model and architectural design strategy in the development and growth of that organization. Banks, restaurants, gas stations, hotels, convenience stores and others fall into this category.
This may seem a limiting position to take, however it is not an uncommon strategy and occurs quite often in other professional fields.
Let’s consider Doctors for example.
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Posted in Architecture | Employees | Structural Engineering by Brad Breneisen (Graphic Design) on December 23, 2011
No comments yet | Permalink |Recently, LDG Receptionist Donna Harrison revealed her creative side with these delicious mice infested Christmas trees
Maybe you’ve seen these before but I was pleasantly surprised by the creativity and simplicity of this project and had to share it. The mice’s ears are almond slices and their bodies are chocolate covered cherries – the rest is pretty simple. Donna explained that these are fun projects to do with kids of all ages (and adults too). We’d love to hear about creative projects that get your family engaged in design over the holidays.
