Urban Development | Larson Design Group Blog

Category Archives: Urban Development

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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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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Is the push towards sustainability strong enough for the design and construction industries to kick old habits and reconsider the Concrete Masonry Unit (CMU)?

Personal views aside, I think it is safe to say that society at large is becoming more and more conscientious about our impact on the environment. With the growing push towards sustainability, we are starting to see long established practices go under the microscope.

This post came about when a friend of mine named Gary Summers told me that he was in the process of obtaining a full patent for the first modular self-locking building block. Basically, he wants to usurp the existing concrete masonry unit (CMU). He sees his design as the connecting link between energy efficiency and structural design. I have always sensed that the existing CMU design is a bit primitive in relation to the progress society has made in other areas; but considering how entrenched it is in the way we build, it’s hard to imagine using anything else…until you talk to Gary.

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No comments yet | Permalink | Tags: block, CMU, Concrete Masonry Unit, Gary Summers, green building, invention, LEED®, patent, structure, Sustainability, thermal mass

Photo: © Nina Chantrasmi

Wayfinding is all about orienting people within a space. It tells you where you are and helps you get where you’re going without droning on and or repeating itself – it’s like a good tour guide – it’s friendly and hopes to see you again soon. It can be as small as an address on your stationery or as large as the Golden Arches.

Wayfinding doesn’t get the appreciation it deserves, but it’s not our fault. Good wayfinding is often subtle in order to be effectively integrated into an existing or designed environment. The complementary nature of wayfinding frequently allows itself to be conveniently dismissed as we go along on our busy way. It doesn’t expect a tip.

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