Category: Hot Topic

    • House Made of Shipping Containers Makes Waves in Gainesville

      Stephen Bender, an architect and professor of architecture at the University of Florida recently built a house made of shipping containers in the Porters neighborhood of Gainesville for a man named Tom Fox. This sustainable, green house, which is powered by a solar array isn’t very popular in the Porters neighborhood, which is full of…

    • Architect = Value

      …so why hire an architect? What do they do anyway? I often get the comments that …”I can’t afford an architect. They are for people that have real money to spend…” In fact the opposite is generally applicable. True, there are the great public architects that charge a hefty fee and create amazingly spectacular architecture,…

    • How to get a building permit in Miami – South Florida

      How do you get a permit in Miami? You don’t! All kidding aside, the permitting process is an important and often misunderstood part of the construction process. Commercial and public projects are usually well familiar with the process, time and cost; but most home and small business owners are not. Allow me to shed some…

    • Transforming the architecture world

      As the first Florida franchise to join Transforming Architecture I have been presented with many questions about the need for transformation and the impact to my clients. Why do we need to change the role of the architect? To answer this question, we first need to look at the typical view of the architect and…

    • What it takes to become a licensed Architect…

      Recently a good friend of mine, Justin Alpert, AIA, was recommended and received his architectural license. I truly congratulate him and like to share a portion of a note that he had send out in gratitude to his friends and colleagues that helped him get there. It is particularly interesting to me, to see the…

    • Water Issues – part II

      Water remains my favorite and most important issue when addressing green building concerns. It is certainly not the most important topic when looking at the various certification checklists, like the USGBC LEED rating system. It finally received a prerequisite in the last update, but is dwarfed in the overall point scale by considerations for energy…