Tuesday, June 26, 2012

Vanman's First....

Broke ground yesterday with gold shovels. Big shovels coming soon. See the St. Louis Park, MN Synagogue that Jay (Isenberg) designed. Vanman Architects and Builders leads this this truly ARCHITECT LED Design Build process as both the architect of record, and general contractor.



Do you need an architect or contractor....or both. Any commercial project including churches, banks, offices, daycare centers, restaurants, clinics.....been there, done that.

And I can help make your residential dreams a reality via LSF Design.



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Location:St. Louis Park, MN

Tuesday, June 12, 2012

First Cost's True Cost

You've decided you are finally going to tackle that "project".

This time it's a fence separating your yard from a busy road.



A chain link fence is cheap, does the job, looks ok for a few years.

An aluminum fence with brick piers and frost footings costs significantly more.

True costs to consider:

Which fence makes you feel your children will not get into the road?

Which fence keeps the delinquents out?

Which fence makes you smile from your deck?

Which fence would you rather surround your backyard graduation party!

Which fence will last until you sell your home?

Which fence encourages other quality projects in your neighborhood?

Which adds, and which decreases, your property value?

How bad will you let that chain link fence deteriorate before replacing it?

Which will have to be replaced at more than double the price?

Which compliments and ties your home to your yard?

Which creates a higher sense of ownership, deterring thieves?

....now which one makes sense?


First costs are important, and your budget must be met. There are ways to get a better end result that lasts, meets your initial budget, and satisfies more of the goals where you LIVE, WORK, PLAY or PRAY.

DIY, phasing, getting multiple bids, scaling back quantity, raising the budget....re-evaluate your priorities. You are comparing apples to oranges. Sometimes a Pineapple is what you actually want.

I am here to help...give me a call.

DesignMatters!


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Location:University Ave NE,Fridley,United States

Friday, May 25, 2012

Working during Root Canal

With this iPhone, I can email my drafter, send links to work photos on Dropbox, advise one of my mentees, get voicemails from Vanman, review a cost saving sprinkler system for churches....chat with my wifey, get updates on Joshua's sectional tennis meet...
All during breaks during a molar root canal.

Who'd a Thunk it.

No photo's.....your welcome.

Dentist office design.
A TV for patients on ceiling
No arms on assistant's chair.
More high frequency absorption material in each room.
Acoustical separation between rooms,
No windows to immediately adjacent walk up to the building (embarrassing) high windows or skylights = distracting clouds, less glare.
Trees visible the best! Blowing leaves.
Natural materials wood relaxing.



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Location:Melissa Hutchens DDS

Friday, May 18, 2012

What is a Space Program

A space program is a list of all of the spaces needed for a business to function, including support spaces, the spaces between the program spaces, as well as the space eaten up by the thickness of the walls.

Attached is a preliminary space program for use by a client of mine looking to double their size, and move into a rental facility.

Next step, a schematic design, then an estimate to build. With those three things the client and landlord can make an educated decision on how, or if, to proceed.

A small investment in architectural planning helps guide a major financial investment by both the Tenant ad the Landlord.

I love this job!




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Location:Brooklyn Center, MN

Thursday, May 17, 2012

Mike Cheney' bike trek

Mike is biking from MN to LA....leaves today. Two months

YouTube Video

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Sunday, May 13, 2012

A Welcome Transformation

A 20x23' addition gives an off-center multi-level home into a welcoming new entry, kitchen, dining and homework area while balancing some of the asymmetrical exterior features the homeowner could live without.

Sometimes partitioning rooms off can make a home feel bigger by wrapping around itself: this is one of those cases.








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Location:Bloomington,MN

Saturday, May 12, 2012

Rush Lake Home

Very tight sight, need to design phase one addition, but design phase two to be sure everything works.
Below are first pass exterior elevations to start the discussion with the couple anxious to get started!

Floor plan approved:

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