Six Architects with Amazing Side Jobs

Architecture is not always a high-paying profession, so it's no surprise that many architects hold side jobs. But the six architects profiled here are not moonlighting as stockboys in the grocery store; their side jobs are seriously interesting.

Bike Maker

Joe Nocella was a bike messenger in New York in late 1980s and early 1990s, until he was hit by a car in 1991 and decided something needed to change. He became an architect, a life-long dream, and he still plies that trade at HOK. But in the late 2000s he decided he wanted to get into more gritty, hands-on work. Naturally, he returned to the world of bikes!

Joe Nocella

He started by building a bike in his front yard, and in 2008 he started 718 Cyclery in Brooklyn. The shop was recently named the #1 custom bike shop in the city by New York Magazine! Learn more here. 

Astronomy Educator

Mark Allen always loved the night sky. When he was growing up in England, he stared at the Milky Way while walking with his parents. As most kids do, he basically forgot about stars when he became a teen, but the fascination flooded back one night in the 1990s when he happened to look up during a particularly clear night. He was an architect by then, but he longed for a way to reconnect with the universe. He soon discovered mobile planetaria -- basically big, blow-up structures that show star formations to small crowds -- and in 2000 took a leave of absence to show the universe to school kids.

Black Hole Planetarium

When he lost his architect job in 2008, his business, The Black Hole Planetarium, became his primary occupation. Learn more here.

Cartoonist

Many architects are skilled artists, but not many have the vast exposure Fred Gallagher enjoys. Gallagher, who was laid off from his architecture position in 2002, has drawn the webcomic Megatokyo since 2000. The comic has been successful enough that drawing Megatokyo is Gallagher's only occupation -- he makes money through advertising and sales of related books and merchandise. See Gallagher's work here.

Furniture Joiner

When Jonah Zuckerman got bored of his architecture job in New York, he started making furniture by hand. He wasn't trained as a carpenter, but he picked up the craft and eventually started City Joinery, which is now located in Easthampton, Massachusetts. The firm specializes in crafting beautiful furniture from salvaged logs. Check out the company's site here.

Winemaker

Architects might drink a lot of wine while courting wealthy clients, but how many make it, too? Ken Zinns, principal of Ken Zinns Architect in Oakland, California, does. Zinns developed a serious interest in wine after taking some extension courses on the topic in the early 1990s, and eventually learned the winemaker craft. He is now assistant winemaker at Eno Wines in Berkeley and Harrington Wine in San Francisco. Learn more about Ken here.

Chocolatier

Hmm, who doesn't love chocolate? Dean Bingham, principal of R. Dean Bingham Architecture in Portland, Maine, probably loves chocolate more than you do. He's also the proprietor of award-winning Dean's Sweets, a hand-dipped truffle shop in Portland. Bingham had long enjoyed making chocolates as a hobby, and he started the business, which relies heavily on locally sourced products, in 2004. Within a few years he had won major awards, and now is regarded a true New England chocolate treasure. Learn more here.

If you ever get bored with your design job, think about these six folks and dream about a new path!

AEC Biz: Many Signs Pointing Up

We're not out of the woods yet, but many signs are pointing to a decent recovery in AEC this year, from two AIA reports to building data to real estate agent predictions. Here is a synopsis of some key indicators:

AIA Architecture Billings Index

This is the most direct measure of success of the architecture business. The latest number, from August, was 50.2, which indicates minor growth in billings from the previous month. The best progress was in the West, where firms had an index of 51.2, their first monthly increase in five years.

AIA Consensus Construction Forecast

The latest AIA Consensus Construction Forecast, in July, doubled from its January edition, which is definitely good news. The Consensus averages out the forecasts of seven well-respected forecasting organizations, including McGraw-Hill Construction, Moody's Economy, and Associated Builders and Contractors. Here's the big number: They expect non-residential construction to grow 4.4 percent in 2012, and 6.2 percent in 2013. That's nice, solid growth.

The Consensus report reveals, however, that no one really knows for sure what's going to happen, because the estimates vary widely. For example, McGraw-Hill Construction predicts 1.5 percent growth in non-residential construction this year, while Reed's Construction Data predicts 5.4 percent growth. That's a substantial difference in opinion. The good news is that no one is predicting less than 1.5 percent, so we can assume business is growing.

The same diversity of opinion exists for 2013 -- the predictions range from 4.2 percent growth (Associated Builders and Contractors) to almost double that, 8.3 percent growth (Moody's). But everyone sees growth, and more growth in 2013 than in 2012.

FRED Building Starts Data

The St. Louis Federal Reserve Bank publishes data on housing starts as measured by building permits as part of its Federal Reserve Economic Data (FRED) reports. The FRED data show that housing starts are up in many parts of the country. In the West Region, for example, 197,000 housing units were started in July 2012, compared to 133,000 in July 2011. The story's not quite as nice in the Northeast -- 77,000 this July compared to 86,000 last July. But for the last 12 months, even the Northeast is up, 878,000 versus 837,000 (and versus 815,000 in the 12-month period ending July 2010).

Not all the indicators are positive, unfortunately. Besides the ones we all see in the news every day -- persistent unemployment, high fuel prices, stock prices driven by lemming-like behavior -- are these unfavorable items:

New home sales dropped in June by 8.4 percent over the month prior, according to the Commerce Department. Most of this came in the Northeast, where sales dropped 60 percent. "Housing will continue to recover gradually throughout the year but fundamentals are not supportive of a fully fledged housing market recovery," said Yelena Shulyatyeva, an economist at BNP Paribas, quoted in an article from Reuters.

Manufacturing activity in the U.S. Atlantic region shrank in August, according to the Philadelphia Federal Reserve Bank. "Overall, they (the data) are consistent with our outlook that growth will be a little bit better in the U.S. but not as upbeat as some people think," said Brian Kim, a currency strategist at RBS Securities in Stamford, Connecticut, in a Reuters article.

So these mixed messages mean there's still a long road to recovery, but at least relief seems to be on the way. 

Top Five Areas with the Hottest Real Estate Traffic

This is a new feature of our newsletter -- a top five list of some aspect of the AEC (architectural, engineering, construction) community. This time we spotlight the Top Five Markets for Real Estate Traffic, as measured by the Credit Suisse Monthly Survey of Real Estate Agents for August 2012. This survey measures how much traffic real estate agents experienced compared to their expectations. Thus the survey doesn't really measure the number of interested buyers, but rather whether the number of interested buyers exceeded expectations. Nevertheless, this is an interesting measure of real estate activity. Here are the top five:

San Antonio - With a measure of 88, real estate traffic in this area greatly exceeded expectations (any measure over 50 means expectations were exceeded). Real estate agents responding to the survey said job growth has been great lately -- evidently due to shale oil developments in the area -- so more people have been seeking houses.

Minneapolis - Yes, a northern area with growth! The survey reported a measure of 74 in August, the seventh consecutive month of growth. Agents in Minneapolis said low inventories and rising prices are compelling buyers to pull the trigger rather than wait around, as they had been.

Austin - This Texas community had a measure of 68 in August, and agents said increasing rents played a role. One agent said, "Rents are getting downright cruel and people are looking to owning to find some relief."

Atlanta - This area measured 65 on the index, a big uptick from 47 in July. Agents said people feel prices have bottomed out and inventory is starting to tighten up, both of which are driving buyers.

Seattle - The coffee capital of the country also reported an index of 65 in August. Agents responding to the survey said the number of non-distressed properties on the market is rapidly shrinking, compelling buyers who don't want the risks of buying a foreclosure to close deals. "It is not unusual to see multiple offers on properties," one agent reported.

Amazing Architecture: Powerplant Edition

Hydroelectric power plants don't need to be ugly, as revealed by this beauty in the South Tirol Province of Italy, designed by Monovolume Architecture.

Hydroelectric dams must lend themselves to good design. This one, located in Kempton, Germany, was designed by Becker Architecture.

Forget those ugly black solar panels on roofs -- modern solar power plants use flower-like arrays of mirrors to focus the sunlight on a central tower.

This proposed power plant, designed by Danish firm Floating Power Plant, would combine wind and hydro power to produce 50 gigawatts.

These solar power collectors in the Mojave Desert resemble radar dishes. No, they're not elegant, but they get the job done.

News You Can Use

Keller Planners designs steel plant expansion in Fond du Lac

Racine Wright home has new owner

Wausau athletic stadium to be renovated

Developers propose Milwaukee shoreline developments

Frank Lloyd Wright Wisconsin buys fourth home in Milwaukee 

Green roof for Madison apartment building

New Winona bridge one step closer

New visitor kiosk slated for Amnicon Falls State Park

Madison approves new student housing proposals

Benjamin Mather joins Madisen Maher Architects

Being Green: Heating Edition

A pellet stove is basically a super-efficient fireplace. It provides the ambiance of an open fire, but the heat stays in the house rather than going up the chimney. And the fuel is more efficient than regular logs. Here are some options from Harman.

Radiant floor heating creates a comfortable, efficient heat because the heat rises gently from below, rather than being blown into a room as a forced air system does.

Bio-fuel, made from used vegetable oil or other fats, is usually used for powering vehicles, but it can also replace fossil fuel in a home heating system. 

Radiant heat comfortably warms spaces with less maintenance, heat loss, and energy than many other systems.

Would You Like Fries With That Design?

When you think about elegantly designed buildings, you probably think about skycrapers and museums. You most certainly don't think about fast food restaurants, but maybe that's about to change. Shucking off decades of sameness, some fast food operators are now on the cutting edge of design.

Take McDonalds. The hamburger giant sponsored the Olympic Games, and built four temporary restaurants there. These aren't run-of-the-mill Mickey D's; these beauties were designed by famous interior designer Philippe Avanzi. The restaurants feature classy light wood fixtures, top-notch modern seating, contemporary lighting fixtures, and almost avant garde design. Best of all, these restaurants, which are designed to come down when the Olympics are over, will be almost entirely recycled. See images here.

McDonald's flagship Olympic Park restaurant in London

"London 2012 is set to be the most sustainable Games ever hosted, and this ambition inspired us to not only fulfill our role as official restaurant in the catering operation behind the event, but also to bind environmental sustainability into the heart of our state-of-the-art Olympic Park restaurant," said Jill McDonald, CEO, McDonald's UK, in a press release.

Of course the Olympic restaurants are not the only examples of McDonald's commitment to architecture. Even early restaurants, with the giant golden arches stretching from front to back, featured interesting design. In subsequent years the restaurant was known for allowing local operators to customize designs, rather than sticking to one formula.

Wendy's also believes in design. In 2012 the company is building 20 new restaurants and remodeling 50 restaurants with a contemporary design that looks like something you'd find on a hip, high-tech corporate campus. Four new designs were used for the 2012 stores, all featuring lots of natural light, sleek furnishings, and bold exteriors. See pictures here.

Finally, check out some designs of KFCs. The fried chicken place is known for its down-home red checked look, but it has branched out into much more interesting design now and then. A store in Keflavik, Iceland, for example, was designed by PK Arkitektar ehf to reflect its austere location. The stark, box-like structure wouldn't fit in downtown Louisville, but it fits perfectly in Iceland. Check it out here.

These examples show that while eating fast food might not be nutritionally satisfying, sitting in a fast food restaurant can be aesthetically satisfying.

Human Error All Around

When something goes wrong during a building project, it might be tempting to blame the equipment, the weather, or some other non-human entity. But the truth is, humans usually cause these problems! Here are several recent examples:

A Costly Three Inches

Steven Boyd and Karen Bursey were happy with the progress of the construction of their new home in Newfoundland, Canada. Everything was going smoothly...until an inspector pulled out his tape measure and determined the house was being built -- because of some worker's error -- slightly more than three inches too close to the property line. Construction has been halted until the issue is resolved. There seem to be two possibilities -- pay about $25,000 to move the partially constructed house a few inches farther away from the property line, or buy three inches of property from the neighbors. How much are the neighbors asking for the little strip of land? $25,000!

Training? Who Needs It?

A crane operator in Grand Rapids, Michigan could have used a little more training, it turns out. The man was brought in to replace the regular crane operator on a jail construction job. He knew how to operate cranes, but evidently had never operated a Sumitomo SC 1500 with a working luffing jib attached. It's no surprise then that that crane toppled over, smashing into the jail wall and injuring three people.  An obvious case of undereducation.

Take a Bribe, See Bridges Fall

Construction on a bridge in Fushon City, China was almost complete when a heavy rainfall caused it to collapse. Huh? The bridge couldn't handle a little water? Well, officials suspect there's more behind the collapse than that. This bridge is only the latest in a series of bridge collapses in China, and investigations have revealed shoddy construction and inferior materials. How did such work pass inspection? According to the Shanghai Daily, "It has been claimed that officials have taken bribes to give contracts to inferior companies while turning a blind eye to construction violations." So while the direct cause of the collapse may have been heavy rain, it took serious human error -- and greed -- to create those conditions.

 It Wasn't My Fault!

Finally, an investigation regarding a floor that fell in during a concert at the Canterbury University Events Centre in New Zealand determined that human error was to blame. So you'd think a human would step forward and accept responsibility, but according to an article in The Press of New Zealand, everyone has an excuse instead. The construction director says his firm coordinated the work, but didn't actually design or build it. One of the subcontractors said he was involved, but not directly. The architect said his firm was only responsible for the conceptual design. The structural engineering firm, which clearly should have determined the ability of the floor to hold the load, was not quoted in the article. Do you think the university is upset with the lack of accountability? No. Says university vice-chancellor Rod Carr: "We have appreciated the way in which our contractors have responded positively to this situation." Huh? "Positively" covering their butts, perhaps!

Famous Architect: Charles Bulfinch

Charles Bulfinch, who lived in Boston in the late 1700s and early 1800s, is considered by many to be the first native-born American architect.

Charles Bulfinch

Bulfinch was born in Boston and educated at Harvard. He toured Europe from 1785-1787 to learn about classical architecture in Italy and the UK. After returning he built many structures in Boston, including Hollis Street Church, a column on Beacon Hill (the first monument to the American Revolution), and many residences. He also served as chairman of Boston's board of selectman and police superintendent, in which position he improved the city's streets, drains, and lighting. He also expanded Faneuil Hall and oversaw construction of India Wharf.

He became architect of the capitol in Washington, D.C. after befriending President James Monroe. In D.C. he designed key parts of the Capitol Building.

He died in 1844 at age 80.

Amazing Architecture: Cabin Edition

Check out the gorgeous giant windows on this cabin in Cazadero, California, designed by architect Olle Lundberg.

Cabins are typically old-fashioned, but this version, designed by Hans Lindberg, is solidly modern.

This amazing Montana cabin, designed by Jeff Shelden, AIA, has incredible views in all four directions.

Wooden slats allow smooth natural light to permeate every corner of this cabin in Sweden, designed by WRB.

Basic, unfancy, but beautiful: This cabin, built in 1840, has letters written during the Civil War nailed to its walls.