Design Matters

Thoughts of an Architect

A Message from The Firm

Our blog, Design Matters, is a place for our team to share our knowledge, community events, projects, resources, and opinions. It is a place for you to keep up with us and for us to hear from you. Thanks for reading!

Subscribe to Blog via Email

Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

Get your house ready for summer

Get your house ready for summer

It is time to get your house ready for summer. Are you also working on making your house healthy, comfortable, and energy efficient for this coming summer.

Post Pandemic technology your business might want to add

I have been thinking through what the Post-Pandemic world will be like for businesses. I wrote about considerations you are probably making and door hardware solutions previously. So what Post-Pandemic technology might your business want to add? Well, it seems there are solutions emerging.

Architectural Assignment – Home School 101 Architecture – Peter Eisenman

Now that life has changed and the girls are doing online school, I added an architectural class to their weekly work load. Hannah worked on finding an architect to write about for this assignment.

Bringing new life to a downtown jewel – plan now for your renovation / addition

Bringing new life to a downtown jewel - plan now for your renovation / addition

Post Pandemic changes for your local business

We are all hoping to get things back to normal as fast as possible. Dare I say, we are hoping to get back to work. I miss going into the office each day and working with my clients for sure. So what are the post pandemic changes needed for your local business?

Post Pandemic – Public Use Doors – what can you do to make things safer

In the post-pandemic things need to change. I am reading articles on new standards for schools, retail, grocery, church, and any other place groups of people might pass through. So each of these have one thing in common - public use doors.

Press Release: Single-Family Trends 2020

New home construction and remodels are some of the biggest and most intensive projects homeowners undertake. Construction and remodeling trends change rapidly, and now that 2020 has kicked off a new decade, people are looking to update their homes now more than ever. Today's homes look nothing like they did 20 years ago.

Does your kitchen need an upgrade?

Understanding the goals for the "life you want to live" is the first step for designing a solution like this one. As an architect I have been trained to hear your goals and translate them through spatial solutions that provide the framework to achieve those goals. If you are thinking that your home does not facilitate the life you want to live, give us a call. We would love to work with you to create your dream home through a dream renovation.

Is your home keeping you healthy and comfortable while killing the Corona Virus?

So my next call was to Jay Monger at Excel HVAC to discuss options. I knew I wanted a high efficiency system. However, I just purchased a home, so money was tight. We discussed options and he ran a Manual J load calculation to verify the size of the air conditioner needed. If your HVAC company does not run a Manual J - then they are guessing at the size needed. He recommended a Mitsubishi Heat Pump for my efficiency and comfort goals. He also recommended a MERV 16 5" media filter and an APCO Fresh-Aire UV light.
Upgrade your house with a new front porch

Upgrade your house with a new front porch

This client wanted to upgrade the aesthetics of their home because they loved their neighborhood, but the house was just not what they wanted. So part of the project included an upgrade of a new front porch.

Stage Upgrade – Plan now for your renovation / addition

Every now and then an opportunity comes to you that you just cannot pass up. A few years ago the team that organizes Red Wing Music Festival asked us to think about what the permanent stage at Natural Chimney could become. We quickly got to work on the stage upgrade for this amazing festival and beautiful landscape.

On this day: Pandemic, Politics, Survival, Home School, Small Business, and remembering to make dinner

On this day life is hard. We are each not in the same boat as I have heard so many say. Some of us have a nicer boat than others. Some of us have a boat with a hole in it. Some of us don't have a boat at all, but are holding to the hope of something floating by to hang on so we can rest for just a moment.