Window shopping February 15, 2007

As part of an office-wide initiative to review our standard product specifications through a lens of sustainability, we recently collected and evaluated over 30 window samples from more than 20 manufacturers, filling up an entire room in our office with windows!

We collected detailed information from the manufacturers, including technical performance data, construction and operation information, and also solicited comments from our staff, property managers, developers and funders on issues of durability, maintenance and appearance.
Currently, we are in the process of summarizing our findings and recommendations, and meanwhile trying to locate two staff members who seem to have gotten lost in the maze of window samples.

 

Live (commute) work February 13, 2007

This article by Center for Housing Policy highlights the alarming disparity between housing and transportation costs. Published in October 2006, the report describes the impact of the flow of low- to middle-income workers to distant suburbs and rural communities. While those households do find more affordable housing, the report finds that they spend even more on daily transportation costs to and from their jobs.


From Center for Housing Policy press release, October 11th, 2006:
"Low- to moderate-income working families are finding that as they move further from work to afford housing they end up spending as much, or more, on transportation costs than they are saving on housing, according to a new study of 28 major Metropolitan areas nationwide entitled A Heavy Load: The Combined Housing and Transportation Burdens of Working Families. Conducted by the Center for Housing Policy, the research affiliate of the National Housing Conference (NHC), the study also found that the combined burden of transportation and housing costs for working families was remarkably constant across all the Metropolitan areas studied at an average of 57 percent of annual income."

 

Colin is awesome February 01, 2007

Colin Kloecker, an intern architect in our office, has been blogging (writing a web log) for about a year on the website Blog Like You Give A Damn - the official blog of Architecture for Humanity: Minnesota.

Last week, Colin started writing for WorldChanging: Twin Cities. Writing for WorldChanging means that Colin has made the jump from lowly blogger to a fairly new phrase in the web lexicon: citizen journalist.

WorldChanging.com works from a simple premise: that the tools, models and ideas for building a better future lie all around us. That plenty of people are working on tools for change, but the fields in which they work remain unconnected. That the motive, means and opportunity for profound positive change are already present. That another world is not just possible, it's here. We only need to put the pieces together.

Colin's first article, published last week, is about the upcoming Search for Shelter event in Minneapolis. Sponsored by AIA Minnesota, Search for Shelter is a great event that gives everyone involved a great opportunity to give back to the community as well as sharpen their design skills.

If you happen to be there, you'll probably see Nate, Matt, or Colin from the CRA office hard at work. To learn more about the event, you can read Colin's article, or visit the AIA-MN site.