The Dogrun
a place to share ideas
Our newest interns are joining us just in time for Flake Lato this weekend, where they'll get to know their fellow LFers really well and in a short amount of time. Here's what we know about our newest recruits so far: Joining our talented group of student interns, Melina Pereira is adding San Antonio to the laundry list of places she has lived. Melina was born in Sao Luis, Brazil, but has also spent time in Manaus, Brazil; Belem, Brazil; Santa Cruz de la Sierra, Bolovia; and Bogota, Colombia. She moved to the United States to attend school, receiving her B.F.A in Architecture from Savannah...
Last weekend several of us had the unique opportunity to witness, as guests with EarthShare of Texas, the nightly feeding exodus of Mexican Freetail bats from their roost at Bracken Cave. Located just north of our home base in San Antonio, the cave is managed by Bat Conservation International, a wonderful group working to educate people and protect bats. Lake|Flato is a proud contributor to the EarthShare of Texas workplace giving program, which in turn benefits hundreds of local conservation efforts like BCI. Bracken Cave is home to the largest colony of bats in the world! There are 15-20...
What happens when you drive a metal screw through an insulated wall? It is well known that the assembly U-Value will decrease due to thermal bridging, but over all, how much of an effect can one screw really have? To answer this question we looked to the thermodynamic simulation software, Therm. Over the last few weeks our sustainability software guru, Joseph Dugan, has been working with Therm to help us better understand the effects of thermal bridging on our building envelopes. Today our first test results are in and that one screw is causing more problems than we ever thought. We ran a...
Just this year, the W Hotel in Austin became home to its own urban apiary, or collection of beehives. The colonies, which are maintained by the non-profit Central Texas Bee Rescue , are located on the rooftop of the 39th floor where they are expected to produce 100-200 pounds of honey annually. Their hard work is already featured on the hotel's food and drink menus as well as in the spa. With international concern over declining bee populations, apiaries like the one at the W Hotel are becoming more and more essential. This population decrease is often referred to as Colony Collapse Disorder...
This past June I had the chance to visit three works completed by Peter Zumthor. Each building provided insight into Zumthor's care for construction and material, choreographing sequence, and the design of the aperture. Below are lessons learned from each of these buildings. Unterhus Construction -Zumthor utilized the local vernacular construction method-Strickbau- to construct Unterhus. It features logs joined at points of intersection with a locking toothed double notch joint. You can see this "knitted" pattern of timber on both the exterior and interior of the cabin. Spatial Sequence-...
The Seaholm Intake was once the pump house for the Seaholm Power Plant and now sits empty on the shores of Lady Bird Lake in Austin. Our team's entry Connect/Reveal/Clean envisions The Intake as a culturally vibrant, multi-functional space that encourages visitors to slow down, engage with the natural systems that flourish in Austin and experience the blurring between land and water; urban and natural. This vision 1. Connect s Austinites both physically and experientially to Lady Bird Lake and the larger community at The Intake and beyond; 2. Reveal s the original function of the building in...
For those who are unaware (no one who knows me, that's for sure) our family bought a Tesla Model S about 7 months ago. It is a spectacular car, simply a better driving experience, a complete and transcendent shift in how a car operates and interacts with its clients. If you want a test drive, just ask me to lunch...however you'd better block out a few hours! Santana Row Showroom - Packed! Two weeks ago, my son Nicolas and I went to the first Teslive conference in Silicon Valley. This was a conference conceived and executed by the moderators at the site teslamotorsclub.com, with heavy help...
Last week our Leon Springs Residence was featured on Jetson Green, a website focusing on sustainable homes, natural materials, and green technology. The LEED Platinum home features many sustainable features namely a 17,000-gallon rainwater catchment system which meets 100% of the home's potable water needs. To read more about the building's photovoltaic array, regional and low-VOC materials, and sun shading strategies, check out the full article here .
The next PechaKucha Night is coming soon to a theatre near you....the Josephine to be specific. It's happening on Tuesday, August 27th, and you know the drill - come early for a good seat. Little known Lake|Flato factoid: Our very own Robert Trinidad met his wife Cynthia at....the Josephine Theatre! Check out the presenters: 1. Thomas Miller , Theatre Director 2. Jennifer Datchuk , Ceramic Artist 3. Chris Davila , Art Consultant 4. Jeremy Mandrell and Anne Ng , Chefs 5. David Alcantar , Artist 6. Jeff Mulholland , Community Activist 7. Jeret Pena , Mixologist 8. Richard Reed , Anthropologist
On a recent Thursday afternoon David Lake's filibuster on why Roger Federer is the best tennis player that has ever lived was pleasantly interrupted by the simple recognition of similar worn brown clogs. Upon discussion it seems Cotton Estes (at left) and Matt Wallace (right) had obtained the shoes within the last decade while David (top) made his purchase during his glory days at UT in the 1930's.
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