More Palm Trees

I took one of those personality tests this week. Only because it was required by my Executive Forum group that I belong too. I really hate those things.  I didn’t like my results when I read through them probably because they were so right on the MONEY.  My review makes me sound like some superficial name dropper who wants to please everybody.   I am such a people pleaser at my core.  I am an outfielder.  I take time to catch the ball.  But I do like to be part of a team.  I actually prefer to be managed. This is so true.  Just tell me what to do.  If I am in a management role I will inspire others to action.  I do have to be careful not to overpraise people.  My reason for being is Aesthetics. Period.  Are you so surprised?  A girl in the outfield who wants everything to look pretty.  I really saw my strengths in yesterday’s design review meeting.  *why is this in italics?*

I am the Design Chairperson for Buckeye Main Street Coalition. Yesterday we all met to review some remodel plans for one of the historic buildings along Monroe.  There are the more domineering members of the group who immediately analyzed the square footage of the new remodel.  I could see myself sitting and taking this in. I didn’t have any comments right away.  We all feel comfortable with one another.  We all agreed that the smartest response was to retain the historic nature of the front façade.

Image

I had my role of buff tracing paper and my pencils ready.  Tracing paper is invaluable because you can lay it over a photo or façade and sketch any changes over it.  You can see through it.  You can lay many layers over the photo to keep evolving the idea.  My pens were not allowing me to sketch fast enough and I didn’t have a black Prisma  pencil so I used Kelp Green.  I started to zone out while everyone was talking.  I loved that moment sitting there with my team helping them put down on paper what it was they were thinking.  We had gone over this project through emails months ago but meeting face to face was so much more effective.  This sketching and listening is my reason for being.  I want to do this more.  I could sketch like that everyday.  It is not the same sketching by myself at my light table.  I like listening to my team because they have been in their position for decades and know what to do.  Some of them have gone to church services in the building. The thing I like the most about my team is the speed they make decisions.

IMG_7046

It was good to know that even though I will never be the pitcher I do add to the team standing in the outfield with my nerdy LLBean canvas bag.

Recent Posts

Older Posts

Office Design – Sliding or swinging doors

Swinging vs. sliding doors, what is your option?

The Perfect Customer Lounge

What are the key ingredients to a good customer lounge? Taking a break from the daily grind is important.  Getting up from your chair, your cubicle or just out of your working environment and relaxing your eyes on a different environment other than the screen 1...

Tenant Improvements

You are either looking or just leased a space or own an existing building and have a few changes you want to make.  The first step is to hire a design professional who can make your project successful.  Whether it's relocating a few interior walls, a complete...

BABY STEPS

"A small effort made towards completion of a much larger task" What about Bob? (1991) Comedy staring Bill Murray.  (Movie Clip) Dave Ramsey's - "Baby steps into financial freedom".  I need some of this. UrbanDictionary.com   "To make progress on something in small...

1970’s Gender Neutral Restroom

Its getting close to tile installation at a construction site in Phoenix, Arizona.    A modern Gender Neutral Restroom is being constructed within a single story office complex in Phoenix, Arizona. The exterior of the 1970's building reflects beige stucco, dark roof...

As-Builts: Conduits and J-Boxes

Field measuring doesn't involve blades of grass.  In the architectural universe, field measuring is a process of recording existing conditions of a building.  A "field" is a piece of property on planet Earth with precise coordinates.  An architect loves to say "Yeah,...

Harmonious Machine for Living

On a rainy and gray morning in March of 2023 Jeffrey, Jan, and I embarked on a road trip to Lincoln, Massachusetts to see the Gropius House.  Driving through the dense New England forest, the roads became winding and time slowed.  Approaching the shining wet gravel...

Architectural Acoustics

Have you ever been out to eat and find it impossible to hear what the friends at your table are saying?  You are hearing a phone conversation from a co-worker in the next cubicle over? It may be from lack of attention to sound absorption in the early design phases of...

Hotel Adams Phoenix

Hotel Adams used to stand proudly on Adams Street and (Centre Avenue) Central Avenue in the middle of an emerging downtown Phoenix, Arizona. In 1910 Hotel Adams was a tinderbox for flames and burnt to the ground. Over time there has always been a hotel there. I have...

AT&T Office Lobby Renovation [2017]

AT&T Office Lobby Renovation [2017] in Tempe, Arizona was a project that Serbin Studio helped design a high security entry and customer experience.  Customers are the Data Center tenants, they do not work in the building but check in periodically. The customer...

726 Monroe Building [2020]

726 Monroe Building [2020] was a project designed by Serbin Studio. Architectural design started in 2020 and building construction completed in 2023.   The building is situated along Monroe Avenue in downtown Buckeye, Arizona. The surrounding neighbors are places like...

Parking spaces. How many do I need?

Are you planning on a new building or a tenant improvement.  Wondering how many parking spaces do I need?   Whether it is for a small office, retail, mercantile, restaurant or something even larger, like a large sport complex?   Number of...

Touchless Technology in Architecture

Touchless Technology for Architecture has been around for many years. We have seen this technology show up in door hardware & bathroom fixtures. All this technology can change the way architecture is designed. In designing the built environment, Architects need to...

Open Stair Treads

When is an open stair tread allowed?