New Starplex Cinema in the works

The exterior is a little different than your typical theatre.

when have you ever seen a bar like this in a theater? never!

Form and Function

Escalators going up

Concessions

We've got a new Starplex Cinema in the works, this time in Ashburn, VA.  The theatre is part of a new development called Loudon Station.  We're probably 80 percent finished at this point, and the seats and finishes are going in as we write.  It's always nice to do a project like this where it's part of a bigger project.

Tired of CANstruction yet?

Tim concentrating on his old fashioned oats

Blast off

You can't be tired of CANstruction yet! We are just beginning! Last night we did a little practice build in our conference room.  Lots of success, and no CANtastrophes.  Tim lead the show with his amazing grace (not the song, but I am sure he could sing it well in his booming low voice) in stacking the cans on the upper levels.  It helps being over six foot tall.

Farinella Here: Front Street Lofts is rolling forward in some familiar JKR territory. Front Street's newest mixed used building will join two JKR staples (Spotlight Theaters and The Capital Grille) in the heart of Hartford. The building will feature 121 residential units on top of 15,000 square feet of retail space and also boasts a fitness center and a roof deck overlooking downtown Hartford. Bob, Rick, Cory and myself have been pushing the design forward and are anticipating a construction date in the spring of 2014, claiming 3 out of 4 of Front Street's newest developments. 

FIRM CRAWL @ JKRP!

PhilaNOMA's first (and now probably annual) Firm Crawl went off without a hitch!

I can honestly say that I was a little pessimistic in thinking that we would only get about 5 or so students - especially after such a long afternoon of crawling already (we were about number 4 on the list of firms to visit)

And then it rained.
And then they were delayed.
And then someone said the pretzels were going to get stale.
And then I yelled at Sean for eating a pretzel.

But nevertheless at around 4:45 there were almost 30 students from Temple, UPenn, Drexel and Philly U in our elevator lobby - eager and ready to learn all about our home away from home - JKR Partners!

SPECIAL THANKS to Jose for being the visionary of the 'three ring circus' aka Firm Crawl - Open House at JKR Partners...
Natalya for putting the 'swag' packages together.

Tram Fun - Marissa, Sam, and Blake for the refreshments..

The 412 Lux Design Team. (Jose, Blake, Steve)

The Starplex Design Team. (Mike F.)

The SouthStar Design Team. (Zach, Mike I.)

Kim for putting up with a full house of folks hovering around her desk..

Dave for sharing his oratory skills with the group..ANDLast but certainly not least the entire staff of JKRP for your hospitality during this event....

JKR's Second Annual Drink and Draw

Sean showing off his skills.

Nicole, still early in the night with her right hand.

Glenn imparting his wisdom.

Jose and his off hand.

Laura's feeble attempt at drawing "chalk" "you know, it's a driveway, and an infant!"

Tim justifying his horrific attempt at drawing "Long Island"

Kathleen drawing something.  Musta been a gem based on Mike's reaction. 

Farinella's terrible terrible terrible attempt at drawing a cave. 

We've got a great relationship with the Irish Pub across the street from our office; On the good days, we celebrate there, on the bad days, we wallow there.  Last night, we upheld what will surely become a JKR tradition,  the annual Drink and Draw.  Pictionary with food and booze.  Now let's be clear, Pictionary isn't much fun between smart architects like us, so to make it more interesting we handicap ourselves with shots and beers and then we draw with our non-dominant hand.  It makes for a much more fun, and funny evening. 

Pumpkin Carving!

Jen and Kathleen hate keeping their eyes open

Greg hates people sneaking up on him

Dee Dee making a Keurig pumpkin

Rick and Jason...Jason likes the Yankees

Farinella and Laura making a ninja pumpkin

Steve and Laurens JKR ghost

Jon and Bobs macabre pumpkin

Natalya and Marissa's winner!

It wouldn't officially be Halloween without a JKR Partners pumpkin carving contest; and with Halloween being a moving target this year, we felt we could post our pictures from last Friday today!

JKR Half Marathoners!

Sunday was a beautiful day for a run.... maybe even for some people, it was a beautiful day for a long run.  A really long run. A half marathon maybe.  Mike Farinella and Laura thought it was a good idea to run a really long run.  They both rocked out the Philly Rock and Roll Half Marathon yesterday.  Laura eeked out a slightly better time than Mike, but to Mike's defense, he was out til one in the morning at a bachelor party...The paparazzi was out taking snaps..Maybe next year we'll have a JKR Partners team? any takers?

Winner winner, chicken dinner...

Farinella here - After being kept in suspense all week about our mystery outing, the first annual JKRP Scavenger Hunt was a huge success. From the Art Museum to Independence Hall, I think I saw more of Philadelphia in 3 hours than I have in all my years of being in the city…Lead by our fearless captain Bob, our team of Katie, Izzo, Sam, and myself got off to a blistering start and never looked back. With bragging rights (and very desirable prize on the line), the team’s planning, hustle, and last minute heroics were enough to edge out the competition and become the first OFFICIAL winners. After an exciting and exhausting day, Victory tasted sweet and I am looking forward to defending our team legacy come next year. 

Third Thirsty Thursday

It's finally starting to catch on as a tradition around here, and this time we had a bunch of new guests with us.  All the new employees made it out to the bar we affectionately know as The Pub.  We're getting back into the habit of heading over to our favorite local watering hole on the third Thursday of the month. One time we played Pictionary... most times we just drink and eat every item containing cheese on the menu.  This picture only tells half the story, meaning half the people are behind the camera. I am starting get the itch for the annual JKR Partners Phils outing. Ah good times. On a side note, I am getting addicted to Instagram.

Mustache Day 2012

JKR Partners is growing....growing mustaches. We've come a long way since last year.
And yes, I am wearing the same shirt as last year. It's my mustache shirt.

Building Happy Hour

KIM! With a BEER!

Sean bringing in the backup

Friday, we closed up shop a half hour earlier than usual and invited our new neighbors upstairs down to our new deck for a few drinks.  It was nice to finally meet the new people from Arcadis, and Nicholas Cosmetic Dental. It was getting a little lonely being the only tenants in the building.  The weather got better, the drinks started flowing....Just to give you a sign of how well it went, Kim even stayed!

Another Owl Lands at JKR Partners

JKR Partners welcomes designer Mike Farinella, another Temple University Owl to our team. Some people wonder who is counting? Those five other JKR Partners’ Temple Alumni are smiling about our additional Owl. The Tyler School of Art graduate joined JKR Partners in Spring of 2012. Mike celebrated the completion of his first week by wearing a party cone hat, eating Carvel Ice Cream Cake and listening to some off key “Happy Birthday” singing courtesy of the JKR Team. As Mike embarks on his JKR Career, he is also enthused about the playoff successes of his favorite sports team. Although Philadelphia hasn’t won a Stanley Cup since before Mike’s crayoning diaper days, he faithfully follows the Flyers’ puck adventures. Best of luck to Mike and the guys in orange and black!