Bank Street project in Old City

Tucked in a hard to find little oasis right off Market Street in Old City lies a new little 4 townhouse gem. In a small lot on Bank Street, between Second and Third Streets where the former 5 Spot used to entertain late night revelers before it was destroyed in a fire, is our new town home project.  Steve and Jose worked diligently on this one to make sure it really fit in with its classic mercantile federalist style neighbors. The new places have all the conveniences of a new place, with their gourmet kitchens, high ceilings, and roof decks but they also have that old world charm that makes Old City, well.... Old City.  Check out the rendering and some local press.

Annual Phillies Outing

You need a drink before you see the Phils these days.

After a minor rain delay, the Phils got back to beatin on the Cubbies.

Butch hooking up the specials.

Serious Sergi and a photobombing Jose.

the Boss getting his birthday on.

If it seems like our office is a lot of fun, that's because it is.  In keeping with our yearly tradition, which started way back when the Phillies were actually good; last Thursday we had our annual JKR day at the Phillies.  This year was special in that it was also the Boss Man's 65th birthday.  He took full advantage of his newly granted senior citizen status and wisely got his subway ride to the ballpark for free. With age comes wisdom I guess. And like we always do, we all went back to our second favorite watering hole where we got our celebratory drinks.  The drinks taste much sweeter when the Phils win big. 

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....

Building is Back!

Lawrence Street.  4 units.  Sam and Jose worked on this one. It's all done.

North 5th Street.  22 units. Should be done in a few months.

1247 Crease Street. Greg and Jose worked on this bad boy.  7 houses. Should be done in 6 months.

Manayunk Hills.  12 units, Jason and Steve slam dunked this one. Maybe 3 months out.

Manayunk Hills.  Getting there. 

we've done a lot right? This one is at 8th and Christian. All done. 18 units.

Queens Walk.  16 units. I'm going to go out on a limb and say that it's pretty nice inside.

More Queens Walk in Queens Village.

This one is the latest.  412 N. Front Street.  32 units.  Should be done in a few months.

 Building is Back.  Don't let anyone tell you otherwise.  We've been cranking out townhouses this past year like it's our job.  Mostly because it IS our job. Jose and his crew have been hard at work developing a ton of new housing stock in the Northern Liberties and Fishtown areas of the city.  We've got a few in the pipeline and a few in various stages of construction.  Check'em out

H3

Steve here,

I would like to share some photos of the residences at Hancock, Hope and Howard Streets in Northern Liberties- we call it H3. It’s coming along quite nicely, and as a relatively new addition these types of projects I’m still awed by the transition from Sketchup to the real thing. Special thanks to Jose for managing the project splendidly in the face of countless obstacles, so much so that H3 has become a litmus test against which all US Construction projects are measured:

“They completely ignored our drawings, it’s H3 all over again!”

In many ways H3 was for me a baptism by fire. It was my first large-scale project, and from it I learned that the construction process can be painful, that coordination can be a nightmare, and that foundation plans are subject to change without notice and without warning. But in spite of everything, we still delivered a product that remains true to its design intent with a dynamic presence in Northern Liberties. But I digress...

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!

Floor, Ship and Saw.

Philadelphia’s hottest new art exhibit is right here at JKR in the downstairs lobby! Our gallery space is perfect for the contemplative gazing of art, providing a neutral color palette and unimposing lighting. Each month we will be featuring the cream of the crop artists and their masterworks. This November don’t miss the opportunity to see three absolutely stunning art pieces currently on display: Floor by Natalya Maltseva, Ship by Steve Sergi and Saw by Mike Izzo. Admission is free.     

Solar Decathlon 2011

Steve here: Two weeks ago I paid a visit to the 2011 Solar Decathlon in Washington, DC. with some old friends from studio. You may be asking yourself, "what, pray tell, is the Solar Decathlon?"

The U.S. Department of Energy Solar Decathlon is an international competition that challenges 20 collegiate teams to design, build, and operate the most attractive, effective, and energy-efficient solar-powered house. The winner of the competition is the team that best blends affordability, consumer appeal, and design excellence with optimal energy production.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solar_Decathlon

A general view of the festivities:

It took about 6.5 hours to meander through the 20 competing houses, and we discovered a boatload of sustainability tips and tricks along the way. Team New Zealand, for instance, utilized their country's abundant sheep population to increase thermal performance:   

Nearly every house had air-tight wall systems to combat heat loss. Team Tennessee had an envelope 18" thick, packed with condensed newspaper insulation. Its R-value was a whopping 73: 

Exciting R-Values aside, we had a great time at Solar Decathlon and experienced some very interesting architecture (always a plus). 

Team Belgium designed a low-maintenance, no-frills assembly for disaster relief: 

Southern California went Space-Age... 

And Maryland took a cozy, compartmentalized approach (they won the competition):

Solar Decathlon is an annual event so if you're interested, check it out next year! 

More photos: 

http://www.solardecathlon.gov/gallery_houses.html

JKR Welcomes Steve

JKR Partners welcomes Steve Sergi to our design team. He doubles the equation of Philadelphia University Alumni working at JKR. With his passion for architecture and history, Steve became a founding member of the Friends of the Furness Railroad District, a non-profit organization dedicated to preserving and promoting the work of Frank Furness in Wilmington, Delaware. When he is not dreaming and scheming about architecture, Steve enjoys sketching anything and building model kits. He still values the unlimited possibilities of designing with Legos. Izzo, JKR’s established sketch artist should take notice of this avid sketcher nicknamed “Sketchasaurus” by his friends. If you ever encounter two Steves around town, do not be too concerned about your double vision or drinking problem, he actually has a twin brother.