BENCH!

Natalya Here: A giant cast arm, rusty plumbing pipes and concrete amoebas were among 18 unique entries for a city bench competition hosted by AIA. The Friday night opening reception had assembled an uncomfortable social scene combined with the complimentary industrial-strength cocktails. Mike and I generated a lot of positive feedback from the jurors for our “quasi-futuristic design and clear visual solution”. The entries will be on display through September 3^rd at the Center for Architecture, 1218 Arch Street.

HOLY! A NEW DECK!

Izzo Here:  Good things happen to those who wait. It's been a long time coming, but we can finally say that we have a bangin' new deck! Not many people can say they have a deck in the city! I mean we sorta had a deck before, if you could call that sorry excuse of a pile of rotted out boards laying across some planks as a deck.  It was more like a rickety old dock.  Now it's a bona fide brand spankin' new deck! A deck to be envious of.  The usual crew christened it this afternoon with its ceremonial first lunch. 

Rooch becomes a Man...in fact he becomes THE MAN.

Izzo Here: Rooch might look like he just graduated elementary school, but he is in fact a full grown adult.  Last week the kid finally got married to his longtime love Diana.  We snapped this picture of Greg at the reception with the other great men of JKR... Me, Dave and Jose.   It was a great wedding, the bride was beautiful, the groom sorta good looking...the booze was flowing, the music bumpin'... Now Rooch and his bride are sitting on some beautiful beach somewhere in Hawaii daydreaming about us back here at JKR headquarters. Lucky.

Most Favorite (not showing favoritism but) employee is moving on

Izzo Here:  I think I can speak for the office when I say I'm really going to miss Tiffany.  I've spent 90 percent of my working life working alongside her.  But she's taking a leap and packing up here.  We're going to miss that infectious laugh, that upbeat personality...the all around loveable, positive, always encouraging vibe.  She's taking that charisma, and funneling it into the future, teaching Philadelphia high schoolers the beauty that awaits them in the field of architecture.  In celebration of her new beginnings we all went bowling to send her off! She loves bowling! We all wish her the best and thank her for her many years here making JKR as awesome as it is! We Love You Tiff! 

Better Late than Never

Something happened and we fell asleep at the computer or something.  How we failed to mention that we nabbed one of Temple U's best and brightest architecture students is utterly embarrassing.  So we are going to shout it out right here; WE'VE GOT AN AWESOME NEW HIRE! I guess it's been a couple weeks now, but Nichole Howell already seems like a seasoned JKR veteran.  She fits in with all the other cool kids here like a glove and has been cranking out some quality work already. So there, we finally said it.... We welcome Nichole to this crazy bunch we call JKR Partners.

Second Saturday Art Show...Revisited

Paul Here: My wife Maria and I payed another visit to Yogawood in Collingswood, NJ this past weekend to support Keith Johnson, a co-worker of Maria's at Kitchen and Associates. Keith displayed photography from various trips including destinations in Europe, Puerto Rico, and western United States. Keith's display was part of Collingswood's "Second Saturday" arts and entertainment event and continues the tradition of Architects with many talents.

EVERYBODY!

This picture pretty much captures the night.

Zach here with the softball banquet recap:  The beer was cold and the thumbs were steaming as the JKRP softball team sent the year out in grand style Wednesday night.  The squad toasted their 2011 season with a seemingly endless train of pints and fried chicken.  An all-star reservation call by Mike Izzo ensured that the team had some tables to occupy, and no errors were made throughout the night.  Things could have taken a turn for the worse when the group decided to do a round of tequila shots, but they pulled through like the champions that they are and finished the evening with a win.  To top off the banquet, stylish medals were awarded to everyone as a reminder of our turnaround season. 


Sometimes drinking on a Wednesday is just as fun when there's no softball involved.