Street Art

texting lanes

right in line

I'm not saying this is the best street art or anything, but I thought it was pretty clever.  Walking outside the Municipal Services Building, I didn't have to wait long (or at all for that matter) to catch the first person using the appropriate texting lane.

The Auxiliary Sketchbook.

Tiff here...

This weekend I kicked off my FIRST session for my latest creation - The Auxiliary Sketchbook!

(Thanks for coming out Natalya!!)

The Auxiliary Sketchbook is a group for anyone that has an interest in architecture, is in need of a creative outlet and is able to play well with others... The group will meet once a month for a total of 4 months leading up to an Art Exhibition in September.
(The Art Expo will be held in Old City Philadelphia)

During the sketch sessions, we will be given a short tour and brief historic overview of the buildings or spaces. While sketching is encouraged, photographers are MORE than welcome! This year's sketchbook theme focuses on the forgotten architecture of local Philadelphia Architect, Julian Francis Abele.

Here is a quick schedule: 

May 27, 2012 – The Free Library of Philadelphia

June 24, 2012 – The Union League

July 29, 2012 – Widener Building

August 26, 2012 – The Philadelphia Art Museum

So that's it in a nutshell...You in?

 

 

Visit us @ Meetup.com!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

SLICKEST DOLLAR GENERAL EVER

 
Blake Here: So the fences are down, the porta potties have departed, and Sedgley Plaza is now open for business.  Blanketed in a vibrant copper colored standing seam metal panel this new 20,000 square foot center is located at 2815 Ridge Avenue in the Strawberry Mansion neighborhood of Philadelphia.  Currently Dollar General is the sole performer, and you can quote me, alongside the one Mrs. Tiffany Millner we created the slickest outfitted Dollar General ever, just look at that amazing body of materials and combination of textures...am I wrong?...and please don't assume the box sign was our idea...Anyway there is 10,000 square feet of space remaining and Sedgley is eager to welcome additional businesses and life to the area.  You know anyone looking to open shop?  Feel free to contact Bryan Perchick or Pat Heron at Legend Properties Commercial Real Estate.  Thanks for your time

Fun fact of the day - the pattern for the standing seam metal was derived from the Mortal Kombat blood code for the Sega Genesis game system: A-B-A-C-A-B-B.

Tiff @ the AIA Convention 2012

 Tiff Here...

 I recently had the pleasure of attending the national AIA Convention in Washington, DC last week...

(Keep in mind that I was also on vacation that week - so I had to cut my vacation short and drag my husband with me... If that doesn't scream dedication to the profession, I am really not sure what does!)

I was invited by the AIA's Department of Diversity and Inclusion, to speak on a panel called: Behind the Round, Black Glasses: What Architects Really Do - Which was a 'town hall' styled discussion - geared to students and non-architects on the perception of our roles and responsibilities as architects. From what I understand, the public only thinks that we design and create pretty pictures.. While this is true, it only counts for about 25% (if not less) of our actual day to day responsibilities... 

I was also given the honor of being interviewed on a podcast speaking about my role and experiences as a Woman in Architecture AS WELL AS serving as the Co-MC to the AIA's Annual Women in Architecture Dinner - held at the Women in the Arts Museum.  

The entire experience was priceless and I am grateful to have been offered these wonderful opportunities :)

I have posted a few (terrible) pictures from the various events... (hopefully I will be able to post a few of the 
professional shots soon) 






 

 

"Never Say 'Die'"

This Guy Got It Started

(Photo courtesy JKRP Softball Photo Archive)

Storm clouds loomed heavy on the western horizon as the JKRP softball team battled their cross-town (and cross-discipline) rivals: Jacobs Engineering.  Jacobs' tight defense kept the team in check, retiring us easily for the first three innings.  We made a break for the lead in the fourth inning with some solid singles and heads-up running by first baseman Jose Hernandez.  Our superior stamina wore them down over the next three innings, with the bats coming alive in the bottom of the seventh.  Up against insurmountable odds, the JKRP players managed to bring eleven more runs across the plate by the end of the game.  It wasn't our best outing, but every single player scored at least once, which was a small victory in the middle of a large loss.  Hopefully next week the weather and our skills will be better than what we saw last night.

Everybody Hits!

This helped a lot

(image courtesy JKRP Softball Photo Archive)

An offensive shootout ended in heartbreak last night as the JKRP softball team fell to Nelson.  The Rollers jumped out to a 14 point lead in the first inning, boosting their confidence and solidifying a "no warm up" policy for the rest of the season.  Defensive skills greatly improved from last week, with plenty of key catches in the outfield and solid stops in the infield.  Despite the fielding heroics, Nelson slowly chipped away at their deficit, tying the game in the fifth inning and taking the lead in the sixth.  Down seven runs, the JKRP squad put together a solid series of hits to bring the score within two.  But as the sun set over the plateau, so did the dream of JKRP's first victory of the season.  The weather was lovely, the beer and brownies were good, and we put 25 points on the board.  It might not have been one for the Win column, but I think we all felt good about that game.

"Well, the cookies were good"

The JKRP bats were as silent as the unpopulated Belmont Plateau Wednesday night.  Overcast skies and the constant threat of rain hung heavy over the field, stifling the team's energy and any hope for a win.  With key players benched with injuries, the squad struggled defensively as well as at the plate. Some aggressive base running and a few solid hits brought 4 runs in, but it wasn't enough to overtake the 33 runs BCJ managed to score. 


One game does not make a season, and I'm sure the JKRP softball team will dust themselves off and be ready to win next week.  There's nowhere to go but up from here. 

Kitchen renovation by yours truly...G-dubs

Among the features that enticed us to purchase our house in 2002, anything to do with the kitchen was absent.  It took quite a while for the enthusiasm to do much of anything about it to arrive, except for replacing a 2 x 4 wraparound light fixture and the garbage disposal.  When the enthusiasm finally did arrive, it was accompanied by serious global recession.  So our renovation plans became more "resourceful".  We kept the stainless sink and the almond color- core counter.  Paint and new hardware for the cabinets.  Replaced the wall tile with painted wood paneling.  Recovered an impressively durable but fashionably outmoded Armstrong embossed sheet vinyl product with Parterre vinyl planks:  faux bamboo!!  Metallic ceramic tile base.  These economical alternatives allowed for some more interesting accent materials:  an acrylic  Lightblocks counter with Chemetal face panels and maple trim.  Labor, excepting flooring installation, by yours truly.  A little more enthusiasm and I’ll soon complete the lighting soffit.
-  Glenn W, May 2012

            

Tiff continues to Succeed

Tiff continues to rock n' roll!  I mean, she's always aspired to be a rockstar and now she pretty much is one.  Who else is getting coverage by national magazines!? Ok Ok, truth be told, Paul and Bob have their moonlighting gig at Screen Trade magazine writing a monthly column about theaters, but Tiff is a featured story in Diversity Woman Magazine. How cool is that?  A few months back Tiff was approached by the National AIA to be featured for this photoshoot of diverse women making a difference in the architectural community.  You might remember this post a few months ago outlining her trip down to DC. She's always making us proud.

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!

AIA Golf Outing, and Jose Got Robbed!

JKR Partners manhandled the annual AIA golf outing at Huntingdon Valley Country Club on Monday. G-dubs, P.Georges, Jason Wistreich, Hoser Hernandez and Shizzle my Izzle represented the JKR squad. I can speak for my foursome, we played really well and impressed our clients; We even won something-or-other for the course we played.  Jose pretty much got robbed on the straightest drive contest though. Someone had to have moved the rope.  But I gotta say, that rope wasn't straight. It just so happened that Jose hit the crookedest drive that lined up with the straight rope.