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.

Make that 3 more registered architects!

Our latest happy architects

You might recall Blake's gross beard. You might recall his unusually gruff personality lately. Well, we're proud to say Blake is back to his old self. After months of agonizing over his exams, he became our office's latest registered architect.  He joins Marissa and Sam, who have also passed all their exams in the past month or so.  The weird thing is, they all near each other in the office. Something in the water over there? Maybe. Cheaters? Impossible.  They just have great support for one another and are always encouraging.  Look at that love!

Annual JKR Phillies Outing

Some new Threads for everyone! a new tradition.

A motley crew

The Rooches, Diana and Greg.

Sean keeping his fivehead free from sunburn.

It's not all work and no play around here, although it may seem like that.  We really do work hard.  We just need some recuperation days to reconnect with our colleagues and have some fun. It's been 8 or 9 years now that we've closed down the office for the afternoon and have gone to the Phillies game for a business persons special.  Then, as always, we head down to our favorite dive bar Bob and Barbara's and get the other kind of special... A beer and a shot. This year we had another beautiful day and actually saw the Phils win a game for a change! Check out all the photos on our Facebook page.

Marissa is now officially an Architect!

Marissa, the architect

Look at that smile! After months of studying, and agonizing, and stressing, and dealing with NCARB and all the other negative words associated with the Architecture Registration Exam, Marissa has conquered the tests! All of them! She has risen to the top and has earned the right to call herself Marissa McMurtrie, AIA.  She's been beaming all morning! Flying from desk to desk! She's walking on air.  And if you aren't familiar with the exams, the ain't easy.  This is a big deal. I think we have a couple more people in the office about to become architects in the not too distant future. Check back here for updates.

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....

Schmooze Deli

^  shell                                                                  under construction  ^

sketchup!

happy customers!!!

 Marissa here:  Recently, Nichole and I were given the task to turn an empty shell into a deli in Jenkintown.  I have watched enough food network and top chef to get really excited about this project.  Our goal was to dazzle the client and their future diners with a warm inviting space where families and friends can schmooze.  We won the client over by walking them through our sketchup model featuring rough sawn wood, exposed structure, large pendant fixtures, and a pop of color - a personal favorite.  It was actually loved so much that they made sure that it was built that way!  Looking at the happy customers, the owners are succeeding in winning over bellies in the Jenkintown area with giant loaves of  challah and matzo ball soup.

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.

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!

JKR goes to Gettysburg!

Dee Dee here: Marissa, Sam, and I attended the 2011 Pennsylvania Historic Preservation Awards last Friday in Gettysburg.  Presser Senior Apartments received the Multiple Family Residential Construction Project Award.  Presser, which is located in the Mt. Airy section of Philadelphia was completed this spring and contains 45 independent living senior apartments.  While in Gettysburg we learned about fertilizer and had really good cake!

Take a guess!

Marissa here:  Happy Hour was reinvented last week with a friendly game of PICTIONARY (Great idea, Izzo!) at the Pub.  The staff, a few significant others, and friends went head to head drawing actions, objects, animals, people, and places.  Enjoy the sampling of sketches above!  Answers to be posted later...

Chicago!

 

Marissa here:  I recently returned from a four day excursion to Chicago.  It’s a wonderful place with clean streets, beautiful parks, public art, and impressive architecture.  It also offers other things that I love like delicious food (hello Rick Bayliss, hot dogs, and deep dish pizza), Goose Island IPA (best IPA I have had in a while), and baseball.  Yes, I had the chance to be at Wrigley’s when Roy Halladay succumbed to the heat.  SAD!  There were many architectural highlights including Frank Lloyd Wright’s old stomping ground of Oak Park, the Chicago Architectural Foundation’s boat tour, Willis Tower Skydeck, the Rookery, and Carson Pirie Scott.  Although I would have to say that some of the most memorable things to me were the attention to detail and beauty and the city's wonderful parks.  The Art Institute of Chicago featured a hallway of architectural drawings all ink on linen from the late 1890s that were beyond beautiful.  The Chicago Cultural (top picture) center features the world’s largest stained glass Tiffany dome and gorgeous mosaics.  The bottom picture is the beautiful Lurie Garden with Renzo Piano's Modern Wing of the AIC beyond. 

History Is Made

Wednesday night saw many firsts for the JKRP softball team.  We had Dave's first 2011 appearance (he was 3 for 3), we had our first 9-run inning, and, for the first time in history, a pitching change was called for.  Glenn Werner, amassing a pitch count of 57 on his first batter, was pulled in the top of the third inning by interim manager/center fielder Mike Izzo.  The side was quickly retired after the change.  "The first one was right down the middle," said Werner on the bench, "but he didn't swing.  I guess he didn't want them like that."


There aren't many rules in slow-pitch architectural softball, but it felt like we were up against the entire ASL rulebook last night.  Two outs at the plate were nullified by a vocal Ewing Cole bench.  One in a "slide or surrender" situation (in which the runner neither slid nor surrendered), and another because "the foul tip didn't go over the batter's head."  Despite the bad calls, Marissa turned in some All-Star caliber play at the catcher's position.


What the team lacked in Krevolin brothers it more than made up for with grilled meats and cake balls.  Aggressive base running was not slowed by the pounds of hot dogs, cheeseburgers, and cake we ingested.  We were in it until the end, but ultimately walked away with a loss.  Only four more games to go before the 2011 season comes to a close. 

ACEtastic Final Presentation!

 

Marissa Here:  Last week Dave, Lauren E., and I watched proudly as our 13 ACE students presented their final project at the ACE Student Presentation.  Since meeting the students in early November, they have worked on developing a mixed use project as part of Philly LIVE! Complex.  It has been a wonderful experience to watch the students develop concept layouts and embrace the “Rocketship” design.  They have learned to produce bubble diagrams, column-beam diagrams, truss (not truffle) designs, and elevations.  As a new ACE mentor, it was an added bonus to learn more about the other mentors’ professions.  Great job Team 5!!!

Check us out @ the ACE Breakfast

Lauren Here: This year's ACE Scholarship breakfast was held at the new National Museum of American Jewish History on Independence Mall.   Jerry, Paul, Dave, Marissa, Tiff, Mike and I attended.  After the breakfast we were free to take a tour of this awesome building!  We checked out some of the display areas and got a closer look at the cool architectural details.

Presser Dedication

DeeDee Here- Today was the dedication for Presser Senior Apartments in the Mt. Airy section of Philadelphia.  Matt, Sam, Marissa and I played a significant role in restoring this historically significant building into 45 mixed income apartments.  Presser Senior Apartments was recently awarded a 2011 Preservation Alliance of Greater Philadelphia Grand Jury Prize. Our client Jim Nolen of Nolen Properties cut the ribbon with Mayor Nutter, Councilwoman Miller, Peter Kaplan of PNC Bank, and Brian Hudson of PHFA.

JKR Staff Checks out BIAs Green Tour

Marissa here- Yesterday, JKR staff took some time to check out the BIA Green Tour.  We toured our very own 777 South Broad, Montrose Green by Benchdog Design, Bancroft Green and 2000 Delancey.  All projects are currently in the process of seeking LEED Certification.  During the tour, we got to climb a ladder made of reclaimed wood to a green roof covered with sedums, hear about geothermal heating and cooling, and witness the beauty of reclaimed materials.  One of my favorite environmentally friendly techniques of the day was Montrose Green’s rain barrel and rain garden.  Not only was this beautifully detailed, but it allows the house to not have to tie into the City’s storm water system.