Spring, Spring, Spring

It's spring time in Chicago, at last. With all the blooming flowers and budding shoots, finally we can leave our winter jackets behind in the closet. It's so nice to see people walking with strollers. It feels like years since I biked last time. Of course, spring time means construction time. We see a lot of projects awaking after months of hibernation. Repairs, renovations, re modelings, and new construction for schools, stores, and houses. We are looking a busy season ahead of us.

SungGoo Yang

One of big reasons why we keep this company blog site is to keep stimulating and challenging ourselves intellectually.

The 2009 recipients of New York Young Architects Award was announced in March. One of them is a young Korean architect in Boston. He seems to be a very creative and active designer, more like an artist than an engineer to me.

It's awesome to discover this gem, though. Just like any other field in the world, there is just a handful of designers and designing companies that lead the innovative edge, and the majority that are following. In other words, the entire architectural community is like endlessly communicating with each other. Some call for a new way to create a space; others respond to it with their design. Some of the new perspectives, ideas, motifs are incorporated, rejected, welcomed, and criticized. I am excited to see all this.

WOW

When I see an amazing building, I can't help myself but wonder. Who designed it? What inspired him or her? How many people contributed to its schematic design? Who did the construction design? Was it easy or hard? How many white nights were spent contemplating one line, one angle, or one side of that building? Who was the builder? How long did it take? How was the process? Were the workers proud or just busy getting the job done?

People say it takes a village to raise child. I say it takes a village to build a building. (But then, the child designs a new village.)

April Fool

On the first day of April, I am back to my office, trying to visualize the impossible, perfect scenario of a wonderful project. Meaning, a imaginative client with no financial restrictions asking us to build a picture perfect, eco-friendly office building. Of course, the reality is the opposite, more often than not. The client is always under a lot of financial stress, and the site has all sorts of challenges.

One thing that can narrow the gap between the ideal world and the real world is who your GC is. Because, more often than not, experienced veteran GC's foresee what lies ahead in the construction process and try to help the client go through that with less stress.

If you know a GC with that kind of calibar and that kind of heart, you are this close to a perfect, wonderful project, whatever that is.