Mentoring the Future

John Rowell spent the last couple of weeks mentoring Phillip Bindeman, a senior at South Eugene High School. Phillip shadowed John, observing all that goes into his job as a Principal. He says of his experience, “I had an image of architecture as people drawing all the time. I realize now it’s a lot more social than I thought. There are lots of meetings, especially for John and Greg.

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The Saga of Sawdust: Creating a Wall of Sawdust for the Roseburg Forest Products Headquarters

Early in the design phase of the Roseburg Forest Products (RFP) project, Rowell Brokaw travelled with the RFP design team to the DIRTT headquarters in Calgary, Canada. Since 2003, DIRTT has been creating innovative modular wall systems. During their visit, the design team saw a glass wall full of lemons that DIRTT had created for Mike’s Hard Lemonade.

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Drone Pics of 1203 Willamette

Renovation moving forward at 1203 Willamette, a mixed-use office and retail building. This will be the third substantial remodel since the original building’s construction in 1942 and expansion in 1946. A goal of the current remodel is to expose the structure, including the existing wood columns, wood ceiling joists, and board formed concrete walls. Structural upgrades, such as glulam beams, have been added to the 36,000-square-foot building. The west elevation facing Willamette Street will be storefront, windows, and wood finishes.

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Interview with Frank Visconti, President Elect of the AIA Southwestern Oregon Chapter (AIA-SWO)

When were you elected and how long will you serve?
I was elected in January 2017 by the current president Katie Hall. I’ve been involved in the AIA since 1991. I served on the board of directors in Florida in 1991 and in New York in 2004. The position is really three years: the first year, you shadow the current president; then you are the president; then the next year, the next president shadows you.

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Tykeson Hall featured in Oregon Architect

Mark Young, AIA, LEED AP BD+C, principal at Rowell Brokaw, said this project stands apart from other projects the firm has done on the campus because of the unique and innovative program involved. “There isn’t much precedent to rely on, so programming has been very exploratory. There have been significant discoveries about the program that have come about through the design of the building,” he said. “In addition, the central location in the historic campus core brings a higher level of visibility and scrutiny to the project, much more than our previous work at the University of Oregon.”

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Using Oculus Rift in a Client Meeting

Architects are always in search of new ways to help clients inhabit an unbuilt space. Rowell Brokaw has been experimenting with Oculus Rift, a virtual reality headset developed by Oculus VR. It allows the viewer to visually move through 3D spaces: spinning a full 360 degrees through a panorama and clicking to enter another space. Originally designed for video gaming, Oculus Rift is finding other applications in the movie industry, social spheres, and architecture.

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