AIA's Barbie Dream House Design Competition

It's true.  The American Institute of Architects has teamed up with Mattel to design Barbie's new - and quite sustainable - dream house in Malibu.  After receiving nearly 30 submissions from AIA-certified architects, the competition jury has narrowed it down to five lucky finalists.  You can help choose Barbie's chic new pad and vote for your favorite design here.  
This may be the first and the last time you see architectural plans and sections presented in hot pink!

Bradford Gilbert & the first American skyscraper

We here at Venture Architecture celebrate the round pegs in the square holes. Over the weekend I listened to this wonderful podcast from The Memory Palace by Nate DiMeo. It's a beautiful piece of storytelling and I think it typifies the indomitable inventiveness of the American spirit and it's something we aspire to in our office in every project we do. 

The Memory Palace produces weird and wonderful slices of American history in podcast form. Apparently this episode was commissioned by 99% Invisible, "a tiny radio show about design, architecture & the 99% invisible activity that shapes our world," from KALW in San Francisco. 

Advances in photovoltaics

There's no doubt that glazing is a mixed blessing for all buildings. Windows bring in needed daylighting but have poor insulating qualities. It's always a balancing act when attempting to earn green points with a building design. A recent forum at the McGraw-Hill Construction website explored many aspects of this very issue. 


Applying solar panels to the roofs or even exterior walls of buildings as facades and curtain walls is nothing new. Using transparent photovoltaic glass in skylights brings a whole new level to Building Integrated Photovoltaics (BIPV). This triple laminated glass claims to allow daylight through while repelling the UV and infrared rays that cause interior space to heat up, all while generating 52 kWh per square meter a year. One of the more remarkable applications of this technology the skylight designed by Onyx Solar at the San Anton Market in Madrid. Naturally, innovations like this could be of great benefit in Denver where we receive 300 days of sunshine a year.

Denver is Green

According to both The Denver Business Journal and The Denver Post, Denver was ranked the 5th greenest major city in the US and Canada.  How did we get this status?  From the b-cycle program, to changing energy consumption habits to building sustainable buildings.  All facets of the community have come together to make this a great city to live and work in.

Colorado Foreclosures Down in May

A Denver Business Journal article citing figures from RealtyTrac shows that foreclosure filings in Colorado are down 13.5%. In fact, foreclosure rates around the country appear to be dropping with the largest decreases in Georgia, North Carolina, and Florida. This is particularly remarkable when considering the agressive development in Florida during the housing bubble. 


Enough said...except perhaps...yippee!

Venture Turned 5!

Venture Turned 5-

At the beginning of June Venture turned 5! Thank you to all of our wonderful clients, colleagues and friends who have been so supportive and given us such amazing projects to work on. We look forward to serving all of you for many more years to come!

Time out for fun in architecture.

When an architect couple I know recently bought a house they rated each structure on "zombie defensibility." I imagine my friend kneeling on the porch roof of her Denver Square in her Tsubo boots, sighting the approaching undead through her oblong-framed glasses, and pumping them full of lead with a sawed off. Evaluating the zombie defensibility of our drinking companions' abodes is a favorite happy hour pastime. A compact Tudor revival with narrow second story windows: excellent! A rambling Craftsman bungalow with mother in-law apartment: "Dude, they'd be in your basement before you'd know it." 

Enter the so-called "Zombie Proof House" or "Safe House" by Polish firm KWK Promes. It is replete with drawbridge, concrete slab shutters, and a steel roll up door protecting a modern expanse of glazing.

All kidding aside there is little doubt that environmental conditions influence the shape and function of the environments architects design. A March 2011 article from Architectural Record examined using design for both water management and as an integral element in structures. The devastation of Katrina has show that mechanical and structural means alone cannot protect coastal cities from rising sea levels. A Dutch firm aptly named Waterstudio has designed "watervillas" in Utrecht and a floating prison docked near Amsterdam. Their latest project of 60 half floating, half anchored residential buildings will be complete next year in the Netherlands. 

As destructive as urban flooding can be, living and working near bodies of water improves quality of life for people nearby. Venture Architecture has designed projects in Oklahoma City and Pueblo, Colorado integrating those city's canal systems as design elements.

As these projects illustrate, firms like Venture who practice smart design strategies, can offer protection from the most extreme situations inside spaces with immensely beautiful design aesthetics.