If you are fine with the tablet interface (drawing on one surface while looking at another), the Intuos tablets are about as good as they get. They are definitely a lot easier to use for computer drawing than a mouse. However, having switched over from a table to a screen, I won't ever go back. I know they are a bit more expensive, but worth it in my opinion.

I've never used a tablet interface (drawing on one surface while looking at another). I'd love to get a tablet however I wat one at least as big as my computer screen (24" x 14.5"). Those types of tablet are around $2,500 vs the $500 for the tablet interface. :(

I had a Cintiq at an old office, which I really liked. But it was big and kind of clunky to work with. I later switched over to a Surface Pro tablet, which has a high-resolution pen-screen interface like the Cintiq, but is also a stand-alone windows computer (as opposed to an iPad, which is just a tablet and won't run real software). It will run Bluebeam and sketching programs just fine. It even runs Sketchup and Autocad reasonably well. The newer ones are even more powerful, and the prices are roughly equivalent to a Cintiq. You can't really use a Surface as a pen tablet for a desktop computer, but if it works as its own computer, do you really need to? I found that I didn't.

I've heard good things about the Surface Pro. I think I'm looking for something that can act as a large format digital sketch pad / trace paper. I'd want something at least 18" x 24"

for digital art i tried using a wacom tablet but never really got a feel for it; the screen surface disconnect was insurmountable. i absolutely love using an ipad pro though. for design work it essentially follows the same workflow as printing and tracing, just digitally. the lack of software compatibility hasn't mattered for me since i'm just sketching on jpgs.

mid - thanks for you opinion on this.  That disconnect is what I'm worried about. I'll have to make a trip to a larger metro area and see if I can try one out. I'd love to have a 'draw on' screen that I could connect to my computer that was in the 24 x 36 size.  I don't think a smaller tablet (iPad) would work for me.  I'd need something at least 18 x24 to be able to do much.  I know, weird.  

i really was skeptical about the ipad too and took a while to adjust (a year, but art is my hobby so not the priority), but with the right app it's very natural. procreate is very comfortable for sketching.

How well will the iPad play with PC's though?

if the workflow is sketching on jpg images, no problem. more than that i've never needed to try.

FWIW, if you're still looking - I had a cheap dummy Bamboo tablet back in undergrad, and the "disconnect" wasn't much of an issue after a little warmup, because you can always see the cursor moving around onscreen - same as you don't really notice moving a mouse. It did get a little annoying having the smallest size, since you have to decide on either low-resolution control that's mapped to the whole monitor, or a "pick and place" that's more akin to when you run out of mousepad and have to do the little bunny-hop move.

The screen on i.e. ipad/high end wacom is nice, but the screenless ones are bulletproof

Happy thanksgiving to you all Americans (I never understood the significance of it) Do you all form unions and strive for better pay, holidays etc as you sit around the Turkey?

No. We don't. We do American things, looks genociding indigenous people.

People, don't forget, that it is "Happy Türkiye Day" now.!

It is possible that your new firm is easing you into things so that you can assimilate to the new firm?

Have you told your new firm's leadership that you have more time and would be able to handle more responsibilities?  

It sounds like you came from a firm that didn't care how much work you could handle and just piled it onto you without a care.

A few things, first, it's the holidays, nothing of tremendous import is getting started and anything pushing to completion is not going to involve you at this point in time. Second, you're still becoming acclimated, three weeks is not enough time to fully understand your new environment, dig into it more. Third, there's always time to review existing projects, codes, etc. Fourth, your PM is probably catching their breath, getting ready for the new year, and where to fit you into project workloads. Fifth, enjoy the time to breathe yourself, next year comes fast.

That's fair, I'm sure it'll pick up. I can probably study for LEED in the meantime.

That dude looks like a muppet

As long as it's the one with Patrick Swayze.

The only one worth watching.

I think I need to get started on an essay about how good (expensive) architecture (a new private office building) can heal the world and prevent future genocide. It'll get published in AIA national's journal and lauded for the next year!

I think MVRDV beat us to the punch.

That .00000007 makes all the difference

city?

I was speaking with a arch friend of mine a few days ago who told me they had just canned a bunch of their lower performing team members. I thought that was strange because everyone else, our office included, is absolutely swamped. Maybe it's because we did not pull the trigger on all those applicants looking to cash in on insane covid-increased salaries.

What's a window threshold? I'm a word nerd, especially for elements of construction, but I can't recall ever hearing those words said together.

We do that at my office too! Last year it was about representing and dimensioning window & door masonry openings (whether to centerline or give the opening size). I'm eager to see what it'll be this year.

It's always vapour retarders up here.

I've been doing this all year long with a committee at my firm. We meet weekly unless other things come up. It's better IMHO to have it only once a year around Christmas. Dragging it out over the year means you get burned out and don't really put your whole heart and soul into arguing your stance as much.* Sprint vs. marathon thing I think.

I'm with you WG, I want to know what a window threshold is and how it's defined.

*Except for one guy who seems to forget that we've argued and decided against him on multiple fronts for his pet arguments. He just likes to relitigate things I guess, or maybe legitimately forgets how many times we've handed him his ass.

Non Sequitur wrote:

"It's always vapor retarders up here." 

Dang Canadian.

It's vapor retarder here in 'Murica. Get those metric pronunciations 'outa here.

Hey now, how'bout you be a nice neighbour and leave my u out of this. Stick to your archaic nonsensical feeties and inchies.

I'm doin' things in twelfths damn it!

We only use metric for ammo, drugs, alcohol,  and track.  'Murica!

Also, don't forget about the yard.  ;) 

and cabinets, all measured in mm. and much better built in canada.

see if this works

Not available in my country :(

archiwutm8, do you mean window sill?

VPNs can be your friend

I think she's worried about her daughter deviating from the family politics more than anything.

Which is good way to ensure she does

My parents said, oh you picked architecture? Sounds ok. Go on. And that was it.

My wife would agree with you Donna. I'm of mixed feelings on how much to help my kids, and find myself more and more thinking I grew up too much with the idea that the right way to do things is by our own power, no help. That attitude held me back so much as a youth, and I find myself leaning towards acting the other way as an act of contrition. By chance am reading "Bootstrapped" by Alissa Quart this week and she makes some good points about how pervasive the myth of self-sufficiency is in north american culture and how it is used to maintain the status quo in favor of people in power. It's a bit cringey at times but that doesnt make it untrue.

FWIW my parents never discussed university or jobs or my future ever, except the one time my dad had an army recruiter visit our house to see if I might try that out...in hindsight that was liberating and also completely unhelpful.

i cant see this thread anywhere?

Bench, see here: https://archinect.com/forum/thread/150406057/are-all-the-top-grad-schools-at-the-same-level-with-social-justice

"I've had one encouraging response that sort of enforced what I believed" is all I needed to read.

Response from one-post ponies who created new accounts on the same day too.

Helicopter Moms for Liberty

My dad said, "Oh, you picked architecture? Can you at least get certified as a diesel mechanic or something so you can fall back on it when you need money?" To be fair, he did apologize for that years later when I was principal architect winning design awards. ;-D

the key catch here is this helicopter mom is helping her daughter apply to GRADUATE school! this is simply a controlling parent disagreeing with her daughter's choices. i wish we had the daughters perspective on all this here.

I think her daughter's perspective is implied. It shouldn't be to surprising. Additionally her rebellion is delayed until 22.

Nothing wrong with being interested and helpful in the process. There is something wrong with being over-involved & pushing goals not held by the kid. I don't think the OP over there really laid claim to the second to my reading. There's a bit of an over-enthusiasm to crucify her by reading a subtext that may or may not be there, imho

Subtext is pretty transparent. I've met many with similar likes of "questioning". It's always the same people offended when the conversation turns to pronouns. C rucifixion warranted

manipulative and controlling people tend to be very good at presenting a different face towards outside observers. just a guy feeling on this one, nothing in what she wrote.

*gut feeling ...

I hear you proto and I agree but I also agree with everyone else. I’m sure there’s more nuance to the story. But I ask myself if the mom wanted her daughter to investigate schools why didn’t she show this website to the young adult and say “maybe there’s something to be learned here?” instead of posting the question herself. The daughter is an adult.

That thread is bizarre all around.

"her rebellion is delayed until 22"

the most typical kind of rebellion for the late blooming architect ... ha!

On a mildly related note, I did my admitted student school tours for graduate school back in '12 or '13; extremely excited for one of the schools as it's been regularly cited as one of the top M.Arch programs in the country (whatever that means). Pretty standard prospective student body from the looks of it, but one guy who was fresh out of undergrad had his mother in tow. It became pretty clear throughout the day that she was really speaking for him, not just accompanying him. Culminated in the final session of the day on student aid and paying for the program, where she fully hijacked the discussion with the administrator and went to town with questions/opinions on everything. I don't think this kid could have slunk any further down into his chair ...

Wherever you are, hop it worked out for ya buddy

Bench, I did open house presentations for 2 arch schools and entrance interviews for one. There was always a few agressive helicopter parents there.

Bench - I recall something similar at a certain “elite
grad program

My bet is that any rebellion that is likely to happen has already happened (or bare minimum has already been set in motion); the news of it just hasn't reached the mother. News will likely reach the mother when their child feels financially independent.

E.g. The mother seems worried about their child's politics. My bet is the child already has voted differently than the mother might expect, or has already made up their mind to next year.

^or the child came how with purple hair.

My money is on the purple hair.

I wanted to take a gap year and live in a van while I skied every day. 

I only applied to school because I got a free application after scoring shockingly close to perfect on my SAT. I only went to the school because I nearly got a full scholarship. Never visited campus, never talked to anyone, fuck, I had never been East of the Mississippi. 

15 years later, here I am living in my van down by the river. You can delay destiny but never avoid it.

Congratulations on your SAT score archanonymous! I was a really good student but totally blew my SATS. Probably still high from the night before. But I knew I was going to a state school that would take me so I also didn't try very hard. I tried *hard* on my GREs and did fine, nothing close to perfect though! Aren't you also an Eagle Scout?

I still jealous of living in the van down by the river - given where that van has been the last couple of years.

@Donna well I got high in my car before hand so I'll attribute it mostly to luck. I had the coolest little mini-bong that fit in a sunglass case when I was in high school... man I miss that thing. 

In the grand scheme of things it is something I never think about (the SATs that is - I miss that mini bong all the time) but it does form part of that chain of events that took me to university. Life's weird that way. 

Definitely not an Eagle Scout - but I did help several friends with their scout projects doing wildfire and erosion management around where I grew up.

There are, uh, techniques you can use to make that happen.

I'd still like for the firm to exist after the holidays . . .

These... "techniques" of which you speak... Do any involve handcuffs, a polaroid, and half a roller derby team? Just asking for a fiend.

Depends on the roller derby team.

... and which half!

@citizen, that's one way to skin a cat for sure!

#weekendgoals

#holidaygoals

#livelovelaughwithhalfarollerderbyteam

and what, work twice as hard in november and january?

Our office is closed Christmas Eave through New Years. You can take vacation, leave without pay, or work. All up to you.

One of those agree in theory, but not in practice type things. That said, giving myself between Xmas and New Years off with exception of anything that comes up/background firm stuff

Nope just a month of merriment and no working.

^same deal here but we also allow people to bank hours in advance or use any unclaimed sick days (because they don't roll over). The management staff just get it covered without the need to account for the hours because we work enough OT during the other 51 weeks to make up for a few days.

Thanksgiving through New Years, except back in the office on Boxing Day.

October to dec 26 off is a good idea... oh wait, you mean US thanksgiving....

You know what NS...

We're also closed the last week of December. My last office did the flex hours/accrued hours thing for any worked over 40/week that you could bank for the whole year, but not my current.

+++ for using merriment.

we should get the whole year off. nothing but merriment

Here here, we can just slam Harvard president on this thread and call for her to step down. Privilege has many faces....

Okay Bill Ackman

They always turn off comments on the sponsored posts. On the one hand, I don't get to leave snarky comments and see other's snark. On the other hand, it means the post fades off the page pretty quickly and gets lost to the bowels of the internet and forgotten.

I also think it's sort of nice that the BGH says, "You can pay for a post, but we don't guarantee any engagement ... in fact we'll go to lengths to actively discourage it. Thanks for your money."

Wait but we've definitely shit talked sponsored posts before. There's that one recruiter who puts one up every month or so and people have called him out for the terrible career advice he writes about.

Don't think that one is a paid-for "blog" post Bench.

Yeah, that's just a recruiter trying to get briskness by lying.

Probably a dumb question, but who is the big green head? (if you're not referring to the color of american money)

"Big Green Head" aka "BGH" aka "Archinect" aka "Paul Petrunia the site's founder/owner"

I think the title is a nod to the Wizard of Oz where a "man behind the curtain" controls a big green head. It's probably back in one of the first hundred pages of TC if anyone wants to trace it down.

No spoiler alert on that because the film is coming up on 85 years old next year.

wtf dude i was just about to watch that!

Spoiler alert!

It starts out in black and white, but there's color in the land of Oz!

that was some cutting edge creativity back in the day ...

Another spoiler, it's about the brokenness of a capitalist system.

Isn't everything?

I’ve been doing it all myself right now, with plans of getting someone to help. Send me a message and I’ll give you a couple contacts.

Raising a glass of bourbon Donna. I recently, no less than 6 weeks ago, had a similar situation with a very dear and significant family member.

Sorry to hear Donna, I was in the same situation 4 years ago (cant believe its been 4 years already) that Mom's cancer treatments stopped working and she started getting very sick, around the same time, and she left us in Feb 2020.

I remember her care team mentioning how many people they lose over the holidays, it is always more than the "usual".

Much love to you all and hope Dad's last moments are as painless and light as possible.

Thank you sameold.

Dear Donna, I am sending you and your family love, care, and sympathies. Sounds like a great Dad you have. Even though we see death as finite, it is not. From my personal experience, he'll always be there for you.

Donna, so sorry to hear about your Dad. It is very good you can go and be with him for a while.

Donna, that's about the best one can hope for in this situation. You're both lucky to have each other.

Sending love.

I'm very sorry to hear about this Donna.

Donna, my heart goes out to you, your dad, and your family. He's lucky to have you for a daughter, too.

ACONEX SUCKS ASS

Anything in the market is better… ? not really

Yes. Naylor claims to live in the city of Brazil yet profile states from Misourri. Also loves linkin park.

I think it's adorable how hard the little bots are trying. It's like watching a puppy trying to navigate stairs for the first time.

Nothing wrong with loving the dulcet tones of Chester Bennington

You're not allowed to post NKOTB. D00d.

It was plenty of good music tho, from friends bands, a bit of roots fire, a bit of hip hop. Just good music, kind of had hoped a bunch of architects would respect cultural heritage...

Oh hush nabrU. No one is disrespecting anything.

Whoever got the music removed is disrespecting the artists.

This better not be about disrespecting Neil young.

No one disrespects Southern Man

A Southern man don't need him around, anyhow.

I fucking hate that goddamn tunnel. Whoever thought that what tired and annoyed travellers need is a LOUD AND FLASHY INSTALLATION THAT GOES IN THE ENTIRE WIDTH OF THE RUNWAY is an asshole.

Also I am pretty sure the BGH consists of more than Paul Petrunia. In my experience there is a small but mighty HQ/team, that has fluctuated (in size and personnel) over the years. Plus a few community member/moderators (with lesser powers).

Oh and I missed the IRL 'Nectors convo. I've had pleasure of meeting a few, not as many as I'd like. Knew (went to school with but in a different program) a few of the older crew (Aaron and Quilian) and had pleasure later in life of meeting Javier, Nick (maybe Bryan?) and Orhan on a trip to CA. Attended at least a couple of Denver crew meetups early in my years here in CO. More recently I've missed (much to my chagrin) chances to meetup with b3ta and Donna during separate trips they've made here.

I forgot about that meet-up in Denver, Nam. I met 3 more archinecters than I initially stated. I’m down for another meetup!

Still a family of Novids over here. Sorry to hear you tested positive, but glad it seems to be mild. Rest up. Happy Holidays

I got Covid from a rage against the machine outdoor show.

@Wilma, that'd be great! Will try to remember to email the emails I still have for y'all in the New Year/once we are clean. @Non., I was supposed to go to the 97 Rage-Wu tour. Got grounded and RATM is still one of my biggest regrets/bucket list groups!

With an abundance of caution, I superstitiously won't say that I haven't had Covid. But I'm not saying I have tested positive either.

same, afraid to write that sort of thing out...

Huzzah?!

Where's the last place you had it?

Those who forget Archinect History are doomed to repeat it.

Haha! Eltona John. Time flies, I’m trying to miser it! Happy new year emkem!!!

Nice to see the reappearance of two "old-timers"... Also congrats Emily!

My goodness! Why is that adorable toddler surrounded by baby bodies on the floor? =O)

She's so cute... and looks like she's calmly checking her nails after kicking serious baby butt.

That kid has more style than I ever will.

You should plan ahead for mechanical space, probably 2-3 times more area than you think you need. In the residential world we rarely have the benefit of a mechanical engineer on the design team but I have found having one to be a valuable addition.

No matter how much space you give them, engineers and HVAC contractors will want more, but it's really difficult to squeeze everything into a space that's not large enough.

Over the weekend I had to relight the pilot light on my mother-in-law's water heater and I literally didn't have space to see whether it was lit.

To this important matter of adequate space, I would add strategic location(s)-- for better and more efficient equipment access (per WG) as well as duct and piping runs.

Don't forget ventilation requirements if you're closing in the room

Did you visit La Brea? I've always wanted to go. They are right across the street right? Any sense whether the NHMLAC or this will be a better/more architecturally interesting, project?

Nam we did Peterson (stooooopid building) LACMA and TarPits in one day and I looooooved the tar pits! I could stand and watch those little black bubbles burst all day long. I even had my son take a picture of me with the CGI-generated extinct animals. Here I am with some kind of bird and the glorious Goff Japanese pavilion behind me.

Huh, can’t get the picture to load. I’ll try later.

Can you believe they considered getting rid of the mammoths?

You gotta kick that turkey's ass.

sidenote, Bart Prince had a huge role in bringing the project to life as Goff passed away two years before the construction started with a lot of unresolved details. So happy that Zumthor's LACMA will visually bring it to viewers. Glad to see you are having fun Donna.

This reminds me to take the kids to the tarpits and the academy museum. Havent been to the area for 3-4 years now even though we live in LA. Life is busy, and im busy being disgusted on how they tore down the old beautiful LACMA buildings....

i love that quirky little gallery. i wish museums today were able to have that kind of playful idiosyncrasy without any pretense of importance.

The outside does not hold a candle to how nutso the interior is. What a fun space. Wish all the acrylic aged a little better.

Lush here!  =O|    I've seen much more of that in recent years, Donna. I believe some it is an old-fashioned desire for privacy in single-family neighborhoods. Sometimes it's just at the front/sidewalk edge, and not along the sides or rear-- indicating a specific aversion to strangers (and their dogs) and maybe solicitors. But some of it, I'm convinced, is just copying what the neighbors are doing, by folks not overly private but not wanting to miss out on a trend.  I can't imagine that most cases owe a conscious debt to Latin American urban design.  If only.

PS. I wish we'd gotten to meet up, but I know travel time is packed and precious on trips like this.

Well, Donna, in LA proper, a lot of the defensiveness is a direct result of the crime rate as well. Not sure if you went to suburbs like Pasadena, Glendale etc where you can see open front yards with super low hedges/fences.

And yes, its been so nice to see Oana's successes from the student days to now.

front yards are the stupidest thing invented by men.

If there is no "get off my yard" what are old men supposed to yell at kids about?

The front yard is where I practice my martial arts while wearing a red speedo. My neighbors love it! Oh wait . . . .

With the right accessories, Chad, you won't need the martial arts.

And yes, that's Sean Connery.

That's from the movie Zardoz. FYI - that film is where the phrase 'big green head' comes from. In the film the big green head floats around and barfs up guns for the people to fight with.

Hey now, that SC pic is my jam! Love that movie.

Side note:  I may just be a overly polite dirty communist Canadian but it appears to me that the bullets in Sir Sean Connery's suspenders don't fit the revolver he's packing.

There is a lot to unpack in Non's statement. ;) Non - I always figured the rounds in the bandoleer were for a rifle.

In 'Merica we know the difference between bullets and rounds.  Now excuse me, I have a mass shooting to mourn and kidney to sell to afford my healthcare.  Freeeeeedoooooom!  

probably remove yourself from the situation. maybe look for a different office, or adjacent career?

also, try to focus on the positive. there has to some element of the work situation you like, maybe some piece of the design or some detail you worked out. also, something at home you like. maybe a good dinner. think about the positive stuff and then think about how you can shift your situation so you're doing more of the positive thing and less of the burn-out thing.

I’m burned out too. No advice just know what it feels like and it sucks. I need new energy.

My partner getting COVID and hence erasing Xmas week plans have increased my burnout big time.

I'm in the same situation as you archiwutm8.

I've found that keeping time for myself to get outdoors and get exercise really helps me handle the stress. 

I also have a series of fun activities throughout the year that I've planned so I look forward to them 

 Good luck with this!

Want to hear something incredibly weird? My burnout was "cured" (is it ever really?) by going out on my own and controlling how my labor is spent, what it is spent on, etc... It's the most stress I've had in my life, but a different kind of stress. Of course, this path is absolutely not for everyone and I still wonder what the hell did I do on a daily basis. Finding ways to take control of your situation may help.

Honestly, I'm starting to have chest aches end of the working day and I don't know if it's long sitting hours or panic attacks. I go for long walks on weekends but the whole working week honestly just really sucks.

That's absolutely a sign that the situation isn't right for you. I've been there, and I hate that you're going through this.

Yeah, archiwutm8 please don't continue to be this miserable. Try to find another job. A job isn't worth this kind of stress to both your mental and physical health.

archiwutm8 - are you able to see a doctor and then speak to your firm about this? I am genuinely concerned about your well being. This is just a job. It's not worth your physical or mental health.

I was very burned out at my last job. I started by telling people it would take me a couple days or a week to get something done instead of them telling me they needed it by the end of the day. That push back and managing expectations helped a lot. I think it might have led to them laying me off, but I found something pretty quick and started from the beginning managing others’ expectations. Much less stress.

I try that but doesn't work like that where I am. The client wants everything asap and management is disorganized and stressed out 24/7. I'm considering gathering funds for the next few months and might call it quit and go teach English, been in AEC for 10+ years now and if I'm honest I don't know if I ever enjoyed it, I enjoy design and architecture issues like social housing but the work environment just isn't right.

archiwutm8 - Sounds like the firm you're at is crap.

That's what I did saved up enough to give myself a runway for a year or so and bailed. You need some time to decompress and find a "bridge job" that is low stress as you plan your next move. Burnout fries you good and you don't want to jump into another big change right after leaving a toxic place.

In Nov/Dec of 2022 I burnt out to the point of actual collapse (as in I literally COULDN'T get out of bed). I spent the first half of 2023 either in psychiatric treatment or just watching YouTube all day, tried going back to the old job in June but lasted 2 weeks before I was back in the hospital. I'm very fortunate to live in a state with relatively generous disability or I'd be homeless.

Start taking care of yourself before your body decides for you.

(I started a new job in August, which is great, but I'm still feeling some of the effects of the burnout.)

Yeah you need to quit. My workplace sucks ass too but perhaps only 10% of what you are describing...so quit and find something else

I would go one step further. 

Some firms expect their team members to have nearly a 100% utilization ratio (amount of time you can bill out your work). That is not possible or sustainable. In my experience any utilization ratio of over 90% isn't sustainable for more than a couple of months without burnout.  Realistically  you want your utilization ratio to be around 85%.  

Ever feel like you've only been doing 40 hours a week but you're just burnt out? That's why.

I've worked at a firm as essentially a production drafter where I was expected to be at 95% utilization. That works out to only 2 hours per week of non-billable time on a normal 40 hour work week. One of those hours was a weekly staff meeting. The other was usually a lunch-and-learn. It was doable for me, but it was stupid and led to burn out pretty quickly. It didn't help the burnout that I also worked a lot of overtime because I was getting paid time and a half for it, but that did help the numbers work out better in terms of utilization.

Maybe that's why I went out on my own - to up the difficulty level!

I wish I could beat all the levels on any part of my life. It must be nice. Why do I only choose things that are too challenging?  ;)

and this is why we're building a wall. It may be made of maple syrup, hockey sticks and hugs, but it's a wall nonetheless. It'll certainly keep fools like this out of our snow banks.

he deserves to feel some embarrassment for parading around like that, if not actually stopped for questioning by the police for entering a major public space fully strapped (which quite frankly seems a valid response too)

'Murica ... F Yeah

Open carry is stupid. If you do it you're stupid.

why stop at open?

Cuz 'Murica and 'da 2nd aMendmit ShaLl nIt be inFridged'

Took my dad to a Steak n Shake in Indy a few months ago. I asked someone who was open-carrying if they feared a Frisco Melt. The look on that person's face...

Gosh, hang in there proto! Sounds scary.

and we're back at it...lessons in resiliency for everyone involved! :)

keep an eye on the avalanches, temps rising this wknd.

Is that why all those cc skies open-carry sleek rifles? To protect themselves against roaming avalanche gangs?

No avalanche danger where I was at. I would just use my ski poles to fight off avalanches. ;)

I did need to carry out an older woman who twisted her knee. Her friends couldn't carry her so we rigged up a litter with some cord and her skis. I got to pull her out 1.5 miles to the trailhead. Good thing the entire way was only slightly down hill. :s

Now to get back to this fire station project due in two weeks.  :(

Fire station sounds fun!

I hope there's a fireperson's pole involved, or is that a thing of the past?

From my research into fire station design back in undergrad ... they are a thing of the past. Too many injuries and I think they've found that wide staircases (enough for two abreast) are able to convey more fire fighters down a level faster than a pole with less injuries.

As EA said - poles really aren't used due to injuries. Not from falling but from landing atop a person who's at the bottom of the pole. Wide stairs - or slides are used now. Yes, slides. Weeeeeee!

is this the CB fire station that was delayed for 3 years and now they want it all by yesterday?

Careful on the slides. Don't let cops near them.

So much for that "very faithful" 3S reboot I'd been hoping for.

Everyday, I LOVE that video! I could not stop laughing when it first came out. WTH did he do to end up moving so fast?! and the clattering, my god, the clattering!!!

JLC-1 wrote

 "is this the CB fire station that was delayed for 3 years and now they want it all by yesterday?"

Yup.

Have they had a fire in that three years? If not, maybe the real money-saver here is to scuttle the new station and instead publicize and post: "Whatever y'all have been doing or not doing, keep it up!"  (And then a big thumbs-up graphic, obviously.)

Naw. They need a new fire station and search and rescue. Their current 'building' can't really be called a building and has almost fallen down. Also, they house all EMS so . . .

Sounds like a fun project at least!

It's an interesting project.

Straight slides.

That news makes me happy.

It seems weird that stations would make stairs the quick way to get down to the bay. It appears to be a one-way ticket to a workers comp claim.

You'd think that. 

However they've found that as long as the sleeping quarters on on the same floor as the bays it's fine. 

Ironically poles cause more injuries than stairs. The issue is that if a firefighter forgets call out that they're clear from the pole base, or the firefighter at the top doesn't listen for the 'clear' then the two collide. This typically is a 175 persons feet slamming into the top of someone's head.

Then there is the requirement to protect the top of the pole opening from people.  It basically needs to be in a separate room to keep people from accidentally falling through the floor opening.  

My groundbreaking architectural idea in undergrad was to accommodate the fighters all trying to get to the bay at the same time from their sleeping quarters by widening the corridor from the sleeping quarters to the bay a little bit more at each door. Basically meant each person leaving their sleeping quarter had their own lane* to travel to the bays. It was a hit with the critics, but made for an inefficient building layout otherwise.

*I never defined "lanes" for them to travel in and it was a loose concept. The amount the corridor widened wouldn't have accommodated the width of someone anyway so their own "lane" wasn't really the point. It was more about having the room to navigate potential collision points in the corridor with others exiting their sleeping quarters.

Feel free to steal the idea for your project(s) ... YMMV.

Why not just have their beds automatically drop them through the floor into their seats on the truck as soon as the alarm sounds? ;-) Fire and forget, baby!

I like that thinking, gw. That's better than my idea of parking the fire trucks upstairs next to the sleeping quarters.

The money saving option would be to have the bunks just fold down from the apparatus bay walls. When the alarm goes off the swing down.

Maybe give them a 5-10 second delay before swinging down. Just to be nice

There are poles with integrated trap doors that stay open for a few seconds before automatically closing. If it’s open a fire fighter coming down will know someone just went down.

Correct. If you have more money than space then poles can be a great option. Also when kids come to visit they all want to slide down the pole!

Why don't they just make the trucks themselves a little bigger and add submarine racks? Eliminate the need for crew quarters altogether.

They still need a place to eat and work out. ;)

I know we're joking around, but more seriously, fire departments need to make their apparatus smaller, not larger. I'd love to know how many "road diets" get shelved just because of fire trucks.

I don't do a lot of fire / EMS work. The few projects I've done the trucks do seem to be getting smaller. Of course the need for ladder trucks in some areas don't allow this.

Anne Hathaway doesn't cross picket lines https://variety.com/2024/biz/columns/anne-hathaway-conde-nast-vanity-fair-walkout-photoshoot-1235883668/

Lol architectural digest. Lamest architecture media outlet imaginable.

Digest is infinitely better than Record. At least I get to see lush gardens and interiors.

Are you all taking about those magazines I keep getting but never subscribed to? I use 'em as placemats when gluing models. You mean I could of been readin' 'em?!  

The general public doesn't know just how horrible the mainstream architecture magazines are in comparison to the overseas ones. Although, kind of true of architecture in general.

I got to move into a higher-paying career to afford an El Croquis subscription.

My biggest beouf is AD's steadfast, strict, frustrating ban on floor plans. My hunch is that it stems from concerns about privacy and security ("What? Madonna's kids' rooms are right next door to her sex dungeon?"). But this structural gap relegates "Architectural" in the title to fashion rather than description.

even many proper architectural publications abstract them into near uselessness, unfortunately...

^ Yes, this! 

I want a deliciously drawn floor plan of graded line weights and broken lines illustrating wall thicknesses (poche' anyone?), windows, doors, fixtures, finishes, etcetera, etcetera. Even a basic plan that's scaled correctly and reasonably detailed is fine. But a reductive, non-scaled line diagram that looks like an electrical schematic is the absolute worst.

This issue highlights the larger divide between architectural training, custom & practice versus whatever the hell else is out there, driven by (not all, but many) developers.  Also, dare I be Grandpa Simpson yelling at clouds, some is borne of digital over digits-- computing vs. hand drawing.

There.  Now for some Metamucil (much more complex than regular mucil.)

On second thought, worse than the development industry are the publisher/ media complex's shortcomings here. Images of flashy renderings are so easy to find and include. Harder to provide are plans, sections and elevations, even here on Archinect. When an editor or author goes to this trouble, the results are far better, and come much closer to "architectural" journalism.