PR -
Architects
Jeff and Tracey Prose of Building Arts Workshop LLC took the
unconventional route of becoming their own clients in the design and
construction of an eco-friendly re-development project in Portland,
Oregon.
Price List - August, 2005
The
Portland-based design-build firm, which offers complementary
practices as architect and general contractor, developed two LEED
Platinum rated townhouses using ArchiCAD to help launch the couple’s
new business.
The
project enabled them to create a unique property that both showcased
their talent and provided a home. The townhouse approach let them
create two adjacent homes linked by a common courtyard and garage,
with one house providing the couple’s residence. The husband-wife
firm served as both architects and general contractors on the
project.
The
project was uniquely designed to take advantage of the sloping site,
with a dramatic two-story central space that pulls in the vast Oregon
sky and landscape through multi-story glazing and skylights. Both
2,000 square foot homes incorporate advanced sustainable features and
technologies including radiant heat floors, solar hot water, rain
water harvesting, heat recovery ventilator, high efficiency
insulation, native Douglas fir cabinets and woodwork and other
locally sourced and reclaimed materials.
Price List - August, 2005
Jeff
Prose, a 14-year veteran ArchiCAD user, utilized ArchiCAD Start
Edition software for the townhouse project. ArchiCAD Start Edition is
an affordable, entry-level version of ArchiCAD designed for
architects seeking to expand their business with building information
modeling (BIM). It is has all the core design, 3D modeling and
documentation capabilities of ArchiCAD, but with a feature set and
price tailored to the needs of small architectural practices. It
enabled a small firm like Building Arts Workshop to design two LEED
Platinum buildings with software costing under $2,000
Prose
said the use of affordable BIM technology was essential to the
project’s success due to its ability to accelerate the design
process and to enable him and the subcontractors foresee challenges
they might otherwise have missed with conventional construction
documents.
“ArchiCAD
Start Edition lets us easily switch between a 3D BIM model and 2D
plans using a single environment with a single file,” he said.
“It’s a huge productivity gain. We can quickly pull the building
apart in a 3D environment, drilling down deep into the elevation
views and tiniest of details to identify potential work-stopping
problems ahead of time. Using BIM in the design-build process fuses
the tangible aspects of building construction while allowing the
actions of invention and discovery to thrive.”
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