Many people believe that the bulk of an architect’s job involves detailed drawings and communication with internal teams of consulting engineers. However, some of our most important work, as an architect, is to advocate on our client’s behalf. Very many of the local neighborhoods inside greater Atlanta have established procedures to incorporate local citizens into…
As the City of Atlanta has grown and matured, its zoning ordinances have become more complicated. Throughout my career, I’ve seen first-hand how these ordinances have shifted projects, especially when the owner does not know what can be done with the lot. Surprisingly, these ordinances are often unknown. The simple act of expanding a house…
Atlanta’s re-surging in-town development has led to higher property values and inflated construction costs. Coupled together, these two factors cause concern for affordable housing. In-town growth can also encourage the bulldozing of existing small homes, only to be replaced by larger, higher priced homes. However, when there are less properties available, developers resort to denser…
When most people think about rebranding, they think about product marketing. They certainly do not think about architecture. But why not? Rebranding is more than just corporate colors. It is: The perception of the firm or company; aka its personality. What experience do you want your customers to have when they walk in? How do…
Tactics Used to Update a Ranch House Style: Open Living Plan edition A client came to Jones Pierce after finding a great ranch house candidate to convert to mid-century modern style. Their strategy was to sell the home their kids grew up in and downsize into single level living environment. This also fulfilled a long-term…
Yesterday, I posted about the functional features of an outdoor space to create a backyard escape. Today’s post is about how to make an outdoor space livable and most importantly fun. Heat and Cool Your Outdoor Space So, how do you heat and cool a great indoor/ outdoor space? Better yet, how do you best…
Nearly all of our residential projects include backyard escapes. This project includes a pool, expanded upper open porch with see-through fireplace, a lower indoor/outdoor place with kitchen, pizza oven, and accordion door unit. The carpentry and masonry compliment the great design by Jones Pierce’s Angel Shockey. With Angel at the helm, successful design was a…
A few months ago, we discovered a Solar Tax Credit hack, and we’d love to help you take advantage of the opportunity. The federal solar tax credit, also known as the Investment Tax Credit (ITC) allows solar array customers to deduct 30% of the cost of installing a solar energy system from their federal taxes. The…
What is the right prescription for southern high performance residential architectural design and building? In our evolving practice we now recommend a prescription of high-performance solutions on every project. From a humble renovation to custom new home built to Passive House criteria we consider features in a following order of priority according to our client’s…
Is it possible to enjoy the journey? We’ve all heard the horror stories—budget over runs, delays due to poor planning, small details ignored during design becoming emergency decisions during construction, etc. This part can be very stressful and not a lot of fun. Yet, the journey of creating a new space or transforming an old…