804um- the future of Richmond

 Last week I was among the presenter at the HYPE Richmond 804um half day conference. The take away for me, the next generation is inspired! The buzz after the event was electric and the conversation clearly centered around a greater vision, both on an individual basis and as a city. I look forward to connecting with this crowd again- as I call them GEN-I or Generation Innovation.

CASE STUDY ONE- VISION

See Think Make

Our studio, The Marvin Lang Building is a wellspring of creatives and we have banded together to initiate an educational forum. The 1623 School will provide professional education in vision and brand development, design, photography and leadership. We are seeking to expand and diversify as well, the more the better. Your success is our success- and we want to raise the bar of creative professionals in this great city.


Look us up at www.1623school.com

The most significant architecture in Petersburg

Went for a trip for the afternoon to visit Battersea last week. We were invited to work in a charrette to help envision the future of this most significant villa. The place is quaint and unassuming- but quite an architectural masterpiece. Empty and in a bit of a deteriorated state, the proportion and elegance are impressive nonetheless.

Battersea has great opportunity- its legacy beginning in 1760, the proximity to Petersburg, the adjacent river and the expanse of land are a foundation for a great experience. I look forward to participating in its future.

A Study in Contrasts

Wow, what a weekend. Imagine you could experience the cultural spectrum around a single, unified passion. Imagine too, that you shared the passion-to some extent-at each intersection. That was my weekend.

Started with a visit to the Team Natures Path/3Sports criterium at the Richmond International Raceway. A hundred or so riders showed up for an early season race. We watched our friend Dave from Endorphin Fitness keep his break on the pack to win the race and watched the guys from Richmond Pro Cycling take off in the 1,2,3 race.

Moving on, we ventured to the National Handmade Bike Show, where we were seduced by the craft an artistry of the most beautiful and inventive bicycles in the country. Sure these bikes perform, but really we were well into the art of it at the show. Saw our friends from Tektonics, Alan, Engin and lots of builders I have never heard of.

The trifecta was the Cog Magazine/Kazani bikes aftershow party at my studio. With an energetic crowd and more fixies than I have ever seen in Richmond, the place was like a club, the beverage of choice was a few kegs of PBR. Almost everyone arrived on bikes- and you could tell they truly used these bikes in the most literal way- transportation, livelihood, lifestyle.

Richmond has a robust cycling community spanning diverse interests and demographic profile. Its a great part of our city.

A little byzantine inspiration

The opportunity to create design that is integral to faith is rare, and we have had the great pleasure to work with Father Nicodemos Gayle and the St Seraphim of Sarov Orthodox Church. Taking its architectural roots from Eastern Byzantine influences, the design process was a rigorous learning experience. We were constrained by footprint and budget, but not from the lack of energy and tenacity of our client.  We stopped by to check progress, an found the scale and proportion of the spaces, even rendered in OSB really wonderful. We can't wait to see this project completed- with onion dome and some amazing iconography.   

Ex Libris, Volume Four- Native Genius in Anonymous Architecture

This book is a sleeper, unassuming and sits on the shelf almost invisibly. It is a really brilliant perspective on architecture, and speaks to an under publicized perspective of Modernism. Sybil was the wife and partner of Lazlo Moholy-Nagy who ran the New Bauhaus School in Chicago.

The sensitivity to indigenous architecture and classic forms runs counter to many perceptions of Modernism. The fact that the book elevates the work to 'genius' is a testament to the respect of history and the value as design inspiration that Sybil and Lazlo place on the work.

The nature of authenticity, a sense of place and a vernacular approach to design is promoted so well, I recommend this book for any design library.

Ex Libris- Book Three

The third in the series, this book comes from my personal history. I grew up in Doylestown, it is classic Americana at its best. I was fortunate to live right next to Fonthill, Henry Mercer's revolutionary residence and the Moravian Tile Works . This book was a gift to my parents from Betty Bendiner, the wife of noted Philadelphia artist Alfred Bendiner.

As for the book, I love the craft of construction- feels a bit home made but also charming. The local advertisements reflect a much simpler approach to typography and design- but not without care or regard for composition. The programme is a romantic, inviting outline, I can only imagine such an event today.

Ex Libris- Book Two

The second book in the series is a somewhat obscure title: Various Dwellings Described in a Comparative Manner. The Author is Richard Saul Wurman and it features drawings by fifteen second year architectural students of the School of Design, North Carolina State of the University of North Carolina in Raleigh.

This is not a book I consult regularly, but the quality of the drawings, simplicity of typography and elegant layout are notable. Like the Tufte books, I use this when considering the communication of ideas, but unlike Tufte, this book displays austerity and frankness and very few words.

Ex Libris Project- Book One

The first publication featured in my Ex Libris series- Envisioning Information by Edward Tufte. I have four of Tufte's books and they are all excellent. My primary role as a designer is to articulate and communicate vision. Tufte gives many examples from an impossible diversity of sources- if I find myself confounded searching for the best communication vehicle- this is where I go.

This is a must-have book for a creative library that architects, designers, photographers, artists- any creative- can draw inspiration from.

Sometimes Green has a Metallic Edge...

A visit to Stratton Metals (900 Brook Road, right near I-95 & Chamberlayne) to recycle some old steel leftover from our studio gave me a sharp perspective on sustainability. This business thrives on our refuse and leaves nothing behind. You bring it, they recycle it. Oh, and the 600 lbs of steel yielded $24 in my pocket, leaving me happy to boot.

The notion of relevant sustainability has been on my mind for some time. Businesses, construction, products that are more than green for green's sake. The key to successful environmentalism lies in making it meaningful and useful and fiscally sound.

Stratton doesn't even consider itself 'green' but sites studies showing recycling centers to me among the most green enterprises, and they are proud of the efficiency of their facility.

Outside of being impressed by the facility, I thought the stuff was cool to look at- here are a few photos from the visit.

Marvin Lang Studio Seeking Creatives!

The Marvin Lang Building, our studio, needs more creative types. We have several desk spaces available. The studio is excellent for professionals that need open, flexible space and seek opportunities for collaboration. Drop me an email- peter@fraserdesignassociates.com if you want to come by.

Introducing The Packmule and why I love bikes

This is the Packmule, and if you follow me on Twitter or Facebook, you see I talk about it a good bit. Cycling to work has become metaphoric for me in a few ways. There is a visceral connection to transportation and a unique awareness of our cultural disposition towards cars that happens when you share the road with automobile commuters. As a cyclist and triathlete, there is an abundant population of competitive and fitness cyclists, but as transportation vehicles- almost nobody out there .

As a designer that embraces paradigm shift and loves to work with change agents, I thought I ought to press this idea a bit. I am not alone in this initiative- certainly the market forces are at work- step into your local shop and see what bikes are competing for your attention in the window. It's rides like the Surly Long Haul Trucker, Specialized Langster or the Electra, not the latest sub 14lb. 12k unidirectional weave carbon masterpiece.

What has The Packmule taught me? (1) Bicycle commuting is pretty easy to arrange, but hard to do every day- I can't dump the car (2) It is physically challenging- 20 miles with 68 lbs makes for tired legs (3) Clients think it's pretty cool (4) Cars on the road, for the most part, do not think it's cool. My commute is on a fast moving route with no shoulder and crosses two interstate interchanges, so it's not an easy bike/car environment. I have been pleasantly surprised by the room given by FedEx trucks and most commuters, but I have also been run off the road and sworn at a few times. (5) I have concern for safety, but feel confident enough to keep it up- though the darkness of winter is intimidating.

Now, why I love bikes. This is easy, because I love design. Purpose, Craft, Engineering and Aesthetics in one elegant machine. The Packmule is oldschool steel-is-real construction, but I love the lugwork and details. My mountain bike is a marvel of suspension engineering and the craft of my tri bike and the design to efficiently convert force from my legs into momentum is remarkable. The great part is that it is very accessible and everyone benefits from the design exercise of building a better bike.

Look for me and The Packmule on the road, or the mountain bike on the trail, or the road bike with fellow enthusiasts and I hope you enjoy the opportunity to ride and much as I do.

Trash or treasure?

In the process of submitting the Part 2, Part 2 amendment and Part 3 of the state and federal tax credits for the Virginia Department of Historic Resources, we were printing images of the studio before and after construction. The gloss photo paper did not agree with our printer (much delay and frustration), but we ended up with some great effects in the prints. here are a few. Wish us luck in the tax credit submittal.

Guest blogger: Rachel the intern

Hey, my names Rachel. I've been interning with my uncle Peter of Fraser Design for the past week. Although only a week is not enough time to learn every thing about graphic and interior design that needs to be learned, I still learned more than I thought I would've. It takes a lot of skill, imagination, creativity, and time. But it's so much fun. While I was here I learned about vision, identity, brand, and environment, and learned how to put those towards design. I was also taught about typography, how to draw it, the history of it, and the different types. I also got the chance to take some photography and design logos for a website. I've learned so much from this experience and I know I'll use this knowledge in the future.

A Brief History- three generations of creative disposition

I was looking through the studio the other day, thinking about our Q209 newsletter. I was taken by the presence of my personal history evident in the studio, and also in my work. The tangible evidence- sketches, drawings, paintings and sculpture all manifest themselves in my own creative disposition. So we pulled together a little book- Fraser Design, a Brief History and dropped it here into Issue.com . We will be printing a limited number of copies, too. Here are some of the images in the booklet-


A patent application drawing by my great, great uncle(ink on linen), and a sheet from an architectural set drawn by my grandfather


A study for a sculpture drawn by my father and a porch sketch study drawn by me (back in the days of drafting)

A color study I did for the Charles Luck Stone Center

A little press from Design*Sponge

CITY, GUIDES

July 14th, 2009

richmond, virginia guide!

Design Sponge is a really sharp blog; somehow they cover a myriad of design topics everyone can marvel at and use. Their attentive crew recently featured a city guide of Richmond and picked up a few of our favorite destinations. Well, our favorite part was the mention of Fraser Design and our work at the Charles Luck Stone Center, but they also highlighted some gems we have in this town.

Just a few (go to their blog for the exhaustive list)

Philip Johnson's WRVA building is a modern icon in historic Church Hill  

SB Cox is the salvage yard of all salvage yards

The National- bringing entertainment back to the city

Metro modern, Ecologic and Chop Suey Books for some speciality shopping

Black Sheep, Millies, Comfort and Kuba Kuba, some of our favorite restaurants

Reading through, I realize we have great resources that serve diverse interests and endeavors. We feel fortunate to contribute to that inventory. 

Thing: Belle Chandelier #2

Our second custom made "belle chandelier" now has a DC address. We installed it last week in the DC condo of Mark Kuller, owner of Proof restaurant in central DC. He happened to see the first one we made in the Mountain Lumber showroom and promply placed an order for one of his own. This gets us one step closer to the launch of our custom furnishings line, Joseph Isabel. You can check out a preview at our beta site HERE. Stay tuned for the full line launch soon.

People: Lloyd Young, the newest addition to FDA

We have a new intern!! HER name is Lloyd Young, and she joined us at the end of May to start concept building for the future of the Charles Luck Studio. We're looking at ways to brand and market the studio to larger markets. So far Lloyd has interviewed the employees at the studio and put together presentations addressing some of the pros and cons of the current space. This week we will present her ideas to the big cats at Luck Stone. Wish us luck and we'll keep you posted . . .

Ideas: High Speed Rail to Richmond

Not a classic design exercise, but certainly an idea worth note. Today I heard the Greater Richmond Chamber of Commerce's sponsored speaker, Joe Boardman, Amtrak CEO, present the idea of high speed rail to our city. Leading with a short bit on his ongoing mission to ride all of Amtrak's routes ( 9000 miles and counting) I was inspired from the outset by the clarity with which he presented this challenging vision. A few salient points from my perspective-

We are not a culture that uses trains. Among other factors, the success of rail service in Asia and Europe is due to a cultural disposition. This will have to shift as part of a successful vision.

Joe followed John Lewis' presentation of the emerging strategy of GRTC, and picked up on an excellent cue. Coordinated Effort. CSX and Union Pacific have significant interest in the shared railroad system and what works for passengers must work for freight. It must work with automotive, air and bus transportation. To silo the interests of each is a deal killer.

The vision is expensive, in the billions, many billions. But as intensity of travel increases in the Northeast corridor, investment is inevitable and the cost of rail service generating competitive trip time results is on par with auto and air.

Rail service is environmentally sound. Resources- existing track systems are generations old and still sound and modifiable. Locomotives and rail cars are rebuildable and last a long time. Railway footprint compared to interstates, significantly smaller. Fuel- much more efficient than cars or air.

Managing expectations. We have fast trains but do we have places for them to go fast? Not always, not easily. The best way to go fast is to not go slow. i.e. increasing speeds in areas that are currently running 10-20 mph to 50mph yields better results that bumping from 90mph to 100mph  and is more effective and safer. Also, speed is great, but so are frequency and reliability.

Europe built infrastructure on war ravaged ruins, with our help. Their pallette was clearer than ours. China out-funds our rail development by a factor of 10. If your house , town or any obstruction is in the way, well too bad. We are carefully knitting into a tight fabric, with meager funds. This means time, patience and diligence.

We can do this. Joe spoke of working in and among the people and leveraging the assets available. His people know how to run and grow a rail system. We have the technology, professionals and need. Success of this great idea will come through leadership. Joe is the man.