TruexCullins Supports Burlington City Arts

TruexCullins Architecture and Interior Design is one of the sponsors of the imaginative and whimsical "User Required" exhibit at Burlington City Arts (BCA). The artists use light and sound based technology to interact with visitors. The show breaks out of the gallery, extending into the upper floors of the Center. This show is appropriate for people of any age.

Join us at the exhibit to be engaged, provoked and have a unique art experience April 12 - May 18, 2013.

The opening receptions are:

Thursday, April 11, 5:30 pm - 7:30 pm for BCA members and Friday, April 12, 5:00 pm - 8:00 pm for the general public.

For more details about the show and workshops with the artists, visit User Required.

A Himalayan Adventure Awaits

If you've been reading the blog recently, you’ve been learning about our work with Edge of Seven to build schools for girls in Nepal. Now here’s your chance to experience this part of the world for yourself!

FROM VERMONT TO NEPAL

THE EVEREST BASE CAMP EXPEDITION TREK

 

Join TruexCullins and Edge of Seven this October for an exciting and adventurous trek to Everest Base Camp, where we will push our personal limits and experience the beauty of the Himalayas - all while helping girls in Nepal access an education!

LOCATION:  Everest Region Nepal
DATES:        Oct 19 - Nov 8, 2013
COST:          $3,300*

INCLUDES: All food on trek, in-country lodging; transport, permits, guides and porters, fundraising requirements and 24/7 support

This trek will cover the basic Everest Base Camp route over the duration of 21 days. We will have two days in Kathmandu at the beginning and end of the trek to sightsee and rest.

Our journey will begin with a short flight to Lukla, the gateway to the Khumbu Region. We will hike along the Dudh Kosi River and through the Khumbu National Park, stopping at small villages, cultural and religious sites. The trek will take us to the Mt. Everest Base Camp and Kala Patthar, a peak of 18,200 feet with excellent views of Everest, the Khumbu icefall, Lhotse, Nuptse, and Pumori.


Trek Route. Click to Enlarge

Optional Climb of Island Peak

Trekkers looking to add more adventure to their trip can opt to add 3 additional days for a 24-day itinerary that includes a climb of Island Peak (Ima Tse), a popular mountain for climbers that stands at 20,305 ft.

Alternatively, trekkers interested in taking a more cultural route through the small villages of the Lower Solokhumbu can extend their stay to view Edge of Seven’s schools and girls’ hostels in the villages of Phuleli, Basa and Salleri.




* Prices do not include international airfare. The Island Peak climb adds 3 additional days and $800 to the trip total. Trekkers opting for the cultural tour of Edge of Seven’s projects should contact Edge of Seven for a custom itinerary and pricing:  www.edgeofseven.org 

For more information about the Everest Base Camp trek, visit http://edgeofseven.org/Adventure.html

You can also download the complete itinerary of the 21-day trip (8 page pdf) from the Edge of Seven website:

http://edgeofseven.org/VOLUNTEER%20TRAVEL/Edge%20of%20Seven_2013%20Everest%20Base%20Camp%20Trek_Itinerary.pdf

And to speak to us about our plans for this trip, or to discuss joining us yourself, call our office at 802-658-2775 and speak with Sparky Millikin or Carmen George.

 

Tips for Collaborative Workplace Design published in Free Press Business pages

by Matthew Bushey

The following article appeared in the 'Innovate' Business section of the Burlington Free Press on Thursday March 21, 2013.  It is also available for viewing online.


Creative Corner: Not Behind Closed Doors
Designing for teamwork in the workplace
 
In today’s workplace, one of the biggest challenges we face is how to foster creative teamwork while allowing for privacy and concentration. Most office workers spend their time split between group meetings and individual tasks, so it is difficult to apply a one-size-fits-all solution and expect good results.

Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer recently announced plans to eliminate her company’s work-at-home policy, ordering everyone back to the office. In explaining the change, the company cited the need for greater communication and collaboration.

This rationale follows the general industry trend toward a more open and collaborative workplace. There is an increased recognition that the most creative problem-solving does not occur by an individual behind closed doors, but rather by a group effort of people putting their heads together.

Over the past few years the walls have been coming down, and more people are moving out of the private office into an open office setting. The problem here - and the reason many Yahoo employees had chosen to work from home – is that the visual distractions and noisy interruptions of the office prevent them from focusing on their work.

This is one of the biggest challenges we face with the design of the workplace: How to provide a comfortable balance between teamwork and individual privacy.

The first place we start is with the design and planning of the open office workstation. Repetitive rows of Dilbert-style cubicles do a poor job of providing privacy, and they are not conducive to group work. One solution is to break out of the box and think about alternative planning modules, or scatter workstations in a layout that gives each person a unique boundary and line of sight. The in-between spaces then become additional opportunities for impromptu collaboration, while promoting individuality.

Another method to support conflicting work styles is to provide a variety of spaces that people can use throughout the day as their needs change. Working in an open office is more accepted if other spaces are available for a private phone call or a quiet one-on-one meeting with a colleague. These are not scheduled rooms. They are free for anyone to use on a moment’s notice.

Finally, we look at the design of group spaces that maximize the benefits of working together. Often the most creative problem solving comes not from scheduled meetings but from spontaneous interactions among coworkers. Conference rooms are still necessary, but informal, social spaces are becoming more important. A cafeteria or lunchroom can double as a social meeting space, with furnishings and technology that can turn a casual encounter into a productive work session.

The move by Yahoo is a sign that companies are starting to rethink the role of the workplace. In this age of remote access and virtual meetings, the message is clear that face-to-face interaction is still valued for successful teamwork. Ultimately to be effective, our spaces need to be flexible and responsive to meet the needs of groups and individuals alike.


Matthew Bushey, AIA, LEED AP is a registered architect and the lead project manager for the Workplace Interiors Studio at TruexCullins Architecture and Interior Design. www.truexcullins.com

A Sneak Preview of the Hotel Vermont guestrooms

We are counting down the days until the opening of Hotel Vermont.  As you may know from past posts, TruexCullins is designing the interiors for this LEED-certified hotel going up on Cherry Street in Burlington.  Last October we shared some renderings of the proposed bar at Juniper Lounge, located on the lobby level of the hotel. Check them out here if you missed it the first time.

Now we have new renderings of the hotel guestrooms, courtesy of our in-house digital wizards.  The rooms are all very modern and clean, with natural wood casegoods, dramatic lighting, and full-height doors and headboards.

In the Whirlpool King room, guests will enjoy a luxury bath that opens to the bedroom by a sliding glass door and an in-room fireplace facing the bed.

All of the guestrooms, including the Deluxe King, feature custom wood casegoods and furnishings.  The centerpoint of the room is the floor-to-ceiling headboard crafted from character-grade White Oak.  A built-in window seat makes maximum use of the space in front of the window and integrates seamlessly with the adjacent desk and dresser unit.

In this view, looking back towards the entrance, the guestroom bathroom is visible as a cube within the space.  Wood doors with translucent panels slide away on both sides of the bathroom so that when open, all the spaces flow continuously as one.

Some rooms have a larger entry, with a console unit as seen here.  A sliding door opens to the bathroom, with backlit mirror and vessel sink.

TruexCullins Interiors is responsible for the design and specification of most everything you see in these images, from the finishes and furnishings right down to the artwork and room accessories.

The Hotel Vermont guestrooms promise to be as unique as our state itself, and we can't wait to see the finished product!

A New School and Community Center

THE NEXT EARTHBAG CONSTRUCTION PROJECT

MANKHU VILLAGE FARM FOR WOMEN

This spring, TruexCullins architects are collaborating with Edge of Seven and The Mountain Fund to create a new Community Center specifically for women at the Mankhu Village Farm in rural Nepal. The center will be built using earthbag construction and will complement the existing programs at Mankhu Village Farm to offer women a safe and collaborative space for education and health.

Many women at Mankhu Village Farm have been victims of sex trafficking or domestic abuse, and, as a result, have nowhere to go. They possess valuable agricultural skills, but have been deprived of the opportunity to achieve independence from their own labor.

Known as “Her Farm”, this project will help women in these situations heal and develop the skills they need to live independently and support their children. The Community Center project will include 2 buildings: one will contain a classroom and computer lab; and the other will contain a health post and daycare center.

TruexCullins is donating design services for the Mankhu Village Farm. Architect Diantha Korzun and others in our office are supporting Edge of Seven and the team on the ground in Nepal.  For projects in the developing world like this one, architects still play a contributing role, but it is one which is substantially redefined from the western model.  Here, it is less about pure design or individual style, and more about engaging local communities, working within vernacular aesthetics and finding creative solutions to practical problems.

For example, the buildings are designed so they can be easily replicated in other villages, built by local Nepalese people who may not possess construction skills. Local materials are relied upon, which influences the design of everything from the structural connections to the interior finishes.

The building itself is modest by American standards, but what it represents is huge.  We are excited to have the chance to work on such a unique and innovative solution to address a dire need.

The foundation for the adjacent residential building is now under construction:

Interested in supporting this work in Nepal?  You can donate now on our Crowdrise site at www.crowdrise.com/truexcullins-nepal

And stay tuned for more adventures related to our work with Edge of Seven!

Building Hope for the Women of Nepal

Last week we announced an exciting new campaign with Edge of Seven, a 501(3)c non-profit organization that works to build infrastructure and provide opportunity for women and girls in rural Nepal. Edge of Seven typically partners with local groups in Nepal to facilitate their projects and ensure that they are community focused and locally driven.

Edge of Seven joined one such group, The Small World, and together they have introduced an innovative and sustainable building method for the construction of new schools for Nepalese villages.

A SUSTAINABLE BUILDING SOLUTION

EARTHBAG CONSTRUCTION

Earthbag construction uses readily-available polypropylene rice bags filled with dirt as primary building blocks. The bags are laid in courses, like bricks, and covered with chicken wire and plaster.

This building method is environmentally friendly, sturdy and earthquake-resistant. Building with earthbags is affordable and requires less skilled labor than traditional masonry construction, allowing community volunteers to participate in the construction.

The first earthbag school in Nepal was built in the village of Phuleli, completed one year ago in February 2012. The facility, located in Nepal’s Everest Region, houses classes 7 and 8, enabling more students to receive an education in a safe and healthy learning environment closer to home.

Phuleli is a community plagued by poverty. 90% of families live off of subsistence farming and many families cannot afford to send their students to school. Previously, classes 7 and 8 had to walk 2 hours daily to a neighboring village to attend school. Many families chose to keep their girls at home, concerned about the large volume of household chores and the time away from the fields.

Another project was recently completed in the village of Basa. Up until this time, there had been only one higher secondary school in the Everest region of Nepal to serve 34 Village Development Committees and a total population of 107,686 people. The Government of Nepal approved the addition of a second higher secondary school in Basa, one of the largest communities with a population of approximately 4,000, to educate 150 students per year.

This is a two stage building project that is constructing two structures using the earthbag method. Each building is a two room structure that can hold up to 45 students per room. Again this project is being built in partnership with the local community and Nepali NGO, The Small World.

We are happy to share the stories of these successful projects by Edge of Seven, but our real interest lies in another project with them, one in which TruexCullins is taking a more active part.   More on that next time...

Announcing a Special Project for Nepal

The international scope of the TruexCullins Education Studio has brought us to some of the far corners of the world. Our work on K-12 school design and planning projects has reached over a dozen countries including Belgium, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Romania, Russia and Brazil.

Now we find ourselves in Nepal, with a unique opportunity that promises to dramatically improve the lives of children and transform entire communities. 

 

 A PROJECT IN NEPAL

BUILDING HOPE FOR WOMEN AND GIRLS

On a recent trip through the Himalayas, TruexCullins principal Sparky Millikin was introduced to an organization that is working in the rural villages of Nepal, helping young women and children achieve an education and break out of the cycle of poverty.

In rural Nepal, girls face many barriers in their quest to receive an education, whether it is poverty, a lack of infrastructure, or cultural beliefs that girls should marry early and tend to household chores. By some estimates, up to 80% of rural Nepalese women are victims of domestic abuse. Many of these women are sold into human trafficking, and the leading cause of death among women of childbearing age is suicide.

Often, it just takes the example and leadership of one empowered person, such as one girl who has succeeded in receiving a higher education and vocational training, to change an entire community’s beliefs about what is possible.

THE BEST WAY TO FIGHT GLOBAL POVERTY

INVESTING IN WOMEN

IN THE DEVELOPING WORLD

Motivated by the realization that our work can make a real difference, TruexCullins is collaborating with Edge of Seven, an organization that creates access to education, health and economic opportunity for girls and women in the developing world. By partnering with local non-profits in Nepal, Edge of Seven champions grassroots development efforts that are community focused, locally driven, and sustainable.

 

In the coming weeks we will share more details about our work with Edge of Seven and related events, including a celebration at our office where you can try Nepalese food, and an opportunity to join us on a 21-day trek this fall to Everest Base Camp!

In the meantime, you can learn more about Edge of Seven at www.edgeofseven.org.