Our Top Five iPhone Apps for Architects and Designers

The way we practice architecture has changed a lot in the past few years through the use of rapidly evolving technology. From 3D modeling to document a design, to the use of social media sites like Facebook and Twitter to keep in touch with clients and friends, it's safe to say this is not your father's design firm.

As we come and go throughout the day - from the office to the client meeting to the jobsite - we each carry an iPhone in our pocket. And just as the saying goes, "there's an app for that", we have found many apps that facilitate – or even revolutionize – the way we do our work. Here, then, are our top five apps for Architecture and Interior Design for use on your iPhone or iPod Touch:

1.  LIGHTMETER by Whitegoods
http://www.whitegoods.com/pressNews26.html

We have an old light meter in our office complete with switches and dials that measures the amount of illumination in a space. We use it to measure light levels in existing spaces, or to check the output of newly installed fixtures. But with this new app by Whitegoods, we now have a lightmeter with us whenever we need one.

Whitegoods is a company headquartered in London that provides lighting tools and products. Their cool looking light meter App is simple to use and very intuitive. You can choose to use either the front or rear facing camera for metering a space. Simply lay the iPhone on a table or hold it in your hand and it will start snapping away, taking readings every second. There is also a timer function for those hard to reach areas where you can't see the display but you need a reading.

With each reading, the App will tell you the appropriateness of the light level for different environments or tasks, such as "ideal for reading printed paper of high contrast" or "ideal for performing visual tasks of low contrast or very small size". This is one of the most unique and useful Apps we have seen.

2.  HOUZZ
http://www.houzz.com/iphone

We are big fans of the design inspiration website Houzz. TruexCullins has many of our projects posted to the site and we often get feedback from people who stumble across our work.

We recommend Houzz to our clients who are looking for a source of design inspiration. Gone are the days of clipping out pictures from magazines. There are now an infinitely greater number of photos at your disposal through sites like Houzz.

The iPhone App for Houzz takes everything from the website and puts it into a simple and easy package that you can take with you. Photos fill the screen, designer info is available with a single touch, and tags lead you to more information on many of the products shown. When you find something that you like, save it to an idea workbook for future reference. The iPad App is worth checking out too!

3.  COLORSNAP
www.sherwin-williams.com/colorsnap

ColorSnap is a free, versatile app that lets you build your own palette of colors from the vast Sherwin-Williams library.

Using your phone's camera, you can capture a color from a real-life scene, or copy a color from a photo you have on file. From there, you can match it to one of the 1,500 Sherwin-Williams paint colors and build a custom palette of corresponding hues and values. You can tweak the lightness, saturation and hue to get to the exact color you're looking for. Finally, the App makes it easy to find the nearest Sherwin-Williams store.

4.  AUTOSTITCH
http://www.cloudburstresearch.com/autostitch/autostitch.html

AutoStitch is an App that takes a series of photos and intelligently stitches them together to crease seamless panoramic shots. For us, this is especially handy when we need to document the existing conditions of a space, such as a room that is about to undergo a renovation.

This is how the app works: First, snap several photos on your iPhone, overlapping them by about 30 percent for best results. Then launch AutoStitch and move your photos into a holding area at the bottom of the screen. The app thinks for a few seconds then returns a perfect panorama shot. You can crop it, if needed, and save it to your camera roll for later use.

This is the only App in our list that is a paid App, but we think it's well worth the small cost.

5.  GLOBECONVERT Currency and Units Converter
http://itunes.apple.com/gb/app/globeconvert-currency-units/id334851202?mt=8

We are frequently finding ourselves at locations around the world as our international work expands to Eastern Europe and South America. For this reason we have a currency and units converter App on our list. There are plenty of converter apps out there, but we think this is one of the best.

The GlobeConvert App has been called the swiss army knife of conversion apps, with all the units you need, including currency, weight, length, area, speed, and many more. (How many Ergs are in a Joule, anyway?) This app is easy to use and aesthetically pleasing, a necessity for any self-respecting architect or designer.

Making Good Towns

This Wednesday, June 20, marks the beginning of the summer lecture series at the Yestermorrow Design/Build School. The series is free and open to the public at the Yestermorrow campus on Route 100 in Waitsfield, VT.

The first speaker for the summer series will be Rolf Kielman, who is presenting a talk on Making Good Towns: From Norway to Switzerland to Vermont.

Vermont's varied terrain is similar to that of Norway and Switzerland. Sloped landscapes; deep, watery cuts between hilly regions; the form of our farmsteads; these terrain characteristics have contributed to the shape of towns and villages in these regions. This lecture explores how the land has formed the architecture of buildings and public spaces and how architects and planners can advance the art of making good towns.

This Wednesday's lecture begins at 7pm. To see the entire 2012 lecture series schedule, go to: http://www.yestermorrow.org/about-us/stay-connected/lectureseries/

Or for more info, call 802-496-5545.

Supporting our Girls on the Run

TruexCullins is proud to be one of the many local sponsors of the Girls on the Run 5k Run/Walk event this Saturday June 9 at the Champlain Valley Expo in Essex Junction. This is a fitness celebration for the entire community and is the culmination of a 12-week program of experiential learning for pre-teen girls across the state.

Girls on the Run was founded in 1996 to inspire girls to be joyful, healthy and confident using a fun, experience-based curriculum which creatively integrates running. In 1999 the program came to Vermont and now reaches more than 2,500 girls a year statewide.

The program promotes physical, emotional, social and intellectual development in 3rd through 8th grade girls. The girls complete a 12-week after-school program with a stronger sense of identity, greater self-confidence, a healthier body image and a better knowledge of what it means to be a member of a team and a community.

The season culminates with the Girls on the Run Vermont 5k Run/Walk event which is taking place this Saturday, June 9 at the Champlain Valley Expo in Essex Junction. This is a non-competitive (untimed), family-friendly event and everyone is welcome to attend, either as a runner or a spectator. Last year, more than 7,000 enthusiastic girls, families, and community members participated. You can sign up for this year's event using this link. Registration for adults is $20, children are $10, and a household of three or more may sign up for a family rate of $40.

Please join us in supporting this valuable community program! For more information about the Girls on the Run visit www.GirlsOnTheRunVermont.org

Hotel Vermont at the Vermont Expo

Visitors to the Vermont Business and Industry Expo last week had a chance to get a sneak preview of the interior design work we are developing for the new Hotel Vermont. We assisted the hotel with their booth at the Expo, with the arrangement of interior finishes that will grace the new boutique hotel in downtown Burlington.

The presentation of carpets, fabrics and greenery gave visitors to the Expo a sense of what the new hotel lobby and lounge will feel like. 'Stay Natural' is the tagline of the new hotel, and the interior design will deliver on this promise, with local, natural and healthy materials.

Some of our 3D renderings of the first floor lobby and lounge were also on display, along with this video from the groundbreaking ceremony featuring the owners and designers explaining the project.

The Vermont Business & Industry Expo is the region's largest business-to-business trade show and is hosted by the Vermont Chamber of Commerce. An estimated 3,000 people attended the two-day show held at the Sheraton Hotel and Conference Center in Burlington.

Designer Snapshot on New England Home

Today TruexCullins was featured on the New England Home Design Blog, the official blog of New England Home magazine.

Under the title “Designer Snapshot: No Boundaries”, the editors at New England Home chose three of our residential projects as examples of interior spaces that celebrate their natural surroundings and blur the boundaries between inside and out.

Read more about these three projects on today’s NE Home blog, then see the full article on the Shelburne home that was published in the magazine last year.

Restaurant Week Part 5: Norma’s

If you’ve been following us this week you know that we’re on a restaurant kick, with a new culinary design project posted each day. With summer right around the corner, we can’t think of a better way to enjoy a meal than sitting poolside with the Vermont mountain landscape opening around you. So today we are closing out our own Restaurant Week by coming back to Vermont and the Topnotch Resort in Stowe.

Norma’s is the signature restaurant of this four-diamond resort near the top of the Mountain Road. Opening in 2006, the restaurant serves up casual alfresco dining at breakfast, lunch and dinner.

The restaurant pavilion maintains a low profile, with a sweeping roofline and radial plan that allows for maximum views. TruexCullins collaborated with Belle Maison Interiors on this project, which has a contemporary interior and natural earth tones. An open kitchen opens onto the dining room.

The entire west wall of the restaurant is lined with a broad bank of mahogany-framed sliding glass doors that open onto a pair of sparkling pools. Outdoor tables provide more seating on the stone-paved terrace. And on a warm summer evening, the firepit on the patio becomes the source for a refined roast-your-own S’mores experience sure to please the whole family.

To view the menu and make a reservation, visit Norma’s Restaurant online at topnotchresort.com/dining-normas.php.

Restaurant Week Part 4: La Bella Vita

Each day this week we are presenting a recently completed project from our portfolio of restaurants and bars. Today’s special is a new Italian restaurant that opened just last year. La Bella Vita is located at the Samoset Resort on the edge of Penobscot Bay on the Maine coast and features an authentic antipasto bar, a wood-fired oven and a marketplace for Italian specialty foods.

This new restaurant has a strong connection to the ocean. The sound of the sea combines with the aroma of the Italian cooking for an engaging sensory experience as soon as you enter the space.

We incorporated a variety of lounge and sitting areas, including fireside seating, a communal table, and club chairs overlooking the ocean. Exposed wood columns and beams throughout the space frame a series of views, both internally and to the ocean beyond. Interior finishes and materials reflect those commonly found in domestic Italian kitchens, such as marble, wood, and iron. And the color palate of the interior and patterns of the carpets and fabrics are derived from both the food and the rich Italian history.

 La Bella Vita is located at the Samoset Resort, just south of Camden, Maine. To view menus or make a reservation, visit LaBellaVitaRistorante.com