The above photo is by Rich McGervy via Flicker. The keyhole view of the WVU Coliseum below is by Waller Corporation on the first floor of Marriott’s hotel under construction. The new Courtyard will have spectacular views of the Monongahela River and the city of Morgantown, WV.
Architecture firms commonly joke that we have a feast or famine type of schedule. When there is work there’s too much of it. But when there’s nothing to do, there’s really nothing. The constant sprint of deadline-driven projects are occasionally broken up by a few weeks of down-time. That’s where I found myself a few weeks ago. While the Marriott project moves into construction administration and the shop drawing review period is slow, I can often do all I need to do for that large project in about 8 hours of time a week. Because I work in a mid-size firm with multiple project managers I can quickly move under their wing before my next project begins.
In the last week I’ve worked on two residential projects, a LEED project in West Virginia, renderings for a new church project and participated in a firm interview as the hospitality skilled architect.
The church I began drawing had burned earlier this year. The parish has a large city block to build upon in the context of an old West Virginia river town. The post fire photos maintained the sacred feel as the roof collapsed on an otherwise pristine sanctuary. With the promise of a new project, and time to draw, I took the opportunity to put my hand to paper.
Photo by CNS through Catholic Herald
Passive Architect 