TJCAIA News Blog

[caption id="attachment_547" align="alignnone" width="300" caption="Lost in Red Tape"][/caption] When you think of starting a construction project, you are probably thinking about the arrangement of interior spaces in the finished building. You are dreaming about a more efficient layout or updated décor. You are not expecting to be filling out applications ...

[caption id="attachment_537" align="alignnone" width="300" caption="Small House"][/caption] You may not be surprised to learn that downsizing homes is the popular thing to do these days. It makes sense in this challenging economic cycle. The Californian (Jan. 17, 2009) ran an article about the trend toward smaller houses. The National Association of ...

[caption id="attachment_511" align="alignnone" width="300" caption="Landscaping by Floravista"][/caption] Coordinating a building project is like fitting together pieces of a complicated puzzle. One piece of the puzzle that is often overlooked is landscape design. For several years, we have turned to Dinah Irino to advise us. She started her own landscape design business, ...

[caption id="attachment_496" align="alignnone" width="300" caption="Plasticville"][/caption] Scaled models are captivating. As a young boy, I spent many hours playing with my Lionel train and O-scaled town. (I started urban planning at an early age.) I still have the collection of Plasticville miniatures to include a church, school, post office, dime store, theater, ...

[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="384" caption="Galante Vineyards"][/caption] The clear and mild weather between rain storms made for a pleasant afternoon last Saturday at Galante Vineyards in Carmel Valley. Jack and Dawn Galante, their family and staff, were gracious hosts at their well attended open house. We tasted several soon-to-be-released bottled wines and ...

[caption id="attachment_466" align="alignnone" width="225" caption="Salinas High School 2009"][/caption] The restoration of an historic building takes commitment, determination, time, and money. The vision of a few local citizens is the real story behind the conversion of Salinas High School. This long-term effort was revealed in an interview with John Macias, former Principal, ...

[caption id="attachment_460" align="alignnone" width="300" caption="Bungalow Concept"][/caption] Are you envisioning a new cottage in your back yard or on the back forty?  TJC has designed many bungalows, guesthouses, mother-in-law units, caretaker cottages, and senior citizen residences. They are labeled with various names in different towns and counties. The first thing we do ...

[caption id="attachment_443" align="alignnone" width="250" caption="Architecture: Form Space & Order"][/caption] In a beautifully illustrated book, Architecture: Form Space & Order, Francis D. K. Ching shows historical examples of spatial relationships in floor plans. He presents centralized, radial, linear, grid and clustered patterns. Some of TJC 's designs can be grouped into similar ...

[caption id="attachment_397" align="alignnone" width="203" caption="#9 - The Chrysler Building"][/caption] What are your favorite buildings in the United States? The American Institute of Architects has compiled a pictorial survey of their 150 favorites. Our choices are likely to be based on memories of public buildings. Whereas award-winning houses may not be accessible, ...

[caption id="attachment_341" align="alignnone" width="500" caption="Dymaxion House"][/caption] Do you remember returning to school in the fall and being asked by your teacher to write an essay on "What I did on my summer vacation?" You should not be surprised that I spent some of my vacation time looking at buildings. While attending ...