TJCAIA News Blog

Tom’s guests are confirmed for this month’s installment of the Your Town television (Channel 24) and radio (KNRY 1240AM) program from 5-6 PM on July 28, 2008. Douglas Atkins will describe their new green campus at Chartwell School; Architect Peter Kasavan will talk about the Salinas Planning and Research Corporation (SPARC) and it’s citywide master plan; and Mary Adams will describe the dedicated people and programs in the United Way of Monterey County. You can also watch the program live on the web at ampmedia.org.

Utilizing our new software tool, AutoDesk Revit Architecture, we have created preliminary design concepts for remodeling the Amtrak Station in Salinas to add Greyhound Bus service. Using blueprints from 1941 and measurements taken from the existing structures, we created a virtual model of the historic train station and then outlined potential designs for the new occupant. Much of the original building will be restored and reused to create this inter-modal station. We are learning to utilize this new software to create both traditional 2D plans as well as dynamic 3D models with ease. Its features allow easy changes to the model that automatically synchronize to all applicable 2D drawing sheets such as floor plans, elevations, and details. Eventually our design process should benefit greatly from the time saved in modifying each sheet individually.

For more information on this project contact Alan Stumpf, Director of Salinas Redevelopment Agency at 831-758-7387.

May 30, 2008, was Career Day at the Vista Verde Middle School in Greenfield, where Jose Gonzalez (CAD manager at TJC) was invited to speak to young students about architecture. In the morning, Jose visited three different classes to give 30-minute presentations.

On his laptop, Jose showed pictures of our projects, 3D models, and examples of the AutoCAD program used to produce these drawings. Typical questions were: “How much money you make?” Do you use math?” How long do you have to be in school?” “What is the biggest project you have done?” They were most attentive to the pictures of custom homes and a shopping center that they recognized. The kids were polite and showed genuine interest in the subject of Architecture.

We would like to thank the staff and students of Vista Verde Middle School for the invitation, their warm welcome, and assistance in escorting Jose around the campus. We would also like to thank Silviana Sanchez, College Facilitator from the University of California Santa Cruz, for organizing this important day for these young students.

More information: Greenfield News Online

The renovated offices for Yuki Farms are now complete. The original Chap Foster House, at the corner of Foster Road and the Salinas-Monterey Highway (Rt. 68), is dated about 1908. Chris Bunn and his family have been working with Desmond Construction and TJC to restore many interior and exterior details. Contractors such as Steve Dornan of Steve’s Concrete (831-663-2876) have added their special touches. Note the impressions of floral patterns in the concrete landings on the new ramps. Details like these give new life to older buildings.

Thomas J Carleton Architecture is currently the official Salinas Drop off Location for CARDS AND COCOA FOR THE TROOPS.

Bring your cards and packets of cocoa by the office on or before Friday, August 8, 2008. The cards and goodies will then sent to encourage our troops. We would love to see you and our troops will be grateful!

You can write a message to a troop, addressed “to an american hero” or “to a special soldier”, use any kind of card or paper, and write an encouraging message, you can include info about yourself, even your return address if you’d like. You can add cocoa, koolaid or other small items such as gum that will fit in your card/letter envelope.

You can contact the organizers Cards and Cocoa for the Troops directly for more information. So far they have sent out 7 tons of cards and goodies to soldiers since 2003.

Cindy Stanley and Jerry English
831-373-7362
jc_bodt@pacbell.net

Green building is a popular movement in our industry which aims to reduce the negative impacts a building has on the environment and its occupants. An important aspect of a green building is indoor air quality. Simple material choices can have a big impact on the health of the air and the people in a building.

The most common measurement of the quality of indoor air is the amount of volatile organic compounds. VOC’s are organic chemical compounds from building materials which vaporize into the atmosphere in a building and can be breathed in by humans. The EPA says VOC’s can cause “Eye, nose, and throat irritation; headaches, loss of coordination, nausea; damage to liver, kidney, and central nervous system.” If that doesn’t scare you they have also have found that some VOC’s cause certain types of cancer. Although not every building has the extreme conditions to cause these ailments, the building materials that conribute to VOCs are commonplace.

The good news is VOC’s are easy to eliminate in your building. Many manufacturers are now offering low or zero VOC finishes such as plaster, paint, stains, adhesives, rugs, carpets, tile, sheet flooring, laminates and hardwood. The simplest change you can make is the type of paint you use. Major paint brands now have an alternate line available that is low or zero VOC and many smaller brands specialize in zero VOC products. These paints look and work just like normal paints and have a similar cost, but they don’t bring in the problems that regular paint’s VOC’s add to your building. I used zero VOC paints in my own home and am glad to know our family is not inhaling extra contaminates every day. Next time your choosing finish materials, consider their VOC content and the health of your building’s occupants.

-James Carleton, LEED AP

More information:
EPA: volatile organic compounds
AMF Safecoat
Sherwin Williams Harmony
Benjamin Moore EcoSpec
Old Fashioned Milk Paints
American Clay Natural Plaster

Explore the green building section of our website at www.tjcaia.com/green

Please Note: The products and companies listed are for reference only are not expressly recommended by Thomas J. Carleton Architecture. Please inform us if you have questions about the value of a product or company represented to assist us in providing the best information possible.

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TJCAIA is transitioning to the next level of architectural computer drafting. For more than ten years our firm has been using the the industry standard AutoCAD software to develop our architectural drawings. This method has served us well and has become an integral part of our process. Recently a new type of drafting program has been developed. Building Information Modeling (BIM) is a unique type of software that enables the user to model a building and all its parts in a realistic manner. Not only is it exciting to work in a visually realistic method, its also faster to create and edit ideas in the model due to the information contained in it. The parts of a building can form relationships so that one affects the other, such as a door that moves with a wall, or a roof that automatically reshapes itself when the pitch is edited.

This year we have started the transition to BIM software from the makers of AutoCAD known as Revit Architecture. We have undertaken the challenging task of learning how to work in a whole new way and are currently utilizing it on a pilot project. We are excited to see how this new method of drafting can increase our efficiency and precision as well as better express our creative visions. BIM – It’s the wave of the future.

Tom Carleton is hosting a one-hour program on the 4^th Monday of each month, broadcast simultaneously on TV Channel 24, radio on KNRY AM 1240; and streamed live on the Internet at www.ampmedia.org
The next program is 5-6 PM, April 28^th. Three guests will discuss green design. Tom Carleton is substituting for Tom Carvey, executive director of Common Ground Monterey County, who is the regular host on Mondays and Wednesdays from 5-6 PM.