USGBC 2010 Natural Talent Design Competition February 9, 2010
Posted by Vincent in Green Building, Residential Design.Tags: 2010 natural talent
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A group from the GCCDS is entering the United States Green Building Council’s 2010 Natural Talent Design Competition. This is a competition for emerging professionals or students to design an efficient green house for an elderly client in the Broadmoor neighborhood of New Orleans. Ultimately, four designs will be chosen for construction, and these will be evaluated based on the project criteria to choose a ‘winner’.
Meeting these criteria will be no easy feat. Here’s an idea of the difficult (some might say crazy) program requirements:
- 2-bedroom, 1.5-bath, 720-880 SF house
- LEED Platinum
- $100,000 construction budget
- Elevated 7 feet above grade
- ADA accessible
- 150 mph wind rating
- 100′ x 30′ lot with a 70′ x 24′ buildable area
Actually, some elements are not far from what the GCCDS already builds. Our houses often come in around $70-80 a square foot, but that is based on the use of volunteer labor. They’re often elevated 8 feet or more, although those houses are rarely ADA accessible (the required ramp would be over 100 feet long, and elevators and lifts can easily cost $15-20k). We’re used to limited budgets, tight floor plans, and other constraints. We’ve even built a LEED-certified house, although LEED Platinum is a higher and more difficult standard.
I think we have chance to apply our experience and pragmatism while creating a design that pushes the boundaries of our day-to-day projects. In any case, this should be an interesting project and I’m sure it will keep us busy over the next several months.
Blogging and personal life February 9, 2010
Posted by Vincent in Writing.add a comment
Writing this blog has been an interesting balance between public and personal life. I think the best blogs are those that decide one way or another. In other words, some focus on thoughts and ideas of a primarily public nature (with a few coming-out-of-the-closet stories), of interest to some portion of the general public. Others focus on the daily happenings of private life — interesting for friends and family, but terribly dull for strangers.
With this in mind, I’ve decided to re-focus this blog away from personal posts. For things of that nature, Facebook seems a more appropriate setting, and if you’re interested in following along, here’s what to do:
- If we’re not ‘friends’ on Facebook yet, add me. Don’t be shy.
- Go to my Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/vbaudoin
- Scroll down until you find the ‘Notes’ box on the left. Click ‘See all’.
- Bookmark this page, or use the ‘Subscription’ link at right to add the notes to your RSS reader.
What will this change mean for Southern Live Oak, given that my posts have been sporadic at best, and that many of those have been personal? I don’t yet know. It may be a while before I find the right recipe; on the other hand, this change may give me the focus I need to make the blog work. Either way, I hope you’ll keep following along.
Abita Savage 7 January 25, 2010
Posted by Vincent in Explorations, Mississippi.Tags: ultimate
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Team ippi: (Back row) Me, Jesse, Doug, Tam, and Jon; (Front row) Jimmy and Sam.
Team ippi is the Mississippi Gulf Coast’s only ultimate frisbee team. Now, I’ve been playing Tuesday night pick-up ultimate since I arrived here in Biloxi in the fall of 2007. That game, which was started through friendly competition between volunteers from Habitat for Humanity and Hands On, is still going strong 5+ years after Hurricane Katrina. But it’s a non-competitive, casual game full of beginners as well as skilled players.
This January, for the first time, Biloxi’s ultimate players decided to try to find a tournament and put a competitive team together. We signed up for the Abita Savage 7, which was hosted by LSU in Baton Rouge, Louisiana on January 16-17.
The tournament included around 17 open teams and 9 coed teams. Most of them were club teams from universities including Rice, Southern Miss, Alabama, LSU, Louisiana Tech, and Tulane. In addition to the tough competition, we faced rainy conditions that turned the fields into mud throughout the day on Saturday.
Team ippi emerged with a losing record, but we had a great time and put up a good fight in most of our games. In fact, everyone did really well considering we’ve never had an official team practice. With more practice, we’ll develop some offensive and defensive strategies and skills and should be in great shape for the next tournament that comes our way.
Get dirty Jesse!
Which Wich Wednesday January 20, 2010
Posted by Vincent in Random.add a comment
Which Wich is a restaurant franchise whose D’Iberville branch has become a favorite lunchtime hangout for the GCCDS. They offer 51 customizable sandwiches, which you order by filling out details on a brown paper sandwich bag. Last year, my colleagues James and Britton completed their goal of eating all 51 sandwiches. The next step was clear: to pit them against each other to determine the ultimate victor — the #1 Which Wich sandwich.
To this end, at our office Secret Santa party, James received a custom Which Wich tournament bracket. Measuring a full 20 x 30 inches, the bracket features 50 sandwiches in 10 divisions (Turkey, Ham & Pork, Beef, Chicken, Seafood, Vegetarian, Italian, Comforts, Classics, & Breakfast). (The 51st sandwich, the Wicked, has 5 meats and 3 cheeses and is excluded from the bracket). Each week, two sandwiches face off and a winner is determined. In the end, only one will remain.
The tournament has gained the enthusiastic participation of the office and each Wednesday, new contests are held. Today, for instance, the Chicken Cheesesteak defeated the Chicken Parma, while the Montecristo fell to the Gyro and the humble Chicken beat the Reuben, a heavyweight.
Until next Which Wich Wednesday — cheers.
A House for John, 2 January 19, 2010
Posted by Vincent in Residential Design.add a comment
Volunteer group Christian Aid Ministries has returned to the coast for another season and they are once again blowing us away with the speed and quality of their work. On the morning of January 4, John’s house in East Biloxi was nothing more than a floor raised in the air. Two weeks later, a fully framed house stands ready for roofing, siding, and windows.
Exterior walls framed and interior wall plates prepared - January 5, 2010
Building the porch fascia - January 13, 2010
Framing and sheathing the roof - January 13, 2010
John Ricky and site leader Wilbert - January 13, 2010
Living room cathedral ceiling - January 15, 2010
The exterior is largely dried-in - January 15, 2010
Where’s Rob? December 2, 2009
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Where’s Rob?
Improv Everywhere, as their mission states, “causes scenes of chaos and joy in public places.” They’ve created some very funny moments, such as Frozen Grand Central and Food Court Musical, but Where’s Rob is one of their funniest — and most heartwarming — yet.
Bad Movie of the Week: Barbarella November 30, 2009
Posted by Vincent in Bad Movies.add a comment
Back when science fiction meant that anything and everything could happen, along came Barbarella. Starring Jane Fonda and Marcel Marceau, Barbarella is based on the French erotic comics of Jean-Claude Forest, and it’s precisely as amazing and ridiculous as you’d expect a 1968 French experimental science fiction film to be. Notably, the villian is known as “Mr. Durand-Durand”, the inspiration for the naming of rock group Duran Duran. Final score: 3 (6 is worst).
