July 30, 2013

Bialosky + Partners Receives Honorable Mention in the 2013 COLDSCAPES Competition!

"COLDSCAPES: New Visions for Cold Weather Cities" is a multi-disciplinary design competition that encourages artists, architects, landscape architects, and urban designers to explore the exciting and untapped potential of cold climate cities. The competition is organized by Kent State University's Cleveland Urban Design Collaborative (CUDC). Over 80 registrants participated in the 2013 COLDSCAPES Competition in its inaugural year, with submissions received from 15 U.S. cities and 13 countries spanning a wide range of cold (and warm) weather climates.

Bialosky + Partners Architects' submission for the 2013 Coldscapes Competition, titled GLOW, proposes iconic inhabitable relics to be built on Lake Erie.

PROJECT NARRATIVE GLOW ignites new poetic relationships between lake, city, and the rhythm of the seasons. A seasonal relic, GLOW engages the Lake Erie break wall, mediating the domestic (city side) and wild (north of the break-wall) sides of the lake, creating an infrastructure for cultures to develop that leverage the latency of water as public space – in both solid and liquid states. GLOW activates this linear infrastructure creating new experiences of the lake all year. Ramps bring users to an elevated deck that allows one to view and be viewed. The structures skin is inspired by the break-wall’s texture that becomes coated each winter by the crashing waves of Lake Erie. Inhabitable house-like (GLOW)bes hover still higher, creating an otherworldly, ethereal experience. The break-wall is a segmented lily-pad network by summer. In winter, when the lake freezes, the system becomes whole. This encourages engagement with the lake through skiing, snowshoeing, sledding, hiking, etc., to transverse the path and create their own way to engage with GLOW. An open canvas, GLOW is activated by each season uniquely, encouraging new cultures and economies in a non-prescriptive manner, providing the elements to awaken latent uses of one of our most important resources– water.

Inside a SNOW(GLOW)BE on Lake Erie.

Bialosky + Partners Architects' submission GLOW, which proposed building captivating structures on Lake Erie, received one of ten Honorable Mentions. The three winning entries and ten honorable mentions were selected by a jury comprised of leaders in a range of design fields, including architecture, landscape architecture, urban planning and public art. These entries will be on exhibit in Cleveland in November 2013, and published in Volume 6 of the Cleveland Urban Design Collaborative’s Urban Infill journal series, focused on advancing the design of urban environments for winter weather. Leaders of the GLOW submission included David Craun, Hallie DelVillan, Theodore Ferringer, and Michael Abrahamson (University of Michigan Taubman College of Architecture; pre-PhD program, History/Theory of Architecture), and would not be possible without the hard work of Nathanael Dunn, Dave Berlekamp, Nick Dilisio, Andrew Vichosky, and Zach Anderson (Kent State University CAED).

The engagement of GLOW with the lake's break-wall to create an iconic network that connects City and Lake.

 

July 18, 2013

2013 Summer Cookout

Its summer in Cleveland, as if you need reminding with this week's heatwave, and that of course means its time for our annual cookout. This year we were fortunate to have clear skies, a full spread of burgers, hot dogs, sides and desserts cooked by our very own. Not that we need much pressure to get out on the patio at lunch time, but it is always nice to have a good group gathered on the roof patio. New this year, was BPA Guess Who?, where employees submitted a baby photo and high school senior portrait photo. It goes without saying, hair styles have certainly changed for the better over the past few decades.

June 27, 2013

BPA Puts Masonry + Moisture to the Test

Rainstorms can send a shiver up an architect’s spine - especially as a designer of brick buildings. Masonry is naturally porous. It can absorb a large amount of water, compromising the bond strength between the mortar and the masonry unit. Not only that, but it can easily discolor the building’s facade. Recently Bialosky + Partners Architects had a visit from Professional Products of Kansas, offering an interesting potential solution. Professional Water Sealant & Anti-Graffitiant is a “dual-purpose” silicone water repellent which provides an invisible protection from graffiti and moisture damage. The spray-applied repellent is recommended for brick, concrete, granite (and most horizontal surfaces) and will add years of weatherproofing protection to new or existing structures. [youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=leKRODMRABs[/youtube] This silicone repellent can be applied as a single coat to protect the building from moisture, and an additional coat will protect the building from graffiti. The key with graffiti protectant is it can be non-sacrificial or sacrificial. A non-sacrificial protectant does not dissolve once graffiti is washed away, meaning there is no need to reapply. [youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S1ITRh8I37A[/youtube]   Now, for the test on our own office building: After learning about this water sealant, BPA tested our very own brick office building, here in Shaker Square. Our waterproofing consultants helped set- the RILEM II.4 test, which simulates wind-driven rain up to 98 mph.

Bialosky + Partners Architects Cleveland Office - in the heart of Shaker Square.

RILEM II.4 test on our office building begins!

First, we fixed the RILEM tube to the testing-wall with a pinch of soft putty rolled to form a snake-like piece around the flat brim of the tube opening. It must be water-tight between the tube and the brick. We then filled the RILEM tube to the top mark of 0.0 mL and recorded the time.

Tracking the water during the test.

We checked intermittently at 1 minute intervals, but overall tested the wall for 20 minutes. (If the brick face or mortar joint absorbs 5 mL in 5 minutes, which is considered a failure of the test). We then measured the amount of water absorbed by the brick face, where we only absorbed 0.5 mL in those 20 minutes! So the brick face passed the test, but the building grout joints, which are the most common point of failure in a masonry system, failed this test.

While the building's masonry stood up to the test, the mortar joints absorbed quite a bit of water.

This product has been applied to several historic buildings in the area and would be a great product for our aging brick building.  BPA is excited to evaluate this product to improve our building’s water tightness and if applied, would be periodically tested and observed. BPA is looking forward to protecting and preserving many of our client's buildings too!

June 25, 2013

Bialosky Wins At NAIOP Northern Ohio 2013 Awards of Excellence!

Bialosky + Partners Architects is proud to announce that we recently received an award at the NAIOP Northern Ohio 2013 Awards of Excellence, winning best Mixed-Use Interior Design project for the Cuyahoga Community College Hospitality Management Center & Pura Vida Restaurant located at 200 Euclid Avenue in the heart of downtown Cleveland. Check out the rest of the winners by clicking here!

Lobby and Demo Kitchen at CCC Culinary

May 31, 2013

Meet the Interns

Summer is not all about ice cream cones and sandals. For Bialosky + Partners, it is the season for summer internships (although we love ice cream too). This year, we brought on three talented interns who are jumping into various projects within the office. We wanted to know more than just what project they're working on, so let’s learn some of the essentials about Scott, Jeff and Christy!     Bialosky + Partners Architects Cleveland Ohio Internships Scott Maslar Hometown: Concord, OH Education: BS Architecture 2013, Kent State University CAED Your Alternate Reality Career: Playing bass in a touring band that would play anything from James Taylor, Primus, Metallica, and Bela Fleck etc…. What Do You Do From 5:30pm – 8:30am?  When I am not at work I like to go for a run or a bike ride, play bass, or find a pond or lake to go fishing.  However Netflix tends to get me side tracked from time to time. Your Ideal Dinner With One Architect or Designer (Bonus: Non-Architect/Designer)? As cliché as it is, I would like to sit down to a steak and baked potato diner with Frank Lloyd Wright.  Although one of my favorite works that he has done is the Robie House, the only architectural question I would ask would be, what single project do feel was your worst work or that you dis-liked the most, and why?   Bialosky + Partners Architects Cleveland Ohio Internships Christy Scaglione Hometown: Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio Education: BA Interior Design 2012, Kent State University. Pursuing: BS Architecture 2014 and Masters of Architecture. Your Alternate Reality Career: Maybe a chef! I love cooking whenever I have free time. I especially loved cooking when I lived in Florence, Italy where all of the fresh ingredients were at your disposal right down the street at the market! My roommates and I had to get especially creative with our lack of an oven in our apartment! What Do You Do From 5:30pm – 8:30am? In the summer I love to relax in the pool, and in the winter I like to snowboard, unfortunately this summer I think most of my time between work will be spent studying for my summer class, the upcoming GRE, and preparations for grad school! Your Ideal Dinner With One Architect or Designer (Bonus: Non-Architect/Designer)? If I could have dinner with one architect/designer it would be Florence Knoll. She is an extremely successful and has studied under great people such as Mies van der Rohe and Eliel Saarinen. Having been to Knoll in New York and hearing the people closest to her talk about what a wonderful person and how talented she is I would love to sit down and have a conversation with her. I would want to hear about all of her time working and studying under such influential people and where she draws her experiences from. The non-architect/designer that I would want to invite to dinner would be Anthony Bourdain. He has been to many of the places that I want to travel to in the future and I would want him to share the best places to eat, stay, and see! The meal would be pasta and wine, which is one of my favorites, and maybe some gelato for dessert! Bialosky + Partners Architects Cleveland Ohio Internships Jeff Jasinski Hometown: Wickliffe, OH [East Side] Education:  BS Architecture 2013, Kent State University CAED. Pursuing: Master of Urban Design Dual Degree 2015, Kent State University CUDC. Your Alternate Reality Career: Creator of Microsoft or a professional golfer. Whichever comes first. What Do You Do From 5:30pm – 8:30am? Spend time with my girlfriend. I also play guitar and try to go golfing as much as possible. Your Ideal Dinner With One Architect or Designer (Bonus: Non-Architect/Designer)? Architect: Michelangelo. I'd want to know how something such as the Florence Cathedral was even conceivable in that time. The meal would be Chinese food. Non-Architect: Paul Rudd. The conversation would be improvised so there's no way of knowing what the topic would be. The meal would most likely be hamburgers.