Mackey Mitchell

KUDOS

kathyulkus — Wed, 15 May 2013 18:15:53 +0000

Congratulations to Jordan Gatewood on passing his ARE (Architectural Registration Exam). He joined Mackey Mitchell in 2007 and was named an Associate in 2009. While at the University of Kansas, Jordan was awarded the Ewart Travelling Fellowship to Denmark where he concentrated on housing design. He’s won several awards, including 1st place in the USGBC’s Natural Talent Design Competition, the AIA St. Louis Award of Distinction (unbuilt category), and was on the design team for the ACUHO-I 21st Century Competition which won the People’s Choice award. Jordan is an adjunct lecturer at Washington University in St. Louis’s Fox School of Design. He’s currently involved in a student housing project for the Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD).

St. Louis Green LEED-ers

kathyulkus — Tue, 14 May 2013 16:00:12 +0000

In a recent ranking of the “highest-rated LEED certified buildings” in the state of Missouri, the LEED-platinum Alberici Office Headquarters building designed by Mackey Mitchell still tops the list with a total of 86.96% points earned. The ranking was featured in the May 10 issue of the St. Louis Business Journal. Also making the list were two LEED-gold projects designed by Mackey Mitchell at Washington University in St. Louis. These include College Hall and South 40 House, Phase 2, and Eliot B Hall. According to the article, “The state of Missouri is making waves in the green building movement. The USGBC noted that more Missouri people, institutions, and organizations are joining the LEED way of life at a faster pace than other U.S. states.”

Getting to Know You

kathyulkus — Wed, 08 May 2013 20:45:12 +0000

We’ve invited our neighbors over for Happy Hour on Thursday, May 9th, starting at 4:30 pm. Yurbuds and Pedal the Cause are located in the Cupples 9 building on Spruce Street where we’ve been since December. We’re all planning to do a brief presentation on what we do. By sharing good food, drink, and conversation, we’re looking forward to getting to know each other better.

Dialing Down the Din

kathyulkus — Tue, 07 May 2013 18:52:44 +0000

Marcus Adrian, AIA, LEED AP was the author of an article titled “Public Spaces: Dialing Down the Din,” written for the ASHA Leader, a publication which provides insights and resources for the speech-language-hearing world. In the collection of essays titled “Planet of Sound,” Marcus addresses how to design buildings and spaces that are engaged and connected without acoustic overload. In the article he addresses some design strategies that can provide that desired balance.

Allow choice and variety. Provide spaces with a full range of sensory exposures, from high-energy and high-stimulation to soft, low and quiet.
Zone and buffer. Protect quieter spaces by placing them away from noisier ones and locating support spaces like file, storage and work rooms in between.
Absorb. Use acoustically absorptive wall and ceiling surfaces to kill ambient noise on the “first bounce.”
Mask and cover. Use ventilation systems and white noise generators—devices that produce a constant sound, such as rushing air—to balance speech privacy and speech intelligibility.
Careful separation. Use glass walls to marry visual connection with acoustical separation. Translucent panels provide even more privacy, while allowing daylight to circulate.
Manage transitions. Corridors, entryways and other connectors that link noisy spaces with quieter ones should be designed to signal the change. Lighting, color and texture of finishes can all be used to provide visual and tactile transition cues.
Switch gears. Create break room and lounge spaces that offer sensory contrast from the work areas they support. A stimulating coffee bar with TV screens can be a welcome jolt from a quiet office, just as a softly lit quiet lounge can be an oasis from a noisy trading floor.

Architectural Masterpiece

kathyulkus — Thu, 02 May 2013 14:51:29 +0000

Over the weekend, Mackey Mitchell’s interiors librarian Cassie Kromnacker attended a concert at the stunning Kaufman Center for the Arts. What began as a sketch on a napkin has become an architectural icon and home for the performing arts in Kansas City, Missouri. Designed by architect Moshe Safdie, the building has changed the city’s skyline, as well as the experience of artists and audiences throughout the region.

Rebuilding Together

kathyulkus — Wed, 01 May 2013 18:54:54 +0000

Nine people from Mackey Mitchell Architects turned out last Saturday for the Rebuilding Together event to help make a difference. John Brown, Avik Guha, Steve Emer, Margie Fank, Greg Frankenfeld, Gregory Keppel and his wife Molly, Sara Holt, Lea McRoberts, Tom Moore, and Gwynn Zivic all dedicated their time and efforts to help a family in need of home repair. The group spent the day painting every room, plastering cracks in the wall, redoing the bathroom and installing a flagpole for the homeowner – a proud Vet! The idea was suggested by Mackey Mitchell’s Mentorship Steering Committee which includes Lea, Greg, Avik, and Gwynn. This national nonprofit organization rehabilitates homes for low-income homeowners, particularly the elderly and those with disabilities.

10 Buildings That Changed America

kathyulkus — Tue, 30 Apr 2013 20:40:58 +0000

Mark your calendars for May 12, 2013 at 9:00 central time for the Channel 9 premiere of “10 Buildings That Changed America,” which features ten influential buildings that changed the way we live, work, and play. As part of the PBS special, Gene Mackey was invited to serve as one of three panelists to discuss the Wainwright Building in St. Louis – one of the ten selected by a panel of historians and architects from across the country. The panel discussion will air on a “Sunday Arts” program to be announced at a future date.

Authority on Acoustics

kathyulkus — Thu, 25 Apr 2013 20:36:30 +0000

Principal Marcus Adrian was invited to submit an article to the ASHA Leader (American Speech Language Hearing Association), slated for publication in May, 2013.Through his experience at the Central Institute for the Deaf, Maryland School for the Deaf, Sunshine Cottage, and Delaware School for the Deaf, Marcus has become a “go-to” person on issues related to acoustical design. In 2010 he was invited to speak at a briefing on Capitol Hill about “Classroom Noise and Acoustics: The Unseen Barriers to Learning.” He continues to study and apply skills to projects in all realms of education – from special needs facilities to projects in higher education.

A Pet-Friendly Campus

kathyulkus — Wed, 24 Apr 2013 16:44:02 +0000

Architects John Burse and Stacey Wehe are embarking on a journey with Stephens College in Columbia, Missouri, the second oldest women’s college in the country. Stacey shared with Mackey Mitchell staff members the results of a two-day focus-group session with Stephens faculty, staff, and students, and is learning about the college’s many noteworthy attributes. In 2004, for example, thanks to its current president Diane Lynch, this highly-rated private college of 1100 students became the first pet-friendly campus in the country. Today, 38% of college campuses offer housing with some pets permitted. At Stephens, the rules have to do with the animal’s breed – no aggressive pooches allowed – and a 3-week probationary period is required to make sure the animals demonstrate acceptable behavior.

The motive behind pet-friendly campuses is to help bridge the gap between home and college and provide an easy ice-breaker for students to make new acquaintances. The college also suggests that pet owners tend to be more responsible. If a student is up early to tend to an animal, it’s likely they’ll make it to the early class. Stephens also has an on-campus doggie daycare and a program for students to foster pets through a local no-kill animal rescue organization, Columbia Second Chance. Space for pets is limited, however, so students must apply to live in the pet dorm. Future campus planning and design considerations at Stephens will be adopted to accommodate this popular concept.

Firm Leadership

kathyulkus — Tue, 23 Apr 2013 18:36:32 +0000

The April 22 issue of the ZweigLetter (a leading business performance agency for the A/E industry), ran a story on firm leadership. Author Lisa Sullivan posed the question to several firms, “When your company grows in size and stature, how can leaders set the direction without being involved in the details?” Gene Mackey responded with a discussion about balance in the profession and how Mackey Mitchell thinks collectively. “It’s not the leaders who need to be served in the architectural profession,” says Mackey, “it’s the clients.” He continued by saying, “Our leaders strongly believe that it is the responsibility of management to serve by inspiration, to trust the team to go as far as they can, knowing that leadership and experienced principals are always available when needed.”