December 9, 2022

As the subject of sustainability has become increasingly prevalent throughout governments, businesses, and communities, the question is asked, over and over: does my personal commitment to sustainability really make a difference? Those who argue that sweeping changes by governments and major corporations are the only way our society will make significant progress toward a more sustainable future have a compelling argument.

The average person spends 90 percent of their time indoors, which suggests that the quality of our built environments has significant effects on our overall well-being. Access to daylight and views contribute substantially to the experience of the built environment, influencing cognition, productivity, sleep, and even mood and emotions. Architects have the opportunity and the responsibility to tap into the power of design to positively shape the experience of people and leverage daylight in buildings. When daylighting is prioritized in design, the benefits are many:

Space Planning
Buildings today simply have more. More technology, more interconnectedness, and more power requirements. It is essential that electrical space allocation is part of the initial coordination efforts. This ensures that electrical gear, including service entries, MDF/IDF rooms, transformers and panel boards are optimally located for efficiency, cost, and performance.

Fred, when did you decide to become an architect?
I was a junior in high school. Art had always been my passion. In high school, I was blessed to have an art teacher I responded to and enjoyed and learned from. One evening after class, I was sitting in the classroom doing some last-minute stuff on a project, and he came up to me, and he said, “Fred, what do you want to do when you grow up?”

When did you decide to become an architect?
My mother died when I was young and let it be known she wanted me to be an engineer. Since I had very few opportunities to comply with her wishes, I started in engineering. The breakthrough day was inordinately hot; I was in an unairconditioned building, and there was a guy in front of the class with a giant slide rule attached to the ceiling who was telling us fledgling engineers how to use it.

The 2022 AIA Utah Fall Conference was held September 26-29. Attendees enjoyed many opportunities to network and learn about their craft. A big thanks to our keynote speakers and sponsors. We hope to see you at our next event.

Motel Panorama, designed by architect Ivan Vitić, is situated near Rijeka in Croatia. The area where the motel is located offers great views of the Adriatic Sea and the adjacent hills. At present, the motel is abandoned and in a dilapidated condition. Motel Panorama is a great architectural example of a building from the Modernist era, listed as a cultural heritage site in 2015. Despite the level of deterioration, there is still a chance to revive the building and site.

The Rijeka/Opatija Eco-Village and Community Gardens lie on the abandoned site of Hotel Panorama. The project design creates both permanent and temporary residential spaces, community gatherings, events, learning spaces, and vast community gardens. Our project aims to revitalize the building and renew its program to become a vibrant, bustling center that allows the community to create deep and meaningful social connections, cultivate personal enrichment in a community context, and learn fundamental skills to participate responsibly in a sustainable society.

This design proposal places two tiny homes on an underutilized site in a highly desirable and increasingly unaffordable area. Located at 915 South 400 East, the site is approximately 4,462 square feet, just under the required minimum of 5,000 square feet for the zoned R/1-5,000 district.