Here's is a peek at a project that is currently on the boards. For this exercise, we concentrated on utilizing triplex homes to provide an affordable alternative to the single family home, otherwise known as the missing middle.

The concept of missing middle housing types revolves around the need to bridge the gap between single-family homes and high-density apartment buildings. In neighborhoods that predominantly consist of detached houses, incorporating duplex and triplex homes can offer a valuable solution. These housing types provide a middle ground by offering multiple units within a single building while maintaining a sense of individuality and scale that aligns with the character of a neighborhood. Duplexes and triplexes can be designed to blend seamlessly with existing homes, ensuring architectural coherence. By introducing such housing options, neighborhoods can accommodate a greater diversity of residents, including families, young professionals, and older adults, fostering a sense of community and promoting socio-economic integration.

Here's a look at out latest project which opened this spring! Located in the DFW metroplex, this is a small medical office building for a single health-practitioner's family practice. While each project is different, for this one we were there from the beginning. We helped evaluate properties to purchase, prepared & submitted documents for a zoning change, and then brought together a full design team for the design & construction phase.  This is our passion and our expertise.

Small medical office buildings offer a unique and specialized environment for healthcare practices. These compact facilities are designed to accommodate the specific needs of medical professionals, providing a convenient and accessible space for patients. Despite their size, small medical office buildings are equipped with state-of-the-art medical equipment and technology to ensure efficient and high-quality care. They often feature a range of amenities such as waiting areas, examination rooms, consultation spaces, and administrative offices, all within a compact footprint.

I'm sure you've seen some really fancy, grand ideas of how to revitalize a sleepy neighborhood that has seen better days. The solution often comes with a hefty price tag that keeps the execution out of reach. For this little exercise, we new we had to keep things simple & keep improvements to the level of a can of paint and some twinkle lights. Baby steps.

This particular area is tough as it is divided by a four lane highway.  Still we kept to the easy first steps & concentrated on adding vibrance, places to gather & a clear walkable sidewalks. Ideally, we can add density to the area by adding residential to the south of the highway with vital retail to support it to the north side. Taking these first small steps will add momentum to revitalize businesses in the future to add to the urban fabric.

Construction is wrapping up on our small, little medical office building. Looks good, right?  I'm excited to get some professional photos done once all the punch items have been corrected.  I believe the developer has already found a tenant so I'm excited to see this building come to life soon!

This was a fun exercise I did at the end of last year. You may recognize the building. This is the addition we designed a few years back. The two buildings were built to infill the giant hole left when the anchor tenant grocery store backed out while the rest of the center was built in the 80s.   Completed at the end of 2021, Fresenius Kidney Care moved into the medical space right away. The retail space remains empty.
This exercise was obviously done to entice a tenant. The first illustration shows how we can add two drive-up ATMs at the front of the shopping center next to the soon-to-be-improved pole sign. The other two renderings illustrate the location & size of possible building signage. It also shows how we can modify the storefront to accommodate the walk-up ATM.

In my line of work, I get to work with a variety of people in all different fields.  While I tend to concentrate on commercial work, I do take on the occasional residential project.  ​This particular project is something of a rare hybrid: a residential additional to accommodate a fine art conservation studio.  The client is wrapping up construction with their chosen contractor & sent me these photos which I wanted to share.

The project entailed adding both a two-car garage + an art studio.  This was not just any back yard studio either.  To serve the client's future business endeavor, the space needed to hit several conditions:  appropriate lighting, large open space to accommodate large pieces of artwork, a secure vault for storage, a photography room, office space and storage to properly store supplies & precious artwork.  Quite the laundry list of items to squeeze into the back yard.  Luckily I was able to work with a true professional that knew exactly how they needed to operate to be successful.  We worked hand-in-hand to arrange a space that would meet their high standards. And I think the contractor did a great job executing the project.  

Here's a peek at the early design of a new health center in El Paso, Texas. The ground up project will accommodate a single-practitioner family practice clinic + a separate area for executive office space & conference room. The building has been sited in such a way to allow for the future expansion of the health center.  

You can see we are really leaning into the idea of playing with light & shadow as well as introducing vibrant colors. What do you think?

Our little medical office building broke ground in April.  The underground utility & foundation prep work has been a challenge due to soils & your typical gotcha-discoveries.  In June we finally poured the slab and now we are wrapping up the steel work!  We are marching forward & hoping to complete construction by the end of the year!

One of the best part of Oak Cliff where I live and office is that there are small pockets of urban developments tucked into neighborhoods. These old commercial buildings once housed mom and pop businesses that I imagine were vital to the neighborhood. Unfortunately, many stand empty today.

This small little postage stamp of a building in my own neighborhood is one of them.  It's perfect for my own offices + another tenant. We took a tour of it the other day and interior renovations would be fairly minor--just a bit of demo and clean up. What do you think?