It's been a while since we posted anything here....so we decided to have
a social marketing meeting today for lunch & cover all our social
connections while we enjoy the delicious Gus's chicken.

We're discussing the blog, twitter, facebook, picassa, and on & on &
on.....so watch out for new things coming soon!

SkyCottage, the home pictured above, has a chance to be published in Architectural Record magazine in January. And dear readers, we are counting on YOU to make it happen. This week, the project made it into ArchitecturalRecord.com's Top Ten Reader Photos. From these top ten lists, ArchRecord chooses the most voted-on projects to be published in an upcoming issue of the magazine. Published! In the magazine! In their words:

“Now readers can vote for their favorite images from our Top Ten Reader Photo lists. We will publish winning images in a future print issue of RECORD. The images from the November 13 and November 27 Top Ten lists with the most votes by December 4 will be published in our January issue.”

Stop what you are doing right now, and VOTE! Vote for SkyCottage, and tell all your friends to vote too. Just click HERE, make sure you are looking at a photo of SkyCottage by archimania, and click "Recommend."

No registration, minimal energy, and very little time required. However, if you do have energy and time, post a comment on our Facebook wall or Twitter page telling us you voted for our project on ArchitecturalRecord.com. The more people who know, the more people who vote. And the more people who vote, the better chance we have of being published/famous/really happy.

Moral of the story? If you love archimania, VOTE NOW.

Congratulations the creators of DOGone House: Team 2, comprised of Tim Michael, Greg Price, Kayce Williford, and Barry Yoakum. Their proposed concept originates with a matchbox. Like the matchbox, the house is constructed of two components: an Outer Wrapper (a folded sheet of weathering steel) and an Inner Box (reclaimed western red cedar). Aging naturally, the steel sheet protects from the elements while the cedar box offers a softer lining that allows air to flow between the slats. Food and water bowls are integrated into the steel wrapper, and rigid felt strips are sandwiched between the floor's wood slats for the dog’s comfort. The matchbox concept allows the inner wood liner to be slid from its steel shell and easily washed.

Thanks to a few faithful archimaniacs, along with Providential Steel Fabricators, DOGone House is now built and (almost) ready for a canine resident. Click here for a brief photo chronicle of the archimaniacs working like... well, dogs. More photos of the final product to come!

First Lady Andrea Conte invited the press to tour the facility recently, which brings us to this excellent article in the Commercial Appeal, written by Nashvillian Richard Locker. Amidst the negativity of neighborhood and funding-related controversy surrounding this project, Rick's story is a breath of fresh, positive air. See for your self, below and here.

While we'd rather see a full-bleed, four-page spread of one of our projects in Dwell magazine, this is a pretty good start. A few months ago, SkyCottage was a finalist for a competition called 'Site Specific' held by Spark Modern Fires. Our place in the ranks gets us a spot in Spark's fall advertising campaign. That rockin' fireplace set at the bottom of the page, complete with a fireside companion, is none other than Barry Yoakum's living room. Thanks to Spark Modern for the visibility, and here's hoping we'll get that spread in the near future!

Barkitecture is a local design competition in which architects, artists, and animal-lovers are charged with designing a doghouse to be auctioned at a gala in November. The proceeds benefit the Weimaraner Rescue of the South and Memphis Area Golden Retriever Rescue. We love design, and we love dogs, so we signed up to participate.

So, how on earth do 14 creative crazies decide on one single doghouse design? I'll tell you how: an intra-office competition. Three teams of archimaniacs developed three unique schemes - DogTrot House, DOGone House, and RufHouse - in just under a week. The office was a flurry of activity, with tiny models being constructed and program statements being composed and elaborate diagrams being exploded. What resulted were three really incredible, yet really diverse designs. And how might we decide between them? I'll tell you how: a jury. The schemes were reviewed and carefully scored by 10 esteemed jurors, both architect-types and non.

Finally, last Friday, judgment day had arrived. As the results were coming in, the race was a tight one. Which team would win? Which design would get picked? And more importantly, why is "Who Let the Dogs Out?" blaring on the office speakers?

After all the votes were tallied, a winner was decided. But readers, I must leave you in suspense. I know, it's cruel. But until the October 10th deadline, our doghouse design will remain Top Secret. For now, enjoy the teasers and stay tuned for construction updates and photos of the final built product. I promise, you shall not wait in vain.

If you read this post, you know that we entered the Dwell / Coolhaus contest to invent a new architecture-themed ice cream sandwich. We didn't win the grand prize, but we did get a couple of shout-outs on Dwell's website.

After the contest, we vowed to create each sandwich we submitted and let the entire office have a taste-test. Andrew started us off with his almost-award-winning creation, "Ray Frappe." Behold, luscious vanilla-coffee ice cream sandwiched between double-chocolate-chip cookies:

And, behold the willing taste-testers:

Yes, it was as delicious as it looks. Now, who's next? Lord Norman Bananas Foster? Macchiato & Silvetti? Brad Cherrypitt?