by Charles Hendricks | Aug 8, 2024 | Charles Hendricks, citizen architect, community
The Shenandoah Valley Partnership brings together local government, education, and business to increase economic development activity. Jay Langston and his team have done a fantastic job figuring out new ways to promote our valley in an ever-increasing competitive economic landscape. The result is amazing success at adding new jobs to our valley, growing existing businesses, and attracting new businesses.
“SVP is an awesome collection of businesses that understand the importance of supporting each other, combined with local government and education partners. This organization understands that a rising tide raises all ships.” Board Chairman Charles Hendricks continues, “it takes innovative leadership in our world to attract new business and to support existing business growth, and we have that at SVP.” From a local cooking show to a podcast series, Jay and his team are reaching a large radius of site locators in an authentic way. The message of collaboration among local business leaders resonates with how business wants to be done and these outreach efforts highlight that approach.
We need your help. If you want to be involved in SVP, reach out to Charles or Jay, learn more about investing in the partnership HERE.
by Charles Hendricks | Jul 27, 2024 | Charles Hendricks, citizen architect, community, Empathy, Leadership, Local Leaders, Office Culture, Rotary, team
The Rotary Club of Rockingham County is working on a Peace Pole project to spread peace in the Harrisonburg / Rockingham community. Promoting peace is a cornerstone of the Rotary Mission. We believe when people work to create peace in their communities, that change can have a global effect.
The Peace Pole is an internationally recognized symbol of the hope and dreams of the entire human family, standing vigil in silent prayer for peace on earth. Each Peace Pole bears the message
May Peace Prevail on Earth in eight different languages, a braille plaque, and these poles will also have a Rotary logo, Veterans for Peace logo, and a rainbow flag. It’s estimated that
there are over 200,000 Peace Poles in the world with at least one in every country, each dedicated as a monument of peace.
Planting a Peace Pole is a way of bringing people together to inspire, awaken and uplift the human consciousness the world over. It is a wonderful project for any community, organization, or your home. They remind us to think, speak, and act in the spirit of peace and harmony. Planting a Peace Pole in a high pedestrian traffic area will remind those seeing it on a daily basis to be kind to others.
There is an international registry showing Peace Pole locations around the world. The Rotary Club is also working on finding and registering existing Peace Poles in the Valley. So far we have registered 3 and are waiting to hear back from the owners of two more to get permission to register them.
Each peace pole will cost approximately $600, including installation. We have secured installation locations for the first two poles and are working on fundraising for our third. We hope and plan to do many more.
by Charles Hendricks | May 21, 2024 | architecture, Charles Hendricks
Charles Hendricks Recognized as one of the 100 top Architects of 2024
Fixr.com recently revealed its annual selection of the 100 Top Architects of 2024, spotlighting key players in today’s construction industry. This exclusive list acknowledges the experts who are continuously contributing to the growth of the residential design sector.
These top architects have made this list based on criteria such as expertise, experience, and the ability to drive innovation and progress. They are acknowledged both locally and nationally, have earned their place through remarkable projects and a solid reputation.
According to Ornella Bianco, Home Improvement Specialist at Fixr.com, “The influence these experts have on the industry is undeniable. They are at the forefront, keeping up the pace with evolving homeowner preferences and advancing residential architecture in 2024.”
Being included in Fixr.com’s list affirms Hendricks’ leadership and expertise in the home design sector. This recognition underscores Charles Hendricks’ role as a catalyst for innovation, crucial for the ongoing advancement of residential architectural practices and trends in 2024.
Charles was also included on this list in 2023 and prior to that appeared on the Fixr top 200 experts in the construction industry list each year from 2020-2022
About Charles:
Charles Hendricks and is an architect, Rotarian, and father living in the Shenandoah Valley, Virginia. He serves the firm as Principal Architect also focused on business development, marketing, sustainability, and building science. He serves the community through a wide range of organizations including the Rotary Club of Rockingham County, Shenandoah Valley Partnership, Explore More Museum, Park View Mennonite Church, Massanutten Technical Center Foundation, Harrisonburg Downtown Renaissance Design Committee, and through many other volunteer opportunities. His core belief is that through design we can build a stronger and more vibrant future for all.
About Gaines Group Architects:
Gaines Group Architects is a small firm with a big idea – design can build a better community, enhance livability, reduce construction and operation costs, and protect our environment.
Design matters.
We work hard to understand the best practices in the industry so we can provide our clients with functional, affordable, and beautiful design solutions. We do this through a focus on quality, value, building science, and timeless beauty. Gaines Group Architects is located in Harrisonburg and Charlottesville, Virginia. We serve a wide range of clients from custom homes, renovations, additions, commercial, retail, industrial, ecclesiastical, and non-profits.
Mission statement
Through design we want to build a stronger more vibrant community. We want to design solutions that make positive changes for everyone in our community.
Why we do it
Because we want a better future for our clients, community, and world.
About Fixr.com
Fixr.com is a go-to resource for home improvement, dedicated to aiding homeowners in making informed decisions about remodeling. Fixr.com stands out for providing unbiased, thorough, and regularly updated cost guides, price comparisons, and cheat sheets for a wide range of remodeling, installation, and repair projects. With the necessary knowledge at hand, Fixr.com connects homeowners with the best-matched contractors in their area to begin their home improvement projects.
For the complete list of the 100 Top Architects of 2024, visit: https://www.fixr.com/articles/top-experts-architects
by Charles Hendricks | May 19, 2024 | Charles Hendricks, citizen architect
I own a small business in a post-pandemic economy, and life is difficult. (Disclaimer: I have 4 business partners, I don’t do this alone).
I keep seeing posts on social media from other small business owner friends of mine and I think we are all feeling the weight of the world right now. I can tell you I need help, support, and compassion right now more than I have in the 16 years I have been a business owner. Thank you to all those who are supporting me and offering words of encouragement. Thank you also to all my clients who are allowing me to design for them.
But more about the challenges: Owning an architectural firm means I have to have thick skin, a very high tolerance for stress, and be extremely flexible in schedule, goals, and expectations. I have not found the balance, if there is such a thing, and tend to give more to others and the business than to my own mental and physical wellbeing. Owning a business is hard.
Something changed coming out of the pandemic. Expectations are higher, timelines are shorter, price structures are more volatile, and product shortages are unpredictable. It is beyond stressful to figure out the challenge of balancing meeting our clients expectations, mental health of staff, and providing a safe place for design creativity, with staying economically competitive and quick. Are you done yet? While all these challenges / goals have always been there for small architectural firms, since the pandemic it seems they are all heightened. It is not necessarily directly related to the pandemic, but there was a shift in how our clients think about us and what our employees expect in a workplace since the pandemic. Many days it feels like everything is in a very fragile balance and any small wrong move will break the system. We balance building code compliance with aesthetic beauty with structural product price spikes with changing communication patterns from our clients, consultants, and employees. We are expected to pivot quickly and stay on top of all the changes all the time. Products that used to be readily available are no longer in our market. Builders that used to need work are booked out for a year or so. Software costs skyrocketed from just a few years ago when you could purchase a software package to now having to purchase an annual subscription. The market has shifted where the big firms will frequently compete with smaller firms for local projects. These larger firms have entire teams dedicated to responding to potential client requests while in a small firm we each wear many different hats and have to give time in many different ways and directions.
I am not complaining about owning a business and getting to set my own schedule, write my own mission statement, and set my own path. (Well sort of set my own path and as long as my schedule is work a lot I can set it for sure.) I love what I get to do: solve spatial problems for our clients that enhance their livability, protect the environment through sustainable design practices, and inspire joy through beautiful design work. I just wish it was a little easier to find the clients, deliver the projects efficiently in a more relaxed schedule, and figure out the balance between earning a comfortable living and being affordable. It does feel like I am climbing a steep hill with the sun in my eyes many days.
Does anyone else have some insights on the joys and challenges of owning a small business? Please share, it is good to know that others face similar challenges.
by Charles Hendricks | Sep 29, 2023 | Charles Hendricks, citizen architect, community, Empathy, Leadership, Local Leaders, Office Culture, Rotary, team
‘Tis the season of golf tournaments! On Saturday, Paul participated in the 2023 Rotary Golf Tournament at Heritage Oaks Golf Course to benefit the Ronald McDonald House in Charlottesville. It was a beautiful day to compete together and support an amazing organization.
For those that are unfamiliar with the Ronald McDonald House of Charlottesville, their “primary mission… is to provide lodging for the families of pediatric patients while the children are receiving medical treatment at the University of Virginia Children’s Hospital. The House offers an affordable, calm, comfortable haven – a home away from home – for its guests. For exhausted parents, who are already stressed by the illness of their child, it is a place where families can relax, eat together, and find support from other parents who are in similar situations.” We thank them for everything that they do.
Pictured below from left to right: Mike Wolfe of Simpson Strong-Tie, Paul (Principal of our Charlottesville location), Blake Gordon of Titan America Roanoke Cement Company, Eli Strauss of Strauss Construction.
For more information on the Ronald McDonald House Charlottesville and for ways that you can get involved, check out their website here.
by Charles Hendricks | Sep 13, 2023 | architecture, Charles Hendricks, Office Culture
The job of an architect can be an emotional roller coaster. You get the opportunity to walk with your clients to hear their goals, dreams, and aspirations for their new home (or business), feeling the excitement. Then the fun begins as you translate all the challenges, stretches, and opportunities into a cohesive design. We get to use our analytical side to process the information and constraints and our creative side to create a beautiful and functional design solution. This is architectural design, walking with your client through their dreams, grabbing the parts of the dream that matter the most, and creating a holistic design solution that brings it all together. You invest emotionally in their design as you sculpt their dream home, and when you get it right, you feel joy.
We recently designed for clients that had a very specific vision for their dream house. Their vision was centered around how they wanted to feel in the space that is sacred to them. Yes, they had some very specific aesthetic goals as well, but merging those aesthetic goals with a sense of softness and modesty was key to the final design. Working through the process we found an architectural language to define spaces and captured the right feel. We walked with our clients on their land, listened to their hopes and dreams, gathered inspiration, discussed goals, and developed a design concept. We absorbed their emotional connection and goals, developed the design concept, gathered feedback, and modified – multiple times.
Once we had the right feel of space, we started working through the building science implications. The design demanded delicate details to achieve the right finished product. While designing with empathy is an important tool we use on a regular basis, a focus and understanding of building science, structural design, and material knowledge allow us to create beautiful, durable, healthy, and energy-efficient buildings.
This idea of creating / designing dream homes (businesses) can be challenging because dreams tend to continue to unfold as opportunities can better be seen (first draft of the floorplan) and room sizes and shapes start to form. As an architect you are often the one left to remind everyone involved that there is a budget that goes along with the dream. You are the one that has to break their heart when the budget doesn’t match the dream. You act as the sounding board for ideas, bringing your own and evaluating others. Years of experience, training, education, and trial and error feed your sense of design.
While I have heard many times that someone has an “eye” for design, there is no replacing years of experience and knowledge. The process of design relies on a “feel” for the right solution. It requires an emotional investment to get it just right. Sometimes you are in a state of joy and sometimes you are struggling to hit a budget emotionally strained.
