by Charles Hendricks | Oct 28, 2015 | Commercial Architect, project update
Blue Ridge Area Food Bank
The Blue Ridge Area Food Bank project has finished. Sure there are a few minor punch list items, but the job is done and the facility is back up and running strong. We started with a goal to add warehouse space, vegetable storage space, and to provide adequate office space.
The facility now has a clean room that allows processing bulk foods into manageable sizes. The cooler allows for multiple tractor trailers full of fresh vegetables. The warehouse space that had been used for office space prior to the renovation has been converted back into warehouse space.
BEFORE
AFTER
For past posts, click HERE, HERE, HERE, HERE, and HERE.
by Charles Hendricks | Oct 21, 2015 | architecture, Commercial Architect
Buildings are the most complicated machine that the average person has to operate. Trying to figure out how to put a building together, make it beautiful, comply with all aspects of building code, and meet client expectations for budget, timeline, and aesthetics is the most complicated part of my profession. As of July 13th of this year, in Virginia, we now have to comply with the 2012 Virginia State Building Code. Change complicates life further. Buildings are complicated – so is code compliance.
The new standards in Virginia are impacting energy efficiency practices through daylighting requirements, insulation upgrades, and air leakage standards. In the long run these will all be huge benefits to the building owner through energy savings. In the short-term, the industry is trying to figure this out while trying to keep the upfront costs affordable to potential clients.
On the commercial design side, code officials are now asking for documentation in the form of energy compliance reports that have not been required in past code cycles. This is adding to the amount of time and money it takes to document a design. Daylighting requirements are such that calculations have to be performed to show that you have the appropriate number of skylights to meet the new standards in the 2012 building code. Lighting controls are being added to comply with the new daylighting standards increasing complication to the installation and design of the lighting system. Energy usage standards vs lighting level restrictions in rooms is forcing the use of more efficient LED technology adding to upfront costs. There are conflicts within sections of the code and the energy standards section such as plenum are not allowed in one section and are allowed in another section – so which is it? This all adds time to the design process as we figure out how the local code official is interpreting code requirements and documenting compliance.
On the residential design side the changes are having less impact on the design. In fact, we have not had to change anything about our standard for design in general. It is impacting the amount of time it takes to document our design decisions. We are having to document further some of our structural design in the form of “showing our work.” It adds time to include these calculations on our drawings sheets, but not to our design time as we already had this included. The biggest change for residential is the new requirements for wood deck design and shear wall bracing. The easy solutions are fairly expensive. The inexpensive options have impacts on aesthetics. There are now requirements for building tighter for better energy performance of ducts and building envelope. However, Virginia allows for a visual inspection to show air tightness. I say this is impossible to do with a visual inspection so it will not benefit the majority of home owners. We already include the air tightness test as a standard in our home design so I know we meet the standard on our homes with or without the visual inspection.
There is also a new Virginia building code used for renovation projects. This book used to be a chapter in the commercial building code, but now is a stand alone document. It has a lot of new language and coordination required that did not exist before. There is a lot of confusion as to the intent and time is the only thing that will clarify some of the standards. It is taking a lot of my time to learn the standard and verify we are in compliance for our renovation projects.
All of these changes will be figured out and will become the minimum standard for how we build. I cannot imagine trying to work through all of these changes had we been designing to code minimum in the past. This is going to have the largest impact on those builders that purchase home plans online and build to code minimum. It is going to raise their quality and the level of efficiency and safety in their projects and that is needed. In the short-term, it is having an impact on everyone in the construction industry as we try to stay competitive while making a living doing what we love. All of this to say, Buildings are complicated and so is code compliance.
by Charles Hendricks | Oct 18, 2015 | architecture, Commercial Architect, project update
Read our progress on the Harmony Square Dairy Queen here:
Part 1 – Part 2 – Part 4 – Part 5
Work continues on the new Dairy Queen at Harmony Square shopping center in Harrisonburg. This new DQ building will provide more seating than the store that has been in the shopping center for many years. This locally owned store is in the second generation of ownership in the same family. Their goal for this new store was to create an energy-efficient, healthy, and durable structure. It will feature a high performance insulation package, efficient heating and cooling system, and solar PV panels on the roof. The Red Spoons were also a goal – but then again, who does not love a spoon door handle?
by Charles Hendricks | Aug 21, 2015 | architecture, Commercial Architect, Harrisonburg Architect, project update
Project Update: Blue Ridge Area Food Bank – Verona
The Blue Ridge Area Food Bank building is in the final weeks of construction. Nielsen Builders have been working hard to deliver the design as developed. The warehouse addition provides a huge amount of new space for providing food to those in need living in our community. This addition specifically provides space to have more fresh produce available to those needing help. It also provides a space for processing bulk foods into smaller quantities giving more flexibility to what is accepted and provided.
The front addition is office space. The facility as you might remember used to have a small farmhouse that was limping along as the office space. This two-story structure provides the needed space for staff to operate that business of provided healthy food to their agencies.
As a reminder, this is where we started.
This was one of the first sketch elevations we developed.
This was the final design.
For past post, click HERE, HERE, HERE, and HERE
by Charles Hendricks | Aug 19, 2015 | architecture, Commercial Architect, Harrisonburg Architect, project update
Read our progress on the Harmony Square Dairy Queen here:
Part 1 – Part 3 – Part 4 – Part 5
Dairy Queen prototype
It seems like just last week that we wrote about the ground breaking on our sweetest project. Now the new Harmony Square Dairy Queen on 42 North in Harrisonburg has a foundation, slab, and walls.
We have been busy processing questions from the general contractor, attending site meetings, and coordinating between various parties involved in the project.
This Dairy Queen is moving out of the shopping center where it has been serving ice cream treats for many years to provide easier drive thru access and breakfast. The new store will have more seating available both inside and outside. We are really looking forward the grand opening in December 2015.
by Charles Hendricks | Jul 24, 2015 | architecture, Building Science, Commercial Architect, Harrisonburg Architect, project update
Read our progress on the Harmony Square Dairy Queen here:
Part 2 – Part 3 – Part 4 – Part 5
It is always exciting to see dirt moving on a project job site. Our latest ground breaking is for the new Harmony Square Dairy Queen. This project is sweet!
If you have been to the existing Dairy Queen you will certainly look forward to the added space this new project will provide. It will also expand the outside seating area, features solar panels, skylights, a high-efficiency heating and cooling system, and an advanced insulation package. In other words, the upcoming Dairy Queen is sustainably designed! Can you say blizzards made by the power of the sun?
