Professional Builder: The iPad Effect

We thought we would share an article published in the September issue Professional Builder Magazine on "The iPad Effect." This issue outlines what builders, trades, designers and suppliers are using iPads and other tablet devices for in home-building applications and also sheds light on the benefits and drawbacks of this emerging business tool category. Here at Visbeen Associates, we always try to stay up on the latest technology trends and we are on the iPad bandwagon! It has been a great addition to our business. If you have been in a meeting with Wayne in the last year or so, you may have already seen him use the iPad to show you a plethora of project photos in the iPad's portfolio.<div><br /></div><div>What do you think - is the iPad a business booster for you?</div><div><br /></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" color: rgb(51, 51, 51); line-height: 20px; font-family:Arial, Tahoma, Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif;font-size:13px;"><div class="panel-pane pane-views pane-node-header" id="block-node-header" style="padding-top: 5px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; border-top-style: solid; border-top-width: 1px; border-top-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); "><div class="pane-content" style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><div class="view view-node-header view-id-node_header view-display-id-default view-dom-id-2" style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><div class="view-content" style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><div class="views-row views-row-1 views-row-odd views-row-first views-row-last" style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><h1 style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0.25em; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font-family: Georgia; line-height: 36px; font-size: 28px; color: rgb(29, 29, 29) !important; font-weight: normal; ">Design on the fly: How tablets are transforming the design process</h1><div class="view-abstract" style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 5px; margin-left: 0px; font-size: 14px; font-style: italic; line-height: 21px; color: rgb(102, 102, 102); "><p style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; ">Architects, designers, and builders are turning to tablets for a variety of<br />design-related tasks, including in-the-field design reviews and client presentations.</p></div><div class="view-byline" style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; color: rgb(89, 11, 15); ">By Susan Bady, Contributing Editor</div><div class="view-date" style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font-size:10px;"><span class="date-display-single" style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; ">September 22, 2011</span></div></div></div></div></div></div><div class="panel-region-separator" style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "></div><div class="panel-pane pane-content-field pane-field-article-image" style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 10px; margin-right: 20px; margin-bottom: 20px; margin-left: 0px; float: left; "><div class="pane-content" style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; display: inline; "><div class="field field-type-filefield field-field-article-image" style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; display: inline; "><div class="field-items" style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; display: inline; "><div class="field-item odd" style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; display: inline; "><img alt="ipads for construction, tablets for construction, how builders are using ipads, " class="imagecache imagecache-article_image_sized imagecache-default imagecache-article_image_sized_default" height="282" src="http://www.housingzone.com/professionalbuilder/sites/default/files/imagecache/article_image_sized/article/feature/design1.png" style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; text-align: center; width: 411px; height: 282px; -webkit-box-shadow: rgb(222, 220, 214) 5px 5px 0px; " title="Design on the fly: How tablets are transforming the design process" width="411" /></div></div></div></div></div><div class="panel-region-separator" style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "></div><div class="panel-pane pane-node pane-node-body" style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; line-height: 20px; "><div class="pane-content" style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><h2 style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 1.5em; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0.75em; margin-left: 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 19px; font-size: 19px; "><a href="http://www.housingzone.com/professionalbuilder/design/design-fly-how-tablets-are-transforming-design-process" title="" style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; color: rgb(89, 11, 15); text-decoration: none; "></a></h2><div class="meta" style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "></div><p style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 13px; margin-left: 0px; "><em style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font-style: oblique; ">PHOTO Architect Christopher Derrick (right) reviews a design concept with one of his clients using an iPad. The tablet allows Derrick to quickly update, access, and present his design ideas and portfolio of work from anywhere in the country.</em></p><p style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 13px; margin-left: 0px; "> </p><p style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 13px; margin-left: 0px; "> </p><p style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 13px; margin-left: 0px; "> </p><p style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 13px; margin-left: 0px; "> </p><p style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 13px; margin-left: 0px; "> </p><p style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 13px; margin-left: 0px; ">The tablet PC has become a powerful business tool for home builders, architects, and designers alike. The iPad, Motorola Xoom, Samsung Galaxy, and other tablets are widely used for such applications as construction management, sales tracking, and customer service.</p><p style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 13px; margin-left: 0px; ">In residential design, though, the use of tablets has primarily been limited to client presentations and annotating drawings on the job site. Wheaton, Ill.-based architect Christopher Derrick recognized the potential of the iPad after giving his wife one for Christmas. “I played around with it longer than she did, so I decided to get one for myself,” he says.</p><p style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 13px; margin-left: 0px; ">Derrick uses his iPad primarily for client presentations. “Instead of carrying a large portfolio with drawings, I put together a portfolio on the iPad, which is very easy to do,” he says. “Instead of having to print out and enlarge photos, I can upload them to the iPad as soon as I take them with a digital camera, so the portfolio is up to date.” Presentations can be modified to show only new construction or only remodeling projects, depending on the client. Derrick also has an overview presentation that mixes the two.</p><table align="right" border="0" cellpadding="20" cellspacing="20" style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; border-collapse: collapse; width: 320px; "><tbody style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; border-top-width: 1px; border-top-style: none; border-top-color: rgb(204, 204, 204); border-right-style: none; border-bottom-style: none; border-left-style: none; border-width: initial; border-color: initial; "><tr style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><td style="padding-top: 20px; padding-right: 20px; padding-bottom: 20px; padding-left: 20px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font-size: 13px; vertical-align: top; background-color: rgb(204, 204, 204); "><h3 style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 1em; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0.45em; margin-left: 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 16px; font-size: 16px; ">5 ways builders, architects, and designers are using tablets to design homes</h3><p style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 13px; margin-left: 0px; "><strong style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font-weight: bold; ">1. Client presentations —</strong> Architects and designers can quickly update, access, and present their entire portfolio of work with the tap of a finger.</p><p style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 13px; margin-left: 0px; "><strong style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font-weight: bold; ">2. Annotating drawings —</strong> Using apps like AutoCAD WS, design professionals can instantly access, change, and markup CAD drawings while on the jobsite or the road.</p><p style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 13px; margin-left: 0px; "><strong style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font-weight: bold; ">3. Create an online library of colors, textures, and materials —</strong> There are a host of apps for evaluating material and color choices. Virtual design boards can be loaded with fabric swatches, tiles, and other samples, and several major paint suppliers now offer tablet apps for color matching.</p><p style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 13px; margin-left: 0px; "><strong style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font-weight: bold; ">4. Basic design from scratch —</strong> Tools like SketchBook Pro allow designers to create drawings from scratch with a tablet, using either a stylus or finger touch. Think of it as a replacement to the napkin sketch.</p><p style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 13px; margin-left: 0px; "><strong style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font-weight: bold; ">5. Virtual design meetings —</strong> Virtual face-to-face meetings allow design team members and clients in multiple locations to collaborate on projects using CAD drawings, PDFs, screen captures, emails, and other key documentation.</p></td></tr></tbody></table><p style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 13px; margin-left: 0px; ">“I mainly use AutoCAD for architectural drawings, plus some minor programs that are more structural,” he says. “I’ll also take PDFs of different projects, load them onto the iPad, and go off to the job site. I have all the details with me; I’m not trying to page through everything or hold up a 24-by-36-inch drawing. It’s all on my screen.”</p><p style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 13px; margin-left: 0px; ">At press time, Derrick had just purchased AutoCAD WS, a mobile application that will automatically sync plan changes made on the iPad with his office computer, and allow him to access, edit, and share drawings with clients and builders.</p><p style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 13px; margin-left: 0px; ">Tal Weiss, lead developer of AutoCAD WS, says the app is now also compatible with Android phones and tablets. Architects, engineers, and builders are the dominant users, says Weiss.</p><h2 style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 1.5em; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0.75em; margin-left: 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 19px; font-size: 19px; ">The untapped potential of tablets</h2><p style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 13px; margin-left: 0px; ">Versatile as they are, tablets are not ideal for full-blown design applications — yet.</p><p style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 13px; margin-left: 0px; ">“The challenge with design on the iPad is that you’re doing everything with your fingers, so it’s not as precise,” says Derrick. “If there was some way to hook up a mouse to it, I think it would be very functional, but until it gets to that point, tablets are going to be much more useful for presentation and viewing and office work.”</p><p style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 13px; margin-left: 0px; ">Mark Johnson, director of architect relations and education for Masco Cabinetry, Taylor, Mich., agrees: “Based on the apps that have been developed, the tablet is more of a presentation tool than an actual design tool. You can do some notation and light drafting, but not heavy design work.”</p><p style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 13px; margin-left: 0px; ">However, Johnson is digging deeper into the potential of tablets for home design. He recently created a presentation that showcases business applications for the iPad that Masco can use in its kitchen and bath showroom, as well as in the field. Johnson’s portfolio of 16 apps includes a virtual design board with fabric swatches, tiles, and other samples; a paint color-matching app; and a gallery of kitchen and bath photos that helps clients jump-start their projects.</p><p style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 13px; margin-left: 0px; ">Masco already uses Google SketchUp, a 3D CAD program, to design cabinetry. There is currently no iPad app for SketchUp, but Johnson found a reader called 3-D Dea for viewing SketchUp files on the iPad.</p><p style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 13px; margin-left: 0px; ">“We thought that with better project organization, communication, online sharing, and 3D visualization, the iPad would be a powerful tool for helping them sell projects,” he says. “I’ll sometimes hear folks say that with all these new tools they’re using, they’re able to sell kitchens faster. You can take a design you’re working on and show it to customers on an iPad in 3D. It’s in full color, and you can pan around it and take them on a walkthrough of what hopefully will become their future kitchen or bath.”</p><p style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 13px; margin-left: 0px; ">Like Derrick, Brian McMillen of McMillen Designs in Wasilla, Alaska, uses his iPad more frequently for client presentations than anything else. Occasionally, McMillen makes design changes in the field at a client’s request, and he expects to be doing more of that in the future. He says a tablet with a 3D viewer would be useful: “I’m taking Revit files and Architectural Desktop files that are 3D and basically using them in 2D.”</p><table align="right" border="1" cellpadding="15" cellspacing="10" style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; border-collapse: collapse; width: 158px; height: 399px; "><tbody style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; border-top-width: 1px; border-top-style: none; border-top-color: rgb(204, 204, 204); border-right-style: none; border-bottom-style: none; border-left-style: none; border-width: initial; border-color: initial; "><tr style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><td style="padding-top: 2px; padding-right: 2px; padding-bottom: 2px; padding-left: 2px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font-size: 13px; vertical-align: top; border-top-color: rgb(0, 153, 204); border-right-color: rgb(0, 153, 204); border-bottom-color: rgb(0, 153, 204); border-left-color: rgb(0, 153, 204); "><p style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 13px; margin-left: 0px; "><img alt="" src="http://www.housingzone.com/sites/default/files/images/01_Cover.jpg" style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; width: 200px; height: 239px; border-top-style: solid; border-right-style: solid; border-bottom-style: solid; border-left-style: solid; " /></p><p style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 13px; margin-left: 0px; text-align: center; "><strong style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font-weight: bold; ">Tablet Report Contents</strong></p><p style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 13px; margin-left: 0px; text-align: center; ">• <a href="http://www.housingzone.com/business-management/game-change-how-ipad-revolution-changing-way-builders-do-business" target="_blank" style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; color: rgb(89, 11, 15); text-decoration: none; ">Exclusive Research</a><br />• <a href="http://www.housingzone.com/business-management/ipads-toolbox-using-tablets-manage-construction-operations" target="_blank" style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; color: rgb(89, 11, 15); text-decoration: none; ">Tablets on the Jobsite</a><br />• <a href="http://www.housingzone.com/design/design-fly-how-tablets-are-transforming-design-process" target="_blank" style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; color: rgb(89, 11, 15); text-decoration: none; ">Designing with Tablets</a><br />• <a href="http://www.housingzone.com/sales/touch-zoom-sell-how-builders-are-using-tablets-sell-homes" target="_blank" style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; color: rgb(89, 11, 15); text-decoration: none; ">Using Tablets to Market and Sell Homes</a><br />• <a href="http://www.housingzone.com/business/tech-review-which-tablet-right-you" target="_blank" style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; color: rgb(89, 11, 15); text-decoration: none; ">Product Review: Which Tablet is Right for You?</a><br />• <a href="http://www.housingzone.com/AppCenter" target="_blank" style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; color: rgb(89, 11, 15); text-decoration: none; ">99 Tablet Apps Made for Builders</a></p></td></tr></tbody></table><p style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 13px; margin-left: 0px; ">Joel Esposito, a 3D artist who produces digital marketing materials for True Design Studio in Jacksonville, Fla., loads collateral onto an iPad for viewing in 2D and 3D — sort of. “The 3D content consists of interactive panoramas,” says Esposito. “Although it’s not true 3D, it really does look and feel like it.”</p><p style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 13px; margin-left: 0px; ">For now, McMillen is happy that he doesn’t have to tote rolled-up blueprints to construction sites with a scale to make sure the dimensions are accurate. “Being able to check the actual drawn dimensions and scaling it off the drawings is not necessarily a time saver, but it eliminates the margin for error.”</p><h2 style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 1.5em; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0.75em; margin-left: 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 19px; font-size: 19px; ">Luck of the draw</h2><p style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 13px; margin-left: 0px; ">SketchBook Pro (another Autodesk product) is, as the name suggests, a digital sketchbook, though unlike SketchUp, it’s a 2D program. Chris Cheung, SketchBook product line manager, says professional designers as well as hobbyists and artists use the program. SketchBook Pro for iPad was launched in April 2010, and a version for Android was released in July 2011. Users sketch directly on the tablet’s touch-sensitive screen either with their finger or a stylus. There are different levels of sophistication; for example, the premium edition of SketchBook Pro allows designers to work with multiple layers of a sketch. </p><p style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 13px; margin-left: 0px; ">Cheung says designers who spend a lot of time on the road are using SketchBook Pro for iPad as “a kind of whiteboard with their office.” The office team emails the designer layouts, screen captures, or digital photos, “then the designer fires up SketchBook and annotates them or does a design concept over them, makes some adjustments, and sends the email back to the office.”</p><p style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 13px; margin-left: 0px; ">True Design Studio is using AutoCAD WS and will soon implement other Autodesk and Adobe applications such as SketchBook Pro. Esposito believes that when accompanied with a stylus, SketchBook Pro will prove to be the most versatile. “It will do away with the napkin sketch and allow us to develop concepts on the fly,” he says. “It may prove to be particularly powerful since you could feasibly take a picture with your iPad 2 camera, then draw over it in SketchBook.”</p><p style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 13px; margin-left: 0px; ">Esposito adds that this capability “could be a real game changer for remodeling projects. Someone in the field could sketch in a client’s requests, send it back to the studio to get feedback, and within minutes we could have a mature concept ready to be reviewed.”</p><h2 style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 1.5em; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0.75em; margin-left: 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 19px; font-size: 19px; ">Does tablet screen size matter?</h2><p style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 13px; margin-left: 0px; ">One builder who was using tablets on a day-to-day basis abandoned them in favor of the smart phone. “Primarily I was using a tablet for my own organization, because I had so much to keep track of,” says Ron Paulk of Paulk Custom Homes, Anacortes, Wash. He now performs the same functions on an iPhone, which fits in his pocket and has a construction calculator, camera, and voice recorder, in addition to Internet connectivity and email.</p><p style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 13px; margin-left: 0px; ">From a design standpoint, though, Derrick prefers the tablet. He tried putting PDFs on his phone and found that the screen was too small. “Even though you can enlarge images on a phone, you have a much larger viewing area on an iPad,” he says. “I think that’s completely worth it.”</p><p style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 13px; margin-left: 0px; ">Johnson says the tablet doesn’t lend itself to the way most professionals work with CAD applications. “They use a mouse with a scroll wheel, which is a big time saver in SketchUp,” he says. Johnson uses a 24-inch monitor connected to his laptop when he’s drawing “because everything is so easy to see. Right now, the process that a lot of us are used to might feel a bit clunky on a tablet.”</p><p style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 13px; margin-left: 0px; ">Still, don’t underestimate the speed of technological advancement. By this time next year, there could be an app or device that facilitates full-scale home design on a tablet.</p><div>Source: http://www.housingzone.com/professionalbuilder/design/design-fly-how-tablets-are-transforming-design-process</div></div></div></span></div><div><br /></div>

Professional Builder: The iPad Effect

We thought we would share an article published in the September issue Professional Builder Magazine on "The iPad Effect." This issue outlines what builders, trades, designers and suppliers are using iPads and other tablet devices for in home-building applications and also sheds light on the benefit…

Read more »

Architectural Tutorial: Storybook Homes

<blockquote><blockquote><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #990000;">"On they walked and walked, till suddenly they came upon a strange cottage in the middle of a glade. </span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #990000;">"This is chocolate!" gasped Hansel as he broke a lump of plaster from the wall. </span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #990000;">"And this is icing!" exclaimed Gretel, putting another piece of wall in her mouth. Starving but delighted, the children began to eat pieces of candy broken off the cottage. </span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #990000;">"Isn't this delicious?" said Gretel, with her mouth full. She had never tasted anything so nice."</span></span></span></blockquote><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #990000;"></span></span></span><br /><div style="text-align: right;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: georgia;">~</span></span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: georgia;">Hansel and Gretel</span></span></i></div><div style="text-align: right;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #666666;">http://theliterarylink.com/gretel.html</span></span></span></span></div></blockquote><div style="text-align: right;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: georgia;"></span></span></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Having a home look so good, you could eat it? That is what storybook homes are all about. </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;">Also known as Fairy Tale, Disneyesque or Hansel and Gretel architecture, this style was popularized in the 1920s in England and the United States, especially on the West Coast. These homes were designed by architects and builders with a distinct flair for theater, a love of fine craftsmanship and, not least, a good sense of humor, the most famous of which include Harry Oliver, Walter W. Dixon, William R. Yelland and Carr Jones (Gellner and Keister 1). </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;">The three characteristics that set this style apart from others of the 1920s include...</span><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;">1) Exaggeratedly plastic and often cartoonish interpretation of medieval forms</span><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;">2) Use of artificial means to suggest great age</span><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;">3) The indefinable quality known as "whimsy"</span><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;">These homes aimed to elicit an emotional rather than rational response and adjectives like picturesque, charming, cute and quaint come to mind when viewing them.</span><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Here are a few notable examples of storybook style homes...</span></span><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSzdWOxLDSZW8-ZqDp8l5OiDeFInGmbERbu671taSBMf_3xzMyQ_rq1adY8hk9Kt179XaaSd6imIQndREpAL9WuB7jWltVdOMmbVAOW-1xWf2JAY5cQ-NV03IpR1MpQ9FvvyGjuz_ERLhm/s1600/1-IMG_7439_hi___lo.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5654895839209118034" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSzdWOxLDSZW8-ZqDp8l5OiDeFInGmbERbu671taSBMf_3xzMyQ_rq1adY8hk9Kt179XaaSd6imIQndREpAL9WuB7jWltVdOMmbVAOW-1xWf2JAY5cQ-NV03IpR1MpQ9FvvyGjuz_ERLhm/s320/1-IMG_7439_hi___lo.jpg" style="cursor: hand; cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 214px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 320px;" /></a><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">The Spadena House, also known as the Witch's House, was designed by Harry Oliver in 1921. According to the book, <u>Storybook Style: America's Whimsical Homes of the 1920s</u>, this home's entire design is a cleverly wrought caricature of dilapidated antiquity. </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: georgia;"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #666666;">Image source: http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/fOtgZSaiSEiHf6y4NYMlHw</span></span></i></span></div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh85OSFUpKqngPDWAnxzkILd3Ab5qyKGYLRF6JHfjO41QWd9EJIdptQQmkrOgLXZucoE5y4RnU9iuIb8R76dE-zaTvVvPLhx806K8A1aicN1Re7_3PpSw3hjINlXZA83Vx9nHVbHZY4vY0u/s1600/2-IMG_5261.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5654895832244912274" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh85OSFUpKqngPDWAnxzkILd3Ab5qyKGYLRF6JHfjO41QWd9EJIdptQQmkrOgLXZucoE5y4RnU9iuIb8R76dE-zaTvVvPLhx806K8A1aicN1Re7_3PpSw3hjINlXZA83Vx9nHVbHZY4vY0u/s320/2-IMG_5261.jpg" style="cursor: hand; cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 253px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 320px;" /></a><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;">Architect-builder Carr Jones designed this Oakland, California fairy tale home. </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: georgia;"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #666666;">Image source: http://i163.photobucket.com/albums/t307/xmojorisinx/IMG_5261.jpg</span></span></i></span></div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8zU_Wfo6RjSUPLRexvL84pj3-dmk6X55AgefhEkxoSsccecKEWNt1wO0VDvIT_N9xWzXdE9s2gDJ4K8lPnG0JTH_LHmlUMFFCCNx-9KI7iu_hWjudU_29BCJmQQCzGXSz1kuovsZN9XtL/s1600/3-tumblr_llqsu9dWCX1qzjngjo1_500.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5654895822969625762" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8zU_Wfo6RjSUPLRexvL84pj3-dmk6X55AgefhEkxoSsccecKEWNt1wO0VDvIT_N9xWzXdE9s2gDJ4K8lPnG0JTH_LHmlUMFFCCNx-9KI7iu_hWjudU_29BCJmQQCzGXSz1kuovsZN9XtL/s320/3-tumblr_llqsu9dWCX1qzjngjo1_500.jpg" style="cursor: hand; cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 258px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 320px;" /></a><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Even the surrounding landscaping of Jones' storybook residence is filled with whimsy. </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: georgia;"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #666666;">Image source: http://i163.photobucket.com/albums/t307/xmojorisinx/IMG_5261.jpg</span></span></i></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhcaeQlWEx7pKqRpP6p6GNylRTOF-USDu4kn3yyUs0y_MVUXTUmJaisc4qDI5o_5_EELu8YqPt3qUPa-98r0Tc4WXCdWCnlikljaxwLLkc39_cppWhsDz917G-u6SWQarmYsBUjCxE-86D/s1600/4-normandy_village.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5654895813971641874" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhcaeQlWEx7pKqRpP6p6GNylRTOF-USDu4kn3yyUs0y_MVUXTUmJaisc4qDI5o_5_EELu8YqPt3qUPa-98r0Tc4WXCdWCnlikljaxwLLkc39_cppWhsDz917G-u6SWQarmYsBUjCxE-86D/s320/4-normandy_village.jpg" style="cursor: hand; cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 240px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 320px;" /></a><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: georgia;">This eight-unit apartment building a few steps from the University of California at Berkeley, called Normandy Village, is the realization of William R. Yelland's dream of building a unique residence for students and teachers patterned on villages he had seen in Northern France.<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #666666;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: georgia;"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #666666;">Image source: http://berkeleyheritage.com/berkeley_landmarks/thornburg.html</span></span></i></span></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: georgia;"></span><br /><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></span></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: georgia;">Visbeen Homes recently designed a series of homes in this storybook style - full of whimsy, charm and almost good enough to eat...</span><br /><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxQK_UGfXiwxI1KUwe15x0FarCymNhZnstTFvqFZW2ILHBAcokwFT3kRlrgL0rvw4rF4hmGPtLP-BZSgzg02KfvQKNEeOaz5YdfWTmG68ojLc9MWUIhI3J7957V6LLTe5e6zU_9YKlufR5/s1600/5-Canterbury-front-Rendering.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5654895620277663874" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxQK_UGfXiwxI1KUwe15x0FarCymNhZnstTFvqFZW2ILHBAcokwFT3kRlrgL0rvw4rF4hmGPtLP-BZSgzg02KfvQKNEeOaz5YdfWTmG68ojLc9MWUIhI3J7957V6LLTe5e6zU_9YKlufR5/s320/5-Canterbury-front-Rendering.jpg" style="cursor: hand; cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 194px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 320px;" /></a><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Canterbury</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRTQqWALxcqlAuR78u6q94ELAVVt-shlUrrNKCKQ05Y4s0XH2a88NV2sjIRU-o613Nbe8YZKUoa6H5Y2BZXrhnq78P_JO8_FLpCkyvxZEHWCHepslCosVbj_0QLKR9NVlwpIbOkwasXjtg/s1600/6-Buttermere-front-Rendering.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5654895613971298562" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRTQqWALxcqlAuR78u6q94ELAVVt-shlUrrNKCKQ05Y4s0XH2a88NV2sjIRU-o613Nbe8YZKUoa6H5Y2BZXrhnq78P_JO8_FLpCkyvxZEHWCHepslCosVbj_0QLKR9NVlwpIbOkwasXjtg/s320/6-Buttermere-front-Rendering.jpg" style="cursor: hand; cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 188px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 320px;" /></a><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Buttermere</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGpEKrkTO8VDxW47iyqqodJiISP7JnMU9Eyzmiaz5ZEjAD0XCSWhyzkMx3c8DZvZtflEHt0mOr8XiPHwew5e5iLPgXPitBLg_RBXfqpIRsQjFQF82_ZDHvRPiyEfE1YuV8TisUxoyA11O0/s1600/7-Chatham-front-Rendering.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5654895602821534322" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGpEKrkTO8VDxW47iyqqodJiISP7JnMU9Eyzmiaz5ZEjAD0XCSWhyzkMx3c8DZvZtflEHt0mOr8XiPHwew5e5iLPgXPitBLg_RBXfqpIRsQjFQF82_ZDHvRPiyEfE1YuV8TisUxoyA11O0/s320/7-Chatham-front-Rendering.jpg" style="cursor: hand; cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 197px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 320px;" /></a><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Chatham</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtQ2YequlJIUC_qdO1egVSLdPjL4EFJ4s1XCsRjob0HgKHG0TcxWZJNI3vNAVO9IcuwYrZVLr0zMis91BIFYjoPZy2niDIiRBYme60aOaAzxKNW59Ax1-3LmgmTuwIc3UAZfiwfd85A6ZU/s1600/8-Cambridge-front-Rendering.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5654895594519443234" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtQ2YequlJIUC_qdO1egVSLdPjL4EFJ4s1XCsRjob0HgKHG0TcxWZJNI3vNAVO9IcuwYrZVLr0zMis91BIFYjoPZy2niDIiRBYme60aOaAzxKNW59Ax1-3LmgmTuwIc3UAZfiwfd85A6ZU/s320/8-Cambridge-front-Rendering.jpg" style="cursor: hand; cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 195px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 320px;" /></a><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Cambridge</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtqA4OOLmj77L1sil4XnrH4WsQs-wkYTnnJhpT9SPZsByIUb4TLtRmakbwgCWNPYgRkPXSBftZHTPS8rHFvgWy3PZM2u6N1KUD1XqwRbyqH5gGi0Skw0CZEmLCuis_3EfhHsNOiitKXgd5/s1600/9-Wellington-front-Rendering.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5654895588599361474" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtqA4OOLmj77L1sil4XnrH4WsQs-wkYTnnJhpT9SPZsByIUb4TLtRmakbwgCWNPYgRkPXSBftZHTPS8rHFvgWy3PZM2u6N1KUD1XqwRbyqH5gGi0Skw0CZEmLCuis_3EfhHsNOiitKXgd5/s320/9-Wellington-front-Rendering.jpg" style="cursor: hand; cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 178px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 320px;" /></a><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: georgia;"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-style: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Wellington </span></span></i></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: georgia;"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></i></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: georgia;"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal;"></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #666666;">Sources:</span></span></i></span></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: georgia;"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #666666;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"></span></span></i></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: georgia;"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #666666;">Gellner, Arrol and Douglas Keister. </span></span></i><u><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #666666;">Storybook Style: America's Whimsical Homes of the Twenties</span></span></i></u><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #666666;">. New York: Penguin Group, 2001.</span></span></i></span></div>

Architectural Tutorial: Storybook Homes

"On they walked and walked, till suddenly they came upon a strange cottage in the middle of a glade. "This is chocolate!" gasped Hansel as he broke a lump of plaster from the wall. "And this is icing!" exclaimed Gretel, putting another piece of wall in her mouth. Starving but delighted, the children…

Read more »

ArtPrize 2011: Let the voting begin!

<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjh8lt_HTOJCLwABNEwx1rLgeDQgdGqhN5xChK_binCJKHVMuR4SJTaDNL74aIfC6Rg5ZxRgIe7LNDWjOCXjfm-SeSPp2ct1-8u7VMBEMiAlX22p3lJ27KO55gk5oJ-_-S35HsxlxyhM1A9/s1600/life-without-art-is-stupid-83101-500-345_large.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5655266302821638242" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjh8lt_HTOJCLwABNEwx1rLgeDQgdGqhN5xChK_binCJKHVMuR4SJTaDNL74aIfC6Rg5ZxRgIe7LNDWjOCXjfm-SeSPp2ct1-8u7VMBEMiAlX22p3lJ27KO55gk5oJ-_-S35HsxlxyhM1A9/s320/life-without-art-is-stupid-83101-500-345_large.jpg" style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 221px;" /></a><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#999999;">image source: http://www.avartica.com/gallery/500/75ff6229e0e5b914.gif</span></span></div><div><br /></div><div>As of last night, <a href="http://www.artprize.org/">ArtPrize</a> is in full swing! This is a very exciting time for Grand Rapids and for <a href="http://www.visbeen.biz/">Visbeen Associates</a> because <a href="http://visbeen-associates-architects.blogspot.com/2011/01/introducingdavid-lorenz.html">David Lorenz</a>, our senior designer, is an official ArtPrize artist. Three of his stellar watercolor renderings are featured at 2 East Fulton on the north side of the building. Titled "Potential Revealed," these pieces capture the vision for what the building at 2 East Fulton <i>could be</i>. After the Livingston Hotel burned down on this property back in 1924, this building was erected as the Davenport Institute and later was used as the Junior Achievement Building followed by roughly 15 years of vacancy. Now, Visbeen Associates is working together with <a href="http://www.locusdevelopment.com/">Locus Development</a> on the possibilities for this building to preserve the rich history of its past while encouraging the growth, culture and community of the future downtown Grand Rapids.</div><div><br /></div><div>Here are a few photos of the actual piece, but please check it out in person and vote for David!</div><div><br /></div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi66KXnkfcMb6cEhkWxVq4LZ7_7JDyLNTq8-pjI422tyTpy4YeR0jEm-nIKOhzReGunAqGoT0etz5EJlUm11eo6-qvXoxRNRoZbbVh6Au_ygzvTaNNZeWHKIwVTt7OtXP_F3a47uO18eMIm/s1600/IMG_0027-1.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5655266293753305154" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi66KXnkfcMb6cEhkWxVq4LZ7_7JDyLNTq8-pjI422tyTpy4YeR0jEm-nIKOhzReGunAqGoT0etz5EJlUm11eo6-qvXoxRNRoZbbVh6Au_ygzvTaNNZeWHKIwVTt7OtXP_F3a47uO18eMIm/s320/IMG_0027-1.jpg" style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 214px;" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixzGS_P10xD4cPpBXuxTN8nMC6z7wNHhV8knNk7-91lIeS8uwH1i-H8oR3VrEqf8XoRkvKHp5-Gl4ukEULMEjrYI6AhiqfVb7uUY7y_ED4JPmZlj1PwzUlN7RSyIQjkeYziEpmnEubCAIK/s1600/IMG_0037-1.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5655266276548972050" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixzGS_P10xD4cPpBXuxTN8nMC6z7wNHhV8knNk7-91lIeS8uwH1i-H8oR3VrEqf8XoRkvKHp5-Gl4ukEULMEjrYI6AhiqfVb7uUY7y_ED4JPmZlj1PwzUlN7RSyIQjkeYziEpmnEubCAIK/s320/IMG_0037-1.jpg" style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 181px;" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWfReOsjN5gKJczX87jlUPsnO3F1ehcxR1YXEjO5tglfQ-s_oQ0ZF8zyOoW0FomWGizVX7D1vyxfrZ49u92kQrX-RDjxvLi0TZxPBhpDbUFuqL-laUamEe98MLuwwVnJUl5xL9MFTP3_Bd/s1600/IMG_0038-1.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5655266270573375890" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWfReOsjN5gKJczX87jlUPsnO3F1ehcxR1YXEjO5tglfQ-s_oQ0ZF8zyOoW0FomWGizVX7D1vyxfrZ49u92kQrX-RDjxvLi0TZxPBhpDbUFuqL-laUamEe98MLuwwVnJUl5xL9MFTP3_Bd/s320/IMG_0038-1.jpg" style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 214px; height: 320px;" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxC8uY-LzW7qOw-qeY-0nKTBKthSZFyhUrLWRTZmpnMefQLDo7U9vNMlMSqCWchO8RX5lnEdsA01MguE2w--v7dkA0h7EooM1D02YtdghbrkrgI2AuXqc0GoPINw56lnmWFm0DWG6TZu3U/s1600/IMG_0040-1.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5655266260565231506" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxC8uY-LzW7qOw-qeY-0nKTBKthSZFyhUrLWRTZmpnMefQLDo7U9vNMlMSqCWchO8RX5lnEdsA01MguE2w--v7dkA0h7EooM1D02YtdghbrkrgI2AuXqc0GoPINw56lnmWFm0DWG6TZu3U/s320/IMG_0040-1.jpg" style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 214px;" /></a><br /><div><br /></div>

ArtPrize 2011: Let the voting begin!

image source: http://www.avartica.com/gallery/500/75ff6229e0e5b914.gifAs of last night, ArtPrize is in full swing! This is a very exciting time for Grand Rapids and for Visbeen Associates because David Lorenz, our senior designer, is an official ArtPrize artist. Three of his stellar watercolor rende…

Read more »

Grand Rapids Business Journal Feature

<a href="http://www.grbj.com/GRBJ/Homepage.htm">Grand Rapids Business Journal</a> just featured a write-up regarding <a href="http://www.visbeen.biz/">Visbeen Associates</a>' 8 awards from the <a href="http://www.aibd.org/">American Institute of Building Design</a>'s American Residential Design Awards in the "Change-Ups" section of their issue last month. Want to see more about our ARDA winning designs? Check out the <a href="http://ow.ly/6mBYW">ARDA 2011 blog post</a> from last month to see all eight award winners.<div><br /></div><div>Thank you for the feature, GRBJ!</div><div><br /></div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEih1qP_Nex_0qY75GH7KaIwOZJcYPneOycW8ppimpBphAsBqWeFiHXpm0DzDbz9AH1AiUvQjIRyrD-vWT7matoYtHW0t7kFpwUy46crYvGGVap9yZcGG92X2ZwHq5QpHDP5o7AdoIvhYjCN/s1600/masthead1.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5649262002360940674" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEih1qP_Nex_0qY75GH7KaIwOZJcYPneOycW8ppimpBphAsBqWeFiHXpm0DzDbz9AH1AiUvQjIRyrD-vWT7matoYtHW0t7kFpwUy46crYvGGVap9yZcGG92X2ZwHq5QpHDP5o7AdoIvhYjCN/s320/masthead1.jpg" style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 48px;" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrbKPfIkx2XQ3WGq757iU1qoIDCChTroB1HfqteTgXNy511Kdp9IgtDhbLLca5YhN_d7uFdaWY5H3W5NtOXeCnjlLyywQ4F4Pr0AEX6oBdWOCZFFdR0KChSpX4mRwO6YCIJ1D2oRs4bRrs/s1600/ARDAs_aug_29_2011.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5649262002845888594" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrbKPfIkx2XQ3WGq757iU1qoIDCChTroB1HfqteTgXNy511Kdp9IgtDhbLLca5YhN_d7uFdaWY5H3W5NtOXeCnjlLyywQ4F4Pr0AEX6oBdWOCZFFdR0KChSpX4mRwO6YCIJ1D2oRs4bRrs/s320/ARDAs_aug_29_2011.jpg" style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 236px;" /></a><br /><div><i>For ease of reading, <a href="http://www.echobox.com/visbeen/publication_assets/2011/grand_rapids_business_journal/ARDAs_aug_29_2011.pdf">click here</a> to view the full feature.</i></div><div><i><br /></i></div>

Grand Rapids Business Journal Feature

Grand Rapids Business Journal just featured a write-up regarding Visbeen Associates' 8 awards from the American Institute of Building Design's American Residential Design Awards in the "Change-Ups" section of their issue last month. Want to see more about our ARDA winning designs? Check out the ARDA…

Read more »

An Evening Under the Tuscan Sky: CASA Fundraiser

<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3YPIbkF8CXDZAMFzKowlCI41xgo2ozca-hRyLQUC1n2bHnAjWIR-34WqQPBF6uAFziZgPDFjPx0emOIeu4_aK104wT_4slpa82iBdvWCUe0kPS2MbCz_7z2IDpsSccPX-o8p_arWoVwks/s1600/1-p1.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5652600077580002674" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3YPIbkF8CXDZAMFzKowlCI41xgo2ozca-hRyLQUC1n2bHnAjWIR-34WqQPBF6uAFziZgPDFjPx0emOIeu4_aK104wT_4slpa82iBdvWCUe0kPS2MbCz_7z2IDpsSccPX-o8p_arWoVwks/s320/1-p1.jpg" style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 229px;" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifJa96mNjzN6-eN2pyHOhiOk78HNsGdVdeC2IXA36-MBo36ioGdjrlSmObbV1jzK7cF_6ZYMcurk5af_XVBIXq4OEcLJiFoEhQrMGgvRIJoc3Zex8r-sjex2Aomkm73Nw4qbNa8Ub2i1nb/s1600/2-p2.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5652599880762583906" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifJa96mNjzN6-eN2pyHOhiOk78HNsGdVdeC2IXA36-MBo36ioGdjrlSmObbV1jzK7cF_6ZYMcurk5af_XVBIXq4OEcLJiFoEhQrMGgvRIJoc3Zex8r-sjex2Aomkm73Nw4qbNa8Ub2i1nb/s320/2-p2.jpg" style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 229px;" /></a>This evening, <a href="http://www.casakentco.org/">CASA (Court Appointed Sepcial Advocates)</a> for children is holding their 5th Annual House Party at our award-winning home design called the Stafford (Design Home 2008) in an event called <i><a href="http://www.casakentco.org/houseparty">An Evening Under the Tuscan Sky</a></i>. CASA of Kent County is a non-profit program that empowers everyday citizens to become court appointed advocates in order to act on behalf of abused or neglected children as they pass through the family court system. Last year, this event raised over $30,000 for the organization, so we are thrilled that one of our designs will be the locations of such an influential fundraiser as this. Check out more photos of this masterpiece below.<div><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAYT0rg_7jdLu22r0jhKgiLVksYFlZeYgUQhPEnsubNmDfdJSUxoCcrNnR7MJhMDHNGHJRNIcYq0ML_-VWUQe-P2Y9e4Vx8PK7srruC46Cyb30TGQ4OXc9G2Bf5Qf3XuGHi4eN-kuwQHtv/s1600/3-DH2008-8381.JPG" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5652599873161065666" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAYT0rg_7jdLu22r0jhKgiLVksYFlZeYgUQhPEnsubNmDfdJSUxoCcrNnR7MJhMDHNGHJRNIcYq0ML_-VWUQe-P2Y9e4Vx8PK7srruC46Cyb30TGQ4OXc9G2Bf5Qf3XuGHi4eN-kuwQHtv/s320/3-DH2008-8381.JPG" style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 149px;" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsHGsia2Sp2yBA8lo3K_1grpQzosQN4x0ymxvxqknzQM3pkdTo-EgvKrz_EEBiIv0REhaDwpcDOz_3UADs7GPilXdD0zbTHKjw-mKs3GPq9M_0pAh666pnRhQuEohIn2qG3CIUiQ_KmsAu/s1600/4-DH2008-8328.JPG" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5652599863282659154" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsHGsia2Sp2yBA8lo3K_1grpQzosQN4x0ymxvxqknzQM3pkdTo-EgvKrz_EEBiIv0REhaDwpcDOz_3UADs7GPilXdD0zbTHKjw-mKs3GPq9M_0pAh666pnRhQuEohIn2qG3CIUiQ_KmsAu/s320/4-DH2008-8328.JPG" style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 214px;" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyPvYzSoCcMo7HjTezJJRXu0Ijjyr-lZpLnPEpVwaHoREnpZmVa__c9ilYw4pA7S8U90Im3PS9nlflzKrR_RDujNmSIcS52EKGlWPHCN2hjISfLr2MJyYqPkApQkMo_Vf5IQ8W_BOeatuc/s1600/5-DH2008-7760.JPG" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5652599859087762850" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyPvYzSoCcMo7HjTezJJRXu0Ijjyr-lZpLnPEpVwaHoREnpZmVa__c9ilYw4pA7S8U90Im3PS9nlflzKrR_RDujNmSIcS52EKGlWPHCN2hjISfLr2MJyYqPkApQkMo_Vf5IQ8W_BOeatuc/s320/5-DH2008-7760.JPG" style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 214px;" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNJiez_hXBnc09KVZYMB1Vy6y51vOkpRTp6miBz7oNKdlecUdaPBstBa1nxGVyIlQgMARY5h6R_PKyAB1-KJgn6QCdqXllSTlPyltzpRTYXr1pPsLx75kiqm_OjMRvbWGITxMJA_Mv5oku/s1600/6-DH2008-7933.JPG" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5652599851398920994" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNJiez_hXBnc09KVZYMB1Vy6y51vOkpRTp6miBz7oNKdlecUdaPBstBa1nxGVyIlQgMARY5h6R_PKyAB1-KJgn6QCdqXllSTlPyltzpRTYXr1pPsLx75kiqm_OjMRvbWGITxMJA_Mv5oku/s320/6-DH2008-7933.JPG" style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 182px;" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEju53K_Y_IbdP4Sz3Go_GvgX14sCjk1I36B9CKdzkU1c-qOvx9eK_hKuGUSJJKCyeudkuMJaTSZS4mA_AQM7P6Nb0FbrnnBDPdrIDEut_Z5p2XPdCwx0lLLia1iYmCz5UCFi4I9UmapPT6a/s1600/7-DH2008-0118.JPG" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5652599329661134178" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEju53K_Y_IbdP4Sz3Go_GvgX14sCjk1I36B9CKdzkU1c-qOvx9eK_hKuGUSJJKCyeudkuMJaTSZS4mA_AQM7P6Nb0FbrnnBDPdrIDEut_Z5p2XPdCwx0lLLia1iYmCz5UCFi4I9UmapPT6a/s320/7-DH2008-0118.JPG" style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 214px;" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmcYQ-i85a2s2alSihL-e06L28k51vJThqREOaz23X-DmV6DIjH3GHpoXgz6JdztuQMruzJmGbZWStFKsgEWJMxMTzH2u_yolDVmqRbtXkcLl_1tcNybFXa3NrSmngdJNAR5WzhVTWW_n-/s1600/8-DH2008-9096.JPG" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5652599320833625890" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmcYQ-i85a2s2alSihL-e06L28k51vJThqREOaz23X-DmV6DIjH3GHpoXgz6JdztuQMruzJmGbZWStFKsgEWJMxMTzH2u_yolDVmqRbtXkcLl_1tcNybFXa3NrSmngdJNAR5WzhVTWW_n-/s320/8-DH2008-9096.JPG" style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 214px; height: 320px;" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9FH0KvNOqxegOwotG3OEZxKLI2TxSEHVW0ARy-ncLgCFcpZJ8AP2qrb41M-yPQz19iafsCrz91POTAhAFumBKGC-J_cFL2uxbHlnjH9rfioRnr2uGoRpy8kDv_vEQJ6U4BJpj1Qa8OGn-/s1600/9-DH2008-9076.JPG" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5652599314874459074" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9FH0KvNOqxegOwotG3OEZxKLI2TxSEHVW0ARy-ncLgCFcpZJ8AP2qrb41M-yPQz19iafsCrz91POTAhAFumBKGC-J_cFL2uxbHlnjH9rfioRnr2uGoRpy8kDv_vEQJ6U4BJpj1Qa8OGn-/s320/9-DH2008-9076.JPG" style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 214px;" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcXaCEt2XSN2ey-kPsMGIiDPnOpydpAtB8GXWRq_ewxso5SQqPMMUsmhPX0VwV-gUMMYSWzmDzIiQjlOlmYdyDHqDbRI7Ykp_eqFZzycvFtBAWWgx08RR6xX01T6a9QIXc6pdPdjzTgwt3/s1600/10-DH2008-9325.JPG" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5652599305350863026" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcXaCEt2XSN2ey-kPsMGIiDPnOpydpAtB8GXWRq_ewxso5SQqPMMUsmhPX0VwV-gUMMYSWzmDzIiQjlOlmYdyDHqDbRI7Ykp_eqFZzycvFtBAWWgx08RR6xX01T6a9QIXc6pdPdjzTgwt3/s320/10-DH2008-9325.JPG" style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 214px;" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivvwHPcWfGNF9CWNHARj9kkaJqoqCFmFd3znMkgAIcrCSHCPUeybm8aRich_-Mx0DQECxeWtucC97MLfCY8oUbAADilgztqYWuskU3eLVkCWPdLaxgJoi_TJ_rY_sVcqcHYBDwsB4H_Bib/s1600/11-DH2008-9748.JPG" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5652599294300320834" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivvwHPcWfGNF9CWNHARj9kkaJqoqCFmFd3znMkgAIcrCSHCPUeybm8aRich_-Mx0DQECxeWtucC97MLfCY8oUbAADilgztqYWuskU3eLVkCWPdLaxgJoi_TJ_rY_sVcqcHYBDwsB4H_Bib/s320/11-DH2008-9748.JPG" style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 214px;" /></a><div><br /></div><div><i>To view additional photos of this home, please visit our website <a href="http://www.visbeen.biz/">www.visbeen.biz</a> > gallery > residential projects > estates > stafford. </i></div><div><i><br /></i></div><div><i>For more information about this event, please visit </i><a href="http://www.casakentco.org/houseparty"><i>CASA's website</i></a><i>.</i></div><div><i><br /></i></div></div>

An Evening Under the Tuscan Sky: CASA Fundraiser

This evening, CASA (Court Appointed Sepcial Advocates) for children is holding their 5th Annual House Party at our award-winning home design called the Stafford (Design Home 2008) in an event called An Evening Under the Tuscan Sky. CASA of Kent County is a non-profit program that empowers everyday c…

Read more »

Grand Rapids Magazine ReDesigning Home 2011

<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidqmXG8roHLpS31E-qCVyS6ARAeN9Vf-1TzuBCuSBPWC31I4L4sSkY555oAKKgRUObaqtxCyw-sghqPffeP1N9znzeFrxj-9et0VYj-KL1F_inZg7AvCRBWBlb0ahf8_pXlVB8YnbH_9oi/s1600/1Invitation.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5649337685831522386" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidqmXG8roHLpS31E-qCVyS6ARAeN9Vf-1TzuBCuSBPWC31I4L4sSkY555oAKKgRUObaqtxCyw-sghqPffeP1N9znzeFrxj-9et0VYj-KL1F_inZg7AvCRBWBlb0ahf8_pXlVB8YnbH_9oi/s320/1Invitation.jpg" style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 212px;" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLJYmzbvVCoQbW7wlT2kvT5NrwB8CfRJqq6q3jnNJdnU3u4b3Azp-sJVSDE2Xtgd7QjHjG47DpN5D6lzbxKKQ8ifWMOAC_qMBYDCOOtxSlQY2TicCYAPyQXc3SmoYFfGLRmrAHbG0r5T2b/s1600/2Invitation.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5649337683816538434" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLJYmzbvVCoQbW7wlT2kvT5NrwB8CfRJqq6q3jnNJdnU3u4b3Azp-sJVSDE2Xtgd7QjHjG47DpN5D6lzbxKKQ8ifWMOAC_qMBYDCOOtxSlQY2TicCYAPyQXc3SmoYFfGLRmrAHbG0r5T2b/s320/2Invitation.jpg" style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 212px;" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-yXtQxIUodZ6IytThtkJSKZOGCo1RbadaRDHCUhCbmHpwgRPcD3EMAIjZbsfKAPJT_HRYiCCfd3FSoCJq1G208kxt1XVq2ut0UeHz5TSatZggJ2b_u-eJ2jHg_OqIhhHRA0ENJ9b09Ltc/s1600/3Invitation.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5649337680161147490" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-yXtQxIUodZ6IytThtkJSKZOGCo1RbadaRDHCUhCbmHpwgRPcD3EMAIjZbsfKAPJT_HRYiCCfd3FSoCJq1G208kxt1XVq2ut0UeHz5TSatZggJ2b_u-eJ2jHg_OqIhhHRA0ENJ9b09Ltc/s320/3Invitation.jpg" style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 212px;" /></a><div style="text-align: left;">This year, <a href="http://www.grmag.com/">Grand Rapids Magazine</a> is presenting ReDesigning Home 2011, a french farmhouse on the shores of Reeds Lake, as a special prelude to Design Home 2012, a <a href="http://www.visbeen.biz/">Visbeen Associates</a> and <a href="http://www.jefferyroberts.com/">Jeffery Roberts</a> collaboration. They are hosting an exclusive cocktail reception and tour of the home on September 22 from 6:00p-9:00p with proceeds benefiting the <a href="http://www.redcross.org/">American Red Cross</a>. Visit <a href="http://www.grmag.com/">Grand Rapids Magazine's website</a> for more information about this project or <a href="http://american.redcross.org/site/Calendar?id=102290&view=Detail">American Red Cross' website</a> to make your reservations for tickets to this exclusive event by September 14.</div><div><br /></div><div>Stay tuned for next year's Design Home!</div>

Grand Rapids Magazine ReDesigning Home 2011

This year, Grand Rapids Magazine is presenting ReDesigning Home 2011, a french farmhouse on the shores of Reeds Lake, as a special prelude to Design Home 2012, a Visbeen Associates and Jeffery Roberts collaboration. They are hosting an exclusive cocktail reception and tour of the home on September …

Read more »

More than Architecture

<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpWpcpdWWrZKlLz0f2n69RYRBKtDT28g-so94TXHJhQKGlfSP3e25zmcMUQpkdRVAHgdWRH3kh7HUZVItzhdm7u-1kZ5KI2TxxjZRXtsFmVKgUTC4KOkjRaEErRLUXynkduLM5uewV7CXs/s1600/Time+010914.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5650009373463542194" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpWpcpdWWrZKlLz0f2n69RYRBKtDT28g-so94TXHJhQKGlfSP3e25zmcMUQpkdRVAHgdWRH3kh7HUZVItzhdm7u-1kZ5KI2TxxjZRXtsFmVKgUTC4KOkjRaEErRLUXynkduLM5uewV7CXs/s320/Time+010914.jpg" style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 244px; height: 320px;" /></a>It is September 11, 2011, exactly 10 years after the attack on the World Trade Center. That Tuesday morning, one decade ago, marks the moment that two towers became more than just architecture. Yes, they were a part of the city's skyline for almost thirty years, designed by one of the most prominent architects of the 20th century, present in iconic movies, famous photos and part of the everyday lives of upwards of 50,000 people who worked there. But now they are more than just buildings. Their absence marks the lives of nearly 3,000 people that were lost that day. Their absence marks the first attack on US mainland soil. Every architect wants the structures they design to make an impact on the history of the space around it. They want their works to be functional, beautiful, recognizable, maybe even famous. But I wonder if Minoru Yamasaki had any idea the kind of recognition his twin towers design would get? What those buildings would mean to millions of people? All of our lives changed that day, forever. All when two buildings, two colossal pieces of architecture, fell to the ground. <div><br /></div><div>So today, ten years later, marks a time for reflection and remembrance. But also a time for rebuilding. The 9/11 memorial is being dedicated today, to remember every life lost that day and to forever mark the footprint of where the towers once stood. The architecture surrounding that hallowed ground is in the process of being rebuilt. Watch the video below to hear the vision of the architects for these new structures. They clearly understand that architecture is sometimes more than just a building. </div><div><br /></div><div><iframe width="400" height="245" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/2Aae2KQnwNQ" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div>

More than Architecture

It is September 11, 2011, exactly 10 years after the attack on the World Trade Center. That Tuesday morning, one decade ago, marks the moment that two towers became more than just architecture. Yes, they were a part of the city's skyline for almost thirty years, designed by one of the most promine…

Read more »

David Lorenz in ArtPrize!

<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidl-CZ_emRLQUFhRwRpwqwcXoXKDSDSHkDUjuqGEnYzyLmLaxh2cZX5FHUgSeV7bqpyCEPHUS4pFJGkr8uBpTmEciXOpdnqIkjMShr9j6nUjriTTBXr0_4d4gYQqIRXtwlyp6VvPRdi0BV/s1600/icon_connectionArtist.gif" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5649308464126916530" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidl-CZ_emRLQUFhRwRpwqwcXoXKDSDSHkDUjuqGEnYzyLmLaxh2cZX5FHUgSeV7bqpyCEPHUS4pFJGkr8uBpTmEciXOpdnqIkjMShr9j6nUjriTTBXr0_4d4gYQqIRXtwlyp6VvPRdi0BV/s320/icon_connectionArtist.gif" style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 142px; height: 130px;" /></a>The highly anticipated <a href="http://www.artprize.org/">ArtPrize 2011</a> is less than two weeks away and we are proud to announce that David Lorenz, senior designer here at <a href="http://www.visbeen.biz/">Visbeen Associates</a>, is an official ArtPrize artist! Three of his masterpiece watercolors, completed in a project for <a href="http://www.visbeen.biz">Visbeen Associates</a> and <a href="http://www.locusdevelopment.com]">Locus Development</a> for the potential renovation of the building, will be featured at 2 East Fulton along with 9 other site-specific art installations sponsored by <a href="http://www.site-lab.org/">Site:Lab + U of M's School of Art and Design</a>. To see all of the dynamic artists that will be featured at this great location, visit their <a href="http://www.artprize.org/venues/public-profile/506">ArtPrize venue page</a> or <a href="http://www.facebook.com/Site.Lab.616">Site:Lab's facebook page</a>. It is going to be <b><i>the</i></b> place to visit for ArtPrize, so don't miss it!<div><br /></div><div>ArtPrize runs from September 21-October 9 - be sure to check out David's work on the north side of the building on Fulton Street!</div>

David Lorenz in ArtPrize!

The highly anticipated ArtPrize 2011 is less than two weeks away and we are proud to announce that David Lorenz, senior designer here at Visbeen Associates, is an official ArtPrize artist! Three of his masterpiece watercolors, completed in a project for Visbeen Associates and Locus Development for …

Read more »

Happy Labor Day!

<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-vklnAnzukkZEzxuSzPt-dwE5rvXn-YFzVqHxG0hiYAT5XQYhAdJAT2RNXKCcTo9mdvB4E0YnNLmeHs2Xk7bC6BrXzKHareDvRI3RAlSBo7UtPTt_xEhTYersWOU35ysp5K5qh3H29eGG/s1600/speedbump1031019.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5647419936951561154" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-vklnAnzukkZEzxuSzPt-dwE5rvXn-YFzVqHxG0hiYAT5XQYhAdJAT2RNXKCcTo9mdvB4E0YnNLmeHs2Xk7bC6BrXzKHareDvRI3RAlSBo7UtPTt_xEhTYersWOU35ysp5K5qh3H29eGG/s320/speedbump1031019.jpg" style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 170px;" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisIg2KU2PbI3UE0DCRFXzSnH5JMpfIGzlHZc7MsswY3UfvKhnORIikdnUfj98JYl-nxOpuqVPCe-X8A8KdUa7uNl8kgHFdMCEb4pgEEpHi8TgEsHJjlINpMJC2AN46N28fgHgfN5vdgHm3/s1600/Picture+2.png" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5647419931488417698" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisIg2KU2PbI3UE0DCRFXzSnH5JMpfIGzlHZc7MsswY3UfvKhnORIikdnUfj98JYl-nxOpuqVPCe-X8A8KdUa7uNl8kgHFdMCEb4pgEEpHi8TgEsHJjlINpMJC2AN46N28fgHgfN5vdgHm3/s320/Picture+2.png" style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 109px;" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSLC5j2hPG844VfiW3aPG-_mWH2vxd5cehsNJwXgFYqaSob33BHPUr-BsXGN-Ag6ANQPL0CvpUgivChlwlzk4VhPhSA0sxyia0-Pn4HilsWuwsx48jVmgY8KpfZYWelIV_l0meMdk5xFmO/s1600/Picture+1.png" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5647419927135616466" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSLC5j2hPG844VfiW3aPG-_mWH2vxd5cehsNJwXgFYqaSob33BHPUr-BsXGN-Ag6ANQPL0CvpUgivChlwlzk4VhPhSA0sxyia0-Pn4HilsWuwsx48jVmgY8KpfZYWelIV_l0meMdk5xFmO/s320/Picture+1.png" style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 289px;" /></a><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#0000EE;"><u><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#000000;"><br /><br /></span></u></span></div><div style="text-align: center;">Hope you are enjoying a fabulous, fun and relaxing labor day, without much labor!</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /><br /></div>

Happy Labor Day!

Hope you are enjoying a fabulous, fun and relaxing labor day, without much labor!…

Read more »

Cornerstone's Dining Commons Gets A New Look

<a href="http://www.cornerstone.edu/">Cornerstone University</a>, with the help of <a href="http://www.visbeen.biz/">Visbeen Associates</a>, <a href="http://www.c2ae.com/">C2AE</a> and dedicated donors, recently completed the renovation of their dining commons. On Monday, August 29, staff, faculty and students were a part of a ribbon cutting ceremony where the space was dedicated. After a few words from the university's President, Joe Stowell, Wayne Visbeen, a Cornerstone Board of Trustees member, and food services director, Cindy Wiltheiss, a round of singing "Praise God From Whom All Blessings Flow" concluded the ceremony and welcomed everyone into the new dining experience at Cornerstone. Check out photos of this great new space and the ribbon cutting ceremony below.<div><br /><br /></div><div><i>To read more about Cornerstone's renovation, read <a href="http://www.echobox.com/visbeen/publication_assets/2011/the_grand_rapids_press/Cornerstone_dining_reno">The Grand Rapids Press article</a> from Tuesday's paper or </i><a href="http://www.cornerstone.edu/edu_newsDetail.aspx?id=6758"><i>Cornerstone University's news article</i></a><i>.</i></div><div><i><br /><br /></i></div><div><i><br /><br /></i></div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRd1MZUcsqJ2G266jAnBu43P-veV97b6E6G7uyU5jXXTpxo-n5UoT-BsUL8jc9d9FayQ5izqZdynGX8cjPlZbUYMkJV6S6Iuy3GehbeivMNjiFyCysT2derN7KpRSP4ZPx-csEBjTkaLjJ/s1600/1-Aerial+Persp.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5647466432959168274" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRd1MZUcsqJ2G266jAnBu43P-veV97b6E6G7uyU5jXXTpxo-n5UoT-BsUL8jc9d9FayQ5izqZdynGX8cjPlZbUYMkJV6S6Iuy3GehbeivMNjiFyCysT2derN7KpRSP4ZPx-csEBjTkaLjJ/s320/1-Aerial+Persp.jpg" style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 182px;" /></a><i><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal; "><i>Visbeen Associates' original design sketch for the project</i></span></div></i><div><div style="text-align: center;"><i><br /><br /></i></div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQbxH0BpHDeKg53tUvKM4d8OCqeQznGL8BydZpKcgktdO-JpHIsKmo6HyiVAIjoTVe-3PVaFMdqFL3Mg_k-4dHjIVaGjaePKyFEWSLNNXYKHMoVTONhDe2AjtY-ZNQZ21Bh91NxzpLCJ87/s1600/2-Dining_hall_merged.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5647466380220657954" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQbxH0BpHDeKg53tUvKM4d8OCqeQznGL8BydZpKcgktdO-JpHIsKmo6HyiVAIjoTVe-3PVaFMdqFL3Mg_k-4dHjIVaGjaePKyFEWSLNNXYKHMoVTONhDe2AjtY-ZNQZ21Bh91NxzpLCJ87/s320/2-Dining_hall_merged.jpg" style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 114px;" /></a><i><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal; "><i>Completed Dining Commons</i></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal; "><i><br /><br /></i></span></div></i><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhruAoSw5dIFZw7xYPycAmKf6IBU9DsxtOECltmfeOsYxCJrC_8pVxNq-nJHB-jIuy6rlpBPEAPqGWIGaORHBqLJFUY_BHMzU_Q56DqHacoH3pDv4K5kSMuovuSzWTXhRAEI565IS1tm1Vq/s1600/3-IMG_0053-1.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5647465968871356226" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhruAoSw5dIFZw7xYPycAmKf6IBU9DsxtOECltmfeOsYxCJrC_8pVxNq-nJHB-jIuy6rlpBPEAPqGWIGaORHBqLJFUY_BHMzU_Q56DqHacoH3pDv4K5kSMuovuSzWTXhRAEI565IS1tm1Vq/s320/3-IMG_0053-1.jpg" style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 214px;" /></a><i><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal; "><i>Chef's Choice in center with Deli behind and Fresh Greens on the right</i></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal; "><i><br /><br /></i></span></div></i><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVKO8kXEZtS9ZYxT63e60gu44-9jBixGsIYJ54oK4R8Qks7dg3qeq2VwANhoUjrXtlWr03D47hnv9E_-yEFyZZ1WzBLjv1MEr4bxDP8FSBOqxBpMx2hSb3XWkoUsJJPBxPDlgAUsbEF2Tm/s1600/4-IMG_0026-1.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5647465959811805954" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVKO8kXEZtS9ZYxT63e60gu44-9jBixGsIYJ54oK4R8Qks7dg3qeq2VwANhoUjrXtlWr03D47hnv9E_-yEFyZZ1WzBLjv1MEr4bxDP8FSBOqxBpMx2hSb3XWkoUsJJPBxPDlgAUsbEF2Tm/s320/4-IMG_0026-1.jpg" style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 214px; height: 320px;" /></a><i><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal; "><i>Fresh Greens station</i></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal; "><i><br /><br /></i></span></div></i><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiv6ZJD2GIpFIP6E1KNQAcsmkArPHM5KGw8ztIYNfoYcG2FU3KNLrHRyFOVy1L9OrIx-JnR-JWqPpGsZ2MLbJG_-o8OwCJ_gmHCUh8KM06LudvJVeF_fLspoYeuYa-KC4i7_2xhFJE_JwIt/s1600/5-IMG_0048-1.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5647465952879713522" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiv6ZJD2GIpFIP6E1KNQAcsmkArPHM5KGw8ztIYNfoYcG2FU3KNLrHRyFOVy1L9OrIx-JnR-JWqPpGsZ2MLbJG_-o8OwCJ_gmHCUh8KM06LudvJVeF_fLspoYeuYa-KC4i7_2xhFJE_JwIt/s320/5-IMG_0048-1.jpg" style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 215px;" /></a><i><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal; "><i>Homemade pizzas are made in Joe's Pizzaria</i></span></div></i></div><div><div style="text-align: center;"><i><br /><br /></i></div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMzDsAbzrSVI3wgy9E912VMR1dzu7SZvi5VsMwty7dG7u2-iAAJweZeBW5aRjoS3ccSJfuhK7ywOBxHw1vNWTiTxaLVhI-vtGU3RzMkYhIAHCdjCvUhevXGhIGzUV9_wjIdSySrfMW0JLN/s1600/6-IMG_0057-1.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5647465942199069730" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMzDsAbzrSVI3wgy9E912VMR1dzu7SZvi5VsMwty7dG7u2-iAAJweZeBW5aRjoS3ccSJfuhK7ywOBxHw1vNWTiTxaLVhI-vtGU3RzMkYhIAHCdjCvUhevXGhIGzUV9_wjIdSySrfMW0JLN/s320/6-IMG_0057-1.jpg" style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 214px;" /></a><i><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal; "><i>Ribbon ready for cutting!</i></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal; "><i><br /><br /></i></span></div></i></div><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigGBWUE2UJ6rYrqEX2RrAYss1P-Q-1MW-bmj2HodaifCSSwPkVrI3cev29gCzEnuP6FC4S4TDASDoejJ4WvWwoUs2yb2ApY0Fm1z-7JOcA0U9Kh_33cLnTs1KvjmXiKFkwDm5pjSsoibgl/s1600/7-IMG_0058-1.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5647465937902964514" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigGBWUE2UJ6rYrqEX2RrAYss1P-Q-1MW-bmj2HodaifCSSwPkVrI3cev29gCzEnuP6FC4S4TDASDoejJ4WvWwoUs2yb2ApY0Fm1z-7JOcA0U9Kh_33cLnTs1KvjmXiKFkwDm5pjSsoibgl/s320/7-IMG_0058-1.jpg" style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 214px;" /></a><i><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal; "><i>A faculty & staff meeting in the renovated dining room</i></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal; "><i><br /><br /></i></span></div></i><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsB13GiaT7Q0ITNZVNEGhJr_sU8aQfxWDUqy9YvJTJDanuWcOp7tGRAUFep-f3HIHGb5Il_TmleQgqg3fmrBP_--A-PLpleOszD6NhDI2q9SrxuLPqvZDa2_fp_0J3jt9Zn8BluAZCkDxr/s1600/8-IMG_0062-1.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5647465036563934050" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsB13GiaT7Q0ITNZVNEGhJr_sU8aQfxWDUqy9YvJTJDanuWcOp7tGRAUFep-f3HIHGb5Il_TmleQgqg3fmrBP_--A-PLpleOszD6NhDI2q9SrxuLPqvZDa2_fp_0J3jt9Zn8BluAZCkDxr/s320/8-IMG_0062-1.jpg" style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 188px;" /></a><i><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal; "><i>Cornerstone's president, Joe Stowell, and Wayne Visbeen, a Board of Trustees member, exchanging a few words</i></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal; "><i><br /><br /></i></span></div></i><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtHnGjNR0cjGKwY9PHEEDhoC1blX248IDgOTfH1gpvyybC2xJwT39TS2lBSbrvcfofEiPdRKjBc7iGAtxHVrJDUIhkIkl7LS34P1zkDcn0PnpxoMtfhn1sDhB8OmlSR7cvu_oKKG0glPmU/s1600/9-IMG_0063-1.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5647465034390281490" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtHnGjNR0cjGKwY9PHEEDhoC1blX248IDgOTfH1gpvyybC2xJwT39TS2lBSbrvcfofEiPdRKjBc7iGAtxHVrJDUIhkIkl7LS34P1zkDcn0PnpxoMtfhn1sDhB8OmlSR7cvu_oKKG0glPmU/s320/9-IMG_0063-1.jpg" style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 214px;" /></a><i><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal; "><i>Wayne offering up a few words on how this new facility demonstrates the growth of the university</i></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal; "><i><br /><br /></i></span></div></i><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtbQYq3Aftn5rv-qlFB1jD7LkBYTqpKBh8e1rFeEMXyebv6TWGb4fiz4nHo8gm8LZb1UOfvhyM9aA5oxaAV_atRfpgAq87p6-ZS9ClSpLn1xvz0dPYIbNEGVGtc1cxLCawz5qAh_R8r6fw/s1600/10-IMG_0070-1.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5647465022487208402" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtbQYq3Aftn5rv-qlFB1jD7LkBYTqpKBh8e1rFeEMXyebv6TWGb4fiz4nHo8gm8LZb1UOfvhyM9aA5oxaAV_atRfpgAq87p6-ZS9ClSpLn1xvz0dPYIbNEGVGtc1cxLCawz5qAh_R8r6fw/s320/10-IMG_0070-1.jpg" style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 218px;" /></a><i><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal; "><i>Food services director, Cindy Wiltheiss, officially cutting the ribbon</i></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal; "><i><br /><br /></i></span></div></i><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirUzdkL1Gj6FzMDeIC6ZSH_9dWpokTussHWFs3M6wiRLj2yFDhuGbkHbaQD2upsVZWW-_e-oQPsD-CN_QptNGxbbxox2COqy4aKXFWNWRXEJ1LuvFe0hhgM4A9GQWvuETeVMiF9wGg8ePV/s1600/11-IMG_0075-1.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5647465014765694850" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirUzdkL1Gj6FzMDeIC6ZSH_9dWpokTussHWFs3M6wiRLj2yFDhuGbkHbaQD2upsVZWW-_e-oQPsD-CN_QptNGxbbxox2COqy4aKXFWNWRXEJ1LuvFe0hhgM4A9GQWvuETeVMiF9wGg8ePV/s320/11-IMG_0075-1.jpg" style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 202px;" /></a><i><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal; "><i>Staff, faculty and students enjoying the new dining experience</i></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal; "><i><br /><br /></i></span></div></i><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj53YtlT7y3DH3vmmLBNy_NCP6vUKlb8-CXQ3FINkD4oI4BR45zWtrHSjuUphrrwqQUUOYD8t444P75frZBvAQTdY_UbpexqXQV8bnXKdfLKD2TwPBvXqZb2FMST00dLzdthREUMCCAfR37/s1600/12-IMG_0078_2-1.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5647465006627206146" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj53YtlT7y3DH3vmmLBNy_NCP6vUKlb8-CXQ3FINkD4oI4BR45zWtrHSjuUphrrwqQUUOYD8t444P75frZBvAQTdY_UbpexqXQV8bnXKdfLKD2TwPBvXqZb2FMST00dLzdthREUMCCAfR37/s320/12-IMG_0078_2-1.jpg" style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 214px; height: 320px;" /></a><i><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal; "><i>Students joined in on the lunch fare</i></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal; "><i><br /><br /></i></span></div></i><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0UHNpN_nDdK8Fapk0qLQmKkv5bN2m_EE33_zBfkP3gCuMsZSgn5iMzRQNtEqeaHYR2fzqWOiie9UzVNwVdaukakrygzf4ysEM9lqCQrnh91tADIK0Qz6lFf5ZSp_018AZIm75D6J_l16k/s1600/13-IMG_0079_2-1.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5647463446074337570" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0UHNpN_nDdK8Fapk0qLQmKkv5bN2m_EE33_zBfkP3gCuMsZSgn5iMzRQNtEqeaHYR2fzqWOiie9UzVNwVdaukakrygzf4ysEM9lqCQrnh91tADIK0Qz6lFf5ZSp_018AZIm75D6J_l16k/s320/13-IMG_0079_2-1.jpg" style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 214px; height: 320px;" /></a><i><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal; "><i>A few attendees dishing up</i></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal; "><i><br /><br /></i></span></div></i><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBHDXVbSILiSf7lU4Zhg1uApvl6Q61kJXybyVfi_-s2tioPfUva-Cf4QRBIMzA3TtB8IhpveDIRvUJd6YxMiNkssW3o96ZJstuqZ-qU5G2Z2gPKc001UJ9SWDdJWzUu__2NmZzvRO2bPmh/s1600/14-IMG_0082_2-1.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5647463445064867714" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBHDXVbSILiSf7lU4Zhg1uApvl6Q61kJXybyVfi_-s2tioPfUva-Cf4QRBIMzA3TtB8IhpveDIRvUJd6YxMiNkssW3o96ZJstuqZ-qU5G2Z2gPKc001UJ9SWDdJWzUu__2NmZzvRO2bPmh/s320/14-IMG_0082_2-1.jpg" style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 214px; height: 320px;" /></a><i><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal; "><i>Fresh pasta made to order in the Chef's Choice section of the dining commons</i></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal; "><i><br /><br /></i></span></div></i><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWQr8DMzzbeTWw7e0NspOnFX8z4uWDx5eKYbnSHaB-18DQJ5VFoQNapRhUVhEgzvm9DRI2SGu1o4cBGw6ZK_6Vu_1kazrTTsHap2FY7DRM33Z32zmM2w__C5bAR_-3u8FJO0XS7cEagU0U/s1600/15-IMG_0085-1.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5647463433011612354" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWQr8DMzzbeTWw7e0NspOnFX8z4uWDx5eKYbnSHaB-18DQJ5VFoQNapRhUVhEgzvm9DRI2SGu1o4cBGw6ZK_6Vu_1kazrTTsHap2FY7DRM33Z32zmM2w__C5bAR_-3u8FJO0XS7cEagU0U/s320/15-IMG_0085-1.jpg" style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 218px;" /></a><i><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal; "><i>Joe's Pizzeria in action!</i></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal; "><i><br /><br /></i></span></div></i><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEip1JKTHDjg1IWePNAcytgghgrW5pGz8tzF_n4GGdqO-GLXTZvgRMyfnYBGurhPKDDnzfwzYYd0Mvdfkv1k2N1I_r0CFH6vpfMNyyuHJW2TIu_6c1h8KlkruDCuaujWs20CgEc264J2pOB1/s1600/16-IMG_0093-1.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5647463425557613826" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEip1JKTHDjg1IWePNAcytgghgrW5pGz8tzF_n4GGdqO-GLXTZvgRMyfnYBGurhPKDDnzfwzYYd0Mvdfkv1k2N1I_r0CFH6vpfMNyyuHJW2TIu_6c1h8KlkruDCuaujWs20CgEc264J2pOB1/s320/16-IMG_0093-1.jpg" style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 214px; height: 320px;" /></a><i><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal; "><i>The Fresh Greens section was a hit!</i></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal; "><i><br /><br /></i></span></div></i><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg07hgtof8XUE653dH8DCzwzc4SIRU85sAhlUbGSigBQ_3gAwr8bDXh7wgbqLCbNLB7mi4EYKIsXBqqK-4wXkxrP16x5zYcuFNwovFgvbITv1lWl3bA4dh7pvPfBjmsFQzLYqTjxmst753a/s1600/17-IMG_0095-1.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5647463419276336674" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg07hgtof8XUE653dH8DCzwzc4SIRU85sAhlUbGSigBQ_3gAwr8bDXh7wgbqLCbNLB7mi4EYKIsXBqqK-4wXkxrP16x5zYcuFNwovFgvbITv1lWl3bA4dh7pvPfBjmsFQzLYqTjxmst753a/s320/17-IMG_0095-1.jpg" style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 214px;" /></a><i><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal; "><i>President Joe Stowell and Wayne Visbeen enjoying the festivities</i></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal; "><i><br /><br /></i></span></div></i></div>

Cornerstone's Dining Commons Gets A New Look

Cornerstone University, with the help of Visbeen Associates, C2AE and dedicated donors, recently completed the renovation of their dining commons. On Monday, August 29, staff, faculty and students were a part of a ribbon cutting ceremony where the space was dedicated. After a few words from the univ…

Read more »