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Homes of Hope Ribbon Cutting

posted by Joel Van Dyke on January 31,2013 in , , ,

One of the things that makes my career fulfilling is seeing the impact that good design can have on people’s lives. This impact happens in many ways, but one clear example was celebrated this morning at the ribbon cutting for the first Homes of Hope LoCAL homes (see our last blog post “Homes of Hope: Breaking down Barriers in Affordable …

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Homes of Hope: Breaking Down Barriers in Affordable Housing

posted by Joel Van Dyke on October 3,2012 in , ,

Don Oglesby, president and CEO of Homes of Hope, has long recognized the difficult issues embedded in providing affordable housing for poverty-level families. These families have had few options available to them. Mobile homes are the least expensive housing option but they depreciate in value and are very expensive to heat and cool.  Rental homes do not provide these families …

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Design Brings Value to Business

posted by Joel Van Dyke on July 11,2012 in , , ,

Artist… Creative… Designer? I have been referred to by all three of these descriptions and, to be honest, I am not sure that I fully understood the distinction when I was young. I expressed my creativity through visual art. Being gifted in visual art was a real leg up when I went to architecture school. My skills allowed me to communicate …

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Developing Your Creative Genius

posted by Joel Van Dyke on July 11,2012 in ,

In his article “Promoting Human Creativity,” David S. Walonick, Ph.D. looks at what constitutes human creativity. Though all people are capable of creativity in different ways at different times, according to Walonick, those who excel in innovative creativity demonstrate ten common traits. The first four come from Joyce Wycoff: 1.  Willingness to take risks and have the courage to be …

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The Design Mystery

posted by Joel Van Dyke on July 11,2012 in ,

If design is a creative problem solving process, as I asserted in my last post, then there must be a methodology to the process. It is a mystery to most people how design really comes about. I have had people ask me if my design ideas turned out the way I had imagined, as if there were there should be …

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Integrating Architecture and Nature

posted by nullvariable on January 23,2012 in , ,

As a child, I had the privilege of engaging nature in ways that have impacted the rest of my life. I grew up with a grandmother who loved to grow things. I remember at a young age picking fruits and vegetables that seemed to grow effortlessly in her Florida garden. Trips to my great aunt’s mountain house were a rich source of …

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