Design Shop Talk

Georgia Tech enjoys an international reputation. It sends students out into the world to study and it attracts students from around the world to Atlanta. Associate Professor Mark Cottle curated the Three Euros Symposium at Georgia Tech earlier this year, in which three international alumni of Georgia Tech, Daniel Cavelti ('97) of Switzerland, Thorsten Kock ('95) of Germany, and Xavier Wrona ('02) of France, gave an audience of Tech students and local architects an inside look at European practice. Nathan Koskovich, AIA sat down with them just before they left for home to discuss European practice, how it differs from American practice, and what you learn about your own country when you travel abroad.

One of the interesting things that happens when you are designing a building, or anything else, is that you start to see connections that you never new existed. You find meaning in things that you thought were meaningless. While a college course tittled "Minimal Art and Architecture" may at first appear to be one of those usless college courses educational reformers complain about, Georgia Tech's Charles Rudolph reveals in this conversation with Nathan Koskvich, AIA, that minimal art can teach architects many practical, as well as esoteric, things.

Adam Smith and Lisa Sauve are founders and principals of Synechdoche, a design firm in Ann Arbor Michigan. They describe their practice as "design/make". One of their earlier projects was a temporary installation in Atlanta. Nathan Koskovich, AIA called them up to find out what they've been up to recently, what's behind the name "Synechdoche", and exactly what they mean by "design/Make"

Scott Marble is the new Chair of Georgia Tech's College of Architecture. He doesn't just think about architecture as space making and form giving, though he certainly doesn't ignore that. A lot of his current thought has been focused on the industry architects operate within and how emerging technologies give architects and other designers the opportunity to reshape how the design and construction industry work, and thus bring better design into a wider world. Between Georgia Tech's robust research efforts and Atlanta's strong tradition of reshaping the architecture profession Scott seems to have found a good fit.

Dr. Tony Rizzuto never had any intentions of becoming an academic. He grew up wanting to be a practicing architect, but his professors noticed "he talked a lot" in class, and evidently liking what they heard, encouraged him to become a teacher. As Chair of Kennesaw State University's Department of Architecture, Tony has an unique ability to connect architectural history and theory to the challenges of modern architectural practice in a way that helps students understand the value of architecture education. This work also gives Tony many interesting insights into the nature of architecture and design which he shares with Nathan Koskovich, AIA in this conversation.

Nathan Koskovich, AIA and Ryan Gravel talk about how cities become what they are. How we impact them and how they in turn impact us. Ryan Gravel, AICP, LEED AP, is an urban planner, designer, and author working on site design, infrastructure, concept development, and public policy as the founding principal at Sixpitch. His master's thesis in 1999 was the original vision for the Atlanta Beltline, a 22-mile transit greenway that after fifteen years of work and collaboration is changing both the physical form of his city and the decisions people make about living there. Alongside other projects at Sixpitch and research on similar “catalyst infrastructure” projects around the world, Ryan's forthcoming book, “Where We Want to Live,” (St Martin's Press; March, 2016), investigates this cultural side of infrastructure, describing how its intimate relationship with our way of life can illuminate a brighter path forward for cities

ADC is proud to be a sponsor of the Negro Building Remembrance Competition. Richard Dagenhart, Georgia Tech Professor of Architecture and Urban Design, tells Nathan Koskovich, AIA the little known history of the Negro Building. It's roll in the Cotton States Exhibition of 1895, and in the evolution of African American culture.

Nathan Koskovich speaks with Georgia Tech Urban Design Professor Ellen Dunham-Jones about why she, like so many architects, changed her focus towards urban design, and her work as a professor, theorist, and author. The lesson? In order to build meaningful buildings, buildings that fulfill the promise of design helping to create a better world, buildings must be placed in a meaningful context. Ellen Dunham-Jones is an award-winning architect, professor and Coordinator of the MS in Urban Design at the Georgia Institute of Technology. She serves on the Policy Subcommittee of the AIA Design and Health Leadership Group, is on the Board of Commons Planning, and is past Board Chair and Fellow of the Congress for the New Urbanism.

The Peachtree Way Exhibit opens May 7th and runs through May 27th. This is the first fruit of a partnership between ADC the Georgia Tech Library, AIA Atlanta and AIA Georgia to promote Georgia's design heritage through expanding the efforts made to identify and preserve important archival documents. Nathan Koskovich, AIA speaks with Jody Thompson, the head of the Georgia Institute of Technology's Archive, and Jack Pyburn, FAIA, who has been instrumental in bringing this partnership together, to discuss why it's necessary to expand the existing archive and what we hope to archive. If you'd like to donate to support this effort please contact Nathan Koskovich at nathan@koskovicharchitecture.com

As the Executive Director of the Atlanta Regional Commission (ARC), Doug Hooker is uniquely positioned to gage the state of Metro Atlanta. His organization is charged with coordinating the planning and development of what can feel like innumerable municipalities. Each interconnect with its neighbors but only empowered to work within its own purview. Its bewildering how many issues are deeply affected by planning and transit, and Doug has to understand all of them. Fortunately for the Atlanta Region, Doug has a unique talent for understanding and explaining complex issues. In this interview with Nathan Koskovich, AIA, he shares many of his thoughts on Atlanta, including how he came to be in the city at all.

An introduction to Thomas Wheatley, Creative Loafing's News Editor, and a review of 2014's development landmarks and a look forward to developments to come in 2015. Thomas Wheatley is an Atlanta native and the news editor of Creative Loafing, Atlanta's alt-weekly. He started at CL in 2007 as a staff writer covering transportation, urban development, and the environment. He has also written for Flagpole and Next City. He lives with his wife and two cats in southwest Atlanta's Westview neighborhood. Nathan Koskovich, AIA is a licensed architect in the state of Georgia, host of Shoptalk and chair of the Architecture and Design Center.

Nathan Koskovich, AIA sits down with Laura Flusche to talk about how she became the Executive Director of the Museum of Design Atlanta, her time in Rome and move to Atlanta, and the relationship between culture and the objects those cultures produce.

In this latest episode of our Citizen Architect sub-series, Nathan Koskovich, AIA sits down with Jeffery Robinson, AIA, principal of JW Robinson & Associates to talk about his father and founder of JW Robinson, Joseph Robinson, FAIA. Joseph Robinson was one of the first African American Architects in the state of Georgia and the first to be recognized as a Fellow of the AIA for his contributions to the profession and to the city of Atlanta.

The Young Architect's Forum, a Program of AIA Atlanta, is one of the most dynamic and energetic architecture organizations in the City of Atlanta. Among there great programs is the 48hr Design Competition in which competitors enter without knowing the design challenge and have to come up with a solution within 48 hours. In this episode Nathan Koskovich, AIA talks with Nick Kahler, a YAF member who ran the competition and Max Kovtoun, winner of this year's 48hr competition.

Gabriel Richard is an architect who sees architecture not in terms of projects and buildings, but services. He sees himself as a keeper of a process that delivers quality design. His goal on each project is not to deliver a world renown design, but to do honor to the clients goals by providing the services that translates the client's goals and needs into a form which can be permitted and built and which represents the client well. The surprise of this approach is that it leads to the best design possible while not raising the architect's agenda above that of the client's.

David Rader and Nathan Koskovich kickoff our architecture history series with the Parthenon and speculate on why it still matters to architects.

Nathan Koskovich, AIA shares a beer with John Maxiumk, AICP at Java Vino and talks about City Planning and the its shift towards a community-centric approach and the tools the community needs to be effective advocates for good design.

Nathan Koskovich, AIA talks with Stanley Daniels, FAIA. Daniels, a founding partner of iconic Atlanta Architecture Firm Jova/Daniels/Busby, is a member of a generation of architects that not only contributed to Atlanta's development through their professional practice, but also through community engagement. Stanley played an important role in founding the Architecture Foundation of Georgia. He talks about it and some of Jova, Daniel, Busby's important projects.

To hopefully help listeners understand what Architects and designers are talking about when we reference seminal works, David Rader and I, Nathan Koskovich, are going to undertake a special sub-series in which we look at a survey of important architects and works that make up the mental background of most modern architecture practices. It's not an exhaustive survey. It's a bare- essentials for anyone who wants to be relatively fluent in architect-ese. This is just an introduction. In future episodes we will look at a building David and/or I have been to in person because no matter how much you study a building, seeing it in person is always surprising. We'll cover the people involved, the Architect and the Client. The reason the building was built and a little about the times in which the building was built. We'll go over some of the distinct, unique, and influential elements of the building or work. and we'll wrap up with why the building is important and give our own critique of the building. There's a lot to be gained by tearing down giants, or at least chipping away at them. See the blog for the initial list we will be working from

Nathan Koskovich, AIA, talks with Graphic Designer and Printer Lennie Mowris at her studio and workshop. Lennie's work in letterpress illustrates the power of details in design. How small things, like how ink finds its way on to paper, affect our understanding of an image, and of the brand it represents. For her working in letterpress is not a nostalgic quirky whim, but a means to achieving certain design goals. Lennie combines more than ten years experience in the natural health industry with a passion for merging tradition and innovation. Through her independent studio, Lenspeace, she specializes in sustainable design and brand strategy for small business, non-profit organizations, artisans and individuals. Her Decatur-based printmaking workshop features two vintage letterpresses and screen printing services for production of custom brand collateral and unique dimensional art. As AIGA Atlanta Affinity Programming Director, she develops educational and collaborative programming focused on The Living Principles for Design, Women's Leadership and Diversity, and Design For Good initiatives.