Happy New Year from in situ studio! We hope everyone has stayed warm during this incredibly cold month, snow and all! All of us here at 704 N. Person Street are excited about what 2014 has in store! With many new projects, and several others under construction, this year is looking busy! So grab a cup of coffee, hot chocolate, or whatever warms you up, and check out below to see what is already taking shape in 2014 and read our latest installation of our “Where We’re From” Series!
Book of the Month- Materials For Design
We are very excited to be co-hosting a book signing with So & So Books, featuring Victoria Ballard Bell and Patrick Rand and their new book, Materials For Design 2! The event is scheduled for 7:00 pm on Wednesday, 03 05 14. We will have food, drink, music, and books. Please join us to celebrate the release of the second installment of this important book series that bridges the gap between design sensibility and technical expertise.
Century 21 Triangle Group
Construction has started on our design for the Century 21 Triangle Group space in North Hills! When finished, this space will present a new model for realty – a flexible work space that provides work stations for realtors on the go and engages customers with an active and accessible work environment, interactive technology, and a coffee lounge. Thanks to our entire design team, Lysaght & Associates, Diversified Consulting Group, and Crawford Sprinkler Company, for a wonderful collaboration, an incredibly quick turn around, and a successful first pass at an express review permit. And, we look forward to working again with Southeastern Properties and Development Company (they built Bida Manda) to have the doors open by April. Thanks, Dan and Stephen, for this incredible opportunity!
Sillings Residence
The Sillings Residence is a month away from completion! We are so excited see each space take shape with painted drywall, wood flooring, and next week, new cabinets by Dopko Cabinetry and Kitchen & Bath Galleries! The metal roof is looking fantastic and brings the whole project together. Special thanks to our contractor Kemp Harris for all the great work he is doing!
Pittsboro Performance Factory
StreetSigns is collaborating with in situ studio toward a vision of bringing performance and the arts to underutilized portions of the Chatham Mills development in Pittsboro! The programmatic volumes are arranged as “boxes within a box” so that the volume of the space remains palpable and the undisturbed walls of windows let in natural light. The old mill will become a new home for StreetSigns Center for Literature and Performance, a twenty-two-year-old professional theatre company based in Pittsboro but operating without a home theater; Harland’s Creek Productions, a film development company; a contemporary art gallery; and a multi-purpose event space with a catering kitchen to support community gatherings and pop-up restaurants. Visit our website to find out more about the Pittsboro Performance Factory and the wonderful visionaries behind the project!
Stirhaus + LAB
We are excited to announce a wonderful new project: the expansion of Lexington Avenue Brewery and the creation of Stirhaus, a restaurant created around local produce and the wok, in Asheville, North Carolina. We have been working on this project for a the past few months and are pumped to be halfway into the Design Development Phase. With a great team of consultants, including Mark Allison, AIA, Tilden White & Associates, McDonald Structural Engineering, and others, the project is really shaping up! We are having a blast learning about the brewing process and love making trips to Asheville! Stay updated with the project by checking out our website.
Cub Scout Architecture Presentation
Recently, Erin was a special guest at a local cub scout troop meeting, where she was asked to talk about architecture and what architects do. The scouts were full of interesting, insightful questions, and are now on their way to earning new badges! Two favorite questions: 1. “How do you determine how much money you get paid?” 2. “What was the most important building your firm has ever designed?” We are thankful for any opportunity to share the value of architects and architecture with children!
Where We’re From: Erin
When I was three years old, the Sterling family relocated from Lindenhurst, Illinois to Yazoo City, Mississippi. Yazoo City, known to some as “Gateway to the Delta”, geographically straddles the line between fields of delta and hills of windblown loess. My family lived in an area called Enchanted Hills at the end of Moonmist Drive. Our backyard was any child’s dream and included a sixty-foot tall cliff whose loess soil face was the backdrop to our simple, slab on grade yellow house with a brown shingled roof. My siblings and I knew every inch of that cliff and all that lay behind. We built forts and carved caves into the hills of leaves we slid down on our sleds. There was a creek down the street where countless hours were spent wading through muddy water, looking for treasures, and trying to find the end. My best friend lived in the country off Lake City Road on the other side of downtown. Her house sat between Wolf Lake and cotton fields. The still waters of Wolf Lake were lined with cypress trees. The cotton fields seemed miles deep.
Two of my favorite buildings were Ricks Memorial Library and St. Mary’s Catholic Church, both on Main Street. Broadway, my favorite street, was one of the steepest in the city, as it connected the hills and the delta. At the bottom of the hill Broadway acted as a border between historic downtown and the original residential areas. Our grocery store, Jitney Jungle, was located there surrounded by some of the most beautiful old homes in the city.
Yazoo City is where I was introduced to creeks, cotton, catfish, and kudzu. It is a place of rich history and culture, and recently became part of the Mississippi Delta National Heritage Area. If you find yourself in that neck of the woods, don’t miss grabbing a bite to eat at the Hastee Tastee on the corner of Graball Freerun Road and Jerry Clower Boulevard.
Please contact us if there is any way we can help you.
Best.