Cannon Design Blog

Peter Hourihan - 18 May 2012

The evolution of blogging has had a wide impact on the global community and our firm. As we initiated the Cannon Design blog, we had many aspirations and hopes for our firm’s transition into social media. Many of us have experienced personal results and benefits from blogging including clarification and refinement of our thoughts; expressions of our passions and interests; development of our “voice”; reconfirmation of our purpose and connections with our communities.

Yesterday, I read a post on the Tufts Now blog entitled “Healing Words,” which explored recent research which finds that blogging helps people with chronic illness find meaning and purpose. Assistant Professor Lisa Gualtieri and graduate student Pamela Ressler at Tufts Medical School have been studying the role of social media in healthcare and in particular an assessment of health blogs and their resultant emotional impacts. Their paper has been submitted to the Journal of Medical Internet Research for review.

As you might expect, their findings are similar to many of our personal feelings and experiences that we have seen on and through the Cannon Design blog these past two years. I think a couple points from Pamela Ressler’s research paper and the Tufts Now blog provide a good summary perspective of these experiences.

“One thing is clear though. The blogging helps people find meaning and purpose by connecting with others,” says Ressler. “And learning more about it will only serve to help more people.”

“Perhaps,” she wrote in her research paper. “the process of communicating the experience of chronic illness and pain through blogging may be one way to assist in moving toward a more complete, holistic model of health and healing.”

Blog on!

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Elizabeth Chodosh - 18 May 2012

Cannon Design hosted a creative writing competition for the love of BIM over the course of February and March. Everyone inside and outside of Cannon Design was invited to submit a short piece extolling their love and affection for building information modeling (BIM). We posted several of the submissions from external folks during the contest.

We have been holding the internal submissions and recently worked with a team of six judges from outside the firm to determine which are the most compelling and interesting. The winning submission will earn its author a trip to the Revit Technology Conference (RTC) USA in Stone Mountain, Georgia. Before we announce the winner, we have posted the top three finalists below. We are not including the author’s name at this time – feel free to comment on which pieces you enjoy best.

Thank you to all those who helped with this contest and/or submitted their prose. We will announce the winner next week.

Finalist #1 – “I” TEAM, thus “I” BIM.

Finalist #2 - My Much Cherished BIM (a love poem)

Were it not for BIM and the help that it offers,
My labors would lag and be laughed at by scoffers.
Instead of an object aware of itself,
I’d be drawing dumb lines‐ without info wealth.
As long as I’m willing to learn all the rules,
I’ll be richly rewarded with self‐populating schedules.
There’s nothing to fear, no need to be scared;
So long as I’ve made my parameters shared.
I hope you’ll forgive the occasional bender,
Should I drunkenly use families from a vendor.
I know I’ll be treated to IT’s holy terrors
if I don’t clean the model and leave lots of errors.
It always feels good to be part of a team‐
But if you save over me…I swear I will scream!
Sometimes its true there are hacks that I’m rue‐ing,
That’s when it asks me “Dave, what are you doing?”
But mostly I keep myself proper and prim,
And bask in the love of my much cherished BIM!

Finalist #3 – I Dream of Data Integration

Once upon a time people would need or imagine a building and begin to draw;
There were fewer buildings, more and better craftsman, with more time to build;
Then everything started spinning, buildings got smart, complex, and fast‐tracked;
Everything was almost working when suddenly the economy collapsed;
Design and construction came to a grinding halt;
Massive sums invested in technology and advances in networking confused the situation even further;
Nobody knew who to blame;
Then lo and behold, a few things started to click;
Work by others began to work for us!
People started modeling entire cities;
Some of what we always had was what we still needed;
Architecture was starting to make sense again!
People can need or imagine a building but now they can model it;
And not start from scratch;
And know what is needed;
And spend more time falling in love with buildings.

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Peter McCarthy - 17 May 2012

The design and engineering teams witnessed the first truss erection on the new Ferrante Hall Academic II Addition at Onondaga Community College last week. Bridging across the 200’ wide x 75’ deep gorge created by Furnace Creek creates a positive impact on the campus, environment and community. Spanning the gorge dramatically reduces the amount of foundation and digging, minimizing disruption to the site and environment.

Onondaga Community College, Ferrante Hall Academic II Addition from Cannon Design on Vimeo.

While the video is narrated, here are a few additional facts about the trusses:

~ Span – 200′
~ Height – 28′ at the ends, 32′ at midpoint
~ Half of truss A weight (shown in the video) – 110,000 lbs
~ Largest half truss weight – 140,000 lbs
~ Largest member W14x665 (4th largest member commonly produced)
~ Bolt size – 1 1/2″dia. (largest bolt common produced)
~ Largest gusset size vary up to 10′ long and up to 2 1/2″ thick
~ Splice plates up to 2″ thick
~ Approximately 250 truss splice plates

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Barbara Kendziora - 17 May 2012

The Buffalo office held its signature Mentoring in May event this Monday when mentors and protégés teamed up for a spin-off of the popular TV game show Minute to Win it. Protégés signed up as individuals and were paired with a teammate from another department in the firm. Via a blind draw at the event, each team of two was assigned a mentor (Cannon Design Officer) to guide them through the various challenges.

The teams were asked to navigate three challenges – assemble a 20-piece puzzle, hang six wire hangers, and play office tennis – each within 60 seconds. Each time a team completed the challenge within the given 60 seconds, it was entered into a drawing to win a free lunch with its assigned mentor.

The event proved a big hit in the Buffalo office as even those who weren’t competing filled the atrium to watch the action. Minute to Win It offered our team a fun way to highlight the benefits and opportunities created from building strong mentoring relationships in the firm. The entire month of May is dedicated to refocusing and reshaping Cannon Design’s mentoring program to ensure it is best meeting the needs of those across the firm.

I am very grateful for the willingness of those who participated in the challenges, the help of the mentoring liaisons and everyone who chipped in to make this event a success. We will continue to highlight events related to Mentoring in May via the blog throughout the month.

Robin Coffey, Gary Miller, Richard Little and Dana Calvello discuss strategy

Proteges and mentors gather before the games begin.

A bird's-eye view of the action.

Ray Soto helps Matt Dates and Gina Hall work their way through the puzzle challenge.

Valerie Sirianni and Christopher Whitcomb work with Kathleen Cartus to take on the hanger challenge.

Rollie Coleman coaches Lauren Blas and Drew Hermann in the office tennis challenge.

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Cynthia Hilliers - 16 May 2012

Cannon Design Chief Executive Officer Gary R. Miller was recently approached by Architect Magazine to take part in its What’s Next video series. The series is an ongoing discussion about the ways technology, the economy and other factors are transforming the architectural profession. Architect posted a partial clip of the video that Gary recorded on its website. The full version is embedded below.

Architect Magazine seeks commentary from thought leaders throughout the profession and was delighted to include Cannon Design and Gary R. Miller in its series. Given this is the week of the AIA National Convention, Architect Magazine’s website should receive a substantial increase over its typically high rate of web traffic. The publication has already expressed interest in working on other videos with the firm.

Gary R. Miller: Opportunity For The Design Profession from Cannon Design on Vimeo.

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Ashley Marsh - 16 May 2012

A year has passed since a group of Cannon Design colleagues gathered for the first Open Hand Studio Forum in Chicago. At the time, Open Hand Studio leaders from across Cannon Design shared an interest in engaging with worthy organizations in our local communities. Since that meeting, we’ve become better organized, more clear in our goals and more able to provide design services to those who would otherwise not have access to our skills. (more…)

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Christian Long - 16 May 2012

Our dear friend and design inspiration Emily Pilloton just recently delivered the commencement address at the College of Environmental Design at UC Berkeley. I found her speech to be especially inspirational. You can read a slightly edited version in this Metropolis Magazine post. I’ve also included my favorite passage below which urges us to never be bored and never be done.

“Do something with all you have learned; something for others, something for your family, for the planet, for fun, for love. Just do something. Seek not the glory but the task, not the limelight, but the sunlight. Do not sit idle or live your life through a screen. Stop tweeting and start contributing. With our high school students, we ban the use of two phrases: “I’m bored,” and “I’m done.” You too, must never be either.”

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Brenda Onnen - 16 May 2012

Fifteen award winners representing architectural lighting design projects from seven countries were honored at the 29^th Annual International Association of Lighting Designers (IALD) Awards Ceremony, held on May 10 in Las Vegas.  Of the 15 projects recognized, Banner MD Anderson Cancer Center’s Lantern of Hope was among the six that earned an Award of Excellence.

Positioned at the entry of the new oncology center, the Lantern’s vivid, uniform glow serves as a beacon of hope and a symbol of the hospital’s steadfast commitment to the eradication of cancer.  The panels cladding the structure—cut to represent the canopy of the Palo Verde or “nurse” tree—filter dappled sunlight to the entry and balconies through a fabric scrim by day, and are backlit by grazing the fabric with light to create an inspiring visual icon at night.

“Whilst color can often be over utilized, here it is used in a subtle and appropriate way,” praised one of the design jurors. “The skilled execution and the design composition of silhouette lighting of the vertical tower and the even wash of the horizontal awning create a beautiful image of the building.”

The IALD International Lighting Design Awards program honors lighting design that reaches new heights, moves beyond the ordinary and represents excellence in aesthetic and technical design achievement. Only those projects demonstrating consistent design quality and technical expertise receive award recognition.

Sara Schonour, LC, Associate IALD, LEED AP, CDT, was the lighting designer for the Lantern of Hope.  With a degree in Architectural Engineering and a focus in Lighting Design from Penn State University, Sara’s keen understanding of architectural design, building systems and light has allowed her to seamlessly integrate with both the design and engineering teams at the firm.  Sara holds both a Lighting Certified (LC) appellation from the National Council on Qualifications for the Lighting Professions, as well as a CDT certification from the Construction Specifications Institute.

Congrats to Sara, David Polzin, Jonathan Wirth, Andrew Gilles, Matt Forman and the entire Banner team!

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Mike Tillou - 15 May 2012

I am proud to announce that Mike Eardley of Cannon Design’s Boston office has been named to the Consulting-Specifying Engineer (CSE) 40-Under-40 list for 2012. The honor is given to those who stand out in all aspects of their lives. You can read a profile of Mike at CSE’s website.

I nominated Mike for the award and am happy to see him receive this honor. It is a pleasure to work with Mike as he’s dedicated to the commissioning and engineering profession in a unique way. He holds himself to incredibly high standards and is continually working to drive our profession forward. Mike has worked diligently to establish and grow Cannon Design’s Commissioning Group. He’s created a system that truly drives value for clients and also allows for our commissioning team to be independent reviewers for projects Cannon Design’s architecture and engineering teams deliver. It is great to have him on the Cannon Design team.

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Joan Chadwick - 15 May 2012

Cannon Design’s St. Louis office kicked off Mentoring In May with a “Sync-o de Mentor” lunch on May 4. The office used the Cinco de Mayo observation to celebrate and rally around our own common cause – professional development. In preparation for our event, we gathered updated information from potential St. Louis protégés and mentors so we could present our findings to the office and talk about how they could benefit from mentoring.

Our presentation graphics highlighted the skills and knowledge that potential protégés in the office have identified as areas of interest and just how those needs sync up with our identified mentors. The data we collected showed quite a few departmental, project and skill needs matched up, but we also discovered there are several key areas where we are lacking in mentors.

The Mentoring Liaisons will be following up with our protégés and mentors and concentrating on coordinating cross-generational mentoring groups. These will be small groups of people from various stages in their careers. The interactions within the group should reveal how any of the participants can perform as both mentor and protégé. We hope that additional one-on-one relationships will grow from there. The celebration was topped off with a tasty buffet from Qdoba.

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