An architecture practice based in Bloomington, Indiana, with experience in custom residential, multi-family housing, mixed-use, office, restaurant and retail design.
Design renderings for a private family retreat outside of Bloomington. Part cabin, part modern pavilion, the interior opens onto a wide deck and enclosed patio with firepit for maximum enjoyment of the rolling wooded hillside and creek below.
I submitted these designs to the City of Bloomington Arts Council for the new downtown transit center currently under construction. Both of the pieces are inspired by the wheels of transit (bike and bus) as well as the design of the transit center itself (gentle curves and contemporary look). The "B" obviously represents Bloomington as well as "Bicycle". A simple direct message that this is a space for the community. A celebration of the commuter and the efforts of the City of Bloomington to recognize the need for more sustainable transportation.
While "matte black" is often an appealing choice for a supercar (or a certain superhero named after a nocturnal winged mammal), for me the drooling begins when I see this:
2013 CANNONDALE SUPERSIX EVO BLACK
The Bloomington City Planning Commission unanimously approved the proposal by Renaissance Rentals to redevelop the existing property at East Third and Morningside on Monday, March 4, 2013. Read more about it here:
http://www.indianaeconomicdigest.net/main.asp?SectionID=31&SubSectionID=135&ArticleID=68871
After a lengthy design and redesign process (I'm an architect not a graphic designer after all), I'm happy to announce the cards are finally done! Wanting to highlight the brilliant business name I conjured up (actually, I have my wife to thank, but more on that in a minute), I found an effective (and affordable) way to "reflect" the logo. Its called UV Spot Printing, and its a secondary layer of glossy ink that, well, reflects an area of the card in contrast to the standard matte finish. So, by printing only the logo in UV gloss I was able to have a black card with black text that appears as you tilt it in the light. "Black on black", as they would say in the auto finishing industry. Speaking of which (and to answer the question of why "MATTE BLACK"?), you have to first know the story of our "matte black" car. To make a long story short, we purchased a used prius that had the unfortunate (or not depending on who you ask) pleasure of being hand-painted flat black with pink racing strips and hello kitty logos on the doors (really, I have photos to prove it). Since it would cost several thousands of dollars to have a professional strip and repaint it, we chose to do it ourselves (naturally right?). So, after a week of hand-sanding and a failed first attempt at painting (and subsequent resanding), I put the glorious final gloss black coats of paint on with an HVLP (high-pressure low-volume) paint sprayer. When it was all said and done and my wife inspected the work, she graciously complemented my effort and, commenting on the not-so-perfectly-glossy finish, declared it a "Matt(E.) Black" finish! And so, the name "stuck" and it seemed like a good one for an architecture business. Kind of modern, a little bit edgy, but subtle and understated. Never flashy but always high-quality. Like Morgan Freeman in a silky all black tux. Let me know what you think!
I have been working with Tim Henke of Renaissance Rentals on a proposal for a new hotel/apartment complex on the east side of Bloomington. Building elevations and streetscape renderings are being developed to present to City Planning. Site planning and landscaping are being developed by Smith Neubecker Associates www.snainc.com.