This past week’s meeting got a little behind and ran a little long, so sorry for that everyone, I hope we didn’t screw up anyone’s Valentine’s Day plans!  Nevertheless, I hope everyone enjoyed the sustainability study and learned a little about building efficiency.  There are two major contributors to optimize a building’s sustainability.  Siting a building properly might be the most important.  The shape, height, and spacial configuration of a building takes advantage of, or purposefully avoids, direct sunlight, weather resistance, and wind patterns.  Alternatively, a building itself is make up of materials with certain R-values, U-values, efficiency of insulation.  Usually when it comes to construction, the higher the insulating values the more expensive it is going to be, BUT, operating costs of the building are inversely related…meaning, the more you spend initially on creating a “greener” building, the lower the cost will eventually be to maintain the building.  I hope you all learned a little something something about sustainability!

ACE 2012_Scholarship <–In case you didn’t get it in the email or at the meeting, here is the information for this years scholarship/design build/internship!  Please apply for these, they are really a great opportunity.  DUE MONDAY, FEBRUARY 27, 2012.

Next meeting:

Goettsch Partners office @ 224 South Michigan Ave, Floor 17

4:30 – 6:30 on 21 February

So we never got to actually got to divide up into our groups and begin to  logically construct our theater, but I promise we’ll begin with that promptly next week, as we only have 5 weeks left to make this building from a relatively disorganized blob in sketchup, to an actual building that we’ll have to present to MILLIONS of people.  Literally, millions.  With that being said, there are going to have to be some pretty quick decisions being made about this theater, we have to have time to put together a presentation, so final decisions are going to need to be made over the next two weeks.  Get ready, its about to get crazy.

Sorry, no fun/funny pictures this week, I know you’re all disappointed.  However, I do have this… http://animalartsdesignstudio.wordpress.com/2012/01/11/how-to-tell-if-your-cat-is-plotting-to-kill-you/