SAN ANTONIO SITE VISIT PART I : I LOVE LAKE | FLATO

This Monday, our studios took a field trip up to San Antonio to visit a mixed use site. It's the Lake | Flato Pearl Brewery project. If you have no idea what I'm talking about, or think that Lake | Flato is a body of water, please click this link: http://www.lakeflato.com/ , and proceed to fall in love. If looking at their projects and reading their vision and philosophies about sustainability doesn't mean much, you could probably do with a visit to their projects. Or their firm. Or if you're super fortunate, BOTH.

Which I was lucky enough to get to do. And I LOVE Lake | Flato.

Before going to the site, all 60ish of us met at their office, split into two groups, and proceeded to get a tour of the firm itself. Even if I hadn't already liked their projects, I would have been amazed by their office. They are so chill. The atmosphere is so relaxed and conducive to creativity, with the right amount of structure and freedom to push and pull at the designers' creative impulses and boundaries. It isn't stuffy and uptight, nor loose and inefficient. It's the kind of place you WANT to come to.

Why? Well, for one, they have chalkboard painted doors to their conference room. I want to draw in chalk on the door of my conference room at a meeting! I mean, what if an idea hits, and I, God forbid, (along with everyone else at the meeting), run out of trace or lose my Micron?! Well, I'd be totally safe, because I could draw my idea out on the DOOR.

Also, the details are shweeeeet. This office used to be a parking tower, so its got all this crazy heavy concrete beam supports to hold up the roof. How insane is that? I love the idea of taking this huge ugly structure that no one likes because it's, well, a parking garage, and turning it into an incredible space for creativity, a space where architects and designers come together and collaborate to design sustainable, beautiful structures with public interest always in mind.

In addition, apparently, you can write on the walls.

They have sweet models. And you can put them anywhere. Like your desk. Or even better, your colleague's desk.

Did I mention they have sweet models?

 I don't follow sports, other than soccer whenever I'm free, but this photo ought to speak for itself.

They celebrate hand drawing. I can't say much more than that. But i could say it twice. They celebrate hand drawing.

They get their own workspace. This is pretty critical for architects, I'd say. Ya know. Maybe.

You could always shoot some hoops if you need to take a breather.

Lots of natural light! This is crucial; it just adds so much warmth to the office. It's bright and cheery and welcoming and happy.

I just love love love the expression of the original structure. I could wax on for another Ice Age, but I'm just going to stop with the fact that I am madly in love with my major. And architects are crazy crazy cool.

It gives me chills, sometimes, how much I love what I do. How many people can pause during the day and realize that they are truly truly passionate about what they're pursuing and learning about? I can't really express it in words; ultimately, I feel like I essentially focus my time and energy to learn as much as I can about as much as I can, and to have a purpose in life and throw my heart and soul into following it. Which is precisely what my heart and soul are doing.