SGRA

Old meets older #sitesurvey #existingconditions #historicphiladelphia #historicbuildings

It's easy to be only focused on where we're going or glued to our phones while walking down the street, but this city rewards those who look up once in a while #existingconditions #historicarchitecture #historicphiladelphia

#existingconditions #sitevisit #urbanexploration

We never get tired of reimagining what "home" can look and feel like, especially now when the places we call home are more important than ever, so we had a blast shifting gears from space planning to styling for the newly renovated model units at CastleBrook Apartments. Check out our instagram story to see more, or call 302.278.0698 for more information about making Castlebrook your home today!

Say hello to Jim! One of our Project Managers, Jim always makes us smile and is the definition of a Team Player - an example we can all get some inspiration from these days. #meettheteam SGRA: Tell us about a building that inspires you. JC: Experimental House by Alvar Aalto (1952-1954). Great use of materials. I love buildings that have a sense of timelessness and quirkiness about them. Earthrise (1968) Apollo 8. Not a building. But being able to look back at our planet gives... a great sense of the fact that we really are one species on a planet floating through the universe. For all the problems we face and the division we feel, we really are just all on this one small planet in the universe. And we have to take care of it (and each other). SGRA: What’s your favorite or dream vacation destination? JC: Everywhere. Can’t wait to get back to exploring other cities and eating food from all over the world. Every place I go I try to find some food or drink that I can hold on to in the future. Three years later I’ll have cravings for a smoothie or a spicy Southeast Asian dish, and I know that I have to go back to that one restaurant or that one city. Because it just doesn’t exist in Philly. I really love that sense of place that you get from those experiences. SGRA: What’s something you love about Philly? JC: The thing I love most about Philly is its human scale. Its rowhouses, the narrow streets. It’s a big city made up of a lot of small neighborhoods with their own quirks. That combined with how old our buildings are in the city. It makes things just more affordable with a sense of character that’s hard to replicate. SGRA: If you had to eat one meal every day for the rest of your life, what would it be? JC: Probably eggs. Great versatility, high in protein, affordable, vitamins. You can’t go wrong. So many options!

We’ve been waiting for this moment! The transformation of the iconic Harbison’s Dairy bottle is finally underway

Slowly dipping our toes back into working in our office (in shifts and armed with masks and gallons of hand sanitizer of course). Who'd have thought we'd miss going to work so much?!

Like so many in our city and our country, the last week has overwhelmed us. It's been hard to know what to do or say, or the best way to support our fellow human beings who have long been and still are treated as less-than. We are starting by examining our own privilege, our biases and blind spots, and the ways in which systemic inequality has been woven into the very planning of our city. We've recognized that the historic buildings we love so much and that tell the story of... our city and our nation also tell a story of oppression. It's difficult to know where to go from here, but we are ready to learn and to listen, to lend our words, our actions, and our financial support, and to do our part to create a better future. There is so much still to do and so much we still don't know, but one thing we do know is this: Black Lives Matter. Let's do better.

Happy weekend! Meet Ola, one of our Project Managers and a perpetual ray of sunshine in our office (and hopefully a little extra dose of sunshine in your Saturday) SGRA: Tell us about a building that inspires you. OA: The Vessel is one of the amazing buildings I visited last November in the Hudson Yards in Manhattan, NY. It was designed by Thomas Heatherwick. It’s a fairly new project that opened to the public on March 15th, 2019.... SGRA: Who's your favorite architect? OA: Zaha Hadid SGRA: What's your favorite food? Is it something you like to make or does someone make it for you? OA: Grape Leaves; I make it often and my daughters join to help. SGRA: What was your first car? OA: A 1995 silver Honda Civic. SGRA: What's something you love about Philly? OA: I love the combination between historical and modern Buildings. SGRA: What's your favorite TV show? OA: The Office SGRA: If time travel were possible, when and where would you travel to? OA: Cordoba, Spain at any time!

A little change in perspective is never a bad thing.

We sometimes work on a project for years before a shovel hits the ground. The feeling of seeing a project finally begin to transition from the page to the real world never gets old!

Back to work in the new normal

For your long weekend reading pleasure, meet Mike, Architectural Designer, spreadsheet master, and resident sandwich guru SGRA: Who's your favorite architect (who’s not your boss)? MC: Hmmmy favorites seem to travel in twosomes: Ray & Charles Eames; Herzog & De Meuron; Billie Tsien and Tod Williams. They've done some great work!...Continue reading

Neat little latches discovered during a window survey