Interview with Ken VanBree, founder of Imaging Perspective
May 29, 2009
Mason Kirby: Ken, thanks for joining me today. The purpose of our conversation, is to introduce who you are, and what your company, Imaging Perspective, provides. On the outset, Imaging Perspective provides digital as-built construction services and documentation to contractors, homeowners, and building owners. Ken, could you start a little bit, by telling a little bit about yourself, and how fell into the founding of this company and technology.
Ken VanBree: I’m an engineer by background, and worked for years in Silicon Valley, doing both CAD and design of integrated circuits. My wife and I built a house about 10 years ago, and it was just when digital cameras were becoming affordable. I took a lot of pictures as we were building the house, before they covered the walls, and at various stages. I found that those images were useful later, because when we had to go back in and make some changes, and move some wires around, and install things on the walls. It was good to know what was back there so that we didn’t tap into any pipes, or wires, or things that we shouldn’t have, when we were trying to make changes. I had put together a prototype of our e-builts software for my own amusement, but then I talked to some contractors and architects, and said, “Would this be a useful product, a useful service?”, and they thought it would be. So I set out to build a company to provide the service.
Mason: What you built was something that delivers something quite different from standard as-built documentation. For somebody that knows what “as-builts” are, in a standard sense, can you describe what your e-Builts are and how they are different?
Ken: Yes, e-builts are based on photographic record of the construction process. We go in at various stages of construction and take pictures of everything that’s there: all the interior walls, and ceilings, and floors, as well, if necessary, on the project. We put all those together in a website, or a desktop viewer, Read more
Book Review: Private Towers
May 28, 2009
Private Towers: Expanded Edition by James Grayson Trulove
Private Towers: Expanded Edition by James Trulove is a delightful compendium of oddly shaped residential structures that demonstrate how various tall forms are used to maximize the relationship between a functional program and surrounding environment. Peter De Bretteville’s personal residence, aka “Cistern Tower” in New Haven, is featured in this book. Peter is an instructor at the Yale School of Architecture who taught second year design studios, and materials and methods while I was there. I remain a fan of the round “free weights” that anchor the edges of the otherwise loose canvas awnings that surrounds the exterior of his reclaimed and reused water tower. Examples found in this book influenced our plans for the “Wiley Tower,” a project currently on-the-boards located in Mendocino, California.
Check out the rest of my lending library and view my reviews.
Plan!t Now announces undergraduate scholarship program
May 6, 2009
Plan!t Now is very excited to formally announce their college scholarship program. They are offering scholarships for individuals who have been negatively affected by a hurricane or other natural disaster and are in need of funds to attend college.
Their scholarships are geared towards college sophomores and juniors, but all are welcome to apply. For the academic year 2009-2010 Plan!t Now intends to award three (3) $10,000 scholarships to the top three candidates.
Visit the following website to learn more about the scholarship and download an application.
http://www.planitnow.org/scholarship-announcement/
“-quote by John G.” Installation by Sieglinde Van Damme
May 4, 2009
Architect Mason Kirby Inc recently commissioned Sieglinde Van Damme to prepare an installation in the window of our new office space in Bernal Heights.
Conceived as a subtle creative disruption of your Bernal Heights neighborhood walk, “-quote by John G.” plays on the economic downturn and the call for individual action to move forward. The actual quote by John G. depicted withing the imagery of the video reads: “there is a credit crunch, not a creativity crunch”. The mural itself represents an abstract representation of those same words while visually describing both the recent/current economic chaos, as well as the necessary chaos as a feeding ground for creative thinking. In response, the quote on the floor reads: “Like the economy, individual guts is ready for a comeback”.
The video can be seen in person in San Francisco (see info below), or on Sieglinde’s homepage at : http://www.studiosieg.com/
“-quote by John G”, 2009, installation with mural, video and text 301 Bocana Street @ Cortland, San FranciscoThrough May 31, 9am – 11pm daily
Highrise Sustainability
May 3, 2009
This high rise home suffers from both southeast and south west exposures.
Living in a high rise has particular challenges and opportunities– not the least of which is interpreting the current call to action to be green or to live sustainably.
On the outset, if you live in a highrise you should be commended for choosing to live in a dense, compact building form within the middle of an existing developed urban area. The benefits of being able to walk to work, shopping and social activities are not lost on you– but by channeling development into urban areas which use a city’s infrastructure helps to preserve outlying natural resources, reduce pollution and land development impacts from automobile use and associated sprawl.
As a highriser, what you might not appreciate are the numerous sustainability and efficiency opportunities that are either right at your fingertips or within arms reach. Read more