recent posts
- Designing in Good Design: Why the Process Matters as Much as the Product
- East Beach: “Design Connection” – Builder & Architect Collaboration
- Celebration Residential Design Process: Educate, Inspire, Collaborate
- The Importance of Designing in Good Design
- Bridging Vision and Execution: What Goes Into a Great Design Brief
about
Category: Uncategorized
-
Great neighborhoods aren’t built by accident. The difference between success and struggle almost always comes down to process. Drawing from Celebration and East Beach, this concluding piece explains why you can’t simply “review in” quality, and how the right structures, relationships, and expectations make good design the default outcome.
-
East Beach in Norfolk, Virginia was a chance to prove that timeless design principles could revive a city’s tradition of great neighborhoods. We adapted lessons from Celebration, brought builders into a shared vision early, and even borrowed a few unconventional tactics to inspire them. The result was a community that feels as authentic as the…
-
Celebration’s success wasn’t an accident. It was the product of a deliberate process built on three steps: Educate, Inspire, and Collaborate. From hand-picking builders willing to take risks, to immersive workshops and precedent tours, to pairing production builders with top architects, this is the story of how those strategies turned a vision into an award-winning…
-
What happens when you start a project assuming good design is the baseline? In my role as Town Architect for Disney’s Celebration, I learned that most of the housing industry doesn’t work that way. This piece introduces the idea of “Designing in Good Design” and why the industry’s typical approach too often leaves neighborhoods feeling…
-
The article emphasizes the critical role of a comprehensive Design Brief in real estate development, which connects vision to execution. A clear, actionable design brief is crucial for successful real estate development, as emphasized in the content. It connects vision to execution, aids early decision-making, and facilitates stakeholder alignment. The brief includes several essential components:…
-
Real estate development requires a strategic phasing approach to effectively manage expectations and guide execution. A clear plan helps stakeholders understand what to expect, ensuring focused resource allocation and priority setting. Successful large-scale projects, like Celebration and I’On, demonstrate the importance of delivering compelling phases that create self-sufficient neighborhoods early on. By integrating residential, civic,…
-
This article focuses on the importance of integrating sustainability early in design and construction processes, emphasizing its value in enhancing environmental, financial, and social outcomes. It highlights common misconceptions about the costs and complexities of sustainable practices while advocating for strong sustainability programs tailored to specific projects. Effective communication with stakeholders is crucial for success.…
-
This article emphasizes the importance of a well-structured budgeting process in development projects. It highlights the distinction between budgets and cost estimates, advocating for early budget establishment to align financial goals with design aspirations. It details top-down and bottom-up budgeting methods, underscores the need for contingencies, and advises thorough documentation for accountability. By blending project…
-
This article reflects on the profound influence of renowned urbanist Leon Krier and other mentors during one pivotal year at the University of Virginia’s School of Architecture. Krier advocated for human-centered city design, rejecting modernist sprawl. Under Jacquelin Robertson’s leadership, I embraced architectural history’s relevance, while Andres Duany and Elizabeth Plater-Zyberk illustrated the value of…
-
It usually starts with a sketch. A hand-drawn map. A rough massing model. A few bullet points on a whiteboard. Someone says, “This could be something.” But between that first idea and a real, permitted, financed, and viable project lies a long stretch of decisions and dependencies that too often get overlooked. That’s where the…
The Barnes Perspective: Thoughts, Ideas & Lessons Learned from Joseph Barnes 