Earth and Sky Architecture
phone: 303-521-8242
email: padams@earthskyarchitecture.com
website: earthskyarchitecture.com
contact: Paul Adams, AIA, NCARB, LEED AP
Credentials:
• Member of the American Institute of Architects, 1984-present
• Housing small firm representative on the buildingSmart Alliance board of directors, 2008 to 2011
• Chair of AIA Colorado Disaster Assistance Committee, 2010 through 2011
• LEED Professional Accreditation by the US Green Building Council, 2003
• NCARB certified (by the National Council of Architectural Registration Boards) 1999
• Licensed to practice architecture in the State of Colorado in 1998
• AIAS President, attended GrassRoots in Washington DC, 1991
• Master of Architecture – University of Colorado at Denver, 1991
• Walter Wagner Educational Forum finalist, 1990
• Bachelor of Architecture with Technical Option – Iowa State, 1981
About: When I received my license in 1999, I founded Earth and Sky Architecture to specialize in sustainable, environmentally sensitive, residential and commercial architectural design. My Salida-based firm serves clients primarily in the Arkansas Valley but includes the entire state of Colorado and the Rocky Mountain region beyond.
As an architect, I am required, and it is my pleasure to obtain continuing education credits regularly; I continue to hone my expertise in environmentally sound building design to offer comprehensive architectural services.
I enjoy designing custom dream homes and additions in a collaborative dialogue with my clients. Design is a process, and it takes some time to explore the available options to make the best use of the Client’s resources of time and money.
I am a LEED Accredited Professional through the U.S. Green Building Council. I have extensively studied and applied environmentally sound building design to a wide range of residential, commercial, and historic projects. I also have experience with renewable energy systems such as solar thermal, photovoltaic and ground source heat pumps. With occupant health in mind, I recommend that all new projects include an Energy Recovery Ventilator (ERV) to provide continuous filtered fresh air. I have also designed homes using less common sustainable construction practices such as straw bale, rubble foundations and rammed earth in tires.
In 2001, I was a founding member of the Triglyph Architectural Organization, a national group of small architectural firms dedicated to collaborating to provide “small firm service while offering large firm abilities”. The formal organization was retired in 2006, but the relationships endure.
From the spring of 2008 through 2012, I collaborated with my virtual team, Food For Thot. This group of five U.S. architects explored collaborative design through the BIMstorm process of online design charrettes. The BIMstorm process enables a wide range of global experts to interact and quickly develop sophisticated solutions to a design problem. In 2006, we provided design support for a team in Mexico that built a small house over the course of the five-day BIMstorm. In 2008, we won a national AIA award for our participation in BIMstorm Alexandria—a design study to develop an area of the city with a smart electric grid. In 2012, we completed a global exercise where, for an eight-week period, architects and engineers from around the globe gathered digitally to design a redevelopment proposal for a historical hotel in Lancaster, Ohio.
Design Philosophy:
My design goal is always to provide the client with the project they want. I start by listening so I can ask the right questions to clearly define the project. Then, we can arrive at a design that solves all the key issues in the desired price range. This professional relationship allows us to talk candidly about the various tradeoffs that often come up fitting the many design requirements into the project.
Since I study numerous environmental topics, I can recommend the best approaches to holistically design the building envelope within the site constraints, orientation and regulations. I have researched the available choices to locate the greenest durable materials; reviewing the energy and carbon that went into manufacturing the material as well as the ongoing environmental impact of operating, regular maintenance and end of life disposal.
The right choices can greatly reduce the carbon footprint of the building’s construction and occupation of the home without expensive or exotic solutions. Holistic design provides clients with beautiful, comfortable, and healthy solutions. The resulting projects satisfy space, budget and visual impact requirements.
Building Information Modeling (BIM):
I have been working with state-of-the-art ArchiCAD Building Information Software (BIM) since 2001.
The BIM software lets me quickly create a base model to provide a measured, yet flexible and adaptive design process. I can share this 3D design information with the Client early on to ensure that we solve the right problems and are on track with the budget.
This high level of data accuracy can be shared and exchanged this with building team members through a variety of formats such as .DWG, .PDF and .IFC. The “live” data provides more accurate information earlier in the design process and can be updated and shared to keep everyone on the same page. The data remains valuable by providing the Owner with an additional tool for operating their building after moving in. ArchiCAD also provides me with AI visualization tools and a BIMx 3d model that can be shared with the client to do virtual walkthroughs of the early designs.
Historic Preservation:
I have extensive experience working with historic buildings in Colorado. Of particular note were successful grant applications for an historic structure assessment and a general grant from the State Historical Fund for Warren United Methodist Church in Denver’s Capitol Hill neighborhood. I have also worked on several private projects involving historic structures.
Housing Types:
I have worked on residential projects of all sizes, ranging from garage additions and kitchen remodels up to complete subdivisions of multi-family housing with eight different unit types and multiple building combinations of the units. My early experience was with production builders where I learned to use wood framing in a cost-effective fashion. Along the way, I also developed effective systems to manage dozens of active projects and communicate ongoing changes to the entire design team.
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