Our design team has proven that many materials that are non-combustible can be warm, inviting and still feel like home. We have made beautiful use of stucco, tempered glass, aluminum, steel, fire rated wood and native landscapes to create environments that are both fire-resistant and aesthetically stunning.
Read MoreLast week we discussed making fire resistant building envelopes.
This week we share a few things that involve the home surroundings.
Building for fire resistance is about safeguarding your home and buying time. Time to gather loved ones and pets, time to get out of the space and to safety, and time for firefighters to respond and protect our homes and businesses. The following are key for structures to remain standing, and at a minimum, hold together for hours rather than minutes during a fire. In the next 4 weeks we will share with you some of the things that must be considered when designing a new home. Some of the items shared can also be done to retrofit an existing home and grounds.
Read MoreWhat inspires one to become an architect? Ask Abeer Sweis, and she’ll tell you about a time when she was nine years old. On a Sunday afternoon drive with her family through the countryside of her native Amman, Jordan, she noticed a building unlike anything she’d ever seen. Set into the side of a hill with nothing but a glass front looking out at the world, it seemed as though the roof was built into the hill and nature had been undisturbed—as if it were meant to be and belonged.
Read MoreThe scarcity of water in California and many other regions around the world is a serious issue. We have all heard of ways that we can change our daily habits to save water and while we can certainly implement all of those, there are many other things that can be done beyond our waterwise behavior.
Read MoreLast night the Kiwanis Club of Santa Monica held our 73rd Annual Music Awards Ceremony at the Santa Monica Bay Women’s Club.
Awards were presented to 28 incredibly talented music students for various categories from the Santa Monica middle school and high school choruses, bands, and orchestras. The first-place recipients from each division and instrument category then performed for the audience.
Read MoreWe are constantly talking about ways to reduce and eventually eliminate the use of plastic. Plastic has to go, but while companies and people are beginning to cut down, it is not disappearing anytime soon. Plastic is not biodegradable; it just keeps breaking into smaller and smaller bits and pollutes our oceans and rivers.
Read MoreEven if you're not an architect, designer, or student, you may have heard of the American Institute of Architects (AIA), a respected organization founded in 1857 and now has more than 90,000 members of licensed architects, emerging professionals, and aligned partners who are committed to the excellence of our built environments. AIA is a membership-driven institution, but there's one event that is a real gem and is…
Read MoreTatiana Ukvatkina, Designer + Assistant Project Manager at SweisKloss, has been with us for just over a year now, and we have really enjoyed having her on our team. She brings a positive energy that fits in perfectly with our group, and her design approach is thoughtful and concise. When we caught up with her to see how it has been working on SK projects, she said, “The design process with the SweisKloss team is…
Read MoreWhat’s up with feng shui these days? Is it still a thing? Maybe you remember when it was quite the interior design buzz in the 90s, which is a bit amusing considering feng shui has been around for over 6000 years. Nevertheless, at the time, a flood of companies, retailers, restauranteurs, and residents got busy arranging their spaces to achieve better energy flow. Some people call feng shui superstitious. But there are design experts who say…
Read MoreAs you all may already know, SweisKloss has been a Santa Monica Certified Green Business since the end of 2019, and we could not have been happier when we accomplished this certification. Now, we are pleased to share that Sustainable Works recently notified us that we're to be awarded as one of the recipients of the…
Read MoreHow often would we associate innovative, unique architecture and biomedical research? When one thinks about a science institution, a more utilitarian building might come to mind, but the Salk Institute for Biological Studies designed by famed architect Louis Kahn is a world-renowned center that conducts science within an artfully built environment in the picturesque La Jolla area. And if you ask SweisKloss Design Partner Abeer Sweis…
Read MoreHow many of you still read print magazines? At SweisKloss, we’ve opted to go digital with many of the design, architecture, building, and product magazines we would get in the mail. And some of our go-to publications have never had a printed version. Online is easy and interactive—and less expensive to produce for publishers—so it was a surprise to learn that 73% of adults prefer to read printed magazines rather than digital ones. Obviously…
Read MoreAt one time or another, we’ve all thought or said, “What do I want to be when I grow up?” Perhaps as adults we still ponder this, but when you’re young, and the world is your proverbial oyster, the thought is more front and center. Embarking on a professional path is made of up of many stages, and one of those is education. There’s nothing like the power of knowledge and learning, which is why we all love seeing work by design and architecture students and why Abeer…
Read MoreCoast Modern is a documentary film that thoughtfully weaves commentary and cinematography of iconic and more obscure modern homes this side of the continent from L.A. to Vancouver that were built mid-century and after. Coast Modern is also the label coined in more recent years to this specific form of west coast modern aesthetic, which is not so much a movement as it is a way of living. And while this coastal style certainly encompasses.…
Read MoreLos Angeles offers ample opportunities to stay attuned to the arts, and one way is through visiting many of the unique museums around town. With the Oscars coming up this month, we thought it’d be a relevant and fun nod to the film industry—with an architecture spin, of course—by focusing on the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures. Designed by legendary architect Renzo Piano…
Read MoreMia Lalor has been a Designer + Project Manager with SweisKloss for almost a year now, and we couldn’t be happier to have her here. She brings a great energy to the team. Her design sensibilities, positivity, and work ethic blends perfectly with our studio environment. To mark this milestone, she agreed to do a quick Q&A…
Read MoreDo you remember our blog the other week about sourcing places that could reuse our outdated samples from our materials library, and we mentioned donating to an architectural salvage warehouse? Well, we took a trip to Eric’s Architectural Salvage LA to see what they are all about. Situated on an unassuming street in DTLA, the space is massive and holds literally thousands of vintage architectural pieces from eras past, such…
Read MoreIf you are a foodie, you know the name Tartine, and if you are a baker, you really know the name Tartine. A mere tasting of their sourdough loaf could entice even the most dedicated of keto dieters to break bread. Tartine has been on the rise (can’t let an obvious pun go to waste) since 2002 when Elisabeth Pruiett and Chad Robertson partnered up, creating their first corner bakery spot in San Francisco’s Mission District…
Read MoreOut with the old, in with the new…it’s nice to clear out and refresh (spark joy and what not). The start of a new year brings in extra motivation, right? But how and where do we responsibly get rid of the old stuff? This question inevitably comes up every time we clean out our materials library (our space devoted to samples of tiles, stone, hardware, wood, etc.) at the SweisKloss office. A library cleaning “party” had to…
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