AIA Houston is hosting an exciting two days of virtual learning that brings together the brightest business minds in our profession to provide you with insights, guidance and tactics to not only survive the next few months, but thrive.
I’m excited to present on the Evolution of Technology in Architectural Practice - covering everything from real-time rendering, virtual & augmented reality, 3D printing and reality capture. Hope to see you there!
Info and Registration details available here.
RIGG Studio is proud to support The Landing through their 3rd Annual Christmas Breakfast.
The Landing is a daytime drop-in center where survivors of human trafficking and sexual exploitation can experience an atmosphere of acceptance and be introduced to social support. Located on a nationally known hotspot for sex trafficking and prostitution in Houston, The Landing team assists survivors by meeting basic needs and sharing resources. The team’s intention is to meet people where they are—wherever that may be—and support them throughout their journey.
Learn more about The Landing and support their efforts here.
The Santa Maria Hostel, a women’s substance abuse treatment and recovery center, has been chosen as the recipient of AEC Cares’ eighth annual ProjectHouston, taking place all day Oct. 5 at 2005 Jacqueline Dr. in the Spring Branch area of Houston. Renovations, both indoors and outdoors, will be done by more than 150 volunteers, with Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner, Councilmember David Robinson, FAIA, and other community dignitaries speaking at noon.
RIGG Studio contributed the modular garden design and assisted with construction and assembly. Many thanks to the volunteers for making a difference at the Santa Maria Jacquelyn House!
Here’s a video of the build:
My design for the Complete the Community competition is currently featured on the Houston Chronicle's website! From the article:
Designed for the Third Ward, the Rigg Studio house (shown at the top of the page) concept offers a split gable yet keeps the intimate scale of the front porch and pushes the garage door towards the back. This push-and-pull of the front facade retains an approachable entry and echoes the neighboring houses. Louvered gables and tucked carports with a screened side keep the massing airy and responsive to the harsh Houston climate.
The jury praised the design for its inclusion of a covered front porch, pier-and-beam foundation and wheelchair-accessible ramps.
Thanks to Gray Matters, the Houston Chronicle and Cite for this article by Marie Rodriguez about the affordable housing competition. The complete article can be viewed here.
I'm excited to announce that my design for an affordable single family-home for Third Ward was selected as one of the winners for "Complete the Community: A Housing and Urban Design Competition." The winning designs were announced at the Houston City Council meeting on August 22, and the 6 competition winners were invited up and recognized (which was a great honor!). From the press release:
Danny Rigg, AIA, of RIGG Studio LLC won “Special Distinction for Architectural Context” for his design of a single-family, one-story home that the jury praised for its inclusion of a covered front porch, pier and beam foundation, and wheelchair-accessible ramps.
The full press release from Council Member David Robinson, FAIA can be viewed here.
The winning housing designs will be presented to the city’s Housing and Community Development Department to explore options for development and implementation, and all six designs will be exhibited at “Houston 2020 Visions,” a collaboration between Council Member Robinson and AIA Houston that will run from August 2018 – August 2019 and culminate in an exhibit at the new Architecture Center Houston office in the spring of 2020.
More information about the competition is available here.
The drawings and renderings from the competition entry can be viewed here.
Photos by Gareth Morgans
Join me on Thursday, June 7 for the presentation of my new prototype exhibit furniture designed for AIA Houston and on display at the Houston Center for Contemporary Craft (4848 S. Main Street). My design was one of three selected by a jury of design professionals and representatives from the ArCH Exhibitions and Programming Committee to be protoyped. All three prototypes are on display, and the selected design will replace the exhibit furniture lost in the flooding of Hurricane Harvey. Prototypes will be on display until June 30.
Project Description
Floating panels are mounted onto concealed brackets to create a clean, simple and universal system to accommodate an unlimited variety of forms without distracting from the exhibit. When appropriate, LED lighting can be remotely activated within each box to create a glowing focal point. Interchangeable panels with modular proportions and omni-directional mounting plates allow for an unlimited variety of sizes, forms, and colors that can be configured for each exhibit.
Process Photos
Over the weekend, I met up with three other volunteer architects to provide safety assessments of homes damaged by Harvey flooding. Our goal was to gather data to assist the City of Wharton as they request funding outside of normal insurance and FEMA processes. We surveyed 180 homes to determine approximate flood water height and level of damage. This was a challenging experience to cover that much area and see so much damage, but the people and community were strong. I hope our efforts help them with the recovery process.
I hope you can join me for an upcoming presentation of the Smart Garden design! I'll be presenting an overview of the DesignMake Residency program along with the research and creation of the Smart Garden. A full-scale prototype garden will be on site along with the sensor components. Hope to see you there!
Location: Buffalo Bayou Partnership / 1019 Commerce Street
Date: Thursday, October 26 at 6:00pm
AIA Houston and the Texas Society of Architects are working with FEMA and local officials to deploy trained volunteers to assess whether damaged building are safe for habitation, and this AIA Safety Assessment Program training provides architects, engineers, building officials and inspectors with the knowledge to evaluate these buildings and facilities in the aftermath of a disastrous event. Over the weekend I completed the 6-hour training course, and I'm looking forward to volunteering and helping our city to recover and rebuild.
Special thanks to Trepex Construction, The Javelin Group, DFD Architects, and Whiting-Turner for sponsoring this program, and to Kirksey for hosting the session.
I've been selected as one of 60 emerging professionals, architectural leaders and entrepreneurs to participate in the AIA Practice Innovation Lab, hosted by the Young Architects Forum. The two-day event is focused on exploring ideas to redefine the practice of architecture and to move the profession forward. The event will be held near Washington DC at the Crystal City campus of 1776 Startup Incubator, a global incubator whose members are bringing new technologies and entirely new business models to market.
I'll be leading a team of 5 other design professionals from across the country to develop alternative modes of architectural practice, with the personal goal of incorporating technology, sustainability, advanced document delivery and construction methods into my architectural practice.
The conference organizers have begun sending books, links, and resources to help our team prepare for our upcoming presentation at the summit. I'm excited for the opportunity and I'm looking forward to participating in the Practice Innovation Lab!
Books provided by YAF and the Center for Emerging Professionals
More information about the AIA Practice Innovation Lab is available here.
Here's a video of the event:
