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Origin4Design

It's Official...

...Origin4Design, LLC is recognized by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania as a Certified Women's Business Enterprise!! The certification is valid through April of 2012 and recognizes our services as landscape architects, urban environmental planners, land use planners, and land evaluation...we look forward to the opportunities this certification will present!!

From K Street through Eight Mile...

Last week, your faithful design professional traveled over 1,000 miles between Washington DC and Detroit Michigan; one trip celebrated life and friendship in a city thriving on opportunity for the entrepreneurial young while the other honored death and family in a city famed for collapse under unsustainable industrial expectations...


The following images highlight O4d's perspective on community, identity, and the impact of environment on individuals....the journey begins chronologically within Washington DC...


Yes, your faithful designer took this photograph at the entrance to the West Wing of the White House...a previous life embedded in AAU Women's Basketball forged a friendship with the now Human Resources Assistant Director of the White House (amazing isn't?!?)... although cameras weren't allowed inside, I was able to veer into the Oval Office and glimpse at the Big Board...

My journey was one of pedestrian thoroughfare throughout DC...yet, Mother Nature with her record snowfall thwarted the ease of pedestrian accessibility in favor of vehicular routing ...


I was not dissuaded, however, venturing further from Dupont through Georgetown...to discover amazing vantages of adaptive reuse...


Residing in Dupont Circle I was pleased to find myself among signs of protest as well as a Sunday morning farmer's market boasting locally produced wares...

...there's nothin' short of dyin', half as lonesome as the sound, on the sleepin' city sidewalks, Sunday mornin' comin' down...

..Yet, the political junkie within paved the way for yours truly to wander about 600 Watergate...the famed residence of politicos, artists, and thieves alike...


...then 48 hours later, I found myself in Detroit for the funeral of my Great Uncle George...


...my uncle was one who forged a living from the very industry that would usher in the city's collapse..more unforeseeable the collapse of a national economy... the city was an unrecognizable shell upon the decorated World War II veteran's death and my unexpected arrival...


Media images of the Motor City do not serve justice to the harsh realities greeting visitors traveling along the waterfront parallel to the proud nation's boundary; one can only testify personally to the vast discrepancy in fortune...or the lack thereof...


...the lures of past decadence were promised by misguided Randian misanthropes...today reality is shuttered and shadowed by the harsh greed of overextended credit and the ease of liquored delusions...

Yet, hope still exists for the prospertiy of both metropolitan areas despite traditional conceptions of urban design...populations will continue to shift, employable demographics will continue to change...

Success will be determined by the ability of local politicos to embrace change while anticipating greater change...effective planning, through the use of technology and intuitive, ecologically responsive design will be the catalyst for regional re-branding and survival..

...Origin4Desin is positioning itself to be an effective component in the process of redevelopment through an innate understanding and interpretation of art and nature...

Uptown Girls...and One Guy Make a Model

Origin4Design recently expanded upon site analysis in Pittsburgh's Uptown's Fifth Avenue corridor. Working with Metropolis Development, O4d utilized available public information to create a unique GIS database to reflect relevant property information...

The images below reflect the working progress of our geospatial modeling...a combination of GIS mapping and GoogleEARTH Professional...


The working model is completely interactive, enabling the user to have a snapshot of property information while linking to live imaging in a 3D model.



The image below allows a clear understanding of the new arena's scale and impact to the surrounding neighborhood...

The following graphics were created by O4d to supplement the model for a nationwide marketing campaign for Uptown's Redevelopment. The focus is on the three adjacent parcels of the new Penguins Consol Energy Arena...

In any urban area, understanding context and the impact on pedestrians is important...
Zoning, and its relationship to site elevation, is best understood in a contextual graphic...


Orgin4Design then focused on the individual parcel study areas...
The value of the 3D model combined with unique graphic styling will help create new opportunities for the Uptown Neighborhood by providing access to information with a visual context. The model is expandable with the ability to be edited to reflect property changes and the unique prospect of being further rendered into a distinct marketing piece.

List Item 8.2: Feed your head, not the meter

List 8...beckoning me to Pay it Forward...do the right thing...relinquish the rebel yell within my chest and give in to society's demands; for item #2 i conceded to: Feed a meter in a small town where tickets are uncommon; thus, upon traveling downtown Uniontown today, I decided to pay a quarter for thirty minutes of parking despite my intuition (which I habitually honor due to a lifetime of reinforcing experiences)....well, wouldn't you know, after two clicks, the meter jammed, thrusting the yellow flag of 'i told you so' into the cold Pennsylvania wind, much like Punksatony Phil did with his shadow the very same day to all the shivering PETA champions...


Well, Lovely Rita, I gave it my best...it wasn't for lack of intention, but maybe for lack of proper quarter weight as the national trust keeps devaluing our currency a pace far faster than a poor community can keep up with...or maybe it was just a reflection of karma, a way for the cosmos to concur with the weaseling attempts of the little guy to get one over on a larger societal structure...or maybe it means nothing at all...

20 Lists of 10 in 2010

On a whim and a prayer, I decided to join in the fun of creating my own list of desired accomplishments for 2010....these aren't so much a to do list, but rather a quick reflection on what I think would make 2010 worth living....that is if you can ignore all the wars, famine, and greed...but its worth a shot....

This idea was perpetuated by my close confidant, Randi from Randi Voss Photography; she in turn, circulates through a group of people that have even dedicated blog space to this...KUDOS! to them; but that is not my style...neither is making public my list in entirety as a few entries may be manipulated past their original intention...fear not, however, as i will be updating you on the outcomes of my attempts at listmania-perfection!

Uptown scenes

Laura & I were talking photos in Uptown today. We were working on a project looking at the general area north of the new Pens arena. Here are a few character shots we took...

Gazing up from 5th Ave., Laura zeroed in on the old Byzantine church up on the Hill (a habit of her's I've discovered - must be in her blood or something). This tiny church is perched up above the Mellon Arena and in true Pittsburgh fashion there are about 50 steps up to the door. "For sale" sign in the yard - amazingly even has some stained glass intact.

Nature emerges along Pride St.

Left: Mural along 5th Avenue. Sprout fund rocks!

Right: Old meets new along 5th Avenue.

Aesthetic Considerations

For your enjoyment...images (highlighting the past and present) from my recent adventure to PSU on New Year's Eve...all were taken from my iPhone and enhanced with the Best Camera app...

From the Archives...

Despite the preceding teaching about 'letting go' and living in the present, looking back can be fun...especially when one discovers the intimate connections of seemingly distinct individuals.

The above photos are from 2001...Rebecca, a student of design and style, is eternally classy while strolling the streets of Paris; myself, a student of politics and history, soundly committed to life's many adventures while overlooking the canals of Amsterdam.

The differences in backgrounds, experiences, and style converge in the present, strengthening similarities and balancing energies....from this, Origin4Design offers an unparalleled uniqueness and perspective.