Existing Conditions Drafting

Serving the Community

noreply@blogger.com (Existing Conditions Drafting) — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 17:00:00 +0000

When we completed a project at The Mission Preparatory School, we were able to donate our services because of their status as "a non-profit public benefit corporation." Existing Conditions Drafting is committed to serving organizations that offer constructive support to people in need, like low-income students.

We received a letter of thanks from the Founder & Head of Schol, and we appreciate her contribution to morale around the office. We wish to restate what she expressed to us in her letter about the goals of the school: "we are committed to providing a rigorous, college-preparatory education to under-served students growing up in San Francisco's low-income communities."

We feel that volunteering is an important part of running our business. It reminds us that we are actually having fun doing our work!

Recent buildings

noreply@blogger.com (Existing Conditions Drafting) — Mon, 21 Nov 2011 17:00:00 +0000

We had the opportunity to measure some of the administrative office spaces at Pier 39. It was a clear, warm, beautiful day in San Francisco. The smell of fresh sourdough bread, crabs and clam chowder always brings back so many fond memories of being at Fisherman's Wharf. Oddly enough, it was cold and cloudy that day in Oakland, where I live. It was very good timing to be out there enjoying the day with seals and sea lions since the next day things were back to normal: cold and foggy in the city and warm and sunny in Oakland.

The next week we were up on a hill between Pacific Heights and Nob Hill, in a neighborhood technically called Lafayette Heights. There, we measured a four-story residential project with three units, a basement and a roof. These units had tons of rooms, angled hallways, and had been remodeled at different times, all making the measuring and drafting of the spaces a fun challenge. The Astroturf sun-room on the roof made for an excellent place to stop, have lunch, and look out over the city before finalizing the roof plan.

The view from my first assignment

noreply@blogger.com (Existing Conditions Drafting) — Mon, 14 Nov 2011 17:00:00 +0000

Here is a photograph from my first measuring assignment. The building was nice, but needs a lot of repair work, so I decided to take a picture of the view instead. It's great to be advancing my architectural skills and knowledge without being in an office all the time! This was my best ever first-day-on-the-job: drive to Sausalito and measure a house that's worth over a million dollars. And when it's done, just enjoy the view.
PS - Here's a link to open the image in a new tab to see the original size (If it doesn't work, leave a comment describing what happened and I'll try to fix it). Enjoy!

New Employee Announcement

noreply@blogger.com (Existing Conditions Drafting) — Mon, 07 Nov 2011 17:00:00 +0000

Hi,
My name is Greg Baker. I was recently hired on to the surveying team here at Existing Conditions Drafting. I am interested in creating impeccable architectural drawings and learning more about architecture and construction. I am currently a Master of Architecture candidate at the California College of the Arts, and hold a Bachelor of Arts in Architecture from UC Berkeley.
I was born in Chicago and grew up in a small suburban village of less than 10,000 people, although my high school had 2,500 kids. I was able to take a couple of drafting classes way back then, and now over ten years later I am excited to become fluent in the language of drafting.
Every day that I'm in the office I learn something new. Last Thursday, I created a new template for the office to use that involves using sheet sets and fields to automatically update the title-blocks in a large set of drawings wit the click of a button. And today I'm writing a blog on a new interface for me...
Here's a link to my current Master's thesis blog: Greg Baker | Resistance thesis group

An Eichler Home

noreply@blogger.com (Existing Conditions Drafting) — Mon, 06 Jun 2011 21:42:00 +0000

Living in a Frank Lloyd Wright house during world war two gave Joseph Eichler all the inspiration he would need to become a successful home-builder in California. Eichler homes are located all over California and we traveled up to Lucas Valley to complete a set of as-built drawings and an electrical plan for an Eichler home nestled in the hills of Marin. Joesph Eichler was unlike most of the home-builders of his time due to the fact that he designed his homes and planned communities for middle class Americans of any religion or race. "Bring the outside in" was one of Eichler's main concepts. An Eichler home most likely comes with skylights, patios, and a swimming pool.

If you are ever looking for a weekend road trip to get out of the city I highly recommend checking out this neighborhood of Eichler homes located up near Marinwood. Bring the dog because the neighborhood is located right next an open space filled with trails leading up the surrounding mountains and if you get up there early enough you could head over to Tomales Bay and grab and Anchor Steam and oysters for lunch.

A 1960's Remodel

noreply@blogger.com (Existing Conditions Drafting) — Thu, 02 Jun 2011 20:54:00 +0000

Our last project took us down the peninsula to the town of Hillsborough, where we measured and drafted a complete set of as-built drawings for the classic California ranch house. Through out the whole project we both felt that we were walking on a set from the television show Mad Men. This relaxing ranch house set below and sprawling oak tree and a grove of redwoods has not been remodeled since the 1960's and it has the wall paper and linoleum to prove it.

The amazing thing about this house is how environmental friendly it is. There is not a HVAC system in the house. There is a fire place to take the chill out of the air in the winter time. In the summer time the house is well shaded by the surrounding trees and a cooling breeze refreshes the house due to some well placed windows. It also helps to have a pool in the back yard to cool off in. It seems like the old school builders of this house really knew what they were doing by designing the house to fit in with the environment around it. We really hope that they keep the wet bar where it is and do not demolish it during the remodel.

Storybook Home in Belvedere

noreply@blogger.com (Existing Conditions Drafting) — Fri, 06 May 2011 21:24:00 +0000

Working with Aleck Wilson Architects we took a trip up to Belvedere to develop a set of as-built drawings for quite a unique home. Belvedere is ranked first in California for per capita income so of course we fit right in with our surroundings. Being a Hansel and Gretel home the property looks as if it belongs in a childrens storybook. There are nooks and hidden compartments all over the home, which is built around a brick tower so you can imagine how fun it was measuring a home with very few straight lines.

It was a challenging project and we were pretty exhausted after a couple days work but to be able to step out on to the front patio and have a view of Tiburon, Angel Island and the rest of the bay helped us to relax and just enjoy the view.

Measuring the Warfield

noreply@blogger.com (Existing Conditions Drafting) — Tue, 26 Apr 2011 20:21:00 +0000

With all of the buzz around town to redevelop the mid market area in San Francisco it was nice to have a project right in the middle of all the excitement. When people think about the Warfield, images of the Greatful Dead or Bob Dylan pop into their head but there is a whole other building attached to the Warfield Theatre. This side of the building has 9 floors of office space in the heart of the mid market area. Along with floor plans we also surveyed the electrical, sprinkler and HVAC systems for a detailed MEP plan of the building and gave these as-built drawings to our client EHDD. It was a lot of work but the surrounding buildings provided a great back drop for a relaxing working environment. The Golden Gate Theatre and many of the buildings along market have beautiful architectural features that mainly go unnoticed when we are flying by in a cab. I got a great view of all these buildings and most of downtown when I was up on the roof. With the announcement of Twitter moving to an office near by I am sure the Warfield office space will be in high demand.

Alpine Meadows

noreply@blogger.com (Existing Conditions Drafting) — Mon, 25 Apr 2011 16:56:00 +0000

We have finally completed our project up in Lake Tahoe for the ski resort, Alpine Meadows. This was one of the larger projects we have had in the past few years. In all we were surveying three buildings on the mountain, the main ski lodge, the employee building and the chalet. As with any project there are many challenges we face along the way. On this project our main obstacle was the weather and boy did it stand in our way. We tried to get up to the mountain early in November so we could get a lot of measuring done before the snow came but that did not really work out with the huge storm dumping a ton of snow right before Thanksgiving.

This was kind of the way it worked for the next two months, we would be able to work for a few days and then get buried by a snow storm. The weather really helped us out when it came time to measure the chalet, which is a restaurant half way up the mountain. I had to pack up all my equipment and grab a ride up the mountain on a snowmobile freezing my butt off. Eventually we completed the measurements of the resort (with a few ski breaks mixed in with our work days). With the final drafting completed for the as-built drawings (Done in Autocad and a full model completed in Revit) we handed them over to JMA Ventures who had recently purchased the resort and are planning some upgrades to the property. It feels great to be finished with the project. All things considered it went pretty smooth but maybe for or next project up in Tahoe we will schedule it for the summer time.

Cozy Remodel in the Richmond

noreply@blogger.com (Existing Conditions Drafting) — Fri, 22 Apr 2011 19:09:00 +0000

We just finished up the As-built drawings for a cool house out in the Richmond district of San Francisco. Once the remodel is complete this house is going to be in high demand. The location alone would sell me on it. Walk one direction and you are on Clement St. in the middle of coffee shops and restaurants. Walk a couple of blocks the other direction and you are underneath the Golden Gate and hanging out on Baker Beach, one of mine and Hallie's favorite places in the city. The northern part of the beach is off lease which allows her to chase after the frisbee at break neck speeds while avoiding the occasional nude sun bather. (Baker Beach is also a haven for those who would prefer to sun tan in their birthday suits)
On the top floor of the house there is an office in the rear of the property which has a great view of the bridge and the many Japanese maple trees in the back yard. With the fog rolling into this neighborhood quite often, this would be the perfect place to sit down and work on the great American novel.

Quirky Lamps!

noreply@blogger.com (Susanna Mendiola) — Tue, 22 Mar 2011 15:00:00 +0000

Found these creative lamps from Stray Dog Designs. Check out the selection on the site, there is a ton more.

http://www.straydogdesigns.com/

1stdibs finds {SF}

noreply@blogger.com (Susanna Mendiola) — Wed, 16 Mar 2011 16:00:00 +0000

1stdibs is a great resource for antiques, vintage jewelry, clothing and more. It is an online store where other stores post their wares. I like to use many of the wonderful items in my school projects. Here are a few choices found in San Francisco stores.

19th Cent Gothic Style mirror from France. From Drum and Co - $4,950

20th Cent scale and weights, Antique Art & Exchange, $2,950

wine barrel scale from The Butler and The Chef, $5,700

Hans Wegner chairs from Farnsworth, $1,800

This is so cool! Unique tailgate or camping table from Homme, $525

French birdcage from Vintage a la Mode, $1650

35 multicolor candlesticks from the 70s, Denmark. Sold by 20th Century Interiors for $1,950

pair of yellow ceramic lamps from the 70's sold by Monument, $3,850

Much more antique goodness found at www.1stdibs.com.

Ambient LED

noreply@blogger.com (Susanna Mendiola) — Mon, 14 Mar 2011 15:00:00 +0000

"Philips 12W A19 AmbientLED Soft White light bulb brings innovation into familiar applications. They are the fully dimmable LED alternative to a standard 60W light bulb and provide the soft white light you are accustomed to. Philips 12W AmbientLED bulbs are ideal for table lamps and ceiling fixtures, contain no mercury or lead and will not fade colors."

Found at Home Depot here for $39. It has an almost perfect 5 star rating by 27 people.

Marin County Antique Show

noreply@blogger.com (Susanna Mendiola) — Tue, 08 Mar 2011 16:00:00 +0000

Marin County Antique Show, Fine Antiques and Collectibles, Next Show March 12-13, 2011

"We would like to invite you to the Marin Antique Show for a memorable shopping experience. Decorators and Designers: Come be inspired by yesteryear’s treasures in designing unique and eclectic environments. Re-animate the past in a tapestry of wonderful textures, colors and design. Antique Collectors: Come and find rare treasures, meet other collectors and enjoy two exciting days of antique bliss! There’s an adventure in every booth: decorative and fine art, crystal, glassware, pottery, silver, estate and vintage jewelry, watches and clothes, paper & postcards, Asian art, antique toys, furniture, collectibles & more."

More info here.

SF Decorator Showcase

noreply@blogger.com (Susanna Mendiola) — Tue, 08 Mar 2011 16:00:00 +0000

Mark your calendars! It is a bit early but I wanted you to plan ahead! Showcases are so fun!

2011 San Francisco Decorator Showcase

Open April 30 – May 30, 2011

Located at:

2950 Vallejo Street

(between Lyon and Baker)

"We are excited to announce that the 34th annual San Francisco Decorator Showcase, San Francisco’s premiere spring design event, will be held at 2950 Vallejo Street (between Lyon and Baker Streets) in Pacific Heights. The home is a stunning Italian Villa Estate, featuring incredible panoramic views of the Golden Gate Bridge, the Marin Headlands, Alcatraz and the City. This year’s Showcase, open from April 30 to May 30, 2011, will offer a fascinating look inside one of San Francisco’s architecturally-significant homes. All proceeds benefit the financial aid program at San Francisco University High School."

More info here.

Orchid Exposition

noreply@blogger.com (Susanna Mendiola) — Thu, 03 Mar 2011 16:00:00 +0000

The San Francisco Orchid Society presents "Natural Wonders", the 59th Annual Pacific Orchid Exposition - Show and Sale at the Fort Mason Center , San Francisco CA, March 3-6, 2011.

Details: Thursday, March 3: Gala Benefit Preview, 6:30 – 10:00 pm, Friday, March 4: 10 am - 6 pm, Sat March 5: 9 am - 6 pm, Sunday, March 6: 10 am - 5 pm; Gala Benefit: $35 advance/online and $40 at the door (includes wine glass and tastings).

General Admission: $12 online/$14 at the door, Seniors (65+): $8 online/$10 at the door, Children 12 and under are free (except for Preview night). For info, call 415.665.2468.

"With natural wonders we return to a theme that can be interpreted in both a visual and an educational way. More than 150,000 orchids will be presented in ways that will fire our curiosity. Explanations of the complex floral structure, the intricate pollination methods, and the wonderful ways orchids have adapted to broad habitats and climates will be explained."

More info here.

1st Annual SF Green Film Fest

noreply@blogger.com (Susanna Mendiola) — Wed, 02 Mar 2011 16:00:00 +0000

1st San Francisco Green Film Festival, March 3-6, 2011, at Landmark Theatres Embarcadero Center Cinema and the Bently Reserve, San Francisco

"The first-ever San Francisco Green Film Festival, March 3-6, 2011 – the Bay Area’s new, leading festival for innovative film, television, and digital media that explore green and sustainability issues. The Festival will include screenings of over 70 premieres from around the globe during four days of film showcases, panels, workshops, networking and special events. Meet with filmmakers and green experts to discuss, share and inspire change. See how you can get involved! Live satellite feed Q&A; A with iconic writer and environmentalist Margaret Atwood; the West Coast premiere of Werner Herzog’s new feature documentary “Happy People”; visiting filmmakers from China, Sweden, UK, Canada, Brazil, Argentina, Germany and across the USA, spectacular Opening Night Green Carpet Gala, and more."

More info here.

Chronicle Books {Inspiration}

noreply@blogger.com (Susanna Mendiola) — Mon, 28 Feb 2011 16:00:00 +0000

Finding inspiration can come from many places - museums, strolling in the park, people watching in the city - but a good design book can do the trick as well. Here are a few choices from Chronicle Books:

http://www.chroniclebooks.com/

1st Fridays/Art Murmur {Oakland}

noreply@blogger.com (Susanna Mendiola) — Fri, 25 Feb 2011 16:00:00 +0000

It is almost time for the Oakland Art Murmur/1st Fridays. Galleries open up along Telegraph and surrounding streets -- there is usually live music, street vendors and even art demonstrations -- but mainly lots of affordable art. Check out RAW at The Uptown Apartments, Era bar (pictured below) and Cafe Van Kleef (also pictured). There are a ton more hotspots, here is a site with more info.

Facelift on Post St.

noreply@blogger.com (Existing Conditions Drafting) — Thu, 24 Feb 2011 20:47:00 +0000

We recently completed a job on a beautiful old Victorian house on Post St. in San Francisco. The house is sandwiched between the We

stern Addition and Pacific Heights neighborhoods. Post Street is named after Gabriel B. Post, a public leader and prominent merchant in the fifties. The owner of the building is remodeling the front of the building hoping to restore some of the historic Victorian details to the trim work of the house. Having been built in 1875 this is definitely the oldest house we have ever created as-built drawings for and the down pouring rain did not help out the situation. The existing gas lines in the ceilings of the building show the age of the building and its existence before electricity. We look forward to seeing the finished product.

Handy Dish

noreply@blogger.com (Susanna Mendiola) — Wed, 23 Feb 2011 16:00:00 +0000

"Double Dish™ provides the perfect solution to the problem of serving snacks such as olives and pistachio nuts, with their inedible stones and shells. Its unique design comprises of a serving dish sitting on top of a larger collection bowl, curved outwards in three places to allow the disposal of unsightly food waste. As well as hiding any waste from view, Double Dish™ eliminates the need for additional empty bowls on the table. Made from 100% melamine, the two bowls can also be used for serving other snacks. Dishwasher safe. $18."

http://www.josephjoseph.com/newproducts/double-dish/double-dish-green

We are official!

noreply@blogger.com (Susanna Mendiola) — Tue, 22 Feb 2011 16:00:00 +0000

http://sfgreenbusiness.org/architects-engineers-and-designers/Page-2/

Building Tour {Scottish Rite Temple Oakland}

noreply@blogger.com (Susanna Mendiola) — Mon, 21 Feb 2011 16:00:00 +0000

For my building components class, we had to tour some local buildings. A quick photo tour turned into a full-on building tour complete with a little history on the Masons. I had wanted to see the inside of this building for a while -- it has been beautifully maintained and has so many special little details!

backstage (the controls still work!)

one of two amphitheaters

view of Lake Merritt

view from projector opening

library

symbolizing making the choice between good and evil

across the street - green roof!

Estate Sale Rummage

noreply@blogger.com (Susanna Mendiola) — Thu, 17 Feb 2011 17:00:00 +0000

Estate sales have always been a great source of vintage finds. And with shows like 'Cash and Cari' they are becoming more popular. My most recent expedition was at this church which held a liquidation sale of a Thai restaurant that closed, estate sale items from a collector in the East Bay, and the church itself that was closing. There were pews, beautiful vintage purses in great condition, Buddha statues, furniture and tchotckies galore. My buddy came away with two swiveling seats (which she will reupholster), a small table, and shadow box with fossils for $35. Pretty good haul. I found this sale just by cruising craigslist sales and searching 'estate sales.' Get out there and dig!

Spin on a Classic {Swiss Army}

noreply@blogger.com (Susanna Mendiola) — Mon, 14 Feb 2011 16:00:00 +0000

Oops, I had my pocket knife in my purse and the airport screener took it. Oh well, it wasn't that special but now I need a new blade. Maybe I'll wait for this one. Slick!

"The Swiss Army Knife gets a modern and minimalist transformation through a collaboration with Japanese designer studio, Abitax. The Tomo (meaning friend in Japanese) reinterprets the trademark handle into a slim, rectangular shape that only contains the bare essentials, a knife, scissor, and nail file. Available Spring."

Via Acquiremag