Simmons & White, Inc.’s Post

📣 Introducing Otley Common... This is a story about our towns, our streets, our buildings and our community. The spaces and places we all share, should share and need to share. They lead us to a deeper sense of place and connect us to each other. COMMON places that we can meet, learn, teach, work and enjoy. Places that make us feel proud. Places that speak to us, that we have helped create, we can have a stake in, that we build for the COMMON good. To create a new history – reinvented, renovated and reimagined. What our old COMMON buildings can be. These buildings were never constructed to serve the few, they were created in eras of civic pride, constructed for the common person. This is our collective commission – to become custodians of the building, to give it a new purpose, a new lease of life and meaning for the future and value to our town and all of us that live here. An open building that becomes a beacon, an inviting place for us all to use, to communicate, to comment. A place that combines the wealth of a community, its people, its resources and its spirit. Created from a cooperative approach and a true sense of duty. The building will be a place we all have in COMMON.  Find out how you can donate, invest, support and get involved in our plans to purchase and transform Otley Methodist Church at https://lnkd.in/e5_4S64k

Historic preservation touches the world at every level

Did you know concrete is one of the most used materials in the world, second only to water? Nicole Voss, co-chair of Carbon Leadership Forum Boston | New England, helped lead a yearlong engagement process with the Boston Society for Architecture, funded by the JAMPART CHARITABLE TRUST, that resulted in solutions for lowering the carbon intensity of concrete with the potential to make a measurable difference worldwide. We are delighted to share the findings of the report - read here to see how you can win the game of low carbon concrete! https://lnkd.in/enfi7XDY

Husky Giving Day: Live from Gould Hall! Tune into our livestream, running from 12 PM until 4 PM, to watch donations build in real time and see the difference we are making together. Watch here ➡️ https://buff.ly/3TJI0eb #Architecture #ConstructionManagement #LandscapeArchitecture #RealEstate #UrbanDesignAndPlanning #CBE #BuiltEnvironments #CollegeOfBuiltEnvironments

Husky Giving Day: Live from Gould Hall! Tune into our livestream, running from 12 PM until 4 PM, to watch donations build in real time and see the difference we are making together. Watch here ➡️ https://buff.ly/3TJI0eb #Architecture #ConstructionManagement #LandscapeArchitecture #RealEstate #UrbanDesignAndPlanning #CBE #BuiltEnvironments #CollegeOfBuiltEnvironments

Husky Giving Day: Live from Gould Hall! Tune into our livestream, running from 12 PM until 4 PM, to watch donations build in real time and see the difference we are making together. Watch here ➡️ https://bit.ly/3TNzz1m #Architecture #ConstructionManagement #LandscapeArchitecture #RealEstate #UrbanDesignAndPlanning #CBE #BuiltEnvironments #CollegeOfBuiltEnvironments

Anyone else see what happened with the Nathaniel Russell House (in Charleston, SC) as an example of a non-profit trying to do the right thing: divest itself from a forced labor camp that the most vocal members of the public valued for its “beauty” and ostentatiousness so that it could focus on affordable housing? By extension, this altered direction would have explored ways in which historic preservation could do a better job benefitting the African American community in Charleston. (And, gasp, focus on more vernacular and visually plain sites.) The way in which the Historic Charleston Foundation backtracked strikes me as kowtowing to a particular segment of the public who treats the built environment as a box of jewels with a thin veneer of white patriotism. I do not envy the HCF board. This is just a microcosm of why historic preservation is often better at preserving itself, as an archaic, and, at times, racist practice, than in preserving the built environment for the benefit of the broader public. The field is too often frozen in its own past.

5 Curiosities You Didn’t Know About Stetson and Hulley Tower:   1. Did you know the story of these bells of opportunity? 🎶🔔 In 1915, the Eloise Chimes, consisting of 11 bells, arrived on campus in an unexpected manner. Originally destined for Pennsylvania, the canceled order led to Stetson seizing the opportunity to bring the chimes to campus. These bronze bells, ranging in size from 575 to 2,850 pounds, were installed in Hulley Tower in 1934.   2. Did you know this Hulley Tower secret? Hulley Tower was not just a bell tower; it also contains a mausoleum for President Lincoln Hulley and his wife, Eloise. Unfortunately, President Hulley passed away before the tower's completion. When the upper part of Hulley Tower was dismantled in 2005 due to safety concerns, only the mausoleum remained intact.   3. Did you know about the salvaged bells and their legacy? As part of the dismantling of Hulley Tower, the 11 bells were salvaged 🔔🔔🔔🔔🔔🔔🔔🔔🔔🔔🔔 Two were donated to community organizations, while four others found new homes across the Stetson campus. Today, six bells are displayed in campus and city locations, serving as a reminder of their legacy. Can you find out where they are?   4. Did you know that Stetson is rebuilding dreams? ✨ Reconstruction efforts are underway to restore Hulley Tower, symbolizing remembrance, resilience, and rebirth on campus. This project aims to honor the tower's architectural and historical significance and preserve its legacy for future generations. The tower will also become a symbol of the Soul of Stetson movement.   5. Did you know about the Alumni power? 💪 Stetson alumni are key in rebuilding Hulley Tower. Through various initiatives and fundraising campaigns, alumni are playing a crucial role in ensuring the reconstruction of this iconic landmark, demonstrating their commitment to preserving Stetson's rich heritage for generations to come.   Want to learn more? Visit: https://lnkd.in/eC2XYBB2   #CampusHistory #Throwback #HistoricBells #Community #AlumniLove #HeritagePreservation #Rebirth #CampusRevival

The activities we do beyond our careers often have an outsized impact on our lives and shape who we are in a way that often reverberates in our work. If you know me, you know that I am a passionate birder. This hobby fuels my curiosity, attenuates my senses, gets me out into nature, and has connected me to some of the most wonderful people I've ever met. I am a better human because of it, and I recommend birding to everybody. To raise money for the fantastic Shaver's Creek Environmental Center, I (along with some other brilliant birders) compete in the annual Birding Cup! Please consider donating at the link in the comments to support our team in our effort to bring home the cup (it would be our second win, NBD). Also, if you're curious about birding, let me know, and I'll be happy to share tips and tricks and maybe even take you out into the field sometime! Here's a fun bird fact for those who are curious: The chimney swift is a common, swallow-like bird seen in the skies of eastern North America. Once you learn to spot them, you'll see them flying around nearly every day during the warm months in Pittsburgh. What you won't see is one land. They are highly specialized for flight and have very reduced feet (they are part of the clade Apodiformes, which stands for footless forms and also includes the hummingbirds). They cannot land on horizontal surfaces, walk, or really do much terrestrial stuff other than cling to vertical surfaces like the chimneys and hollow trees that they nest in. In fact, when they aren't breeding, they can go MONTHS without landing at all!

From scribbles, through sketches and technical detailing to the finished result…