Craftsmanship Series: The Use of Wood in Architecture and Design, Part I
As part of our Craftsmanship in Architecture Series, we will be discussing the use of wood in architecture and design. This topic will span several posts, with this first one focusing on wood sources, sustainable considerations, and species selection criteria. Wood is a nearly perfect building material. A renewable resource, it is readily available and … Continue reading
Craftsmanship: For the Love of Limestone
Limestone is found all over the world: as soft, yellow stone in southern England, creamy buff stone in southern France, a variety of interesting colors found in the Burgundy region, as well as numerous types in Portugal and Asia. It has been used as a building material for thousands of years: from the pyramids of … Continue reading
Is THAT Building Worth Saving? The Metrics of Preservation
The following post was authored by Principal Craig Williams, and states positions on a few current controversial issues. The positions are those of the author. Friends and followers of the firm know that our practice was founded 35 years ago when we worked in many of Washington’s historic districts doing townhouse renovations and additions, along … Continue reading
Chance Discoveries in the GPS Age: Nelsonville, Ohio
It happens that the state of Ohio has only one National Forest, and in the midst of that forest, nestled among the hills of the Hocking River Valley, is a small city called Nelsonville. It is seemingly unremarkable – it has a population of just over 5,000 and a technical college, but on a long … Continue reading
Places We Love, Part I
In honor of Valentine’s Day, we once again spoke with our staff about the buildings, spaces, and places they love the most. The subjects of our affection vary in form and function, but they all have some unique draw that earns our admiration. We hope you enjoy them as much as we do and we encourage … Continue reading
Rebuilding The Past: The Controversial Case of Berlin’s Stadtschloss, Part II
This post is the second in a two-part series by DMSAS Intern Architect Julian Murphy. Before joining the firm full time last summer, Julian served as a DMSAS Travel Fellow from the University of Notre Dame. Julian graduated from Notre Dame with an BArch in May 2012. You can read Part I of the series here. The … Continue reading
Rebuilding The Past: The Controversial Case of Berlin’s Stadtschloss, Part I
This post is the first in a two-part series by DMSAS Intern Architect Julian Murphy. Before joining the firm full time last summer, Julian served as a DMSAS Travel Fellow from the University of Notre Dame. Julian graduated from Notre Dame with an BArch in May 2012. As a part of my DMSAS travel fellowship, … Continue reading
A Square is Born: The Thinking Behind Sundance’s New Plaza
On November 1st, the citizens of Fort Worth will experience the most dramatic change to their downtown since the discovery of oil in 1917. What most of them may never realize is that this event was part of a plan conceived 25 years ago. It is but one of many important milestones that have characterized … Continue reading
Cowtown Renaissance: Creating a Downtown Plan That Gave Texans a Place to Walk
Our post from October 22 gave a brief history of how we came to be involved in three decades of planning and architecture in Fort Worth, TX. This second installation on our work in Fort Worth delves into some of the planning issues we encountered and provides some background on several of the more important … Continue reading
Parchment 
What Makes a Building Modern? A Few Words on Architectural Language
Posted by dmsarchitects on March 27, 2014 · 1 Comment
Architects often talk about architecture in what amounts to a unique language. This language is used to describe everything from historical styles (Art Deco, Beaux-Arts), to individual buildings and abstract concepts (contextual, tectonic). We tend to assume that non-architects – clients, consultants, relatives – not only understand us, but also speak the same language. This … Continue reading →
Filed under Commentary · Tagged with architecture, design, DMSAS, modern