week before block period 5!

It is always busiest in the office before Block period.
I measured up at a medium sized residence on Friday morning, went to South Peninsula Municipality - got plans through the first two counters...
1 - where they check the overall dimensions and other things...
2 - Zoning - Mr van Wyk, always so helpful got the departure forms for neighbours to sign.
then took them back to the office for the client to collect and tied loose ends.

The firm I work for is still quite small, but word of mouth and referrals have shown us that we will soon be needing a bigger office and more hands.
Most of our projects have been in Rondebosch and Claremont, and now we are moving into Newlands, Constantia and Llandudno :-)
So the company's definitely growing fast.
Julie Chase Architectural Design - JCAD
Look out guys, she's coming!

Can not wait to get my hands dirty in Grabouw!

*saraS

at work this week...? maybe other things

So I haven't written anything for two weeks. Work has been good, I'm doing some small council submissions and Julie (my employer) has been giving me small Design exercises...because she usually handles the design and I'll work on the council submissions, then working drawings and some detailing, window/door/shopfront schedules, admin (emails,prints, issuing to site, issue slips), layouts (bathroom, electrical, lighting, etc.), liasing with clients/contractors and consultants (lighting companies, home automation companies, electricians, joinery companies, sound exciting...? I email them dwg and pdf files of our plans hahaha!) Anyway work has been good. If you're looking for a job...hopefully I'll be in third year and you can get mine! She's looking for a female with her drivers license and preferably lives in Claremont and the surrounding areas. Email your CV...Admin@jcad.co.za :-)

The small design exercises: a covered entrance, flatlet (she changed the design lol architecture's all about learning!), and boundary walls (excellent!!!) but that's about all I can handle at the moment, so SMALL suits me just fine.
I was really shocked to be hearing about the bigger firms who let students design, present and submit plans to council...thrown in the deep end - no better way to learn, but we've been busy with projects where we've been a secondary architectural firm (meaning: clients had approved plans but now were unsure what to do with them and faced challenges with missed view possibilities etc...and from my point of view it wa like the architects weren't on site at all. Falls weren't indicated, mountain views blocked out with monstrous pillars and unnecessary brickwork...because they needed to achieve the look? And then we (Julie) makes the changes and the spaces work so much better. A house in Constantia with a bathroom window opening into a passage which takes you to the bedrooms...? What were they thinking? That's because the passage was added onto the existing house which turned out wonderfully in the end with Julie's help.

*saraS