baseball season – pencil + ink

today’s thoughts come to you over a nice hot cup of coffee (okay maybe it’s actually my third cup of the morning, but who’s counting). most days start this way for me; studio days, saturdays, job site days, travel days, + church mornings. this morning’s cup comes from a roaster called stumptown that we ran across right here in atlanta in a favorite bookshop in vinings. when we discovered the coffee came all the way from the west coast, we knew it would have to be a standard on the shelf at home.

coffee to me is a constant. yes, it is enjoyed every day + yes, it is always brewed fresh + served black. however the roaster + flavors rotate, depending on the season. the consistency comes with the first pour, no matter what is going on that day. i take it everywhere in a plain white mug which accompanies me throughout the day to many places. see, in my world coffee never stays long enough in the cup to justify keeping it warm for hours. it’s meant to be consumed as it’s poured + refilled often.

it wasn’t until i was an adult with an all day black coffee consumption habit of my own that i realized without thinking about it, i was echoing a habit of my grandfather’s. my mom drank coffee growing up, but, looking back i recall, it was on saturdays helping grandad i watched him have coffee for breakfast, lunch + dinner. it was never odd to me then + it’s oddly comforting to me now. my coffee habits include a full day of coffee (along with some water at meals or a good beer in the mix). it’s the smell, the warmth, the taste + the consistency.

i hope to cover more coffee over time in this space just to let you know what’s brewing in our studio. until then it’s time for another cup to keep the creativity flowing (+ me moving!).

it’s october. to many that means pumpkins, halloween, leaves, + football. to me, that has always meant baseball, more specifically, playoff baseball. now what does this have to do with design or even architecture you ask? for many it means absolutely nothing. for a boy that grew up loving the game + every aspect of it, this season means everything.

the game of baseball at surface level can be many things to many people. i have always appreciated the intricate parts of the sport; the strategy, angles, anticipation, preparation + snap decisions. as i grew older i was fascinated by the ballpark’s design, especially the cathedrals of america’s pastime that were torn down, replaced with faceless cookie cutters + then reimagined as city centers (more on that in snippets to come).

luckily, as an atlanta braves fan, most of my youth was spent enjoying the late fall + baseball bliss late into the evenings. for the first time in many years this is again a reality. so, as some late hours are the reality of design, this chance to watch my team extend into the wee hours is a rare + cherished opportunity. as the design ideas flow, if there happens to be a hit + run to win the game i’ll be happily here with my late night coffee to take it in.