Friday5 - April 14, 2023 - MillerClapperton

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04-14-2023 info@millerclapperton.com tel: 770-941-8281

IN THIS WEEK’S FRIDAY5

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Location: Westfield, MA
Product: Reynobond FR (MCM)
General Contractor: Daniel O’Connell’s Sons Inc.
Architect: MDS Architects

Originally constructed in 1956, Parenzo Hall is Westfield State’s oldest campus building. MDS Architects developed a comprehensive renovation plan to support the reprogramming of Parenzo Hall to become a state-of-the-art hub for student success and workforce development. The exterior renovations included adding metal panels that will enliven the aging building and address solar heat gain, with envelope improvements expected to increase thermal performance, making the building 20% better than code. MillerClapperton will fabricate 1,600 square feet of Metal Composite Material for the project, which is targeting a 2023 opening and LEED Silver certification.

For the past decade, the World Happiness Report has ranked how people in 150 countries around the globe rank their quality of life. The report is published by the Sustainable Development Solutions Network in collaboration with Gallup World Poll. For the past four years, the top spot has been claimed by Finland and this year is no different. Finland was ranked the happiest country in the world ahead of Denmark and Iceland, which came in second and third, respectively. The United States earned 16th place, which is up three spots from last year. “Key findings in this year’s report include that “positive emotions are more than twice as frequent as negative emotions” and that despite the challenges presented by COVID-19, self-perceived individual wellbeing continues to be resilient with no significant changes compared to pre-pandemic levels.”

Despite the rise of electric vehicles hitting the market, gas-powered vehicles will maintain a strong market lead for the foreseeable future, meaning that many of us will be visiting the pump on a regular basis. Locating a gas station isn’t something we give much thought to because finding a station isn’t too hard and most new cars will alert you to the nearest station when gas is running low. However, finding a beautifully designed gas station can prove to be a bigger challenge. Stations are typically designed with efficiency in mind to help move people through quickly, and “it’s not the type of architecture you think of when picturing beautiful structures, but that doesn’t mean stunning ones don’t exist. Across the globe, architects like Frank Lloyd Wright and Ludwig Mies van der Rohe have reimagined the gas station from something you drive through to something you drive to.”

Recommendation: Lair: Radical Homes and Hideouts of Movie Villains by Chad Oppenheim
Reviewed By: Architectural Digest

“Despite all their evil plans, villains have the right ideas when it comes to architecture. The hideouts of cinema’s famous villains have become the most memorable sets in Hollywood’s history. From Scaramanga’s private island in The Man With the Golden Gun to Darth Vader’s Death Star in Star Wars, these diabolical dwellings show off their owners’ power and are a beautiful contrast to the darker forces at work.

In the new book Lair: Radical Homes and Hideouts of Movie Villains (TRA Publishing, $75), architect Chad Oppenheim surveys 15 of the best-designed evildoer domiciles. The book also features interviews with production designers, scholars, and filmmakers, including Michael Mann, and creative director Carlos Fueyo devised architectural illustrations to give readers views of the spaces they’ve never seen on the screen.”