Saturday, November 10th, Barkitecture took over the 2nd St. District as people walked the gallery of dog houses along the street. A project of Animal Lovers of Austin, Inc., Barkitecture brings together the city’s best architects and designers to create one of a kind dog houses. These works of art are then sold via silent auction during the event. Proceeds from the event benefit local dog rescue organizations.
h+uo has entered the competition a few times over the years. This year, the idea behind the design was to take the traditional dog house shape and envelope it with a modern and sustainable exterior. The traditional dog house shape can be seen as the “negative” or inside border of the framing. Salvaged Ipe wood (provided by Franklin Alan) was used for the base and as the securing mechanism for the plastic covering. Ipe, which is a very hard wood, required pre-drilling for all screws. The material used for the roofing/wall material is Polygal (purchased at regal Plastics). This material was a bit of a challenge to work with as its rigid nature made bending the materials around the arc of the framing fairly difficult. With a little team work. we were able to fasten it down. We’re pretty thrilled with the result! Special thanks to Bravo Interior Design for their input on the design!

Also of interest! – This year, our design was featured on houzz.com! Click here to read the full article and to see images of other dog house designs that made a splash at this year’s event.

FROM DESIGN TO THE STREET!

Tom Hatch, Hatch +Ulland Owen’s founder and senior partner, was interviewed by the Austin Business Journal, following the groundbreaking on H+UO’s design for Austin’s Acton Academy.

Architect Tom Hatch Talks School Design

Acton Academy broke ground on its new campus in East Austin on Oct. 15 and will open in summer 2013. The two-building, $3 million campus at 2201 Alexander Ave. encompasses 15,600 square feet and is located adjacent to Capital Metropolitan Transportation Authority’s MLK train station. The general contractor is American Constructors and the architectural firm is Hatch + Ulland Owen Architects.

Acton Academy is a private school for elementary, middle school and high school students, which incorporates Montessori and Socratic teachings.

The Austin Business Journal asked Tom Hatch, principal of Hatch + Ulland Owen about the project and other educational designs the firm has done.

Full article>>

Groundbreaking ceremonies for H+UO’s Acton Academy design were held October 15th on the site of the new East Austin campus. Boards with renderings of H+UO’s design vision played key supporting roles, but the stars of the ceremony were the students, who not only “broke ground”, but collected samples of the ground as mementos.

From KXANTV

We are excited to announce that the ground-breaking ceremony signaling the start of construction on Hatch + Ulland Owen’s design of a new campus for Acton Academy will be held October 15, 2012.  The new campus of the nationally honored blended school has a targeted opening of August 2013 to receive its first class of students.

Acton Academy is moving forward quickly with plans for the new four-acre campus in East Austin, adjacent to Capital Metro’s MLK train station, which will replace its current temporary location on the grounds of Acton School of Business.  Tom Hatch, of Hatch + Ulland Owen Architects, has been working closely with Laura and Jeff Sandefer, co-founders of both Acton Academy and Acton School of Business, and Kaylie Dienelt Reed, Acton Academy’s director, with the design of this truly unique and forward-thinking educational complex.  The school’s design centers on its students, combining the joy and intimacy of a one-room school house with the magic of current technology, facilitating Acton’s project-based curriculum, which focuses on lively mentoring, critical thinking and self mastery; guiding students with their adventures in learning.

The first phase of the new 15,600 ft ² campus will have elementary, middle, and high school facilities, with flexible spaces that can be adjusted to the needs of the evolving programs and curriculum.  The private elementary and middle school, specializing in Montessori and Socratic teaching methods, plans to expand its curriculum to include high school education within the next two years. Tom Hatch has worked  with the Sandefers on a number of projects, including the Acton School of Business and the restoration of the Pease Mansion, developing a keen understanding of  the goals, needs and processes related to a Sandefer project. Tom Hatch noted that, “…we have built up a mutual trust with Laura and Jeff, based on our team’s ability to listen, interpret, and follow through with commitments.”

The Acton Academy’s mission is to inspire each child and parent who enters their doors to find a calling that will change the world, and was recently named by Innosight Institute as one of the top blended elementary schools in America. If you are interested in learning more about how fresh air and education coincide, please visit the Acton Academy website, www.actonacademy.org.

We are pleased to announce that our firm has been selected to provide architectural design services for two new noteworthy projects, whose goals are to preserve the architecturally and culturally significant neighborhoods of Clarksville and Robertson Hill in central Austin.

Both the Clarksville and Robertson Hill neighborhoods are historically valuable, as they were settled by many of Austin’s first African-American families in the 19th century. However, the neighborhoods have been targets of aggressive development without historic context in the past few years. The new projects plan to preserve many of the remaining structures by connecting two of the original units to create a home large enough for today’s standards, yet retaining the look of the original tiny homes. These major projects are both notable and unique in that they represent the combined efforts of the proactive Robertson Hill neighborhood with the City of Austin’s Neighborhood Housing & Community Development Corporation (NHCD) and visionary private developer Tom Blackwell, who is the owner/developer of the Clarksville project.

Tom Hatch, Hatch + Ulland Owen Architects’ founder, will lead the design team. “We are honored to have been chosen for these projects, and elated that both neighborhoods will not only be preserved, but will remain vital, thriving communities”, he noted. Mr. Hatch has been deeply involved in Austin’s civic life through participation in public boards, non-profit organizations, and neighborhood organizations, and through his service as an ongoing resource to numerous private and public organizations. In 2008, Tom was honored with the John V. Nyfeler, FAIA Community Service Award and in 2011, he was elevated to fellowship in the American Institute of Architects for his career-long commitment to affordable housing in Texas.