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Isabel’s Picks for Winter 2016

December 16, 2016 / barros / 0 Comments

IT’S THE WARMEST SEASON

Be kind to you, be kind to others

1. SOFA

Brand: Zanat

Designer: Gert Wingårdh & Sara Helder

Product name: Branch (Marked) Sofa

Price range: n/a

Material: Wood, embroidered upholstery.

Available in Ireland from: Makers & Brothers

2. CHRISTMAS BAUBLE

Brand: The Irish Hand Made Glass Company

Name: Claddagh Bauble

Price range: €19.95

Material: Glass

Features: Hand made, with the Claddagh hand etched onto the surface of the bauble.

Available in Ireland from: The Irish Hand Made Glass Company

3. INSULATING RENDER

Manufacturer: Secil

Name: EcoCork

Price range: €11/bag (14kg)

Material: Natural Hydraulic Lime binder mixed with a largely cork aggregate.

Key features: Free from cementitious content. Offers a lightweight, vapour permeable and environmentally friendly render or plaster. Insulated render giving improved thermal and acoustic performance. Highly vapour permeable. Sustainable, natural cork aggregate. Easy to mix and apply. Improved curing times (speedier application).

Applications: Suitable for internal or external plastering/rendering. EcoCork can be used for Renovation: Stone (Rubble & Dressed Stone), Brick, Cob, Wichert, Clunch & Strawbale; and New Build: Stone, Brick & Block.

Available in Ireland from: Conservation Technology

4. FLOORING

Trademark: Kahrs

Name: Oak Nouveau Charcoal

Price range: €86.10/m2

Material: Oak Hardwood with a brushed, black pigmented matt lacquer finish.

Available in Ireland from: TileStyle

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See Full Gallery of Isabel’s Picks

The Secret Guide to Deal with Architects – Take 10

November 24, 2016 / barros / 0 Comments

Our 10th and last secret tip about how to deal with an Architect is about evaluating performance.

If you have just landed here do not miss our previous tips:

10. Provide Feedback

Good or bad! Your Architect wants to hear from you. Your Architect wants to know if you are happy with his/her services, how can he/she improve or if there is a better way to do things. Feedback is a powerful means of personal development. It may help your Architect to be more productive or to excel in his/her performance.

Hot Tip: Get into the habit of providing regular feedback at the end of each project stage. Make your feedback timely, specific, and frequent. The best feedback is a combination of praise, areas for improvement, and specific suggestions. But a single line of text may just be enough! (Our feedback survey is always accessible, if you don’t have the link for it just ask us.)

Start from Take 1 – Stages

Resilience and Types of Clients

October 28, 2016 / barros / 3 Comments

We particularly like one of the themes of the upcoming 2016 RIAI conference – RESILIENCE.

Not one day goes by without some type of resilience is needed in our work.

We take a twofold approach to this concept:

The need to be RESILIENT in all aspects of our life – emotional, physical, economical, social, spiritual, etc.
The need to incorporate a RESILIENT design throughout the different project stages.

Dealing with different types of clients is just one of the challenges that requires architects to be resilient. Below are just some of the types that architects can meet along the way.