check out Ahmet Kilic and Jennifer Harty, Design Workshop presenters at this Saturday's Bloomingdale House Tour

Have you checked out the Design Workshops at this Saturday's Bloomingdale 2017 House Tour and Reception?

Here is a link to the full list of Design Workshops.

I am presenting below descriptions and presenter bios for TWO of Saturday's Bloomingdale House Tour Design Workshops.

Note that both Ahmet Kilic and Jennifer Harty are Bloomingdale residents.  

I will post the remaining Design Workshop info tomorrow here at the blog.

BCA House Tour Design Workshop Series 2017

The Bloomingdale House Tour Workshops have quickly become a distinguishing and popular element of the Tour. The Workshops are 45 minutes in length (including a 15-minute Q & A), and focus on topics ranging from architectural history and contemporary neighborhood urban design, to color, pattern, lighting, wallpaper and landscaping. All workshops are presented by experienced architects and designers who reside in Bloomingdale and are excited to share their diverse unique visions of design.

   

Presented by: Ahmet Kilic

TOWNHOUSES THEN AND NOW

Workshop Description

The District of Columbia city grid was laid out at the end of 19th century.  Bloomingdale, the neighborhood in which I live and work, reached its complete build out more than 100 years ago, at the beginning of 20th century, and hasn’t changed much since then from the urban design stand point. The townhouse blocks that were laid out much earlier than the invention of the automobile are still one of the most popular residential products in the market.

Participating on townhouse addition projects as an architect, I have been amazed to see the clues of the lifestyle at the turn of the century. My amazement further continues observing how these homes adapt to the contemporary lifestyle.

If the building is well preserved, the meticulous workmanship and the aesthetics of the era often prevent the house from being demolished for alterations. In this scenario, the contemporary functions find their way into the existing layout. Some functions become obsolete and a new function finds its way into the very same room. If the building interiors are seriously damaged, then the contemporary program governs to create its own layout.  The front façade of the townhouses on the other hand is much more resistive to change, partly because of the durability of the materials and partly because of the challenge of designing a façade that would better fit into the block.

This all makes someone think about what is timeless what is transient in architecture.      

Bio:

Ahmet, is a Registered Architect in the District of Colombia, Virginia and Maryland with more than 16 years of experience in the architectural and planning field. He is a member of American Institute of Architects, a LEED Accredited Professional and a member of Turkish Chamber of Architects.

Ahmet was graduated in 1998 from METU, the top-ranking architecture school in Turkey, with a Bachelor of Architecture with a minor in Structural Engineering. He also has completed the Master of Architecture program at the same university in 2001. Subsequently, an architectural design firm in United States recruited him. He has worked at large size architectural firms for several years where he used his design and management skills working on variety of projects in US and overseas. His experience covers mixed-use design to unit interiors; high-rise towers to townhouse neighborhoods; big box retail to small coffee shops. In 2010 he founded his own firm, Urbane Architects, where he specializes in residential, commercial and institutional projects.

Presented by: M. Jennifer Harty, AIA, LEED (AP)

BLOOMINGDALE - ENVISIONING OUR GREATEST POTENTIAL THROUGH URBAN DESIGN

Workshop Description:

Please join M. Jennifer Harty, AIA, in exploring the Bloomingdale streetscape, unlocking its hidden potential to rival the best of urban neighborhoods across the globe. This seminar will be taking stock of our current architectural, landscape, and urban assets, and question how they may be appropriated to achieve our greatest future self. We will learn about the latest in urban design strategies, from lighting and street furniture, to landscapes that increase storm water retention. We will also investigate the effectiveness of public art, discovering how simple ideas can create a sense of place for our community. Finally, we will discuss what tools are at our disposal to make these visions into reality. A 15 minute Q&A will follow the seminar.  

Bio:

M. Jennifer Harty, AIA, is a Registered Architect, a member of the American Institute of Architects and the US Green Building Council (LEED AP). She has practiced commercial and residential architecture in the District for 10 years. Before founding HxH Architects, Jennifer apprenticed at Rafael Vinoly Architects. She was also a Project Architect at Cunningham Quill Architects, and an Associate at Beyer Blinder Belle Architects. Jennifer holds a Bachelor of Arts from Columbia University, and a Masters in Architecture from Harvard University.