John Mammen

Starting this week out on a somber note, with condolences to the Mammen family and everyone at M3 Glass Technologies on the passing of John Mammen.  The industry was made better because of people like John.  My good friend Scott Surma really summed it up perfectly in a note to me by saying: “Class act, wonderfully sincere, good man.”  There is no doubt about that.  My thoughts and prayers go out to Chris Mammen and the rest of the folks who have a huge hole in their life now that John has passed. 

Elsewhere….

--  Those who have heard me speak know I am very bullish on office interior space.  This week the twitter feed of Kawneer linked out a very good piece on the 2017 trends for office interiors… surely worth the read.  Daylight continues to be something people want and glass is surely the best vehicle to make that happen.

--  And speaking of something people want in an office space… wellness and comfort are big keys.  This article takes a deep dive into it.

--  On the flip side of office related article, the first semi-negative article on the new Apple HQ hit the wires this week.  And while it’s not negative about the beauty and amazing products inside, it does take issue with the location and expanse.  Quite frankly it’s an interesting and rare take on a structure and location that has been universally praised. 

--  The 2017 AIA and Committee on the Environment (COTE) Top 10 building awards were recently announced and I always love to see what makes the cut.  Some amazing structures and truly important moves for our world with the way the buildings are built.  Congrats to the gang at Guardian that supplied glass to 3 of the top 10.  Well done!  Now this is the sort of effort that I like from AIA….

--  I have been meaning to note that registration for GlassBuild America is now open… so you may as well get registered and go grab that hotel room while you are at it.  I am obviously biased but I expect a tremendous show and if you truly want to grow yourself, your business, and have a voice in the industry- you need to be there! 

--  Last this week… do you ever wonder what concerns Architects and Designers when things are really busy out there?  Based on the run of Architectural Billings Indexes things are good, but a recent webinar gave the rundown on what keeps that world up at night… they are:

• Political wrangling on administration proposals
• Low oil prices stall energy projects
• Uncertain global economic and political situation
• Competition still intense despite everyone being busy
• Workforce shortages growing
• Uncertainty on infrastructure funding proposals

Interesting list- the competition one was fascinating to me as in the glass and glazing industry no one ever lets up.  Busy or not it’s always intense.  The workforce shortage one also caught my eye because so many qualified people lost jobs during the recession and I think many landed in places like curtain wall manufacturers and are happy there and not willing to go back to a traditional design firm. 

LINKS of the WEEK

Ok this is a Russian intervention that gets me mad.  Don’t mess with Chocolate!

There are a lot of issues with this one… waste, lack of trust, confusion… unreal.

I’m a huge dog guy (have 4 of them) and this story seems a bit off.  Hard to believe this is healthy for dog or neighborhood.

VIDEO of the WEEK

I’ve been on my fair share of water slides… but this is amazing…. Wow!