Two architects explained how blueprints go from hand-drawn sketches to full commercial projects Tuesday evening at the Venue Fine Arts & Gifts.
Dawn Gray and Barre Klapper spoke on the difficulties and art of architecture. Gray, Barre and Jayne York, are partners at Springpoint Architects.
“A lot of people who are good artistically have a picture of what they want but can’t quite make it come together,” Barre said. “We’re there to help them.”
Gray and Klapper have been partners at Springpoint for almost two years but have been practicing in Bloomington for more than 10 years.
The pair presented a slideshow to a small audience of six people. Gray and Klapper listened to questions and comments from the audience, which was followed by both praise and questions about their photos and methods.
“People always know they need a contractor but not that they need an architect,” Barre said.
Architects help people strategize, Barre said. They keep clients stay on-budget and think about the project collectively so they can do the work they can afford, he said.
The architects showed a project of a 7,500-square-foot house they designed that is currently under construction in Monroe County. They also showed several other house remodels, kitchens and basements they have designed, many with before and after photos.
“I feel that a lot of the folks in the planning department are very reasonable,” Barre said in response to a question about Bloomington’s building restrictions.
Some of their previous projects include Vintage Phoenix Comics on Sixth Street, Bloomingfoods and Fairview Elementary School.
The partners said they do their first drawings by hand so the project looks fluid and nothing seems permanent. They occasionally use 3-D computer modeling software if necessary for design, Barre said.
One house they’re designing will have the largest solar panel array on a residential building in Monroe County, Barre said.
“I think architecture can be somewhat mysterious to the general public, so we’re here to talk about mainly residential projects, but we do all kinds of different work,” Gray said. “We thought, at this venue, people would be more interested in the residential aspects of our work.”
The Venue invited the architects to speak. They have done occasional speeches at schools if there is a connection with a class, Barre said.
Bloomington resident Marc Haggerty said he often comes to lectures on Tuesdays at the Venue because he is friends with the owner of the gallery.
“I design for poor people and how to make a living structure with minimum space easy to heat and bringing all the utilities together,” Haggerty said. “A couple architects lecturing on houses is very interesting to me and more power to ‘em, and I wish them all the luck in the world.”
