Archive for the ‘Meteek News’ Category

Classic Summer Fun

Posted by Cynthia Lapp

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We almost didn't recognize Ray Maruska when he pulled up in his newest work of art--a remodeled Lincoln Continental convertible.  We have seen other projects Ray has done, but were amazed (again!) by Ray's talent and artistry.

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Ray superstrengthified the engine,

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customized the headlights and designed a new grille for the front

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Ray has been doing a car a year for about 30 years now. When he is not chopping, welding, souping up and putting a pristine finish on a car, Ray can be found doing amazing tile work.

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Beautiful one, Ray!

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Dark Sky Duluth

Posted by Cynthia Lapp

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This week at our latest Meteek Workshop event we rolled out a vision for establishing Duluth as a "Dark Sky" city. We hosted a presentation by Tom Nelson and Eric Norland from the Arrowhead Astronomical Society about the Milky Way and light pollution, and talked about a vision for making Duluth a city where more stars are visible.

Here is an info sheet we generated

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Besides the presentation, we had live DJ music from MAR (http://soundcloud.com/marmusics) and a new show up in the gallery, mandalas from Cynthia Lapp. We were having so much fun we forgot to take any photographs of the event. Below are some of the gallery. Enjoy!

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and a link to the Arrowhead Astronomical Soceity's website
http://www.duluthaas.com/

Wooden Spoons

Posted by Cynthia Lapp

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Spoon making is an enjoyable and useful undertaking, and we often have wonderful hardwood scraps to use for source wood. Robbie Lapp visited Duluth this week and we created a boquet of wooden kitchen implements she plans to use for housewarming presents.

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We are intending to offer spoon making as a Meteek Workshop class. Let us know if you are interested! You can email us at randy@meteek.com

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Office-ial Support

Posted by Cynthia Lapp

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We'd like to introduce our architectural designer Rachel Deatherage. She joined the Meteek team in February, and is the power behind our in-house design, architectural details and  Revit renderings. Rachel earned a BA in Architecture from the University of Minnesota.

Also, our long-time office anchor Vickie Schuler has recently exploded onto the needle-craft scene, designing an unending array of beautiful sweaters and sprinking us with gifts like a miniature Santa Claus.

A bear for Luke

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Our official welcome dog Molly

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ASHRAE Show and Millennium Park

Posted by Cynthia Lapp

This week we had the pleasure of attending the ASHRAE (American Society of Heating, Refrigeration and Air-Conditioning Engineers) winter show in Chicago, North America's largest heating and cooling show. Lots to see, and lots of innovation going on. 

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We had fun scootering around the city, looking at materials and building techniques. In Millennium Park, we saw frost patterns on the Cloud Gate sculpture (the "Bean") one morning, then had the opportunity to speak with one of the builders from the firm that constructed the sculpture and did the finishing work. He was taking out a scratched graffitti tag.

Frost patterns melting on Cloud Gate

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A steel worker removing scratched graffitti

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He recounted the long, slow process of constructing the sculpture and taking the stainless steel panels to a seamless mirror finish. He said the first time they saw the frost patterns, they thought the whole mirror finish had somehow gone wrong. They were relieved when the air temperature warmed and all the lines vanished.

Red, green and blue LEDs that create the video imagery on the Crown Fountain

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Inspiration in the Netherlands

Posted by Cynthia Lapp

We just returned from the Netherlands researching materials and visiting manufacturers.

The Netherlands enacted progressive housing standards in 1901, making provisions for healthy indoor space including lighting and ventilation. Current manufacturers of ventilation systems, control systems and high-efficiency windows are using excellent materials and innovative techniques.

Touring many areas, including old and new towns, we saw ingenious construction details and uses of materials, old and new, that inspired us.

Early rainscreen principle and cellulose insulation in an agricultural building ruin on the island of Tiengemeten

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Electric car charging station in Rotterdam

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Cross-laminated structural wood from Austria at the RDM campus in Rotterdam

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Industrial felt for cafe seating at the RDM campus in Rotterdam

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Printed glass dividing wall in the offices of the RDM campus in Rotterdam

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Concrete grass pavers at Oostvaardersplassen Nature Reserve

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A green roof at the Energate window office in Speyer, Germany

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Spectacular Fall Fly-In

Posted by Cynthia Lapp

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A couple of weekends ago we were treated to a fly-in at Jim and Cathy Nelson's home in Wisconsin. Jim and Cathy ran a great welding business and have since retired. Jim's love of flying has led him to construct a grass strip and a beautiful shop and hangar at their rural home.

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They have been holding and annual fly-in for a few years now. It was a spectacular site to see friends fly over the house and take turns rolling down the strip and into the meadow, and joing in some "hangar flying" over a delicious meal of "Jimbolaya." Thanks for the fun!

Technology of Participation?? Facilitation Training

Posted by Cynthia Lapp

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One of our intentions at Meteek is to have fun. With 35 years of building experience, the projects that stand out are not just the ones with beautiful materials or technical challenges, but the ones that were really fun. What makes a project fun? Good communication and a collaborative environment of sharing expertise.

How is an atmosphere of collaborative expertise supported? Understanding clients' needs and wants, catalyzing multiple professionals, and managing the logistics of a building site are all important for the "fun" factor in what we do at Meteek.

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We found that some key facilitation skills are being taught through Technology of Participation® facilitation training, so we decided to sponsor a workshop in Duluth. For two days, two world-renown trainers, Linda Alton and Sheila Cooke, came to Duluth offering a bevy of skills to us at Meteek and four other professionals from the arrowhead region.

A New Sign for Meteek & Co

Posted by Cynthia Lapp

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This week we installed a new sign in front of our building. The sign is made out of 1/2" glass printed with our name and logo, set into an aluminum u-channel and mounted on a boulder.

The printing was done in Minnesota. We have not used this company or system before, so we thought we'd give it a whirl and see how it responds to our climate.

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Our Meadow

Posted by Cynthia Lapp

We've been thinking about turning the lawn around Meteek into a meadow, and this year we did it!

How did we do it? It was simple--we just stopped mowing. We wanted to find out what was in the seed bank on the property, and the results have been lovely! We have native plants that require no irrigation, and we are not using the fuel, generating the emissions or paying the labor of weekly mowing--as well as not applying the fertilizer and herbicides that are commonly used on a lawn.

The meadow at the end of June:

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Changing through the summer, the beauty of the meadow has been delightful, and we have noticed more birds and small animals enjoying the property. We have been mowing a strip around the edges to give the meadow a "trimmed" look, and will do one cutting in the fall before snow.

The meadow in August:

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