New Portfolio and Blog Website

I am updating my new website: bmarkgardner.wix.com/brent to create a better portfolio/blog website.  I can only do so much with this website and it is limiting how I present my work.  I will now be updating my blog from that website and slowly transferring these posts over there as well.

Thanks to everyone who has viewed this website in the past and for supporting my work.  I look forward to posting newer work on my new website!

Thanks again,

Brent

Crosstown - Almost Done

Visited Crosstown last week (while I had my Jeep in for an oil change) and saw the nearly finished interior of the renovation project.
Outside light fixtures are installed and siding is installed on all sides.  Interior walls are up and almost completely painted. Ceiling is finished and light fixtures are now in. Cat walk is installed, gyp board installed and finished on it. Only thing left now is the large lifts for the box cars and delivery vans to be installed and some tool boxes to be dragged in.
Its been great working with Dodge Contracting on this project and it all seems to be coming together great.

Brent

CROSSTOWN APRIL UPDATE

In the last month since I last posted about the construction of the addition to the Crosstown Motors Dealership, the roof framing put up, the roof was then completed with asphalt shingles and the metal siding has started to be installed.

On the inside, the ground was warm enough to pour the concrete slab for the interior and some walls now have been insulated and drywall has been put up.  The mezzanine has also been framed up and rough-ins for the light fixtures have been pulled on both the interior and exterior.

I'm excited to see how this project will come together and how the end result will look.  It's great to have something being built that I designed and will have my name on. 

Updates to follow as the project finally comes together.

I will also soon be posting my other project I worked on earlier this year helping out with some design and rendering of a large two story family home down in Hanover NH area for a local architect. 

Construction Update Crosstown

 Looks like walls are up, concrete slab can't be poured yet because ground is not quite thawed yet. Roof trusses go up soon.  More photos to follow!

Wicked Coffee and Sub Shop

One of the many things the little town of Littleton needs and is often talked about is a Coffee/Sandwich shop that isnt something commercialized like dunkin donuts or subway, but its own original business.  Many entrepreneurial businesses in Littleton have disappeared since the recession and this project brings individual ownership and locality back to the Littleton restaurants.  

When one thinks of  a coffee shop they think of a small shop, close quarters, warm and an area you can sit and relax.  For this project I took that idea of the coffee shop and gave it a big interior space and also an exterior space for covered outdoor dining. There is also a "drive-thru" feature for those on the move.  

The location of this coffee shop is on an open corner of the lot where an abandoned strip mall stands.  There is already a fourway stop light for this location and putting it at this location allows for multiple people to drive by and see the restaurant while also providing those who leave the option to "opt" out of waiting at the stop light since there is already a spot for a second entrance on one side of the fourway stop light (rendering is shown from second entry).

What is next for this project is working with the material, which right now is a metal roof that flows down to the siding as well giving it a modern industrial look with the large windows, which fits into the commercial area of this location.  The area lighting poles are actually reclaimed and we previously existing in this area from a gas station that used to be on this site in the 70's and 80's.  The building graphics, which arent completely worked out, brings the consumer in by catching their attention before they would normally be able to see the sign.  The sign itself even draws your attention to the building, shaped in a way to "point" at the restaurant.

Crosstown Update

On my visit to Crosstown Motors to see how the progress was coming it looks like the doors that were originally on the face being shown are moved to their new spot.  It also looks like the foundation for the new addition has been added.  The only thing left is the new addition part of the building!  I'll keep you updated as it is built.

Brent

New Industrial

Project CESAR was a building I designed that explored mass housing for the homeless in an area of the capital city of Montpelier VT.  Even though it is not Vermont's largest community it does have one of the largest unemployment and homeless rates in the state.  The position for this site is centered just off the main street in Montpelier in an area with a historic industrial past with the train lines and also close enough to walk to downtown businesses and grocery stores. 
For my design, I took  the site and divided it up into open areas and massed together living areas.  In doing this I came up with this curved facade that faces true south and from the second floor up are equal sized housing for those with families, couples, and single units. With the curved facade a void is created at the center of the arc, which I utilized as a large public kitchen / mess hall area that both connects the users to others in the facility by looking up at the housing blocks along the arc, to the calming view of the river and surrounding vegetation, and also the sky with the large skylight above the arc which allows for an abundance of natural light to cut costs on lighting during the day.

The adjacent park brings together the community to a riverside park. The design is built ontop of the existing abandoned train turntable that was a left over reminder of Montpelier's large industrial past in the early half of the 1900s. Half the turntable is covered with a wood deck that contains various information panels about Montpelier's industrial past that grow up as an appendage to the wood deck itself. The other half of the turn table is filled with sand and provides a children's playground area, which the city lacks and brings a safe place for children to play together. Extending off the turn table over the river is a metal deck that extends up to 15 feet over the river.  This gives the community a different view of Montpelier down the historic river that was once used as a means of transport and also a new look at the various bridges along the river that provide access to the city.