Buzz

We are back from the holiday weekend and have finally recovered from the International 3rd of July Feast that took place at our Austin studio! We asked our team to bring food that felt like home and we were rewarded with an international smörgåsbord of treats! Chicago Dogs, El Salvadorian Arepitas, Iranian Kebabs, Mexican Street Corn, Vietnamese Shrimp Salad, Chilean Empanadas, English Peach Crumble, Local Bratwurst, Bangkok Cayenne Ice Cream, Phil's specialty shishito peppers, Caramelized Bacon, Chips and Queso, Homemade Salsa, Cole Slaw, Potato Salad, and Cake Balls, juuuuuust to name a few of the tasty headliners. Despite a summer storm and dramatic lightning show, our trusty grill masters kept the party going! Keep scrolling to see a few shots of our fiesta.

Our own Billy Schaefer participated today at the Contemporary Austin Jones Center's weekly activation: Daily Grind! He discussed diverse possibilities of the design environment; especially those in Downtown Austin and showed us some real ollies on the functional sculptures in Abraham Cruzvillegas' exhibition.

We are excited to announce and celebrate our newest Associates – Lindsay Abati (LA,) Matt Beaton (MB,) and Sandra Saldaña (SS)! Lindsay, Matt, and Sandra will join our firm’s leadership team from the Austin studio. Take a minute to learn which of them doesn't like (spoiler alert!) the Eames Lounge Chair, who's a post-it addict, who's taking the whole studio to Amsterdam for a field trip, and which of them brought in some new fur-chitects into our studio. Find out more below! Warning: Don't read if you haven't had lunch.

If you live in Austin, you probably know what summertime means; hitting Barton Springs and Deep Eddy as often as you can, Amy’s Ice Cream on the weekends, and ice-cold porch beers with friends. As we try our best to stay cool with all the amazing recreational activities, we are also hard at work getting some exciting projects ready for this fall. Click here to read more about what's in the works!

Earlier this week we stopped by Rollingwood III for an afternoon site visit. Nelsen Partners designed this 128,500 square foot, five-story office building off of Mopac and Bee Caves Road in Austin. It has an adjacent 4-level parking garage with 486 spaces. Aside from its expansive views, Lesha Blair shared some of the design issues that came up during CA. See a sneak peek of what will be revealed later this fall!

Last week, the Nelsen team toured the first phase of a three-phase redevelopment of Chalmers Courts. During the visit, we learned about the construction process, the creative problem solving required to make a project work and the unique design elements that make this project an important contribution to the Chalmers Courts community.    

Our studios recently participated in an inter-office pizza-fueled sketch session. Armed with a favorite writing instrument and stack of post-it notes, everyone sketched from a selection of images themed around the concept of Romanticism curated by our own Nahal Sharifi.  

Last week, three of our Austin folks took off to the Big Apple. During their stay; Scott Chasteen, Alex Meyer, and Johanna Spencer visited USAI Lighting’s SOHO Collaboratory space where they tested, played, and enjoyed a full day of de-light. They were joined by Lisa Rogers of Spectrum Lighting, who contributed her lighting wisdom to the lessons of the day!

This summer another one of our folks had the chance to visit the United Kingdom; but now Worthing, Bath, London, Barnard Castle, Lake District, Llandudno (Wales), Oxford, and many, many, other amazing spots in the area. We asked her how many cups of tea she had, but apparently she lost count. Please enjoy a very English photo-documentation through the lens of Johanna Spencer.

Last Tuesday, we had 4 future architects from Con Mi MADRE join us at Nelsen Partners for an office tour and a full day of activities and fun. We hope this little peek into the daily life of an Architect has convinced them to pursue architecture and start a rewarding career in design!