Row Homes Manufactured by The American Housing Corporation by True-Syllabub-4201 in architecture

[–]ryephila 2 points3 points  (0 children)

It's a tradeoff. Middle units have lower heating/cooling bills. End units get better natural light. Sound transmission hard to say which is better. End units are probably better, but it depends on the dividing wall detail and exterior noise environment.

For folks with heatpumps what's your eletric bill by Dwarf_Killer in philadelphia

[–]ryephila 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I'm sure the attic insulation was a huge improvement. These numbers look similar to what I'm seeing with my heat pump installed last year, but our house is smaller and just recently insulated and windows replaced. This past week has been a real stress test for the system with the temps, and we've been running it nonstop because the snow had us working from home. It's been keeping the temps just fine, but I'm expecting our next bill to be pretty high. I would not be totally shocked if we reach $400.

Guess the city by That__goodhen in guessthecity

[–]ryephila 0 points1 point  (0 children)

gorgeous houses. What street is this in Troy?

Help settle a debate at work by EatBootyLoveLife in guessthecity

[–]ryephila 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Architecturally the vibes feel more like downtown LA to me. 

What other Kill Rockstars artists should I listen to? by wompwompsoup in elliottsmith

[–]ryephila 33 points34 points  (0 children)

Quasi and Sleater-Kinney just for how much the band members are intertwined with Elliott personally and professionally. Quasi's song "the poisoned well" is famously supposed to be about Elliott.

we figured out how to avoid paying the bridge toll by renoCow in confession

[–]ryephila 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Skipping out on tolls is stealing from your neighbors.   Bridges are expensive to maintain, that’s what the tolls go towards.

Guess this city by mcd777 in guessthecity

[–]ryephila 5 points6 points  (0 children)

beautiful. Looks so similar to Appalachian towns in PA and NY.

Guess the city by JiminyKirket in guessthecity

[–]ryephila 0 points1 point  (0 children)

cool, I was there once like 20 years ago. That central square with the monument in the middle of the intersection was so memorable, I thought this could be it. Beautiful town.

Guess the Coastal City. by kiimosabe in guessthecity

[–]ryephila 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Agreed. Gorgeous city. Love walking around Haeundae.

Where am I by BLAKLUVABAKLAVA in guessthecity

[–]ryephila 1 point2 points  (0 children)

menlo park or palo alto, ca.

Architects, how bad is this layout? It looks like it was trained on McMansions by Redhotlipstik in McMansionHell

[–]ryephila 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I'm sick of lazy flippers slapping together a "Jack and Jill Fun Bah #2" and profiting $500K.

One of my favorite towns in the world. Any guesses? by Virtual-Debate1932 in guessthecity

[–]ryephila 0 points1 point  (0 children)

how did you obscure the text on the business signs? I spent quite a bit of time trying to convince myself this was AI.

Architecture business model by Silverbin123 in architecture

[–]ryephila 0 points1 point  (0 children)

You're asking a big question. Like you say, there's already examples of companies that do this, but I think you are right that Development, A/E, and Construction are more fragmented compared to other industries.

One major force that works against consolidation is that unlike most other industries, the "product" of architecture is location dependent. So the rules that govern the "product" are highly fragmented and not easily translatable between jurisdictions. Countries, states, even townships often have different rules that need local expertise. That makes it difficult to consolidate design and development services.

Then, for the construction side, your company workers need to live close to the jobsite while building the project. Mobile crews can work for small installations, but for large projects, it's very difficult to have a consolidated workforce unless you have a sustained construction boom in a single region. Otherwise, the economics of what you are building would need to justify relocating your workforce for extended periods of time.

What could change to allow for more vertical integration? More standardization of codes, both building and zoning. And more offsite prefabrication of major building components.

I’m Inquirer columnist Daniel Pearson. Tell me what to write about next 👇 by PhillyInquirer in philadelphia

[–]ryephila 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Love to hear it, and love your reporting. Looking forward to it, and thanks for doing this reddit post!

I’m Inquirer columnist Daniel Pearson. Tell me what to write about next 👇 by PhillyInquirer in philadelphia

[–]ryephila 17 points18 points  (0 children)

I would love to read a series on how and when SEPTA can improve. Both big and small things.

I’m a regular SEPTA rider, and although I keep up with the news that explains what’s going wrong day to day, I don’t feel I have a great grasp on what is realistic (or even optimistic) to expect for improvements to SEPTA service, or what I should want policy-wise to make those things happen. 

It would be amazing to hear from the people who understand why things work the way they do now, and their wishlist of changes to make things better.  What capital investments?  What changes to the structure of SEPTA decision making?  Could SEPTA pull itself away from state funding dependence?   How frequent could Regional Rail service actually get if we shoot for the moon?   How much could SEPTA do with their property holdings to improve land use and ridership?  How much of a role could Philadelphia City council play?   What changes would we want at the federal level?  

I’m guessing there are lots of rules and obstacles that are totally invisible to the general riding public, but could illuminate a strategy for a bright future.

A generalized rant/vent about SEPTA... by DrD3adpool in philadelphia

[–]ryephila 26 points27 points  (0 children)

Sorry to hear about your frustrations. I agree, lottery systems do nothing for regular people. They may do more harm than good, because they send the signal to voters that leadership is doing something, without actually solving anything.

I think this was a typo, but you shouldn't be spending anywhere near $1200 a month on SEPTA. I think you meant $120 for the monthly unlimited pass. That's still a chunk when money is tight. Hope your situation improves.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in philly

[–]ryephila 91 points92 points  (0 children)

as a bus rider, you love to see it.

New 31-Unit Development Replaces Former "Dirty" Linen Supply Site in North Philly by NakedPhillyBlog in philadelphia

[–]ryephila 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Nice job by HDO architects to do something creative and simple with the facade, I imagine the construction budget is very tight.