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TODAY'S
ISSUE
Take
a look at three designs for new Suwanee City Hall
By Lynne Bohlman DeWilde
Special to GwinnettForum
JULY 21, 2006 -- Three Atlanta area architectural firms have submitted
design concepts for Suwanee's new City Hall, the civic centerpiece
of Suwanee's emerging Town Center anticipated to open its doors
in early 2009.
BRPH, Rosser International, and the Sizemore Group each were finalists
and submitted a design concept for an approximately 20,000 square
foot facility through Suwanee's City Hall design competition.
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BRPH
design proposal
Rosser
International design proposal
Sizemore Group design proposal
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The designs are on display and open to the public at the current
City Hall, 373 Buford Highway, through the end of the month. City
Council is expected to vote at an August 3 called meeting to select
an architectural firm based on a recommendation from the design
competition's selection committee, which includes staff and Council
representatives as well as independent architectural and construction
professionals.
Mark Guleserian, program manager with Heery International, who
will be overseeing Suwanee's City Hall and other capital construction
projects, says: "Suwanee opted to have a design competition
to stimulate interest and creativity. The ultimate goal is to have
a building that not only makes a statement, but also fits in with
and respects the distinctive environment of Town Center." Originally,
18 architectural firms expressed an interest in the project. Ten
submitted qualifications and six were selected for interviews.
The finalist firms were asked to create a City Hall design that
fit in with the architectural flavor of Town Center and yet stood
out, included parking areas. It also was to have floor plans based
on the City's programming needs as identified by an Urban Collage
study conducted last year, allow room for expansion over the next
15-20 years, and cost no more than $5.8 million to construct.
The design presented by BRPH reflects the importance of transportation
in Suwanee's history and growth. The company proposes a two-story
building that harkens to an oversized transportation center with
a 95-foot multipurpose clock tower. The curved shape of the building's
roof resembles the roofline on the Town Center amphitheater stage,
and the landscaping completes the east-west ellipse at Town Center
Park. The design includes second-story, glass-enclosed Council chambers;
colored marble panels for the façade; and underground and
surface lot parking.
BRPH designs aerospace, educational, government, and corporate/industrial
projects. Some of its projects include Northview High School in
Fulton County, the Kennedy Space Center Visitor's Complex, Melbourne
International Airport, and Brevard County Zoo.
Rosser's design has a more contemporary look. The three-story building
includes parking on the ground level. Its design is reminiscent
of staggered rectangular and square shapes as opposed to the more
curved designs of the other two entries. It features a metal shed-type
roof supported by wood timbers enclosing an open atrium.
Rosser International has worked on many sport, aviation, and criminal
justice facilities. Some of its projects include the Arena at Gwinnett
Center, Turner Field, Savannah International Trade and Convention
Center, and Georgia Dome.
Like the other two designs, Sizemore Group's proposed building
uses a lot of glass to take advantage of the natural light. The
one-story building is dome shaped with a terrace and courtyard in
the back. Council chambers are prominently located at the front
of the building and glass-enclosed. Parking is on the street.
Sizemore Group has worked on many higher education projects, including
buildings at Clark Atlanta, Emory, and the Gwinnett University Center.
Other projects have included the Duluth Festival Center and Town
Green, Metro Atlanta Chamber of Commerce, and Smyrna City Hall.
The design process for Suwanee's new City Hall is expected to take
less than a year, with construction to begin sometime in the second
half of 2007.
The City of Suwanee has about $2 million in reserve for a down
payment on its new City Hall. These funds were generated through
the sale of Town Center parcels to developers willing to work within
Suwanee's Town Center Master Plan. The City anticipates a loan to
cover the remaining cost.
ELLIOTT
BRACK
Numbers alone might foretell chance for Democrats
in state
By
Elliott Brack
Editor and Publisher
GwinnettForum.com
JULY 21, 2006 -- Trying to analyze the numbers coming out of the
Georgia Primary on Tuesday might give rise to hope for some, particularly
statewide Democratic candidates. For the party that formerly controlled
Georgia politics did perhaps far better than it thought it might
in getting those who support their party out and voting.
Brack |
It might also concern Georgia Republicans that the number of people
who voted for their party was not as high as might be expected.
Take a look at the second spots on both party ballots, which featured
contested races. In the Republican race for lieutenant governor,
Casey Cagle beat Ralph Reed by a 12 point margin, 56-44 percent.
But look at the actual number of votes cast: 405,343. (These totals
were as of Thursday morning, when the Secretary of State Election
Division had 97 per cent of the precincts in Georgia reporting.)
Remember that 405,343 figure, for in the Democratic race for lieutenant
governor, with five candidates running, the vote total was 445,231,
nearly 40,000 more votes. Yep, more people voted in the Democratic
race than in the overheated and much ballyhooed Republican race
for lieutenant governor.
Some say that the Republican Christian Right stayed home, holding
their nose to the Reed candidacy. Republicans had better hope that
this was the case. For overall, more Democrats voted in this race
than Republicans.
Democrats outvoted Republicans also in two other statewide contested
races.
For Secretary of State, Republicans had 367,162 people casting
their ballots, while 420,774 Democrats voted their choices. It was
the same for state school superintendent, with 399,886 Republican
votes counted at the polls, while 428,041 Democrats voted. In both
races, more Democrats again voted than Republicans.
The Republican race for governor also showed far lower vote totals
than in the Democratic race for governor. However, with Dr. Sonny
Perdue a sitting governor, and having only token opposition from
Ray McBerry, the low vote count and overall lack of interest can
be understood. However, go figure that any vote against a sitting
governor is a definite negative vote and indication of how that
voter will cast a ballot in the General Election. (It might be that
the 48,336 votes for McBerry were from the "Sonny Lied "
crowd, remembering the flag issue.)
The GOP totals for governor show 417,780 votes cast. The total
in the Democratic race for governor was 479,491 votes, a whopping
61,711 difference! And all this in a state that is definitely leaning
toward a more conservative Republican bent. That's what makes the
vote totals interesting, and might make Republican nervous.
We may be ages away from the time when we will routinely see a
power split between parties on who rules Georgia, with one party
holding the office of governor, and another party having at least
one of the houses of the Legislature.
But Mark Taylor, now armed with fire in his belly, is bent on upsetting
the sitting governor, who happens to have $9 million in his political
war chest, while Taylor has about exhausted his funds. Does this
remind you of four years ago, when Dr. Perdue was virtually unknown,
given little chance, and going up against the major fund advantage
of sitting Democrat Roy Barnes?
Hmmm. Similar?
The numbers bring us to contemplation. Republicans need to make
sure they get out their backers if they intend to hold onto power
in Georgia with their governor in control. Democrats see a chance
of cutting into that power. After thinking 2006 might be a "ho-hum"
political season, there may after all be some sparks flying this
season.
ABOUT
OUR SPONSORS
 The
public spiritedness of our sponsors allows us to bring GwinnettForum.com
to you at no cost to readers. Today's sponsor is the Gwinnett
Philharmonic --presenting its season-opening concert September
26, 2006, at the Gwinnett Center in the Performing Arts Center concert
hall. The Gwinnett Philharmonic's upcoming seven-concert season
will include events featuring the full orchestra and a variety of
acclaimed chamber ensembles including a Christmas concert by the
Atlanta Symphony Brass Quintet and a Big Band jazz concert to close
the season in May. The September 26 concert will feature the full
orchestra in a 250th birthday celebration for Mozart. Clarinetist
Kathy White, will perform Mozart's legendary Clarinet Concerto.
The program closes with his amazing Symphony No. 41, also known
as "Jupiter". For tickets, call Ticketmaster at 404-249-6400
in August, or visit the web site for information on becoming a part
of the Gwinnett Philharmonic's exciting new season: www.gwinnettphilharmonic.org.
For a list of other sponsors of this forum, go to: http://www.gwinnettforum.com/about/sponsors.htm
McLEMORE'S
WORLD
7/21:
What goes on inside a polling place
The latest great cartoon from Bill McLemore:
UPCOMING
County
to build new animal shelter near Lawrenceville
A long-awaited new facility to house Gwinnett's growing population
of stray animals will soon be under construction on Winder Highway
(Georgia Highway 29) near Sweet Gum Road in Lawrenceville.
The Board of Commissioners awarded a $5.8 million contract to low
bidder Rogers Construction Company of Lawrenceville. Funding comes
from the 2005 SPLOST sales tax. The project includes building an
almost 40,000 square-foot Animal Welfare and Enforcement Center,
a small barn for livestock, and a police K9 building on the 6.8-acre
site. The new facility will be more than double the size of current
location, and will be equipped with state-of-the-art technology
and the latest in animal care.
The Gwinnett animal shelter takes in about 15,000 animals every
year. Most have either strayed from their homes or been abandoned.
They are adoptable after a five-day waiting period for a $30 fee.
About a third are adopted, rescued or reclaimed.
Architectural renderings of the design are posted online along
with pictures of cats and dogs currently available for adoption
at www.gwinnettanimalcontrol.com.
The current shelter is at 632 Hi-Hope Road in Lawrenceville. Call
(770) 513-5100 for information.
Norcross plans summer
concert aeries At new band shell
This summer, the City of Norcross is featuring free concerts in
the new band shell at Thrasher Park on weekends. All begin at 7:30
p.m. What better way to spend a weekend night!
The schedule includes:
* Friday, July 21, Counterpoint Bluegrass Band.
* Saturday, August 5, Caroline and the Ramblers.
* Friday, Sept. 1, Banks and Shane.
* Friday, Sept 15, Army Ground Forces Band Jazz Ensemble.
* Saturday, Sept 30, Norcross High School Philharmonic Orchestra.
NOTABLE
Street
Smarts spins off Virginia operations as new firm
Street Smarts of Duluth has spun off its Virginia operations into
a separate company, T3 Design, P.C.
Street Smarts, which also has offices in Altamonte Springs (Orlando),
Fla. and Dallas, Tex., will continue operating under the direction
of Marsha Anderson Bomar. T3 Design, headquartered in Fairfax, Va.
will be operated and managed by Patricia Timbrook, who has been
with Street Smarts. Each company will continue to provide its respective
clients with the highest quality work and responsive customer service
that has been the hallmark of Street Smarts.
Founded in 1990, Street Smarts currently employs more than 90 full-time
employees. It provides professional engineering services to both
the public and private sectors in traffic, transportation, Geographical
Information Services (GIS) and related services.
T3 Design currently employs seven full-time employees, with three
more engineers slated to be hired by August 1. The firm has provided
traffic engineering and/or ITS related services in Maryland, as
well as Virginia and the District of Columbia.
Suwanee's Ingersoll
adds 150 employees in manufacturing
Ingersoll Rand Security Technologies has completed significant
upgrades to its Suwanee facility. The company announces the installation
of new manufacturing equipment and the addition of 150 employees.
The 100,000-square-foot facility is now leveraging state-of-the-art
manufacturing technology that is expected to increase production
of Steelcraft products by 30 percent. The facility will manufacture
the complete line of Steelcraft doors, frames and hardware and complement
the company's two other Steelcraft manufacturing sites in Cincinnati
and Chino, Calif.
Dave Sylvester, president, Americas, Ingersoll Rand Security Technologies,
says: "This dedication of resources represents Ingersoll Rand
Security Technologies' commitment to increasing our capabilities
to continually meet the needs of our customers. Partnered with other
brands, such as Schlage, Von Duprin and LCN, Steelcraft plays an
integral role in helping Ingersoll Rand Security Technologies become
the complete opening solutions provider for institutional, commercial
and industrial companies."
For more information about Steelcraft doors, frames and hardware,
visit www.steelcraft.ingersollrand.com.
RECOMMENDED
- An invitation: What
Web sites, books or restaurants have you enjoyed? Send us your
best recent visit to a restaurant or most recent book you have
read along with a short paragraph as to why you liked it, plus
what book you plan to read next. --eeb
GEORGIA
TIDBIT
Working
yards and gardens accommodated rural living
The earliest domestic
yards represent a type of vernacular landscape that remained
continuous over time and place throughout Georgia well into the
20th century. The yards primarily functioned to accommodate the
essential activities and structures of rural living: gardening,
slaughtering, cooking and other kinds of food processing; laundering;
storage sheds and cellars; and pens, coops, or stables. The use
of fencing to enclose the house lot, gardens, and other zones of
activity was a universal feature of such yards and contributed to
an overall appearance of geometric ordering. Entrance paths most
often were centered along the axis of the entrance hall of the house.
Even if the landscape elements lacked a symmetrical arrangement,
there was usually a fairly formal disposition of parts within the
whole.
Richmond
County Garden |
The gardens associated with working yards combined the functions
of a medieval kitchen and a physical garden, producing an assortment
of vegetables, greens, and herbs for the table, as well as medicinal
plants. The same traditions of practice determined the layout of
the garden, which was usually a gridded arrangement of raised rectangular
planting beds with walks between and borders running the length
of the perimeter fencing. When well kept and flourishing, gardens
of this type were also pleasing in appearance and offered evidence
of the household's industry.
A common elaboration of the vernacular yard was the "swept
yard," which drew upon the same aesthetic of neatness and conspicuous
care. The sand or clay surfaces of such yards were regularly swept
or raked to remove grass or weeds and, in some instances, to maintain
a pleasing decorative pattern on the ground.
THOUGHT
OF THE DAY
When law is done one
way, it has its drawbacks
"Law that is sufficiently complex is indistinguishable from
no law at all."
-- Sociologist Charles Murray, via Marshall Miller, Lilburn.
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© 2006, Gwinnett Forum.com. Gwinnett Forum
is an online community commentary for exploring pragmatic and sensible
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