Author: Admin

In his Rotary vocations talk on September second, Jay Holley said as a licensed architect he wants to be well rounded and include all aspects of architecture. He said some architects are visionaries, some emphasize the technical, some are business people, and some are project managers., depending on the person’s strengths. He believes a combination of these skills is the path for him.

Becoming an architect involves three to six years of school, a professional internship that can be from three years to “forever,” and becoming a licensed architect (which means, he said, you are through with tests forever—unless you practice in California.)

Jay worked as a summer intern for an architect and in his last semester at KU was in a program called Studio 804. They built modules in a warehouse that were then installed in Kansas City, KS. “You are, literally, in the trenches,” he said. “The jobs involve long hours and hard work.”

After school he went to an architecture fair to find a job, showing projects and hundreds and hundreds of sketches. He is with GouldEvans architects and several years ago took the advanced tests to become a licensed architect.

He showed pictures of his projects including the new Lawrence library.

“Architecture,” he said “is more than just going to a builder. Some things as small as where the coffee pot is will influence a whole design.”

Crystal Swearingen, a realtor with McGrew Realty and president of the Lawrence Board of Realtors said her job is both rewarding and challenging.

The ups and downs of real estate, tied in with both the health of the community and of the economy and the development of technology  keep realtors on their toes, she said.

“The first half of 2015 from January through June finished strong,” Swearingen said.

Seven hundred seventy homes sold in the period compared to 633 homes in the same period in 2014 and 698 home sold during the entire year in 2011.”

The $150,000-$300,000  price range for single family homes has been the sweet spot for the Lawrence market and the measure of inventory levels, the “Months Supply” of homes, is at the lowest it has been in many years.

“Lawrence realtors work to build better relations with home owners and to have Lawrence continue to be a place of good jobs and good wages,” she said. “We work with the Lawrence Chamber of Commerce.”

A new generation is used to doing everything on line and this has created a problem for realtors when prospective buyers do their shopping on the internet.

When asked where she predicts the city will expand she said she really doesn’t know. A lot of it depends on school placement. She said she believes the South Lawrence Traffic way is going to be  good for the market.

Questions for the future, in addition to expansion, she said, are affordable housing in Lawrence, how many rentals are too many, and  what the economy will do next.

KU Biological Survey Researcher Scott Campbell visited Lawrence Central to talk about a hidden gem on the northern outskirts of Lawrence – The KU Field Station and our own Jane Huesemann was on hand to explain her firm’s part in a project on one of the field station’s trails.

Technically it is the “biological field station of the University of Kansas, was established in 1947. Its mission is to foster scholarly research, environmental education and science-based stewardship of natural resources.

The Field Station is situated within the grassland/forest transition zone (ecotone) of North America, where the eastern deciduous forest and tallgrass prairie biomes meet. Faculty, students and visiting researchers use the Field Station’s diverse native and managed habitats, experimental systems, support facilities and long-term databases to undertake an outstanding array of scholarly activities. The Field Station is available to any person or group whose research, teaching, or conservation interests are compatible with our mission.”

In real people terms that means the KU Field Station has become a small island of nature and biodiversity in an otherwise settled landscape, thus highly valuable for research.

There are trails for the public to explore and see, but the newest public trail amenity is a “Bee Hotel” which is a “sustainable resting space for solitary pollinator bees, which make up over 90% of the bee population. They are local bees that pollinate flowers and other plants. Solitary pollinators work independently to spread
pollen from plant to plant, flower to flower. Solitary bees are different than honey bees.  They live individually, rather than as part of a hive, and they don’t make honey. The Hotel “rooms” are designed as small tunnels. Different species occupy different diameters of tunnels and will construct a series of ‘cells’ in each room. ”

Places like this are important because bees play a keystone role in food production and in the beauty of our world through the pollination of fruits, vegetables, nuts, and flowers but these essential pollinators are
under threat and need our help. Bee numbers are declining and, for the solitary bee, this is mainly due to loss of habitat and safe living quarters. The plan was to help them by providing safe and well-designed places to stay. The hotel was researched and designed by Clark Huesemann and built and installed by Prosoco as a part of the USGBC Green Apple Day of Service with help from local Girl Scouts.

“The bee hotel adds another educational layer of interest to the features of the Rockefeller Prairie Trail,” said Scott Campbell, outreach and public service director for the Kansas Biological Survey, which manages the KU Field Station.

The Rockefeller trail, part of the Field Station’s five-mile public trail system, is ADA-compliant and runs along native and restored prairie. Amenities include interpretive signage, a restroom, a drinking fountain and benches. At the trail’s turnaround point, the Overlook deck, built by KU architecture students, offers a view across the Kansas River valley to Mount Oread.

Images from the flier that promotes the project are below with instructions on how you could create your own bee hotel.

Lawrence Central inducted a new member in early August.  Stephen Mason who is a recreation center programmer for the Lawrence Parks District. You’ll be hearing more about him in the weeks to come when we schedule his vocation talk.  He’s pictured here with sponsoring member Glenn Davis and Club President Kate Campbell.

Welcome Stephen!