New Guts, Old glory
1400 W 13th St is a substantial building on the corner of 13th St and Hickory in the heart of...
Perceptions of Power
I recently read a compelling and influential book by Mary Beard called Women and Power. It examines how women have had...
Mass Timber: Growing Sustainability
Mass Timber is a modern reimagination and expansion of the traditional construction material of Heavy Timber. Its present-day form is...
Preserving Historic Windows
DRAW has been investigating the benefit of interior storm windows for the past few months. This research is based on...
AIA Big Sibs Conference
I’m just returning from the Big Sibs conference for AIA National (American Institute of Architects). It’s the annual gathering of...
Ulm Münster
Ulm Münster Age: 646 (c. 1377-1890) On a family reunion trip this Summer, we visited the city of Ulm, located in...
The Balance between Efficiency and Carbon Footprint
At DRAW, when we think about sustainability, we strive to achieve a balance between optimizing building energy efficiency and maintaining...
Universal Design, ADA & Preservation
"Boldly going where everyone else already goes" is the slogan of the disability activist group ADAPT. They began their work...
Design As Therapy
In DRAW’s mission towards achieving/implementing positive impact design, understanding how architecture and the built environment influence human health and wellbeing...
AIA Leadership Summit
As President-Elect of our local AIA chapter, I had the honor of participating in the AIA National Leadership Summit this...
KCI Connections
This February, our DRAW team has the honor of participating in the opening celebrations of our new Kansas City International...
Modernization of KC Historic Housing: Colonnade Apartments
In the previous “Modernizing a KC Classic” post, I covered one of this region’s most iconic single-family housing types –...
The Kansas City, MO Climate Action plan, and what it means for architecture and planning.
Per the website KCMO.gov, “Resolution No. 200005 states that the City will reduce emissions from electricity use by 100% by...
AIAKC 2023 President-elect Dominique Davison, AIA
I’m excited and honored to work with our board and membership as the incoming President in this critical time. I...
Time To Take Action
The past month’s events in our political landscape have caused me to have a wide variety of emotions, thoughts, and,...
Modernizing a KC Classic: The Shirtwaist
Kansas City’s historical neighborhoods make up a large part of the city’s urban fabric and contribute to the city’s image...
Bandbau
DRAW architectural designers participated in and submitted a proposal for the Berlin Affordable Housing Challenge competition hosted by Bee Breeders...
Amazing Women in Design History
This April 2022, the month when we celebrate the earth and focus on the environment, DRAW wants to celebrate these...
Unpacking Attainable Housing
I have been passionately working in affordable housing for many years - I started my career working on affordable housing...
Richard Rogers (1933 – 2021)
Last year, right around the holidays, I heard the news of Richard Rogers' passing. A few days later, I woke to...
Affordable Housing Abuse
Under the umbrella of affordable housing, developers have received credit for their projects through the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit. However,...
A Punk Rock Message
Earlier this year, Spitboy, one of the bands I played in during my college days, released our complete catalog in...
Women In The Workforce
An important consideration in what has been dubbed "The Great Resignation" is that one in four women has left the...
Application of Net-Zero Strategies
There are six applications of four strategies that we can apply to a new or existing building to achieve net-zero...
Sustainable Design: A Unified Process
DRAW’s mission of POSITIVE IMPACT DESIGN supports sustainability, net positivity, and carbon neutrality. To this end, we implement a holistic...
Incentive for Innovation
Tax credits continue to be an untapped source of revenue for many architecture firms. Whether unutilized due to a lack...
Three Essential Steps Toward Carbon Neutrality and Equity
As an architect and community member/advocate, I’ve been studying the issue of climate change for over two decades. These are...
Street Trees
Yesterday I walked across the Crossroads, from our office at Central to my favorite shop, Christopher Elbow Chocolates. The walk...
Affordable Housing: Beyond Eviction Moratoriums
Last week the White House announced that the CDC decided not to extend the national eviction moratorium two days before its expiration....
Triple Decker Design Challenge
Retrofit is one of the most sustainable approaches that architects can take towards creating new housing. Unlike new build construction,...
Landscape Architecture + Design Justice
I want all architects and landscape architects to know the importance of their role and responsibility to bring about Design...
Color Study
When Positive Impact Design is rooted in values of empathy and activism, it allows itself to be actualized at any...
Evicted
"Millions of Americans remain out of work and unable to pay their financial obligations, so it’s no surprise that our...
Fire Station 15
The team was hired by the city to design a fire station that better served the city’s northeast neighborhoods while...
Panelization Normalization
Developers, city planners, and architects are more and more devising novel prototypes to address progressively more complex and interrelated issues....
A time for listening, self reflection, and seeing – everyone
During this very difficult time, we at DRAW are bearing painful witness to the racial inequities of our American systems,...
At DRAW, the difference is Positive Impact Design.
This blog post is a video. Not an unusual concept, but to us, at DRAW, the content is quite revolutionary:...
3-D Printing in the Architectural Profession
Once an exclusive and costly process, three-dimensional printing has since become commonplace. Beyond providing significant savings to companies, it has...
COVID-19 and Sustainability
During this difficult and stressful time, I’m blessed to both be surrounded by an amazing family and to be part...
Makerspace + Innovation
In an age of increased individual entrepreneurial spirit, makerspaces have emerged as the foremost laboratories to pursue these endeavors. They...
Positive Impact Design: Empathy + Activism
Empathy and activism are the core ideas of DRAW’s overall practice of Positive Impact Design. This post is the first...
Climate Change Blog Series – HOME Competition
Global warming, brought on by climate change, is an impending threat to the inhabitants of our planet. In the last...
Climate Change Blog Series – ACCO Conference
Global warming, brought on by climate change, is an impending threat to the inhabitants of our planet. In the last...
Crossroads Study
In the fall of 2018, DRAW was tasked by the Crossroads Community Association with compiling an assessment of the Crossroad...
Harvesters Food Bank
Operating since 1979, Harvesters works diligently to address food insecurity in the Missouri/Kansas region. It is also a regional disaster-relief...
Affordable Housing Summit
In July DRAW attended the First Suburbs Coalition Regional Housing Summit, an event gathering urban planners, elected officials, policymakers, and...
Adaptive Reuse
Why we love adaptive reuse as urban revitalization projects! At DRAW, our “why” is to create positive impact design. Positive impact...
Prototype Housing
Hired by the City of Kansas City, MO to design five prototype homes that will be situated on scattered sites...
Touring the Tenement Museum Reveals the Ongoing Struggle Americans Have with Immigration
We all know the stories of Ellis Island and the famed words enshrined on the Statue of Liberty: "Give me your...
A Smarter, More Connected AEC industry
If you have missed it, there is are clear and compelling indicators that our AEC industry is on the precipice...
Dominique Contributes to the Smart City Dialogue on a National Level
Dominique and the DRAW team are more inspired and motivated than ever about the potential that emerging Smart City technologies...
Lessons from My Punk Rock Life: How being a punk rocker made me a better business leader
My college years were transformational for me. They marked the gateway to my chosen path of architecture. They hosted my...