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A Pan-Northern Mooch
I chose Corvus Design as my company name because ravens (Corvus corax) are amazing birds that are not only found throughout the North around the world (and beyond), but are also common in many cultures. Their stories are often intertwined with mischief and trickery. During a site visit to Seward, one tried to mooch some…
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Beyond the Gate: The Rise (and Fall) of the Moose Chicane
I think we’ve all been there: you look at a standard design pattern and start recycling it. But good design doesn’t come from repetition; it comes from questioning. Every idea is a product of the process that created it. If you don’t validate that process, you can’t reliably re-use it. Presenting a uniquely northern problem:…
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Gritdowns
Gritdowns! Okay, have you seen “Sneckdowns” showing pictures of intersections in the winter? The snow that doesn’t get tracks in it can indicate where vehicles actually drive… and the space that is dedicated to asphalt that might not be needed. Well… Anchorage has the same but with spring gravel (which might be one of the…
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Appreciation in Three Parts
Thank you. Thank you for taking the time to read this. I appreciate having the chance to share my thoughts with you. …now… rewind. A meaningful, heartfelt apology has three parts: acknowledgment, remorse, and restitution. You can find various sources online to check out how that works. It’s certainly good to know and use. While…
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Our Commitments
We recently quantified what we have learned from our clients and how our clients have changed us. These discussions led us to identify what we need to do as a firm to ensure we are always growing and serving our clients better. We are calling these “Our Commitments”: Accountability: Develop clearly defined expectations, roles, and…
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What is the desired outcome?
We have all learned lessons through uncomfortable situations. In our digital world, email is likely the ‘unintentional’ culprit of many of these situations. Either through it’s inability to convey the full intent behind what we are trying to say, or the ease with which the ‘send’ button can be hit without taking the proper time…
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Cultural Design: Is This My Story to Tell?
As a landscape architect, I subscribe to the idea that within our designs we are trying to convey stories. At the beginning of any effort, one of the most important questions is, “Whose story am I trying to tell?”. More important than that question is, “Is this story mine to tell?”. For many of our…