new Steven Holl project

Hello everyone,
Take a look at this new project by Steven Holl in construction.  It is very interesting.

http://www.stevenholl.com/project-detail.php?type=construction&id=60

…still getting used to Word Press

Matthew

The future of creativity in Sacramento.

Admittedly, as the primary voice of the CCC, I’ve been a little absent in my posts here lately, due in part to my busy work schedule, but also because I’ve been transforming my design studio and the nature of the work that I do in the Sacramento region. If you don’t already know, I’ve recently partnered with a talented young woman by the name of Barb Hennelly and created a new business. Barb’s the voice and visionary behind Kidaround Magazine, a local publication geared towards modern moms and she’s a living breathing example of what I’m all about. Find a market and fill it, and she’s done so very well. After many conversations, Barb and I discovered that there was a void in the local creative marketplace for incubatory design firms and we felt that we had an obligation to fill that void and change the way Sacramento uses creativity and design to reshape the lifestyle experience in the capital city.

So we started Romp Creative, “a playground for ideas & business” which is a full service design studio and creative incubator. We wanted to use Romp as a way to help catalyze business development and creative events around the Sacramento region. We believe that Sacramento is ripe with opportunity for innovation and cultural advancement rooted in sound design thinking and entrepreneurial passion. So we’ve been actively promoting this manifesto at events like our Designer Pint Nights, the UDA design dialogues and Pecha Kucha night. It became quickly apparent that we weren’t the only ones thinking this way. Local organizations like the American Institue of Architecture, the Urban Design Alliance, Valley Vision, Midtown Business Association, The Urban Hive, Capsity Offices, the Landmark Forum, Pecha Kucha and several others have been working on collaborative spaces, community centered design, public art projects, leadership training and design competitions just to name a few. A few key individuals like myself have been working diligently to launch new events like these, and business projects that seek to redefine the landscape of Sacramento’s urban core and its surrounding areas with a more far reaching sense of possibility.

The one theme that seemed to keep surfacing in all these happenings was imagination. If we can imagine a brighter, more active and vibrant Sacramento, we can make it a reality. It recent months, i’ve had literally dozens of conversations about the future of Sacramento and how creativity plays such a vital role in shaping it’s outcome. I’ve met local architects, designers, entrepreneurs and students that are desperately trying to build a ground swell of energy and enthusiasm around their ideas so that we might all reap the  benefits of this more lively metropolis.

In our own attempt in at radical change at the street level, The Capital Creative Collective held the first ever live design battle at the MARRS building in May with both great success and support. We’re currently planning our next one and several other events that we hope will have a huge impact on the future of Sacramento. In addition to that, we’re redesigning the CCC’s primary website and blog for more indepth experience. I’ll also be speaking at several events over the next few months, with many of my peers and elaborating on my vision for Sacramento in the years to come. I’ve also recently joined a marketing committee for SARTA’s Medstart program to launch a new event series for them, hoping to foster more growth in the medical startup sector. The CCC is also partnering with several local design institutions to further promote our program and theirs. It’s all part of our efforts to build relationships and ignite the creative process in our community.

The Capital Creative Collective has been a way to take all these organizations, individuals and ideas and gather them in one place to provide a single marketplace for collaboration and connectivity for Sacramento and beyond. It is my belief that the goal of the CCC is to gather all the great thinkers of Sacramento and put them into one concise resource that allows us to discover, interact and get involved with them, in new and innovative ways that push Sacramento further into the future and with greater success in each and every instance. Much like Architeture for Humanity, we believe good design is a basic human right. Do you?

CCC in the Sacramentopress

Well, it appears we’re doing big things and making waves in the capital city. The Sacramento Press featured us on their homepage the other day and we’ve been generating a lot of interest and support. Check it out here.

On a side note, I wanted to apologize for not feeding your design addiction more often. I recently opened a new studio downtown called ROMP Creative and we’ve been busy making the transition. I’ll try to post up more images from out pints nights and other stimulating news.

Upcoming Events:

Wednesday, June 24th – UDA Design Dialogue
AIACV proudly presents the 4th Wednesday Design Dialogue!

At June’s AIACV Design Dialogue, we will discuss the importance of pro bono design services and hear from Stacy Jed, a Steering Committee Member for the San Francisco chapter of Architecture for Humanity.

Date: Wednesday, June 24, 2009
Time: 6:00 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.
Location: AIACV Gallery – Enter on 14th Street

Designer Pint Night

Tonight (Tuesday, June 9th) is pint night for Sacramento creative set. A monthly gathering of great thinkers, Designer Pint Night was created to help the hippest, hottest and most innovative people connect face-to-face, and it is the single best place to meet some of Sacramento’s most talented individuals and teams. An average evening might include; architects, interior designers, graphic artists, motionographers, photographers, industrial designers and sculptors, but the crowd is varied and always interesting. It’s always a good time and bring plenty of business cards or your iphone if you’re the networky type.

Designer pint night is always held on the 2nd Tuesday of every month. We meet at de Veres Irish Pub from 7 to 11pm. They have a full bar and serve a variety of food as if that will entice you a bit more to come join us.

Upcoming Pint Night Schedule:

June 9th

July 14th

August 11th

September 8th

October 13th

November 10th

December 8th

Dynamic Architecture

In a city where money is no object, architects are currently pushing the limits of design and engineering to build some of the most extravagant and state of the art buildings in Dubai. You’ve probably heard and seen the Burj al Arab hotel (the one shaped like a sail boat), the Burj Dubai (soon to be the tallest skyscraper in the world), and of course who can forget the Palm Islands of Dubai (the man made ones), but here’s a new one to add to the collection of truly outstanding architecture…

Watch the video!