Dreaming, Design and Practicality

"If you build it, he will come."

So goes the line from "Field of Dreams."  Ray built the baseball field in in his corn field because he had a dream.  While the dream changed a few times, the idea it sprang from stayed the same.

All ideas really do come from dreams.  So it is with building and architecture.  before any building can take shape, can be fashioned from brick and mortar or wood framing and drywall, it has to be dreamed--thought up.

"Most of our clients come to us with a vision, a 'dream' of a structure they want," Kevin Wallace said. "And if it isn't complete, we help them finish the dream," he said.

Kevin is a partner in DSKW & Associates, a full-service design-build firm based in North Texas. Kevin is the resident architect at the firm.

"Whether it is a factory, office building, shopping center or new residence, they all begin as a dream," Kevin continued.  "We have the luxury at our firm to work with clients in any of a number of phases," Kevin continued. "Sometimes we send them back to the 'dream' stage if the idea isn't quite solid enough to be drawn or conceptualized.  In that way, Dave and I have a lot of flexibility when it comes to helping clients."

Dave is Dave Sykes, CEO of DSKW & Associates, and a veteran of the construction and building world in Texas and the Southwest U.S.

"At the end of the day, however," Dave said,"it still has to be built. We will tell a client how it can be built, in what time and for what cost."

Kevin recalled a client who had a vision for a theatre he wanted to renovate.  The concept got to a point where it could be a real construction project, but it lacked something.  Dave pitched the project back to Kevin.

"I play the role of 'dream catcher'," Kevin related.  "Dave's the analyst who helps us keep our feet on the ground and I'm the one reaching for the clouds with the client. It's a good balance."

Dreams and reality are not that exclusive to one another in the world of architecture and building.  Just be sure and have that team that balances both on your side.

The Dreamer

Building Your Community with Service

In this space our topics usually are related to the actual desing and construction of our communities.  At the same time, spaces without heart or the warmth of the people who inhabit them are just that--spaces.

Building one's community takes more than brick and mortar and useful designs on paper.  It also takes action to build a community.

Recently our DSKW team visited our adopted elementary school, Tom C. Gooch Elementary School in the Dallas Independent School District (DISD) for a day of voluntarily reading to students.  Our day at the school was led by our senior project manager, Sandy Watson.

"The principal of Gooch, Karina De Los Reyes, invited us to come and read to the Pre-K through third-grade kids," Sandy told us. "On a regular basis community volunteer adults come into the school to read and interact with the kids," she said.

The book read by the volunteers on this day was Dr Seuss' "The Lorax" on the occasion of Theodore Geisel's 108th birthday.

"Not only was it fun to see the looks on the kids' faces and hear their reactions," Sandy continued, "but to see and hear the adults' responses and feel their joy was amazing."

Gooch Elementary was adopted by Sandy during her stint as "Principal for a Day" in the fall of 2011.  Sandy, a former career public school educator and administrator, because of her experience with the building trades, has advised Ms. De Los Reyes on a number of issues relating to the school building itself.

"We try and help with volunteer labor and materials whenever we can," Sandy said. "Recently the outdoor picnic tables needed repair, so we sent over a crew with replacement boards and hardware to make the fixes at our expense."

Building a strong community takes many forms.  Sometimes it involves a Lorax.

The Builder