A few week back I stumbled upon the first blog post I wrote on Fresno Famous. That was two years ago. I wrote a handful of posts on Famous before eventually branching out and creating this site.

It’s awesome to see that I’ve implemented many of those ideas set back then. We’ve made great progress together. Yet so much work remains to be done. Below is that first post I wrote. Big shout out to Fresno Famous for fostering so many bloggers over the years and to Paprika Studios and for developing and helping maintain this site.

Fresno’s First Architecture and Built Environment Blog

Submitted by kiel on Wed, 01/09/2008 – 22:59.

I’m proud to announce the launch of the first and only blog dedicated to architecture and the built environment of Fresno, California. We are at a critical point for Fresno as a city and as a regional leader. Fresno’s built environment and how we choose to develop it will play a key role in our quality of life, success, healthy growth, and maturation, or our stagnation, and failure to achieve our true potential.

Education and public discourse are essential elements of progress. This blog aims to be a platform for progress toward an improved built environment in Fresno. Everything is interconnected. To truly understand this complex and dynamic topic we will take a holistic view at Architecture, Landscape Architecture, City & Regional Planning, and the Construction Industry.

Content
Content to be included will be: interviews with leading and emerging design professionals, building reviews, comments on City Council agenda items, other governmental actions, and community news from an architectural point of view.

You can also expect blog entries on my experiences as an architect in training. Architecture is a unique career path full of: continuous education, diverse styles and points of view, frustrations, hectic deadlines, creativity, and highly visible impacts. My experiences should make for some interesting reading. If nothing else it will keep me writing and give me an outlet for celebration of architecture.

Your participation is an important part of this effort. I encourage you to contribute to this blogs content. Please comment on and discuss any of the topics I post.

Goals:
Along with many of my activities, the goal of this blog is to educate and inspire interest in an improved built environment. Buildings and landscapes have a strong impact on our happiness and quality of life. Good buildings, good landscapes, good planning equals a high standard of living for all, that is the goal.

This will tie in with the efforts and goals of the successful ArcHop event with a written compliment. I will give periodic updates and opportunities for input on and involvement in this event as it matures and grows. See www.fresnofamous.com/archop_and_we_don%E2%80%99t_stop for a discussion on January’s ArcHop.

Upcoming Posts:
Review of the San Joaquin Valley Housing Symposium www.sjvhousing.com
Review of California Avenue community design workshop

Topics to watch:
Mayoral Race
City and County 10 Year Plan to End Homelessness
Metro Rural Loop
ArcHop
Downtown Housing

Disclaimer:
This is the personal blog of Kiel Famellos-Schmidt and in does not necessarily reflect the opinions, views, or objectives of the American Institute of Architects: San Joaquin, ArcHop sponsors, Fresno Famous, the Tower District Design Review Committee, or my employer the Taylor Teter Partnership.

I’d like to thank Fresno Famous for providing a platform for this important discussion. And thank you for your readership.

Kiel Famellos-Schmidt