January | 2017 |

Building a tall building on top of a tall mountain where the wind whips around at 30 miles per hour at ground level practically every day is a challenge. The higher up we are building, the more forces we get from the wind. Before we even started our plans and 3D modeling, we participated in ETABS watch and learn lessons to understand more about designing the shear walls in our newly planned tall building. The other structures up here are not over four stories tall. This is the first experiment in a tall building on this mountain top.

We know that the materials and engineering concepts exist to make our building safe and durable. We just needed to brush up on things to be certain about every detail. Continue reading Building Tall on a Mountaintop Made Possible with Computer Designs

If you haven’t seen some of the many buildings with apartments for rent in Rio Rancho NM then you may not realize how the architecture of many of them can be so wonderful against the landscape of the state. I really love how much of the scenery in the southwest is so different from the rest of the country. I moved there because of it. I don’t think I will ever get tired of it either. I spent much of my life living in a mountainous area with lots of surrounding forests, and I’ve always appreciated that. But there’s something about the southwest that has called to me.

The first time the I was in New Mexico was for a Girl Scout camping trip when I was in about 13 years old. I lived just one state away at the time where the terrain is much different. Seeing desert was so new to me. I had only seen it in movies and on television up to that point. Continue reading Moving Here is Something That Will Remain Permanent