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"If
we are concerned about the life of the planet, we
have a very strong responsibility to use those
natural resources most appropriately, but "green
architecture" is also a buzzword and a feel good
word that is not and has never been anything more
than "good design."
"The first responsibility is to your client. To help them try to explain what it is they're trying to achieve and then define ways to provide their needs in the most appropriate and economic ways. Broadly, architecture has a new mission, in green architecture and sustainable architecture; a third of the energy used in the planet is from buildings (heat, light). Therefore, if we are concerned about the life of the planet, we have a very strong responsibility to use those natural resources most effectively. "Green architecture" is only a buzzword and a feel good word that is not and has never been anything more than a "good design." "We designed the first "Green Globes" school in PA. It is yet to be built. We must look beyond the efficiency of documents builders utilize in building these projects to a broader sustainable purpose. Urban Sprawl is the destruction of the cornfields you see going on everywhere around Central PA to build plastic houses. The infrastructure then has to be extended out to those houses and that is the opposite of green architecture. A green building is using an existing building so that you don't have to refine the aluminum, etc. When the State built their green headquarters on a new site in Harrisburg, I thought that was a poorly conceived idea. Use an old warehouse on Cameron Street, that's green. Is it harder for an architect to renovate an existing building? Absolutely. On His Firm "We are not the client, with the
needs for improvement and we are not the builder; physically
constructing the building. We facilitate both of these
functions. Bink Architectural Partnership has proved over
the decades to work better with contractors to help them
build. We help them facilitate their work, rather then
impede it. I'm not saying we're perfect, but I'm confident
we're better at this than most. We use more senior
registered professionals in all aspects of our work at our
cost, rather then delegating that work to less experienced
individuals. We may not produce in quantity because we
produce in the quality and more effectively. We're very
pragmatic. Pragmatism is a key component, to what
distinguishes Bink in this profession. It's been a 47-year
history. You tend to avoid trends in architecture. It's all
word of mouth - I don't even have our sign up on our
building. All of our work comes from satisfied clients." "We
are not the client, we don't bring all the money to
the table, we're not the builder, we don't
physically construct the building, but we
facilitate both of these functions."
On The Future "There is a strong need for architects in PA. We have the second highest need for retirement communities, after Florida. Bink Architectural Partnership is moving in the direction of senior care centers. We have doubled our volume of work in the last several years. We have to hold tight to the ability to serve the smaller clients. It is a struggle to maintain a size that is appropriate to smaller projects. However it takes just as much effort to do a million dollar church as it does a 30 million dollar school. "There is a lot of seriously aging infrastructures in the school market. The state is making it harder for us to build new facilities due to recent legislation. We should be repairing what we already have existing. Architects do not market themselves very effectively, so if people don't ask, we cannot help. Here at Bink, we try not to concentrate on the state contracted facilities. We concentrate more on private projects. We would like to expand our senior care market to hospital work. We would venture to speak with Pinnacle and Messiah to see if we can be of service. I am somewhat resistant to growth. Our configuration is both small-personalized service as well as consulting engineering for a specific expertise with scheduling costs that are appropriate. We assemble a team customized for each project as it comes." Bink Architectural
Partnership Bink Partnership was founded in 1961 by Harry Bink. Six months later, James Bogar joined him, creating the firm Bogar & Bink. Harrison Bink joined in 1988, and succeeded his father as Managing Partner in 1992 under the name of Bink Partnership. If you want to be considered for a Q/A interview, contact Samantha Brisbane, Associate Editor at 717-975-2148, or sbrisbane@hersheyphilbin.com Click
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