Challenges and Collaborations
This week, we're looking at challenges in different forms. A set of case studies examines how teams around the country have worked on steep flag lots, narrow infill sites, and urban properties that butt up against elevated train tracks.
In our latest Builder in 5 Q&A, we learn about a challenging vision to enclose a 1915 log cabin inside a new mountain modern build (what the builder originally described as "kind of crazy"). That reaction makes the outcome worth seeing, because a long-running collaboration between the two firms is what made that idea find a way through.
"Once you respect each other … it really comes down to figuring out challenges," said the architect, Todd Smith of Syndicate Smith.
That thread carries into our latest Women in Residential Construction news: our virtual Women In Residential Construction Conference is set for two half-days; we'll be together online September 29–30, 2026. It's slated to be an exceptional program built around the professional and business challenges and opportunities shaping women's careers in building and design. More details soon.
— Pauline Hammerbeck