HMS is Hiring

HMS Architects is a downtown New Orleans based full service architecture firm with projects throughout the region and country. We are seeking for a full time position a graduating Intern Architect or recent graduate with up to 5 years of professional experience to join our collaborative team. We are looking for someone that has proven experience with project design and documentation. Candidates should be interested in contributing to and learning about all aspects of building design and construction.

Required Skills and Experience

Bachelor’s Degree or Master’s Degree in Architecture

0-5 years of professional experience, professional internship if just graduating

Proficiency with Revit Required

Excellent communication skills to work effectively with clients, consultants and contractors

On the path to licensure is encouraged

Graphic design skills, Adobe Creative Suite and website capabilities are pluses

Salary is commensurate with experience, excellent medical benefits, vacation, holiday and sick leave.

Please send electronic version of resume portfolio and cover letter to the attention of Keith Steger at studio@hms-pa.com. When contacted by HMS for an interview we may request to see samples of your Revit work to understand your proficiency with the program. Please include in your resume any pertinent extracurricular involvements or organizations.

Construction Has Begun on the Ochsner Primary Care and Physical Therapy Clinic at Bellemeade

Clement Building Company began constriction on the Ochsner PT and Primary Care Clinic at Bellemeade on March 31st, 2016.    HMS had previously finished the drawings and specifications for the clinic for Ochsner Health Systems, on schedule after 5 months of design work.

This former K&B, an existing tilt-up concrete and steel framed building building consists of 19,043 SF of built area, on one floor with a mechanical mezzanine, and contains both a primary care clinic and a separate physical therapy clinic under the same roof.

The physical therapy clinic consists of a 5500 SF gymnasium, full of equipment and therapy tables, as well as five 100 SF treatment rooms.  The suite also includes a waiting area, which is able to see the activity in the gym, but is shielded from the noise by an interior storefront wall.  There is also a custom reception desk that opens to both the waiting room and to the gymnasium, through the glass wall.  There is also a pediatrics room to treat children.

The primary care clinic includes an X-ray suite, 23 regular exam rooms, one bariatric exam room, 2 large exam rooms, a shared/E-visit room, a conference room that can double as an exam room, a two-seat blood draw room, a point-of-care testing facility, a medications room, several enclosed offices for supervisors and scheduling needs, and plenty of storage.  The waiting room is enclosed by interior storefront, allowing views and an open feel to both the other waiting room, as well as the activity and dynamism within the gymnasium.

More information about the Ochsner Clinic at Bellemeade
More information about HMS-designed Healthcare work
More information about the Bellemeade clinic at Ochsner's website
More information about the Clement Building Company

Lakewood Elementary School Interior Renovation Construction Underway

St Charles Parish Public Schools received bids for Lakewood elementary school interior renovation on January 12, 2016.  HMS had previously finished the drawings and specifications for Building for St Charles Parish Public Schools, on schedule after 5 months of design work.

The Lakewood Elementary School Building A Renovations consist of 26,756 SF of renovated area, all on the first floor, and this renovation modifies a large shared classroom area, separated by temporary partitions, splitting the area into 19 new classrooms and a teacher work area suite, using high-impact gypsum board on metal stud framing, for durability in the demanding educational environment.

When including all alternates, the five bids ranged from $1.4M to $1.9M. within 35% of each other, reflecting the uncertainty of renovation projects.  The winning bid was for $1,401,000, or $51 per square foot, which is under budget by $399,000 or more than 20%.  This difference allowed all alternates to be accepted within the budget.

The winning Contractor, Dynamic Constructors ,  is expected to begin work in late May, for a contract length of 60 days, expecting to finish by the start of school.  We look forward to working with St Charles Parish Public Schools and Dynamic Constructors for the months ahead.

More Information about the Lakewood Elementary School Building A Renovations

More information about HMS Educational Projects
More about St. Charles Parish Schools

More information about Dynamic Constructors

The Hahnville High School Weight Training and Exercise Building is Substantially Complete

The Hahnville High School Weight Training and Exercise Building has been substantially completed by Crescent Commercial Construction on October 19th, 2015, for St Charles Parish Public Schools, in Boutte, Louisiana.

This brick-clad CMU building consists of 6900 square feet of built area, all on one floor, and contains a weight room and a general exercise room, with a retractable batting cage system, as well as restrooms and other support spaces.

Construction took nine and a half months, since January 5th, 2015, and has been substantially completed on schedule.  Including the eight months of design, the entire length of the project has been 18 months.

The final building cost of the project was $1,206,100, or $175/SF, after separating out the other building.  On the overall project, including both buildings, there was over $70,000 worth of savings during construction via change orders, or 2.4% of the bid cost of $2,869,000.

We thank St Charles Parish Public Schools and Crescent Commercial Construction for working with us on the project, and wish them the best in the future.

More about Hahnville Fieldhouse

More about Hahnville Exercise Building
More about HMS-designed Educational Projects
More about HMS Projects on the Boards
More about Hahnville High School
More about Hahnville Athletics
More about St. Charles Parish Schools

FAQ: How Can I Make My Restaurant Quieter?

Restaurants and kitchens are often particularly loud rooms, in addition to the actual activities within them.   A desire for easy to sanitize surfaces can often lead to too many hard surfaces, that do not absorb enough sound.  As a result, the room has a long reverberation time, which makes the noises in the room last longer, overlapping with one another, leading to a louder room overall.  As a compounding effect, people will often talk louder to be heard through the din, making the situation even worse.  As an end result, restaurants can lose some customers, simply because the overall experience isn't a good one, simply due to the noise.

There are several possible solutions to cut down on the noise:

• Some noise can be reduced at the source:
• Clinking glassware, glassware, and plates can be reduced by switching to plastic or paper, if feasible.
• If not, noise can be reduced somewhat by adding tablecloths or placemats under dishes, but that won't address "fork-on-plate" noise.
• Of course, none of this addresses conversational noise.
• Several common solutions can be used to reduce the reverberation time in the room, and therefore the noise level in general:
• We go into acoustics and reverberation time in this post, but the simple version is to add as much absorptive area as possible.  Here are some possible solutions:
• An acoustical ceiling can be added
• Carpeting or rugs could be added on the floor (beware of tripping hazards)
• Upholstered seating can be installed.  Be careful, however, because when in use, the soft surfaces are covered by people.  The backsides and undersides of the seats could still be made soft.  Additionally, the chairs could be oversized (tall backs, etc)
• Tablecloths could be added
• Acoustic wall panels could be added (or disguised as artwork-paintings or drapes)
• A common solution is to add absorptive material, or to a lesser extent carpeting, to the undersides of tables and chairs.
• Another less intuitive solution is to add taller, reflective dividers within booths, to help people hear one another better within their table, and hopefully speak more quietly in general.
• Hanging acoustic elements can be added, whether they are panels or more sculptural.

What We Do: Architectural Acoustics: Reverberation time

One of the many things architects can consider in the design of buildings is architectural acoustics.

• What is it?
• Reverberation time is basically how "loud" a room or space is.  Specifically, the time (measured in seconds) that it takes for a certain noise level to drop 60 decibels (dB).  The 60 decibel drop is an arbitrary decision to standardize the measurement, but it is a relatively useful choice, given it is about the difference between an orchestra at full fortissimo and the background noise in a room.  
• Why is it important?
• Reverberation time contributes (or detracts) from the quality of a space in several ways, in different environments.  Here's a chart showing optimum reverberation times for various rooms.
• The biggest difference (or at least the most recognized) is made in performing arts environments, one of our specialties.
• In choral or lyrical instrumental performance environments, a long reverberation time  (like a cathedral) is desirable, stretching and blending the various sounds into one another, adding a great resonance to people's voices, making them sound better.  It's probably no coincidence that people tend to sing in the shower, usually the room with usually the longest reverberation time, due to usually having all hard finishes.
• In lecture halls or spoken-word environments, a short reverberation time is desirable, as long reverberation times will blend the consonants together, making certain words hard to distinguish.  
• In practice rooms and rehearsal halls, many musicians prefer to have short-resonance spaces, so as to be able to hear themselves accurately, without the embellishment and "sugar-coating" of a well-designed hall.  (Though, some of us enjoy practicing in reflective stairwells, using the reverberation to fool ourselves into thinking we sound much better than we actually are.) 
• Outside of performance buildings, reverberation times still make a difference:
• Often, the desire for low-maintenance finishes in restaurants and kitchens makes people select too many hard finishes.  This results in a long-resonance space, and therefore makes for very loud, even unpleasant dining experiences, driving some customers away.
• In classrooms, studies have linked poor acoustical design with several metrics.  Students who cannot make out what the teacher is saying tend to have lower test scores. Also, teachers who must continually shout over background noise tent to have to take more sick days.  
• To hear the difference, check out an audio comparison at Armstrong Ceiling's website, here.
• How do we do it?
• Reverberation time is usually measured in the field by playing a sound, stopping it, then recording how long it takes for the sound level to drop 60 decibels.  It can, however, be calculated ahead of time by taking the volume of the room (multiplied by a constant), and dividing it by the sum of the total Sabins of absorption in the room.   See here for more detailed information.
• A sabin, named for the Harvard acoustic researcher who first researched reverberation times, is a measurement of absorption, whose units are curiously measured in area (m^2, or sqft.)  However, to be a useful measurement in sabins, the area is multiplied by a coefficient of how much sound it absorbs.  For example, a square meter (or square foot for imperial units) of open window reflects no sound, and so have a perfect coefficient of 1, and would be measured as one sabin.  Something of the same size that reflects a quarter of the sound back would then be 0.75 sabins.   
• Notably, since materials will absorb sound differently at different frequencies, a standardized metric, called the Noise Reduction Coefficient (NRC) exists to test a material at four common octave bands; at 250, 500, 1000, and 2000 Hz; (Approx Middle B4, B5, B6, and B7) and average performance between the four.  Typical NRCs vary from 0.70-0.90 for high-absorption acoustic ceilings, to 0.05 for glass, brick, or gypsum board. 
• These calculations can also be done in reverse, where we take a room of a desired size and desired reverberation time, and calculate out the required absorption needed, which we can then incorporate into the design of the room.   Most projects we do this ourselves, but in highly sensitive cases like music schools and performance halls, we will partner with an acoustical consultant to get it just right.
• In many cases, the equations can be simplified, and a good reverberation time can be obtained by simply selecting a good ceiling and floor finish.
• However, in more specialized cases, we often need to add acoustical panels around or in the space, both to absorb sound, and to break up any strong echoes  We also sometimes add movable curtains that can be opened to allow the acoustical qualities of the room to be changed as desired. All of these elements need to be carefully placed, both to work with the acoustic geometry of the rooms, as well as to fit within a coherent room design.
• When in the process do we do it?
• Early in the design process, we will take into account the desired volumes of spaces, and select a ceiling and a ceiling height that works for most of the simple spaces
• Later in the design process, for any particularly complicated or demanding spaces, we will look into any necessary additional acoustic panels or elements, and incorporate them into the design of the spaces.
• Where are some good examples that we've worked on?
• Casper College
• At Casper College, we worked closely with our acoustical consultants to properly balance the acoustics of all the major spaces.   The required acoustic panels were treated as a design opportunity, helping to give character to the various spaces.
  
  
• The main concert hall was made up of glass-fiber-reinforced gypsum panels on the ceiling and walls to evoke the windswept plains of the area, while diffusing the sounds throughout the hall, with absorbing panels at the rear.   There are also absorptive curtains  that can be deployed in front of these diffusive panels that will allow the users to controls the acoustics of the space.


• In the instrumental and choral rehearsal halls, the adjustable acoustic curtains were hidden by pilasters that, along with the curved acoustic diffuser wall panels, also give detail and a human scale to the large space.  
  
• At the percussion rehearsal hall, absorptive wall panels were placed both low and high, to avoid reflective standing waves and flutter echoes, while the mid-height diffusive acoustic wall panels were woven together with both absorptive and diffusive concrete blocks, to accomodate the deeper tones of a percussion suite.  They were carefully placed on the walls as an expression of the common basic rhythms that percussionists play, while additional glass-fiber-reinforced panels from the main auditorium were hung in the space to diffuse the sound from below.
• Mimosa Park Elementary
  
• At  Mimosa Park Elementary we preemptively addressed acoustical concerns about an overly-loud cafeteria space by spraying a acoustical treatment onto the ceiling, adding acoustical panels on all walls, and adding hanging acoustic panels in the center of the space.  This was done early enough in the design and construction process that all of these elements were folded into the coherent design of the cafeteria, instead of tacked on afterwards.
• JB Martin Gymnasium
  
• At JB Martin Gym, we were specifically tasked with fixing the acoustics of an existing gymnasium, that was far too "loud" a space to be useful.   Nearly all speech was unintelligible, even through the loudspeakers, and being in the space during a loud athletic event was almost unbearable.  HMS remedied the situation by applying a sprayed acoustic ceiling to the entirety of the gym ceiling, as well as placing acoustic wall panels at the perimeter, solving the school's problem, even with an increased capacity of the gym.

Overall, reverberation time is one of the many factors that affect a user's perception of a space, and is therefore only one of the many factors we take into account for the design spaces and buildings.

More information on the Casper College School of Music

More information on Mimosa Park Elementary School

More information on the JB Martin Gym Renovation 

More information on HMS-designed Performing Arts Architecture

More information on HMS-designed Educational Projects

Case Study: Rendering Comparisons at the JB Martin Gymnasium Renovations

The JB Martin Middle School had a older gymnasium building, that was starting to show its age, and also starting to no longer meet the needs of its occupants, and so the decision was made to renovate the space.

The pragmatic requests were easy enough to provide for, but the qualitative aspects were more difficult to show and predict.  In particular, the users had requested a light, open, lively, larger feeling space, though existing conditions precluded the possibility of actually enlarging many of the spaces.  As a result, our solution was to use finishes, and slight changes to make spaces feel more open and dynamic, as well as adding exterior/interior space to make the building "feel" bigger.  Since this project was done in Revit, we were able to use renderings to better get the feel of the spaces before work was done, to better verify that the proposed interventions would actually work.  See below for some examples of the proposals and their solutions.  Pay particular attention to how the renderings reflect the final product.   Some reflect it almost exactly, while others were adjusted and tweaked during construction.

Exterior of Building, showing the gymnasium seating and storage addition, and the canopy to help add a focal point to the school's courtyard.  The top image is existing conditions, the second is the Pre-construction rendering (note bumped-out portion for additional seating), bottom is the final post-construction photograph.  Other than some colors being off, and the omitted landscaping, the pre-construction rendering looks accurate to the final product, down to the framing of the canopy.

Exterior of building, showing lobby addition

Lobby of building, showing new ceiling and finishes.  The top image was the existing conditions, the second was the pre-construction rendering, raising the ceiling as much as possible to the roof above.  During construction, additional above-ceiling elements were discovered and the ceiling was re-designed to accommodate them, as shown in the 3rd image.   The final image is the completed construction, matching the revised rendering almost exactly.

Main Gymnasium, towards addition at end.  The top image is the existing conditions, and the second is the pre-construction rendering, re-painting in lighter colors, reducing the school colors to a stripe.  During construction, the colors were re-tweaked to add school colors at the structure and ducts, as shown & checked in the third image.   The fourth image is the final photograph.  Nearly everything is similar to the rendering, except the light fixtures show up differently, the structural bracing shows up, as well as additional framing for the goal posts.

Girls' locker Room.  The first image shows the existing conditions, particularly the shower-turned storage. Note the high lockers.  There was a specific owner request for the coach to be able to have visual control of the whole locker room from her office. The second image shows the pre-construction design, as seen form the coach's office, with the room painted a bright white, with limited splashes of school colors.  Note how the lower locker banks allow for visual control.  The third shows the final product.   The red elements were eliminated during construction.