"It's the passion, stupid."

Between the constant barrage of stock market reports and political attack ads of late, it's hard not to notice that the economy is a bit rough these days.

Last week, our practice completed construction documents for two projects simultaneously. Possibly the most significant projects we've worked on to date. Construction should commence in a few weeks and we are thrilled with the potential they both hold to transform the college campus and the town in which they are located, as well as the lives of students and community members that will assemble there, not to mention what we hope they will do for our practice over the long term.

This week, we photographed the completed renovation of the Games Center at Missouri State University, now renamed LEVEL 1. This is always a time of fulfillment for us because it marks the completion of the project and records it forever. The camera doesn't lie. At the same time, our addition to Exeter schools is nearing completion and recent construction photos of that project suggest that our efforts to expand design possibilities into rural communities is working. These are exciting times for us at Dake Wells Architecture.

Next week, several of us will be attending the AIA Central States Regional Conference in Kansas City with the hope of making new connections with other like-minded professionals and renewing existing relationships that have helped us through our first four years of this gig. On Thursday evening, October 23, I'll be presenting some random thoughts about our design work at Pecha Kucha, a 6 minute and 40 second presentation format that may or may not interest others, but thrills me to no end.

So amidst the roller coaster stock charts, political banter, and admittedly challenging economic times, just remember that it's your passion that moves you.