On the Boards

VR headset supplements 3D model

We’re working on a home on the bay in South Alabama where the clients were challenged imagining the space from drawings — even with our BIMx 3D model. So we put them in VR goggles and walked them through it.

It changed everything. Seeing the model on a screen is one thing. Standing inside it is another. They came out of the goggles with a different feeling about their own home, and it shifted some decisions in a way that drawings alone hadn’t.

On the web

Busted! Cat got his views

If you’ve been on Instagram or TikTok in the past two weeks, you may have already seen this one. A short video of me feeding our cat her nightly teaspoon of ice cream has, somehow, racked up 9.2 MILLION views (and counting) between the two platforms — plus a healthy showing on YouTube and Facebook. For perspective, that’s about 90 packed Tiger Stadiums.

The comments are something else. Liz is still recovering from the public reaction to her questioning my methods.

A little boomer-splaining for those of us who needed it: the women in that top comment are waving little green flags — internet shorthand for signs of a good partner. The meme is saying I’m a keeper.

As we head into our fortieth anniversary this May, Liz — bruised but in agreement — concurs.

And in milestone news that would normally headline a newsletter: my TikTok account crossed 1 million lifetime likes this month. The cat is, frankly, hogging the spotlight.

Around Town

Pelican Publishing turns 100

On April 4th, Liz and I spent the day at publisher Scott Campbell’s home in Marrero, where Pelican Publishing welcomed its Class of 2026-2027 authors during the press’s centennial year. We were invited to present on blending the book and the brand — I opened, and Liz carried the talk from there, walking the new authors through how Are You a Rhinoceros? found its place inside the architecture practice rather than alongside it.

Liz wrote a longer piece on her Substack drawing from the talk. If you’re curious about the thinking behind it, you can find it here.

A hundred years is a remarkable run for an independent regional publisher, and we were honored to be part of the day.

Sierra Pacific Windows — Phenix City, Georgia

Kevin, Sierra Pacific Plant Manager Phleet Greer, Nick

Nick and I spent a couple of days this month at Sierra Pacific Windows‘ Phenix City facility, about 90 minutes outside Atlanta. Sierra Pacific is a quality West Coast manufacturer expanding into the East, and it was a good chance to see the operation firsthand and stay close to the brand as they grow into our region.

Day one we toured historic homes in the area with about a dozen architects and designers from Texas and Louisiana. Some of those homes were beautifully maintained. Others, frankly, were not — and those were the ones that sparked the best conversations. Soffits, venting, and what happens when those details get overlooked. Plenty of TikTok fodder came home with me.

Day two started with a lecture on sustainability — specifically deforestation and reforestation practices in the window and door industry. Then we toured the factory. The plant is still under construction but already running, with about 100 employees on site and plans to scale to 500 within the year. Watching a high-end manufacturer build out capacity in real time was something to see.

An ODK moment for J. Michael Desmond

J. Michael Desmond, Kevin, and ODK LSU Chapter President Bridger Eglin

Omicron Delta Kappa is a national leadership honor society founded in 1914 at Washington and Lee. It recognizes leadership and character in five areas of campus and community life, and taps not only students but also faculty, alumni, and honorary members who’ve distinguished themselves in their fields. At LSU, only about 1% of the student body is selected for ODK each year.

Liz and I were both tapped as students at LSU, years apart, so being part of someone else’s tapping was a meaningful full-circle moment.

This spring, I wrote a nomination for J. Michael Desmond, who has taught architecture at LSU for nearly three decades.

Michael is the real thing — LSU, then Harvard’s Graduate School of Design, then MIT. He’s contributed to major scholarship on Frank Lloyd Wright, curated at MoMA, served in leadership at the Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation, and founded LSU’s Doctor of Design program. His book The Architecture of LSU, supported in part by a Getty Foundation grant, is a lasting record of how this campus came to be what it is. I was proud to write an endorsement for it.

The tapping happened Wednesday in his studio class — we joined Bridger Eglin (President of the ODK chapter) and Randy Gurie, walking in to formally tap him and share his achievements with his students. The installation followed on Sunday.

Michael’s father, John Desmond, was one of Louisiana’s most significant modern architects — the LSU Student Union is his work. Walking past it on the way to tap his son into ODK was not lost on either of us.

A Saturday morning at the library

Liz and I spent a Saturday morning at the Bluebonnet Branch of the East Baton Rouge Parish Library this month — 9 to 11:30 — at a home electrical basics seminar Rhino Electric has been running across the parish library system. It was hands-on. Every attendee got to wire a socket, change a light fixture, work a switch, and walk through what to look for at the fuse box. Real demonstrations, real takeaways.

It was such a thoughtful public service, and exactly the kind of thing we love to see. Hats off to Rhino Electric — and owner Scott Parker — for putting the time into getting this knowledge out into the community.

Around the Studio

Birds, one who left the nest, and an enigmatic Cheeto

A few small things from inside the studio this month. Vanessa has a bird’s nest with babies just outside her window — the bird’s name is Fyero, after Wicked. Our former staffer Henry came through from California for a visit, which was a real treat.

Selfie with Henry

And then there’s this. Our granddaughter Josephine made an acrylic painting of a Cheeto — bag included for scale — that has earned a permanent place of honor at our house. Vibrant, confident, and entirely committed to the subject matter. I cannot stop laughing at it.

Until next month, Kevin Harris

“ Liz says I should stop feeding the cat ice cream. The internet disagrees. I’m taking the matter under advisement. — Kevin Harris