Architectural Design: Emily Little Architects Photography: Rodney Bursiel   Thank you Thank you for your interest in the Blue Horse - Loop Design team. In this world of professionally concocted mission statements and unrelenting sales pitches I ask myself-- how do I honestly and effectively describe the nature and ability of this group of very gifted individuals. I hope that this site will relate to you -- who we are -- and what we can do for you. We each have chosen the art and science of building for our careers. We share a desire to 'raise the bar' and improve the standards of our industry. We operate as a collaborative design-build practice while maintaining the necessary separation between design and build aspects of a project. This allows us to be, first and foremost, the advocate of the client. Every one of us has talent and extensive experience. What sets us apart is our willingness to treat each project as if it were our own. It makes every day fun for us. When people are having fun and doing what they love to do- good things come from it. This all becomes evident when you walk into one of our homes. - Fred Ballard, General Manager What we do We design and build healthy, efficient, beautiful homes. We can sell you a home in one of our communities, we can help you find a nice piece of land to build on somewhere, or we can build on your land. The Team administration and construction management Fred Ballard, General Manager - apprenticed building barns and Ag buildings with my father on our family farm and neighboring farms. Worked as a carpenter thru graduating from Texas A&M. After a 9 year corporate stint in international sales, I returned to my calling. I began designing and building exterior/garden structures, architectural millwork, and cabinetry. My interest in high-performance materials, scientific approach and problem-solving abilities has brought me to the cutting edge of building technology. For the past 12 years I have been remodeling and building custom homes in the Hill Country area. Jake Bradley, Operations Manager - began his career as a masonry apprentice after high school, worked up to lead carpenter, and advanced to project management within 6 years. He studied architectural engineering and computer-aided drafting. For several years Jake was a project manager, supervising the building of multi-million dollar homes involving crews of 50 or more. Implementation of complex and interrelated tasks comes easy to him and, with Jake around, things tend to effortlessly fall into place. He has experience utilizing a wide variety of building materials and techniques including traditional stick frame, steel framing, SIPS, and ICF systems. Jake plans and oversees all of our jobs. He is in each of our custom homes on a daily basis. Jake is also a pilot. Brenda Lopmeier, Administrative Assistant - experienced significant success in sales before working for many years at the Ritz-Carlton in Naples, Florida. She continued her career as an executive personal assistant with a single individual for 10 years. Upon relocation to Dripping Springs, Texas, Brenda acted as the general contractor on her own home overseeing the construction of a green residence that incorporates features such as aerated concrete block, rainwater harvesting, and insulated roofing. Brenda has enjoyed decorating her home in a Santa Fe style and is landscaping her home's exterior with native plants. design alliance Terri L. Wright, Interior Designer - received her Interior Design degree from UT then began her professional career as an Interior Designer for Mancini Duffy in New York for 3 years. After which, she accepted a position at Gensler and Associates Architects in New York & Los Angeles for 3 years. For the past 12 years Terri has worked in residential design consulting and the Motion Picture Industry in set decorating. She keeps our interiors functional, fresh and, most of all, beautiful. She has a knack for creating space, colors and textures that accentuate dialogue between interiors and landscapes, fabric and terrain. Christy Seals, Loop Design, Architect - received her B.S. in Architecture from the University of Virginia and worked for three years in Lancaster, Pennsylvania and Richmond, Virginia, on schools, retirement homes and commercial projects. She moved to Austin, received her Masters of Architecture from UT and has worked on some amazing residential projects here for John Mayfield, David Heymann and KRDB before starting Loop Design. Christy, at once, takes a practical and philosophical approach to design. She is perpetually interested in experiencing directly how each building will come to be- how it will relate to its site. I have learned over the years to trust her thought process and to await her design solution with anticipation. Marla Smith, Loop Design, Designer- received her B.A. in Architectural History from the University of Virginia in 1991 and her Masters of Architecture from UT in '97. Since graduation she has taught Technical Communication, Advanced Design, Digital Representation, Visual Communications and Design II at the UT School of Architecture while maintaining a private design and rendering practice. She has worked with architects and designers such as Richard Dodge, Jill Nokes, Rhode:Hurt and Miro Rivera before organizing Loop Design with Christy. Marla is specifically interested in achieving a balance between the artistic/aesthetic and the technical/functional aspects in her design work.