Rauser Design

Carney Logan Burke Architects

Matt Garcia Design

© Will Austin Photography

As mountain guides, Scott Schell and Margaret Wheeler are used to the upper reaches of the Cascades. Their site in the foothills above Snoqualmie is not far from work. The 2,100 sqf house, designed by Johnston Architects and built by Tall Tree Construction, accommodates both professional and practical demands, but it also fulfills a deep desire to do what is right.

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Architects: Johnston Architects
Location: North Bend, Washington, USA
Partner in Charge: Ray Johnston
Project Architect: Sara Imhoff
Landscape Architect: Scott Schell
Structural Engineer: BTL Engineering
Contractor: Tall Tree Construction
Client: Schell & Wheeler
Project Year: 2008
Photographs: Will Austin Photography

© Will Austin Photography

This house was built on site with many materials found, milled and crafted on the site. Blow-down trees from storms provided the logs that were milled into siding, fascias and trim. Large firs and cedars were felled, cured and processed to provide beams and some framing materials. A ground source heat pump supplemented by solar water preheating supplies energy to the house. To this, recycled materials, FSC certified materials, grey water recycling and other strategies are the basis of the soon to be achieved LEED Silver status of this house.

sections

The historic fabric of this complex lies in the history of use of the land and indoor/outdoor occupation of forested space. The mud room, nearby wood storage, use of varied floor materials to shake off the debris of the outside, simple roof forms are all part of this solution. Rather than dig the house into its hillside, we bridged across for an upper floor entry, minimizing grading and other disruption to the existing environment. Two thousand native plantings were made to restore the forest floor upon completion. Even on a grey and rainy day t
Cite:
Minner , Kelly . "North Bend House / Johnston Architects" 13 Jan 2011. ArchDaily. Accessed 10 Oct 2012.

The First Passive House in Virginia

By Preston on Jul. 24, 2012

"This is the first Passive House to be certified by PHIUS in Virginia.  Located at 229 Lankford Avenue in Charlottesville, Virginia, the project was designed by Giovanna Galfione-Cox and certified by John Semmelhack of Think Little.  Lankford Passive House has three bedrooms, two-and-a-half bathrooms, and about 2,250 square feet, according to a local real estate listing, and is offered for sale at $598,000."

"Lankford Passive House met the airtightness requirement with 0.42 ACH at 50 Pascal.  For systems, the new home has an UltimateAir ERV, GE heat pump water heater, and a Mitsubishi mini-split heat pump with two indoor units.
All of the appliances are Energy Star or better and include a Bosch EcoSense dishwasher, VestFrost refrigerator from Denmark, and Schott Ceran glass-ceramic cooktop.
In terms of the construction, the green home has triple-pane Serious Windows 725 Series, double-stud wall framing, FSC-certified framing lumber and plywood, structural insulated sheathing with taped seams, a hybrid wall with nine inches of Agribalance open cell spray foam and cellulose insulation, a roof with Agribalance open cell spray foam and two inches of closed cell roof foam, a white roof, and an exterior with stucco and Western Red Cedar.
The home is solar ready and includes several other green elements, including a 1,100-gallon rainwater harvesting system, locally-sourced slate, regionally-sourced red oak floors with a water-based low-VOC finish, and building finishes from cherry and locust trees harvested on the site."

[+] More about the Lankford Passive House from The Hook.
Credits: CAAR MLS. 

Platinum Home with a California View

"This is the Tiburon Bay House, a stunning LEED Platinum home owned by Helene Marsh in the San Francisco Bay area.  It was designed by Butler Armsden Architects and built by McDonald Construction & Development, Inc., the same company behind a couple other high-profile LEED Platinum homes — the Margarido House and the Hillside House.  Tiburon Bay House replaces a 1,500 square-foot home that was deconstructed by hand with 95% of the material going to reuse or recycling."

"Tiburon Bay House has some deep green elements.  For example, there’s a 5 kW solar photovoltaic system that provides 80% of electrical needs and a solar hot water system that provides 100% of the domestic hot water needs.

Beyond the solar panels, this place was designed with the mechanical functions in the core stairway area in order to preserve unencumbered exterior views.  The bedroom and living areas, as pictured, all feature stunning water and bridge views. Also, the orientation of the home, together with the overhangs, optimize natural heating, cooling, and daylighting.

Tiburon Bay House was built with a combination of recycled steel, LVL, timberstrand, FSC-certified wood, and OSB.  The foundation has a minimum of 30% fly ash and recycled aggregate.

Otherwise, the LEED Platinum home earned 114 points and has rainwater harvesting (for toilets and the washing machine), graywater collection (for irrigation), high-efficiency irrigation, a permeable hardscape, Energy Star appliances, LED and fluorescent lighting, smart house automation, zero-VOC paints, and in-floor hydronic heating, etc."

[+] More about the LEED Platinum Tiburon Bay House.

Yee Residence, maison esprit loft en Californie

"Située à Carmel, dans le nord de la Californie, Yee Residence est une maison esprit loft qui a été conçue comme une ferme moderne par les architectes de Lake Flato. Elle est divisé en plusieurs bâtiments aux caractères différents et offre au total une surface habitable de 465 m²". via Notre Loft, un excellent blogue consacré aux lofts.

Ville : Carmel, Californie
Surface : 465 m²
Année de construction : 2007
Type : Maison esprit loft
Architectes : Lake Flato
Photo: Sara Remington for The New York Times
Via : The New York Times

© Steve Keating Photography

Architects: Balance Associates Architects
Location: Big Sky, Montana, USA
Design Team: Tom Lenchek AIA, Principal, Lauren Tindall Crocco AIA, Jeff Babienko, AIA
Project Year: 2009
Site Area: 7.3 Acres
House Area: 3,400 square feet
Photographs: Steve Keating Photography

   

© Steve Keating Photography

The River Bank House sits along the Gallatin River just outside Big Sky, Montana. The clients love to entertain, so the house was set up to create an open and casual atmosphere with a strong connection to the outdoors. The house is oriented toward the best view of the river while maintaining good solar orientation for taking advantage of solar heat gain in the winter and keeping out the hot summer sun. The large roof over the living room serves to shade large areas of glass in the summer, while geothermal heat pumps and high levels of insulation help keep it warm and energy efficient in the winter. In such an extreme climate the house was specifically designed to withstand both extremes of the temperature spectrum.

© Steve Keating Photography

The house is separated into the main living area and the guest wing. The guest area is designed so that it can be shut off from the rest of the house when unoccupied and set back to a lower temperature when not in use. Additionally, the two wings of the house bend in order to capture the best views of the river and create a protected entry courtyard.

Cite:
Ross , Kritiana . "River Bank House / Balance Associates Architects" 28 Mar 2012. ArchDaily. Accessed 29 Mar 2012.

© Aaron Leitz

Architects: Scott Allen Architecture
Location: Issaquah, Washington, USA
Total Living Area: 4,589 s.f. = 426 sqm
Completion Date: October, 2011
General Contractor: Roberts Wygal, Kirkland, WA
Finish Carpentry: Cavanaugh Custom Homes, Snohomish, WA
Photographs: Aaron Leitz Photography

© Aaron Leitz

Located in Issaquah Highlands’ prestigious Harrison Street neighborhood, this two-level home features sophisticated design that naturally accommodates a casual Pacific Northwest lifestyle. The hillside setting offered the opportunity to place the main living spaces as well as the master suite on the upper level, which took full advantage of the site’s expansive views.

© Aaron Leitz

The covered entry, set well back from the street behind a garden and pond, creates a private, welcoming transition into the home. A large vaulted space, housing the living, dining and kitchen areas, forms the heart of this home. This space is warmed by the use of hardwood floors and naturally-finished wood beams, and is illuminated by natural light that flows through continuous clerestory windows along the north, west and south sides.

Several of the windows in this upper band of glass are equipped with motorized openers, which allows for natural cross-ventilation of the space during warm weather. A dramatic wood and steel open-tread staircase connects the upper and lower levels. The lower level features a multi-functional space that can be used for a wide variety of family activities and that opens to both a view-side deck and a south-facing sun terrace.

© Aaron Leitz

This entertainment area creates a natural place to gather with built-in seating, a fire pit and a waterfall fed from the pool above. The lower level also houses three bedrooms, two bathrooms, a bar and wine room. The garage is artfully hidden from view on the lower level. On both levels of the home the views and the connections to the outdoors are maximized, with the inside and outside spaces flowing freely from one to the other through the use of oversized windows and wall-to-wall bi-parting doors.

Extensive decks on both levels are built of hardwood decking and stainless steel railings for both aesthetic appeal and durability. Sustainable strategies for this home include natural cross-ventilation, a geothermally-sourced heating and cooling system, and double-thick panelized roof construction.
Cite:
King , Victoria . "Harrison Street Residence / Scott Allen Architecture" 07 Mar 2012. ArchDaily. Accessed 09 Mar 2012.

The Small House by Maryann Thompson Architects

Cambridge-based studio Maryann Thompson Architects has designed the Small House project.
Completed in 2007, this 750 square foot contemporary one-room cabin is located in Great Barrington is a town in Berkshire County, Massachusetts, USA.

The Small House by Maryann Thompson Architects:
“Conceived as a modest one-room cabin, the house packs a kitchen, living, dining areas and two sleeping alcoves into just 750-sf; a 500-sf screened porch and sleeping loft create a thick threshold between inside and out. Double French doors connect the house to the porch. When flung open, the entire house takes on the quality of the screened porch, with dappled light streaming in and breezes suffusing the interior.
Wrapped in Western Red Cedar inside and out, the structure seems to recede into the landscape. From the outside, the house dialogs respectfully with the landscape. On the interior, the cedar frames and reinforces the woodland setting.
Small House was one of the first in Great Barrington to be designed to comply with the Berkshire Scenic Mountain Act, which requires that a house not peek above the ridgeline, that tree-cutting be limited to ¼-acre, and that drainage prevent both flooding and erosion of the site. In response, Small House tucks into the hill side, nestling beneath the tree canopy with its roofline following the slope of the mountain to mimic natural drainage patterns.
The house also incorporates such commonsense sustainable strategies as radiant structural slab, which maximizes opportunities for passive solar gain through the broad expanses of glass on the south and east elevations. Natural cooling is achieved with the stack effect through operable skylights and ceiling fans. The house utilizes a highly efficient remote-operated mechanical system so that the homeowners can monitor and adjust it from a distance.”

Photos by: Craig Okerstrom-Lang (#1), Nathan Eikelberg
Source: Architizer

Solar Umbrella, California / USA by Brooks + Scarpa

Nestled amidst a neighborhood of single story bungalows in Venice, California, the Solar Umbrella Residence boldly establishes a precedent for the next generation of California modernist architecture.

Photo by Marvin Rand

Project Details:
Location: Venice, California, USA
Type: Residential - Houses
Architects: Brooks + Scarpa – www.brooksscarpa.com
Client/Owner: Angela Brooks and Lawrence Scarpa
Total Square Footage: 1,250 sq. ft.(new) 650 sq. ft.(remodeled)
Project Team: Lawrence Scarpa and Angela Brooks – Principals- in-Charge. Angela Brooks, AIA, Anne Burke, Vanessa Hardy, Ching Luk, Gwynne Pugh, P.E., AIA, Lawrence Scarpa, – Project Design Team.
Located on a 41’ wide x 100’-0” long through lot, the Solar Umbrella addition transforms the architects’ existing 650 square foot bungalow into a 1900 square foot residence equipped for responsible living in the twenty-first century.
Inspired by Paul Rudolph’s Umbrella House of 1953, the Solar Umbrella provides a contemporary reinvention of the solar canopy—a strategy that provides thermal protection in climates with intense exposures. In establishing the program for their residence, which accommodates the couple and their one child chose to integrate into the design, principles of sustainability that they strive to achieve in their own practice. The architects carefully considered the entire site, taking advantage of as many opportunities for sustainable living as possible. Passive and active solar design strategies render the residence 100% energy neutral. Recycled, renewable, and high performance materials and products are specified throughout. Hardscape and landscape treatments are considered for their aesthetic and actual impact on the land. The Brooks Scarpa Residence elegantly crafts each of these strategies and materials, exploiting the potential for performance and sensibility while achieving a rich and interesting sensory and aesthetic experience.

Photo by Marvin Rand

Taking advantage of the unusual through lot site condition, the addition shifts the residence 180 degrees from its original orientation. What was formerly the front and main entry at the north becomes the back as the new design reorganizes the residence towards the south. This move allows the architects to create a more gracious introduction to their residence and optimizes exposure to energy rich southern sunlight. A bold display of solar panels wrapping around the south elevation and roof becomes the defining formal expression of the residence. Conceived as a solar canopy, these panels protect the body of the building from thermal heat gain by screening large portions of the structure from direct exposure to the intense southern California sun. Rather than deflecting sunlight, this state of the art solar skin absorbs and tranforms this rich resource into usable energy, providing the residence with 100% of its electricity. Like many design features at the Solar Umbrella, the solar canopy is multivalent and rich with meaning—performing several roles for both functional, formal and experiential effect.

Photo by Marvin Rand

By removing only one wall at the south, the architects maintain the primary layout of the existing residence. The original bungalow, which was tightly packed with program (kitchen, dining, living, two bedrooms and a bath) is joined by a sizable addition to the south, which includes a new entry, living area, master suite accommodations, and utility room for laundry and storage. The kitchen, which once formed the back edge of the residence, opens into a large living area, which in turn, opens out to a spacious front yard. An operable wall of glass at the living area delicately defines the edge between interior and exterior. An unbroken visual corridor is established from one end of the property to the other. Taking cues from the California modernist tradition, the architects conceive of exterior spaces as outdoor rooms. By creating strong visual and physical links between outside and inside, these outdoor rooms interlock with interior spaces, blurring the boundary and creating a more dynamic relationship between the two. The entry sequence along the western edge of the property further demonstrates this concept. A cast in place concrete pool provides a stong landscape element and defines the path to the front entry. Upon reaching the entry, the pool cascades into a lower tier of water that penetrates and interlocks with the geometry and form of the residence. In a move that reinvents the welcome mat, stepping stones immersed in the water create an initiatory rite of passage into the residence as the visitor is invited walk across water. The distinction between outside and inside is once again blurred.

Photo by Marvin Rand

Photo by Marvin Rand

The master suite on the second level reiterates the strategy of interlocking space. Located directly above the new living area, up a set of floating, folded plate steel stairs, the bedroom strategically opens onto a deep covered patio which overlooks the garden. Conceptually reminiscent of R.M. Schindler’s Kings Road Residence, this patio extends the bedroom area outdoors, creating the sensation of a sleeping loft exposed to the exterior. This deep porch carves out an exterior space within the visual bounds of the building envelope and provides the front elevation with a distinctive character. What appears to be a significant area of the second floor is actually never enclosed but rather it is protected by the planes, which wrap around it.

Photo by Marvin Rand

Photo by Marvin Rand

A dynamic composition of interlocking solid and void creates a richly layered depth to the design. Transparency through the house allows views to penetrate from front to back. The structure appears to sit lightly upon the land. Formal elements along these visual corridors—i.e. stairs, bearing walls, structural columns, guardrails, built-in furniture and cabinetry– vary in density, color and texture. Light penetrates the interior of the residence at several locations. A series of stepped roofs, glazed walls, and clerestory windows broadcast light from multiple directions. Light and shadow—ephemeral and constantly changing effects–become palpable formal tools that enliven the more permanent and fixed elements of the design. Together, all of these components establish an effectively layered composition rich in visual and formal interest.

Photo by Marvin Rand

Photo by Marvin Rand

Photo by Marvin Rand

Throughout the residence, the architects resourcefully take materials and contextually reposition them as design elements. Solar panels, conventionally relegated to a one-dimensional utilitarian application, define envelope, provide shelter and establish a distinctive architectural expression. Homosote, an acoustical panel made from recycled newspaper is palm-sanded and used as a finish material for custom cabinets. OSB (oriented strand board) a structural grade building material composed of leftover wood chips compressed together with high strength adhesive, becomes the primary flooring material where concrete is not used. Sanded, stained and sealed, the OSB floor paneling provides a cost effective and materially responsible alternative to hardwood. Materials are selected for both performance and aesthetic value. Metal stud construction replaces conventional wood framing. Recycled steel panels, solar powered in-floor radiant heating, high efficiency appliances and fixtures, and low v.o.c. paint replace less efficient materials. Decomposed granite and gravel hardscape, including a stormwater retention basin are used in place of concrete or stone. Unlike their impervious alternatives, these materials allow the ground to absorb water and in turn, mitigate urban run-off to the ocean. Drought tolerant xeriscaping compliments the textures and palette of the building while providing a low maintenance, aesthetically appealing landscape.

Plans

© Paul Warchol

Architects: Leroy Street Studio
Location: Long Island, NY
Completion: 2007
Size: 7,400 sf House, 1,900 sf Wood Shop and Garage
Photographs: Paul Warchol

© Paul Warchol

To satisfy a client’s passion for barns, we sought to capture the qualities of traditional barn structures (generous spaces; repetitive timber frames), while developing a modern building responding to the demands both of a residential program, and a site’s dramatic views of the adjacent corn field and nearby moody Atlantic coast. The main home is accompanied by a woodshop with adjoining changing rooms for use of the lap pool that lies just beyond. The woodshop was a special request from the client, an avid woodworker with passionate requirements about the shop’s aesthetic and geographical relationship to the house. With such a strong affinity for a hobby exercised indoors, we exploited the impressive scope of the site and the accompanying nature by designing a compound of buildings that incorporate the emotion of the surrounding outdoors from within the buildings themselves.

© Paul Warchol

The entrance of the house is approached along a raised boardwalk. The entry sequence draws one through the building’s louvered skin into a two-story foyer overlooking a three story interior garden courtyard. The house’s public spaces are elevated to the second floor to capture the long views. The main space, an open living, dining and kitchen hall, opens to a billiard room below, and to a mezzanine and a ceiling-scape of delicate three-dimensional hybrid wood-and-steel timber frame members and slot skylight above. An immense stone fireplace divides this hall from the outdoor, screened porch beyond. The mezzanine opens outside to a rooftop garden connecting to a study tucked into the rafters.

© Paul Warchol

The foremost determining feature of the project’s architecture is its collaborative use of inside and outside spaces that come together to form a dualistic experience; succeeding in bringing the outside in. To unify the various internal and external spaces, we created a translucent wrapper for the building of louvers and rain screen siding. In all, five outdoor courts and garden spaces are unified under the single roof, giving the structure a double reading of complexity from up close, and simple monolithic harmony from afar. When lit at night, the main house’s light shines from within the spaces between the louvers, allowing a gauzy translucence rarely seen in solid, volumetric structures.

© Paul Warchol

The woodshop building also maintains the indoor-outdoor parti with a semi-covered rooftop patio alongside the upstairs woodshop entrance. Down below are the changing rooms, kitchen area and garage, with a breezeway dividing the indoor spaces on either side, paving the way to the pool straight ahead.
Cite:
King , Victoria . "Louver House / LSS" 26 Dec 2011. ArchDaily. Accessed 09 Mar 2012.

Casa Grove I by MATEU Architecture

 
MATEU Architecture have sent us images of the Casa Grove I in Coconut Grove, Florida.

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"Casa Grove I by MATEU Architecture
The detached house is probably the most explored, analyzed and experimented with building type. Most architects start their careers designing houses. At the same time, a house can be a complex undertaking, made up of numerous components, public and private spaces, daytime and nighttime activities, active and passive functions, each with personalities as complex and different as their many users. In its simplest form however, the house is a shelter, protection from the elements, an enclosure defining space, interior and/or exterior.
The site for this project is located on a lush tree filled lot, fronting a heavily traveled street in North Central Coconut Grove, Florida. The lot is 40 feet wide by 170 feet deep, with the front of the lot facing northwest. All of the beautiful oaks hovering over the property remain as part of the design solution.
The architects were challenged to design a functional, cost effective and uniquely creative setting, affording maximum privacy, openness, security and buffered from the street traffic noise. The resulting design is one that addresses the issues of the privacy/openness conflict and the ever increasing concern for security in today’s world.
The courtyard design allows for the main public spaces to be buffered from the street by the front structure that contains a garage/carport and a bedroom/studio/office above. The entry sequence is such that the side setback is used as a filter to the house, and deliberately extends the arrival sequence by placing the front door at the rear building, making a small lot appear larger.
The living/great room is a two story volume, simple in its detailing, so as to not compete with the elements that define an individual’s signature (furniture, art, etc.) that personalizes spaces. The floors are of rectified porcelain tiles, creating a natural texture on the lower floor, while the upper floors are clad in wood. Spaces flow into each other, borrowing visually from their adjacencies, creating the feeling of much larger spaces, while allowing intimacy whether a few people are gathered together, and at the same time affording adequate space for dinner parties of 100 people.
The upstairs is reserved for the private functions of a master bedroom suite, with private decks and outdoor spaces available for private moments, even in the tight lot and setback constraints of Coconut Grove.
The simple, cost effective and creative assemblage of spaces and finishes in this simple project, on this small urban setting, should be an example of the need to continue our architectural explorations into rational, timeless residential designs."

Visit the MATEU Architecture website – here.
Photography by Claudia Uribe
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Branson School Student Commons by Turnbull Griffin Haesloop

 
Turnbull Griffin Haesloop designed the Branson School Student Commons in Ross, California.

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Description from the architects:
The Branson School is an independent high school occupying seventeen acres of hilly terrain in the residential community of Ross, California, just north of San Francisco. The new 7,550 s.f. Student Commons building is located in a narrow glen in the center of the campus, along the pedestrian path between the upper and lower campuses. The central gable and large window wall front onto an inviting terrace and lawn while the flanking support wings, sheltered under green roofs, connect to the adjacent hillsides with board-form concrete walls. Sited to take advantage of the sunny southern exposure, the new building features large overhead doors that open onto a generous plaza for dining, meeting and outdoor learning. By providing spaces for gathering and socializing throughout the day, the Student Commons serves as the heart of campus activity. The building is LEED Platinum certified and features many sustainable strategies, including a living roof, radiant heating, natural ventilation, photovoltaic panels, and pervious paving.

Visit the Turnbull Griffin Haesloop website – here.
Photography by David Wakely
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© Mike Sinclair

Located in Herington, Kansas the new office for Hodgdon Powder Company utilizes a Quonset hut system of construction that allows an extremely functional yet dynamic space for the company’s employees.  The design plays to the strengths of the pre-engineered system by focusing the major modifications to the end wall assemblies, allowing the dual-corrugated, structural panels to remain largely intact.
More photographs and drawings following the break.

Architects: el dorado inc
Location: Herington, Kansas, USA
Principal in Charge: Josh Shelton
Project Architect: Sean Slattery, AIA, LEED AP
Furniture Design and Fabrication: Brady Neely
Structural: Genesis Structures
Metal Building Engineering: Steelmaster USA
MEP: Lankford and Associates
Landscape: el dorado inc
Lighting: Derek Porter Studio
General contractor: Kelley Construction Company
Owner: Hodgdon Powder Company
Project Area: 8,500 sqf
Project Year: 2007
Photographs: Mike Sinclair

© Mike Sinclair

This project illustrates el dorado‘s  belief that a dynamic workplace contributes positively to staff productivity and can assist with brand reinforcement. The design goal with the Hodgdon Powder facility was to prove this true even on a “bare bones” industrial project such as this.

The program, 8,500 sqf, called for a reception, meeting space, offices, dining, and locker rooms.  El dorado chose to separate the uses into three buildings orienting them around a garden of native plants and outdoor circulation.

floor plan

El dorado worked closely with Steelmaster USA to design a Quonset hut, examining the appropriate size and span, that could accomodate the needs of the Hodgdon Powder Company.
 
Cite:
Minner , Kelly . "An Office for Hodgdon Powder Company / el dorado" 25 Jan 2011. ArchDaily. Accessed 25 Feb 2012.

Celo Residence Connects with Nature

 

This is the Celo Residence, an award-winning guest house adjacent to an organic farm overlooking the South Toe River in Celo, North Carolina.  The home received an Honor Award from AIA Ashville and was featured in Fine Homebuilding and most recently in EcoHome Magazine with a Grand Award.  Celo Residence was Energy Star certified and received a 75 HERS with projected total energy costs of less than $30 a month.
 

The 1,540 square-foot cabin was placed on a down slope to minimize the visual impact of the home from neighbors and increase natural protection from strong northern winds.To save energy, the green home has Icynene spray-foam insulation, Dow XPS insulation under the slab, high-performance HURD windows and doors, and Energy Star appliances.To conserve water, Celo Residence has dual-flush toilets, water-efficient fixtures, drought-resistant plants, and a 3,750-gallon rainwater cistern for irrigation.  It also has rough-in work for a greywater system and solar PV to be installed in the future.The project was built by Sunspace Homes and designed by Samsel Architects.

I first learned about the Celo Residence through our new green home submission form.  If you have a home project or renovation, submit it to the editors for potential publication.

 

[+] More photos of Celo Residence at Samsel Architects.

© Will Brewster

Architect: Medicine Hat Inc.
Location: Ruby Springs, Montana, USA
Project Year: 2010
Interior: Shack Up Studio
Photographs: Will Brewster / Medicine Hat Inc.

The Ruby Springs PREFAB by Medicine Hat Inc. exhibits the best attributes of the modular prefab home. Set against the mountains and trees of the Montana landscape this residence connects to its surroundings both with materiality and porosity. The prefabricated nature of the structure has left its landscape and natural beauty untouched.

© Will Brewster

A careful consideration of existing conditions and views creates the optimal orientations and directionalities of the prefabricated modules and the scheme of screens.

© Medicine Hat Inc.

The humble abode is made up of five modular sections which were constructed 130 east in Gallatin Gateway. When transported the components were assembled and the new structure established within the day.

© Will Brewster

A system of operable hydraulic screens on the exterior of the building encloses outdoor patio and porch spaces. These screens act as filters for both light and view. Easily operable, these screens can be raised to allow for more porosity or kept in place for visual interest. When raised the screens act as a cantilevered canopy. As the light moves across the closed screens shadows slide across surfaces creating an ever changing façade.

© Will Brewster

A series of sliding “barn” doors also encloses parts of the interior. When raised the landscape becomes an extension of the living area. The material of the interior and exterior faces blend together and the natural browns of the surrounding mountains and hayfields become one with the structure.

Cite:
LeMaire , Greg . "Ruby Springs PREFAB / Medicine Hat Inc." 06 Aug 2011. ArchDaily. Accessed 07 Aug 2011.

Millbrook House by Thomas Phifer

Thomas Phifer and Partners designed this house in Millbrook, New York.

The journey of arrival at the Millbrook House is an unhurried ascent, focused on experiencing and re-experiencing the land. On this 200-acre site, an architecture of discrete geometric objects set within a heroic landscape choreographs the route, mediating an unfolding sequence of thresholds and views. Up a rambling drive, through a forest to a small, gravel car park, the approach shifts to a footpath, rising along a hill’s ridge. In spirit, the progression recalls the seemingly meandering, yet deftly orchestrated path to an Ancient Greek temple, engaging the visitor with a landscape held even more sacred than the building itself.

At Millbrook, the first glimpse of built form is a cantilevered, weathering-steel box, the guesthouse, hovering over an edge of the car park. Deep red, patinated steel panels form a retaining wall, extending from beneath the studio straight up hill, rising with the regular rhythm of metal plates beside bluestone treads, set into the slope like stepping stones on a pool of water.

The ascent reaches the hill’s crest, a grassy promontory, flanked by a rectangular glass pavilion along one side and, on the opposite edge, a series of four low, mahogany-sheathed volumes—as pure and distilled in their geometric repetition as a Minimalist sculpture. This arrangement around the clearing frames long, perspectival views of the Hudson Valley, reminiscent of the vista-capturing gestures of Thomas Jefferson’s University of Virginia and Louis Kahn’s Salk Institute.

The glass pavilion at Millbrook sits so lightly and with such transparency that its floor seems to flow uninterrupted from the surrounding carpet of lawn. Once you’ve crossed the threshold, into the living-dining-kitchen space, full panoramic views open up, dramatically and in all directions.

This clear volume plays against the wood-clad monoliths, windowless from the approach, their opaque, mahogany shells echoing the rich, earthy hues of the weathered steel. Though seemingly freestanding, the pavilion and its wood counterparts all connect indoors, beneath the grassy precinct. Each mahogany box, partially embedded in the sloping terrain, forms a private cabin for sleeping and bathing, entered one level below the glass pavilion. As if emerging from the earth, these high-ceilinged cabins have an intimate rapport with the landscape. In counterpoint to the visually expansive hilltop perch, they open only eastward, to the morning sun, each to its own bamboo garden and the meadows beyond.

Your perception of the house and site evolve: not simply as you cross the land, but also as you move through the interior, from grand communal to quieter private zones. Outside, the experience crescendos as you crest the hill and step across the high lawn. But only when you venture into the glass pavilion does the journey reach its climax, from contained space opening to the vastness of the landscape.

Visit the Thomas Phifer and Partners website – here.
Photography by Scott Frances

Situated in the Sierra National Forest of California, miles above sea level, this vacation rental property boasts Yosemite as well as swimming holes, hiking trails,  rolling landscapes, waterfalls and boulders all around – an eclectic mix seen in the architecture of this structure as well.

At high elevations, shedding snow and deflecting moisture is a crucial roll of residential rooftops, hence the steeply-angled aluminum that shapes this triangular abode. A matching communications tower plus outbuilding sits alongside the primary dwelling space. However, equal attention is paid to the rural surroundings, reflected in the use of rough, rusticated and weathered timber siding and deck-topping slats.

Standard modules are used throughout to aid in the prefabrication process – 4 by 8 feet becomes the organizing principle when it comes to anything (plywood panels, metal siding, etc…) that can be cut and shaped to this simplified scale.

This kind of quaint abode is unlikely to win any awards, but not all good designs aim for such accolades – nor should they. Here it seems sufficient that the place serves its purpose, feels unique and responds to the needs of both renters and owners alike – namely by providing a fun experience and durable property. Listed on VRBO

© Roberto de Leon

The Mason Lane Farm Operations Facility is a new complex for farm equipment servicing, re-fueling & storage, as well as providing seasonal storage for grain & hay. The facility supports a 2,000-acre property utilized for agriculture, recreation, wildlife habitat and conservation purposes. The project has been submitted for LEED Gold Level certification and is notable as the first of its type for implementing LEED criteria to an agricultural project.  More photographs and drawings following the break.

Architects: De Leon & Primmer Architecture Workshop
Location: Goshen, Kentucky, USA
Project Year: 2009
Photographs: Roberto de Leon
 

© Roberto de Leon

section (Barn A)

Rooted in the simplicity of regional farm structures and in concert with the client’s priorities for responsible stewardship of the land, the farm complex utilizes simple, passive sustainable approaches that are specifically based on an understanding of the regional climate and the nuances of the landscape. For reasons of both economy and ease of maintenance, sustainable building strategies are decidedly ‘low-tech’, favoring conventional construction methods & ordinary materials over specialized systems. In particular, the project implements strategies that take advantage of the cross-synergies between site & building design, focusing on a holistic approach where both components work as a single integrated system.

© Roberto de Leon

Consolidating the various programmatic elements into two large barn buildings and a grain silo (in order to minimize building footprints), the majority of the project site is allocated to the circulation & access requirements of large-scale farm equipment. Because facility water usage is minimal and site landscaping is limited to native & regionally-adapted plants that do not require irrigation, site-wide stormwater strategies focus on returning runoff to replenish local aquifers. Porous, drivable gravel surfaces are pitched to channel stormwater into two ‘rain gardens’ planted with native vegetation. Excess run-off is collected within these basins and allowed to percolate back into the groundwater table. In order to minimize maintenance, building roof gutters are eliminated and replaced with ‘site gutters’, a system of drivable, shallow concrete channel swales aligned below each roof eave, which direct stormwater to the collection basins.

Barn A

The two primary buildings (Barn ‘A’ and Barn ‘B’) are arranged to frame an outdoor work courtyard, allowing for the consolidation of outdoor lighting requirements to an internalized site zone and away from the farm complex property perimeter, preserving ‘dark sky’ conditions.
Barn ‘A’, with fully enclosed storage & work areas, utilizes a standard prefabricated wood truss frame clad with corrugated metal panels. Emphasizing the layering of construction, building elements that are typically hidden (such as wall substrates, fastening screws & alignment lines) are incorporated as design features and reinterpreted as ‘finish’ materials. Natural light, ventilation and views are provided to all interior spaces through full-height operable windows which working in concert with a whole-house fan to draw air through the building.

Barn B

Barn ‘B’, a large covered shed used to store both hay & equipment, is clad in a lattice grid of locally-harvested bamboo sourced only 35 miles from the project site. Considered a fast-growing invasive ‘weed’, the bamboo is a material nod to the square-bale hay that is stacked at each end of the barn, while also providing a breathable skin that allows the hay to dry through natural ventilation. Since Barn ‘B’ is an open-air structure vulnerable to wind-uplift forces, the concrete drainage channels below its roof eaves also function as a counterweight through an interlocking detail with the column concrete footings below grade.

© Roberto de Leon

Although the project is grounded primarily on passive heating & cooling strategies, several conventional mechanical approaches are used during extreme climate conditions like humid summer months. They include the following: In-slab hot-water coils heated with a wood-fired boiler (renewable energy source from onsite agriculture waste wood) with propane fuel back-up, whole-house ventilation fan, inverter-controlled ductless split system AC unit (a non-CFC-based refrigerant), florescent light fixtures on IR sensors & timers with manual override, low-flow toilet & low-volume water fixtures integrated to an adjacent septic field.

© Roberto de Leon

A particular focus on recycled and locally/regionally sourced materials informed the choice of construction systems and finishes. The primary building materials are comprised of the following:
Building Construction [Exterior Envelope]: Pre-fabricated wood trusses, pressure-treated wood framing, high fly-ash concrete slab on grade with insulation/drainage board containing 40% recycled content, concrete piers, prefinished corrugated metal panels (siding & roof) with 49% recycled content, locally harvested bamboo, galvanized wire ties, insulated glazing (fixed & operable windows), wire-glass.
Finish Materials [Interiors]: Pressure-treated 2x wood planks, phenol-formaldeyde (versus urea-based) OSB, low-formaldehyde emissions (non-urea based) MDF, Homasote (98% post-consumer waste paper-fiber panels; tackable & sound-absorbent), wood screws, linoleum tiles.
Landscaping: Zero-irrigation native and regionally-adapted plants, locally-sourced decomposed granite aggregate (gravel), local limestone (retaining walls), rain gardens (stormwater retention basins).

Cite:
Minner , Kelly . "Mason Lane Farm / De Leon & Primmer Architecture Workshop" 02 Jan 2011. ArchDaily. Accessed 30 Aug 2011.

© Sean Guess

Court Houses are the result of Faye and Walker Architecture + Construction‘s desire to increase density within the urban core of Austin. Instead of building one single family residence on a city lot, Faye and Walker Architecture + Construction built two. The lot is on a corner, which provided separate points of access. The surrounding neighborhood context is a mixture of residential projects and city and private development infrastructure. This infrastructure, located across each street forming the corner, informed a courtyard design for the houses as a way to mitigate their presence and provide a private refuge. Formally each house is an L, opposing one another to create a perimeter boundary surrounding an internal courtyard.

Architect: Faye and Walker Architecture + Construction
Location: 802 Cardinal Lane Austin, Texas, USA
Project Architect: Sean Guess AIA
General Contractor: Faye and Walker Architecture + Construction
Project Area: 2001 sqf each unit
Project Year: 2011
Photography: Sean Guess
 

© Sean Guess

The courtyard is bisected by a mixed red handmade brick wall as it weaves through the property, providing both physical and visual separation between each house, as well as a contrast to the smooth steel troweled white stucco used to clad the houses. The first floors are separated, and these opposing separations provide passage into the courtyard and subsequent entry for each house. The second floors are joined above these exterior passages due to zoning restrictions, however distinct separation is achieved through framing and ceiling heights. The overall massing of the project was conceived as a stark white square box with the middle removed. From this box Faye and Walker Architecture + Construction began to carve into the mass and create overhangs and perpendicular walls into which they inserted most of the glazing. On the street side of the houses this both provides shade for the glazing and orients views up and down the streets, as opposed to across the street to the surrounding infrastructure. In the courtyard the overhangs provide covered exterior living and dining areas, and extensive glazing was used facing the courtyard to capture daylight, while careful placement maintains privacy between the houses. There was extensive bamboo on the property prior to construction.

Faye and Walker Architecture + Construction harvested all that was in the footprint of the project and created a series of privacy and shading screens with the bamboo. These provide a delicate contrast to the massive fields of stucco and provide dynamic shadows and shade.

© Sean Guess

© Sean Guess

© Sean Guess

Cite:
Henry , Christopher . "Court Houses / Faye and Walker Architecture + Construction" 16 Aug 2011. ArchDaily. Accessed 18 Aug 2011.

© Maxwell MacKenzie Architectural Photographer

Architect: Robert M. Gurney, FAIA
Location: Chevy Chase, Maryland, USA
Project Architect: Claire L. Andreas
Contractor:  Peterson and Collins Inc.
Interior Designer: Therese Baron Gurney, ASID
Landscape Architect: Lila Fendrick Landscape
Engineer: D. Anthony Beale LLC
Project Year: 2009
Photographs: Maxwell MacKenzie Architectural Photographer

 
Located in Chevy Chase, Maryland, this project involves a complete renovation and substantial addition to a familiar, simply massed brick “colonial”. The original, gable shaped volume fronting the street is minimally altered in an effort to retain the scale and massing of neighboring houses. Tall windows are incorporated into the existing façade. A copper clad, vaulted volume is integrated into the composition with a new front porch and wide stairs, invoking the nostalgic porches found throughout the neighborhood.

© Maxwell MacKenzie Architectural Photographer

To reduce the massing as seen from the street, the majority of new space is added to the back of the house. Living spaces are relocated to the “garden” side of the property, away from the street.
A new terrace and rigorously designed landscape elements, including walkways, walls and plantings become an integral part of the design. A garden structure, constructed of dry-stacked stone, mahogany, steel and copper roofing anchors the composition and provides privacy from adjoining properties. The entirety of the lot is incorporated into the design of this project.

© Maxwell MacKenzie Architectural Photographer

The light filled interiors are ordered and open, crisply detailed and minimal while retaining richness and warmth. Quarter-sawn white oak cabinetry and millwork, dark stained oak flooring, and mahogany screens are combined with travertine, black granite and limestone to comprise the majority of the material palette. Furnishings are selected to be harmonious with finishes and spatial composition.
Today, too many houses are immediately discarded and demolished in favor of inflated, poorly detailed, badly massed structures that overwhelm their sites. This project demonstrates an attempt to provide the spatial requirements desired for a current lifestyle in a manner that retains much of the existing building fabric and a significant amount of the site to incorporate landscape and garden.

Cite:
Gerrity , Kevin . "Peterson Residence / Robert Gurney Architect" 21 Aug 2011. ArchDaily. Accessed 22 Aug 2011.

© Eric Roth Photography

Architect: ZeroEnergy Design
Location: Truro, Massachusetts
Consultants: Silvia & Silvia, Light Th!s, Venegas and Company, Eleven Interiors, Helmarck & Foglia
Project Area: 6,200 sqf
Project Year: 2008
Photographs: Eric Roth Photography, ZeroEnergy Design

© Eric Roth Photography

This Cape Cad beach house was conceived as a residence that could serve as both a weekend getaway for the two clients or a vacation house for them and their extended families. ZeroEnergy Design was tasked with creating a scheme that could accomodate this range in occupancy while also being extremely energy efficient.

© ZeroEnergy Design / Plans

The massing of the structure responds directly to both design constraints. The house is divided into two main volumes. The “living bar” includes the kitchen, living and dining areas and two bedrooms. When the client’s whole family inhabits the house for vacations or holidays, the “sleeping bar” containing more bedrooms and living areas is used. To conserve energy when not in use the sleeping bar can be decommissioned, effectively halving the size of the house and its total energy use.

© Eric Roth Photography

In addition to the smart massing that incorporates several passive design principles, the Truro Residence incorporates photovoltaic cells for energy production, and a geothermal heating and  cooling system be bring greater environmental efficiency to the structure.

© Eric Roth Photography

A clean interior accompanies the building’s smart shell. The materials within the space were selected both for their durability in the harsh ocean environment as well as their sustainable properties. Polished concrete, bluestone, and bamboo flooring are paired with cedar siding a zinc roof and ipe decking. The design of the Truro residence in response to specific client needs is a good example of sustainability meeting practicality.

Cite:
Ganes , Jesse . "Truro Residence / ZeroEnergy Design" 22 Aug 2011. ArchDaily. Accessed 23 Aug 2011.

The entry on the property is made through a bright red/orange gate. You then enter a private courtyard where you can relax, enjoy a cup of coffee in the shading or simply spend some time outside. Then you reach the glass front door that lets you inside the house. There the atmosphere is very cozy and inviting. The furniture and the décor are modern but still with a vintage touch. The large amount of wood used for the flooring and ceiling, plus the wood furniture contribute to the whole ranch-like look.
 

The residence features 3 bedrooms, 2 baths, a re-modeled kitchen with stainless, marble and lighting, 2 courtyard, 2 exterior storage sheds, an office/library, a media or relaxation room and floor to ceiling glass walls. This 2,062 sq feet house also includes a two car garage. Located on the 1830 S. Holy Street, this property is a modern residence that manages to preserve the ranch-like style and the cozy atmosphere inside. The rooms are very spacious and harmoniously decorated with traditional rugs and furniture pieces.

Cedar Street Residence Street View

Home designs are finished designed by the architect colab studio, llc. This home designs which called the Cedar Street Residence is designed in Cedar Street, Tempe, Arizona, USA. Designed in 2010, this large home designs are covers area for about 2,222 square foot.
This home designs is designed based on the client order, whose being the architect itself, they are the founders of colab studio, Matthew Salenger, RA and Maria Salenger, AIA. For ten years, they had owned a fairly large suburban lot near the downtown Tempe, Arizona. Experimenting with the low-cost methods to change the way to live in suburbia, the architect’s client had altered the living space and the site considerably over the ten years.
Another change needed to occur-something more substantial over the time, though, life occurred and circumstances changed: The birth of a little boy, founding a full-time design studio of their own, family visiting home often, etc.
Both of them are being the architects, designing their own living space would seem to be natural. However, the architect itself constantly battled between two ingrained extremes. On the other hand, they also wanted very much to live unconventionally and/or experiment with how one might exist in suburbia, while, they had grown more mindful of real estate value realities. They don’t want to continue to do so in ways which would make the living space is impossible to eventually find an owner for, having already put substantial money into the property. For this case, the architect’s designs for the property are not appeasing both of these needs simultaneously, and they cannot move forward.

Home Designs Review

Finally, the architects in designing their own living space have decided the only way to move forward will be to ensure their living space will be a viable commodity, it is by surveying over the 30 potential home buyers on what they wanted in a living space. The surveys itself are contained two part, first, quantifiable numerical information rating what rooms/spaces/functions a living space should contain with re-sale in mind, the second, written the answers to the questions about what one’s dream living space would contain if re-sale value is not an issue.
The number one answer to the survey’s first part is to have a combined “great room” such as a living, dining and kitchen. The word used most in the survey’s second part is the “courtyard”. These two ideas are becomes the basic for their living space design.
The architect had combined the given program of the spaces with their personal need for extensive flexibility; it is to produce a living space which is simultaneously comfortable, modern and a playfully surprising. Throughout the space, large portions of the house move, transform, and enclose to drastically alter the experience of the functions and spaces.
Architect: colab studio, llc
Location: Cedar Street, Tempe, Arizona, USA
Project Team: Matthew Salenger, RA and Maria Salenger, AIA
Contractor: Build, Inc., Rich Fairbourn
Structural Engineer: JT Engineering, Inc.
Electrical Engineer: Woodward Engineering, Inc.
Project Area: 2,222 sqf
Project Year: 2010
Photographs: Bill Timmerman

Via

Home Designs Lit Courtyard




Cedar Street Residence Studio Interior Design





Cedar Street Residence Courtyard Architecture Design

The architects made an effort to keep the house in proximity to Crab Creek, but they had strict environmental regulations which prohibited enlarging the pre-existing footprint. The house was organized around a linear bar, clad in white stucco.
 

This lovely house was created around a central spine, from which additional space rise as independent volumes in either wood or metal siding. These spaces are also concentrated around the swimming pool. Moreover the architects tried to create a relationship between the house and environment, so they used floor to ceiling windows to bring the outside in and to flood the house in natural light.

The main living areas are oriented toward the water views, they have high ceilings and soft, neutral tones that create the feeling of a clean design. The architects also created an open floor plan that makes it look bigger. Moreover the materials used, such as white oak flooring and millwork, black slate, white marble, rusted steel and translucent glass, give it an elegant look.

Crab Creek House is a beautiful place to retreat to. It has stunning features like the fireplace, gorgeous views and last but not least a great connection with the environment.

Holy Family Shrine by BCDM Architects
BCDM Architects designed the Holy Family Shrine in Gretna, Nebraska.

 
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Description from the architects:
Through a unique and divine series of events, a group of people with diverse backgrounds discovered each other and found that they had the same idea: to build a place off Interstate 80 for travelers to pray and discover the Catholic faith.  After two years of searching for the perfect site, one was secured overlooking the Platte River Valley near Gretna.
The purpose of the shrine is to provide an opportunity for people to develop and discover the Catholic faith.  Often, the faith is seen with the convoluted influences that distort its origin and intents; this secluded place allows for the discovery of Catholicism without such outside distractions.
Upon entry to the site, visitors experience a natural prairie setting.  Once inside the entry portal, the visitor is drawn to a central, tomb-like room naturally lit by a large light opening in the roof.  In the center of the room is a pool of water, the source of which is dripping from a metal sculpture symbolic of the Holy Spirit.  Also in this space is a conference and gathering room and an information area.
The chapel structure itself is 45 feet at its highest point, made of arching members of wood and steel.  As visitors enter the chapel, the water from the entry portal does as well, further symbolizing the presence of the shroud of Christ.  Etched in a prominent piece of glass at the front of the chapel is an image of the Holy Family.  With an open view of the prairie and river valley beyond, this image appears like spirits in heaven.

Visit the BCDM Architects website – here.

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Architect: Bates Masi Architects
Location: Amagansett, NY, USA
Client: Private
Structural Engineer: Steven L. Maresca
Contractor: Sanders Construction
Project Year: 2009
Photographs: Christopher Wesnofske

At the first meeting, the clients introduced both their growing family and growing art collection. They were particularly excited about a new artist, Vik Muniz, whose works based on photographs of Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis provided a delightful discovery upon closer inspection: paintings of the iconic images rendered in peanut butter and jelly. This moment of discovery and playful deception became the design concept of the house.

Approaching the house by the winding driveway, the gabled form, massive chimney, and shingled siding are all reminiscent of traditional houses on eastern Long Island. Looking closely, the shingles are, in fact, a woven screen of oak surveyors stakes, similar to those that dotted the steeply wooded lot when the clients first saw it. Similarly, the massive chimney that anchors the house to the site isn’t solid at all, but is actually made of thin concrete panels.

Entering the house, with a view of the pool and gardens beyond, the wall enclosing the stair looks like translucent stone. One has to look very carefully to see that it is a double paned glass wall filled with small seashells, a reference to the nearby beaches. The double-height living/dining room is a compatible scale and space for the large works of art and family gatherings. The fireplace surround reflects fragmented images of the art and surrounding landscape while its crystalline appearance defies its humble origins: polished stainless steel military dog tags.

Expectations were also subverted in the structural system of the house to reduce the cost and increase the efficiency. Behind the stake siding and interior gypsum board are walls comprised of precast concrete panels typically used in foundation construction. These durable and low maintenance panels are double insulated for efficiency and are a perfect scale for hanging large art. By staggering the walls slightly, tall, narrow windows admit indirect light and allow glimpses of the landscape.
By subverting expectations, this house encourages multiple readings that change, depending on time and perception. It turns this house into something more: an exploration of perception.
 
Cite:
Saieh , Nico . "Qual Hill / Bates Masi Architects" 29 Sep 2009. ArchDaily. Accessed 04 Apr 2011.

© Prentiss Architects

This project is located on a steep rocky waterfront parcel on the west shore of San Juan Island in Washington. An existing house was already on the accessible location; the only remaining spot for the Studio was on a rocky shelf above and behind the residence.
More on the Weaving Studio after the break.

Architect: Prentiss Architects
Location: San Juan Island, Washington, USA
Project Team: Geoff Prentiss, Kozo Nozawa
Structural Engineer: Perbix Bykonen
Builder: Lowe Construction
Project Size: 1,250 sqf
Completed: 2010
Photographs: Jay Goodrich and Prentiss Architects

© Prentiss Architects

The client, a professional weaver, and her husband are preparing to move to San Juan Island once the husband retires. Their request was for studio space in which she could have all her weaving tools in one facility: her looms, her dying facilities, the sewing and assembly area and an office. She would use this space for her craft but also to hold weaving guild meetings and display her work.

section

In addition to the programmatic requirements of the studio they wanted to have an overflow bedroom for guests.

© Prentiss Architects

The solution is a generous main studio space flowing with natural light that provides ample display space while maintaining incremental views of the sound. Off of this space the auxiliary spaces have been defined by the folding back of the exterior shell: to one end a bath and office, to the other a “wet room”. The wet room could be closed off and opened to the exterior in order to allow fumes from dying and drying to not permeate the rest of the studio.

axon

Two additional spaces, the sewing room and a guest bedroom appear as an extrusion of the main studio space set into the hill at the back of the studio. A series of sliding panels intended as display panels for weaving projects hide or reveal access to the back rooms and storage cabinets.

© Prentiss Architects

© Prentiss Architects

© Prentiss Architects

© Prentiss Architects

© Jay Goodrich

© Jay Goodrich

Cite:
Henry , Christopher . "Weaving Studio / Prentiss Architects" 11 Mar 2011. ArchDaily. Accessed 11 Mar 2011.

© Courtesy of WA Design Inc

Architect: WA Design Inc
Location: Tahoe Donner, California, USA
Project Team: David Stark Wilson, Chris Parlette, Torin Etter, Ben Howell, Eoi Takagi
Landscape: WA design
Engineer: Kenneth Hughes
Civil Engineer: Tim Ferrell
Mechanical Engineer: Monterey Mechanical
Contractor Team: Turner Construction; Al Turner, Chaz Kruck, Ian Waight, Mark Hollerbach
Interior Furnishings: Client, WA design (custom pieces)
Project Area: 4,960 sqf
Project Year: 2010
Photographs: Courtesy of WA Design Inc

© Courtesy of WA Design Inc

The Tahoe Ridge house is located on one of the last large parcels in the Tahoe area. Eight acres of land with dense stands of white and red fir slope upward to the rocky granite ridge crest that forms a backstop to this exceptional site. This was the second home we had designed for the clients, the first being the Strathmoor House, also in this book. The usual period of getting acquainted was already in place for the Tahoe Ridge House. Our design aesthetics and goals were aligned at the onset to conceive of a contemporary building uniquely rooted in the Tahoe area and the spectacular site.

© Courtesy of WA Design Inc

Vernacular mining and stamp mill buildings in the Tahoe area inspired the design of this home. Long before Tahoe was a ski resort, it was a gold rush destination. Tall stamp mills were used to pulverize hard rock into fine silt from which the gold could be removed. All movement of material within the mill was achieved by gravity hence the structures are characteristically elongated vertically.

© Courtesy of WA Design Inc

Significant mountain vistas quickly became a key design consideration. Views of the mountains of Nevada to the north, to Tinker’s knob and the Sierra Crest to the south, needed to be revealed. These criteria resulted in a floor plan that sprawls along two orthogonal axes and ascends vertically to the north to the study and master bedroom. The experience of flow along the axes is enhanced by a clear rhythm of 10” x 10” recycled Douglas fir structural posts that tie in with the roof framing above.

© Courtesy of WA Design Inc

A mix of Western Red Cedar and Galvalume metal siding applied as a tight skin pay further homage to the old mining buildings. On the interior of the home, large recycled timbers and heavy metal bracketing extend the industrial aesthetic and resist the substantial snow loads of winter. Large Sierra White granite blocks are carved and hewn to form the fireplace hearths. The building throughout is clearly rooted in and derived from its mountainous site. A large male black bear has lived in the boulders above the house for many years and remains undaunted by recent construction, occasionally strolling unhurriedly down the new entry drive.
Text provided by WA Design Inc.

© Courtesy of WA Design Inc


© Courtesy of WA Design Inc

Cite:

Henry , Christopher . "Tahoe Ridge House / WA Design Inc" 25 Oct 2011. ArchDaily. Accessed 25 Oct 2011.

Courtesy of Joseph N. Biondo

Architect: Spillman Farmer Architects
Location: Lake Winola, Pennsylvania, USA
Photographs: Courtesy of Joseph N. Biondo

Courtesy of Joseph N. Biondo

With the living spaces located directly above the sleeping spaces, this residence transcends the conventional planning and construction of the traditional cottage architecture that exists in the region. As one approaches the site, the initial image is that of restrained elegance. The presence of shimmering metal roofs becomes analogous to that of the lake while subtly-carved façade provides a glimpse through the house to the lake beyond. Once adjacent to the building, the layering becomes evident. The roof appears to hover, while the masonry volumes become an organizing element with sufficient size, closure, and regularity to serve as a figure that can embrace the other layers being organized within. The flanking reinforced masonry walls provide sufficient structure and enclosure which enable the main living area to be free of interior walls. The absence of these walls offers uninterrupted views to the lake from every room. The natural progression of the building with its respect to its topography is rhythmic.

Courtesy of Joseph N. Biondo

Gradationally carved and more delicate, the structure anchors itself differently as the grade falls towards the lake. The heavy masonry walls affix themselves into the earth while the lighter wood-framed, cement panel and glass envelope appears to hover above grade. The roof form, which consists of two opposing sheds, visually floats above the primary living space giving the impression of outdoor pavilions from the lake.

Courtesy of Joseph N. Biondo

The choice to use certain materials in this home is driven by aesthetic, functional requirements and largely reflects ties to regional traditions. Our curiosity with materials of modest means is explored in this house. By using ordinary materials we gain the greatest possibility of achieving a renewed reality within the material condition of a building. The concrete masonry unit – nothing can be more elemental, humbler in substance, modest in manufacture and simpler in shape and texture. The concrete block can be married to other material whether natural or man made; wood, metal, glass, cementitious panels. Through rigorous and precise application of these complimentary materials, the status of the concrete block, which is so simple and so ordinary, can be elevated. The materials used are commonplace however, the care of their methods of assembly and absolute passion for scrupulous detailing are not.
Text provided by Spillman Farmer Architects.

Courtesy of Joseph N. Biondo

Courtesy of Joseph N. Biondo

Courtesy of Joseph N. Biondo

Courtesy of Joseph N. Biondo

Cite:
Henry , Christopher . "Lake House / Joseph N. Biondo" 24 Sep 2011. ArchDaily. Accessed 23 Oct 2011.

© Derek Skalko

Architect: 1 Friday Design Collaborative
Location: Aspen, Colorado, United States
Project Year: 2009
Project Area: 1100 sqf
Photographs: Derek Skalko

© Derek Skalko

The Work N Park Cube is a small project by 1 Friday Design Collaborative. The space is programmed with an office and garage in just over 1000 square feet. 1 Friday worked with city regulations and a limited budget to create a ‘cube’ of both efficient and enjoyable space for the clients.

© Derek Skalko

The Work N Park Cube is located in Aspen, Colorado and built for a shared condominium unit. The new building is tailor made by 1 Friday to address every zoning regulation and square footage allowance that came up through the design of the added space. A small budget was also taken into consideration in devising a way to successfully combine the parking and office programs.

Plans

The two story building separates the programs by level. The ground floor holds two parking bays, while the second floor is the office. Stairs climb up the exterior back façade where one enters the interior from the second level. The office is a clean simple space with a bathroom, kitchen and storage along the western wall and an exterior deck along the eastern wall.

© Derek Skalko

The style of the building responds to its minimal square footage and programmatic desires with a simple modern design. 1 Friday began designing with a cube that was adjusted to fit the needs of the clients and the rules of the city. The resulting form has the upper level slightly offset from the lower level, with large windows puncturing the office space and two entrances to the parking bays on the lower level’s front façade.

© Derek Skalko

The multipurpose space adds another style to the neighborhood where 1 Friday says building styles range from 1880’s mining cottages to 1960s chalet structures. Their Work N Park Cube is a successful addition to the area, and a usable space for the clients to enjoy daily.

Cite:

Balters , Sofia . "Work-N-Park Cube / 1 Friday Design Collaborative" 24 Oct 2011. ArchDaily. Accessed 25 Oct 2011.

© Kelly Bellis

Architects: Norelius Studio
Location: Corea, Maine, USA
Structural Engineer: Albert Putnam, PE
Lighting Designer: Peter Knuppel Lighting Design
Builder: Kenneth Thibault
Project Year: 2010
Project Area: 130 sqm
Photographs: Kelly Bellis

 
Context was one of the most influential generators for this project: a down-east Maine village, complete with vibrant, scrappy and true-to-itself working harbor. While many new houses here are built on large parcels of pristine isolated land, these clients had made the more sustainable commitment to build on an empty lot in the village.

© Kelly Bellis

Floor Plan

The diagram of the house takes advantage of solar gain and views—fortuitously aligned—in each of the major spaces. Since the goal was to keep the house a concise 1400 square feet, the plan became long and thin: literally the dimensions of a mobile home. This allowed private suites at each end of the house, and an open living/dining/cooking space in the center. It is in this center space that blank, well-insulated north-facing walls give way to windows on both sides, creating a virtual pavilion at the core.

© Kelly Bellis

The house was lifted up to enhance the views to the harbor, to hover above a handsome granite outcropping close to the street, and to integrate with a previously installed septic system on the rear of the site.

© Kelly Bellis

Fairly standard construction techniques were employed to take advantage of the strengths of a local builder. A nearby commercial aluminum dock manufacturer fabricated the “folly” deck and frames for rolling vertical sunshades and fixed horizontal sunshades.

© Kelly Bellis

Valuing space and light over expensive finishes and fittings, a remarkably low cost-per-square foot was achieved. The result is a new addition to the village-scape, balancing a tension between familiar and provocative.

© Kelly Bellis

Text provided by Norelius Studio

Cite:
Jett , Megan . "Corea Harbor House / Norelius Studio" 20 Oct 2011. ArchDaily. Accessed 22 Oct 2011.

© Lars Frazer Photography

Named for the business owners, Icenhauer’s is located in the up and coming Rainey Street bar district of Austin. The site originally contained a house built in 1893, of which the front two rooms complete with original wood interior siding were saved and restored as a part of this new cocktail lounge.
More on Icenhauer’s, including pictures and drawings, after the break.

Architect: Michael Hsu Office of Architecture
Location: 83 Rainey St Austin, TX, USA
Project Team: Michael Hsu, Maija Kreishman, Allison Burke
General Contractor: Franklin-Alan
Landscape Design: Jackie Hadler Design
Project Area: 2,775 sqf
Project Year: 2010
Photographs: Lars Frazer Photography

© Lars Frazer Photography

The existing house was maintained and modernized with ebony stained cedar siding, stone masonry and renovated lap siding. The interior exhibits varying colors of wood combined restored wood thresholds, stone and glass to create intimate seating areas filled with colorful upholstered furniture.

plan

The front and back yards are anchored by covered porches and surrounded by warmly lit native landscaping and casual seating.

© Lars Frazer Photography

© Lars Frazer Photography

Cite:Henry , Christopher . "Icenhauer’s / Michael Hsu Office of Architecture" 12 Mar 2011. ArchDaily. Accessed 14 Mar 2011.

© Derek Skalko

Colorado based 1 Friday Design Collaborative designed Loom, an artist’s studio for clients in Aspen. Loom is a particularly small space in which the architects were able to combine the historic aesthetic of the neighborhood with modern environmental considerations and inspired interiors.
Architect: 1 Friday Design Collaborative
Location: Aspen, Colorado, United States
Project Year: September 2011
Photographs: Derek Skalko

© Derek Skalko

1 Friday Design Collaborative completed Loom in September of 2011. The 500 square foot artist’s studio began with a number of studies by the architects who settled on a building that takes into account its context as well as environmental considerations inspired by LEED guidelines.

Elevations

Loom’s neighborhood is filled with historic Victorian houses in a traditional color palette. 1 Friday Design Collaborative both exaggerated and simplified aspects of the neighborhood’s Victorian aesthetic for the studio’s form and color choices. The resulting light pink, two-story gabled structure resides in a back yard among a population of evergreen trees, and takes advantage of high performance materials and solar orientation in its design and construction.

© Derek Skalko

The interiors of Loom articulate 1 Friday Design Collaborative’s inspiration for the studio project’s name. In the lofted second floor space the architects designed a railing and wall inspired by a traditional weaving loom. Repetitive white wooden boards were positioned veritcally along the lower part of the sloping interior of the gabled roof. Their thickness and separation add a layer of interest to the small studio through clean visuals and strong shadows created by light coming through a window on the front facade. Flush horizontal white wooden boards of a similar thickness finish the wall upwards, and the rest of the interior is also white, with a large bookshelf on the ground floor.


Cite:
Balters , Sofia . "Loom / 1 Friday Design Collaborative" 14 Nov 2011. ArchDaily. Accessed 16 Nov 2011.

For three weeks in October 2009, 20 teams of college and university students will compete in the US Department of Energy Solar Decathlon.  The competition provides the teams with an opportunity to “design, build, and operate the most attractive, effective, and energy-efficient solar-powered house.”  Organized in three stages, (building, moving to the solar village in the National Mall in Washington D.C., and the actual competition) the Solar Decathlon aims to raise awareness among the general public about renewable energy and energy efficiency, help solar energy technologies enter the marketplace faster, foster collaboration among students from different academic disciplines, and educate the student participants.  “The Solar Decathlon brings attention to one of the biggest challenges we face-an ever-increasing need for energy. As an internationally recognized event, it offers powerful solutions-using energy more efficiently and using energy from renewable sources.”
Santa Clara University, known for their excellence in engineering/business got the third place at the 2007 competition, and for this year’s competition they teamed with CCA, dedicated to architecture, art and design, to create a 100 student team to participate in the Solar Decathlon.  The team is the only undergraduate-led team participating in the competition (most are filled with Ph. D programs), combing “youth and process, [they] set the standard in green living”.  The young team of future architects, engineers, construction managers, graphic designers and interior designers have created a proposal, entitled Refract House, that is dedicated to promoting the idea of “Living Light: harnessing sunlight to power our energy needs, lightening our carbon footprint upon the earth, and enlightening today’s consumers and the next generation of concerned, responsible citizens about the possibilities of sustainable living.”  “We want the project to have a lasting impact as both a case study for green design and as an exhibit of technology. We already know it’s going to have an impact on all of us,” explained Allison Kopf, an SCU Engineering Physics student.
More about the winning Refract House after the break.

The Refract House, an 800 square foot zero energy home, breaks from “the classic hyper-efficient box shape” to prove that zero energy can occur with bold aesthetics. ”We propose a new precedent for energy efficient homes that prioritizes visual, spatial and functional connection with the surrounding environment.  The bent form of the structure mimics the path of the sun of the sun from dawn to dusk.  This speaks to the name Refract House, because we change the way light is used,” explained the team.

The team stressed their cutting edge solar thermal and photovoltaic system.   The solar thermal array is comprised of plate type collectors that reduce heat loss.  “By combining cutting edge technology in the home with our most abundant resource-the sun-we can start using our natural resources more intelligently, and we can show others how it is done,” explained Tim Sennott, an SCU Mechanical Engineering student.

The lighting of the home maximizes the admittance of high quality sunlight “to create a stronger spatial connection to outdoors.”   An outdoor courtyard compliments the Californian ecosystem and climate, in addition to providing a smaller garden with edible plants.  The home also features a grey-water treatment system, bamboo joists, and a storage pool, plus a monitor that displays energy and water consumption levels inside the home.  All systems and sustainable design features were created by the students.

Never mind their finishing place, we are impressed with the dedication and determination of this young team. We look forward to seeing all the winning proposals in the National Mall in a few months and will keep you updated on this great competition.

More info at: SCU + CCA Solar Decathlon
Competition: U.S. Dept. of Energy Solar Decathlon
Competition Team: Santa Clara University and California College of the Arts
Date of Solar Decathlon Competition: October 9-18, 2009
Place: National Mall in Washington, DC
Size: 800 sq.ft. One-Bedroom Home
Cite:
Cilento , Karen . "Refract House, Solar Decathlon / Team California, SCU + CCA" 09 Jul 2009. ArchDaily. Accessed 17 Nov 2011.

© Bill Ellzey

Architect: David Jay Weiner, Architect, P.C.
Location: Crestone, CO, USA
Structural Engineer: Robert Silman Associates, P.C.
Contractor: Keith Teahen Construction
Photographer: Bill Ellzey

© Bill Ellzey

This project is a response to a client’s desire to build a small retreat in the high dessert of the San Luis Valley (elevation +8,500 ft.) with stunning views of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains and the Great Sand Dunes National Monument. The area is known for its serenity and environmental uniqueness. The house is designed to not only respond to that environment but also to take advantage of the unique spirituality of the site.

© Bill Ellzey

The house is conceived as a single volumetric enclosure that wraps and folds around itself to form and define three major interior spaces and tie the house to the landscape. The primary interior space is used for living, dining and cooking. The two other spaces flanking the primary space serve as master bedroom suite and a traditional tatami mat meditation space adjacent to an outdoor room that is used as a Zen meditation rock garden. Large areas of glass are used to capture the views, allow for passive solar orientation and blur the distinction between inside and outside. The house is designed to be relatively inexpensive both in construction and maintenance. As the property is remote and off-the-grid system and, having more than 300 sun days per year, the 1,600 sq. ft. house is powered with a solar energy photovoltaic system. The seven-acre site has been left undisturbed to the fullest extent possible.

© Bill Ellzey

Cite:
Ross , Kritiana . "Zen Garden House / David Jay Weiner" 16 Dec 2011. ArchDaily. Accessed 23 Dec 2011.