My client in El Cerrito is enjoying his new deck!
Archive for January, 2012
Smooth TimberSIL Deck with Metal Railing
Posted in Design Projects, tagged El Cerrito on January 10, 2012| 1 Comment »
Colorful Interlocking Bottles
Posted in Found Objects, tagged color on January 9, 2012| Leave a Comment »
I saw these blocky interlocking bottles at the MoMA, NYC, designed by Juris Mednis in 1983. What a great way to package shampoo and conditioner….ketchup and mustard….oil and vinegar.
Republican Politician Houses 2012
Posted in Found Objects, Information, tagged Eames, historical styles, houses, humor, Ice Cube, Ice Cube Celebrates the Eames, LA, McMansion, Mid Century Modern Architecure, Republican, utilitarian on January 7, 2012| Leave a Comment »
Michelle Bachmann’s house with “a grand manor roof” and “European flavor”
Gingrich’s “Mansionette”
Santorum House: “a big rectangular box with holes punched in it for windows. It doesn’t have much to say. Need I say more?”
The New York Times ran this article recently about the homes of the Republican presidential candidates. The review, informed by “interior designers and design psychologists” (no architects) is generally unfavorable. They make fun of Newt Gingrich’s extensive use of mirrors and Huntsman’s pink love seat with yellow bows. Bachmann’s complex roofline is rather atrocious (no mention of the maintenance issues with such a roof,) and Santorum’s more simple house is called boxy with small punched windows. The houses are all quite big… mostly around 5500 square feet. One designer who commented in the article said that he’d call them McMansions, but that would give McDonalds a bad name. Wow. That is saying a lot. None of them appear to be designed by architects that were given much latitude, but most of the candidates appear to have dropped some cash on interior designers. The houses all scream “I am a traditionalist,” according to design psychologists that were consulted. Manicured green lawns and brick or stone are present in all.
Uh Oh. What would they say about my parent’s house, (the house were I grew up)? My dad took off the fake shutters at least….and it does have industrial chic concrete window sills. The windows are true divided lites, by the way, and my folks hired a local artist to make some stained glass windows for either side of and above the front door…Its not so big, but it is brick veneer with a green lawn and small punched windows.
Not a Republican house though
There is no discussion in the Times article about solar orientation or energy efficiency. There is no mention of simplicity, elegance, or economy. Creativity does not make an appearance, (except in Newt’s whimsical topiary.)
Perhaps the candidates can learn a bit from Ice Cube.
The opposite of the modular house that I just visited – owner built in Wales
Posted in Found Objects, tagged green, passive solar on January 6, 2012| Leave a Comment »
A young man in Wales built this house for his family using a chainsaw, a hammer and a 1″ chisel. In some ways I am more drawn to this one than the modular one….even though it makes for rustic living. He needed no team of architects, engineers, and modular specialists. It has no green certification, but certainly far greener, except for its location in the countryside. The modular house is more suited for modern urban lifestyles.
Here is the builder, Simon Dale’s website for more pictures and information about the project.
Thank you to my British correspondent, Amanda Soskin, for sharing this gem.
Lloyd Kahn has published several books about similar creative, owner built structures. Here is a glimpse of a recent Lloyd Kahn book that I have enjoyed very much.
Tour of Modern, Passive Solar, Modular House in Emeryville, CA
Posted in Found Objects, Information, tagged Emeryville, house, modular, prefab, prefabricated on January 5, 2012| Leave a Comment »
At lunch today I went with Guillaume Canivet to visit the Simpatico Homes prototype modular house in Emeryville. Seth Krubriner, the owner of the house explained the design and construction process from start to finish. The modules were constructed in San Jose by Eco Offsite. Swatt Architects was also involved. This sounds like a lot of cooks in the kitchen…..so I am curious how the collaboration worked. Seth gave a very interesting and honest presentation of the benefits and drawbacks of modular construction compared to conventional site built. His house actually has site built pieces added onto the modules.
To me, it seems that the best part of choosing a modular system over conventional is that you are limited by the modular system. There are fewer choices and therefore the design process is simpler. Just like a restaurant with a short menu, the specialization and simplification often yields a better product.
Without a good understanding of the system and a willingness to work with it and accommodate it in the design, a modular house might not be any less expensive than a conventionally built house, and could easily cost more, especially if the factory was not very close to the site.
In Seth’s house the joints between the modules are accentuated and celebrated. (you can see one of the joints, a black reglet, in the photo above.) This is an example of how the design should accommodate the system. If Seth were to try for a more traditional aesthetic he would have lost some of the savings.
This same simplification and cost savings could be achieved by an architect who presented a limited pallet of materials and a select contractor and offered to deliver a very specific product. Not a bad idea.
Painted Medicine Cabinet
Posted in Design Projects, tagged furniture on January 4, 2012| Leave a Comment »
I painted this old medicine cabinet a while back. Photographer Andrea Reese captures it well in this picture of a girl getting ready for a party.
Jamestown Creativity
Posted in Found Objects, tagged color, houses, Jamestown, paint, patterns, whimsy on January 3, 2012| Leave a Comment »
Last week I visited a friend in Jamestown, RI, a stoic New England farming and vacationing community adjacent to Newport. I spied this unusual house while walking up Narragansett Avenue. I am curious about the personalities who created the musical arrangement of windows (painted two different colors) and unusual decoration and painting scheme. Someone was having fun. Perhaps a carpenter 100 years ago started the theme, preserved and continued in a recent remodel.
- accessory dwelling unit acoustics addition additions ADU Albany aluminum angles appleply ash bathroom Berkeley birds boxes Brooklyn buildings on the water cabin cabinets cedar children color concrete construction process copper cottage curiosities curves decks decoration desert architecture details Detroit dog doorways El Cerrito energy efficiency Fairfax fence fibercement fir fire resistant construction framing fun furniture Garage garden glass tile green green building handrail historical styles holes house houses house surgery humor indoor-outdoor interiors isba John Mcbride Julia Morgan kitchen landscape LED light lighting lighting design McBride Construction metal minimalism modern new materials New York Oak Oakland paint painted plywood pantry paperstone passive house passive solar patterns plants plywood poet's corner Point Richmond process railings rainscreen recycled redwood remodel remodelling restaurant Richmond Rockridge roof rustic salvaged San Francisco San Mateo shou sugi ban simple skylight small buildings small spaces solar electricity sparkle stained glass steel storage Strawbale structure stucco subway tile tile tiny house trim turquoise utilitarian utility value vaulted ceiling victorian walnut water management whimsy windows wood zinc
-
link to RSS Feed
deedsdesign 