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.
Posted in Found Objects, tagged Berkeley, curves, recycled, salvaged on December 14, 2011| Leave a Comment »
I recently found this video interview with the owner-design-builder team of this unusual house in my neighborhood.
I posted some photos of it a while back.
In the video, they reveal the source of many of the materials and their inspirations and technical considerations.
For example, they used lighter colored car roofs for siding on the north side to reflect more indirect sunlight into the house to the north. I’d love to see how this worked out. It might reflect a bit too much in the summer when the sun actually rises and sets in the North part of the sky….but other times it’s probably quite nice.
Posted in Design Projects, Found Objects, tagged big buildings, buildings on the water on December 13, 2011| Leave a Comment »
I started a new project today for Artemis Racing. I’m not sure how much work there will be for me, but it was fun to spend the day on Pier 80 today.
My friend Vincent, another architect, helped me take measurements and photos of the structure.
This reminded me of my friend Peter’s A Project
Posted in Found Objects, tagged buildings on the water, houses on October 31, 2011| 2 Comments »
John was fishing in the North Bay and took these pictures of a village accessible only from the water. There are about 10 houses in total, but only a couple of them appear to be in use. 
Posted in Found Objects, tagged green, high tech, small buildings, solar electricity on October 27, 2011| Leave a Comment »
Lumenhaus -- photo by Jim Stroup, Virginia Tech
More photos and information can be found on Lumenhaus.com , Treehugger, and, in the NY Times, this review of the project.
Except for the slightly odd beams that stick out to support the opened sliding screens (see some of the other photos at links above) the design of this experimental and technologically advanced house is quite elegant. The basic idea is to use technology to allow a glass house to be comfortable and energy efficient in all seasons…and to take this a few steps further to enhance quality of life in the house with these same features.
It has been criticized as too techy and too expensive to be marketable, which might be valid, and with almost all glass on the north and South walls, its needs a big suburban or country lot for privacy. (It currently resides next to the famous Farnsworth House (Mies Van Der Rohe) in Plano, Illinos.)
The concept of having stackable modules, so that the house can expand and contract as the family does, would change the real estate profession. The ease of adding and subtracting modules would be an important factor in whether it would be worth the hassle of removing part of your house and selling it to a neighbor.
Be sure to check out the adjustable perforated shade screens that can become more or less opaque depending on the temperature inside. These screens are a much simplified version of Jean Nouvell’s beautiful screens on the Institut du Monde Arabe, Paris
This is a picture of me inside Jean Nouvel's Institute Du Monde Arab (photo by Amanda Soskin)
Exterior Institut Du Monde Arabe, Paris
Posted in Found Objects, tagged garden, historical styles, landscape, New York, planning, small buildings on October 25, 2011| Leave a Comment »
These small brick row houses face a lush gated courtyard perpendicular to the public street and each also has access to an alley on the back side. It is similar to this project in Berkeley, but minus the driveway through the middle….which makes a big difference. 
gate to the back alley
Posted in Found Objects, Information, tagged Berkeley, houses, structural engineering on October 13, 2011| Leave a Comment »
I recently helped my friend Rain assess the architectural merits of a house she wanted to buy. She also hired a home inspector who brought this seismic brace to my attention. It was his opinion that this is a poor design because in a big quake it concentrates the force and ends up busting through the floor rather than providing lateral stability. 
Posted in Found Objects, tagged fir plywood, furniture, interiors, New York, paint on October 11, 2011| Leave a Comment »
This long apartment with windows at each end is in a building from the early 1800s. It hasn’t been staged for the photo shoot and the owner hasn’t finished moving in yet, but I was moved to capture some of the artistic decorating details that are already in place.
The fact that there are only windows on the ends, and the middle is dark might not be ideal, but the open plan allows a long view across the length of the apartment through the windowless center to the bright room on the other side. The simplicity of the unusually long space is nice.
Posted in Found Objects, tagged Berkeley, houses on October 5, 2011| Leave a Comment »
John and Sam have been framing up a two-story addition for my friend Scott (another architect). Its starting to look like something!
Big corner windows
The existing house is a cute little pointy-roofed cottage in a row of cute little pointy-roofed cottages. Scott’s design continues the theme, but adds his own modern details. (Both architectural and for energy performance.)
All the twinner houses in the row have flat roof sections in the back. This was a cost-saving measure in the original design. Scott’s addition leaves this flat roof section alone for future solar panels…but returns to the 12:12 pitched roof for the addition. 
I can’t wait to see the stairwell finished. It is going to bring a lot of southern sunshine from above into the lower floor family room.
Posted in Found Objects, tagged bathroom, tile on October 3, 2011| 2 Comments »
Emma Lee Photograph via Remodelista
Posted in Found Objects, tagged historical styles, landscape, lighting design, New York, patterns on September 28, 2011| 2 Comments »
I spent Monday traversing Manhattan studying (loosely) the evolution of building technology over the last two centuries. I was hoping that I could get a peek inside the Chrysler building, one of my favorites, but visitors are only allowed a few steps into the lobby. The facade patterns created by the windows and wall between is very elegant: vertical lines in the middle and horizontal bands around the corners. The base is more decorated with chevrons and circles and rectangles, and then the glorious top! The Cloud Club once occupied several floors of the crown. The small triangular windows make for a rather inglorious space on the inside.
The lighting in the lobby is very architectural. By this I mean that it is integrated with the structure so that is helps define the space with areas of light and dark. 
James Maher has some better photos of the lobby on his website. Here are some more photos and information about the building.
I made it to the High Line, on the other side of town, in time to take a few picture at sunset.
Posted in Found Objects, tagged Brooklyn, color, New York, patterns on September 26, 2011| Leave a Comment »
This building caught my eye because of the bold color choice that seemed unusual for a money-lending institution. The simple bright blue base complements the brick patterns above that are reminiscent of Native American designs. This shade of blue reminds me a bit of Mexico. I find the overall effect to be bold and quite pleasing…but I imagine that many might consider the blue too bright for such an application.
Below are some other shades of blue in the same neighborhood. This blue door is rather jarring with the red brick and dark trim. I’m not sure the “mexican blue” above would be any better for this house.
This blue is softer and has a bit of grey-brown mixed in. It reminds me of colonial American houses and New England.
and another blue door that is a bit more subdued and softened with white and grey.
Personally, I am actually not a fan of blue paint with red brick in any shade, bright or soft.
deedsdesign 