Real Modern Architect

Narwhals in 'The Adventures of Miki the Narwhal'

2012-01-23T10:56:00.006-05:00

After much encouragement I've written and illustrated a children's book.

The book is just out and available on Amazon, 'The Adventures of Miki the Narwhal'

Some narwhal facts.

To start, Narwhals are a little know marine mammal that live in the Arctic Ocean. They are closely related to the Beluga whale. They breathe air.

From the group that has read the pre launch copy, about 60% of the parents (or grandparents) were not aware that they existed in the real world, they thought that they were a fictional or mythical character.

100% of the children who were read to, or read 'Miki' themselves, knew about narwhals (before reading the book).

Good job US primary schools!

During the 16th and 17th centuries the narwhal's tusk was valued more than gold. It was sold worldwide as being from a unicorn.

Narwhal tusks were used in many palace entrances, for corner posts on thrones, and the powder for miracle cures.

They are still legally hunted by the Inuit's.

There are an estimated 50,000 narwhals remaining.

Some 'Miki' facts.

Miki is a young narwhal living near the island of Franz Josef Land, in the Arctic Ocean. He has a mind of his own, which can sometimes lead to a bit of excitement.

In 'Miki's Long Journey", he ventures out into what are unknown waters for him, which gets Miki into a very difficult situation.

Antique stars

2012-01-23T10:05:00.000-05:00

Works of Joy

Definitely one of the things that I can't live without are the stars that my grandfather, Francesco Pro, made over 75 years ago. He gave them as presents to each of his son's, and somehow my father got four, after Uncle Alphonse gave his to my dad.

I remember that my father painted them blue, installed a light bulb and hung them outside, from each corner of our house at Christmas. For decades they were stored in my parents attic, under layers of boxes.
When I finally got them I removed the paint and throughly cleaned the glass. They are made of copper that's soldered together with glass inserts. One of the points is hinged to allow access to the interior.
I have one hanging over my desk all year, but at the holidays they move to the main room.
I've seen other stars in antique shops in Italy and there are reproductions available here in the States.

the blue trolley table

2011-05-03T11:02:00.004-04:00

Blue Trolley 14" x 14" x 31.5"

Most of the furniture that I design is created out of necessity rather than whim. There was just nothing else out there that fit into the elegant sparseness of our decor, and was compact enough to be a compliment to everything in the room.

The 'trolley' is a portable and mobile table that we use everywhere, in the kitchen to hold a cookbook, an ibook or iphone caddy near the sofa, a serving table for drinks, on the deck to hold the toppings for fish tacos, a bedside book shelf, or next to the front door to put the mail on.

It's made from steel rods that are an over run from a manufacturer, and recycled white birch. Both the top and bottom shelves grain matches since they are cut from the same block.

An edition of only five will be made.

The angel chair

2011-02-26T10:16:00.000-05:00

Angel chair
The chair is made of one piece of 4' x 8' post consumer recycled birch plywood, all interlocking pieces and finished with natural oils.

It's my version of the 'club' chair but with wings.

Environmentally friendly solar townhouses

2011-02-19T11:22:00.005-05:00

Solar powered townhouses

The project started with a developer, who we had worked with before, taking us to look at an apartment building that he had just purchased. It was a 2 story brick building built around 1905 and was sectioned into 8 apartments, 4 on each floor, with a central corridor. Our client asked us to look at the layout and what we thought would be the best way to improve the building, add solar, and at the same time enrich the fabric of the neighborhood. The building was situated perfectly for passive solar, and solar panels on the roof, it faced easterly, which meant that the sun would be at the front all morning and progress to the side during the afternoon. We designed this in 1997, panel construction and sophistication of the installers were not near today's standards and we were very lucky to have a client who 'thought foreword' enough to actually embrace the concepts.

We approached the design of the project by first looking closely at the surrounding row houses which were mostly single family. The neighborhood had a strong sense of ownership and pride, which dictated to us the design right away. We came up with a solution to keep the existing facade, that was historically significant, framing and exterior walls, and to introduce 8 new townhouses sideways into the existing shell. This would keep the fabric of the neighborhood intact and foster pride of ownership and place.

Our criteria started with using as many parts of the original building as we could, to limit the amount of new materials used, and also to find as much outdoor space as we could since the lot was narrow. The opportunity for green roofs, gardens, the implimentation of solar panels and passive solar design were some of the main contributing factors. The concept was to make the houses as close to zero energy consumption (or self sufficient) as we could and still to stay within the budget.
The choice of renewable materials and efficient insulation techniques such as panelized SIP construction for the walls and roof was also recommended.

After our final design meeting, it was agreed that 3 floors with a full walk out basement, for either a home office or an extended family/inlaw apartment with a separate entrance, and an additional 3 bedrooms including a master suite, living room, dining room and kitchen, would fit both the economic and conceptual model.

The rooftop was used as a backyard, that is, it has easy access from the third floor, and all of the homes have the option of a green roof to have their own garden, with lots of sunlight and air. We also designed special rooftoop kiosks that provded a sturdy base for the solar panels and an area that is shaded and screened in for an additional outdoor space.

The panels were both photovoltaic and closed loop hot water water systems for the hot water and electrical needs of the home.

By using solar panels the client had the choice either to sell the individual arrays to the home buyers, or to retain the panels and become their elecric company. This allows the owner not only to receive SREC's (solar renewable energy credits) from the state, but also to collect a monthly payment for the electric from the homeowners.

Or, the home buyer could purchase the panels and gain all of the mentioned benefits, with the panels paying themselves off within an estimated 6 years, after that time the electric used would be free and would take zero energy from the grid.

The after effects of passive cooling

2011-01-23T14:35:00.011-05:00

In a few previous posts (as you remember) there were brief descriptions of the passive solar design process of the studio, well, here's how the geothermal cooling works and how it came about.

Over the years we have had the studio listed by two separate realtors who asked if it has a basement, a simple question, and I reluctantly tell them that there is a small cellar of sorts that has a steel trap door entrance with a ladder going to the subterranean room.
'Call it a wine cellar in the true mid 15th century tradition', I joke.
I get a blank stare every time, neither preferred to take a 1st hand look. But it's a real wine cellar, with a constant temperature of 55 degrees and there are 3, 50 gallon barrels of wine aging there, 1 white Zinfandel, and 2 Ruby Cabernet, from my wine making era.

Why the cellar was built. During the Cuban missile crisis, my father really took JFK's speech to heart, he had a concrete bomb shelter built under the garage, (the contractor never blinked an eye, and thought him to be a wise man, at the time) it's around 10'x10' with an air intake with concrete block walls and thats about it. By the time it was finished the danger (perceived in the eye's of Dad) of a missile attack had passed, and the shelter was never stocked with the mandatory canned and dried food, fresh water and supplies.

I have distant memories about being ushered into the old garage, through a small doorway, into the new portion, there, a heavy steel trap door was propped up off the floor revealing a 3' x 2' opening with a makeshift ladder descending into a dark space. The 3 of us, lead by my father, then entered our new bomb shelter, it was explained to me that we would descend into this 'cave' at the first warning sirens of the missiles streaking from the Caribbean island, (that really sounds bizarre now) towards Philadelphia, spend a week or two there and emerge alive and well. My first question was, what's going to be there when we go outside? to which I never got a good enough answer. But, I was assured that everything would be OK. Great.

I remember that it was a bit cold in the shelter, even during the Summer. Didn't everyone have one? Just another normal American childhood. You can't make this stuff up.

At the time I wondered what we were going to do with the family dog, leave him to the ravages on the surface, foraging for food among the decimation?

While designing the studio I thought that the shelter would be filled in with dirt and sealed with the new concrete slab, never to be thought of again. But during the construction for some reason, call it family obligation, I left it intact. I now am the only one in our family who has actually been down there, it's clean, dry, and cool.

The means to descend to the cinquecento room

Rationalization of the design.

The kitchen floor was positioned one step (7 inches) below the entrance level, it's concrete slab on grade, as is the rest of the 1st floor, the floor being below the outside grade acts as a cooling element during the hot months, so on a 90 degree day the temp inside stays around 75, without air conditioning. All of the hot air from the 1st floor rises by convection, up the atrium and moves outside with the help of a slow rpm fan at roof and open upper windows at the 2nd floor adjacent to the atrium. This works very well and has cut down our need to use the a/c except when the temp is over 100.

Modern architecture comes home

2011-01-21T11:52:00.007-05:00

Home sweet studio

Main room

2nd floor

Axonmetric

First a studio, then a house. This tiny house was designed in 1986, my first work on my own out of school and interning. The site was given to me by my parents, there was an old brick garage that was there dating from 1900. It was torn down at the start of construction, although the concrete slab from it is now the kitchen floor, with the bricks being the walkway. The design of the house took around a year.

I drew my inspiration from the years I studied in Europe, mainly the modern movement in France and Italy, with a lot of the details coming from thinking about the houses designed by Frank Lloyd Wright and how they fit together, combined with the spaces of Renzo Piano and in particular his Centre Pompidou.
The library and the cafe there have to be one of the best in Europe.

The studio is nestled back in the corner of the lot, right on the property lines, this affords a buffer from the street, people have passed it for years and never even noticed it was back there.

Passive solar design was always a consideration, in the site planning and in the window placement.
In the Winter months there is no heat necessary on the top floor, that is if the Sun is out, the minute it goes down, you have to turn it on ......quickly to keep the solar gain going. During the Summer the sugar maple tree shades the windows to cut down on solar gain, and in the Winter the leaves are gone so the light and warmth pour in to heat the spaces.

The greenest cup of coffee

2011-01-09T09:48:00.007-05:00

extremely green coffee

This morning started with a determination to make an excellent cup of coffee. Being the first up in the house I switched on our vintage Cimbali took a shower, and returned with the machine ready to brew.

The Cimbali is a machine we acquired when we were designing a string of coffee shops for a client that purchased 4 existing cafes. All the old machines in the 4 locations (a total of 8) were to be claimed (and purchased for a small amount) by the insiders involved in the design and renovations. It seems that the shops were actually owned by a cooperative of coffee growers, so a lot of people who were involved in the projects had their pick. We stated early on in the process that we would be interested in one, and early one morning I received a call asking which one I would like. I picked the 'La Cimbali', for it's reputation of making the best brew, but mostly for the design. The machine was carted away and taken to a specialist for complete renovation. Being a European machine (most commercial machines are) it had to be converted to function totally on 220 volt electric power, which was our preference, since it was using gas to heat the water when we got it. We had it in our office for a year, turning it on when we would arrive in the morning and off when leaving at night, who doesn't like a cup of authentically brewed espresso in the afternoon? It performed without a flaw and seemed to be where everyone gravitated to for relaxing.

All was well, until we decided to have the building evaluated for a rooftop solar panel array. The first step in the (long) application process is to gather your electric bills for the past year, OK, not difficult.

Looking at the usage over 12 months the total was equal to a 5 bedroom house, located somewhere on the Maine/Canadian boarder.

We traced everything in the office and finally looked towards the much used and loved Cimbali. A basic experiment was carried out. We stood over the electric meter and watched the speed of the disk go from about 1 revolution every 2 minutes to 12 to 15 revs when the machine was turned on, and we had it on everyday, all the time, for over a year!

As always there was a positive aspect, (aside from the excellent coffee) the total energy consumption for that year enabled us to install more panels and to generate more electricity, since the size of the system is calculated on the demand from the previous year.

We now use a more austere method for brewing, the Cimbali is turned on 15 minutes beforehand, just enough time for it to warm up, the coffee is brewed, the milk is steamed and the machine cleaned, a total of about 25 minutes, then it's switched off. There's no waste product, we use a third of the coffee than with other methods, and conceivably one can supply their own electricity for the brew.

We rationalize this by comparing it to the other methods that we use. If we use the Melita paper filter method, which is also great coffee, we think of the trees used for the filter, the packaging, the labor involved in making the product, the transportation of the product to the store, and our transportation from the store. They are however compost-able so even the package can end up feeding your garden.

We are also experimenting with a bicycle powered generator that would run the machine and our laptops while providing a workout at the same time. There we go again, after powering up the coffee and laptops I think that a shower would be required, which means the energy to heat many gallons of water, but if I powered the generator first, turned on the machine, then started my shower......

'New' green kitchen

2010-11-24T11:06:00.017-05:00

Our kitchen.............relocated photo Nick Pro

It started when we moved, our new house had a 1950's galley kitchen with all the mod cons of 1950. It's hard to believe that we put up with it for so long a time.
With 2 architects in the house a general consensus of 'the layout' takes a bit longer than usual.
It was decided to finally locate the kitchen in the existing sun room. The reasons follow:

1. River view, 2. Floor to ceiling windows with a river view, 3. Design criteria of a 20 ft. x 20 ft. space with a river view.

What made the installation easier was that we had already designed and fabricated all of the components of the kitchen. The cooks table was designed with the thought of being able to move the piece into any
space that we moved into, and incur very minimal site preparation and fitting. We designed the table when we were about to move into a large post industrial space, in essence one 75 ft x 50 ft. room with 14 ft. ceilings.

We boiled down the essentials to what we actually required for living (inside a structure that is) with the remains being, a kitchen, a bathroom with a shower, and a rather large living area.
With the 'cooks table' all that's required are two 220 volt electric lines to hook up the oven and cook top.
We used all reclaimed and recycled materials.
The table itself is made from a steel vintage drafting table, redesigned and fitted with stainless steel top and trim, racks for cookie sheets, pans and mixers, anodized aluminum towel bars, from a whisker pole on a sailboat, all the wood used was reclaimed from a project that we were involved in at the time and are from a 120 year old structure.
We resisted the (now typical) granite counters, mandatory wood cabinets and typical island in exchange for a solution that actually fit the way that we live.

The benefit of this is that we don't have to go out and consume anything, all we did was connect the electric and we were cooking.

We also designed and manufactured every piece that you see in the photo.
The bookshelves were designed as an alternative to shelves constructed of composite board and veneer.
The design is the essence of a bookshelf, clean and free of ornament.
They are solid Birch, this makes them about 1/2 the weight of the commercial produced 'units'.

While interviewing cabinet makers to build the shelves, we had a hand drawn sketch with detailed drawings for construction, since the details and how they are carried out within the design, are the most important part to us.
We explained that all of the wood used was to be supplied by us, to come from a 150 year old White Birch that had fallen on our property. It was specially milled and aged for 4 years for this purpose.
Amazingly, when the makers would return with their drawings, the majority of them had planned to put the design into their C & C machine (a computerized cutting machine) to cut all of the pieces. The thing is that this machine cannot use real wood, only particle board. It took a while but we did find a true craftsman to make the cabinets, from the Birch.

The purple stool, that uses the same wood, can be seen in an earlier post on the blog.

Certainly everything shown here is available upon request.
We can't wait to try out the kitchen.

Real modern art

2010-11-16T21:39:00.005-05:00

Downwind

An artist friend of mine, Will Montgomery, who used to live up the River from us, collaborated with me to create the silk screen and computer generated prints "Downwind"

The basis for the prints came from a silk screen that I made, a Delaware River scene of 2 Stars racing on their downwind leg in a local regatta. I've was intrigued with the gracefulness of these yachts and the contrast of the warehouse and freighters being unloaded as the silently glide by. Sharing the same water with the freighters but on different tacks.

While visiting the Montgomery's in Miami in March (we were racing a Star in the Bacardi cup) I was very impressed with the art work that he's doing, all abstract and lots of bright colors.

I asked 'Will" if he ever did land or sea scenes, 'no, not for me' was the reply. This naturally led me to ask what would happen if I sent him a digital copy of "Downwind", with no expectations and the only rule being that his addition and creativity would have to be limited to 2 dimensions, and fit on the print.

About 6 months later Will phoned and said that he was emailing two versions of the print.

My reaction upon seeing them was a gigantic smile, which turned into a grin, I think that they are very, very, cool. All digital and printed on rag paper too. We are releasing an limited edition of 50 each.

Will is going to exhibit more of his work at Art Basel Red Dot Art Fair, in Miami on Dec.1st thru the 5th.

Wills website is www.abstractfineart.com, stop by to take a look and see what you think!

Approvals

2010-10-29T11:19:00.000-04:00

Rendering of the revised facade

Since the last posting of this project we have been through a preliminary hearing and a final hearing with the Zoning Board. The changes that were suggested in the preliminary hearing were carried out.
The changes were to eliminate the balconies, it was mentioned by a board member that it looked too much like Bourbon Street (?), and that people would be throwing things from the balcony onto the street.
Also suggested was to add a cornice to the facade, to follow the lines of the existing buildings.
At the final hearing of the Zoning board all members voted in favor of the project and it's variances, including on street parking by permit. The motions will be put into resolution form and be voted in at the next meeting of the Board.
Comments at a later date.

Progress

2010-06-04T15:01:00.001-04:00

Existing building (Riverside Arts Guild)

If you remember the tin ceiling that I featured in a blog about 2 months ago, this is a sketch model showing the front of the building that we have been working on. The location is in Riverside, NJ, formerly known as Progress, (which is a great name and I thought that it should have stayed).

This scheme allows for office space on the ground floor and 8, 2 bedroom apartments on the 2nd and 3rd floors. One of the prime directives was to save the tin ceiling on the ground floor, it is approx. 100' x 40' with all the medallions and cornices in place, which we did. We chose to keep the existing storefront window configuration along with the off center entrance. This keeps within the scale of the adjacent entrances. The office space is 165' x 40' with the client being hopeful for one tenant.

The 2nd and 3rd floors have 2 apartments at the front and 2 apartments at the rear of the building, with the entrances being in a central atrium, which starts on the 2nd floor. When designing apartments it is necessary to keep in mind that there must be 2 exits from each floor, (the elevator is not considered an exit by Code) The first thought was to have one exit to the front and one to the rear. This was not possible, the Building Code requires that a minimum of 50' clear space in front of any exit, so in the event of a fire all can keep clear of the building. This rear yard was only 20', with no right of way through an adjacent property to meet code. After a few alternative schemes, including the client purchasing a 5' wide strip of land through the adjacent property, which would have had to be written into a new deed, the decision was made to have both of the exits in the front of the building opening onto the main street.

Each apartment has a small deck opening from the dining area. We designed this not only because we think that decks make urban life a lot richer, but also that having residential units above retail and office spaces is the quintessential tried and true solution to facilitate a safer 'Main Street", with the decks adding that additional layer of 'Town Watch" to the street below.

Scott Street has a mixture of architectural periods in the facades of the storefronts. It ranges from the 18th century to mid 20th century styles, from metal and stainless of the 1940's and 50's to a massive flagship 1930's bank as a cornerstone. Rather than recreate a past for the building that did not exist, ( the existing facade is not original) we thought that it was time for the street to have something from the 21 century.
The features that are on the roof are designed to give each apartment a sense of individuality and pride of place. They also (on the reverse side), function as P.V. solar panels, to supplement the owners electric bills.

A photoshop collage showing the drawn elevation in the context of it's neighbors will be featured in a future post.

The origin and original use for the building seems to have been a theatre, and it is believed to be one of the oldest structures in the town.

This scheme is to be presented to the Planning and Zoning Boards in the near future.

'The Devon', Community project

2010-02-13T11:12:00.000-05:00

Joseph & Bogna Pro's sketch, Avenue view

Joseph & Bogna Pro's sketch, side street

Teisha Perrys, Architect, sketch

Brian Szymanik Architects, sketch

'The Devon' as it is now

We just finished the design sketches for 'The Devon', a theatre and retail store redesign project that is part of the AIA and it's Community Design Collaborative. Translated this means that community groups who need architectural assistance with their projects, submit them to the Collaborative. The Collaborative then decides which projects are feasible, and then selects volunteer architects to work on the projects. The architects receive CEU's in return (continuing educational units). Architects are required to complete a given number of CEU hours every year. Personally I would rather work on a real project then sit through hours of classes, although some are very interesting. But I prefer the interaction, teamwork, and the fact that the designs, are in most cases, built.
After the architectural team is assembled a meeting with the client group is arranged to find their goals and requirements, and from there we start to design the project.

The Mayfair CDC is the 'client', their building is an already renovated (to a high standard) movie and theatre with adjacent stores, known as 'The Devon' The building dates to the 1940's and was operating as a movie up until around the early 1990's. The current renovation took place around 2 years ago.

The client would like to find a solution to the sameness and non-individuality of the present aluminum facade and storefronts, with emphasis on the individuality of each store and their appeal to the public.
Additionally the building has a very low profile and height, and has become 'backround' in the streetscape.

Our team consists of four architects, Teisha Perry, Brian Szymanik, Bogna Pro, and myself.

We have arrived at 3 solutions for the client. The facade of the building was divided into 3 parts with each architect taking a part. This allows for three different concepts that will be presented to the client.

All three concepts are shown here. We have a 'design review' at the AIA in Philadelphia on Feb. 16th.
This is a meeting in which we present our project for comments to other Architects, all part of the final design process. After that, at a later date we will meet with the community group and present the project to them.
Our comments to follow in a later post.

Architect, save the ceiling!

2010-01-30T12:38:00.003-05:00

Tin Ceiling at the beam

At the Column

The cavernous space, the original white

paint line is where the suspended ceiling was removed (around 8 ft.)

One of our latest projects is a 125 year old theatre that was being used as small retail spaces, a recording studio and music shop. The building is 165 ft x 38 ft, all the framing is wood. It's in the heart of a small town along the Delaware River in New Jersey.
The clients would like to convert the building into one large retail space on the ground floor and six very spacious apartments on the second and third floors (to be constructed). Right now we are in the design phase of the project.

What we found, after the suspended tile ceiling was removed is a 85 ft. x 38 ft. tin ceiling, almost intact, and filled with details. The building was the first theatre in the town, and I think that it was probably used for vaudeville and plays, or a hall, with a stage which is now missing. The existing ceiling is 13 ft. from the floor, also there is an existing second floor that has the remnants of another tin ceiling, complete with rotunda's and corner details, all painted contrasting colors (photos coming soon). This may be the original theater's ceiling, the height is 20 ft from the ground floor. My guess is that the acoustics with the ceiling at that height were not that great, so it was lowered, sometime about 1910.

125 year old grain

14 ft long planks

With the renovation of old buildings comes the opportunity to reuse the wood that is salvaged from them. What we found this time is pine planks, that were being used as shelving. They are 1' thick x 12" wide x 14 ft. long. all old growth long leaf pine. I had them sanded by a local company, Bossen Architectural Woodworking, and found some beautiful patterns and details in the wood.
The original intension was to use them for shelving, but since seeing them "cleaned" I think that a conference table would be great.
There will be more planks and larger pieces coming soon , since the existing roof and it's beams will be removed and replaced.

Latest work

2009-12-01T15:29:00.000-05:00

Key lime Green table and Purple stool

The table top is from salvaged 100 year old house beams, the base is a 1970's grade school desk.

It's available in key lime green, bright blue, white, silver, black or purple. Price is $500.

White Birch wooden stool, purple base

The stool base is formed from solid recycled steel rods, available in purple, key lime green, black and bright blue. The seat is made from a very old (we counted over 120 rings) White Birch tree that was rescued from the chipper, finished in clear human friendly coatings. Price is $400.

Stool shown with a vintage Bertoia 'Wink' chair

The waiting room

2009-10-31T15:51:00.011-04:00

Commercial seating by Charles Eames (c. 1962)

Originally I acquired these chairs from a Greyhound Bus Depot that was moving to a new location, there were at least 20 sets that were left, they lined the walls of the cavernous room, once a huge auto showroom. The person in charge of the move was in disbelief that anyone would actually want to buy them. He said that he had to phone corporate headquarters, I gave him a deposit, 2 weeks later I got a call to come and pick them up.

So it goes, I had them in my house (prior to being married) and it was just great. I sat in them a total of five minutes. Excellent party chairs.

When my future bride first arrived at my small studio, the chairs were

just there, innocuous and benign, being loved just being by Eames.

But then it happened, it was mentioned that sitting in these chairs one starts to feel anxiety starting, and maybe becomes a bit impatient, like your waiting for something to arrive.

I was asked if I had taken a large clock off the adjacent wall, and also if I had any issues of Domus that were more current. Then it was actually said, "I feel like I'm in a waiting room"

How could this be?

Look at the chairs, the details, the amount of thought that went into the castings for the legs, the 'T' section of steel that is used as the common mounting point for all 4 chairs, the elegant economy of the design, the sheer functionality of them, relegated to mere common "waiting room furniture".................... could another Architect actually not see the beauty in these? Is it just understood by Americans???

SO.............. It happens that the chairs have followed us around the country for four moves, always being assembled lovingly wherever we moved, and within two weeks, under great pressure, making the journey back into storage.

Until today......... They were carried to and assembled in the old studio, which is for sale, since it was decided that the studio is to be a showroom for furniture that is being made, and for vintage pieces that we have acquired. (due to the lack in interest in anyone buying it)

About an hour after the chairs were 'set up", the other half of Sky Architects stopped by with an entourage of friends.... Super!

The discussion turned to why the house hasn't sold, "it has to have furniture in it", "where do you put the bed?", "is this the dining room", "what do you do in this space?" were the questions shot at me. "you cant just have expanses of space, with nothing on the walls and no furniture",

"you have to make it cosy", "it has to be staged" "I know someone who could do it for $2,000"

But the final comment, that I was surprised had not started the conversation was,

"and get rid of these orange chairs, you need a cosy sofa here" The record was broken, they lasted 1 hour and 10 minutes.

I know of a auction house in Paris that deals with pieces like this, France is sometimes the only place to go.

Keep in Touch

Table made from reclaimed house beams

2009-10-25T14:24:00.009-04:00

Reclaimed, post consumer, green finishes = 100% GOOD

Side

Reclaimed beam table

This is a table that I made of 100% reclaimed post consumer materials.

The top comes from 120 year old beams from a Philadelphia row house that was demolished. The beams are old growth Pine and were then re-planned sanded and joined together. All of the nail marks and checks are still visible. The finish is hand rubbed pure vegetable oils with no chemical driers or VOC's

The base is from a reclaimed school desk with a steel base, the base was burnished and refinished with a zero VOC clear coat resin.

The joining of two sections from the same beam not only saves on wood use, but also creates super interesting patterns!

The table measures 24"H x 36"L x 18 1/2"W, the top is 2 5/8" thick.

I'm starting to work on a few more with different size beam tops, and different bases too.

For 4 years, I have been drying Birch that is from a hundred year old tree that was struck by lightning, taken down and saved, (not taken to the landfill). This wood is now being finished for tops.

I think that it's MUCH better to have furniture in your house that has no chemicals leaching out of it and that you can trace it's heritage.

That goes for the walls too, USG (United States Gypsum Co.) have just come out with a new wallboard product that is made from coal ash and has no formaldehyde (used in embalming fluid) in it. This is a BIG step, their product, at least here, is the same price as the 'regular' wallboard.

Call me crazy, but I just get a warmer feeling knowing that my house, and it's furnishings are not arranging a mortal attack on my body.

Vintage chairs

2009-09-30T20:10:00.002-04:00

Got an email from another post telling me that the drafting stools are actually 'Toledo', machine age chairs. Manufactured around 1920, and starting price around $250 to 330, each.

Just listed

2009-05-25T16:22:00.003-04:00

Tyson Studio
We just listed a studio that I designed in 1985, with the Realtor Craig Wakefield, who specializes in modern homes and he has already made up a great listing. You can see it at, http://www.phillyhiphouse.com/

It's very difficult to find a real estate agent in this area who has a feeling for modern spaces and a through knowledge of the how and why of the original modern movement designs. Craig has a website that shows current and past listings, ranging from Lou Kahn to Frank Lloyd Wright.
My studio was referred to Craig by another Realtor, I'm told that this is rare, and I am full of anticipation.
For a glimpse of modern houses in my area you can go to Craigs site, http://www.modernhomesphiladelphia.com/

Happy Memorial Day!

Community Garden

2009-05-18T15:47:00.003-04:00

I hope you are having a good Monday, sorry about the lapse in posts, our practice is picking up a bit.

We have a new project that does not include buildings.

Leeann Hall, a great lady from Burlington, New Jersey, asked us to assist her in the creation of community gardens on a parcel of land that has been in her family for almost one hundred years. We thought that it was a good idea and we volunteered our services.
Leeann would like to use this piece for community gardens. She also owns another lot, in a more urban setting that we are converting to a playground.
The land is in town, (Burlington, New Jersey) and is a little over a quarter acre. When the town put in paved roads, they raised them above the level of the lot by 6 feet. To enter you have to run down a little slope, but the land is just as it always has been , undeveloped and pristine.
We are just in the conceptual stage and have been discussing building up the entrance from the street with earth taken from the site when we level ground for the gardens. With this earthwork we can design a ramp that allows easy access.
The challenge that we came up with is to use only the resources from the lot. The trees that have been taken down already will be milled, (on site) and used as raised beds and perimeter markers for a path, as well as railings and retaining walls. There are some cedar trees that will also be used. The branches will be chipped and used on a path.
The thought of this land producing organic vegetables and fruit, and being saved from development is something that is very timely as well as an asset for the community. Plus a lot of fun.
We will be meeting with the landscaping crew later in the week.
Right now we are drawing up a master plan and guidelines for the stewardship of the land.
Any ideas or comments you have would be of help!

New project

2009-05-01T18:35:00.003-04:00

Updating an entrance to a 1950's modernist house. The window panels are fiberglass with plastic circles that have broken colored glass in them, sandwiched in between. They were originally clear, and the building of them was a family project.
Work has just started on it.
More later.

What Architects eat

2009-04-27T10:44:00.005-04:00

Masala Dosa

This is a Masala Dosa, an Indian crepe, the Dosa, is about two foot long, filled with superbly prepared Masala filing.

Yesterday we had lunch at Rajbhog, in Cherry Hill, NJ, an Indian take out, eat in, and grocery store.

Southern Indian cuisine has to be our favorite .

Whats in it? potatoes, onions, turmeric, green chillies, and mustard seed.

Light and crispy, served with Sambar, a spicy sauce that you dip the Dosa in, and coconut chutney, which cools down the heat. Order a salty or mango Lassi with it, (a yogurt shake).

When it's too hot for a full meal, this is one of the ONLY alternatives.

It's become our staple for all occasions of hunger for us.
Snacks, light diners, even breakfast.

We have progressed to ordering a Dosa 'medium', which is saying VERY spicy.
If your not accustomed to Indian food, 'mild' is the best bet. But to a lot of the chefs the concept of mild translates to, please bring a gallon of water!

When we travel, we have the GPS, (it's in Italian, a cool option for us, grazie Chiara) set for alerting us when we pass an Indian restaurant, within 15 miles, and the trip is most of the time worth it.

A lot of restaurants are often attached to, or in the vicinity of an Indian grocery, which makes for a shopping trip in which you definitely know your not at your local Shop Right.

It's probably one of the surest ways to get fresh food on the road.
Bypassing all of the out of the box eateries.

We've been surprised at how far off the beaten track we find a really good buffet or an excellently prepared crispy Dosa.

There's no mistake that I'm publishing this at lunchtime!

Earth week events

2009-04-26T16:09:00.005-04:00

Here we are, staked out at the Fair!

The weather was fantastic the temperature was 85 and Sunny all day, luckily we were under the tent, thank you!

We both thought that it would be fun to offer free architectural consultation for Earth Day.

This was the first year for the Fair and there were around 450 people who visited.

Everyone seems to like the idea of solar panels for their own electric, having no bills, having an excess, and selling it back to the utility company , plus getting up to 80% of the cost of the installations back in energy rebates. Mostly everyone we spoke with was asking how to do that.

We tend to lean towards passive solar design to start with, and then integrate active systems into the project.

A lot of the visitors were asking about zero energy houses too, and how to be off the grid, that is, to be able to be completely self sufficient and use no electric or water from public utilities.

One (visitor) has a large parcel of land that they want to put a house right in the center of, and the closest electric pole is 3 miles away. This really sounds interesting!

Solar panels and rainwater re-claiming were the two main things that were asked about.

There were also a lot of questions about tubular skylights, and how to bring light into the dark areas of a house.

I think my wife is signing us up for another Fair, down the road ...

It was a good time and we made a few new friends too.

Passive solar design

2009-04-25T07:47:00.028-04:00

Today we are participating in the Sustainability Fair at the Palmyra Cove Nature Park, just 1 mile down river from our office.

We have a table set up and are going offer free architectural consultation and answer any questions about how to make homes greener, and sustainable habits to get into.

Passive Solar Design

A simple overhang can be positioned over a window to allow warmth from the Sun into the house in the Winter, and shade the window from the Sun during the Summer months. The length of the overhang can be calculated from Sun angle charts. These show where the Sun is in relation to your part of the planet at a certain time of year. The Sun is higher in the sky during the Summer months and is highest at the Summer Equinox June 21, and lowest at the Winter Equinox on December 21, as shown in the drawing above. The drawing in a sketch of a project that we did a passive solar analysis for. It shows how much shade, and sunlight, will be let into the window with the overhang being a certain length. The longer the overhang the less direct sunlight you will receive in the Summer, which will keep down solar gain, it will not effect the amount of sunlight received in the Winter, because the Sun is lower on the horizon then.
Overhangs can be retrofitted to an existing house, but if you are in a colder climate make sure that the overhang is designed to hold the weight of the snow loads. This is only one step to take toward creating a zero energy house.
Let nature work for you. Shading is very important, it will block the direct sunlight during the warmer months and allow the rays in to warm the space during winter, when the Sun is lower on the horizon.
A Sugar Maple tree is a good candidate for shading, it fills out during the Summer and grows fast, so if you have to plant from new, it should reach 12 to 15 feet in about 3 or 4 years.

A Sugar Maple

This tree took about 10 years to grow, it was 6' high when it was planted. It lets in all of the Sun during the Winter and shades the whole house during the Summer. Overhangs are a much quicker solution.

The shading works very well, this was taken at the start of Autumn.

A recent project, plus some notes

2009-04-20T08:34:00.007-04:00

Master bath

This small two story addition was completed last month.
We were retained to design an extension to the existing dining room, on the first floor, and to enlarge the master bath on the second floor, plus, to keep within a budget, set by the owner.

The design criteria was to blend the new design in with the existing decor of the home.

We added only 300 square feet to the house. The bay window and cathedral ceiling shown are two of the items on the 'wish list' provided by the client.

A freestanding tub and faucet were on the 'must have' list.

The faucet installation is the only part of the project to go over budget, why?

Hansgrohe photo

It's all about the US building codes.

The building codes in the US are very different than those in Europe (the faucet is made in Germany), and in the bathroom, it has been mandated in the US, that the tub, and shower must have a valve installed that is anti-scald, in this instance, that means a separate valve.

This is so that when water is used for another fixture or in another area of the house, the cold water is not taken from the shower or bath, which would leave just hot, ouch!
Also the water temperature (by code) is limited to no more than 120 degrees, which means the installation of valve number two.

Since the faucet is mounted on the floor, all of this has to be fitted under the floor of the bathroom (adjacent to the faucet). This requires it to be done in a small space, usually between the floor and ceiling.

It's been our experience that there are VERY few plumbers who are capable (or want the responsibility) of planning for, and installing this type of faucet.

The architect ( or a mechanical engineer) has to be the one to coordinate all of the valves, when they are to be installed, where they go, and how they are installed.
Or, upon inspection, the building inspector will not approve the project.

We find that the client is mostly not very interested in all of this, however, it's important to take into consideration (when planning that addition) the extra care required with a lot of these beautiful fixtures.

All of this means that the cost of the faucet itself has to be multiplied by 3, then 10% contingency added, before you will be able to bath in luxury!

Ah, the cost of beauty!