Tuesday, February 27, 2007

Vermont Plat House - interior work beginning

Although winter has stopped work outside, the house is under temporary roof, and the inside work has begun in earnest. Electricians and plumbers are roughing in their systems in the wall frame. Insulation of the house is in place, and the finished wood ceiling has been installed in a large portion of the house. A panoramic view of the house lost in snow drifts! This is why outside work is at a standstill right now. An overview of the living room space. The fire place is to the right with the gallery space slipping behind along the high windows. The wood ceiling is a pre-stained bass wood with a small reveal joint where the boards join. The room has a very intimate scale with the location of the fireplace free standing as it is. The lower ceiling of the bay window portion of the room is being wrapped around the space in a lighted soffit. A close up of that wonderful ceiling. This was a not standard milled board - the v-joint that is common on milled tongue and groove boards was routed out to a square reveal joint to achieve this wonderfully smooth appearance. And the winter sunlight penetrating the space. We did look at the sun angles when designing in order to adjust the overhangs to allow for this winter sun & summer shade. Being that it is February now we are already two months past the lowest winter sun angles. This space is the summer dining porch that sits between the kitchen and master bedroom. Bass wood at the walls in this space as well. The great majority of these finish decisions are being made by my customer who is a mid-century modern enthusiast and home owner. He is bringing his broad experience with past re-hab projects to bear on this new construction and doing a wonderful job with his decisions. He is reading too, so let him know about it in the comments!

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Sunday, February 25, 2007

IBU proposal - component diagram

An exploded view begins to explain the components of the structure. I've begun working on this again because I am preparing drawings for an idea competition. I am working with a team of others that are bringing various areas of expertise to the table. The effort was organized by Jeff Rous, a LiveModern member who originally proposed the use of IBUs for student housing. I am creating 3 drawing panels that will explain the structure and how the construction system works. This is a diagram that will appear in the presentation which shows the component parts that make up the larger building. This also points the way for how I will propose building houses from the system. I am still a little ways off from fleshing that out, but working through the presentation of this multi unit proposal is a big step forward. Since spreading the idea is the reason for doing this, I'll be posting the drawing panels here when they are done.

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Saturday, February 17, 2007

IBU proposal progress sketch

Just a teaser This is a sketch of an IBU proposal for a 6 Unit structure of 1 bedroom flats.

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Tuesday, February 06, 2007

0738 Palo Alto - Design Prints Available

We are very pleased to introduce our newest house plan design. The Spirit of Palo Alto, project number 0738 Design Prints are done, and available immediately from the new web page in our online catalog. The rear facade facing the back yard. The living room - please, somebody move in and hang something on the walls!

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Friday, February 02, 2007

0738 Palo Alto - sneak peak

This is it - almost done with the modeling. I probably will not be posting any more progress shots. Once I finish the interior image shoot I'll prep the catalog page and the Design Prints. This is how its looking. The front: very understated and private from the street. The back yard: I'm trying to channel that mid-century atmosphere here! The court/atrium: just beyond the gate is this sweet little courtyard. Thanks for following along. I'll announce when the Design Prints are available.

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Thursday, February 01, 2007

0738 Palo Alto - house model done

Much to do on the site model next I have completed the schematic model of the house, but before I can proceed to create the catalog page for the web site, and the Design Prints, I have to model a context - a site model - to place the house in. Once this setting is complete I can place props in the house and make the final images. If you recall, the Zeitgeist Group of house plans which includes the Palo Alto are designs that are intended to fit into contemporary neighborhoods. This means the kind of subdivisions that are commonly built today. One of the common suburban housing patters is the closely spaced houses, with relatively small front yards, often with walled or fenced rear yards. Houses to each side are close by and privacy is a concern. The Palo Alto is designed to fit that context. It provides a buffer from the street in the form of a entry court, and privacy from neighboring houses. At the rear the master bedroom and living spaces are wide open to the private yard allowing your life to move easily in and outdoors. I think this house design is a sleeper - one I hope will have unexpected appeal. The only image that has been shown up till now is the aerial view in which the house just looks rather blocky. I think it will reveal itself as being very livable and comfortable when the images show what it is like to be there, rather than seeing it as an object.

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