Upcoming Project Round-Up

Things are going to start getting pretty interesting around here as several projects start to happen. Here is a quick round-up of what will be coming later this summer.



Our first bona fide shipping container based project is well into the design phase with intrepid client John Unger. John is an adept metal artist and will be fitting out much of the house himself. 3 stories, 6 boxes, including a 2 bedroom home, office, and workshop.



A complete and modern renovation to a Virginia Farm House. Yes, that is a big honking window in the side of the existing house and its going to take a bit of exposed structural steel hoonage to hold it up. Yup, and to hold up one of those sexy hanging fireplaces too.



A new compact, and efficient EcoSteel house, should be going in the ground late summer in Maryland. This is the one I think, the one that has some legs, the promise of being anybodies affordable prefab. The new 3030 House: 30ft x 30ft plus porch footprint, just under 2000 sqft, 3 bedrooms, and a nice open plan living space. Fits on narrow in-fill lots, or in new compact communities. No onesies though. We want to sell these in bunches.



And the Massachusetts EcoSteel Plat House which started last fall is rolling again. The steel order is in and due on site at the end of the month.

So keep your eyes peeled for these projects coming soon.

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New Mexico EcoSteel House - more photos

Another round of photos from the New Mexico EcoSteel House. An interesting point of view, most of these were shot from a lift that was on site for the interior work. Most of the exterior photos are from this elevated point of view.



As before more shots in a photo browser below the click through:

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New Mexico EcoSteel House - the observatory and the milkyway

I received another round of progress photos of the interior of the New Mexico EcoSteel House today. It seems to be moving right along. Also included were some spectacular photos by the owner of the observatory against the night sky.



Be sure to stop by the flickr group of the house. There are two more panoramic photos of the observatory against the milky way sky, and a bunch more of the interior of the main house. Click through to the rest of the entry to see a photo browser of new images.

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New Mexico EcoSteel House - more and better photos

The Owner of the New Mexico EcoSteel House posted a slew of new photos at his Picasa photo site, and we have reposted many of them to our own flickr group of the house. The interior fit out of the house is well along, and there are many photos of the inside work. There are also many more photos of the outside work that give a good show of the structures



Inside you can start to see the shape of the rooms now that there is some wall board over the studs. You can see how one space over looks another, and how the bridge and stairs are like a sculpture in middle of the house. The Owner also took some great photos of the view enjoyed from each side of the house. Its a dramatically beautiful land out there.

click the link below to continue reading, and for a browser of the new photos.




Outside there are many more views of the house and garage than we have seen before, and particularly images of them framed together so you can get a better experience of the two together.

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New Mexico EcoSteel - EcoSteel work essentially complete

The EcoSteel pacakge for the New Mexico EcoSteel House is more or less complete. Photos from the owner show most of the components in place, and the house and other structures fully trimmed out. Interior work at the house will be ongoing for a little while and we hope to have updates of the finished interior when its done. But until then we have new photos of the structures by the owner.



click through the link below for more photos.

Here the covered walk between the house and garage is in place and we can see all the trim on the house now. This photo would be late in the day as the entry side of the house faces westerly. Sitework remains to be done and I am not sure what the owner's plans are in that regard. It would be nice for the indigenous ground cover to reclaim the disturbed construction area and grow right up to the house. You get more of a sense of that vision in the second photo below.



Remember you can see photos of the entire build on the Flickr New Mexico EcoSteel House photo set, and all the EcoSteel projects in the EcoSteel photo pool. And for reference you will find more info on the EcoSteel system at http://www.ecosteel.com/

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New Mexico EcoSteel House - steel stairs

The stairs in New Mexico have been installed, and we have some pictures from the owner.

When we were designing the house one thing that was common to all the variations that were considered was that they all had a prominent stair at the entry of the house. It became apparent that this stair was going to need to be an object that made a statement as it was going to be exerting its presence right where you enter the house.



The stair consists of a single steel stringer with cantilevered treads and risers. Not a completely unusual configuration, but not as often configured in a U shaped stair. The undercarriage was all exposed and visible, so we did not want to see a post coming down to the floor under the landings. So our posts are actually hidden in the adjacent wall which you can still see here as the wall framing has not received drywall yet.

The floor to floor height is high, so the stair needed to be quite long. And we could not have the bottom of the stair crowding the front door. So it found itself pushed back and leading up to a cantilevered landing which hangs off the second floor bridge. The steel work for this landing, and the undercarriage of the stair is all hanging out for view and it has really become a microcosm for the construction of the house - a place where you can get right up to the connections and lay your hands on them compared to the roof and floor beams that are high above your head.



More photos after the fold.

Included in the photos below are a couple of the alternating tread stair in the observatory manufactured by Lapeyre Stair. This allows for a steep approach to the dome space hatch while still providing a deep tread for solid footing.




Remember you can see photos of the entire build on the Flickr New Mexico EcoSteel House photo set, and all the EcoSteel projects in the EcoSteel photo pool. And for reference you will find more info on the EcoSteel system at http://www.ecosteel.com/

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New Mexico EcoSteel - the house review

I wanted to post a review of the house build to date. I've gone back through all of the photo groups and pulled out shots that gave an overview of the house at different stages of assembly. The house has actually progressed further than the lead off photo below, but I don't have any more recent photos of the house alone. So here is our review:

























and the latest from the site after the jump:



Remember you can see photos of the entire build on the Flickr New Mexico EcoSteel House photo set, and all the EcoSteel projects in the EcoSteel photo pool. And for reference you will find more info on the EcoSteel system at http://www.ecosteel.com/

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New Mexico EcoSteel House: Observatory scope and dome installed

This is an exciting installment of the New Mexico EcoSteel House story. This week the telescope arrived and was installed onto the instrument pier of the observatory. This was done before the dome was set to ease the installation. The telescope was already installed on its mount, and both were simply lifted into place by the crane. The dome followed the next day completing a big step for the observatory.



There is still not power at the site, so the scope is not up and running yet. I'm sure we will see some photos from it as soon as its powered up and calibrated to the control software and dome. In the Flickr photo stream below you can see photos of the scope arriving and being installed. The telescope is manufactured by RC Optical Systems who makes telescopes for astronomy as well as military use. The particular type of telescope is a ritchey-chretien design which is well regarded for its clear imaging and very low distortion. You will notice that it has an open truss-work rather then a cylindrical barrel. This helps discourage thermal convection within the body of the scope, which would cause distortion with the different density of air in the currents - think of a mirage over hot pavement in the summer. I know this seems like its over the top, but for comparison you should look at a big boy - the twin Keck observatories at Mauna Kea, Hawaii - click through to the interior photos to see the size of their trussed instrument. Our entire dome would fit inside! (these photos are from a visit to the facility by the owners of RC Optical).



There is is, looking much like our earlier drawings. And finally the Flickr photo stream after the jump.



Remember you can see photos of the entire build on the Flickr New Mexico EcoSteel House photo set, and all the EcoSteel projects in the EcoSteel photo pool. And for reference you will find more info on the EcoSteel system at http://www.ecosteel.com/

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EcoSteel's Goshawk Ranch is rising.

An EcoSteel project in Utah, the Goshawk Ranch is coming out of the ground right now. I was not involved in designing this project but it looks to be a great one. They are blogging the progress of the work themselves with lots of photos and commentary.

Check it out at http://goshawkranch.blogspot.com/

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New Mexico EcoSteel House - Observatory making progress

The observatory wall panels are going up now and its starting to look more solid now that there is some meat on the bones! After the wall panels are finished the dome will be mounted.



And once the dome is on the instrument is expected shortly there after. More detailed pictures follow in the Flickr slide show below. The instrument pier has been poured and in these photos it is still encased in the formwork while it is curing. The concrete can actually support itself soon after it is cast, but in this dry environment the formwork will actually help the concrete retain some moisture which is needed for the chemical reaction that occurs when the cement sets up.

More photos of the work after the jump.



Remember you can see photos of the entire build on the Flickr New Mexico EcoSteel House photo set, and all the EcoSteel projects in the EcoSteel photo pool. And for reference you will find more info on the EcoSteel system at http://www.ecosteel.com/

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Mass. EcoSteel Plat House - foundation work proceeding

Just a quick update today on the EcoSteel Plat House project in Massachusetts. The digging is done and the footings have been poured. The vertical formwork is going in place.

Without checking the code book I'm guessing we are looking at a 48" frost line up there so the footings are deeper than what we have seen on any of the other EcoSteel houses shown in our blog here. After the jump is the photo stream from Flickr.



And for reference you will find more info on the EcoSteel system at http://www.ecosteel.com/

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New Mexico EcoSteel House - Observatory in the New York Times

Could it be? A second LamiDesign project appearing in the New York Times within a matter of weeks? Lightning strikes twice? Well, sort of. This article is all about observatories, and it includes the awesome observatory which is part of our project.

Today the Observatory at the New Mexico EcoSteel House was one of several home based observatories covered in an article by Kate Murphy called Adding an Extra Room for the Sky appearing in the Home and Garden section of the New York Times. The article covers some of the technical issues tackled in creating an observatory as well as reasonable idea of the state of the art for the serious amateur astronomer. A great read - if you enjoy the technical background on our project I'm sure you will enjoy reading about the others as well.



Steve Cullen, the Owner, felt we would have gotten better coverage if the construction was further along. In fact much of the technical info in the article sounds like it came from our interviews. But Steve is working on them for a second installment. He has big plans for the observatory, including a program where sky time is made available to schools across the nation to expose more kids to astronomy. We will fill in the details about that as it comes together.

In the meantime here are the most recent photos from the construction work on the site after the jump.



And for reference you will find more info on the EcoSteel system at http://www.ecosteel.com/

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Mass. EcoSteel Plat House - a new EcoSteel project

I am always happy to introduce a new project in the blog. It means things are getting built, that more modern houses are in the ground, and that we are getting somewhere. This time there is an extra dimension to it because this time it is the first project that is a mix of two worlds - the modern stock plan world of house designs I've been creating and selling for the past years, and the EcoSteel world where I been collaborating with Northern Steel, now EcoSteel, to create steel houses for the past few years. Its the first project to emerge from both efforts - an EcoSteel Plat House.

At the outset of my collaboration with EcoSteel we endeavored to market several of my stock plans as EcoSteel solutions. It seemed like a great idea, the plans were already proving popular, and more than a few people were interested in having them in a pre-fab product. Eventually that seemed to give way to demand for customized solutions, but not before this project got under way. Never the less it is a highly modified Plat House. Here is a summary of some of the outstanding differences.

First off we have an extended screened porch on one side of the house. There is also the elimination of the central doors in the living space as the screened porch to the side is the main outdoor living space.



A semi detached garage will live to one side of the house connected by a covered walkway. This is joined by an entry door on the arrival side of the house - also a departure from the original.



At the other far side of the house there is a library and home office which is connected by an enclosed conditioned walkway. So the Plat House here has really grown into a small compound of structures.



And the work on site has begun. See a photo browser of the site work after the jump.

The excavation was completed last week, and the formwork for the footings is almost all in place. Concrete should be place shortly. Again we are posting everything we receive from the owner to share with you here via a Flickr slide show. But be sure to check out all the EcoSteel projects in our Flickr set and the EcoSteel photo pool.



And for reference you will find more info on the EcoSteel system at http://www.ecosteel.com/

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New Mexico EcoSteel House - more wall panels

The majority of the wall panels on the house are up. You can begin to get a feeling for the interior space now.

The subframing to support the interior drywall is also going up at most of the interior as well. There appear to be a few windows that have not arrived at the site yet so I suspect that is why some of the wall panels are not up here yet. Meanwhile over at the garage the roll up doors are being installed. Photos after the jump.



And for reference you will find more info on the EcoSteel system at http://www.ecosteel.com/

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New Mexico EcoSteel House - wall panels going up

The install of the wall panels has begun - the house first it seems.

Photos posted after the jump.




And for reference you will find more info on the EcoSteel system at http://www.ecosteel.com/

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New Mexico EcoSteel House - framing work at an end

The remaining framing work was completed, most of the windows are installed, and the next step will be the installation of the wall panels. Then we will have something that is really starting to look like a modern house!

I am going to simply post the days photo stream from Flickr, but some of the things you will see: The start of the installation of the stair, a wonderful multi landing affair! You will see the start of the install of the interior partition framing. You will see windows in place on the sub-framing. And by gosh what appears to be a happy owner - can't beat that! Photos after the jump.



And for reference you will find more info on the EcoSteel system at http://www.ecosteel.com/

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New Mexico EcoSteel House - more progress

Build out of the covered walkway between the house and garage, the deck on the second floor of the house goes up, and the dome is assembled and test fit - almost test fit that is as the wind kicked up forcing it back to earth.

The windows also arrived on site which means that as soon as the framing work is done they will be installed with the wall panels follow closely behind. So in today's series of photos from the owner we'll see the crew completing the last of the framing tasks.



We also see the dome assembled now. It was done in the frame of the garage - one of the few shady spots I imagine is the reason. The goal was to test fit the dome on the observatory frame before the wall panels went on, so that if an adjustment of the frame was required then it would be easier to do without the cladding in place.



That seemed to come off very well, but the weather did not cooperate on the day this was done. As the wind picked up it made the dome difficult to handle and the call was to try the test fit on another day. The owner got a few amazing photos of the dust devils kicked up that day!



And here is the days photos in the Flickr photostream after the jump.



And for reference you will find more info on the EcoSteel system at http://www.ecosteel.com/ Continue reading "New Mexico EcoSteel House - more progress"

New Mexico EcoSteel House - observatory frame build

I try to restrain my enthusiasm for the progress on the many projects posted here on the blog. I can't endlessly be hyping every project each step of the way. I love the stuff being built, but I don't want to be a complete salesman about it. But today I have to throw that out the window today because this observatory is just awesome!

I know, its not a house, not everybody is going to have one, nor even want one. But because this is outside of the scope of the housing issue is why I feel so enthusiastic about it - this is just fun! So, ok, today we have pictures of the observatory frame going up. I'm going to post a few of my favorites, and then post the gallery window to the Flickr photostream. Jump over to Flickr if you want to see larger versions of the images, and also I've captioned the photos for a little bit more insight as to what you are seeing in each one.

Here is the frame of the observatory drum going up with the house and garage in the distance.



And here is the frame complete, the form just as in the earlier renderings, its very nice to see it standing.



More photos after the jump.



And for reference you will find more info on the EcoSteel system at http://www.ecosteel.com/

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New Mexico EcoSteel House - time to do the concrete

The concrete slab for the second floor of the house was poured on Friday. The owner has sent photos of the process.

Photo browser after the jump.



And for reference you will find more info on the EcoSteel system at http://www.ecosteel.com/

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New Mexico EcoSteel House - the second floor

Today, and yesterday for that matter, the second floor joists and deck were installed clearing the way to finish the wall framing.



There are a lot of photos of the second floor deck in today's photo stream after the jump. Also some close up images of some of the steel connections, which if like me you love steel details this is yummy eye candy!




And for reference you will find more info on the EcoSteel system at http://www.ecosteel.com/

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