eye candy: October 2009

m.o.daby design

burke residence
portland, or

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The redesign of this 1950’s ranch house stays within the existing footprint other than a small addition for the entry which was redesigned to make a strong announcement when approaching the house-that sits a full story below the front road. The entry is defined from the inside by dropping the floor one step and a change in ceiling angles and volume. The stairs were relocated and walls removed to allow the living, dining, and kitchen to flow as one space. The dramatic angles in the main level ceiling were created by vaulting the living room, folding the entry roof and rear corner of the dining room roof. A wall of windows was added to bring the site’s large trees and sky into the home. The living room further connects to the beautifully landscaped yard through new sliding glass doors.
To accommodate the Burke’s growing family, the new home is divided into two zones. The main level is the “adult zone” and the lower level is the “kid zone”. Locating the master bedroom suite, office, and living room on the main level allows adult privacy when desired, while the lower level contains two additional kid’s bedrooms and a recreation room. The office is located with close proximity to the master bedroom to be used as a nursery while the kids are young. Adam and Becky, since moving into the house, have expressed how well the home works for their lifestyle. While entertaining, the adults socialize on the main level, while the kids enjoy themselves downstairs.
The all wood, partially open riser, staircase (a design collaboration with Adam Burke) visually and literally links the main and lower level. Durable concrete floors on the lower level are low maintenance and a great thermal mass for the radiant floor heating.
Uninhibited use of douglas fir, cherry, and cedar wood throughout introduces a warm, comfortable feeling to the modern home.
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notable sustainable features:
-native/water efficient landscaping including “eco-lawn”
-sustainably harvested or reclaimed Douglas fir for finish trim and stair treads
-metal roof
-durable concrete lower floor surface
-whole house ventilation fan
-radiant floor heating with high efficiency boiler
-sunken entry with shoe storage to trap dirt and dust
-non-toxic wood sealant
-pervious driveway surface

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credits:
design: Matthew O. Daby- m.o.daby design
construction: Adam Burke, Rich Hogan, Anthony Sands
structural engineer: Willamette Building Solutions
metal roof: OMC Metal Roofing Inc.
landscaping: Adam and Becky Burke
photography: Grace Espiritu Photography
photo touch-up: Grace Espiritu Photography and Ryan Daby

KRUECK + SEXTON ARCHITECTS

Chicago’s First Green Museum

Krueck & Sexton’s Spertus Institute makes history in Michigan Avenue historic district

Architects Krueck & Sexton’s new Spertus Institute of Jewish Studies Building in downtown Chicago recently became the city’s first “green” museum after being awarded a Silver Level LEED certification from the US Green Building Council.

The 10-story, 145,000 square foot structure is also the first LEED-certified building in the city’s Historic Michigan Boulevard District, a 12-block row of mainly late 19th and early 20th Century buildings by such seminal architects as Louis Sullivan, Daniel Burnham, Solon S. Beman and Holabird & Roche.

Among the sustainable elements that made the building eligible for LEED certification are everything from advanced “light harvesting” and heat recovery systems to such low-tech ideas as installing bike racks and a shower in order to encourage employees to bike to work. The building also has a green roof that reduces energy consumption.

“A lot of what goes into making a building green – like bringing in natural light and using energy efficient systems -- is just common sense,” said Ron Krueck. “Architects like Mies van der Rohe were green long before the term was invented. For us, green technology is a fundamental part of the design process.”

“There’s a lot of different ways to make buildings sustainable,” said Mark Sexton. “We’ve always designed buildings that are open, flexible, use energy wisely and have large amounts of natural light.”

He added, however, that “green is not a short term strategy. The real payoffs for companies and landlords come down the road in the form of fewer sick days, higher productivity and significant savings in maintenance and operating expenses.”

The LEED certification is the latest in a series of honors the building has received since it was completed in 2008. These include three AIA awards, including the highly coveted Louis Sullivan Award; the Commission on Chicago Landmarks’ Excellence in New Infill Construction Award, and Interior Design Magazine’s Best of Year Award.

Spertus occupies a mid-block site at 610 South Michigan Avenue and is at the southern end of the Historic Michigan Boulevard District. The District was created in 2002 to preserve one of the city’s most important historic streetscapes.

Spertus’ decidedly 21st Century design – the elaborately folded and angled façade is composed of 726 individually cut panes of glass in 556 shapes -- was made possible by the fact that the building was constructed on what was the last remaining vacant lot in the District.

“In their day, the buildings in the historic district were some of the best, most technologically advanced, structures in the city,” said Krueck. “We wanted our design to reflect that same level of creativity and technology but in a modern vocabulary.”

The 600 block also contains the French-influenced 1908 Blackstone Hotel by Marshall and Fox, as well as two buildings by Christian Eckstrom, an architect known locally mainly for his innovative industrial and warehouse designs. The Eckstrom buildings are the 1907 International Harvester Company Building at 600 South Michigan and the 1908 Chicago Musical College Building at 624 South Michigan Avenue.

The Historic Michigan Boulevard district also includes such landmarks as Adler & Sullivan’s 1890 Auditorium Building, Solon S. Beman’s 1885 Fine Arts Building, Holabird & Roche’s 1927 Stevens Hotel and D.H. Burnham & Co.’s 1904 Railway Exchange Building.

Ron Krueck and Mark Sexton, the founders of the Krueck & Sexton, have worked together for over 30 years and have amassed a varied portfolio of high profile civic and cultural projects as well as numerous residential and commercial commissions. The firm is also noted for its innovative restoration and historic re-adaptation practice, which is focused on Modernist and other Post War buildings.

Photo Credit: William Zbaren

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many thanks to architectural writer Robert Sharoff for providing the text and images!

MAREK RYTYCH ARCHITEKT

another quality web candy - for your surfing pleasure...
http://www.marekrytych.pl/
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Pb elemental

Project name: River Bend
Project location: North Bend, Washington USA
Project Architect: Pb elemental - Chris Pardo, Dave Biddle
Project Structural: LEAD Consulting – Cory Fraser, Chris Nickerson
General Contractor: Jakes Development – Boyd Lybeck
Project Sqft: 3600 indoor 3000 sqft decking
Project Completion: 2009
Project Construction Timeline: 12 months

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The River Bend residence sits at the base of Cascades in a heavily forested site on the bank of the Snoqualmie River. The home balances the client’s desire for privacy, while embracing nature. Many challenges faced the design and construction of this home low budget, sustainable desires, but most of all schedule. The client, a young family of four, located the site two weeks before legislation would change setbacks and make the site unbuildable. The challenge was to design and submit a sustainable home that would accommodate their existing family and could later be added on to as their family grew, before the change in legislation. The second challenge was accommodating the existing setbacks, protected old growth trees, septic drain fields, and the buildings proposed/future footprint. A seemingly simple bar diagram formulated the initial concept, living/entertaining on the ground floor, private bedrooms on the upper floor. In the future as the clients family grow a third bar was designed to bridge over the living room. Conceived as three masses (private, living, utilitarian) and three materials (wood, concrete/ metal), the River Bend Residence offers a low maintenance exterior and naturally light interior. The river can be heard from the 3000 sqft of exterior decks, while viewed from the upper deck. The forest surrounding the home was maintained to ensure wildlife habitat and reduce the homes impact on the site. Wild grasses and local plants were installed in areas affected by construction. The home features a geothermal in-ground heat loop and Desuperheater for free water heating during cooling season and reduced energy usage during heating seasons.

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many thanks to Chris @ Pb elemental

for providing the text and images....

seed architecture studio

Hill House is a dynamic interpretation of the action of ascending a steep hill by switch back. The form of the house, conceived while hiking in Portland's Forest Park, leverages the boundaries set by building code, site constraints, a tight budget, and the client's program which includes a two bedroom mother-in-law apartment. As the house climbs the hill, the rear of the house is set on a series of terraces while the front facade weaves side to side to reveal a different view of Portland and Vancouver from each floor.

...thanks to Darin @ seed architecture studio
for submitting the text and images!

OBRA ARCHITECTS

The Centrifugal Villa (Southampton, New York), by OBRA ARCHITECTS, is arranged around a hollow center, as if the heart of the house had somehow fallen outside its body. The string of subsequent spaces in its interior provide a comprehension of the whole by sacrificing their individual geometric cohesiveness to the fractured configuration of the entire composition. The experience of the interior is characterized by constantly shifting vanishing points, at the place of their collision in each crease of the plan, large openings cutting dormer scoops on the roof, centrifugally release the views out to the surrounding landscape. The house, defined by this idea rather than a formal imposition, cannibalizes the local “vernacular,” distorting it through hexagonal introspection of the plan and the transposed proportion of the parts.
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Designed as wood post-and-beam structure, the exterior cladding is detailed with vertical board and batten seams to give continuity to the building exterior and encourage an uninterrupted rhythmic flow around the elevations. The house utilizes geothermal heating and incorporates passive energy-saving techniques, including a narrow-section interior to allow natural ventilation and a sequence and layout of dormer windows and openings to permit generous daylighting and minimal artificial lighting needs.
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Set on a 5-acre property overlooking an agricultural reserve, the completed project includes main house, separate guesthouse and garage structure, and poolhouse with poolside pavilion.
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Images and description submitted by OBRA ARCHITECTS

X-TU Architects

another quality web candy - for your surfing pleasure...
http://www.x-tu.com/01.html

see also: http://www.mimoa.eu/search/?search=x-tu&rt=projects&x=48&y=13
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Kubota Architect Atelier

Atelier Kempe Thill

another quality web candy - for your surfing pleasure...
http://www.atelierkempethill.com/

see also: http://www.mimoa.eu/browse/designers/Atelier%20Kempe%20Thill
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badia berger architects

World Economy in the Toilet?

As the world economy appears to be pulling itself out of the toilet we thought we'd shed some light on the subject by featuring some of the nicer public conveniences we've seen. Feel free to submit those you know of and we'll post them (if they meet our strict quality standards).

BKK Architects_Shepparton Rest Station