Residential Architect articles from April 2004

Residential Architect archives from April 2004

Where's the architect? We've got a client, a budget, a builder, and a piece of land, but no design.(from the editor)
April 1, 2004... i received an e-mail a few days ago from a frustrated custom home "client." He and his wife want to build a Modern house on a 2.5-acre wooded site in the Midwest. He wrote to me looking for design inspiration. He's perused the usual magazines...

In the beginning.(Letters: keep those cards, letters, and e-mails coming.)(Letter to the Editor)
April 1, 2004... i found the November/ December feature about five start-up companies ("Start-Ups" page 45) very interesting and familiar! After my husband started his firm (Michael Buss Architects, Hickory Hills, Ill.) I quit my own job a few years later to go...

A fresh start.(Letters: keep those cards, letters, and e-mails coming.)(Letter to the Editor)
April 1, 2004... i enjoyed the cover story and editorial of your September/October 2003 issue. The subjects of professional renewal and live/work balance are fresh ones for me, as I was fortunate to be able to take a three-month break from my five-person...

At your service.(Letters: keep those cards, letters, and e-mails coming.)(Letter to the Editor)
April 1, 2004... i just finished reading your editorial in the June 2003 issue ("Art or Service?" page 11). As I read it, I was reminded of a recent visit to an art gallery opening reception with the artist. The artist was an extremely talented metal sculptor,...

New ventures.(Letters: keep those cards, letters, and e-mails coming.)(Letter to the Editor)
April 1, 2004... i enjoyed the various advice offered by seasoned architects to those who wish to launch a new architectural firm ("Tales from the Trip," November/December 2003, page 20). Years ago, my father said to me, "Go to law school, then get an...

Core philosophy.(Home front: tips and trends from the world of residential design)
April 1, 2004... not everyone is made of Microsoft money, but quite a few people would like to live in a house designed by Bill Gates' architect, Jim Cutler. Now that Cutler Anderson of Bainbridge, Wash., has teamed with Seattle-based Lindal Cedar Homes, Gates...

Sky's the limit.(Home front: tips and trends from the world of residential design)
April 1, 2004... Soon admirers of Snaidero's sleek kitchen designs will have a new--and barrier-free--model line to covet. The Italian company's prototype Skylab kitchen, premiering this month at the Eurocucina exposition in Milan, will be its first product...

Picture this.(Home front: tips and trends from the world of residential design)
April 1, 2004... hold onto your remote: Entertainment behemoth Sony Electronics is entering the field of custom audio/video installations. Aiming squarely at the mid-market, Sony hopes to make fully integrated home entertainment systems more affordable for the...

Calendar.(Home front: tips and trends from the world of residential design)(Calendar)
April 1, 2004... the new home on the range registration due: april 23 submission due: may 14 The AIA challenges architects and architectural students to design the seminal house for the 21st century. The program calls for an unbuilt house with...

Precious cargo.(Home front: tips and trends from the world of residential design)
April 1, 2004... designed by Australian architect Sean Godsell, FutureShack recycles a ready-made, 22-foot-long shipping container into low-cost, mobile shelter for displaced refugees and victims of natural disasters. Equipped with streamlined industrial...

Competing interest.(Home front: tips and trends from the world of residential design)
April 1, 2004... Cradle to Cradle, the book by William McDonough, FAIA, and chemist Michael Braungart about their philosophy on sustainable design, is more than a publication. It's now become the framework for a new architectural contest, the C2C Home Design...

Building blocks.(Home front: tips and trends from the world of residential design)
April 1, 2004... Home by Design, Sarah Susanka. 256 pp. Newtown, Conn.: Taunton Press. 2004. $35 (hardcover). after selling more than half a million of her previous books, Sarah Susanka has finally written the book she's always wanted to write. And once...

Organic style.(Home front: tips and trends from the world of residential design)
April 1, 2004... Designing the Good Home, Dennis Wedlick. 238 pp. New York: Harper Design International. 2003. $50 (hardcover). dennis Wedlick has also been waging a war of words against design ignorance. Like Susanka's opus, his previous books (The Good...

On the boards / tree huggers.(Home front: tips and trends from the world of residential design)
April 1, 2004... like every architect, Christof Jantzen, Associate AIA, has a drawer full of designs that never made it off the drawing board. His particular favorite: a 600-square-foot outbuilding he calls the "tree house." The steel-and-glass project is...

Kitchen: small victories.(k+b studio)
April 1, 2004... Within a mere 1,250 square feet of total living space, New York-based architect Belmont Freeman managed to make a hardworking Manhattan kitchen feel spacious and sedate. Quite a feat, considering the 12-foot-by-8-foot alcove also serves as a...

Bath: steam clean.(k+b studio)
April 1, 2004... Freeman's design rigor, coupled with a self-imposed edict to preserve sweeping spaces (see previous pages), carried over into the master bath and room. With only two exterior walls in the apartment's footprint, natural light is at a premium. So...

Public citizens: a new nonprofit provides a model for pro bono work.(perspective)
April 1, 2004... every year, architecture firms and practitioners receive requests for pro bono or reduced-fee work. Typically, these inquiries come from communities, churches, nonprofit organizations, and the like--sources who genuinely cannot afford to pay...

Beyond the glass door: the best architects' offices are designed from the inside out.(practice)
April 1, 2004... When Ken, Hinton, FAIA, and Seab Tuck, FAIA, decided to design new offices for their staff of 15, they wanted something out of the ordinary. So the owners of Tuck Hinton Architects, Nashville, Tenn., bought the Civil War-era Elm Street...

Architects' choice.(Cover Story)
April 1, 2004... there's no Web site yet where architects can vet products by the ratings of other architects. We need an "epinions," a "cnet," or an "amazon.com" for building products. No one wants to take a chance on a product untested in the real world--not...

Poetic license: the resonant haiku of outbuildings.
April 1, 2004... guest star When Barbee, AIA, ran into a slight problem when designing a house for a family in Austin, Texas. Due to their irregularly shaped lot, his clients' program just wouldn't fit into a single building. Then they happened to mention...

A growth industry: architects clear the air in their fight against mold.(doctor spec)
April 1, 2004... policy Holders of America, a consumer advocacy group, counted 129 first-party mold claims in 1998. By 2001, the number had soared to an astonishing 9,563. Although claims dropped to 2,563 last year, mold remains an unwelcome newsmaker and a...

Sound surround.(New material: piping-hot products for your next project.)
April 1, 2004... A stone fireplace surround is tough to install and often lacks finesse. Schaumburg, Ill.-based Doverra has the solution: a lightweight fiberglass-reinforced cement system that sets up in a snap. Harder than marble, the product has a high ratio...

Bionic block.(New material: piping-hot products for your next project.)
April 1, 2004... Made from 10 percent recycled plastic powder, SEALTECH is water resistant, lighter than typical blocks, exceeds ASTM strength standards by 200 percent, and has a two-hour fire rating, claims its manufacturer, Canton, Ohio-based U.S. Technology...

Metro lines.(New material: piping-hot products for your next project.)
April 1, 2004... Regency cabinetry from New Holland, Pa.-based Quality Custom Cabinetry has the kind of contemporary look that more and more consumers are embracing. The full overlay cabinet door boasts clean lines, a simple recessed flat panel, and...

Corner lot.(Over the top: today's hottest hoods are low profile and high tech.)
April 1, 2004... Touch controls on the cooktop mean no reaching over hot pots to control the Matrix corner hood. The centralized control panel also meets universal design requirements. Adjustable set tings include 11 fan speeds, a 1-to-99-minute timer, and...

Power bar.(Over the top: today's hottest hoods are low profile and high tech.)
April 1, 2004... All-stainless construction and a curved facade lend an understated elegance to Tamburo under-cabinet range hoods. An adjustable back panel serves as a convenient utensil bar and also ensures the hood can be flush-mounted to any cabinet depth....

Pretty pop-up.(Over the top: today's hottest hoods are low profile and high tech.)
April 1, 2004... The Epicure Raised Ventilation System pops up next to 30-inch-, 36-inch-, and 48-inch wide cooktops, eliminates smoke and fumes with dual in-line or remote blowers, and then disappears from sight. Elevated 10-inch-high intakes run at adjustable...

Small order.(off the shelf)
April 1, 2004... The new Empire hood is just 9 inches tall but still packs a powerful punch. Widths range from 36 inches up to 66 inches for covering restaurant-style ranges, and ventilators pull 800 to 1400 cfm. Wall- or island-mounted models come finished in...

Time out.(off the shelf)
April 1, 2004... Jenn-Air's chimney hoods are the perfect complement to its high-style appliances. The cool collection features a 15-minute delay, automatic shut-off mechanism and an indicator that alerts cooks when the dishwasher-safe filter needs cleaning....

Sirius business.(off the shelf)
April 1, 2004... Clean lines with an industrial edge characterize Sirius' latest collection of Italian range hoods. The sleek, all-stainless or stainless-with-glass models use high-efficiency exhaust systems with variable speeds and quiet but powerful 600 cfm...

Slip slidin' away.(off the shelf)
April 1, 2004... The stealth Sirocco series fits under an upper cabinet and slides away when not in use. Two removable grease filters keep the four-speed motor purring along at noise levels of 68 dB or below. The slide-out vent is a trim 2 inches high and comes...

Great Scot: house for an art lover, Glasgow, Scotland, designed 1901 Charles Rennie Mackintosh.(end quote)
April 1, 2004... like most architects today, Charles Rennie Mackintosh enjoyed winning design awards. He and his wife, artist Margaret Macdonald, labored heavily over their 1901 submission to a German magazine's "House for an Art Lover" design competition....