Residential Architect articles from May 2005

Residential Architect archives from May 2005

Group hug: the architecture profession is beginning to listen to residential practitioners. So, what do you want to say?(from the editor)
May 1, 2005... As I write this column, I'm about three weeks away from attending the AIA's national convention in Las Vegas. When I went to my first one five years ago, I struggled to find anything in the seminar program pertaining to residential design. This...

Docked pay.(letters: exercise your right to write.)(Letter to the Editor)
May 1, 2005... As "stormy" as that editorial was ("The Charge Brigade," August 2004, page 13), it made me feel like I was not alone in my little "dock," especially since my fees are more like a fully loaded Corolla and my wife is a part-time real estate...

R is for architect: for new grads, getting registered--or not--has many meanings.(practice)
May 1, 2005... Heidi Machul, an architecture intern who graduated from Ball State University four years ago, has her eye on the prize--a professional license. Most people in her position are still racking up internship hours. But by industry standards she's...

The best of both worlds.(SPECIAL ADVERTISING SECTION)(Advertisement)
May 1, 2005... Variety versus authenticity Everyone understands the concept of interior design and how it's possible to bring together seemingly different styles into a harmonious whole. As an architect, I often think of myself as a practitioner of...

Residential architect Design Awards 05.(Cover Story)
May 1, 2005... This is one of our favorite issues of the year at residential architect. Our annual design competition is the gift that keeps on giving to our editors. First, we have the privilege of surveying some of the top work in the country and publishing...

Project of the year: Contemporaine, Chicago: Perkins+Will Chicago.(residential architect design awards 05)
May 1, 2005... Not since the glory days of Modernism have high design and high-rise housing often coexisted. Most residential skyscrapers experience so much value-engineering, even the best architects struggle to give them a bit of character. So residential...

Custom / 3,500 square feet or less grand: Chicken Point Cabin, Northern Idaho: Olson Sundberg Kundig Allen architects: Seattle.(residential architect design awards 05)
May 1, 2005... The owners of this weekend retreat asked for a little cabin that opens to its natural surroundings. Tom Kundig, FAIA, took their request literally and metaphorically, designing a tough, concrete-and-steel tent in the woods and an enormous...

Custom / 3,500 square feet or less merit: Pacific Palisades Residence, Pacific Palisades, Calif.: Paastudio Pacific: Palisades.(residential architect design awards 05)
May 1, 2005... Just about every design decision architect Ivo Venkov made on this project--the home (and ioffice) he shares with his wife and fellow architect, Rossi Venkov--related back to the site, a steep hillside overlooking the Pacific. Permits alone...

Custom / 3,500 square feet or less merit: Matthew Residence, Brainerd, Minn.: Salmela architect Duluth, Minn.(residential architect design awards 05)
May 1, 2005... Most of the cabins around this summer residence run parallel to the shoreline and sit as close to the water as possible. Asked to design a replacement for a cabin that had burned down, David Salmela proposed something a little more interesting....

Custom / more than 3,500 square feet grand: House in the Blue Mountains, Eastern Pa.: Bohlin Cywinski Jackson: Wilkes-Barre, Pa.(residential architect design awards 05)
May 1, 2005... This calm, primal dwelling was Bohlin Cywinski Jackson's response to a remarkable landscape, a forest and field overlooking a preserve for migratory eagles and hawks. Peter Bohlin, FAIA, positioned the house on a hill looking across the valley...

Custom / more than 3,500 square feet grand: The Prospect, La Jolla, Calif.: Jonathan Segal, FAIA: San Diego.(residential architect design awards 05)
May 1, 2005... Jonathan Segal, FAIA, can't resist a challenge. When building his own house, the San Diego-based architect/builder/developer chose an irregularly shaped lot in busy downtown La Jolla, right across from the town's commercial center. To provide...

Custom / more than 3,500 square feet merit: Orleans residence, Orleans, Mass.: Charles Rose architects: Somerville, Mass.(residential architect design awards 05)
May 1, 2005... Strung out along the lip of a naturally occurring bowl, this glass-and-cedar house reinforces the forms in the landscape. The project's thin L footprint contains a main house, an art studio/guest apartment, and a detached office tower. Despite...

Custom / more than 3,500 square feet merit: Rye residence, Rye, N.Y.: Kaehler/Moore architects: Greenwich, Conn.(residential architect design awards 05)
May 1, 2005... Designing for a rear lot can be tricky. Not only must the house relate to its immediate neighbors (positioned more prominently at streetside), but the approach is invariably lengthy. "The narrow street frontage and the long drive back from the...

Custom / more than 3,500 square feet merit: Feinstein residence, Malibu, Calif.: Kanner architects: Los Angeles.(residential architect design awards 05)
May 1, 2005... The dramatic Feinstein residence crests on a slim band of mountainside land that tapers gradually into the ocean. Built for a bachelor dentist, it's transparent, hygienic, contemporary, and fire-resistant. (The owner's previous house perished...

Renovation grand: Dog Team too, San Antonio: Lake/Flato architects: San Antonio.(residential architect design awards 05)
May 1, 2005... Leave it to Lake/Flato Architects to transform a pair of old warehouses into a gracious home and studio. Known for its modern, industrial take on regional architecture, the firm jumped at the chance to renovate the two downtown San Antonio...

Renovation merit: Wilson residence, Alexandria, Va.: Envision Design: Washington, D.C.(residential architect design awards 05)
May 1, 2005... It's one to thing to overhaul a poorly designed home by an unknown architect, but things get trickier when the house is a classic mid-century Modern by Charles Goodman and sustainability is integral to the program. Architect Kendall Wilson...

Renovation merit: Via de la Paz residence, Pacific Palisades, Calif.: Nonzero\Architecture / Studio Bau:ton: Los Angeles.(residential architect design awards 05)
May 1, 2005... It's a significant accomplishment when an architect is entrusted with a Richard Neutra house. Peter Grueneisen has had the good fortune to work on this particular 1949 Neutra design not just once, but twice--and for two different clients. The...

Renovation merit: Folsom Street Residential Laboratory, San Francisco: Peterson + Verwers: San Francisco.(residential architect design awards 05)
May 1, 2005... To convert the top floor of a leased commercial building into a residence, Todd Verwers created spaces that live comfortably but could be packed up and relocated when the lease expires. "The owner wouldn't let us move existing plumbing, so...

Renovation merit: Farmhouse, Virginia: Rill & Decker architects: Bethesda, Md.(residential architect design awards 05)
May 1, 2005... the owners of this rural Virginia farm house, parts of which date back to the 1750s, wanted what so many modern families want: larger rooms that make better sense. "They wanted more breathing space," says architect Anne Decker. "Before, the...

Multifamily grand: Skybridge, Chicago: Perkins+Will: Chicago.(residential architect design awards 05)
May 1, 2005... Most architects would play it safe when venturing into the for-sale housing market for the first time. Not Perkins+Will. The developer who invited the firm to compete for this high-rise condominium project in Chicago's Greektown neighborhood...

Multifamily merit: Bentley-Massachusetts Apartments, Los Angeles: Kanner architects: Los Angeles.(residential architect design awards 05)
May 1, 2005... The jury dubbed this apartment building "dynamic and elegant." For architect Stephen Kanner, FAIA, the challenge was to enliven and liberate the typical hermitically-sealed multifamily box. Paying tribute to Richard Neutra, whose legacy dots...

Multifamily merit: Harper Court: Seven Fountains, West Hollywood, Calif: Moule & Polyzoides, architects and urbanists: Pasadena, Calif.(residential architect design awards 05)
May 1, 2005... Who says you can't build spectacular multifamily housing in a dense, urban environment? Here's a project that features 20 rental units with 20 different floor plans and 20 private gardens on less than an acre, plus subterranean parking, four...

Single-family production / attached merit: Cannery Lofts, Newport Beach, Calif.: Tannerhect architecture: San Francisco.(residential architect design awards 05)
May 1, 2005... The Cannery Lofts live/work buildings delicately balance their light industrial location with pedestrian-friendly courtyards and street scenes. The project's usable outdoor spaces won over our judges, who called it a "wonderful marriage of unit...

Single-family production / attached merit: 110 Chattanooga Duplex, San Francisco: Zack / de Vito architecture: San Francisco.(residential architect design awards 05)
May 1, 2005... It's no accident that 110 Chattanooga Duplex strikes a confident yet respectful pose among the Victorian-era row houses in eclectic San Francisco. Architect and builder Jim Zack says that was the goal: to design an obviously modern building...

Affordable merit: Soma Studios and 8th + Howard Apartments, San Francisco: David Baker + Partners, architects: San Francisco.(residential architect design awards 05)
May 1, 2005... Architect David Baker isn't afraid to use color--especially in the affordable projects that he champions--but he knows from experience that bright hues can elicit all kinds of responses. Fortunately, neighbors and merchants in the vicinity of...

Affordable merit: Chelsea Court, New York City: Louise Braverman architect: New York City.(residential architect design awards 05)
May 1, 2005... With its bold colors, connection to the outdoors, and clever product specs, Chelsea Court is unlike most affordable housing projects. Indeed, said the judges, "it challenges the expectation of what that level of housing can be." The...

Affordable merit: Eucalyptus View Cooperative, Escondido, Calif.: Studio E architects: San Diego.(residential architect design awards 05)
May 1, 2005... Because Eucalyptus View sits alongside a busy boulevard, Studio E Architects thought it deserved a highway-scaled entry marker. Project architect John Sheehan designed a large wooden trellis over the affordable housing community's front gate,...

Affordable merit: City West: Phase II, Cincinnati: Torti Gallas and Partners: Silver Spring, Md.(residential architect design awards 05)
May 1, 2005... When Torti Gallas and Partners took on a HOPE VI affordable housing redevelopment project in Cincinnati's West End, it didn't have to look far for a design muse. "Dayton Street, the street where all the bankers traditionally lived, is five...

Campus housing merit: Clifton Hall Student Housing, California College of the Arts: Oakland, Calif.: Mark Horton / architecture: San Francisco.(residential architect design awards 05)
May 1, 2005... This nifty little dormitory had to please a roll call of constituencies. (Or, as architect Mark Horton tactfully offers, "it had to moderate a number of different conditions.") The front facade, which presents itself as a beacon-like lantern,...

Campus housing merit: Ramapo College Dormitory, Mahwah, N.J.: Paulus Sokolowski & Sartor: Warren, N.J.(residential architect design awards 05)
May 1, 2005... The jury commended this dormitory building for its "beautiful integration into the hillside and rugged terrain." Steve DeRochi was thrilled to hear the comment, because he eschewed the path of least resistance on this project: the flat, easily...

Campus housing merit: California State Polytechnic University Pomona, Residential Suites: Sasaki associates: San Francisco.(residential architect design awards 05)
May 1, 2005... If you must study, it might as well be on the balcony of your dorm room, right? Despite fiduciary resistance, John Coons found a way to deliver this precious and rare private outdoor space within his allotted budget. He hears now they're a...

Outbuilding merit: Pool House, Amherst, Mass.: Austin Design: Colrain, Mass.(residential architect design awards 05)
May 1, 2005... An asymmetrical butterfly roof appears to float ethereally over a perimeter of clerestories. The symbolism of a butterfly roof over a pool house didn't go unappreciated by the judges of this winning project, but they were also taken by its...

Outbuilding merit: Private Wine Silo, Teton County, Wyo: Carney architects: Jackson, WYO.(residential architect design awards 05)
May 1, 2005... Because of a high-water table in the Snake River flood plain, Carney Architects designed this nifty little 300-square-foot wine storage room as a silo instead of a conventional cellar. So it's no wonder our judges gave it high marks--and a...

Outbuilding merit: Broadford Farm Pavilion, Hailey, Idaho: Lake/Flato architects: San Antonio.(residential architect design awards 05)
May 1, 2005... The judges praised this charming little pavilion's "strong plan" and "nice proportions." Conceived as a family retreat on a larger property containing an existing main house, the project presented Lake/Flato Architects with an opportunity to...

Kitchen grand: Potrero Hill Residence, San Francisco: Serrao Design / architecture: San Francisco.(residential architect design awards 05)
May 1, 2005... A strong concept and refined detailing bring unity to this second-floor living space. The owners, a photographer and his wife, asked Jay Serrao, AIA, to create a lively kitchen, dining area, and living room that would flex for entertaining....

Bath merit: Winter Residence, Tucson, Ariz.: Ibarra Rosano Design architects: Tucson.(residential architect design awards 05)
May 1, 2005... The spa sybarites who commissioned this master bath remodel are so taken with the experience they're considering a plunge into the spa business. They came to Ibarra Rosario with an entreaty to "turn their dark and cluttered bath into a calm and...

Architectural detail merit: House Ocho, Carmel, Calif.: Feldman architecture: San Francisco.(residential architect design awards 05)
May 1, 2005... This simple, elegant staircase plugged into an adjacent retaining wall may seem like an easy detail to pull off, but the opposite is true. "Stairs have to be one of the most precise things because of the codes, and retaining walls are usually...

Architectural design detail merit: Stud Skeleton Library, Winchester, Va.: Reader & Swartz architects: Winchester.(residential architect design awards 05)
May 1, 2005... Too many books. That's what prompted this husband-and-wife team of architects to design an inventive shelving arrangement based on the stud system of their late '60s tract house. Here's how it works: The library in this renovated house is...

On the boards grand: Cabin on a Pond, Eastbrook, Maine: Perfido Weiskopf architects: Pittsburgh.(residential architect design awards 05)
May 1, 2005... Alan Weiskopf, AIA, and Kevin Wagstaff, AIA, spend most of their working time on large-scale institutional, commercial, and multifamily projects. But that didn't stop them from designing this 1,495-square-foot gem for some friends of...

On the boards grand: Schindler Residence, San Francisco: Serrao Design / architecture: San Francisco.(residential architect design awards 05)
May 1, 2005... Adding onto an iconic piece of architecture can be intimidating, but the seamless extensions proposed for this 1950 house by Rudolph Schindler earned nothing but praise from the judges. They agreed that "the work added enhances the original."...

On the boards grand: Fahrenheit, San Diego: Studio E architects: San Diego.(residential architect design awards 05)
May 1, 2005... Michael Graves may design toasters, but Studio E Architects is right on his heels. The firm has designed what it refers to as a "toaster cover" for the parking garage at PETCO Park, the home of baseball's San Diego Padres. The cover will come...

On the boards merit: Loblolly House, Taylors Island, Md.: Kieran Timberlake associates: Philadelphia.(residential architect design awards 05)
May 1, 2005... his house on the Chesapeake Bay defers to the natural site and distills its essence. Located on a cordgrass marsh, the house rests on random pilings that blend in with the pine grove. Water from a shallow pond under the house is pumped to the...

The high life: Marina City, 1964, Chicago: Bertrand Goldberg Associates.(end quote)
May 1, 2005... For more than four decades, Bertrand Gold dubbed the "corncob towers," the 60-story mixed-use complex houses 900 apartments, located above the buildings' 20th levels for prime city and lake views. Goldberg gave over many of the lower stories to...