Residential Architect articles from September 2004

Residential Architect archives from September 2004

A question of value: you know your houses are worth more. Maybe it's time to prove it.(from the editor)
September 1, 2004... Washington, D.C., despite much debate, is still not a state. But if it were, it would share Maine's state flower: the mosquito. This is why I've just returned from my second foray to find Citronella fuel for the tacky tikki torches I have in my...

Architectural value--the debate continues.(Letters: keep those cards, letters, and e-mails coming.)(Letter to the Editor)
September 1, 2004... your editorial ("Where's the Architect?" April, page 13) exposed some of the problems that we as architects face in Ruidoso, N.M., and in the surrounding area. Builders and contractors are telling clients that they do not need an architect. ...

Redlines.(Letters: keep those cards, letters, and e-mails coming.)(Correction Notice)
September 1, 2004... The developer mentioned on page 60 of the August 2004 story "Walking the Walk" was wrongly identified as Charities Housing Corp. The name of the company is Citizens Housing Corp.

Swede revenge.(Home front: tips and trends from the world of residential design)
September 1, 2004... in an unusual turn of events, it's people who are replacing computers at Klara Zenit, a massive building in the center of Stockholm. The 65,000-square-foot structure was a relic of the 1970s, designed to house the post office's old computer...

Lavocation.(Home front: tips and trends from the world of residential design)
September 1, 2004... when I was designing my house, I was loathe to use anything off the shelf," says Whitney Sander, AIA. "There's something satisfying about designing fixtures and fittings--you can get the exact size and quality of light or mood you like."...

Domestic bliss.(Home front: tips and trends from the world of residential design)
September 1, 2004... josef and Anni Albers changed residential interiors forever. When the German-born, Bauhaus-educated artists emigrated to the United States in 1933 they brought a holistic view of design incorporating bold new notions about color, material,...

Calendar.(Home front: tips and trends from the world of residential design)(Calendar)
September 1, 2004... emerging professionals design competition registration due: october 1 submittal due: october 18 Students in their fourth year of school or later and architects licensed 10 years or less are asked to convert a two-car garage into a...

Kitchen: Swiss lessons.(k+b studio)
September 1, 2004... Two language barriers confronted architect Frederick Stelle when he began renovating this lakefront house in Zurich, Switzerland. A German-speaking Swiss associate in his office solved the obvious one. But the existing visual expressions were...

Bath: openly private.(k+b studio)
September 1, 2004... Once we concluded that the entire corner of the house would be a glass curtain wall, we debated what room should go above the kitchen to take advantage of the light" says Stelle. "It ended up being the master bath because it's the one room you...

Face the future: it's time to stop looking backward for construction materials and methods.(perspective)
September 1, 2004... Nostalgia is a thing of the future," say the Irish. Nostalgia for a nonexistent golden age of building looms large among a considerable segment of the construction industry as we move into the 21st century. And it is a diverse segment, too:...

Going global: architects look beyond U.S. borders for design and business challenges.(practice)
September 1, 2004... Hugh Newell Jacobsen, FAIA, has designed buildings in nine countries, but the most memorable, by far, was a library in Egypt that took 11 years to finish. Its progress, and the lack of it, coincided with the political upheavals of the late...

Northern lights: Olsen Sundberg Kundig Allen architects explores the "spirit, nature, and art" of building houses.
September 1, 2004... if the Pacific Northwest is known for any three things, it may well be the dramatic landscape, the translucent light, and the concentration of creative types, from entrepreneurs to highly regarded artists and craftspeople. Seattle, in...

Other visions of home: they're oceans apart and both subtly and substantially different from America's houses next door.
September 1, 2004... china open-and-shut case study Any architect who thinks a room with a Murphy bed represents the apex of flexibility should meet Gary Chang of EDGE Design Institute. The Hong Kong-based architect and his design team have taken the...

New points of view: the Anderson inHOME at Sundance Film Festival puts windows front and center (and almost everywhere else) to inspire new thinking about their place and function in home design.(Special Advertising Section)(Advertisement)
September 1, 2004... The wood-trimmed windows that make up an entire corner of the Great Room in the Andersen inHOME capture dramatic views of the Wasatch Mountains that overlook Park City, Utah, but they are just one of several, inspiring points of view in this...

Glory glaze: welcome to the next generation of glass.(doctor spec)
September 1, 2004... Iudwig Mies van der Rohe's Farnsworth House and Philip Johnson's Glass House stand as seminal works of minimalist architecture. Few who laud the uninterrupted roofs and floor planes, however, would want either house as their home: The large...

Zeluck of the draw.(Architects' choice: product picks from the pros.)
September 1, 2004... When the budget allows, Dynia favors custom windows and doors from high end manufacturer Zeluck. "They have a premium rolling door with a really low profile threshold and nice details," he says. Zeluck windows are made from Honduran mahogany...

Meshing around.(Architects' choice: product picks from the pros.)
September 1, 2004... While many architects create sliding doors and partitions using etched glass, Dynia opts for a thriftier spec: perforated metal grating by Perforated Metals Plus. "I use it in various degrees of porosity. It softens the view of objects behind...

Joist the thing.(Architects' choice: product picks from the pros.)
September 1, 2004... Dynia often designs lofty, free-flowing interiors with an abundance of industrial-looking metal. In such cases, he uses exposed galvanized metal and engineered wood trusses from Trus Joist. Originally intended for commercial projects, the...

Cool shade.(New material: piping-hot products for your next project.)
September 1, 2004... The form of the Shade range hood relates directly to its function. Created by designer Fu-Tung Cheng for Sacramento, Calif.-based Zephyr, the matchbook-inspired hood has a cover that automatically starts the unit when it's opened or tucks away...

Full exposure.(New material: piping-hot products for your next project.)
September 1, 2004... Simpson Strong-Tie is exposing its wares--at least some of them. The Dublin, Calif.-based company, known for its behind-the-walls structural building connectors, has launched a line of prefinished connectors and joist ties for exposed wood...

Top drawers.(New material: piping-hot products for your next project.)
September 1, 2004... New from Benton Harbor, Mich.-based KitchenAid are these sleek and versatile dishwasher drawers. They come together in a single unit but can wash two loads simultaneously at separate settings. The unit has five cycles, delayed start capability,...

Gripping experience.(Think global: international products bring the world home.)
September 1, 2004... Hand-stitched leather doorknobs from Turnstyle Designs make opening the door a tactile treat. Individually crafted in England from vegetable tanned, full-hide leather, the spheres come in black, chestnut, or chocolate. To enhance the feel of...

Flamboyant fish.(Think global: international products bring the world home.)
September 1, 2004... Aquarius Series ceramic tiles add a touch of the Caribbean to any room. Five sea-inspired designs (among them, starfish and ocean waves) come in 4- or 5-inch square tiles, coordinating borders, and accent pieces. More than 80 artisans...

Macchiato madness.(Think global: international products bring the world home.)
September 1, 2004... The high-design Profi-Coffee Center cooks up complex coffeehouse concoctions or simply brews a cup of freshly ground java. The built-in, plumbed, stainless steel, self-cleaning, automated unit guides bean fiends through one-touch menu options...

Under cover.(Think global: international products bring the world home.)
September 1, 2004... Always an environmentally friendly product, Fine Paints of Europe has lowered VOCs even further with its ECO line. ECO has a VOC of 42, about 90 percent less than conventional solvent-borne coatings, the company says. Like all of its brands,...

Tourist trap.(Think global: international products bring the world home.)
September 1, 2004... More attractive than the fabled falls is the Niagara bathroom set created by hip Italian designer Paolo LaCivita. Lacquered oak cabinets come in 16-inch or 60-inch drawer units and mix with matching counters of various lengths for powder rooms...

Hot seat.(Think global: international products bring the world home.)
September 1, 2004... Myson, manufacturers of European radiators, expands its U.S. offerings with steamy new designs such as this bench radiator. The artful piece of furniture incorporates a five- or six-column radiator beneath a laminated beech seat. The specially...

A simple plan: Smith-Heberton residence, Montecito, Calif., 1917-18 George Washington Smith, Aia.(end quote)
September 1, 2004... "... after I got my blood filled with the modern idea in painting, I began to regard all the other forms of art with the same consciousness--the consciousness of simplicity."--george washington smith, aia architecture was a third career...