BUILD Blog

Board and batten siding is the underdog of siding systems, but we like it for the following reasons:
It has the potential to be visually clean and crisp
It has a timeless look and weathers nicely if implemented correctly
The system takes the natural expansion and contraction of materials into consideration
It’s been around for a long time, carpenters and siders are familiar with it
It’s durable

So why isn’t board and batten siding more prominent in modern architecture? A quick Google-image search suggests that most board & batten siding systems are associated with traditional architectures – country cottages and old leaning barns. The word “rustic” comes up often when researching board and batten systems. But technically the system has everything necessary to be a serious, modern strategy for siding. So the BUILD research and development team has put together a guide to board and batten siding systems. These diagrams are just departure points - coordinate with your structural engineer for unusual situations and the use of panel products.

1. Horizontal spacers can be placed behind the board & battens for better air circulation, the spacers also provide a uniform nailer backing to the system.
2. The fasteners and pattern will depend on the size of the batten.
3. A variety of products can be used in lieu of building paper including VaproShield products.
4. 1/2″ sheathing can be used if blocking is installed behind at fastener locations. We recommend just bumping up the sheathing to 3/4″.
5. The fastener pattern for panels depends entirely on the panel product used and the overall geometry.

With wood boards the fasteners should be centered on the board so that the board can expand and contract in both directions. Using fasteners at the edges will cause the boards to crack over time.

We’ve also tracked down several modern applications. Let us know of any sharp B&B applications you know of out there.

Dogtrot House in Poplarville, MS by Waggonner & Ball Architects

[photo by Kerri McCaffety, Mac Ball, Catherine Smith]

Donald Barbour House in Kentfield, CA by John Marsh Davis
The batten geometry integrates with the structural columns… nice.

[photo by Alan Weintraub]

House for an art collector in Therwill Switzerland by Herzog & de Meuron, 1986
Precast concrete panels and pine slats

[photo by Hisao Suzuki]

Wood Residence on Vashon Island, WA by James Cutler Architects
Cedar board and battens

Irby House at Sea Ranch, CA by Obie G. Bowman, 2001
Redwood board and battens

[photo by Tom Rider]

Girvin Cabin on Decatur Island, WA by Miller Hull

[photo from Miller Hull Architects of the Pacific Northwest by Sheri Olson]

City Hall on Bainbridge Island, WA by Miller Hull, 2000

[photo from Miller Hull Architects of the Pacific Northwest by Sheri Olson]

Nickerson House in Seattle, WA
Painted Hardi-board and wood battens, anybody know the architect of this one?

[photo by BUILD llc]

Shack at hinkle farm by Jeffery S. Broadhurst

[via materialicio.us]

“Barn Doors Open” in Falmouth, Maine by Kaplan Thompson Architects
The added volume uses a reverse board & batten system.

In spirit of heading to Manhattan, today’s blog features some sexy diagramming, mapping and visual measures from New York City. These diagrams are stimulating and effective because every graphic move on the paper (or screen) has a meaning; the color, dimension, position, and position relative to other graphics are all important. In addition to all the data, they are composed with craft and intentionality.  Let us know what you’ve found out there…

New York Times: In the Shadow of Foreclosures
Both color and height indicate a different measure of foreclosures and the perspective view makes it all the more dramatic.  The sharp visual makes a complicated collection of statistics comprehensible and allows for quick visual comparisons.

Time Out New York: McDonalds vs. Starbucks
The location of each McDonalds and each Starbucks is mapped in mid-town. The choice of symbols (French fries and coffee cups) effectively adds to the visual of over-propagation.

New York Times: A Year in Iraq
The diagram indicates the classification of each individual and how they died, organized as a timeline. The diagram is powerful for the simple fact that each person is represented as a figure in the display.

New York Times: Face-Lift for an Aging Museum
A mapping of cracks and movement in the Guggenheim’s concrete shell. While engineering firms commonly make mappings such as this, the artistic enhancements of color and composition allow the technical data to be more interesting and comprehensible.

New York Times: Subway Population
…and what would a NYC diagram blog post be without a token subway diagram. This particular diagram tracks the hourly population of the 1/9 subway line over the course of a single work day. The use of ordinary objects, like the clock, make the diagram more tangible and easier on the eyes. Once again representing each individual with an object, or dot in this case, creates a population and drives the idea home more powerfully.


The Works: Anatomy of A City by Kate Ascher
The visual compares the measure of snowfall to the city’s response. As more snow accumulates an increasing amount of garbage trucks are converted to snow plows. This book is filled with great diagrams explaining everything from stoplight calibration for ideal traffic patterns to the city’s storm sewer overflow tactics to the garbage removal sequence. Get a copy here.

New York Times: Inventory of Low Altitude Satellites
The satellites are organized by height above the earth’s surface, color coded by type (military, communication, science) and labeled to the country of ownership. The pixilated nature of the diagram lends to a tangible sense for the number of satellites in space.

Each generation of architects seems to establish their own language of visual presentation. The crisp graphite lines and dramatic perspective drawings characterize the 50’s and 60’s. Bold water colors and loose geometries are reminiscent of the 70’s, the occasional clip-art guy with mustache and sports jacket thrown in for good measure. While these examples seem humorous and dated today they were the Hotty McHottersons of the time. Today’s blog entry is in pursuit of the current zeitgeist of visual language. You know us well enough by now to know that we’re not going to exhibit high-end presentations from the starchitects and mega-shops out there. We don’t think that it will be these enterprises that set the curve with their armies of lowly paid interns and exclusive modeling software. If you ask us, it will be the small shops in the trenches of practice and academia that will be most infectious with the new language because they have the same common denominators as the majority of us in terms of resources, staff & software; it’s just that they’re using these resources more intelligently and doing more with them. We’ve selected several groups that we’ve come across over the years and, in our opinion, they are forming the new visual protocol. The new language seems to be moving away from fashion, is taking on more analysis and is communicating more technical data. More important than the sexy imagery, it is the thinking behind these presentations that is generating the new language. Let us know who’s setting the curve for you…

KBAS Studio
Portland Thru-House

Cutting sections within a perspective drawing is a very intelligent use of modeling programs. The section cut is clearly indicated with the orange highlight and the interiors elevations have definition. This single image is communicating information traditionally accomplished with a perspective, a section cut and interior elevations.

The image shows the efficiency of building a model once and getting multiple levels of information and imagery by turning on and off layers.  Subtle shadows give the simple models a level of sophistication.

Palisades Glacier Mountain Hut

The drawing includes a dynamic element and explains the circulation.

John Szot
Coney Island Pavilion

Using actual photos of graffiti as “decals” within the modeling program, the image achieves a gritty, urban feel. The series takes into account an aspect of urban weathering. Subtle lighting and ordinary weather conditions create a powerful presentation. The abstract people give a sense of scale and population without detracting from the rendering.

Saddle Creek

Living Smart Project

The imagery breaks the house apart like a piece of machinery.

Levin Residence

Tangible representations are created by embedding photographs into the model.
They have an excellent collection of graffiti and tags on their website.

SHoP
Portland Ariel Tram

The element of scale exists with the figures but the transparent shadow technique keeps the focus off the figures and on the architecture.

Lorcan O’Herlihy
Calarts Dormitory

The landscaping is suggested but does not overwhelm the image. Site circulation and dynamics are added as a layer to the presentation.

Paulith

Subtlety of light and shadow give a tangible impression of how the space may feel.

Asymptote
166 Perry Street

Using digital software to do what it does best - figuring out all of the intricacies and reflections of varying environmental conditions.

Penang Global City Center

The display and comprehension of extremely complex geometries.

Jones Partners
Yucca Valley House

The use of extreme detail (even the lights have been precisely modeled) allows the rendering to serve as a form of quality control and troubleshooting for the finished work.

Preston Scott Cohen
Lightfall

Communicating the process of design and allowing an observer (or more importantly a client) to understand the geometrical evolution of a design.

Public Arcade

Presenting, comparing and contrasting variations/mutations of form.

Wu House

Clarifying and simplifying the complexities of hybrid geometries.

Neil M. Denari
Massey House

Merging renderings with construction documents the renderings start to become technical data which could be used as reference in the field.

Each year the New York Times magazine releases their “Year in Ideas” issue. This catalog of 70 important ideas from the last year is a highly recommended read – not only for the ideas themselves but also because of the clever diagrams accompanying some of the ideas each year. Today’s blog entry highlights 7 ideas which have been paired with clever, beautiful, informative diagrams. Get yourself a copy or visit the website and catch up on ideas from 2007.

Ambiguity Promotes Liking
A comparison of what online daters think of their blind dates before and after the face to face date.

Community Urinalysis
A community urinalysis results from testing the town’s sewer water.

Fish-Flavored Fish
Mapping different fish according to taste.

The God Effect
A comparison of individual’s generosity with and without the idea of God subliminally on the mind.

Hope Can Be Worse Than Hopelessness
A comparison of individual’s general happiness with and without hope in a specific life crisis.

Mindful Exercise
A measure of individuals general health based on how much exercise they’re told they’re getting.

Quitting Can Be Good for You
A measure of goal setting as compared with bodily stress

The Alibi
A visual tracking device for an individual’s life

A simple definition of “construction documents” could be – graphic instructions which show how physical things go together. In architecture the standard form of construction documents is the two-dimensional black and white line drawings, printed on large sheets and bound together. While these documents are the industry standard and are a powerful tool, the concept is beginning to seem outmoded given the sophistication of three-dimensional digital rendering, the integration among software, and the general sophistication of modern built form.

Today’s blog entry looks at other industries and reviews different methods of graphic communication. In addition to developing a catalog of methods, we also hope to spark some potential ideas applicable to architectural construction documents. Let us know of other examples out there.

TOYS
LEGO instruction books include exploded color axons with supplementary details of the kit-of-parts and pre-assemblies. The step by step assemblies are an excellent example of clear graphic communication.
For an amazing collection of LEGO instruction books visit this website.

UTILITIES
National Geographic published a series of diagrams identifying the layers of utilities under Manhattan. These high resolution renderings have a life-like quality and are technically correct with dimensions and relationship of scale.

Plumbing diagrams often use color and spatial dimension to clarify what would otherwise be complicated beyond comprehension.

JAPANESE JOINERY
The simple axonometric drawings at just the right angle allow the viewer to entirely understand multiple objects and their relationship to one another. Diagrams from the book The Art of Japanese Joinery.

PLANETARY PHYSICS
High resolution cut-away renderings with color coding.

ORAGAMI
The process of construction is broken into graphic groups for the 9 different phases.

Directional arrows, brief notes and sketched shading provide a clear path to a finished product.

BOATS
The rendering with selective cut-away areas gives the viewer a good idea of the exterior and some of the inner workings of the ship

Both the bow and stern of the kayak are shown side by side for geometrical comparison. Perspective, elevations and plan are all on the same page for clarity.

Details are broken out adjacent to the section cuts

AIRPLANES
The complete transparency of the shell allows the viewer to see the inner workings but still have a concept of the overall geometry of the aircraft.

CLOTHING
The partially exploded perspective also includes diagramming of the fabrics function.

A sophisticated digital model allows for high resolution exploded axons of complicated geometries.

TRANSPORTATION
Varying degrees of transparency give the viewer a good idea of the exterior and a basic understanding of the interior.

The color cross-section helps differentiate materials while the identification key covers the technical information.

An actual photograph of the assembly is labeled to produce this diagram.

FIREARMS
Selective cross sections show areas of most important detail.

ELECTRONICS
Exploded axon with part labels of an IBM Series III copier. This and other diagrams can be found in Tufte’s series of books on visual communications

Selective cross section cut indicates areas of detail, highlighting the complexity of the lens construction.

THE HUMAN BODY
Models and renderings of complex geometries allow for an understanding of the human organs. Detail boxes add supplementary information to key areas. Diagrams from The Complete Portfolio of Human Anatomy and Pathology from Scientific Publishing Ltd.