BUILD Blog

BUILD llc recently completed a home on Bainbridge Island here in the northwest that uses some materials and methods that may be of interest. The home was designed and built for Dr. Marc Ferrin. We’ve said it before and we’ll say it again: good projects are the direct result of extraordinary homeowners willing to partake in the adventure of design and construction & trust our guidance.

[all images by BUILD llc]

1. Orchard of low-growing fruit trees on a pure geometrical grid.
2. Gravel hardscape.
3. Milgard aluminum windows with bronze finish – the dark, minimal corner mullion gives the appearance of a corner window.
4. Blomus stainless steel mailbox on custom steel plate stand with punched numbering. Mailbox sold by Pure Modern.
5. Milgard aluminum window system with bronze finish. The roof joist support beams are pulled back into the living space and exposed – this allows the window system to extend all the way to the roof joists.
6. MDO soffits painted white as a visual extension of the interior drywall lid. Exterior grade can lights installed at soffit.
7. Rainscreen siding system composed of Cembonit panels by CBF. For an explanation of rainscreen systems click here.
8. Cable rail system by Feeney Cable Rails with custom fabricated galvanized steel verticals and custom ipe top rail.
9. Clear sealed fir exterior door with tempered glass panel and weather-stripping. Reeded glass panels at entry door, clear at all others.
10. Clear T&G cedar mounted vertically and clear sealed. These particular boards span the entire height of the house.
11 Single membrane “flat” roof sloped ¼” per foot and concealed with parapet.
12. Outdoor shower (Kohler Stillness series) with winter shut off valve located inside house at conditioned area.
13. Clerestory windows add additional light to the upstairs hallway and maintain privacy.
14. Chimney capped with galvanized steel wide flange frame to conceal vent cap.
15. Standing seam metal roof with minimal vent penetrations.
16. Cedar fascia stained dark to match the window system.
17. A cantilevered bay allows for extra area inside but doesn’t change the line of the concrete foundation wall below. The change in form is reflected by using a different material at the cantilever.
18. Flush panel wood garage door by Clopay, painted dark to match soffits and blend with window package.
19. Strategically located vegetation to eventually hide the heat pump.
20. Rainscreen panel breaks strategically align with changes in plane.

[all images by BUILD llc]

21. Cold rolled custom steel handrail with blackened finish.
22. Vertically mounted aluminum return air grill – custom size by Shoemaker AFP series.
23. 1×4 flush base trim, pre-primed mdf, painted.
24. Prefabricated concrete stair treads by Diamond Concrete Products.
25. Miele DA series island hood.
26. Thin fin-wall made from 1-3/4” x 11-7/8” LVLs stacked end to end and wrapped with GWB, painted.
27. Slot window – as part of the sequence of entry a visitor gets a peak at the extraordinary view.
28. Absolute black granite countertops with slight eased edge.
29. Lutron Diva light switches with stainless steel cover plates – all devices mounted at a common datum line around the house.
30. Bamboo vertical grain flooring.
31. Custom galvanized vertical guardrails drilled to receive Feeney Cable Rail system.
32. 1×6 ipe decking
33. 5’ foot wide sliding door to pantry – the cabinets are notched to receive sliding door.
34. Maple cabinets by Canyon Creek Cabinet Company with Mockett satin chrome tab pulls.
35. The clerestory window at the shower allows natural daylight but maintains privacy.
36. Milgard aluminum floor to ceiling window system with bronze finish.
37. Kohler Stillness series shower fixtures.
38. Epco polished chrome shower curtain rod.

For more information on the Ferrin Residence check out the YouTube digital model and the YouTube time elapse construction process.

BUILD is heading to the south-west and we need your advice. We’ve put together a rough agenda of modern gems not to be missed but this is a part of the globe we’re not particularly familiar with and we could use some pointers. While the natural wonders in this region are spectacular this tour is all about art and architecture. Here’s what we’ve come up with so far, let us know what we need to get on the agenda.

Walter De Maria Lighting Field in Quemado New Mexico

[Photo courtesy of Dia Art Foundation]

Taliesin West in Scottsdale Arizona by Frank Lloyd Wright

[Photo courtesy of Taliesin West]

Phoenix Central Library in Phoenix Arizona by Will Bruder
1221 N Central Ave, Phoenix, AZ

[Photos by Timothy Swope]

Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Art in Arizona by Will Bruder
7374 East 2nd Str

Hotel Valley Ho in Scottsdale Arizona, 6850 E. Main Str

National Radio Astronomy Observatory in Socorro New Mexico

Roden Crater in Flagstaff Arizona

Holy Cross Chapel at 780 Chapel Rd Sedona Arizona

Mii Amo Spa & Enchantment Resort in Sedona Arizona by Gluckman Maynar Architects

Meinel Optical Science Research Building by Richärd + Bauer Architecture
University of Arizona Campus in Tuscon Arizona

Stevie Eller Dance Theatre by Gould Evans Associates
University of Arizona Campus in Tuscon Arizona

Citizens Bank of Clovis in New Mexico

Arizona Biltmore in Phoenix Arizona by Frank Lloyd Wright, 1929

First Christian Church Bell Tower in Phoenix Arizona by Frank Lloyd Wright

There is quite a bit of work by architect Rick Joy that we greatly admire however the residences seem rather secluded and private – so we’re not planning on any fly-bys. Let us know if you know of any public work by Rick Joy, restaurants, bars…

Thanks to 2modern for their previous post on “Modern Phoenix” which helped us out with our research.

[Photo by Don Purdue]

On Wednesday night Gwendolyn Wright finished up the UW spring lecture series with an exceptional talk on the history of modern architecture. Gwendolyn is a professor at Columbia University, hosts a PBS television series and has authored a half-dozen books. She gave an eloquent hour-and-a-half discourse and displayed passion for the subject matter from beginning to end. In short, she’s a total rock-star. For those of you who missed it, we’ve included some highlights below – muddied by our incredulous memories and dubious writing skills:

Powerhouse and gantry crane, Kentucky Dam by Roland Wank, 1933-1945

The lecture emphasized the importance of pluralism in design and stressed that good architecture should develop different responses to diverse conditions. These conditions of culture, philosophy, politics, and art are always changing and fluctuating and so the architectural responses shift. Even the vernacular is always changing. The synergy in modern architecture comes from the muddy intersection of these factors.

State Capitol Bank, Oklahoma City by Roloff, Bailey, Bozalis, Dickinson, 1963

There is no “true” modernism; no “pure” form of modernism. There is no such thing as this purity that so many of us seek. Modernism was not born in 1932 as most of us were taught in school.

Home of the future by Irving Gill, 1916

Evolving architectures become hybrids – some awkward, some beautiful, but all necessary to the evolution of architecture. The varieties of modernism allow the more powerful forms to succeed. Places and times unexpectedly flourish. Some of the freak accidents become some of the greatest studies and forms of inspiration.

University of Miami by Marion Manley and Robert Law Weed, 1948-9

Most of Wright’s studies and examples were off the radar, periphery to the mainstream architectural world, authored by the unknowns; a bank in Oklahoma, an urban prison, a gantry crane in Kentucky.

Metropolitan Correction Center by Harry Weese, Chicago, 1975

Some of the greatest examples of modern architecture are the public work projects by architects in the 1800’s before such work was passed off to the engineers. This work includes dams and sewage treatment plants. Although such project types seem to lack architectural glamour they are incredible opportunities for a modern design language.

Chiller Cogeneration Plant, UCLA Los Angeles by Holt Hinshaw Jones & Ralph M. Parsons, Inc., 1992-94

There is also the diversity and unexpectedness of time. As architects we have very little control over what becomes of our buildings. What is done with your design can be different that what you intended.

The use of history in architecture is to provide this perspective of pluralism – to show what needed to be explored to get to where we are. To reinforce this idea of experimentation in the present – to mine our cultural conditions for new forms and patterns of architecture.

Hoover Dam, 1928- 1938

For more, pick up her new book about Modern Architectures in History which focuses on the USA.

It happens quite often, we’re at a cocktail party, a gathering, someone asks us what we do, we say we’re architects… and the response usually applauds the creative process. “It must be nice to do something so creative for a living” or “you must be a very creative person” or “I always wanted to do something creative like architecture”. Which is great, we’re honored to be thought of as creative and enamored that people are paying attention to the architecture around them.

The irony, however, is that good architecture is less about creativity and more about discipline. Granted, schematic design requires a great amount of creativity and the design and construction process necessitates creative problem solving. But in our opinion it is discipline in architecture that generates masterful, functional, inspiring architecture. Knowing what not to do. Just because there is a good view doesn’t mean that you fill the room with windows everywhere.

It is this restraint in design that is so important to a finished work. The projects that exercise discipline seem to forego fashion and grasp at a clarity of form and a timeless architecture. Such work creates a set of guiding principles and maintains an architectural thesis just as adamantly as it keeps the heat in and the rain out.

In doing our research on this theme we became quickly disenchanted with gathering the usual suspects – Mies, Breuer, Corbu, Kahn, Ando, etc. All masters of this architectural obedience but most of you are already very familiar with their work. They are extremely well documented and your bookshelves are most likely lined with their monographs. So we thought it might be a better use of our caffeine fueled research, and more enjoyable for us, to cover some of the lesser known architects - also well versed in an architecture of discipline.

Casa Pellico in Puebla, Mexico by Gerardo Balcazar, 2003

[Photos from the book Arquine + RM, Arquitectura Mexicana 2001-2004]

H Loft in Manhattan by Kar-Hwa Ho, 2002

[Photos by Bjorg Photography from the book New York Minimalism by Aurora Cuito]

Innfeld House in Schwarzenberger, Austria by Dietrich + Untertrifaller Architekten, 1999

[Photos from the book Country Modern by Aurora Cuito]

Pawson Residence in London by John Pawson, 1999

[Photos by Christoph Kicherer from the book Living and Eating by John Pawson and Annie Bell]

Miramar House in Vila Nova de Gaia, Portugal by Eduardo Souto de Moura, 1991

[Photos by Luis Ferreira Alves from the book Ten Houses by Oscar Riera Ojeda]

Rosen House (Case Study House #11) in Los Angeles by Craig Ellwood, 1962

Kjaerholm near Copenhagen Denmark by Poul Kjaerholm, 1962


[Photos by Per Nagel & Vibe Udsen from the book Scandinavian Modern Houses by Faber & Udsen]

Gunnlogsson Residence in Oresund, Denmark by Halldor Gunnlogsson, 1958

[Photos by Nagel & Udsen from the book Scandinavian Modern Houses by Faber & Udsen]

Villa Bianca in Seveso, Italy by Giuseppe Terragni, 1937

Let us know who’s on your list of lesser known, well disciplined, residential architects…

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.