My new bike

I love the minimalist approach to the design of this bike:
steel frame, one speed, color: nekkid.

Here's a question, why does a Monopoly House connote shelter?


(the following image is from the flickr link in the first comment below)






click image to go to its flickr page

Traditional Contemporary

I would love to design nothing but Farnsworth Houses all day!
check out this site for more on the Farnsworth House:
http://www.e-architect.co.uk/chicago/farnsworth_house.htm

Contemplating Contemporary in Country Club
(or Mid-Century in Parkwood Knolls)

Perhaps from time to time you have thought about a makeover to the interior of your home, to give it a more open and contemporary feel. You have a desire to “open-up” the floor plan, simplify the interior surface finishes, enliven the space with more expressive colors, but you are concerned about maintaining the integrity of your “period” home. How can the 1920’s live in 2009 and beyond? So traditionally laid out are the homes of the Country Club (Edina. MN) era with their compartmentalization of living room, dining room, kitchen (read small), den/study/office, small (single) bathroom and too few bedrooms with virtually no closet space, that it’s a challenge to figure out a way of rearranging the spaces to achieve today’s “great room” concept.

With recent examples of clean, modern, contemporary downtown condo living so prevalent on real estate websites, you might have been tempted by the idea of a space that would accommodate a pair of Mies Van de Rohe Barcelona chairs, an Arne Jacobson Egg Chair, a Florence Knoll credenza, etc, etc. The possible combinations of furniture from the Bauhaus era through the early 60’s (as seen on Mad Men) are endless; you just need the right space, right? But then you think, “I really like where I live now. I really do like having a yard, the feeling of neighborhood, the parks and playgrounds," and you wonder how all of this non-traditional furniture and accessories can possibly look or feel good in a more traditional home.

In some cases it may take only a few “architectural and planning” moves to free-up spaces while retaining the best of what your home currently has – a simple modification to the floor plans, molding profiles, cabinetry, door and window styles.

As you think of the possibility of a “visual make-over” it’s also a great time to address environmental issues, energy consumption, use of earth friendly building materials, etc. There’s nothing wrong with improving/changing your home and preparing it for a future of fewer and more expensive natural resources. The majority of homes built before WWII are constructed with older growth lumber, very stout exterior siding materials and detailing and moldings not normally found in today’s construction industry. If your home has good “bones,” it is a great candidate for a remodeling, regardless of your tastes. Perhaps a make-over is just the incentive you need to change out the leaky single pane glass windows, install more eco-friendly roof insulation along with a new high-efficiency boiler or furnace. As long as you're updating, why not re-roof with a 50 year roofing material with sustainable qualities, tighten up the energy envelope from within by caulking around windows and doors and installing foam insulation in the wall cavity before installing new gypsum board necessitated by your fabulous interior remodeling?

Attached are a few photos of a recent project in the Country Club neighborhood, modest in scale, but profoundly transformative in terms of liveability and energy efficiency. We made selective modifications to both the first and second floor, with an Owner’s bathroom addition constructed to the second floor. In all of my residential work, I try to address each design opportunity to solve the Home Owner’s programmatic needs and desires. At the same time, I like to search for ways to introduce “found” features – unexpected extras that, as the dust settles, continue to reward the effort and the foresight of the renovation process.

Welcome

We'll use this space from time to time to share things we've found, thought about or started working on, that we think might give insight into urban universal architecture. Please let us know what you think.