3-D Models Show Clients their Design

As an architect I use Autocad LT for my drafting and a good old black Sharpie on trace paper for some of my early schematic design work, but I also like to use Google Sketch Up to create quick 3-D models of proposed designs for buildings. It's an easy program to learn, and without too much time or effort one can create a massing model and fly around it with a camera showing what a new building or addition to a building might look like.

3 dimensional models be extremely helpful for those clients who are not adept at reading the 2-D elevations that we architects draw and submit to building departments and contractors. Elevations show a (distorted from real life) flat-on view of one side of a building. It's a view, that depending on the site, a human might never really even see - a perspective view is much more realistic- and without labels, it may be unclear what each line represents.

First take a look at the drawing of the front elevation above. It's flat and it may be difficult to completely understand what all the lines around that boxed out window on the right really mean.

 Below is the small "video" I was able to easily create and save in Sketch Up which flies around my 3-D building model of this cottage, showing all sides and how the building sits on the sloped site.  The building model here is still very basic, like the line drawing above, yet because it's no longer representing only two dimensions, it is able to convey much more.

Below are final portfolio photos of the same project. (Hopefully this looks like you expected it to look, having seen the drawing and model of the design, even though the sketch was rough and not fully detailed) I think you'll agree that Sketch Up (or any 3-D model- even a physical one built from board and glue) is an advantageous tool for architects to use to communicate their ideas to clients.

Front of Building after Completion

Back of Building after Completion

Here is another animation (short video) of another model, just for fun. This model has some more detailing as far as color, materials and textures, so it looks  more realistic. This is actually the house that you see beyond and on the left in the photo above. (We ended up adding a balcony above the covered porch on the left/west of the house, which you see in the photo, but not the drawings.)

Here are the 2-D elevation drawings (front view and partial side view) showing the same project. In this example, we were exploring connecting a gable-end porch to wrap around the corner and offer weather protection over the front door. As I think you can see, the 3 dimension models are much better at showing what the changes look like than the 2 dimensional drawings.

Really Custom- photos from various projects

Mexican Tile and Wood Stove w/ Bread Baking compartment
in a Farmhouse Kitchen Addition to an Older Home

It's fun to be an architect, or hire an architect, and work on a design that creates something unique and personal as a result. It's part of why I enjoy being a residential architect. You can find out what the client really wishes they had in their home and build exactly that- a wine cellar? a wood stove to bake bread in? a library for a collection of books? a kitchen from which you can watch the game while cooking? I often urge my clients to dream of what they want from their home and not worry too much about how we get there. Use colors, styles, and materials that you will be happy looking at- for some that is clean and serene with a lot of white and cool colors, others keep wood accents natural and unpainted. And still others enjoy whimsy with bold and bright checkerboard patterns and unique tiles.

Red Tile, Wood Beams and Kitchen open to Living Room

Bold Colors and Patterns in this Home Office

Understated Custom Tiled "Tree of Life" Back-splash over cook-top

Colorful Tiled Back-splash

A Bench and Cubbies in the Entry

Panels built to match cabinetry hide appliances for a very clean look (not painted yet)

I like to incorporate features into the design that will make life easier and work for the way my clients live - a bench, wall hooks & cubbies near the entry or a room with a dutch door to contain the dogs. I also like to problem-solve to use space and materials efficiently - like when I tucked a little shower seat into a nook created when an addition was built around an existing fireplace or when a sink was tucked into an artist's closet rather than using up the corner of a room. No room to call a library? How about shelves at the top of the stairs? An easy place to personalize is a tiled design over the stove.

Book shelves create a Library in the Hall

Artist's sink hidden in closet of Painting Studio

Dog Room has Dutch Door, Doggie Stair up to
Doggie Door leading to outdoor Fenced Kennel

Shower Bench tucked into an extra bit of space

Sometime we want to highlight a beautiful piece of art or re-purpose a found object into art- I encourage this, as long as we are not using old single-pane glass in our new building envelope. (Always use insulated doors and windows that exceed energy code! Reusing old windows or doors is NOT being green - but that is another post...)

One client had a stained glass window we placed among bookcases between the library and entry and back lite for a marvelous connection between rooms. Another had antique heavy wood doors that were re-used as a laundry room and panty door. Objects and antiques as art can be placed in your home for you to admire each day.

Art House- from left Stained glass window set in bookcases,
Iron gates mounted and lite on far wall at end of long view,
Large-format tiled wall wraps around side of refrigerator

Closer view of the Iron Gates as art - and Antique Columns used to partition the Room

Sometimes custom can be more expensive, but not always! So go for it next time you renovate or paint! Be brave! Chose a funky tile or different light fixture or an antique piece of furniture. Plan for a built-in so you can put stuff where you need it and save space. Add a root cellar or a greenhouse or even just window boxes, if you are a gardener. Put wood on the ceiling instead of the floor. If you want to bake bread, get an awesome oven and use cool tiles to accent it. Find an antique barn door or column or metal hinge that you love and re-purpose it inside. Make your space personal & beautiful so it brings you joy and ease in your daily life!

Antique Dry Sink re-purposed as Vanity Cabinet

Painted Kitchen Cabinets and Built-in Bench under Window

Built-in shelves in a Mud Room Entry

Outdoor Living Spaces: Part 2

Site-built King Trusses create a large, open outdoor room off a small ranch house

 So, in celebration of the end of winter, we are looking at those wonderfully special living spaces some of us are lucky enough to have attached to our houses - decks, porches, patios and screened porches. We may not be able to use them right now, but once it warms up again outside, the sun shines during the longer days, and there's no more snow and ice, we will be using our outdoor rooms and loving them!

Adding a glass door and private outdoor balcony space off a bedroom

This is the second part of a series about outdoor living spaces. Click here to see the first post that talked about decks and balconies- and the photo above is another master bedroom balcony view that I should have included in the Outdoor Living Spaces: Part 1 post.

A screened porch tucked away for privacy in a village- Bonus Points for any locals who can tell me where this is!

Screened-in porches are special. They tend to be on the private side of the house, accessed by glass doors from a family room, hall, or kitchen/eating area. They have "walls" (or at least posts and screening) and a roof/ceiling to protect the space from sun and rain- but they are so different than sitting in your living room. They are truly rooms that allow one to feel protected in and yet feel like you are outside breathing the fresh air, hearing the birds or the frogs...  Different treatments can give different effects: flat ceilings vs. vaulted ceiling following bottom of roof rafters; painted wood vs. stained wood; various guard rail designs- wood/cables/low walls- or no guard rail; landscaping and stairs and doors and how it is connected to the yard...

Natural finishes, soaring ceiling, and a "repeated squares" motif for the guard rail

 Screens can also be designed to be removable, and swapped with glass panels, to extend the months one can use the space into cooler times of the year. One must be careful though, when designing a flexible space such as a sun/screen porch that the sense of being outdoors isn't taken away by too much solid wall and too little glass or screen. (There is this propensity that if something is good, it would be even better to do more of it. But lots of times a screen porch should just be left a screen porch, once you change it into a 3-season room or such, it loses all it's special outdoors-y charm and it can begin to feel just like any other room in the house.)

A screened porch with change-able screen/glass panels so it can become a sun porch

One of the cool extra benefits of a sun porch - besides being able to sit in the warm, sunshine on an early spring or late fall day- is that that sun can give the house some free solar heat gain. This is the simplest of passive solar spaces: just allowing the sun to enter through south-facing glass (yes, it is important which direction your sun porch faces!) will passively warm the space. With some designs I place this screen porch/ sun porch off a large interior space, like a living room, so that when the (french) doors are open between the house and the porch, the sun room actually adds heat to the house. This flexibility is especially wonderful in a small house- it's a free extra room for most of the year, at a much lower cost. (because remember, it's not heated or insulated - and sometimes folks think you should add those things and make it usable year-round - but then you are losing the special outdoor room! (see side note above regarding more of a good thing)

Enjoy the rest of winter! (and dreaming about the coming spring)

Outdoor Living Spaces: Part 1

Outdoor living spaces are very important to many homes in any climate. Now that it's getting toward the end of winter, and we've been stuck inside, I thought it would be fun to dare to dream about going outside to sit, read, gaze, eat, drink, and socialize again once the weather turns warm.

Pergola over Western facing deck provides some much needed afternoon shade

Outdoor spaces can allow the finished square-footage of a home to be smaller, by giving additional "rooms" - outdoor living spaces- to be used when the weather allows. Let's look at a few decks on project's I've done. Decks are the simplest outdoor space- usually made of wood (or some high-tech/ synthetic material that requires less maintenance than wood) and usually accessed by glass doors from inside, it's basically a floor for outdoor furniture and an extension of the rooms inside.

Low Deck faces west/river view and connects kitchen to yard

 Decks can have a less-confined feel when they are able to be low enough to the ground that they don't require a guard rail to meet the building code. (sometimes in this case, I advocate a stone or paved patio instead of a wood framed deck...) But even when the floor is raised high above the ground, or the exterior deck or balcony is for a second floor space, and a railing is required, decks can offer views, light, and the ability to get outside from inside - even if there is a flight of steps to reach the grass below.

Raised Deck w/ guardrail offers a view, but not an easy connection to the ground

Doors to kitchen open onto a deck for easy meals outside

A cable system guard rail can be used instead of a solid wood balusters to meet the code for a guard rail without obscuring the view. And a patio can be added at the bottom of the deck steps to continue the layers of spaces between inside and out.

Second floor balconies have a special charm, because we usually can't get outside from the upper level. Off a master bedroom, it can be really unique and luxurious to add a private outdoor space; with the side affect that adding a glass door to a bedroom (larger than a window, typically) brings in more sunlight and views for that bedroom.
  

Balcony for Master Bedroom above existing porch

Before

Holiday Time - Beautiful Kitchens!

Kitchen Addition for young family with a Herb Farm home business

A wood stove, built-in bench, and Mexican tile make their kitchen cozy for gathering together

     It's holiday time again with cold, dark evenings encouraging us into our kitchens to cook warm meals to share with family and friends, bake cookies and other traditional holiday treats to give away and indulge in, and gather around our tables with candles lit to express gratitude for all we have.
    In the spirit of the holidays, I thought I'd share some of the beautiful kitchens I've had the opportunity to work on with my clients. Kitchens truly are the heart of the home and show the personality of those who live there. Some of the photos were taken after the owners had been living in the space, and some just as construction was completing, and varying styles and materials are shown. I hope you enjoy!

Guest House ready to graciously host family and friends with the kitchen open to the great room

This Kitchen Renovation is clean and modern to compliment an un-cluttered retirement

                  Remove the walls around a galley kitchen to allow the company to interact with the cook

This kitchen was re-done before I was hired to design a bedroom addition, but I love the "flipped" layout (no window at sink here!) and the quadruple sliding glass doors facing the yard

Here the sink is in the island with a tall side to hide the dirty-dish clutter from dining area view

Kitchen renovation and new deck with a Hudson River view at this weekend home

HAPPY HOLIDAYS!!! Cook something and give it to someone you love <3

Framing the View

http://www.olana.org/olana-gallery/

Those who aren't architects may think what we do is draw on paper, creating directions from which construction workers build "brick and mortar" (or wood and siding) structures out in the world- and that's true to an extent. Some aspects of my job can be fairly simple problem solving - making a space the right size, keeping the weather out, letting light in, facilitating people to be able to walk from one space into another. But of course - architecture is so much more! I love when I get reminded of the magic and I get reinvigorated to do good work.

This happened last week when I went on a tour of Frederick Church's famous Hudson Valley home, Olana, and I saw glimpses of what I and other architects do when we design - we layout space/walls/windows/doors to frame views.

Frederick Church was a Hudson River School painter. Wikipedia says this is the name given to a mid-19th century American art movement embodied by a group of landscape painters whose work depicts the Hudson Valley and the surrounding area. He designed his home (in a very unique, blend of Victorian, Persian, & Moorish styles, which I won't be discussing here) using the same principles good architects use all the time- and that were important to him as a landscape painter- framing views.

Screened Porch Structure frames the view in the backyard

When we first entered the house, the tour guide pointed out the long view through the home's length, and right out the studio windows toward the Hudson River. (No photos allowed inside the building, so I don't have one to post here) This is a technique I often employ in my designs. Any house feels much bigger, brighter, and spacious if, when you step inside the entry door, you can see through a window on the opposite side. Long interior views and aligning windows and doors to create views is part of good design.

Long view from Kitchen toward Family Room

Here are a couple pictures at a current project with a space I called the "Gallery" (a very generous hallway) connecting the existing part of the house with the new addition space. (Before our renovation, this space was a small screeened in porch) This "hallway" is enlivened with arches and columns; it is wide and provides a door to the deck outside and to the powder room and linen storage inside. (with more aligned views, of course, planned to showcase the owner's antique linen armoire cabinet by the powder room as one walks inside from the deck) In addition to those "programming" and "circulation" tasks, this space does something for the feel of the house - it creates a long view between the kitchen and the family room - aligning with large windows with transoms facing north toward the wooded side yard. This technique lends a sense of openness, light, and connection- even drawing a person from one space to the next.

Long view (with columns now built) from FR toward Kitchen

It was fun to be reminded of this aspect of my design for a client while on a tour of Olana. If you want to read more about "Interior Views" in my designs, check out this page of my website:
http://cwb-architect.com/interior sightlines

Tape & Mud: Smoothing it Out

Inside the New House Next Door, the temporary heating system is set to 50, and "the Tapers" have set to work. They have the task of making smooth (invisible) connections between all the sheet goods that were screwed to the framing. They spread "mud" and tape on all corners and seams, scrape joint compound over all the screw holes, and apply stiff corner angles to exterior corners with tape and mud. When they are done applying, sanding, and smoothing, you won't be able to see where one board ends and the next starts, or where any screws are located - it will all be smooth.

But cooler than what they are doing, (finishing the interior face of all the walls- home stretch!) and nicer than the fact that they get to work inside in heated space, (the carpenters are still working outside and it's still really cold most days) is the fun fact that they wear stilts at work! Really, what non-clown job can someone do where they get to walk around in stilts?!

Better than a ladder: stilts move with you to finish the ceiling and top half of wall.

I remember years ago, when we were doing a renovation and addition at our previous house, the taper left his tools (including his stilts) in our home since he was coming back the next day to continue. (It is a 3 layer process) Well - the temptation was just too great, and my dear husband had to try them on and walk around for the amusement of the kids. The kids loved it, because again, we see stilts (and since we are not tapers), we think of the circus, the parade, clowns! It's FUN! We were all smiles as he walked around the house... Until, startling us, the door bell rang! All four of us felt "caught". (It was not the taper at the door, making sure we weren't playing with his stilts... but my then 5 year old thought for sure it was going to be!)

Structural Primer

Today you will get a structural lesson. Does that sound boring and too math heavy? Well, it's not!

We could set this post to the tune of that old song: "The Knee Bone's Connected to the...Thigh Bone!"  Why? Because that's what it's like. Trusses or rafters bear on walls or beams; walls bear onto floor joists or joist beams; floor joists rest on girders; beams span openings in walls and they are supported by posts at each end, posts are point loads that need land onto beams or girders; and eventually it all comes down to the concrete footers that are underground.

First some definitions:

• A Girder is a built-up beam that supports the main floor joists. It is in the crawlspace.You can probably see one in your basement, if it's unfinished.
• Joists are the repetitive members that make up a floor or ceiling system. They can be supported by beams or walls or a combination of both.
• Rafters are the repetitive members that make up a roof system (along with a ridge board or beam and possibly collar ties)
• Beams span an opening (like over a door or window) and joists rest on top of them.
• Joist Beams are in the same plane as the joists, but are built-up of more than one unit to accept a load that will be there.
• Flush Beams are not dropped under what they support (like the girder) but rather are flush - or even- with the joists it supports. Hardware like joist hangers are needed for this to work.
• Posts can be a couple of studs put together to support each end of a beam or such
• Columns are round (as opposed to square edged posts) but are also vertical point-load carrying members.
• Bearing Walls are when all the wall studs as a unit provide continuous support
• Trusses are factory made (usually), can span long distances for floors or roofs, and bear outside wall to outside wall (so interior partitions are just dividers, not structural)
• Engineered Lumber is made from cut wood, sawdust and glue and is much stronger (really!) and can span farther than 
• Dimensional Lumber, which is 2x4s, 2x6s, 2x8s, 2x10s & 2x12s comes in a few different species, each with it's own strength and span characteristics.

Well - this is getting long, but stay with me. Here are some photos to put it all together:

Main Girder supports mid-span of floor joists. In this case it is a built-up engineered beam (Three LVLs put together) The framers are cutting a column to the correct height

Girder rests in beam pockets in the concrete wall and onto steel columns that bear onto interior concrete footings. Floor joists will run perpendicular the the girder and across the top of it out toward each side wall

Floor joists span from the foundation wall (sill plate, actually) to the main girder. Here is also a cantilever, which means the joists extend beyond the support  of the foundation wall over open air

Header with posts each end (over opening on the right) Flush beam (on top of wall by John's hand) Second floor joists will attach into that flush beam and run perpendicular to it

Long LVL beam will carry roof, floor and wall loads from above so the space can be open (ie. not have a wall there) This beam has posts at each end and mid-span, buried within the stud walls

Second floor joists - some running east-west landing on a bearing wall, some running north-south where Scott is installing more; also see headers over windows, because regardless of floor joist direction, that exterior wall will be carrying the main roof's load

It's just like Lincoln Logs! Well, maybe not... Did this help any of you understand a bit of how a house is framed? Now you should be able to look around your own house and figure out which walls (non-load bearing) can be changed easily to have a wider opening or a larger window- and which walls or beams are keeping the floor from collapsing when you dance and jump around.