.
.
This is officially the last article I am going to write for Life of an Architect in 2011 so it seemed only fitting that it should address what is going to happen in 2012. I’m not talking about how I’m finally going to break the 4 minute mile mark – unless I’m on a bike and even then – kinda dodgy. No, this is about the next big project I will be working on – and therefore documenting – here on LoaA.
Just an FYI, all the images here are click-able and will open up jumbo shrimp size if you need a closer look … just ’cause I’m considerate that way *high five-snap-pistol fingers-wink-tongue cluck*
.
This house should be really amazing and I’m looking forward to the construction process. We have a great contractor on board – one that I have worked with many time before, and two amazing clients, well, I think they’re amazing. The wife is super friendly (so far…) and the husband makes an effort to be funny, which seems to be a rare client trait for some unknown reason. Besides, I think they read this blog and so I have nothing but good things to say. They’re the BEST!! As always, as a courtesy, the projects location, the clients names and any personal information will remain a secret – so don’t ask how much it costs or for me to publish plans because it isn’t going to happen.
.
Because there are some serious eagle eye readers out there, I need to issue a disclaimer that these 3d images are not current with the construction drawings. These were created during the design development phase and once we go into construction document mode, we don’t go back and update the model. This 3D model made by none other than yours truly using SketchUp. They are intended to be study models – not photo realistic representations of the final product. We generate these to evaluate sun angles and building massing but we endeavor to make them pleasant enough looking that we can show them to the clients during the design phase so they can get an idea what to expect.
.
This house sits on a 5 acre piece of property and is covered in trees – way more than I have shown here. Since the objective is to show the house (and the fact that SketchUp seriously bogs down) we thin the trees out a bit. Same thing goes for the landscaping – none of which I’ve shown here. The final landscape design isn’t done yet because the landscape architect likes to go onsite and sense the chi of the land before settling in on his final plant selections.
.
This project has a few specialty features to it – most notably the 3 cantilevered rooms that face the acreage at the rear of the property. At the smallest, the distance from the ground to the cantilevered box is around 18″ – at most, it’s around 6 feet – should be pretty dramatic.
.
One of the things I am going to do in 2012 here at Life of an Architect (besides sleep more) is focus on the detailing and architectural side of what I do. I always seem to get a lot of positive responses when I include details, construction photos, and final product images, so I am going to respond to the will of the people and oblige them with the goods. For today, I’ve included two wall sections through the cantilevered rooms. In the wall section above, we have built-in window shades to provide some relief from the sun. Above the shades, there are transom windows (above the flat roof). For these areas, we have designed an exterior metal louver that wraps around the room – you will still be able to see through it, but the harsh summer sun will be blocked out.
.
In this wall section, there isn’t a transom so there wasn’t a need for the metal louvers. This is however the master bedroom so if you look carefully, you will see that there are two automated roller shades in the ceiling. The reason there are two is that during the day, when it’s brighter outside than inside, we have a 8% opacity so you can see through the shades while still getting solar protection. At night when it’s brighter inside than outside, we have a 3% opacity shade so the owners can walk around in … well, however they want, without people being able to see through the shade and get any of the juicy details.
.
I get asked some times about our drawings and what sort of effort do we put in to document these sorts of projects. To say “a lot” probably isn’t a very satisfying answer. I thought it would be interesting to lay out some data for you on some of the metrics on this projects construction drawings:
- 53 – pages of construction drawings at 30″ x 42″ sheets – the breakdown = 31 architectural, 14 structural, 4 landscape, 4 lighting design. That’s 463.75 square feet of drawings or 61.83 yards if the sheets were laid end to end
- 62 – interior and exterior doors
- 34 – window types
- 19 – wall sections
- 71 – door and window details
- 105 – interior elevations
- 14 – exterior elevations
- 299 – individual architectural drawings
- unknown – sodas and cups of coffee consumed during the drawing of these documents
I look forward to continuing these sorts of posts in 2012 – I hope you do too.
Cheers,
.
In the picture above, you are looking up at the ceiling of an exterior patio. More specifically, you are looking at 1×1 ipê wood strips attached to medium density overlay board that has been painted black, and a ipê wood trim ring around a light fixture. This is a lot better way to finish out a ceiling over a space you plan on using than paint.
..
I know that not everyone reads drawings but for those of you who do, this is a detail through the section of the roof that covers one of the patios on the large modern project I have been working on for the last 2 years (it’s a big house…). Most of the notes above can be ignored for our purposes today but the ones worth paying attention to is the 1×1 WD @ 2″ O.C. (on center) with finish nails right above the one that calls out for 1/2″ MDO (which stands for Medium Density Overlay) board painted black. These two things coming together are what will make this ceiling something special.
.
I thought I would include a little photo montage showing what MDO looks like. It’s basically plywood but it has a smooth weather-resistant resin overlay bonded to the wood by heat and pressure that is suitable for taking a finish (in our case, the finish is paint and then 1×1 ipê wood strips). The resin surface helps the wood resists water, weather, wear and degradation over time … we don’t always use it on our exterior patio ceilings but since we were planning on nailing wood strips to it, it was an obvious choice.
.
I took the picture above one day during a site visit when the MDO panels were getting installed. On the right, the MDO panel, and on the left you can see the underside of the metal decking from the floor above the patio ceiling.
.
This picture shows the MDO panels after they have been installed and have been painted black. You might have noticed that we did not call out for a particular wood species for the 1×1 wood strips – that’s because we were going to take our cue from the landscape architect and match wood species. The final selection ended up being the ipê, a FSC certified cultivated Brazilian hardwood noted for its durability and resistance to rot and insects. It also happens to be gorgeous wood and we use it frequently whenever we use wood on the exterior of our projects.
.
Here is a look at the almost finished product – it stills needs to receive a final finish coat to help even out the tonal variations in the strips. We generally don’t add too strong of a color, and in this case, the final product will have a slight honey tint added to the finish coat. I would like to point something out that you might not notice unless you are me (because if you are, why aren’t you writing this post?), take another look at the spacing of the wood strips in relation to the wood rings around the recessed can lights … did you happen to notice that the ipê wood strips are tight to both sides of the wood rings and the spacing between the wood strips is still consistent? That isn’t on accident and was figured out early on before the MDO was installed.
I suppose that’s why I get to design and do construction administration on these sorts of projects … I am a fanatic.
Cheers – and thanks for reading.
.
.
.
