Translucency (An Architect's Guide)

“Light is to architecture what sound is to music.” (Steven Holl) At the two ends of the spectrum of light control and transmission stand transparency and opacity. Translucency inhabits the broad middle ground between those two. The word “translucent” is derived from the Latin “trans“ ("through") and “lucere“ ("to shine"). Translucent surfaces permit the passage of light while visually obscuring what’s behind it. Historical examples of the use of translucency in architecture abound: the poetic sliced alabaster window above the main altar in St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome, the shoji (screens) at the Katsura Villa in Kyoto, the stained glass rose windows at the great Chartres Cathedral in France. And there are countless others.

Translucency promotes ambiguity, a sense of mystery and a complexity that allows for multiple understandings of what a space can be. In the video I review examples which illustrate the power of this ambiguity as well as the practical things you need to know when employing translucent materials in your project.

Other topics covered: - How iron impacts the color of glass - Walls, floors, stairs - Material properties and options - Using transparency to imbue a design with meaning (be sure to catch the last project in the video)

How a site can shape a home

Good design is the result of strong, simple concepts that give meaning to a home's shape, form and materials. When you look to your site for inspiration, these ideas often arise very naturally. A site is composed of many things: topography, plants, trees, regional and local climate, surrounding structures, water bodies and zoning and code regulations. Each site has very specific solar orientations, views (good and bad) and often a very explicit character. Each one of these areas is an opportunity to generate a meaningful conceptual approach for your home design — a way to devise its shape, layout, form and materials. In this video I discuss the strategies architects use to find design inspiration and derive meaningful architecture from a home's site.

Designing a Long Kitchen Island

In this video I discuss design considerations for extra-long kitchen islands. We dig in to the benefits: added prep, seating, counter and storage space - among others. I also highlight special considerations: traffic flow, seams and more you'll want to pay attention to when designing a long island. As our kitchens have become more and more connected to our living spaces, they’ve changed from being solely utilitarian to being social gathering hubs. The island is often a central player in having a whole host of functions now, and the longer it is, the more function you can pack into it.

Typical kitchen islands range between 7 and 10 feet; the long islands in this video begin at 12 feet and they have definite advantages; however, they're not without a few special planning challenges.

Specifics covered: - Circulation - Clearances - Flexibility - Focus - Function - Spatial definition - Seating + dining - Materials

Modern Barn Doors

In this video we continue our look at the studio project as we construct and install our modern barn doors. Want the details? Download here

Materials: aluminum tube subframe, vertical wood intermediate supports, Hardiepanel siding, barn door track and accessories. Alum. frame fabrication by: Lyman Morse

Studio Project: Plywood (as a wall finish)

My design studio acts a lab for experimentation, in this video I discuss lessons learned from installing plywood as a finished wall surface. The four main discussion points covered are:

1) Material thickness: 1/2" - 3/4" typical range. NOTE: if you're using sprayed foam insulation in your walls, the plywood covering must act as an ignition barrier for the foam - thickness will be critical. Thickness also affects: translation of framing inconsistencies to the finished surface, stability and price.

2) Panel cores and veneer faces. Steer clear of the Chinese Plywoods. Choose panels from the same lot and age if possible. Veneer plywood has a front and back side; the less banded side is the finished face. Take care when cutting to avoid material blow-out.

3) Attachment. Concealed versus exposed fastener. I recommend a concealed clip as well as a tip for aligning the finished face of the panels (it's a special fastener).

4) Finishing. Determine the project goals first, then select the finish. Mine were: - Low sheen - Preserve natural wood appearance - Easy to apply - Non-yellowing

I review oil-based and water-based finishes, Danish oil, spar varnish, paste wax, natural soap (Hans Wenger furniture), and finally WOCA oil + lye.

For a broader material discussion please see the video for part 1...

As always I welcome questions and feedback; you can reach me at: eric (at) thirtybyforty.com

Studio Project: Concrete Slab (as finished floor)

In this video I discuss five important considerations with a concrete slab that will act as a finished floor:

  1. Installer / subcontractor

  2. Color

  3. Consistency

  4. Control joints

  5. Reinforcing

You might also consider building a mock-up especially for large floor areas to ensure you’re getting the finish you expect.

I finish the video reviewing progress with a time lapse video of the slab placement and finishing.

Framing is up next...

Flat roofs and snow: 5 myths (busted)

In this video I dispel 5 common myths surrounding the use of flat roofs in snowy climates. The very notion of shelter is linked to the image of a roof above our heads. And while the elements of snow and rain may shape our living habits, advances in material technology and application now afford us a broad range of choice when it comes to the shape of the roofs over our heads. Contrary to popular belief, even those of us living in extremely snowy, wet environments are able to live beneath a flat roof. 

 

Designing a Small Studio - Lighting Plan (Part 7)

In this video I discuss the development of the lighting plan for our small studio project. I begin by discussed the (3) elements every professional lighting plan includes: ambient, task, & accent lights. I also describe a useful guideline for figuring out the amount of light required in a space as well as how I've applied the building concept to the lighting plan.I end the video by discussing a simple affordable fixture, why I chose not to use exposed conduit in spite of the aesthetics, and how to think about the location of your electrical panel (stay until the end for a cool little trick I employed).

Thanks for watching...

Four Homes Built on Boundaries

In this video I explore four homes built on boundaries. It's a look at how a home can challenge the natural environment and occupy the boundary between architectural convention and stunning natural beauty. When confronted with a design brief and an undeveloped site, architects often look to the edges of that site for inspiration and meaningful architectural solutions. These boundaries, both real and imagined, are exciting places to build. The boundary often gives rise to the form of the building, its materials and even how it’s structured.

Designing a Small Studio - Selecting Materials (Part 6)

Materials can be used to convey the underlying concept of a building or in some cases they can function as the entire concept (Peter Zumthor is an excellent example). In this video I detail the process I used for connecting the "lens for the seasons" and "barn" concepts to an attitude about building materials.

I begin with abstract imagery, then build Pinterest boards with inspirational images, then I gather and collage materials. Instead of directly quoting the Pinterest images I draw upon their essential ideas to develop the material palette for the building.

The concepts are hard to compress into a short video (my apologies) if you stay tuned to the end I talk about a quick tip for securing free material samples I recently discovered.

How to Borrow Light

In this video I discuss natural daylighting strategies anyone can take advantage of. I begin with a short history lesson which describes how daylighting actually shaped the largest of cities in the US. In 1915 the 38-story Equitable Building in New York City was the largest office building in the world. Containing 1.2 million square feet of office space, it consumed nearly every available square foot of its diminutive lot and cast an equally large shadow on its neighborhood in lower Manhattan. Its construction inspired the enactment of the city’s 1916 Zoning Resolution, which was designed to preserve access to light and air at the street level. The resolution prescribed specific limitations for a building’s envelope — its outer walls — and would go on to shape the stepped forms that you see today on many of the iconic towers in the city.

This underscores the importance that access to daylight had in shaping even the largest of cities, the individual buildings that make up those cities and, more broadly, sensible building design. With an increasing focus on sustainable design practices, the smart use of natural daylight in our homes is no longer a luxury — it has become a necessity. At the heart of any good daylighting strategy is a concept of “borrowed” light: the capture of light falling on the exterior of a home and transporting it to the spaces where it’s needed.

Designing a Small Studio - Building a Study Model (Part 5)

In this video I discuss the benefits of building a small scale, physical study model using the reference project I've been designing: my studio building. Computer models are excellent tools, but simple cardboard models allow real-time manipulation of forms and the development of ideas that don't always present themselves when working in a digital environment.

For me, model building has always been a part of the design process. They help: 1) To study building forms and spaces. 2) For real-time solar studies. 3) With envisioning scale of elements as they relate to the human form. 4) Allow one to explore a variety of material and color options, quickly and easily. 5) One can quickly flesh out ideas in much the same way a hand sketch might, however, model construction uniquely forces you to make decisions about building elements that sketching doesn't.

Future videos will describe sketchy model building hacks and tactics to more quickly build a useful avatar for your architectural project.

Designing a Small Studio - Revisiting and Integrating the Concept (Part 4)

In this video I overlay the plan diagrams on the site plan which reveals a clear favorite. I go on to describe 6 tactics I use to turn a simple diagram into a meaningful floor plan. They are:

1) Study a building precedent (in this case a barn).

2) Develop an ordering system (grid, column layout, geometry, functional). Once it's established you can decide when to "disobey" the rules.

3) Create zones: entry, circulation, storage, living. Divide public and private spaces.

4) Analyze adjacencies - group common functions and support spaces. Make sure their orientation makes sense for the plan location.

5) Refer back to the concept. In this case the "lens for the seasons" concept reinforced the barn plan typology and spurred on new ideas.

6) Create layers of meaning. Begin by thinking about the way we experience space or places and look for opportunities for the building to enhance daily life.

The next video explores the use of small physical study models for solar, material, and proportioning studies.

Designing a Small Studio - Plan Diagrams (Part 3)

Part 3 in a multi-part video series where I dissect the design process for a small studio space. In this video I sketch out the four basic plan ideas I generated for the studio and describe the benefits and liabilities of each. Designing a floor plan begins with an understanding of the site, where the sun is, the winds, the approach, public and private areas and a precise listing of the spaces to be incorporated.

A well-designed floor plan synthesizes all of this information into a simple, logical connection of rooms. The process I describe works for buildings that are extremely simple - such as my studio - as well as very complex structures.

Designing a Small Studio - Inspiration (Part 1)

In this video I discuss the inspiration for the design of my small studio and workshop here on Mount Desert Island. This is part 1 in a multi-part series I've been recording as I continue to refine the design and prepare for the construction of this project. Part 1 discusses the site inspiration and how living on the coast of Maine has informed my design process. My work is site specific, narrative based and craft-driven; these concepts appear continually in my work and I hope this video offers some insight into how these abstract ideas develop into architecture. In part 2, I sketch out the plan concepts and parse the options to show you how I typically begin a project and move through the various options.

Ethanol Fireplaces - An Architect's Review

Two common alternatives to the traditional fireplace that have been gaining favor with consumers ready for a simpler installation, lower maintenance and ease of use are the ethanol and gel-fueled fireplaces. If you’re considering purchasing one, this video describes everything you need to know. In it, I discuss costs, configurations, types, layout, and fuels along with a few caveats.

Concealing the Garage

Cars are among the largest physical objects we own, which helps us rationalize the generous square footage we allocate to them on our property and in our homes. Because of their size, they’re not an easy aesthetic problem to solve. Architects and designers have always struggled with how best to orient the mass and large footprint of the garage. Detached, connected, trellised, to the side, to the rear, beneath — every possible location requires compromise. In this video I discuss various strategies to conceal the garage. In hopes that we can move beyond arriving to the garage door rather than the porch or the front door.

Accessory Dwelling Units

In this video I review the the accessory dwelling unit (ADU), which is an additional, self-contained home located either within or adjacent to an existing house. They're also known as in-law units, granny flats, multigenerational homes, and laneway houses. These offer a compelling solution to the problem of suburban sprawl and are an excellent means of increasing the utilization of existing municipal infrastructure.

I discuss the permitting procedures, restrictions, and general planning framework for the ADU, where to start and the costs involved.

Resources mentioned in the video:

AccessoryDwellingUnits.org

HUD ADU Model Ordinance

Lilypad Flexible Home Initiative