Could you, Work from Shed?

The global pandemic forced us all to reconsider the what it meant to “work from home.” Small spaces, undifferentiated for work, required us to reappropriate parts of our homes typically used for relaxation and refuge. Without visual or aural separation; these problems compounded as a natural consequence of this abrupt shift in our daily routines. After 18 months, working from anywhere but home felt like a luxury.

I was fortunate to have a small studio in my ‘garden’ at the ready in early 2020. It proved essential for juggling two teens schooling from home, my wife managing a research lab remotely and all my usual business operations. Its true utility was measured in more than the added square footage; the separation from home was the real asset. Seventeen steps from our front door is a short commute by any measure, but that distance allowed it to serve as a retreat, a separate sleeping or, quarantine area, a quiet study space, a private meeting room, and occasionally, a place to practice a few - very loud - instruments!

My Studio “shed” is featured alongside dozens of others in a new book, “Work from Shed” by Hoxton Mini Press (2022, 250p). It’s an inspiring, beautifully curated collection of inventive solutions and repurposing of the humble garden shed (it’s also a carbon neutral book). If you’ve dreamed of kitting out your garden with a remote workspace, a rehearsal refuge, micro writing studio, or just to shorten your daily commute, I think you’ll find the rich variety of architectural follies + experiments in this book instructive and, a fitting guide to inspire the design of your very own shed.

LongStudio in Work From Shed

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A Thank You + Unboxing the 100K Silver Play Button

Taking a moment as I received a special package from YouTube on the studio's doorstep to reflect on an important milestone. YouTube recognizes creators at a few waypoints, the first being when you cross 100K subscribers, then 1M, and then 10M. Earlier in 2018, I crossed the first of those and this video is my thank you note. Ironically, the week I received the award the channel was passing 186K subscribers.

I'm so humbled by the support and kindness you've shown as I've worked over the past five years to make better things, more interesting content, and exponentially increase the number of people I'm able to reach + connect with.

I never thought I’d get this award, it’s certainly not something I set out to achieve. To think that 100,000 people thought enough about what I had to say to subscribe is just a completely silly notion (especially when I look back at some of the things I’ve made in the past). In the beginning, I focused on sharing knowledge and documenting what I was creating. As time went on, I started to have higher expectations of my work; I became interested in filmmaking, composition, color grading, audio, and storytelling. I think I make a lot better things than I used to, but I'm nowhere near as good as my heroes or as I want to be. And, I know when I look back on this in another year’s time I’ll see what I made today wasn’t that great either.

However, without a body of work to look back on, I’d have no context to see the journey. It's important to remember that we can’t possibly make our best work the first time we publish something, it takes practice, discipline and the knowledge that most of what we make won’t live up to our own high standards. In time we get better. This was the 196th video uploaded to YouTube for me; that's a lot of practice!

I hope this inspires you to take action and to make things. See my path and take comfort in the fact that I just pressed 'publish' - even when I wasn't capable of executing at my own high standards. Pressing publish is the only way to improve. There are no more gatekeepers, if you have access to the internet and a smartphone you too can speak to millions of people if you choose.

Thank you, thank you, thank you, for allowing this kind of life to be possible and for being such an important part of my story on YouTube. 
 

Be an Amateur (Architect)

Learning from the life and work of Charles and Ray Eames, in this video I discuss why it's important to approach problems with the mind of an amateur. The Eameses believed in never delegating understanding and that one must learn by doing. It's this ethos of experimentation and the use of various media types for artistic expression that's fueling my architecture practice today. And, it's positively effecting how many people I'm able to reach and impact in the world. You'll learn how I've applied the amateur strategy to release my first film and to make better architecture.
***I'm also proud to announce that my short film: A Choice to Make (you've seen it on YouTube right?) was selected to be screened at the 9th annual Architecture and Design Film Festival held in NYC (adfilmfest.com) on November 1st through 5th of 2017. I'll be there and if you're in town, I'd love to meet you there too. Come say hi and feast on some architecture films at the CINÉPOLIS CHELSEA, 260 W 23RD St, NY, NY.

A Kitchen Remodel That Costs More Than a School

As a residential architect, I've had the privilege of working with some amazing clients. I'm truly fortunate to be able to work on such interesting projects for people who care deeply about architecture. The impact of the single-family residential work that I'm commissioned to do – the work that supports my family – is naturally limited in scale and scope.

This year I'm committed to building something larger than 30X40 can do alone. To honor that commitment, I've chosen to give to Pencils of Promise, a non-profit that builds schools around the world. They offer a chance for all of us to expand the reach and impact we can have in the world. For less than the cost of a typical kitchen remodel in the United States today – which stands right around $28,000 – PoP can build a school in Ghana.

An entire school.

That’s a school in one of the 75% of communities they visit that doesn’t have one.

Imagine for a moment what your life might look like today without a school in your past. Every one of us can name a teacher who, at some point in our lives, made a difference, who inspired us, who pointed us in the right direction. Imagine your life without that teacher.

Without school, my life today would be profoundly different.

I'm just one architect building a small business, but I want to do something big. Something outside of the bounds of my private practice. With your help, I hope to fund the construction of a school in Ghana and give the gift of education to children who live very different lives than we do. These are children and communities that deserve the same educational opportunities we often take for granted here in the US.

Pencils of Promise is an organization that takes action and builds things. The fundraising goal I’ve set is for $25,000 - the average cost to build a school in Ghana. I can't do this alone though, I'm just one guy with a small business. It's a big goal, but it has big consequences, I hope you'll be a part of making the world the better place, one school at a time.

To that end, 30X40 Design Workshop will match every dollar of the first $2,500.00 contributed.

Thanks for supporting my campaign and Pencils of Promise.

Playing with Fire (places)

Radiating warmth and light, the hearth as the center of a home endures. And while contemporary thinking about fireplaces has shifted from the essential to the quaint, fireplaces remain appealing architectural devices in a home. Modern fireplaces share a number of common design elements essential for their operation, each of which has size requirements dictated primarily by building code requirements.Abiding by and conforming to these restrictions can have a homogenizing effect on fireplaces, forcing them to look similar in scale and proportion.  Fireplaces consist of three primary elements: a hearth, a firebox and a chimney. (Some modern gel-fueled fireplaces don’t even require a chimney.) Other components, including wood storage and mantels, while traditional necessities, are being used in new and exciting ways too. By oversizing or minimizing these three primary elements, you can achieve some brilliant effects.

For the full post and detailed descriptions, see the video below.

Opinions differ on the environmental friendliness of fireplaces used in homes. In some locales, new fireplaces simply aren't permitted any longer. They can be energy drains on a home, no doubt, but taking care to design ways to close off unused flues from living spaces can make a huge difference in heat loss. The compromise solution is to use an efficient, glass fronted wood stove, or fireplace insert. Ch My home is heated with a small Danish wood stove made by Scan, and I love the heat offered. It capably heats our 1600 square feet without trouble. But, heating with wood isn't without drawbacks and the handling of wood is quite simply a chore - especially when March rolls around.

What are your thoughts on fireplaces?