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Design Vault Ep. 24 Sansom5 with Gabe Deck
ABOUT THE ARCHITECT:
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Gabe Deck grew up in Central Pennsylvania before doing his BArch at Temple University (class of 2007) in Philadelphia. He is a big-time Philadelphia guy, and stayed in Philly after college and have lived and worked in most areas of central Philly. He recently relocated to the suburbs with his wife Alex and 2 young boys, ages 3 and 5. Gabe began his early career working for Wallace Roberts and Todd working on a variety of project types all over the country. After the 2008 recession, he got his real estate license where he made a number of contacts in residential development. Over the next few years, these relationships lead to a number of small residential design projects moonlighting on the side of his full time job. Once he got his arch license in 2013, he quit his job and started his own residential design firm out of a spare bedroom in his house. Gabe’s focus of work was mostly urban, small scale residential additions which quickly grew into new construction townhouse developments and then larger adaptive reuse residential projects. The scale of work grew over the first few years, as did the business. Gabe hired and then partnered with Derek Spencer and together they rebranded to Gnome Architects in late 2018.
The Philadelphia based Gnome Architects team is currently nine people and is operated out of an amazing repurposed public high school called BOK in south Philadelphia. The firm focuses on residential design with context driven solutions, with 400+ projects to date, mostly in Philly but also in other parts of the country as far reaching as Colorado and Maine. The current focus of Gnome Architects is 2 pronged:
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ABOUT THE PROJECT:
The Client wanted a collaboration between a team of well versed Philadelphia and New York developers. The site is a 5,000 SF rectangular parcel with 3 street frontages that previously contained a 1 and 2 story nondescript office building. Site is located in center city Philadelphia, very close to the Rittenhouse and Fitler squares, and within 2 blocks of the Schuylkill river. The neighboring context is a mixture of commercial and residential use buildings. Much of the nearby residential vernacular spans in scale from modest 3 story trinities to 4 and 5 story brownstone mansions. Some challenges of the site included a 5' grade change across the main frontage and also being within a flood zone adjacent to the Schuylkill river. The developer team challenged Gnome to design 5 high end townhouses which would maximize the square footage potential while avoiding any zoning variance process and also meeting flood zone regulations. By-right parking was a challenge - the zoning district only allowed for underground parking so we were able to lean on the zoning definition for underground which included space below the floodplane base flood elevation (BFE). The homes themselves are very luxurious - each home contains 4BRs, 6 bathrooms, elevator, 2 car parking, 3 outdoor spaces in and 5000+ GSF across 5 stories and a pilot house level. Although the building massings are 5 stories + a pilot house level (reads as 6 stories), the brick is held to the top of the 4th floor with a projecting cornice in an effort to reduce the visual feel to the massing in comparison to the neighbors. Most neighbor buildings are primarily brick masonry which was the biggest driver for the materiality of the Sansom5.
Nearby brick and facade colors are a bit all over the place so Gnome chose a beige/brown tone which would fit in with the nearby colors while also could move the aesthetic towards the contemporary feel that the developers wanted to achieve. Much of the design inspiration came from the neighboring context of traditional row-home brick facades with strong cornice lines. Brick selection is Stonington Gray Velour. Other facade materials include large format nutmeg cast stone panels to complement the earth tone brick, gray flatlock metal panel, warm wood accent cladding, and a mix of black and brown clad slim profile windows. The windows within the masonry are brown to complement the earth tones while the windows in the other cladding areas are black. Plan driven windows made for challenges to organize the facade elements between the ground and upper floors - we landed on a language of brick pattern changes and cast stone accent pieces that would extend horizontally flanking the upper floor windows to create alignments with the lower floor window language. The field brick is a traditional running bond where the brick accent elements are a mixture of recessed and projected stacked bond detailing.
A lot of design interest was created at the home entry doors where we had to mitigate 5-6' of grade change from the sidewalk to the front door sill due to the flood level coordination. Gnome accentuated the entry by partially recessing the facade around the front door to make a 2 story tall "portal" framed in cast stone. Within the portal, a cast stone feature wall behind a built in brick planter wall as well as a wall flanking the exterior entry stairs with a dimple brick pattern creates multiple layers of masonry texture as you proceed to the front door. Grade change stepping and control joints were minimized on the front elevation by way of recessed metal channels between the homes. This also helped the front facades of the homes read independently.
Sansom5
design by Gnome Architects
View projectTRANSCRIPT
00;00;00;02 - 00;00;05;10
Doug Pat (DP)
Let's go inside the vault. The design vault.
00;00;05;12 - 00;00;30;08
Gabe Deck (GD)
We wanted to make sure we could fit as many units while making them as wide as possible. So five ended up being kind of the magic balance point to get them feeling pretty wide, really maximizing at least four bedrooms, five plus bathrooms, elevators and then roof deck spaces are pretty key for Philadelphia Center City townhouse developments. These houses each contain three roof deck spaces.
00;00;30;10 - 00;03;16;07
DP
This is my guest, Gabriel Deck. I'll share more about him shortly. In this episode from the Design Vault, we highlight Gabriel's Sansom5 Project in Center City, Philadelphia, Sansom5 is a collaborative venture between Philadelphia and New York developers. The site is a 5000 square foot rectangular parcel with three street frontages that previously contained small office buildings. The site is in Center City, Philadelphia, close to the Rittenhouse and Fittler's Squares.
There's a five foot grade change across the main frontage, and the parcel sits within a flood zone adjacent to the Schuylkill River. Most neighborhood buildings are primarily brick masonry with strong cornice lines, which drove esthetic and material choices. Each townhouse features entry door locations where grade changes mitigated and the facade is recessed within a portal of capstone. The project, which is light brown brick, also features facade materials that include gray, flat block, metal panels, wood, accent cladding, and a mix of black and brown clad, slim profile windows.
The project includes five high-end townhouses which maximize square footage. Each home contains four bedrooms, six bathrooms, an elevator and three outdoor spaces. Hi, I'm Doug Pat, and this is Design Vault. Gabriel Deck has a Bachelor of Architecture from Temple University. He describes himself as a big time Philadelphia guy, having stayed in Philly after college and continues to do business there.
He began his career working for Wallace Roberts on a variety of project types. After the 2008 recession, he got his real estate license, where he made a number of contacts in residential development over the next few years. These relationships led to a number of small residential design projects. He eventually started his own small firm. His work was mostly urban, small scale residential editions, which quickly grew into new construction townhouse developments and then larger adaptive reuse residential projects.
The scale of work grew over the first few years, as did the business. The firm was rebranded GNOME Architects in 2018. The team is currently nine people operating out of a repurposed public high school in South Philadelphia. The firm has 400 plus projects to date, mostly in Philly, but also in other parts of the country as far reaching as Colorado and Maine.
Welcome Gabe. It's nice to have you with us today. So tell us a little bit about GNOME Architects in Philly. Where are you guys located? What's the size of the firm? How long has it been around and what type of work do you do?
00;03;16;09 - 00;04;27;27
GD
So GNOME Architects has been around since about 2018 after a rebrand of my previous business. We're currently a team of nine people comprised of myself and my business partner, Derek Spencer, and a handful of designers. So the business started back in 2013. Originally when I quit my job at WRC to focus on some small residential projects that I had acquired from developer contacts that I had made working in real estate.
Philadelphia is a small town in terms of the industry. Word spreads and quickly I was able to get a lot of project work by way of these developer contacts. Most of the projects were third floor additions, small townhouse, new construction, infill projects. And once I partnered with Derek Spencer, we started focusing a bit more on larger multifamily work.
The team grew, the project scale grew. Now we are working on developer driven business on one end of the firm doing large multifamily work, low rise podium buildings. Most are 30 to 50 units in scale. And then on the other side, we're doing custom single family homeowner projects with interior design as well.
00;04;27;29 - 00;04;41;10
DP
So Gabe you had your real estate license, which is pretty interesting for an architect, and you use that, I'm assuming, for a few years during the recession and then kind of moved back into architecture. When did you get your architectural license?
00;04;41;13 - 00;04;58;08
GD
So architectural license came around 2012, couple of years after the real estate license, and kind of was doing the two in tandem, you know, working nights and weekends trying to do sales. I got burned out pretty quickly, doing a full time job with an architecture firm, and then that on nights and weekends, it was a lot.
00;04;58;11 - 00;05;15;06
DP
What's so interesting to me is over the course of my career, I have met a lot of architects that end up doing lots of different jobs because architects aren't always busy all the time and they're one of the first people hit by recessions.
00;05;15;08 - 00;05;36;28
GD
Yes. And that's exactly kind of what happened to the big firm that I was with. I wasn't sure of my future there, wasn't sure what I was going to do. And real estate. I had a number of friends that were in the business. I went in that direction and I figured it was somewhat parallel to an interest in residential design.
So it seemed like a natural fit and thankfully it led to a lot of good relationships and some work to start the business.
00;05;37;05 - 00;05;42;19
DP
Yeah, it certainly sounds fortuitous. So what is your role in the office as a principal?
00;05;42;25 - 00;06;01;00
GD
I share the burden of running of the office with my business partner, Derek Spencer. I would say my role is more in the CEO traditional sense, while also the design director of the firm, where my business partner is handling more of the technical development of things and more overseeing the design development of things.
00;06;01;02 - 00;06;06;14
DP
So it's always interesting to find out how people end up working together. How'd you meet Derek?
00;06;06;17 - 00;06;40;10
GD
Derek and I started working together. He was my first employee, actually. I met him through mutual contacts when I realized I was spread too thin, working out of a spare bedroom in my home in the early days of my business. Derek was currently working for a firm across town, that’s, I'd say, one of our competitors. He was looking for something new, and it was the infancy stages of the business, so he came to start working with me.
And fast forward to three years later, we had a team of four of us and we were ready to rebrand and create GNOME Architects.
00;06;40;13 - 00;06;57;06
DP
So let's dig in here and talk about the project. This is really beautiful and I would imagine it took some time to get done in Center City, Philadelphia. So how did your office get the project? And you did mention obviously that you had some relationships or acquaintances that were developers.
00;06;57;09 - 00;07;23;25
GD
This project actually came from one of my very first clients that I had who was connected with the real estate office where I hung my license at that time. It was a partnership between that long existing client and a couple of developers from New York City that purchased the property, and we assisted them to take it through all of the permitting process and all the hoops we had to jump through as it's a pretty sensitive site.
00;07;23;27 - 00;07;28;02
DP
So could you give us a little history of the location before your buildings?
00;07;28;04 - 00;07;57;09
GD
So the site is on the western end of Center City, Philadelphia, about a block away from the Schuylkill River, sits in a floodplain about five feet or so below the FEMA flood zone line. It was a three sided site. So we had challenges to create, drive all access and building entrances and maximizing the use of both Center city and looking west towards the river.
So it was a challenging yet a site that had a lot of great opportunity as well to work with it.
00;07;57;12 - 00;08;03;10
DP
Yes, So unusual to get a piece of property in the city with three street frontages.
00;08;03;13 - 00;08;18;27
GD
Yeah, it's pretty uncommon, but it actually allows for some benefits as far as how you apply the zoning code and how city planning orients. The frontages actually worked to our benefit to get a driver on the back and five houses fronting the broad side of the site.
00;08;18;29 - 00;08;43;06
DP
So, Gabe, what was the scope of the project and what were the programmatic requirements for the townhouses?
00;08;43;09 - 00;09;09;12
GD
So the scope of the project was to try to maximize as many townhouse units as we could across the site, while also ensuring that they felt large and spacious and wide with Philadelphia townhouse development. You're often dealing with very narrow properties, so anything that's built new construction is typically somewhere between 14 and 20 feet wide or so. So we wanted to make sure we could fit as many units while making them as wide as possible.
00;09;09;12 - 00;09;30;29
GD
So five ended up being kind of the magic balance point to get them feeling pretty wide. The developer wanted to make sure we could provide as much parking as possible, so each unit has a two car garage and then really maximizing at least four bedrooms, five plus bathrooms, elevators, and then the big thing here also is just outdoor spaces.
00;09;30;29 - 00;09;42;01
GD
So roof deck spaces are pretty key for Philadelphia Center City Townhouse developments. These houses each contain three roof deck spaces.
00;09;42;04 - 00;09;45;02
DP
And how many stories has the project has had? Four or five.
00;09;45;04 - 00;09;59;18
GD
It's technically five stories by way of the code. However, there is a pilot house on top of each house, which also contains some livable or habitable space, which makes the buildings read as six stories interesting.
00;09;59;18 - 00;10;21;08
DP
So let's talk a little bit about the style, the architecture, some of the buildings that surround it. I had mentioned that we had some pretty strong cornice lines locally and you probably picked up on that in terms of brick courses. And then we've got some really beautiful, tall, decorative patterning on each one of these facades.
00;10;21;15 - 00;10;45;02
GD
We typically like to do our best to work in some contextual elements into our projects. So with this site, there's a lot of surrounding context that has primarily brick material, very strong cornice lines at the rooflines. So inserting a new development that is essentially six stories adjacent to a lot of three and four story buildings, we had to kind of get creative to make things fit in.
00;10;45;05 - 00;11;08;23
GD
So we kind of struck a line at the top of the fourth floor for the brick material. Coming up to that, a chorus line at the top of the fourth floor. And then we selected a kind of a gray, brown, beige tone brick, as a lot of the neighboring buildings are a variety of colors. So there's not really a strong predominance of red brick or white brick or brown.
00;11;08;23 - 00;11;16;20
GD
It's kind of all over the place. So the gray brown tone of the selected brick that we used kind of was a nice middle ground for it.
00;11;16;22 - 00;11;34;10
DP
So let's go back to the zoning for a second. So these buildings step back as they move up above that third story. Plus they're up at least on one end, at least five feet, creating these stoops. Did you have to step the buildings back? I know you clearly did that for functional reasons to have these roof gardens up there.
00;11;34;17 - 00;11;57;18
GD
Yes. So it was, again, just a way to kind of fit within the context of the lower height buildings around us. The zoning code didn't really require us to set the buildings back where we did. We did it more for the outdoor spaces, but the fourth floor line was kind of the natural place to do a material transition to make the massing fit well with the vernacular nearby.
00;11;57;20 - 00;12;00;28
DP
Were there any historical reviews by the zoning board?
00;12;01;00 - 00;12;31;12
GD
Surprisingly, this was not a historical designated site, so we were not subject to any historic review. I would say the biggest hurdles we had or really within meeting the flood zone regulations. So it was a challenge to make sure we maintained all the FEMA regulations so these buildings don't have basements. We have flood doors on all facades and the challenges related to keeping your habitable floors above the flood plain were the big driving elements for this.
00;12;31;15 - 00;12;45;24
DP
Okay, so first floors above the floodplain, the base, the plinth, I'll call it, is masonry, is brick masonry. So you have these doors. Do they have to be a certain size? And I would imagine they're breakaway or is that the way it works?
00;12;45;26 - 00;13;06;23
GD
So each structure had to have a number of flood vents on at least two sides of the exterior walls. The size of these denser, I believe, one square inch per square foot of building footprint. They allow for the passing of flood water going in and out of the building just to relieve the flood pressure that the building would be subject to.
00;13;06;28 - 00;13;21;11
GD
So we did our best to hide them in kind of inconspicuous areas along the front facade where they were required, as well as the back of the building where the dry is. That's not really seen from the public right of way. So it was a nice place to hide these vents.
00;13;21;13 - 00;13;32;09
DP
So tell me about the apartments and plants we get along rectangle and each one of these is more squarish in plan. And I'm also wondering, I don't see the two car garages.
00;13;32;11 - 00;13;56;26
GD
Yeah. So the garages are all facing a rear drive aisle that we were able to hide. It's like a one way drive I'll access that comes in off of one of the small side streets, exits on the far end of the other side street. And then there are two car garages at the rear of each home are facing this drive while the driveway is also covered by a series of exterior decks, each deck serving one of the houses.
00;13;56;26 - 00;14;01;13
GD
So it's a covered drive aisle with a garage door. At either end of it, you never actually see it.
00;14;01;19 - 00;14;04;11
DP
And the buildings in plan are the each rectangles.
00;14;04;13 - 00;14;17;17
GD
Yes. So they're roughly, I'd say, 22, 23 feet wide by 40 to 50 feet deep with the drive at the rear and the main entrance at the opposite side facing the street frontage.
00;14;17;20 - 00;14;23;24
DP
So what was the building review like with the city of Philadelphia? Was that challenging? Was it time consuming?
00;14;24;01 - 00;14;45;16
GD
So it had a bit of back and forth. Our office handling primarily projects in Philadelphia. We've made a lot of good relationships with different plans examiners, different city agencies. I've gotten to know the process pretty well, as it is rather daunting for anyone who's unfamiliar with it. So I would say this project had a number of rounds of verifies from the plans.
00;14;45;16 - 00;15;10;14
GD
Examiner is mostly related to the interpretation of the parking that was implemented as well as kind of the interpretation of the roof deck access structures and that type of things. And typically it's a dialog with them to make sure everyone's kind of on the same page and there's a middle ground you need to find. But I would say we got through it in a couple of rounds, which was better than we had expected given the sensitive features of the site.
00;15;10;16 - 00;15;25;02
DP
So building materials you guys used primary Li Brick, I mentioned to you before we got rolling, it's a light. It appears to be a light brown brick. It's actually called Stonington gray velour. It's got a wide variety of values or shades in it.
00;15;25;08 - 00;15;46;03
GD
This was a really beautiful brick that worked well for our goals to kind of strike a line between the various masonry colors of the surrounding buildings. So it actually has a nice amount of variety in it. Some of the bricks are a lot more brown and darker. Some of the bricks are very light kind of in the the off-white color range.
00;15;46;03 - 00;16;06;16
GD
So once you get close, you really see the variety of color that's in there, which is really nice. And then at different times of the day, it also reads a little bit differently in the morning in direct sunlight. It kind of has a more of a warm brown tone to it and kind of in the twilight hours of the sun going down, there's a lot of reflectivity is caught.
00;16;06;16 - 00;16;13;14
GD
And when you look closely at it, so it really speaks well to the contemporary approach that the building esthetic has.
00;16;13;16 - 00;16;42;09
DP
What I love about this project is the brick pattern. You guys really spent a lot of time working on all the different patterning that's happening at the Stoops and around the windows, at the cornice lines. So tell us about how you did that in the office. Right? Typically we see a designer working on exterior elevation drawings and then, you know, the lead designers review them and it's back and forth and then eventually you're putting that into the CDs and you're doing mock ups in the field.
00;16;42;09 - 00;16;43;19
DP
So how did that go?
00;16;43;22 - 00;17;09;08
GD
Yeah, so it surprisingly went pretty smoothly on this project. The brick patterning that we went with was kind of a solution to a number of problems. We had planned driven windows, which is typical of these Philadelphia townhouse projects where you don't have a lot of space. So your windows can only go in certain areas. But then when you want to create alignments vertically on the facade and such, you've got to kind of get creative.
00;17;09;08 - 00;17;32;11
GD
Sometimes if that's a goal. So the brick patterning that we implemented was a tool to kind of strike these alignments vertically in the facade. So we have this recessed entry portal that is maybe two thirds of the width of the frontage, but the windows on the upper floors could not necessarily align with the jams of that portal opening.
00;17;32;11 - 00;18;01;20
GD
So we implemented brick patterning at the JAMB locations of the windows to then create a hard line that would align with the portal entryway below. That's one way we used the pattern to help. We also used it to just create interest on the facade. As I mentioned, the flood zone required us to keep the living spaces pretty high out of grade and that resulted in what would otherwise be a rather blank wall at the base of the building.
00;18;01;20 - 00;18;17;09
GD
The changes in brick pattern were a tool to kind of add some interest, so the brick we chose in relationship to a lot of cast stone that also creates some interesting accents around the window openings was a nice balance.
00;18;17;12 - 00;18;26;27
DP
What I really love is in this photograph on the far left you've got the brick patterning at the center stoop, but the patterning is completely different. On the left and right.
00;18;26;29 - 00;18;52;27
GD
The stoops were a huge focus of the design, so we had to get the occupants about 5 to 6 feet above the sidewalk level to the entry doors, which instead of having kind of a visible staircase that would otherwise dominate the sidewalk, we utilized a screen wall of brick in front of the staircase entryway that was also in front of a patterned planter box.
00;18;52;27 - 00;19;16;10
GD
So you have these multiple layers of masonry that add interest at the staircase. It allows us to insert some greenery as well. So it's a very tactile experience as you walk up to the front door of these houses that worked out very beautifully and the execution of the masonry and saw was fantastic by the mason as well, which we were very pleased to see.
00;19;16;12 - 00;19;39;18
GD
We had a series of conversations with the GC to make sure everyone was on the same page with the detailing. Our construction documents were very thorough to make sure that the areas of recess patterning as well as kind of projected roll lock and soldier course detailing was achieved and all the shadow lines could be read throughout the day as the sun moves around the building.
00;19;39;20 - 00;19;42;16
DP
So did you guys draw this in 2D and 3D?
00;19;42;18 - 00;20;12;01
GD
Yes. Our process typically starts with a three dimensional model of the building that we get to a comfortable point. We utilize sketch up primarily for a design tool in the schematic phase. And once we're happy with the sketch model, we move into 2D drawing. This project was done a few years ago before our office implemented Revit, but we were still able to successfully document how all the masonry patterning was working in 2D.
00;20;12;04 - 00;20;16;29
DP
So did you show the three dimensional model to the clients along the way?
00;20;17;06 - 00;20;42;27
GD
We did. We had a number of options for this projects. They were all similar in the materiality, but some were maybe a little more traditional, others were even more contemporary looking. So we utilized the 3D models as a design tool to visualize the project to the client. And in the end they were very happy with one of the options we chose, which had very minimal changes that they needed to see.
00;20;43;00 - 00;20;47;25
DP
Clients love 3D models, right? Were you able to model any of the BRIC in SketchUp?
00;20;47;27 - 00;21;17;18
GD
We built the SketchUp model and applied some custom made material swatches that we built utilizing other brick colors, and we made sure we could match exactly what the Stonington gray velour would look like. And then it was just a matter of scaling the pattern down to the brick unit. So even in the areas where you have these dimple patterns that read against the entryway walls, all of the patterns were aligned perfectly to align up with the massing recesses that took place in the model.
00;21;17;18 - 00;21;19;20
GD
So it ended up being pretty successful.
00;21;19;22 - 00;21;23;26
DP
So how many people worked on the team for the project from the architects office?
00;21;23;28 - 00;21;40;10
GD
I would say that through the design process there were at least four of us that work through the design concepts together and I would say primarily one designer and myself kind of pushed the design to where it is now. But back when we did the project, it was a pretty collaborative effort within the office.
00;21;40;13 - 00;21;48;08
DP
So I feel like every project I learn something new. Did you guys learn anything through the process of working on this project?
00;21;48;11 - 00;22;11;06
GD
We learned quite a bit, especially in terms of the brick detailing here. We kind of learned that certain patterns have rules around them, especially when you're utilizing like a stacked pattern where you have these very clean vertical lines that need to be maintained. It's tricky to make sure that things don't read as a mistake within that patterning, especially as it relates to where you put windows.
00;22;11;08 - 00;22;31;10
GD
So we had to make sure our window spacing was just right. So you didn't results in little slivers of brick that would be noticeable and read as a mistake. So we took a lot of care in making sure that the tolerances and the actual window sizes and everything were worked in to make sure that we didn't end up with those kind of conditions.
00;22;31;12 - 00;22;45;08
DP
And that takes some pretty close work with the. Mason You mentioned that you thought the execution worked out well. Did you guys have a tough time finding a mason or was the first mason you guys ended up meeting the person you used.
00;22;45;10 - 00;23;11;22
GD
So the general contractor, it was his team, really. And the mason that he chose and started the project with kind of nailed it right from the start. We had probably two or three on site meetings with the Mason, looking at the drawings. That's a back and forth with some questions. And then ultimately we had a small mockup in the field and everyone was on the same page and collectively in the room together to make sure that the execution was going to happen just right.
00;23;11;22 - 00;23;12;18
GD
And it did.
00;23;12;20 - 00;23;40;09
DP
So last thing I wanted to ask you about was the metal panels on the fourth floor and these large bay windows on the outside edges of the building. Really beautiful. These are great details. You see these bay window details everywhere on 1930s and forties, city architecture. And I think doing that on the ends of these buildings and then adding the flat lock metal panels to the fourth floor is really beautiful.
00;23;40;11 - 00;23;41;19
DP
Great detail.
00;23;41;22 - 00;23;59;21
GD
Yeah. So back to kind of the challenges of working in Philadelphia and not a lot of space to work with. The bay windows are always a tool to add a little bit more interior square footage, but the challenge is always Hadia clad them. How do you make them feel appropriate when the rest of the facade material is masonry?
00;23;59;23 - 00;24;29;00
GD
Yeah, we kind of struck a line with a traditional meets contemporary bay esthetic to compliment the window patterns within the masonry as well. So the bays have very kind of glassy windows, wrapping all sides in the same style of windows as the punched openings within the flanking brick masonry and then the color of the bays being much darker than the masonry was meant to draw more attention away from the bay and actually focus it on the adjacent brick masonry.
00;24;29;02 - 00;24;48;17
DP
One more comment or question. These entry portals are beautiful. Was it tough for you guys to decide? Okay, we're going to set back the front door and these very large windows lose a little bit of square footage, but we get these entries which are highly differentiated on the facade or along the facade.
00;24;48;20 - 00;25;11;06
GD
Yes. So the entry portal was a result of trying to solve a problem around the narrow sidewalk. The city only allows you to project so far into the public right of way and you're trying to make this nice prominent entrance for this luxury townhouse. And in order to achieve a wide staircase going up there, you got to kind of recess the frontage of the building.
00;25;11;06 - 00;25;31;25
GD
So we accomplished that by recessing just the entryway that the ground floor. When I mentioned being in the floodplain, we had to get the first floor up pretty high. So the entry door is actually at a middle landing between the garage level in the first floor. The first floor is actually up about ten feet above the sidewalk. So we recessed the entryway.
00;25;31;25 - 00;25;40;02
GD
It allowed us to have four or five foot wide steps leading up to the front door and a nice prominent procession up the steps to the front door of the house.
00;25;40;09 - 00;26;03;15
DP
Well, Gabe, it's a beautiful project. When I first saw these photos, I was really excited to do this interview. So I have done so many different things in my career while being an architect. And while it's not that unusual, I've found that being an architect has helped me to be good at lots of other things in my life.
00;26;03;18 - 00;26;30;10
DP
The other thing that I will say is that we end up working on many different things in our lives, even if we're let's say you end up doing stair details for a large firm for ten years and you think I wasted all that time doing stair details. The reality is we never really know when any of the things that we learn how to do will come in handy and can ultimately change our life in some way, even if it's in a small way.
00;26;30;10 - 00;26;45;28
DP
So I think it's really cool that you got your real estate license because you made all of these relationships or just a couple relationships that ultimately helped you become a successful architect. It's a big deal, right? So I don't think you give yourself enough credit.
00;26;46;00 - 00;27;04;16
GD
Yeah, I think I realized early on that I was good at some things, but not good at everything I needed to be good at. So the relationships were everything, especially in the early days. So knowing when to reach out to the people who know the solution is a big part of being an architect, a big part of being an entrepreneur.
00;27;04;16 - 00;27;22;22
GD
Starting a business as well is, you know, you need to do it right. You have a license that you got to hang your hat on. So it's critical for you to understand when it's time to reach out for design professionals outside of your purview and outside of your profession for the right solution to problems on your projects.
00;27;22;24 - 00;27;29;20
DP
So, Gabe, it's been great to have you here. Thanks so much for your time. Where can people go to learn more about No more architects and yourself?
00;27;29;22 - 00;27;44;25
GD
Sure. So our website is pretty current websites WWE and gnome arch dot com genome RC. I would say even more current than that is our Instagram account, which is also at Gnome Arch.
00;27;44;28 - 00;27;47;19
DP
So one more question. Where did you get the name?
00;27;47;21 - 00;28;09;22
GD
The name actually came from a rebranding exercise that we did back in 2018 and we were looking to create a new identity that spoke to the residential nature of our products and we wanted to kind of speak to the home and a place of being. So the gnome, the garden gnome is a character that does that. It's the marker of place.
00;28;09;22 - 00;28;35;29
GD
We also wanted the branding to be very memorable and approachable, so we initially kind of wrote off a name that came to us from our rebranding company and we thought it was crazy. And the more rounds of more names they suggested to us, the more we came back to that first stab of GNOME being the solution and so happy that we trusted in the company that we rebranded with and it's worked out for us very well.
00;28;36;05 - 00;28;37;25
DP
It's a great story. Well, thanks again, Gabe.
00;28;38;00 - 00;28;41;13
GD
Thank you.
00;28;41;16 - 00;29;05;01
DP
Thanks for listening. If you learned something today, share this episode with a friend and give us a rating and review on Apple Podcasts to help others find the show. If you want to find out more about today's project, visit Glengarry com forward slash design dash vault that's gleaned GSR y dot com forward slash design dash vault one even more inspiration.
00;29;05;01 - 00;29;28;24
DP
Take a look around Glengarry icon while you're there. Glengarry is one of the nation's largest brick manufacturers and an industry leader for its diversified product line of more than 600 brick products with inspiring photos, useful resources, easy search tools, helpful design studios, and more. I'm sure you'll find the inspiration you need to stretch your imagination
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Design Vault Ep. 9 PA State Archives with Paul Neuhaus
ABOUT THE ARCHITECT:
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Paul Neuhaus, AIA, LEED AP is a senior designer for HGA in their Minneapolis office, and has been practicing for 30 years. Working in their Arts, Community and Education (ACE) practice group, Paul's project work includes studio arts and performing arts facilities, science labs, student centers, and life science classrooms for higher education; as well as libraries, a church, and very recently, a paper archive for the State of Pennsylvania.
Paul strives to engender a sense of community and belonging for those who visit and work in the buildings his team designs. Paul's process centers on discovering how the project site, culture, and program can shape space and take form, to reflect his client's aspirations and give dignity, purpose, and pleasure to people's lives. |
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PA State Archives
HGA
View Project00;00;00;00 - 00;00;05;12
Doug Patt (DP)
Let's go inside the vault. The design vault.
00;00;05;14 - 00;00;34;08
Paul Neuhaus (PN)
They wanted a full archive with plenty of space for growth into the future. The storage has different requirements depending on the kinds of documents. So, we needed to create spaces that allow them to continue to collect. And a lot of the people who come in to do research, which is another big part of what they do, they collect and preserve. But they also provide these documents to the public for access, for research, or just for curiosity and to learn.
00;00;34;11 - 00;02;55;10
DP
This is my guest, Paul Neuhaus. I'll share more about him shortly. In this episode from the Design Vault, we’ll highlight Paul's project, the PA State Archives. The new Pennsylvania State Archives Facility collects and preserves valuable paper documents while making them available to the public for viewing and research. The building is a state-of-the-art archival facility with an enhanced building envelope and HVAC system for the optimal environment to preserve historical paper documents.
The street facade features a linear, steel framed louver structure which surrounds a two-story high glass enclosed pavilion. The pavilion is connected to the main building, which accommodates the two public research rooms and staff spaces. While much of the building requires a windowless approach. A wide assortment of colored Norman size bricks were used to give the facade a varied and playful appearance.
The building used 350,000 brick equivalents in a blend of five different glazed brick colors. The building is three city blocks in size on three acres of land. The total storage area on three floors is 50,000 square feet and includes oversized, cool, cold, secure, and digital archives.
Hi, I'm Doug Pat and this is Design Vault.
Today we're talking to Paul Neuhaus, AIA, LEED AP. Paul has a bachelor's degree in art from California Lutheran University and a master's degree in architecture from UCLA Graduate School of Architecture and Urban Planning. Paul is a Senior designer for HGA. Paul is in their Minneapolis office and has been practicing for 30 years, working in their arts community and education practice group. Paul's project work includes studio arts and performing arts facilities, science labs, student centers and life science classrooms for higher ed, as well as libraries, a church and very recently, the building we will be talking about today, a paper archive for the State of Pennsylvania.
Paul strives to engender a sense of community and belonging for those who visit and work in the buildings his teams design. So welcome, Paul.
00;02;55;14 - 00;02;56;28
PN
Thank you. It's great to be here.
00;02;57;01 - 00;03;08;11
DP
It's great to have you with us today. So, before we get started, tell us a little bit about HGA architects. We know you're in the Minneapolis area. What's the size of the firm, the type of work you guys do?
00;03;08;14 - 00;03;26;05
PN
HGA is a national interdisciplinary design firm committed to making a positive, lasting impact for our clients and communities through research based holistic solutions. We’re a collective of over a thousand professionals in 12 offices nationwide.
00;03;26;08 - 00;03;30;21
DP
Wow. That's incredible. So how long has HGA been around?
00;03;30;23 - 00;03;51;26
PN
Oh, boy. We go back to the fifties. The office here in Minneapolis was the first office and Hamel Green and Abramson, the founders, started the firm. They were a well-known firm in the state for many years and grew over the years and became a dominant force here in the state. And today, they're the largest firm in the state.
00;03;51;29 - 00;03;54;09
DP
Do you have any other locations outside the state?
00;03;54;11 - 00;04;03;13
PN
Yeah, we have 11 other offices, so East Coast and West Coast mostly. We also have two offices in Wisconsin.
00;04;03;20 - 00;04;12;17
DP
That's a really big architecture firm. Tell me a little bit about the role that you play at HGA. How did you end up there and what are you doing now?
00;04;12;20 - 00;05;08;10
PN
I've been in the city practicing since 1992. As a matter of fact, I wanted to work for HGA when I first moved to the city from Los Angeles. Interviewed here a couple of times, and it just worked out that I got an offer from another firm in town and work for them. That was back in 92. And then I didn't end up working for HGA until 2014.
I was really attracted to the firm because of the high quality of the design they do. Even though they're a large firm, they really practice like a small boutique firm. There's a lot of collaboration and independent thinking here. They allow architects to really pursue individually on each project what they think the vision of that project should be. So, when you look at HGA’s work, you don't see a pattern of design that looks a certain way. Buildings and projects can go in a lot of different directions, and there really isn't a style for our firm, which is really the way it should be.
00;05;08;16 - 00;05;26;03
DP
Yeah, I mean, that's pretty unique. Most offices, you look at their work and you can spot the thread that works its way through all of the architecture, and I'm sure that's the same way with your office. And yet many offices, stylistically they're just churning out the same thing, one building after another. So that's interesting.
00;05;26;05 - 00;05;44;00
PN
There definitely is a commitment to modernism and contemporary architecture. We do that well, but we also do historical preservation. And so, we have people who are working on buildings that are hundreds of years old - that occurs too - where we have to tie into historical buildings quite often with the new additions.
00;05;44;02 - 00;05;45;23
DP
So, what is your role in the office?
00;05;45;29 - 00;06;26;00
PN
I'm a senior designer. I lead projects, teams that can be anywhere from just me to four or five architects, depending on the size of the project. And then we have interior design. HGA really is a full-service firm. We have architecture, interior design, mechanical, electrical, plumbing, structural, security, and AV. So, we can do it all, but we often will team up with other architecture firms around the country because we have an expertise that we can bring, which is in this case, museums and archives. So, we'll team up with locals and go after projects together, and that's what we did here in Pennsylvania.
00;06;26;02 - 00;06;30;14
DP
So, are you guys the architects of record or the design architects, or do you switch roles?
00;06;30;20 - 00;06;48;10
PN
Vitetta Architects is the executive architect, and we were the design architect. So, we had the upfront part of the project. We team together. We were always together working together, but we emphasized the front end of the project, and they were construction drawings and CA.
00;06;48;13 - 00;06;53;28
DP
All right, so let's jump into the building here. So, could you tell us a little bit about how your office got the project?
00;06;54;01 - 00;07;52;29
PN
You know, I wasn't there when we went after the project, but it's a typical story, I'm sure, which is there is a proposal out from an owner. They want a building, so they publish a proposal that anybody can submit to. And we looked for someone to team up with locally or they approached us, perhaps the local architect, Vitetta, and we've teamed up as a team and submitted a proposal. And then we were shortlisted, interviewed for it, and we were selected as the team to do it. We had experience doing museums and archives very recently before that, so that made a big impact on our selection.
I think it goes back to 2014 when we were selected for the project there initially was a different site. They went all the way through schematic on a site that was a green site on the edge of town. After schematic, they decided, no, we want to have a site that's closer to our capital complex in town. So, they found a different site and started design over, and that's when I joined the team.
00;07;53;01 - 00;07;59;04
DP
Wow. There's an original archive building, right? And that is done, I think in the brutalist style.
00;07;59;07 - 00;08;40;27
PN
Yeah, you could say that. It doesn't have many windows, so I could see how that would feel Brutalist. It's limestone, however, it's got a concrete structure, but the structure isn't expressed on the outside like you would typically see for brutalist architecture. It's at the Capitol grounds. It's 21 stories tall. And the problem with it is it's a low floor to floor, by today's standards. They considered upgrading it and expanding it, but they determined that the low floor to floor wouldn't allow them to create the updates they need for mechanical systems. Plus, there just wasn't enough space around it to move laterally. So, they decided the thing to do was to find a new site.
00;08;40;29 - 00;08;53;07
DP
So, I'm curious, when they came to you and this was their original building, did they talk at all about style? Clearly the floor heights were an issue. Did they say, “Hey, we don't want to do this again. We want something that's a little more contemporary”?
00;08;53;12 - 00;09;38;12
PN
Good question. Yes, they wanted a contemporary building. They wanted something that reflected today and the way we think about architecture today, which is great. The building that was built originally was a modern building, too. It was of its time. The History Museum is right next to it that will continue to be used. It was great that they wanted to look forward and be progressive about style, and I don't know if we ever talked style per se.
We just had already gone through schematic design. Like I said on this other site with another team. So, I think there was some sort of way of working that had already been established so that when I started on the new site as the lead designer, they had already had some confidence in us and were on board with the way we work.
00;09;38;15 - 00;09;43;13
DP
So, tell us a little bit about the programmatic requirements they came to you guys with.
00;09;43;15 - 00;11;52;13
PN
They wanted a full archive with plenty of space for growth into the future. So, of 146,000 square feet of this building, about 50,000 square feet is the archive storage spaces. The storage has different requirements depending on the kinds of documents it might be worth saying that the Pennsylvania State Archives collects, preserves, and makes available for study the permanently valuable public records of the Commonwealth, with particular attention given to the records of state government.
And as the Archives director, David Carmichael, once said, “they collect everything from parchment to pixels.” As a matter of fact, William Penn, who founded the Commonwealth in 1681, used a charter that gave him the right to establish the Commonwealth. And that charter is at the archives in Pennsylvania and as well as hundreds of millions of other documents that are important to the Commonwealth.
So, we needed to create spaces that allow them to continue to collect. So, it's important the whole process of how documents arrive at the site are brought in, brought into processing rooms, and then eventually put into storage. Quite often they're also photographed so that they can have a digital record of the document and a lot of the people who come in to do research, which is another big part of what they do, they collect and preserve, but they also provide these documents to the public for access, for research or just for curiosity and to learn.
So, there is this whole system of how documents are moving in and how they're being brought to the public to use and then put back into storage. The documents can be anything from large documents in flat files like maps. They can be eight and a half by eleven size. Some of the rooms need to be cool or even cold. So, there are different climates, let's say, in some of these rooms based on the type of media it is. For instance, film that they'll collect needs to be in a very cool environment. So, they have different climates in each space.
00;11;52;16 - 00;12;05;03
DP
Well, that's really interesting. So, let's go back a little bit. Tell us a little bit about the site. Are there any unique topographic features? Is it completely flat? Was it a pretty simple thing to put a building on it?
00;12;05;05 - 00;13;08;18
PN
Yeah, it's a three-acre site and there are two main streets on the west and east side. Sixth Street on the west is about one story above Seventh Street, which is on the East. And Seventh Street is a main feeder artery that comes into town, while sixth is more of a residential neighborhood or semi commercial residential. So, we put the public entry on Sixth Street, which is up a level which means of the four level building, there's a lower level that's a walk out, let's say on the east side.
And then the public enters on what we call first floor, which is one level up from the lower level. The site is also L-shaped, which sounds like it could be a problem, but it really isn't because it's a large enough site that it provides for the building and public space. So, we were able to create a nice plaza out front and lots of landscaping in front of the building to provide a public amenity, let's say, to the people who live in the community and anyone who's visiting.
00;13;08;21 - 00;13;11;23
DP
Did you guys have any challenging restrictions, in terms of zoning?
00;13;11;26 - 00;14;22;26
PN
There were challenges with infrastructure. We had some issues needing to connect the archive with the state capital complex with fiber optics. So, there was a fiber optic line that had to come underground all the way to our site and that was done on a different contract. But we also had a lot of flexibility. For instance, there were streetlights and so on around the site and in some cases, especially on the front where we met the public, we were able to move the streetlights across the street from us because we just didn't think it would be nice having all the lights and lines right out in front of the building.
So, there was some infrastructural work that was done more on a urban scale level to help accommodate this building. Also add that at the same time that we were doing this building, there was a federal courthouse being put in, which is just about completed now too, at the same time. So, these two large buildings that are within a couple of blocks from each other going in at the same time was interesting.
And we actually worked – we had one meeting with the local architect, the design architects of that building, so that we could coordinate a little bit on what some of the public lighting would look like.
00;14;22;28 - 00;14;44;05
DP
The building stylistically, you've got this large glass atrium space and you've got this metal framed armature that wraps that. And then I'm assuming going off in the other direction, you've got a very large block that is made out of masonry. Is that correct?
00;14;44;07 - 00;16;25;19
PN
That's right. We took that stated purpose, the mission statement of the archive, which is the archive collects, preserves, and makes available for study. We took those three ideas, and we turned them into form and gave each form its own material. So, for instance, “collects” is the storage of the archives. That became a form that you just described as masonry.
They preserve, and mechanical systems are an important part of preservation. We have the unique situation of all of the mechanical systems needing to be off to the side of the archive that couldn't be on top of the archive because we couldn't risk any sort of liquids leaking out of mechanical systems into the archives. So, all of the mechanical systems are in their own bay off to the side. That's the preservation part. And we use metal panels to describe that bay.
And then finally, “making available to the public,” there was a public element of it, and in this case, we made it a glass pavilion and we used an aluminum extruded solar shade custom made to protect people from direct sunlight but provide lots of daylight. So, it's very open, very visible. You drive by it on Sixth Street and great views in and out to the street and from the road in. But it's got its own expression from the other elements. And so those three elements look very different from each other. They each really have a different personality, but they're all neutral in color. They're grays from white to medium gray, nothing - it's a very tight range of neutral tones.
00;16;25;23 - 00;16;35;09
DP
Yeah, for a storage facility, it's pretty welcoming. The elevation with the glass and this metal armature is really quite lovely.
00;16;35;15 - 00;16;36;07
PN
Thank you.
00;16;36;10 - 00;16;51;15
DP
So, I saw some really interesting studies in your emails back and forth with Glen-Gery in regard to the colors that you ultimately chose for the facades. There's really a lot there. Could you tell us a little bit about that?
00;16;51;17 - 00;20;13;16
PN
That's a great part of the story. We knew that the archive wing would be enveloped by a long expanse of wall. Archives don't want to have windows, so there were not going to be many windows and this building was going to be up to four stories tall. So, we wanted to make sure that what we put on the building would be something that would be out of the ordinary. And we didn't have the budget for limestone. The Capitol complex is limestone. The original building was that way, but we wanted something durable and where we could allude in some way to what was going on at the Capitol. We thought brick is durable. It's a good candidate for an archive because of that, and we wanted to make some connection to the limestone.
We began looking for a light-colored brick, very neutral, something that could echo that limestone. But clay doesn't come in neutrals like we wanted it. You know, Clay typically is in the Browns, yellow reds. You can get it to be black or very close to black. But everything we found seemed to be a little bit too warm. The closest we could get was a very light-yellow brick, and even then, it just felt a little too warm. So, we started considering clay slip coatings that are available on the market for bricks that could be applied to the brick to get a lighter and more neutral look. And that's when we came across Glen-Gery. We found some buildings on the Internet that traced us back to Glen-Gery. I don't remember how, but we were able to find them. And then Glen-Gery could make custom colors in the matte, but they also could make glossy glazed finishes. So that's when we started to consider that. And from there we began a conversation with them about brick colors and finishes.
Eventually I took a trip to their plant up in northern Pennsylvania. One time I landed in Pittsburgh, rented a car, drove up to their plant, and then from there I went to a client meeting in Harrisburg. It was really a fun visit just to see that plant work and meet with the artist. They had like an artist lab or chem lab where they can mix custom colors. And we had really good conversations and that really convinced me that this had a lot of potential. It wasn't a shoe in, it wasn't sure yet that we could go this route, but I just felt like there was a path to get there.
And eventually we went the route of glazed brick over the matte finish. We found the shine and reflectance of the wall surface potentially very appealing, especially on a large building with so few windows. Second, there was a side benefit with the glazed brick, and we believe that it would help resist graffiti and make it easier to clean because we were in an area where graffiti could be an issue. So that was another selling point for going that direction. It certainly worked in terms of getting the state to back that idea of going with a glazed brick, because I think it just seemed very unusual that a building would be entirely covered with glazed brick, and it helped that we were using very subdued colors like grays. We have five colors. It's a range of grays. And when you stand back, they kind of blend together. It creates what I like to call a heathered look. You know, if this were a knit sweater, it would be using heathered gray yarn and it kind of all blends together.
00;20;13;16 - 00;20;22;16
DP
Well, when the bricks glaze, does it reflect images or light or is there anything special about the facade when you stand back and look at it, other than the color?
00;20;22;23 - 00;20;51;12
PN
In a surprising way, that was very pleasant, once it got put up – especially on that north side where it's a long wall of brick – we were really surprised and pleased to see that on a cloudy day as the clouds are going over, it reflects the sky and the clouds, enough really to - it's not like a mirror, but it gives you a nice feeling that this building is somehow relating to the sky. So we really like that part of it.
00;20;51;14 - 00;21;01;19
DP
It all sounds really cool. Before we wrap this part of the conversation up, tell me about the mockups you guys did for the colors of the brick. They're really cool. It was a great idea.
00;21;01;22 - 00;22;22;18
PN
Yeah. Thanks. We started just by getting Sherwin-Williams paint chips. They make eight by ten paint samples. We pulled out a whole bunch of neutral colors with little bits of warm and cool associated with them and had them sent to us. Then we took the ones that we found most appealing, and we created a brick shape with using chipboard, glued them down, and then we started to assemble different quantities and proportions of different colors and just started mixing things until we saw something that looked appealing.
So, we created this mockup model where we could try different proportions. We kept records of how many of this color, how many of that on each set up that we did. And we created a whole series of these that we could first show ourselves and figure out which ones we liked the best. And then we took them to the client and showed them to them and tried to find where the sweet spot was for this blend.
From there we started to work with Glen-Gery to actually come up with samples, glazed brick samples. They weren't full bricks right away. They were just pieces of clay, small, maybe four by three inches, for starters, until we could come up with something closer to the actual colors we'd want to consider.
00;22;22;21 - 00;22;45;28
DP
You know, what's so surprising to me is you take five colors, put them together on a board. You've got 30 or 40 bricks. Each one of these samples, you stand back, and you look at, I'm just blown away that you can do that on a facade, and it never looks busy. You stand back and it becomes like another color. It becomes the color in-between all the colors. How did you even know that was going to happen?
00;22;46;00 - 00;23;31;00
PN
That's a good question. You're digging into the way we had to think about this. You know, some of our mockups had more contrast. Some of them had less contrast. And I think you need to find that point where the contrast is enough to give some variety and not make it look homogenous. But you don't want it to be so contrasty that it starts to look speckled. We didn't want to speckled looking, building, so it was just a matter of setting things up, looking at them close and then walking away and looking at them from, you know, 100 feet away and just see how well they blend together. It's like pixels, right, on your computer. These were really just physical pixels. And the farther you get back, the more they blend.
00;23;31;03 - 00;23;47;29
DP
So, at the end of the day, when you guys were all done with the job, was there anything that you learned that was really interesting about the design or the construction process? Again, as an aside, being the designer architects, it's got to be interesting handing a job over and then coming back to it as it nears completion, right?
00;23;48;01 - 00;24;39;20
PN
Yeah. And fortunately, we had a great working relationship with Vitetta, Daniel Wasik, the architect who led the team at Vitetta, who did a wonderful job. We had a good relationship and all the way through construction drawings, we were actively reviewing the drawings with them and participating in meetings. They were leading that process at that point from there on out but we were still involved. And even during construction administration, I didn't get to go to the site until late in the game. However, we were getting pictures from them monthly, lots of pictures. They were really good about it. They would tell us if there were any issues, we'd work it through together. So, it really worked well. And I have to say, I've never worked with a local architect that well before. It was a wonderful relationship and I’d love to work with them again sometime.
00;24;39;23 - 00;24;43;03
DP
That's really cool. Did the GC have any trouble finding a good mason?
00;24;43;10 - 00;24;45;05
PN
I know that there were issues.
00;24;45;05 - 00;24;47;11
DP
It's always an issue.
00;24;47;14 - 00;25;23;03
PN
Yeah. I mean, when I look at the building, it was well done overall.
You know, we had some complicated pieces to it too. For instance, we had an overhang at the front entry with brick hanging ten feet out, cantilever out over the entryway, and we designed it so that the brick at the bottom was not supported by an angle. We hid the structure and hung those two courses at the bottom from a structure up inside the wall. So, we were able to glaze even the underside of the brick hanging out over that cantilever, which wasn't an easy thing to accomplish.
00;25;23;03 - 00;25;24;17
DP
Yeah, it sounds expensive.
00;25;24;23 - 00;25;44;28
PN
It was, but it's a state building and you want it to be done right, and further, I don't know if you've had this experience on your work, but I've gone back to visit buildings sometimes that are years old, ten years old maybe, and some of those angles that support brick can start to rust. So, we wanted to avoid having that happen on a building this important.
00;25;45;00 - 00;26;04;20
DP
Yeah. And you know, you're going to make a few statements in the architecture and that's one really big one right at the front of the building. Very cool. So, before you go, you've been at this for 30 years or so. If you could give yourself – your younger self some career advice, what would it be?
00;26;04;22 - 00;26;49;17
PN
Oh, boy. Well, I do meet with mentees – we have a mentorship program here at HGA, which is highly valued by the people who are just starting out in their careers. And sometimes what I'll tell them is try to pay attention to everything you do, even the details. And not just focus on the big picture because the more you can know about the way buildings are specifically put together, the more you can understand about the structure and the other disciplines, the better you can be at making those decisions and choices at the beginning of your project. And so, I always encourage architects, especially people who are interested in being designers, to learn every aspect of the project down to the details.
00;26;49;20 - 00;26;56;24
DP
Yeah, if you're not interested in being a lifelong learner, architecture may not be the right profession for you.
00;26;56;26 - 00;26;57;16
PN
That's true.
00;26;57;16 - 00;26;59;28
DP
Right? You're always learning something.
00;27;00;06 - 00;27;01;08
PN
I'm still learning.
00;27;01;12 - 00;27;08;25
DP
Oh, yeah, I am too. Every day. So, Paul, it's been great to have you here. Thanks for your time. Where can people go to learn more about HGA architects?
00;27;08;25 - 00;27;18;15
PN
They would go to hga.com, and we've got our projects there that you can look at, and our teams, our people. It's a fun place to go.
TRANSCRIPT
00;27;18;18 - 00;27;21;25
DP
That's great. It sounds like a really interesting place to work.
00;27;22;00 - 00;27;34;05
PN
It is. I really enjoy it. There's a lot of smart people here and I'm so glad that I get to play the role I play. But I also admire those people who play all the other roles that we have at this firm.
00;27;34;08 - 00;27;34;28
DP
That's great, Paul. Thank you.
00;27;35;01 - 00;27;39;18
PN
Thank you. It was a pleasure.
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Design Vault Ep. 8 Gansevoort Row with David Kubik
ABOUT THE ARCHITECT:
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David Kubik joined BKSk in 2003 and was named partner in 2018. He plays a strong role in the design of both institutional and development projects and pays careful attention to details in both custom interior work and base building new construction. David is experienced at coordinating large consultant teams on complex projects. He is currently the Partner-In-Charge of two new high-end multifamily residential buildings: The Keller and 111 Charles Street, both in the West Village and the recently completed 601 Washington Street. He also recently led the design of two commercial development projects in the Gansevoort Market Historic District: Gansevoort Row Development and 405 West 13th Street.
David holds both a Master of Architecture and a Bachelor of Science degree in Architecture from the University of Maryland. He has received an Award for Excellence in Design and Fellowships at both the Graduate and Baccalaureate levels, as well as a Thesis Citation. David taught design studio as an adjunct lecturer in the Architectural Technology program at the City University of New York. |
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ABOUT THE PROJECT:
BKSK secured a complex approval from the Landmarks Preservation Commission for the block-long redevelopment of a collection tattered low-rise commercial buildings near the High Line in Gansevoort Market Historic District. Careful historic research and analysis of the existing buildings, particularly the history of uses and former configurations, enabled a strong rationale for taller building heights and the demolition of some existing fabric on portions of the block. An important part of the Landmarks approval process, and something that BKSK takes great pride in doing, is presenting to preservation groups, the local community board, and select government officials. In this case the presentation made a successful argument for the development along the street and the properties are currently in various stages of completion, with an impressive roster of luxury retailers, and tenants including Hermes, Match Group, Inc., and the reopened Pastis.
![Gansevoort Row](/sites/default/files/inline-images/Copyright_BarkowPhoto_7386-1024x1006.jpeg)
Photo by Amy Barkow Photo
TRANSCRIPT
00;00;00;00 - 00;00;05;09
Doug Patt (DP)
Let's go inside the vault. The design vault.
00;00;05;11 - 00;00;35;04
David Kubik (DK)
From avenue to Avenue across all of these 11 buildings. That was generally programmatically, what was sought after by the client was good commercial space, whether it was retail or office. So then really the next question was, okay, let's look at these buildings, understand which ones were perhaps more intact, more attractive the way they were, which ones could receive some additions, and were there any buildings that just didn't have really kind of great architectural character and warranted demolition and starting over and so we had a little bit of all those.
00;00;35;07 - 00;02;59;25
DP
This is my guest, David Kubik, AIA. I'll share more about him shortly. In this episode from the Design Vault, we’ll highlight David's project called Gansevoort Row. BKSK Architects made its imprint on the Gansevoort Market Historic District in New York City with a collection of landmark approvals. The redevelopment of a full block of tattered, low rise commercial buildings near the High Line.
Through careful analysis, BKSK made a strong rationale for taller building heights and some new construction along portions of the block. The new development project has a roster of luxury retailers, commercial and office space. The row buildings include existing facades, along with a creative variety of contemporary versions. Interestingly, each new building of various sizes features a unique blend of colors and patterns of brick.
The street facades maintain a turn of the century aesthetic with traditional elements and details, while employing modern windows and expansive metal awnings.
Hi, I'm Doug Pat and this is Design Vault.
Today we're talking to David Kubik, AIA. David Kubik holds a Bachelor of Science and Master of Architecture degree from the University of Maryland. He joined BKSK in 2003 and was named partner in 2018.
He works on the design of both institutional and development projects and is experienced at coordinating large consultant teams with expansive layers of complexity. He is currently the partner in charge of two new high end multi residential buildings for BKSK, the Keller and 111 Charles Street, both in the West Village and the recently completed 601 Washington Street. He also led the design of two commercial development projects in the Gansevoort Market Historic District, one of which we will discuss today, the Gansevoort Row redevelopment.
David has received an award for Excellence in Design and fellowships at both the graduate and Baccalaureate levels, as well as a thesis citation. David taught Design Studio as an adjunct lecturer in the Architectural Technology program at the City University of New York. So welcome, David. Nice to have you with us today. So, tell us a little bit about BKSK in New York City.
So where are you guys located? What's the size of the firm and what type of work do you do?
00;03;00;04 - 00;03;30;13
DK
Well, thanks for having me. A little bit more about BKSK Architects. The firm was founded in 1985. We've always, right from the beginning, been a firm focused on ambitious design, really over a broad range of typologies, whether commercial or residential institutional. And as we're going to talk about today, we have many, many projects that have obtained approval from the Landmarks Preservation Commission. That's a particularly special part of our practice. The firm is located here in New York City. We're on West 38th Street. It's currently led by six partners and we're about 50 people.
00;03;30;15 - 00;03;32;12
DP
So how long have you guys been in New York City?
00;03;32;19 - 00;03;43;26
DK
We've been here practicing since 1985, and we were down on 25th Street for a number of years. We recently moved up to West 38th Street in 2020, which was an exciting time to move an office.
00;03;44;02 - 00;03;46;22
DP
How was that? Was that fraught with challenges?
00;03;46;23 - 00;04;12;05
DK
It was fraught with challenges. We literally moved the weekend of the shutdown. So, we moved out of our old office on the Friday and moved into our new office on that Saturday. And if everyone recalls, Sunday was the day that New York City really, effectively, shut down. So, we plugged in our new server, plugged in all of our new computers, and crossed their fingers that everyone could log in remotely on Monday morning. And miraculously, it all worked.
00;04;12;12 - 00;04;15;02
DP
That is unbelievable. So, you guys weren't fully remote.
00;04;15;04 - 00;04;21;01
DK
Fully remote as many did for a number of months. But yes, all of that came down to literally a day.
00;04;21;08 - 00;04;25;19
DP
As an aside, did that last for employees or is everybody back in the office now?
00;04;25;22 - 00;04;37;12
DK
We're all back in the office now. We kind of have some flexibility in terms of working remotely like many do. You know, you can have kind of a hybrid week somewhat, but like many companies, for a number of months, we were fully remote, which is tricky for an architecture firm.
00;04;37;19 - 00;04;42;22
DP
Absolutely. So, tell us a little bit about yourself. So how did you end up at BKSK?
00;04;42;24 - 00;06;07;23
DK
Sure. So, as you noted in the introduction, I was attending University of Maryland. I grew up in New Jersey, so always had kind of a fondness for the New York City area, was really excited by the architecture that was happening there. So, while I was still a student at the University of Maryland, I did have a summer internship with Clement and Holl Span architects, who are really also well-known mid-sized firm here in New York.
After graduating, I worked for about a year and a half at Michael Graves Architect. Most people don't know this, but they did at the time have a New York City branch office. They were not just in Princeton, New Jersey. So, I worked for them for a little bit. And then in 2003, I joined BKSK Architects. And at the time I was really looking for work where I could have a heavy involvement in the creation of the construction documents and during Construction administration.
I loved the work that BKSK had. There was a real high level of design ambition and you could tell there was a real study and appreciation for the craft of what they were making. And I loved the idea that I could be both involved in the design and documentation as well as have the opportunity to be on site while it was being built, which on some of the larger firms, sometimes that's not always in the cards.
So, it was a little bit of a shift for me to go to an office that was a little bit smaller, a little bit more locally focused. But there was something that I recognized I was really interested in and BKSK was able to provide that. So, it was a really rewarding shift and I really enjoyed that practice.
00;06;07;25 - 00;06;13;13
DP
So now you're a partner. Has that changed at all your role in the office? Or tell us a little bit about what you do now.
00;06;13;16 - 00;07;17;01
DK
Sure. So obviously some things change, and I'm happy to say that many things haven't. Sure, my role has changed. I'm involved in more projects; I'm overseeing those projects in the kind of sort of senior leadership role you'd expect when you hear the term partner. But – and our office is a little bit bigger now than it was when I joined in 2003 – but, I would say that the ethos has not changed and we still, as architects, as kind of a tight knit group there in the office, were still very much focused on what I was describing earlier, which is high level of ambition in the design work that we do. And we really like to understand how things get built and the craft in which it takes to build them.
So, we enjoy working with contractors. That's not an adversarial relationship. We like to be on site, you know, and communicate directly with the subcontractors and the general contractors. And that's a process that we see can have a lot of opportunity for collaboration. And again, doesn't have to be this sort of adversarial standoff, which sometimes it can unfortunately sort of devolve into. But we try to make sure it doesn't go there and that everyone's working together in the sandbox to create something beautiful.
00;07;17;08 - 00;07;24;10
DP
Let's dig in here and talk about our building. Tell us a little bit about the Gansevoort Row project. So how did your office get the project?
00;07;24;16 - 00;09;12;02
DK
One of our existing clients, a client that we had already completed a number of projects with us, approached us about this project over our capital. I definitely can go on and on about that. Relationships. We're really happy with that relationship. They're a terrific client. They understand what it means to do a project of quality.
And so, we were honored when they came to us about this opportunity and this site. It's on the south side of Gansevoort Street, stretching from Avenue to Avenue, from Greenwich Street to Washington Street. It's really three pieces of property. But when you look across those parcels, it's really 11 individual historic structures that occupy these three properties. So, it was really quite a collection of buildings and structures that we had to grapple with and understand. They were all a little different. Some were more carefully preserved and intact than others, but the entire site had to be presented into the Landmarks Preservation Commission and whatever we designed, they had to approve.
So, what's interesting about that process, I think right out of the gate is that, if you're working on a site that is not subject to LPC approval, the very first thing you do is understand what the local zoning regulations allow you to build. How tall can I go? How big can I go and plan? What is the bulk that's permitted? How many square feet of floor area can I build? When you're in a landmarks district, you do not have rights to that floor area. You have to present a design that is compelling and as they deem, quote unquote, appropriate. It's often the case that you do not get to realize all of the square feet or all of the bulk that zoning might describe for that particular district. And that happened here, too. We didn't reach the full floor area allowed. We realized a lot of floor area for the developer, which is of course good for them. But we did have to present something that was appropriate for the neighborhood, appropriate for the scale on the street and the specific site context that we were dealing with.
00;09;12;05 - 00;09;16;01
DP
So, tell us a little bit about that. So LPC is Landmark Property.
00;09;16;06 - 00;09;18;19
DK
Landmarks Preservation Commission, so LPC for short.
00;09;18;19 - 00;09;22;20
DP
And you said they had to approve what you guys designed. How does that work?
00;09;22;25 - 00;09;50;24
DK
Because they were in a historic district. It's the Gansevoort market district. Anything that gets proposed has to first go in front of the LPC group and they have to review it and approve it before you can get your building permit, before you can get your approval at the local building department. So, it's not a, quote unquote, as of right district where you just follow the local code, follow the local zoning and you're off and running. We have this extra step of scrutiny. Whatever we present, they ultimately have to approve.
00;09;51;02 - 00;10;02;25
DP
I saw a great photograph; I think it was on the website from 1938. So, tell us a little bit about the history of the site. Is it interesting and why hasn't it been developed to this point? And what has happened along the way?
00;10;02;29 - 00;12;06;24
DK
It is very interesting. It has many chapters which we could spend hours talking about, but I'll summarize it a little bit in the sense that there was different types of buildings that were built here, whether it was a store and loft building or more of a warehouse building or purpose built garage buildings. In this district, you would see many different types of buildings. It wasn't sort of so perfectly monolithic like in some other historic districts. And in, generally speaking, many of these buildings were built to a certain height, often around five stories, six stories. And then when the city kind of really fell into tough economic times, a lot of these buildings were cut down to two stories because it was a strategy for building owners to pay less in taxes.
Unfortunately, a lot of these quite nice historic buildings would get cut down arbitrarily to two stories because that's just what made sense if you had a store and maybe one level of offices or storage above but, they didn't really need more than that. And this area of Manhattan on the far, far west Side, you know, became this sort of meatpacking district. And it just wasn't very desirable real estate in New York City for many, many decades. And then as economic growth has kind of pushed the city in recent years and decades, you know, finally this neighborhood has become a place where it's seen as advantageous to develop. High line, obviously, changed a lot of that. The new Whitney Museum, being literally on the opposite corner from this site, changed a lot of that. And our developer, Aurora Capital, are really responsible for a lot of the development in this neighborhood.
So, they've really boosted the appeal and the economic viability of this neighborhood. So, it was interesting to really understand the history of those buildings and it was sort of time for the next chapter of what could happen with these buildings. And so, your original reference, the 1938 photo, we looked at a lot of that carefully because it was obviously history and context that matters when you're dealing with these buildings. And in some cases there were narratives about bringing some of these buildings back up to their original five story height and in other cases not, which we can get into a little bit more specifically. But yeah, it was a bit of a mixed bag.
00;12;06;27 - 00;12;16;16
DP
So, I understand the scope of the project was to create successful retail, commercial and office space. Tell us a little bit about the scope and then the programmatic requirements.
00;12;16;18 - 00;15;29;27
DK
Sure. So, from avenue to avenue, across all of these 11 buildings, that was generally programmatically what was sought after by the client was good commercial space, whether it was retail or office. So then really the next question was, okay, let's look at these buildings, understand which ones were perhaps more intact, more attractive the way they were, which ones could receive some additions. And were there any buildings that just didn't have really kind of great architectural character and warranted demolition and starting over? And so, we had a little bit of all of those. So, you know, if you start generally looking at the block on the eastern end, there were more buildings that were pretty intact, had good architectural character. And we got from a sense in the community that they were cherished a bit more than some of the others.
So, you'll see on the eastern end the scale kind of stayed down at two stories. On the western end, there were two sort of blocks of buildings, one which comprised of five store and loft buildings, almost tenement style rowhouse looking type buildings, but more commercial oriented. Those buildings were all cut down from five stories to two. So, we proposed to put a three-story addition on that two story structure and raise that to a five story building.
And then lastly, on the western end of the property, and that piece of property being directly across from the Whitney, was just a one-story garage building kind of purpose-built garage building. It was not an original building in the district and really had no kind of architectural merit or character to speak of in the historic designation report for the neighborhood, it was described as non-contributing, which is also a term they use for buildings that might be in a historic district but were really never part of the original fabric and don't have any real value or they're not adding value to the district. So that was a corner property that was deemed acceptable to kind of demolish, remove that one story structure, and build something brand new. So, on that far western end, we proposed a new six story kind of warehouse loft looking building. And this goes back to the strategy of where is it viable to add bulk and square footage for the developer to kind of realize their investment? And where does it make sense to not do that?
And so, it was in a sort of perfect, even monolithic approach. Let's just add two or three stories across the whole block from avenue and avenue. We didn't do that. We said, you know what, on the western end, it makes more architectural sense to grow the properties and go higher. And on the eastern end, it makes more sense to keep them a little lower.
What was also interesting about this project was, you could imagine the owner could have very easily said, okay, we have three pieces of property here. Let's go to three different architects and just treat them like three individual projects and go to landmarks three individual times. But we didn't do that, and I think that was really smart on behalf of the owner, regardless of who they hired, to treat this as one job because you could treat it almost like an urban design exercise, a master planning exercise, you could look at the whole block and sort of horse trade square footage and decide where was it more appropriate and palatable to pump up the square footage and where was it not. And so, I think that we recognized it as a unique opportunity. We wanted to get our heads around, immediately about, where does the architecture support this intervention and where maybe does it not.
00;15;30;04 - 00;15;35;06
DP
So, at the end of the day, were there any project restrictions in terms of the heights of the buildings?
00;15;35;13 - 00;16;57;15
DK
Definitely. There was a lot of scrutiny about height, but it wasn't coming through either a code or zoning regulation. It was coming through an in-depth conversation with the Landmarks Preservation Committee and the Community board. So, when the Landmarks Preservation Commission approves your project, their permit has a title, and at the top it's Certificate of Appropriateness. Their measure of, you know, whether or not something should be approved really centers around that term appropriateness. So, it's very subjective.
So, they're looking at the context. How tall are the buildings around you? What are the styles of those buildings? What are the colors of those buildings? Do they have a lot of glass? Do they have a little bit of glass? You know, is all of the architectural language context bulk history. So, it's about storytelling is one way we like to think about it. What is the narrative that justifies your project? Like, what is the big idea of your project? And it has to be rooted in the history of the site, the context of site, and an appropriateness. So, there was a lot of analyzation of what were these buildings.
You mentioned the 1938 photo. That was one photo that was really important. There were many others. And so, you're really crafting a story. You're telling a story. So, what we proposed, we hope, extends the sort of natural evolution of this block like I was referring to earlier. This block has many chapters, and this is just the next chapter. Buildings go up, they come down, they go up again. And this will kind of be an evolution that the neighborhood will probably continue to see.
00;16;57;17 - 00;17;06;02
DP
Since the process with the planning commission was so subjective, how many people are on the planning commission? Was that really challenging? Because everybody's got to agree, right?
00;17;06;05 - 00;17;34;27
DK
Sure. I can't recall the exact number right now. I think it's around ten commissioners. And so, you know, you have to have a majority of the commissioners to obtain approval. You don't have to have unanimous approval. We went to the Landmarks Commission two times in order to obtain that approval. But we involved ourselves with a lot of kind of community engagement and – and meetings ahead of time because we wanted to make sure that what we were bringing was something that was viable and supportable in any way that we could.
00;17;34;29 - 00;17;44;17
DP
So, tell us about the building plans. I would imagine as you run across the facade, some are rectangular, summer more square, but they all fill the entire block?
00;17;44;20 - 00;18;47;10
DK
Well, it's actually a little bit different. So, the buildings that are on corners have different requirements than buildings that are mid-block. On both the eastern and western end – on the eastern end is an existing building. That building is built full on its lot because a corner building can be built full, it doesn't have a required rear yard. So, the eastern building was a purpose-built garage building, really kind of special, unique yellow brick house has a really bright image to it and we retain that building because it has some really nice character to it. Hermes is in there right now, as a high-end retailer. That's a special condition.
In the mid-block portion of the project, there is a rear yard, and the ground floor is built full. But once you're above the ground floor, starting at the second floor and up, these buildings do have rear yards. And then our new building that we proposed on the western corner that I was talking about earlier, same situation that it's very common.
The zoning allows it. Most buildings in New York City, when you're on the corner, won't necessarily have a rear yard or a side yard or anything like that. And this building doesn't either.
00;18;47;13 - 00;18;54;03
DP
So, tell us a little bit about the style choices, right. I mean, it looked to me like there were at least three buildings that remained.
00;18;54;09 - 00;19;46;22
DK
More than that. I would say on the eastern end there are two. And then in the mid-block portion, it's one building. But historically it's really three structures. Then there's this group of five, and then there's our new warehouse building on the western end. So that's why I was saying it's kind of like 11 structures stretching across three pieces of property when you really get into it, in terms of their history. They are different styles. They're all a little different.
The one on the eastern end was kind of a garage building. The ones mid-block are more kind of a store and loft, so they have kind of commercial storefronts at the ground floor and then kind of punched opening double hung window language above that. And then on the western end, our new building was not so much a store and loft had more of a kind of a warehouse look, so much heavier masonry language with much bigger areas of glass kind of departing from the individual punch window language.
00;19;46;24 - 00;19;58;24
DP
So stylistically, the newer buildings are slightly more contemporary than the existing buildings. Did you have different architects working on different buildings and coming up with themes?
00;19;59;00 - 00;22;06;12
DK
We definitely had a pretty substantial team in this project, and we are very collaborative in the office. So regardless of what level you might be practicing at our office, we're all at the table together. Everyone's contributing ideas, which we think is a great way to work and really fun. Obviously, as you kind of break down the teams, there were certain people dedicated to certain areas of the project. I also worked really closely with my partner Todd on this project. He had a deep involvement in this as well. So, it was really kind of the two of us on this.
What I think is fun, and as a general observation across the whole block, is that once we had a clear understanding of the kind of existing language of the architecture, whether it was garage or store in loft or warehouse, when we had our interventions, we did it in such a way that was quite respectful and kind of playing off the traditional languages of those buildings, but clearly contemporary at the same time.
So, the brick detailing is done in a traditional way, but with modern techniques and modern, you know, sort of expressions that are a little bit different. So, in the mid-block building, the one that has a three-story addition on a two-story base, there we used brick that was very similar in tone to the second floor that existed, but then also came up with a very special window language that involved some terracotta tiles on the transom that allowed for bigger glass windows but a smaller masonry opening. So, it felt appropriate for the scale of that facade. And then on the corner building, we really wanted to bring the sort of large heft and substantialness of the masonry detailing that you would see on a lot of the older warehouse buildings, even some of the buildings directly across the street from us. And so, we used a technique called a concealed lintel system to allow all of our brick returns, whether they were eight inches and in some cases 12-inch brick returns. You had these really beautiful brick returns both in plan and in sections. So, above the window, the window heads, you can really see 12 inches of brick wrapping and returning to the window, which you don't always see in newer buildings now, but we thought was really important for a building like this to be well detailed like that and show that depth of masonry, which is so characteristic for a lot of the historic buildings in that neighborhood.
00;22;06;19 - 00;22;17;28
DP
Now, I saw some patterning running vertically along one of the taller buildings. Tell me a little bit about that because that motif appears as a lintel above the windows. What is that?
00;22;18;02 - 00;23;52;26
DK
Yeah, so that mid-block building that was five store and loft buildings all kind of put together on its eastern facade because the building next to it was cut down like we talked about down to two stories. It's sort of exposed on that brick facade, the sort of scar of where the chimney would have been. So, there was a very sort of roughly demolished zone on the side of that facade where you could tell by looking at it, ‘you know what? I bet you there was a masonry chimney there and it all just sort of got roughly demolished.’ But it was kind of a signature moment on the side of that building that you would really see in the historic photos, and you would see in that 1938 photo.
So, we kind of wanted to bring back that chimney scar, but we did it with these terracotta tiles and behind those tiles behind that pattern is floor to ceiling glass. So, you're getting this masonry expression on the eastern facade that brings back that very particular circumstance that that building had. But you're doing it in a way that also allows some natural light to come in the building, because this is now a commercial office building. It's not a store in loft. Those upper floors are not used for storage anymore. People are occupying those floors. So, we were looking for ways to bring in a lot of natural light into this new work environment. But we wanted to do it in such a way that again, go back to that word that was appropriate for the sort of architectural expression of the building. So yeah, it was a unique moment. And the transoms, the lintel is basically doing the same thing.
Behind that is a really tall window, but from the street it looks like a smaller window, and it looks like a size window that is appropriate for that scale of building. So, it was sort of how you can have your cake and eat it too.
00;23;52;28 - 00;24;00;27
DP
Yeah, it's a really interesting detail. So how long did the design process take, city review, construction, start to finish?
00;24;00;29 - 00;24;29;27
DK
Good question. I don't know. I don’t have all of those dates at my fingertips, but I would say that while typically a project like this in our office would take about a year to document from schematic design to 100% construction documents, I think on this project it was substantially longer. Maybe a year and a half, a year and three quarters because of the extra time it took to first seek and get that LPC approval.
Once the approval is in hand, then we can really march forward and finish those construction documents. And then the construction itself, I believe, took about two years.
00;24;30;04 - 00;24;31;12
DP
How many sheets were in the set?
00;24;31;19 - 00;24;36;22
DK
It's definitely over 200. It's probably approaching 250 sheets or something like that. Yeah, it's a big undertaking.
00;24;36;27 - 00;24;38;17
DP
Did you guys model this in 3D?
00;24;38;25 - 00;25;00;27
DK
This entire city block is in Revit. It's all one Revit file that can be broken apart because we had to issue it as three sets of construction documents. Going back to the fact that this is three properties, it had to get filed at the Department of Buildings in three pieces to match up to those pieces of property, even though it was conceived as one big thing. So, yes, three sets of drawings.
00;25;00;29 - 00;25;04;21
DP
Now, a job this big, do have more than one PM? Project manager.
00;25;04;21 - 00;25;18;07
DK
Yes. Yeah, on this project we had two, Will Russell and Evan Singer, who did a phenomenal job really combing through every detail, understanding every nook and cranny. It was a real labor of love for them. I think they enjoyed it very much and they did a great job.
00;25;18;09 - 00;25;29;28
DP
So, this question comes up a lot. Did sustainability ever come up in choosing the materials for the project? And clearly brick was already out there. Did you guys just say, “okay, this is what we're going to do; we never even thought about another material”?
00;25;30;05 - 00;27;06;14
DK
Yeah. So, this project didn't seek any particular certification, but there were many sustainable elements that we tried to incorporate whenever we could in terms of material selection. I think that was also interesting is this is a conversation about adaptive reuse. One of the most sustainable things you can do when you look at a building project is reuse existing material. If you want to reduce your carbon footprint, reuse what's there, don't bring new material on site.
Many of these facades, you know, we really carefully tried to keep as much as the brick structure, whether it's party walls, you know, load bearing walls, facade walls. We tried to keep as much of that intact as possible. There were cases where, even a little scary times, you go onto the roof and you look at these old brick parapets and, you know, they haven't been maintained or cared for in way too long. And the mortar is at this point dust. And you can literally just take your hand and take the bricks off, which it was time. We are also very grateful that this project happened when it did because, you know, I think it saved these buildings, too. They really needed this intervention. They needed this next chapter in their life.
So, we, in some cases, had to demolish brick walls and keep all the brick and catalog it, put it down on the floor, label it so that the masons could take it and then put it back up and reinstall it. So, we did a lot of that careful work in the restoration and then much of the new either additions or buildings that we designed use brick. And it was a direct sort of reaction to this historic neighborhood. There was just an abundance of it, frankly, used in many different ways, many different colors. And it was really sort of a core ingredient, if you will, to any of the architecture that you might propose here.
00;27;06;16 - 00;27;11;21
DP
So, I haven't seen any of the interior photos. But do we end up seeing brick on the interior of any of these buildings?
00;27;11;27 - 00;27;35;26
DK
On some of them, again, particularly in the places where they are existing. So, in the existing two-story portion of that store in loft building, every 25 feet was a load bearing brick wall. Many of those are still there and the retailers who took those spaces did not cover them up, which is great. We love seeing that. So, you can really see a lot of that character and some of the buildings on the eastern end. You have moments to see some of that brick, too.
00;27;36;03 - 00;27;43;22
DP
It looked to me like there were at least two different brick colors that were really unique to this job. Could you tell us a little bit about that?
00;27;43;27 - 00;28;51;12
DK
So, the two brick colors on the project that we're talking about right now is a kind of a standard red brick that went on our three-story addition over the two-story existing structure. And that was kind of a nice interplay between a nice, textured, more modern looking red brick, but clearly still relating to the historic red brick that was right below it. So, you can distinguish the difference, but it's subtle.
On the corner building, there is a more sort of neutral what you might think is a more modern brick color. It's a Glen-Gery glacier gray brick. It has a lot of kind of nice texture and variation to it, which we were really attracted by. And it is perhaps a little bit more neutral, a little bit more contemporary of a tone.
That said, there are many large six story warehouse buildings directly across the street from us on Washington Street on that block facing the river. And many of those buildings had some pretty neutral tones in their brick selection as well. Maybe perhaps a little bit creamier, a little bit warmer, but not that different from what we were proposing there. So, we thought it was kind of a nice sort of interplay between those tones and still felt quite appropriate in the color.
00;28;51;17 - 00;28;59;24
DP
And how did you guys ultimately find the right colors for the bricks? Did you guys simply have samples in the office, or did you go out and take a look at them?
00;29;00;02 - 00;29;49;10
DK
Yeah, both. So, we really want to gain all those samples in the office and kind of build a library that we can consider. We looked at mockups on site to make sure that we were really happy with it and just walking around the neighborhood looking at these tones and seeing really how they relate. So again, it's nice to feel like the selection is growing right out of the context, but with a little bit of a modern twist, we think is actually quite nice.
And that brick in particular, we really loved the variation in the shading. You get kind of different colors within it. There is a little bit of texture and stippling to the brick finish as well, and we kind of joke around that sometimes if you look at a material sample up close, you think it looks messy, but it's that messiness. When you put it at a building scale or an urban scale that really makes that brick look good and crafted. So having that texture we think is kind of important.
00;29;49;12 - 00;29;57;20
DP
That's a really good point. So, did your team learn anything interesting through the design and construction process? Anything come to light that was like, this is kind of cool?
00;29;57;28 - 00;30;55;01
DK
I think what's just fun about designing in brick is it's a particular knowledge set. It's kind of its own craft or game if you want to call it that. You really have to think about the module of brick and how it wants to be used. We know a typical module for brick is either eight inches or twelve inches, quite commonly, and when you start designing your building, you have to be thinking about that brick module from day one, how it courses out vertically, how it courses out horizontally.
There were moments we learned a little bit of the hard way where we thought we had it exactly right and we didn't have it exactly right. And we had to make changes on the fly. Work carefully with the subcontractor, but you can't ignore the module of brick. You have to kind of work with it, don't work against it, and your details should sort of celebrate the natural dimensions of that brick. And I think we learned a lot about that. We had done already a number of brick buildings in our history of the firm, but this one really had a little bit of everything in it, which was really quite fun.
00;30;55;03 - 00;31;08;02
DP
Isn’t it interesting that we deal with buildings, but we're really dealing with math, right? Everything has to kind of fit into those modules.
So, did you guys have any trouble finding a great mason to work with on the process?
00;31;08;09 - 00;31;56;12
DK
So, we rely very much on our contractors to find those subcontractors. So, we worked with a great general contractor here who did find their way to a mason who you could tell right from the beginning was enjoying their craft. They would constantly ask us questions because they just wanted to make sure that they were getting it right per the design intent. And we thought that was really great.
Again, going back to something I said earlier, it was a good collaborative, positive relationship between everyone because we just wanted to make these buildings, you know, as best we could. And so, I think that mason did an excellent job in this project, and it really shows if you walk the block. And whether you're looking at very careful noodling and restoration on the buildings to the east, or the obviously more expansive, impressive new construction on the west, all the detailing, all the construction is very tight. It looks great.
00;31;56;18 - 00;32;03;21
DP
It's good to hear. So, this is the last tough question I've got for you. You've been an architect for some time, I would imagine. 20, 25 years.
00;32;03;26 - 00;32;07;14
DK
23. Yeah, depending on when you want to start the clock. But yeah, somewhere in there.
00;32;07;14 - 00;32;14;24
DP
Right. Exactly. So, if you could give your younger self some career advice, based on who you are now, what would it be?
00;32;14;26 - 00;33;36;07
DK
I guess I would say, and it's something that's been important to me, and I guess it was a bit of a leap of faith, I kind of found my way to BKSK architects for a reason. I feel lucky that I ended up there, frankly. It reinforced an interest I had, which is really to understand what you're making.
I enjoy design very much. You know, we want to blue sky and think very ambitiously about what a project could be. You want to push the envelope. But I always like to couple that with the reality of how something gets built. And I think that constant tension, if you will, about being ambitious, trying something new, being innovative, I always want to couple that with understanding how you build because a lot of times the innovation will grow out of something quite conventional, or an observation about how things get built. ‘Well, this is how we normally do it.’ Well, what if you just did it the normal way, but turned it 90 degrees and now you have a new detail and you can express things differently. So, those two things don't have to fight each other, and they could actually reinforce each other. And I think that's something that I've tried to instill in people who have worked for me or when I've taught at City Tech. I think that is something that I've found to be a kind of rewarding aspect of the practice. I also think that goes back to where I went to school at University of Maryland. That was something that was kind of a core part of their ethos and their pedagogy about what they taught. And I think it's important and I recognize the sort of value of it as a practicing architect.
00;33;36;09 - 00;33;55;16
DP
Back when I was in Maryland, working in Baltimore, I was out on set with a contractor and he said, “Doug, do us a favor. Do yourself a favor. Always draw something that can be built.” So, learn construction, right? You may be an architect and you may want to be a designer, but you've got to learn how everything goes together first. That’s great advice.
00;33;55;18 - 00;34;20;00
DK
Yeah. And we try to practice this in our office now. Myself and my partners, we all kind of grew up together here at the firm. Once you get through one really big project of consequence, it makes you a better designer for the next project. It's like learning a language. It's like learning a grammar. Once you understand it and can speak the language and know how to form sentences and the structure of it all, it just makes you a better designer for the next one.
00;34;20;04 - 00;34;26;16
DP
Absolutely. David, it's been great to have you here. Thanks for your time. Where can people go to learn more about BKSK architects?
00;34;26;23 - 00;34;35;25
DK
bksk.com Please go ahead and visit. We're also on all of the major social media platforms. Welcome anyone's input, or anyone wants to reach out.
00;34;36;01 - 00;34;38;19
DP
Awesome. Thank you very much. It’s been great to have you as a guest.
00;34;38;21 - 00;34;42;15
DK
Thanks for having me. This was really fun.
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Design Vault Ep. 7 Henhawk House with Sussan Lari
ABOUT THE ARCHITECT:
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As a graduate of the University of Tehran's School of Architecture in her native Iran, Sussan Lari continued her studies in America by completing two master's degrees in architecture and planning from the University of Pennsylvania. She began her professional career with the Eggers Group P.C., Architects, Planners, Interior Designers, where she was the first woman to be named Vice President and stayed with them for 13 years.
After giving birth to her daughter, Sussan founded her own firm - Sussan Lari Architect PC - in 1992, jumpstarting the new company with corporate interior architecture projects in Manhattan. In time, Sussan's interest evolved and today Sussan Lari Architect is a full-service boutique architectural and design build firm that crafts custom residential and commercial architecture in the greater tri-state area. This change of direction brought about a change of personnel; a new team of well-trained, devoted, and detail-oriented collaborators capable of handling the required creative and technical challenges. Sussan was elected President of the Long Island Chapter of the AIA for the year 2000, and her firm is an ongoing member.
Sussan Lari Architect aims to design and help build functional, comfortable, and beautifully designed spaces for modern living. The firm prides themselves on maintaining a mindful collaboration with all their clients, while also accomplishing their goals within budget and on schedule. By implementing a multidisciplinary approach, every project encompasses the entire spectrum of design and the construction process. Through meticulous attention to detail and passion for creative design solutions, their work is a unique reflection of each client's needs. This year, Sussan is celebration the 30-year anniversary of Sussan Lari Architect PC. |
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ABOUT THE PROJECT:
This project was a gut renovation and major expansion of an existing residence. The existing structure was approximately 4,100 square feet of a Tudor style architecture. Sussan's client purchased the house mostly because of the size of the property and its location. What they ended up keeping was the dining room, as the client liked the architectural, plaster ceiling and its decorative elements. We also kept the living room and its fireplace with the brick chimney that stood tall above the roof. Everything else was eliminated including the cellars.
The new 13,300 square foot construction framed these two existing rooms and expanded in three directions. The revised second floor added height to the first floor, except for the dining room that remained with a lower ceiling height. This design outcome was a L-shaped structure with a multi-level first and second floor which added playfulness and provided much higher ceilings for most rooms in the house.
The gallery was maintained all along the first and second floors overlooking the internal garden where the pool is located. The house enjoys plenty of windows to bring in natural light and connect the inside to the outside. Although the house is a Tudor style design language on the outside with intricate brick design layering, stucco & wood paneling, the inside is completely open, expansive, bright, and modern.
An excellent combination for today's modern residences with a classical exterior and a delightfully modern interior.
Henhawk House
Sussan Lari Architect PC
View MoreTRANSCRIPT
00;00;00;03 - 00;00;05;13
Doug Patt (DP)
Let's go inside the vault. The design vault.
00;00;05;15 - 00;00;36;20
Sussan Lari (SL)
The idea become into doing a L-shape design, and because it was kind of long L-shape, it gave me the opportunity to create the design as there are certain components of structures together with the playfulness of the roof, which is important for Tudor style and also different height and introduction of stucco and introduction of wood paneling, framing, stucco and brick.
00;00;36;23 - 00;02;42;08
DP
This is my guest, Sussan Lari. I'll share more about her shortly. In this episode from the Design Vault we’ll highlight Sussan's project, Henhawk House. This project was a renovation and major expansion of an existing 4,100 square foot residence. The new home is approximately 13,300 square feet.
The home features steeply pitched slate roofs, multiple gables of varying size, light red brick facades and half-timbered elevations with stucco infill and light gray wood. The homemade brick is highly detailed, with soldier, diagonal and herringbone coursing. The design also features tall, narrow windows, elliptical masonry archways and red copper gable finials, all of which reference early English domestic architecture and of course, the Tudor style. Although the exterior of the house is a traditional design language, the inside is completely open, functional, expansive, bright and modern.
Hi, I'm Doug Pat, and this is Design Vault.
Today we're talking to Sussan Lari, AIA. Sussan is a graduate of the University of Tehran School of Architecture in her native Iran. Sussan continued her studies in America with two master's degrees in architecture and planning from the University of Pennsylvania. She began her professional career with the Eggers group, P.C. in New York, where she was the first woman to be named vice president.
Sussan founded her own firm in 1992. Her businesses have full service, boutique, architectural and design build firm that crafts custom residential and commercial architecture in the greater tri state area. Sussan was elected president of the Long Island chapter of the American Institute of Architects for the year 2000, and her firm is an ongoing member. Sussan Lari, Architect, P.C. is celebrating their 30-year anniversary.
So, let's get into the details. Welcome, Sussan.
00;02;42;13 - 00;02;43;12
SL
Thank you.
00;02;43;14 - 00;02;51;15
DP
So, Susan, tell us a little bit about your firm. Where are you located? What's the size of the firm and what type of work do you typically do?
00;02;51;21 - 00;03;43;22
SL
My firm, located in Village of Rosslyn in Long Island. It's about half an hour drive from Manhattan, is on the north shore of Long Island, Nassau County. The space that we occupy is a very old building that was built in 1796. And we actually are the very first tenant of that upper portion of the building. The building was used mostly for offices, for timber construction. And it's a landmark building.
The owner of the building eventually was changed and turned into medical offices on the lower level. And then the upper portion was like an office space and a magnificent space in the attic that has never been used.
00;03;43;25 - 00;03;47;25
DP
And the space worked out in terms of your size and number of people you have.
00;03;48;00 - 00;05;05;05
SL
You know, I always wanted to have a smaller firm. I am a bit of a control freak, a bit OCD with perfectionism. So fortunately, or unfortunately, applies to my projects as well. I need to be intimately involved in the entire process, not only design but also selection of material finishes, you know, detailing selection of the trades. So, I thought that we really wouldn't and shouldn't have many, many projects at once.
So, my intention has never been to have a very large office. So, we all kind of involve on purpose intimately with every single project going on in the office. I believe that if I get my staff involved in the life of the project, then they will be more interested to contribute and perform to their best ability and they’re all involved with the client. So, it's like we all together. The number of people working for me at this point are five. So, we are six of us altogether. And at this point and for a while actually majority of our concentration has been on residential projects.
00;05;05;07 - 00;05;09;03
DP
So, what is your role in the office? What are you involved with?
00;05;09;06 - 00;05;11;01
SL
I put so many different hats.
00;05;11;04 - 00;05;12;13
DP
I kind of thought so.
00;05;12;15 - 00;06;00;03
SL
It's bringing marketing and bring client in. Although I have help. But then interviewing, accepting the project, preparing fee proposals. Design is all mine. That's what I do. Although right now Riccardo from my office, who is actually on paternal leave, has trained to be very good designer as well. As much as possible, I could make it happen, I let him get involved to have his point of view and he's really getting better and better. Majority I would say the concept is mine, detailing is mine, the bricks should be on an angle is mine, the interior architecture is mine, furniture furnishing... So I do a lot.
00;06;00;05 - 00;06;06;01
DP
So, tell me, you do a lot of drawing by hand, a lot of sketching. Is that the way you pass along your information and the ideas?
00;06;06;04 - 00;06;17;20
SL
No. Actually, yes, I do hand sketch. I do hand sketch during schematic and when I would like to explain an idea is all hand sketch, but everything else is CAD.
00;06;17;22 - 00;06;20;03
DP
Okay, so what CAD system are you guys on?
00;06;20;10 - 00;06;57;29
SL
Your basic CAD. Actually, because we are too detailed. I checked all different advancements of CAD, and I kind of thought that what we have, which is really basic CAD, has been incredibly helpful for us to provide us the possibility to go detailed. We detail everything. Like our set of construction drawing is close to maybe 30 drawings, just architecture. And when it gets to interior architecture is another like 30 drawings. We detail like cabinetry and bathroom tiles, that kind of stuff.
00;06;57;29 - 00;07;04;16
DP
Yeah, you get into everything. So, let's talk about the Henhawk house. So, tell me how your office got the project.
00;07;04;18 - 00;07;07;05
SL
Well, as usual, they find us-
00;07;07;07 - 00;07;07;26
DP
Word of mouth?
00;07;08;03 - 00;07;36;26
SL
Word of mouth. And they came to us. And it's a young couple. Very young. And the house was - they fall in love with the land. Location is really a fantastic location. The tree lined boulevard type street in Long Island. The house itself was Tudor style, brick, relatively small. Zoning wise, we were allowed to build close to 8,000 square feet and the existing house was close to 4,400 square feet.
00;07;36;27 - 00;07;38;13
DP
So, there's an FAR there?
00;07;38;15 - 00;08;06;10
SL
Yes. Yes. Everything we do is full force zoning and rules and that kind of I've learned them really well as much as can be played with, we have learned it all. But the house had character. But the house was dim, like typically Tudor style houses from outside are just stunningly gorgeous piece of structure. And when you go in, it’s just sad, dark.
00;08;06;15 - 00;08;11;23
DP
I love the way you describe that. It's so true. So many Tudors really feel that way. Absolutely.
00;08;11;29 - 00;08;47;14
SL
You know, in a way, it gives this kind of fear of people to the Tudor because they think Tudors are supposed to be dark interior and that is not going to happen with my approach to design, because I like the style of Tudor and I don't like the style of sad inside spaces. So, it's bright and happy and is open, is spacious. You know, lots of windows. And in this particular case, the expansion of the house was extensive because I needed to keep a chimney.
00;08;47;21 - 00;08;50;00
DP
Was this a functional chimney or boiler flues?
00;08;50;02 - 00;09;09;17
SL
Yes, functional chimney. And then we wanted to keep a fireplace. We wanted to keep a chimney and they wanted to keep the ceiling - plasterwork ceiling of a dining room - so I said, okay, if we keep all those three, but we get rid of everything else and that's what we-
00;09;09;18 - 00;09;12;10
DP
Wow, Right. I'm sure the contractor loved that.
00;09;12;14 - 00;10;27;23
SL
I work with a contractor. I absolutely love him. I'll get to the stories of my contractors because we are very involved in the construction process. So, my knowledge of construction is very high. And the contractor on this job was incredibly knowledgeable man who loved to do stuff like that but didn't care much to deal with clients and with everything else, paperwork,
So, it worked perfect. The idea become into doing a L-shape design, and because it was kind of long L-shape, it gives me the opportunity to create the design as there are certain components of structures together, section by section with the playfulness of a roof, which is important for Tudor style and also different height and also introduction of stucco and introduction of wood paneling, framing stucco and brick, and also playfulness of a brick. I think we were good in accomplishing that because it has its playfulness, and although it is relatively large, but it is not overwhelmingly massive.
00;10;27;29 - 00;10;29;18
DP
Yeah, I'd say it's well scaled.
00;10;29;21 - 00;11;23;02
SL
It is small scale, right? And then at the end we realized that there's no way we could match the old brick. So, I know Glen-Gery very well, because if I ever have done any brickwork, has been Glen-Gery. And why? Because the quality of the material, and I get service. So, I am fussy enough to worry about the size and also worry about the color of the grout. And I want to have two samples of it made before I even decide what color bricks. So, a rep does that service for us. And due to color, we provide the color to what brick and between those is what I chose. And eventually – and I have awesome mason that are Italian and five brothers and they’re one better than the other. They're local. And they do a magnificent job. And also they built a good size.
00;11;23;05 - 00;11;25;18
DP
They did a mockup for you.
00;11;25;20 - 00;12;06;23
SL
Mockup. Absolutely. And one other thing that I was almost kind of experimenting on this project was that I love the style of Tudor on the outside. I don't like the inside. So that was one issue. Second issue, I like the playfulness of how we could create interesting textures and playfulness of the laying of the brick, but Tudor would allow me to do that because we are compartmentalizing pieces, here and there. Other styles don't do that. And then that herringbone style has to be compartmentalized. Right?
00;12;06;26 - 00;12;08;23
DP
Yeah. And between the boards, I think at one.
00;12;08;23 - 00;12;55;10
SL
And between the board would work. We shouldn't do too much of it because too much of accessory, not good. So it allowed me to experiment and do detailed work and also choosing of the color of the brick and the color of the stucco and the freedom I had in detailing and designing and working also with the roof and with the roofer - I’m friend with the roofer, I'm friend with the Mason man, I’m friend - and to make sure that we get eventually a beautifully detailed house on the outside. And then when it come to the inside, our life is modern. We are living in this time. Our space should be representing our era.
00;12;55;17 - 00;12;57;29
DP
Did you guys use any brick on the interior?
00;12;58;06 - 00;13;00;14
SL
Not on this project.
00;13;00;16 - 00;13;08;06
DP
What were some of the historical precedents we were talking about? Details. Were there any local buildings that were Tudors? Was this the only Tudor locally?
00;13;08;06 - 00;13;27;22
SL
Yes. Actually, no. No, it's not. In this particular street, there are many other brick buildings. Typically, I would drive out on and look at the center and say, ‘Oh, this is so gorgeous.’ And, you know, it's one more beautiful than the other one. But I think mine, right now, it's really complete, in good level.
00;13;27;26 - 00;13;42;27
DP
I love – I love it. It's so great. Were there any significant setback issues? So, we were talking about the size of the existing houses almost three times smaller. Were there a significant number of zoning issues other than FAR, setback things?
00;13;42;29 - 00;13;51;21
SL
Yes. The chimney that I wanted to keep, which was right above the fireplace, was outside of skyline exposure.
00;13;51;22 - 00;13;54;09
DP
Okay. There was a height restriction.
00;13;54;11 - 00;15;41;16
SL
Yes, we always have height restriction. In this case, I said this an existing building. This is not a new house. This is a renovation of an existing house. So, I'm allowed to keep the chimney. And that chimney the end up to really change the inside of the chimney and outside of the chimney and all the bricks and everything.
But we kept the height – now, the zoning, building department going to hear that – fortunately, we had no issue of the setback because we had plenty of space from the front of the house in Kings Point, the setback requirement for front yard is 60 feet and we had way more than 60 feet. It was deep enough that I was able to create a parking courtyard in front of the house and the garage. We have one two car garage on the upper level and then three car garage in the lowest level. The garage is actually coming further out from the front of the house, but I don't think we had any other zoning issues.
But one other feature of the house that I thought it’s kind of important, as I was driving around and see all these Tudor houses, Tudor is not a box. Tudor is never a box. Tudor span, and that is one beautiful feature of when these all expand. We had a lot of width. Plenty of available width. The size of the property was very large, and we had enough room on the site and I thought that if I could add an extra width to the house we’ll be introducing a brick wall extending from the garage and that will be the access from the front of the house to the garden.
00;15;41;18 - 00;15;45;06
DP
And then you did a series of small windows along the garage, correct?
00;15;45;10 - 00;16;03;14
SL
Yes, because a simple wall without any detail in the front elevation was not a good idea. If I can introduce fenestration into the wall and breaking it because this is, again, the style of Tudor.
00;16;03;16 - 00;16;08;21
DP
Did you guys get to do any new details on this project that you hadn't done in the past?
00;16;08;23 - 00;16;23;28
SL
Yes. That brick herringbone is new. The playfulness of the brick above the entrance hall in the front and back. Front and back are identical in what they represent, and we don't repeat ourself. Literally, none of our projects are the same.
00;16;24;00 - 00;16;29;11
DP
I love the red copper finials on the gable ends. Does that double as lightning protection?
00;16;29;17 - 00;17;19;16
SL
Yes. And our roofer is just a master roofer. Unfortunately, he retired after pandemic. We loved him. Just spend a lot of time together coming up with ideas. And he performed beautifully.
And the door - there's also some - another feature we kept many of the existing trees. Trees are valuable. Don't like to cut trees. Doesn't matter if the tree is close to the house or tree is in front of the house. What’s wrong? Tree wants to be where tree wants to be. So, it was a tree that was really beautiful and wouldn't end up to be right in front of that passage to the garden. I couldn't cut the tree, said ‘let it be.’ And actually, in some of the pictures, you could see that the tree is right in front of the passage.
00;17;19;18 - 00;17;28;18
DP
So, this is a traditional home, but this question is kind of top of mind for most people today. Does sustainability come up with your clients at all, and materiality that you guys are using?
00;17;28;18 - 00;18;51;12
SL
Not with the client, but with my – with me, my office. We always do that. I've learned that maybe I've been kind of lucky here and there, having people who really care about sustainability. Sadly enough, majority don't, or they do not necessarily connect building material to sustainability. So, my office does for years. We do it without naming it because then they're concerned about the cost.
There are many different areas that we could really think about building the quality of heating and cooling system, the energy conservation insulation system. Those I do with that saying. My clients often who would not be bothered with that. Selection of the windows, undoubtedly. Using windows with the UL rated that transform the least amount of light, not brightness, but UV into the house we do. When it comes to insulation system, all spray foam. This goes without saying in every project we do. Selection of the material, natural, as much as we can. Selection of materials that are not biodegradable. I fight for that, to not do it.
00;18;51;15 - 00;18;53;27
DP
Did your clients want to use brick from the very beginning?
00;18;53;27 - 00;19;14;28
SL
Yeah, because their house was already brick. So, I thought that they liked the house, they loved the ceiling of the dining room. So fine, that was. And then I said, what else do you like? “We like the fireplace.” Okay, I like the chimney, but they like the fireplace. Fine. What else? “Brick.” And I said, okay, because Tudor style is brick.
00;19;15;04 - 00;19;23;24
DP
Well, I'm thinking it's solved so many design challenges for you guys. I mean, you got to be really playful with brick, but it also solved a lot of problems.
00;19;23;26 - 00;19;39;20
SL
Well, with brick, needless to say, is an amazing material. And it has been used for centuries and centuries and centuries, and still doing well. So, I don't quarrel when it comes to selection of brick.
00;19;39;23 - 00;19;44;00
DP
Did your team learn anything interesting through the process of building this building?
00;19;44;07 - 00;19;46;08
SL
We do on every building, actually.
00;19;46;10 - 00;19;53;22
DP
Isn't that interesting? It doesn’t matter how long you've been practicing, every one of us seems to learn something new every - every job. More than one thing.
00;19;53;28 - 00;19;57;26
SL
Undoubtedly. Information constantly changing.
00;19;57;27 - 00;20;00;09
DP
Yeah, that's a good point. It really does. Yeah.
00;20;00;11 - 00;20;30;09
SL
And what is available in the market constantly change. I think we become obsolete if we do not pay attention to what's happened. If we become comfortable in doing the same thing on and on, then our curiosity also lacks. And then we become so proud in what we do because we are successful and we are, you know, making money and we made it and we repeat the same thing. That is kind of the end of creativity.
00;20;30;11 - 00;20;35;18
DP
Off subject, have you thought at all about A.I. and what it means for our profession?
00;20;35;20 - 00;20;59;05
SL
Yes. I kind of love the idea. Yes. And I know that so much of worries there is there of AI to replace human beings. At the end, we are using the AI either to our benefit or not, but I think the benefits that AI could do are so amazingly high.
00;20;59;07 - 00;21;00;18
DP
So, using it as a tool.
00;21;00;22 - 00;21;01;27
SL
Like everything else.
00;21;02;04 - 00;21;20;23
DP
Well, I just wonder at what point, how much control are we going to have over how we're using AI, how our clients who aren't coming to architects are using AI, whether or not architects will ultimately use it as part of their services? It's a huge can of worms, but it's definitely something I've been thinking about.
00;21;21;00 - 00;21;24;01
SL
Let me tell you something. When I was graduating from UPenn-
00;21;24;02 - 00;21;25;11
DP
I went to Penn, by the way, too.
00;21;25;12 - 00;21;26;15
SL
Did you?
00;21;26;19 - 00;21;27;21
DP
I did. For graduate school, yeah.
00;21;27;26 - 00;22;02;19
SL
Okay. So same with me, graduate school. When I was graduating, they had a lecture, a farewell lecture. And the lecture was kind of gloomy because now you're done, graduated. We're sending you off to practice architecture, but we want to let you know the number of percentage of American buildings being designed by architects – I don’t remember exact number, but it was between nine and 11 – and then they said, compared to European – that I remember very well – 45%.
00;22;02;19 - 00;22;03;14
DP
Wow.
00;22;03;16 - 00;23;39;10
SL
So, I left school knowing that. Then I was thinking that that is not the problem necessarily with architect, but the problem of American not know what we do and the importance of our presence for every project. And that is again and again and again, we need to somehow change that level of knowledge of public work, which I think AIA is trying to do the best of their ability to inform public as the importance of architect, because we are not a set of drawings.
If anybody thinks that our work is a blueprint, then they have no clue of the importance of architect in any project. And we should also never try to compare ourself or believe that builders have taken our spot because typically, especially for residential architecture, people go to a contractor sometime before coming to the architect, and that is because contractor has been available and present for years and architects have not been available and present.
And the majority of quality architects, they don't want to even go to residential architecture because to them is just not good enough. And they have left this vast possibilities. We have – our builders build these buildings, by not the fault of themselves, because they don't know better of whatever is left of the world of residential architecture in America is sad.
00;23;39;12 - 00;24;14;07
DP
Wow. What I like about your position is that it's very positive, right? You could sit there and say, you know what, we're done designing, AI is going to be able to do it. It's going to have access to every design in the world and it's going to take over the world. And I love your explanation of being in school and hearing that architects – and I think I heard the same thing, that they were only responsible for a very small percentage of what was actually being done out there – and the reality is you still have a job and I still have a job, and although our jobs may change, I think we're going to be busy for a long time.
00;24;14;08 - 00;24;59;13
SL
We're going to be fine. We're going to be fine. And I think is gradually shifting. If people are shifting toward being concerned about their well-being, if shifting about being concerned about their health, their eating habit, small percentage, but we are small percentage when it comes to using our services. So, I think architecture and our part of the work, which is the importance of aesthetic, this is something I cannot put more emphasis on than anything else. Even if you don't need my knowledge, fine. But then the contractor’s knowledge – yes, he has knowledge of construction and maybe knowledge of material, but doesn't have knowledge of-
00;24;59;13 - 00;25;00;23
DP
Doesn't have the aesthetic training.
00;25;00;26 - 00;25;01;22
SL
No.
00;25;01;24 - 00;25;04;10
DP
Well, Sussan, it's been really nice to meet you.
00;25;04;15 - 00;25;05;28
SL
Thank you so much.
00;25;06;00 - 00;25;09;21
DP
So where do people go to find out more about Sussan Lari Architect, PC.
00;25;09;21 - 00;25;14;24
SL
I have a website, sussanlariarchitect and Instagram.
00;25;15;00 - 00;25;18;04
DP
Very good. Well, thank you very much for being here. It was really nice to meet you.
00;25;18;05 - 00;25;19;13
SL
Thank you very much for inviting me.
00;25;19;15 - 00;25;20;28
DP
I love your house. It's beautiful.
00;25;21;03 - 00;25;24;10
SL
Thank you.
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Design Vault Ep. 2 Vanderbilt University with Steve Knight
ABOUT THE ARCHITECT:
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Steve Knight, AIA is a Principal with David M. Schwarz Architects, Inc. he studied at North Carolina State University where he received his Master of Architecture, that same year he joined David M. Schwarz Architects. Steve primarily focuses on his firm’s performing arts venue projects. He served as Project Architect for the design of Schermerhorn Symphony Center, The Palladium at the Center for the Performing Arts, the Gaillard Center, and most recently an 8,000-seat amphitheater in Huntsville, Alabama. He is currently leading the office’s team on the design of a neighborhood center for Chevy Chase Lake in Maryland and the multi-phase Residential College project at Vanderbilt University. Steve is active in preservation advocacy, serving as President of the Art Deco Society of Washington and on the board of the International Coalition of Art Deco Societies. |
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![vanderbilt university](/sites/default/files/inline-images/20907-Vanderbilt_Residential-006-X2.jpg)
Vanderbilt University
Nicholas S. Zeppos College, Bronson Ingram Building
See MoreTRANSCRIPT
00;00;05;27 - 00;00;29;07
SN
It's a very faithful rendition of what's known as Collegiate Gothic. It is very much in step with this long-established tradition of higher education that goes back to the church in Europe and then institutions like Oxford and Cambridge. And then it comes over to the states with institutions like Harvard and Yale, who are doing very much the same thing. They were trying to identify with this established tradition.
00;00;29;14 - 00;02;24;07
DP
This is my guest, Steve Knight. I'll share more about him shortly. In this episode from the Design Vault we’ll highlight Steve's project, the Nicholas S. Zeppos College Building at Vanderbilt University.
The Nicholas S. Zeppos College Building is several thousand square feet, five stories with a large tower at one end. The building is red brick and limestone, designed in the collegiate Gothic style. The building has a slate roof, slate dormers, large brick chimney masses, limestone window frames and quoins, multi-story window bays, gable forms across the facade, and limestone gothic arches, a tall square picturesque tower with chamfered corners, polychromatic brickwork and limestone cap rounds out the building at one end.
Hi, I'm Doug Pat and this is Design Vault. Today we're talking to Steve Knight, who led the team designing the Nicholas S. Zeppos College at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee. Steve is a member of the American Institute of Architects and he's a principal with David M. Schwarz Architects. He studied at North Carolina State University, where he received his Master of Architecture. That same year, he joined David M. Schwarz Architects. Steve primarily focuses on his firm's performing arts venue projects. He served as project architect for the design of the Schermerhorn Symphony Center, the Palladium at the Center for Performing Arts, the Gilliard center, and most recently, an 8000-seat amphitheater in Huntsville, Alabama.
Among other projects, he's currently leading the offices team on the design of the multiphase residential college project at Vanderbilt University. The Nicholas S. Zeppos College Building is one of four residential buildings for DMS at Vanderbilt University. So let's get into the details. Welcome, Steve.
00;02;24;14 - 00;02;25;28
SN
Greetings, Doug. Good to be here.
00;02;26;08 - 00;02;30;09
DP
So, tell us a little bit about your firm, David M. Schwarz Architects.
00;02;30;20 - 00;03;04;27
SN
Sure. We're a mid-sized design architect and planning firm. We're based in Washington, D.C. We have about 35 design architects on staff. We were started in the mid-seventies by our founder, David M. Schwarz.
It was a really interesting time to start an architecture firm in Washington and in the U.S., really. And there are two pivotal things that happened in the late seventies. The first was the district passed one of the most stringent historic preservation ordinances in the country. And on the heels of that, the federal government enacted tax credits for historic preservation.
00;03;04;27 - 00;03;06;22
DP
Really? How fortuitous.
00;03;07;00 - 00;03;43;12
SN
So, we found ourselves, the firm at the time - this is before my time there, obviously - but we found ourselves working in newly established historic districts on landmark designated buildings, and it really informed how we think about architecture that architecture is - it's very important that it responds very carefully to the context around it. Each building is part of a larger ecosystem that creates meaningful places, beautiful places to walk, live, places that are memorable. That really is a kind of a train of thought that I think we've carried through all of our work to this day.
00;03;43;20 - 00;03;54;16
DP
So, the greater majority of the work that you guys do is traditional. Has that been challenging in any era over the course of the last 50 years when people were doing more modern architecture and...
00;03;54;26 - 00;04;42;08
SN
Well, it certainly is today. We never sought out to be traditional architects in that sense. One project begets another, and like many architects, we sort of get known for our buildings and what we do. And I think in terms of that stylistic leaning, if you will, it's a bit controversial these days, I think, particularly within the architecture design community, where I think there is a tendency amongst the majority to want to look forward in sort of the past is the past, let's look to the present and let's look to the future.
I think for us, architecture is primarily about communication. And what we mean by that is that buildings in their edifices say something to people and it's really important that they engage with the communities that they serve.
00;04;42;20 - 00;04;58;02
DP
Yeah, it's interesting talking about classicism, traditional architecture, having a kind of language and speaking to the community in a certain way. Right. It's kind of understandable language for many people. You see, especially in Washington.
00;04;58;10 - 00;05;02;25
SN
It is, it's a very legible language of building and design. Absolutely.
00;05;03;03 - 00;05;05;14
DP
So, tell us about your role in the office.
00;05;05;27 - 00;05;33;12
SN
I'm a principal in the firm. I've been with the firm since I finished graduate school back in the late nineties. I started out as an intern and then, as you could imagine, sort of worked my way up through architect staff and project architect and then project manager. I spend most of my time communicating and working with teams of people in the office. Design, for us, is a very collaborative sport. The office is a very collaborative environment.
00;05;33;12 - 00;05;33;28
DP
That's great.
00;05;34;05 - 00;05;59;17
SN
I think one of the most interesting things to me is the founder, David Schwarz. I have rarely ever seen David pick up a pencil and draw something, but he commands a great deal of influence and quality oversight of the firm's body of work, largely through talking to people, getting to know each of us. And I in turn try to do the same.
00;05;59;25 - 00;06;02;08
DP
Well, you've been there a long time. It sounds like you've got a great boss.
00;06;02;14 - 00;06;07;06
SN
He is a great boss. We got a great group of people around me. I consider myself very lucky.
00;06;07;12 - 00;06;20;27
DP
Oh, that's really cool, because, I mean, architecture is challenging enough, right? It's a challenging profession. Very difficult business. We're all architects, right? So, we're all a little self-absorbed. To find somebody you enjoy working with and for is wonderful.
00;06;21;02 - 00;06;22;01
SN
Yeah, it's very important.
00;06;22;04 - 00;06;34;02
DP
Yeah, that's great. So, let's dig in here. Let's talk about the residential college project at Vanderbilt and specifically the Nicholas S. Zeppos College building. How did your office get this project?
00;06;34;15 - 00;07;25;15
SN
Well, it goes back to a master plan study that we did. Oh, at least 15 years ago, we conducted a study. The university was interested in reorganizing student life on campus, and they struck on the idea of the residential college model, which grows out of a very well-established tradition that starts on the other side of the pond by places like Oxford and Cambridge.
And then it comes to the States in the early 20th century with the Ivy League institutions like Yale and Harvard and Princeton. And what they really liked about it was this notion of breaking down the larger student community into smaller communities of a few hundred people. So, we developed this master plan that sort of provided strategic opportunity areas on where these colleges could be located.
00;07;25;21 - 00;07;28;28
DP
So, they came to you with this idea. There would be four colleges.
00;07;29;06 - 00;07;38;02
SN
They came to us with a very broad idea of, “we want to rethink student life on campus,” and through conversation, the residential college model came out of that.
00;07;38;02 - 00;07;38;21
DP
Wonderful.
00;07;38;23 - 00;08;00;27
SN
And then opportunity areas across campus. We identified sites. They then constructed what they called the freshman campus, the freshman college, if you will. That's where all first-year students go to live and there was a bit of a lull. And then we sort of came back with this more defined project of the four colleges, of which Nicholas S. Zeppos is number two.
00;08;01;08 - 00;08;07;11
DP
So, had you been hired at that point or were you working against other architects to try to get the project?
00;08;07;16 - 00;08;17;01
SN
No, we had been hired at that point. We had done other work in Nashville, most notably the Schermerhorn Symphony Center, the Nashville Symphony's concert hall.
00;08;17;01 - 00;08;18;02
DP
So, they knew of you.
00;08;18;03 - 00;08;22;19
SN
So, they knew of us. And we just developed good, strong relationships in the community.
00;08;22;20 - 00;08;31;27
DP
That's great. It's a great way to get jobs. So, can you tell me a little bit about the history of the place, the town, the neighborhood, the buildings around the site?
00;08;32;04 - 00;08;52;00
SN
Sure. In Nashville, it's a fascinating city with great heritage and history. One of its monikers is the Athens of the South. They have a full-scale replica of the Parthenon on Centennial Park campus, which is actually just across the West End Boulevard from Vanderbilt.
00;08;52;02 - 00;08;55;07
DP
I'm sure I've seen photos of this and have forgotten. That's incredible.
00;08;55;17 - 00;08;59;15
SN
It. It really is. Every detail is fully, faithfully executed.
00;08;59;16 - 00;09;02;07
DP
I'd love to talk about that some time but go ahead.
00;09;02;17 - 00;10;17;15
SN
But that's not why it's called the Athens of the South. It's called the Athens of the south because of the number of institutions of higher learning that one finds there. So, you have Fisk, you have Vanderbilt, many institutions. And it just at a sort of a per capita level. It developed this sort of bookish, erudite culture. Another thing that helped reinforced it was there's a great deal of publishing that happens there, mostly religious, and musical publications.
So anyway, so it's the Athens of the South, so that's really neat. The Vanderbilt history is really interesting because it's basically it's founded as an outgrowth of the Civil War. The institution, it was basically viewed by its namesake who endowed the starting of the university as a kind of a healing moment between the North and the South.
Cornelius Vanderbilt. And he has a statue, obviously, in the heart of campus. The campus itself is - it's a really beautiful green garden-like setting. It does have the classification of being an arboretum because of the number of unique specimens of trees one finds there. The architecture is quite eclectic. Like most campuses, there's a kind of a historic heart of Victorian era buildings and some collegiate gothic buildings as well. And then it sort of evolves over time.
00;10;17;24 - 00;10;31;07
DP
So, you touched a little bit on what these college buildings are composed of. Could you give me a little bit more information about the programmatic requirements of each of the four buildings - or let's just stick to the Zeppos College building?
00;10;31;12 - 00;12;03;17
SN
Yes. So Zeppos houses 340 students. We typically say beds. It has 340 beds. So that's the lingo in that business, if you will. And it's viewed as a really holistic living environment for students. Not only are there places to sleep, but there are also places to study, places to gather. There are places to eat. There are even accommodations for some resident faculty. Each of the colleges, or at Zeppos, has a family - faculty member and their family has an apartment within the facility. And they help provide leadership and mentorship to the student community.
So, and all of those things are fully realized programmatically with dining facilities. There's a really great dining hall in Zeppos. There's a great room, as we call it, a large living room with wood paneling, courtyards. So there's nice quality, secure, defensible outdoor space for the students to use.
On each of the floors, it was a really interesting challenge because we're dealing with a lot, even within that reduced footprint of only 300 odd beds, it's still a lot of program, a lot of footprint to have to manage. So, to create a sense of place that's navigable and somewhat homelike and approachable and familiar, we did some interesting things within the student floors. There's a lot of articulation in the building massing, and we offset the double loaded corridors to create nodes and they tend to coincide with elevators and stairs so that we create places for students to naturally bump into each other.
00;12;04;00 - 00;12;16;08
DP
Well, I'm going to actually ask you about that in just a minute. So first, let's back up and talk a little bit about the site and the topographic features, if there are any. Or are they just completely flat?
00;12;16;19 - 00;13;04;06
SN
No, there is a bit of grade change from - I have to get my compass directions right - from east to west. I think what's most interesting about the site is it has kind of a two-sided nature to it. So, on one side is West End Avenue, which is a major east west thoroughfare that connects with downtown Nashville. It's sort of the public face of Vanderbilt. So, the colleges were a real opportunity to sort of enhance the university's image to the outward community.
And then on the other side, the opposite side is a very opposite kind of condition. It's a series of very low scale residential structures that house the Greek community. So, several houses, each one is a fraternity or a sorority. So, we had to respond to two very different contexts on each side of the building.
00;13;04;17 - 00;13;08;22
DP
So, tell us a little bit more about the building plan. You started getting into that.
00;13;08;29 - 00;13;29;25
SN
Sure. So Zeppos is a figure eight with two courtyards. What makes the figure eight is what we call a double loaded bar, if you will, on the upper student room floors. You have rooms on both sides of a corridor. And again, there's interesting offsets in those corridors and bars to help break down the massing.
00;13;30;04 - 00;13;32;25
DP
Does that create these large gables?
00;13;33;00 - 00;13;48;03
SN
Yes. And then and then some of the bars, we actually punch through to create Gables to help break down and articulate the massing of the building. It's basically a city block. So, all of those moves are really important to help make the building very approachable and friendly.
00;13;48;11 - 00;13;51;14
DP
Are all four college buildings a city block.
00;13;51;26 - 00;14;14;09
SN
About. They each layout a little differently from one another. The one immediately to the east of this one, Rothschild College. That one has three courtyards. Due to the particulars of that particular site and obviously what makes the Zeppos college most special amongst the four of them is this 300-foot tower at one end of it.
00;14;14;17 - 00;14;20;03
DP
So that's a great segway. Tell us about the style of this building because it's stunning.
00;14;20;12 - 00;15;02;06
SN
It's a very faithful rendition of what's known as Collegiate Gothic. It was really very much a communication and really a marketing decision by the university in terms of we looked at lots of different vernaculars. What should these things look like? And the entire team ultimately arrived at Collegiate Gothic is the appropriate response. It is very much in step with this long-established tradition of higher education that goes back to the church in Europe and then institutions like Oxford and Cambridge, and then it comes over to the States with institutions like Harvard and Yale who are doing very much the same thing. They were trying to identify with this established tradition.
00;15;02;13 - 00;15;04;13
DP
Really? I mean, it makes perfect sense.
00;15;04;14 - 00;15;05;02
SN
Absolutely.
00;15;05;13 - 00;15;14;25
DP
So, were there any specific buildings that you can recall that you guys were looking at? The tower looks like it could have been pulled from the facade from a church in Europe. Right? I mean.
00;15;15;02 - 00;16;04;01
SN
Sure, we're very eclectic in our approach. We spend a lot of time looking at examples in books. We try to visit places in person, and that was a really important tool at the outset of this project is we actually took members of the client team on a little whirlwind tour of residential college examples around the country. Some examples that we looked to for the tower would be the Harkness Tower at Yale.
A slightly more atypical one that we did look at. It would be the Nebraska state Capitol and I think one feature that we quoted from that one is towards the top of the tower. As it starts to step in, you'll see what we call a little lantern, a little limestone lantern on each of the four corners. That's a common type feature in this style of architecture. When you're creating a tapered tall form like this, we thought it worked very well.
00;16;04;09 - 00;16;11;29
DP
And you chose brick for the majority of the material for these exterior facades? Tell me a little bit about that.
00;16;12;07 - 00;16;45;17
SN
Well, we always want our buildings to have a really rich palette of materials. And that's true of the interior and, of course, the exterior. So here the palette is a combination of brick, carved Indiana limestone, and then an accent stone, which is called Crab Orchard. It's actually a stone that's native to Tennessee. And we thought that was very appropriate to sort of weave in a local material that one finds in and around Nashville. The brick in particular is really interesting because we knew we didn't want a stark read of just one color.
00;16;45;19 - 00;16;48;08
DP
Right. Like if the building was all limestone.
00;16;48;08 - 00;17;09;26
SN
Like it was all limestone. And even within the brick itself, it's not just one brick, it's actually a blend of three bricks. And we did lots of mockup panels with the help of a very patient Mason, and a very patient local brick distributor who gave us about an acre of their brickyard to do all these different experiments.
00;17;09;27 - 00;17;10;16
DP
That's so cool.
00;17;10;16 - 00;17;46;22
SN
We tried different blends and we ultimately settled on a blend of three bricks for the college, and then we further augmented that with what we call decorative bond detailing. So, if you look closely at some of the details, you'll see brick that's fashioned into basket weave patterns, sawtooth patterns, what's known in England as diapering, which is creating a sort of a diamond checkerboard pattern. And we use different bricks for that as well. They tended to be iron spot bricks that are really beautiful because they catch and reflect light in different ways depending on how the sun is hitting them.
00;17;47;06 - 00;18;26;25
DP
Yeah, so it's interesting. We've got this polychrome going on, so you guys have the red brick and then I see these diamonds which are made from a different color brick, and then you're taking that one step further. You're backing off the changes in color perhaps, and you're changing the direction of these bricks and the patterns on the interiors.
I mean, it just takes so much time and thought to do everything you guys are doing on these facades. How much time did it take? Just doing like the design work? And who was doing that design work in the office? How were you doing these drawings and how are they being reviewed? I mean, there's a lot going on here.
00;18;27;02 - 00;19;17;26
SN
There's a lot there. I mean, the process is really key and it's a very layered process. You don't start out drawing detail. You start out with a parti and then you look at the plan and then you study the massing and then you get to a point and that's schematic design and that was probably about five months. And then we launch into design development.
We are refining the details and that was probably another six months of design development. And within both of those design phases, it's hand sketching, physical study models - we still love doing old fashioned models, just cutting out of cardboard and matte board - as well as two-dimensional drafting. And then, of course, actually three-dimensional modeling and digital modeling in the computer. That was a really key tool.
00;19;18;06 - 00;19;22;26
DP
With all these bricks and all those patterns. Must have been an unbelievable process.
00;19;22;26 - 00;19;45;28
SN
Yeah. And then it all has to be documented. It's a beautiful project. The standards were very high at the same time we did have a budget and doing cost take-offs at each of the milestone levels of completion - at schematic design and design development - were very important and they caused us to have to do some recalibrating and some adjusting to keep the thing on budget and on track.
00;19;46;09 - 00;19;52;23
DP
Yeah, I mean, you sit down with the clients and show them some of this stuff and I'm sure the first words out of their mouths is how much is this going to cost, right?
00;19;52;25 - 00;20;12;01
SN
Sure. It's interesting. In the earliest design packages, schematic design, you just can't draw all the detail. So, we actually put photos of collegiate gothic buildings in the drawings to help the contractors really get their head around, okay, this is really complex here. This is not your typical...
00;20;12;14 - 00;20;19;14
DP
And there had to have been a lot of handholding in the field too. I mean, a lot of the detail, like the variegated quoins, the quoining on the corners.
00;20;19;14 - 00;20;23;19
SN
Yeah. Every one of those stones is actually laid out in the design.
00;20;23;27 - 00;20;30;16
DP
All the dimensions, the materiality, the color. Like everything. Wow. So, there's a lot of details.
00;20;30;27 - 00;20;39;27
SN
Yes. I mean, it's a phone book level – for anybody who remembers what a phone book is – a phone book thickness level of drawing and documentation.
00;20;40;04 - 00;20;51;19
DP
Tell me a little bit about the limestone work, because, again, the level, the detail and the wonderful intricate detailing, I mean, you've got to draw and then you got to find somebody to make that.
00;20;51;28 - 00;21;24;16
SN
It's southern Indiana is limestone country. Indiana limestone. It's where the stone is quarried and it's where it is still fabricated. To this day, it is grand tradition. It goes back to the mid-1800s. It had its heyday in the early 20th century with, one just imagines, the proliferation of limestone buildings one finds in any great city in the U.S. and then it gradually tapered off from there after the war in particular. But there are still a few very dedicated fabricator firms that do the what they call the cutting.
00;21;24;23 - 00;21;30;24
DP
It had to have been hard to find somebody with so few people doing this kind of - this level of detail work.
00;21;31;07 - 00;21;44;12
SN
Well, there's one firm we've worked with on almost all of our projects. And they’re still - this is what they do. They are perfectly set up to do it, Bybee Limestone. We know them very well. We love them and they know us. And they love us too.
00;21;44;12 - 00;22;05;24
DP
Yeah, it's stunning. So back to Brick for a second. Did Brick solve any particular design challenges for the architecture for the client? I mean, you touched a little bit on the color, on the exterior and the feel of the architecture, right? We talked about the fact that you make this building all limestone. You got a problem. I mean, it's just a monolith.
00;22;06;06 - 00;22;38;17
SN
Yeah, well, it's a very warming material. It's very appropriate, in particular, the way it's used here for what is essentially a residential place. It's a very approachable, it's a very durable material, obviously. And sustainability is very important. We think one of the most important aspects of sustainability is building very consciously, using resources very consciously and very wisely. And in building something that will hopefully be around for a very long time. This building will be around for a very long time.
00;22;39;05 - 00;22;45;02
DP
That's for sure. Were there any unique construction details that you guys developed as you were working on this?
00;22;45;12 - 00;23;50;11
SN
Yeah, as I mentioned earlier, architecture is a very collaborative sport, and we didn't do this all ourselves. We had a very dedicated architect of record Hastings Architects out of Nashville. They were very faithful in working with us to realize all of the technical detailing, achieve what we're trying to achieve aesthetically, and then a really good contractor late in construction. They were very on top of things the whole way.
I'd say a couple of specifics: one of the things, the details that makes the colleges really fun and interesting are these ornamental chimneys that you find on the roof. And the contractor hit on a really interesting idea because in particular after the previous college where they did not do this, they elected to construct the chimneys on the ground, and then hoist them into place with the tower crane. That allowed them to advance construction on the roof without tying up a huge amount of roof area with scaffolding and preventing them from drying in the building. It was just a much easier erection process down on the ground.
00;23;50;21 - 00;23;53;09
DP
You just have boiler flues going through these things. I mean.
00;23;53;16 - 00;23;58;06
SN
They're vents, They're flues. Yeah. So, they do they do serve a functional purpose as well.
00;23;58;07 - 00;24;05;00
DP
I think that's a wonderful touch. You wouldn't expect to see these chimney masses on a building like that. They really kind of set it apart.
00;24;05;07 - 00;24;46;07
SN
One other quick detail is it sort of goes back to the documentation. After we get even through CDs and in construction, there's then what's known as the submittal process where shop drawings are submitted and the contractor hired one firm, an engineering firm that was sort of the central documentation point for all of the masonry. Typically, you would have separate drawings for brick and limestone, and in this case, the Crab Orchard. So, we had one firm that was weaving all of that together. It really helped the coordination and adjustments that had to be made to some of the technical details because it was all in one place. You know, it's also this is modern cavity wall construction.
00;24;47;13 - 00;24;49;03
DP
That’s a good point. Okay. So how does that work?
00;24;49;11 - 00;25;23;18
SN
So, there's a concrete superstructure between the slabs. We span metal studs. And then much like any building, we pack insulation between the studs. There's exterior rated gyp. board and then a barrier coating that goes over that and then some additional installation in some cases to get the proper R-values. And then the brick is hung off the building. It's built the way modern brick buildings are built today. Cause it really had to be, because that's just how we build - that's how people know how to build. Yet, we're trying to achieve something quite different in the aesthetics.
00;25;23;25 - 00;25;26;07
DP
Did you guys use any brick on the interior?
00;25;26;18 - 00;26;01;09
SN
So far, no. But there's one last college that's under construction and we were using brick in the dining hall of that one. It'll be a thin brick that's applied to the inside wall surface, but it's been a fun opportunity and a challenge at the same time across four colleges, because we want them all to fit within this collegiate gothic vernacular.
But yet, we want each one to be slightly different, so it's identifiable and to the community that lives there in a larger community as well. So, finding subtle, fun, different things we could do from one to the next was always one of the most interesting and challenging parts of this.
00;26;01;21 - 00;26;10;17
DP
I was thinking about while we were talking about the general contractor that you worked with. Was it a bid job or did you guys go immediately to the GC?
00;26;10;27 - 00;26;31;26
SN
They were a construction manager. So, they were brought on board early in the process during design. We like working that way because we like getting the technical expertise and input during design. We can constantly be moving forward as opposed to taking three steps back if a contractor comes on much later and says, “I wouldn't have done it that way.”
00;26;32;01 - 00;26;37;09
DP
What I was getting at was whether or not you had any challenges finding a really good mason.
00;26;37;19 - 00;26;48;06
SN
You know, it's interesting. It's lots of masons. There was a mason subcontractor, but they in turn subcontracted. It would be interesting to ask them. I know it was a challenge.
00;26;48;08 - 00;26;50;21
DP
Finding the right people to do the work.
00;26;50;21 - 00;26;51;17
SN
The right skill set.
00;26;51;23 - 00;26;57;11
DP
It's always a challenge for every architect. So, Steve, what was your favorite part of the project?
00;26;57;22 - 00;27;36;01
SN
I really enjoy the design development phase. We're really getting in and figuring out details. It's a level of problem solving that I find really interesting because in the earlier design phase, we sort of setting up the game board and making the major moves, but then to go in and make each one actually work and really figure stuff out and all the tools that we used to do that and it's a really interesting variety of tools, whether it's a half inch scale model of a corbel that's sitting on my desk or a sketch or the digital model, I just find problem solving at that level to be really, really fully engaging and satisfying.
00;27;36;10 - 00;28;02;24
DP
It's great. It takes a long time for most people to find what they really love about the profession, right? I mean, some people end up doing everything they've small offices, some people end up doing one thing one or two things inside of an office. It's a challenging business. It's a challenging profession. I think it's really nice that you're as happy as you are doing what you're doing and as good as you are at it. That's wonderful.
00;28;03;02 - 00;28;24;05
SN
I think one of the other interesting things, I use the word ownership a lot with the teams in the office and in design development. It's a really great opportunity to give individual young designers pieces of the building to figure out and design. When it's all done, they can come with me to the site and they can look at that point and yeah, I did that. That's really cool.
00;28;24;05 - 00;28;30;16
DP
Oh, that's great. So, Steve Knight, it was great to have you here. Where do people go to find you and your firm?
00;28;30;20 - 00;28;41;29
SN
Go to our web site www.dmsas.com. And if you're in Washington DC, come by and pay us a visit. 1707 L Street
00;28;43;00 - 00;28;47;09
DP
You get to meet some of our listeners. That's wonderful. Well, thank you very much, Steve Knight.
00;28;48;00 - 00;28;49;12
SN
Thank you, Doug. It's been a pleasure.
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Design Vault Ep. 25 102 Bainbridge with Michelle Todd
ABOUT THE ARCHITECT:
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A design firm specializing in progressive and innovative designs that enhance the environment and existing urban fabric. * Our focus is to design and develop projects that are sensitive and responsible to social wellness, cradle to cradle architecture and the planet. * Better buildings. Better change.
Michelle Todd is an architect and urban community activist who has a longstanding passion for socially responsive, innovatively progressive, and restorative preservation design. Michelle grew up in Brooklyn’s Bedford-Stuyvesant neighborhood in the 1970s before it was hip, in one of Mayor John Lindsay’s modular housing developments. She knew she wanted to be an architect at ten and had big plans for the empty lot across from her apartment building.
It was the beginning of her interest in Urban Planning and how socially responsive architecture can do something positive for people and the planet. After a brief stint at Perkins Eastman, she opened her own firm in 2008. Since then, she has worked for small and large corporations such as Snapple, the New York City agency Office of Emergency Management and private residential projects. Since 2008 she has since set up her own studio in Brooklyn, New York and focuses on historic renovations and additions to collaborate more directly with clients and be closer to the construction process. She has worked on landmark designated buildings, bakeries, restaurants, school projects and completed dexterous renovations which push the envelope of the expected, creating simple beautiful spaces. Michelle has a Master of Science from Columbia University GSAPP in Architecture and Urban Design, where she was awarded the Lucille Smyser Lowenfish Honors Award for work in Urban Design. Master Planning of Community Developments is an initiative she is well versed in accomplishing. She is certified as a consultant with the International Institute of Building Enclosures (IIBEC) and Living Future Accredited (LFA) with the International Living Future Institute. She also studied at the famous École de Beaux-Arts in Fontainebleau, France. She is an adjunct Professor at New York City CUNY College and a licensed architect in New York State and Maryland State. You can find her gardening and planning programming with the AIA Brooklyn COTE Committee and AIA National Regional & Urban Design Committee.
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ABOUT THE PROJECT:
Residents of New York City take immense pride in their city, renowned for its vibrant energy, rich culture, and remarkable history. Among the numerous neighborhoods, Brooklyn's Bedford-Stuyvesant, fondly known as Bed-Stuy, stands out with its collection of over 8,000 buildings pre-dating the 20th century.
One of those buildings immersed in this historical tapestry is the beautiful home of 102 Bainbridge Street located in the Bedford Stuyvesant original Stuyvesant Heights Historic District which was designated on September 14th, 1971. It was built within a row of building Nos. 76-104 and is a long group of houses planned to form seven freestanding architectural units, consisting of fourteen paired houses plus a single house at the eastern end. These unusual two-story houses, designed by W. F. McCarthy, are of red brick laid in Flemish bond, and were built in 1919 for Samuel Willen, treasurer of the Prosser Construction Company. 102 Bainbridge itself is a modified Spanish Renaissance style with a triple arch loggia surmounted by a group of five (5) double hung windows. The roof parapet rises at the center in an arch supported on concave shoulders. The house is set back behind brick terraces with brick balustrades and are approached by L-shape stoops set back at a common wall.
The initiation for the restoration for this building was due to the exterior façade along the roof parapet on the west and north elevation were buckling with severe step cracking occurring along masonry segments in the façade with patches of damaged stucco. Within the west façade along the base of the stepped parapet were damaged steel tie rods. At the north façade, the center stone pediment needed to be supported correctly and coping stones above it had to be repaired. At grade, the front façade along the brick terraces walls showed signs of masonry buckling and deterioration. The entire existing roof, skylights, roof hatch and areas of limestone and blue stone above and below the windows were in dire need of repair.
The premise to rectify the structural conditions of the home began early in the design to utilize sustainable means and methods to restore the building. A major step taken was not to replace the areas along the façade again with new stucco. Stucco accounts for 8.2% of carbon emissions and is a material that is hard to maintain due to temperature change effects, dealing with moisture and freezing. During the removal process of the existing stucco along the rear east elevation the homeowners genuinely liked the appearance of the natural brick underneath. The advantage of keeping the natural brick exposed was its resilience to harsh climatic resistance, durable, low-maintenance, fireproof, noise cancelling, energy efficient and just made the building more attractive. The existing brick under the stucco in the rear of the home was a different brick color and style from the original masonry brick along the front east elevation and north elevation. We therefore chose a brick like the underlining brick called Glen Gehry Cushwa Calvert Series Middle Plantation Brick 52-DD along with 403 mortars to match masonry bond style.
As the construction project continued upon removal of the stucco face, it was revealed that a 1956 addition to 102 Bainbridge Street along the second-floor rear east and south façade was framed with wood along the exterior instead of masonry as per the original blueprints and approval submitted. Even though this construction was done before the landmark designation in 1971, the use of wood was illegal back then and present-day NYC building code because the building is along a shared property line with an adjacent building. This plot twist made the project move from being an exterior renovation to a demolition and reconstruction of a new addition.
To address this issue, the structural engineering firm Silman Structural Engineering was brought in to provide consultation on the next steps. Their recommendation was to reuse the existing steel lintels that were located under the wood along the exterior façade where the original windows were located and the roof structure. An entirely new structural design was created to merge the old methodologies of the 2-wythe masonry wall with the new steel framing from Marino\WARE. Scott Hughes Principal Director of Structural Engineering at Silman stated he specified Marino-Ware products because of the wealth of publicly available published information about them and their sustainable qualities of steel being robust, long-lasting, and 100% recyclable, making it unmatched by most other building materials in terms of its lifecycle. The new wall construction entailed the structural steel from Marino Ware which has the environmental product declaration from UL, USG glass mat sheathing made of recycled material and is 100% recyclable, the Blueskin vapor barrier to contribute the energy efficiency of the home and Glen Gehry bricks for the 2-wythe exterior wall. The existing steel lintels rediscovered remained to install the original style windows back at those locations along the east and south façade.
In correcting the existing parapet at the roof, we replaced the existing steel tie rods with the assistance of a local steel maker in Brooklyn who created each unique piece separately. This became handy when we had to go back to him again to create additional steel tie rods, upon the demolition of the top parapet along the north façade. There it was discovered the masonry construction was three wythe and within it were steel tie rods hidden from view to support the center of the arch with the stone pediment along with the concave shoulders.
The masonry wall along the front porch during the demolition process existing bricks were analyzed closely to see which ones could be salvaged and reused. This helped to maintain the budget of the project but also to have less impact to add to the wasteful construction materials to landfills which brick encompasses about 6.54% sadly. Areas within the masonry façade that were in decent shape stayed and dilapidated areas were replaced with new bricks. The entire roof was professionally abated and replaced using Siplast roofing system which uses reusable insulation to bright white liquid-applied roof membranes and granule surface that helps reduce atmospheric pollution. The environmental and sustainable goals were met with the reduction of building energy use, increase roof longevity and reduction of urban heat island effect. The large skylight was replicated and replaced. The small skylight on the roof was replaced with an operable solar skylight which aids natural light and ventilation to come into the building.
All existing coping stones were cleaned, repaired, reused, and restored. New limestone and blue stone used in the restoration was advocated from quarries and manufacturers who met ANSI/NSC 373 Standard.
Completing the exterior façade restoration entailed the replacement of the steel window lintels for some of the existing windows. The steel used was recyclable. The homeowners desired to have all the windows replaced for the home to save energy, save money obtain ultimate insulation, climate control, more light, less noise, dust, and outside pollutants. The windows was provided by Norwood Window and Doors because of their strong advocacy of their products created from sustainable harvested lumber and NRFC rating.
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TRANSCRIPT
00;00;00;02 - 00;00;05;10
Doug Pat (DP)
Let's go inside the vault. The design vault.
00;00;05;12 - 00;00;34;05
Michelle Todd (MT)
So the whole idea was to fix the parapet and also to fix all of the step cracking within the facade. It was a beautiful building of brick in the front and the original status was that it had stucco on the very rear portion. We wind up finding out that this particular building, it wasn't brick behind it, it was actually wood.
So that therefore became more of an extensive project in which it wasn't just a renovation of the exterior facade, it was now a whole new addition and also an entire new rebuild.
00;00;34;07 - 00;01;01;23
DP
This is my guest, Michelle Todd. I'll share more about her shortly. In this episode from The Design Vault. We highlight Michelle's restoration project at 102 Bainbridge Street in Brooklyn's Bedford-Stuyvesant neighborhood. The Bainbridge Street renovation project is located in the Stuyvesant Heights Historic District. It was built within a row of buildings, which is a long group of houses planned to form seven freestanding architectural units.
00;01;01;28 - 00;03;46;13
DP
102 is situated at the end of the row. It's a modified Spanish residential style home with a triple arched loggia made of red brick laid in Flemish pond. The roof parapet rises at the center in an arch supported on concave shoulders. The restoration was begun to repair a buckling roof parapet, deteriorated walls, damaged pediment and cracking stucco facade.
Renovation work was extensive and a decision was made early not to replace the stucco, but rather leave and repair the natural brick masonry. The building scope also changed during construction from an exterior renovation to demolition and reconstruction due to construction material issues. Structural engineers were also consulted to create a necessary and unique wall construction method. The existing roof skylights, roof hatch and areas of limestone and bluestone were also repaired.
The project was also recently awarded the 2023 Lucy G. Moses New York Landmark Conservancy Award. Hi, I'm Doug Pat and this is Design Vault. Michelle Todd is an architect and principal of M.Todd Architects in Bedford-Stuyvesant, New York. Michelle has a master of science from Columbia University in architecture and urban design. She also studied at the École des Beaux-Arts in France.
Michelle grew up in Brooklyn's Bedford-Stuyvesant neighborhood in the 1970s. She knew she wanted to be an architect by the age of ten. Her interests today focus on urban planning and socially responsive architecture. After a brief stint at Perkins Eastman, she opened her own firm in 2008. Since then, she's worked for small and large corporations such as Snapple, the New York City Agency Office of Emergency Management, as well as private residential projects.
Her studio in Brooklyn, New York, focuses on historic renovations and additions, collaborating directly with clients and working closely with the general contractor during construction. Michelle's worked on Landmark designated buildings, bakeries, restaurants, schools and renovation projects. She's an adjunct professor at the New York City CUNY College and a licensed architect in New York State and Maryland. She's certified as a consultant with the International Institute of Building Enclosures, and Living Future accredited with the International Living Future Institute.
Welcome, Michelle. It's nice to have you with us today. So tell us a little bit about M.Todd Architects in Brooklyn. So where in Bed-Stuy are you located? What's the size of the firm? How long have you been around? And tell us a little more about project types.
00;03;46;16 - 00;04;19;19
MT
The firm is in the heart of Bedford-Stuyvesant on the whole Z Street. Been around since 2008 was almost 15 years as of March of this year, 2024. And basically the firm is small, is about three people, we specialize specifically in historical preservation, as well as residential private editions, commercial projects such as restaurants, bake houses and also schools. So basically you have a realm of achievement in different areas, which is commercial, residential and also business.
00;04;19;21 - 00;04;26;09
DP
So tell us a little bit about yourself. How long have you been practicing architecture and what's your role in the office as principal?
00;04;26;12 - 00;05;00;18
MT
I've been practicing architecture since 2008, when I received my license. However, I do have decades of experience before then in working at previous larger offices, in smaller offices to gain the experience I needed. Because, as you know, as an architect, you have to have at least three years working first in the field and then afterwards you're able to take the examination.
So once I did that, then just made initiative to just start my own practice. And basically I am the principal where I do a lot of marketing as well as clients in order to obtain business.
00;05;00;20 - 00;05;02;15
DP
And you said you have some employees?
00;05;02;21 - 00;05;13;16
MT
I do have employees. They're basically consultants. So basically I have a expediter. I have a drafts person. I have also my consultants, such as structural engineer, mechanical engineers.
00;05;13;19 - 00;05;21;08
DP
That's interesting. So you have an expediter that you guys use. And is that to make the process working with the city a little easier?
00;05;21;11 - 00;05;33;17
MT
It really does make it easier because as a person with a small firm, your hands are in everything. So to have somebody to be on the outside, to be able to do that type of work is appreciative and helpful.
00;05;33;19 - 00;05;46;05
DP
That's really cool. I mean, just as an aside, I hadn't really thought about the need for an expediter in a firm like that, but that makes perfect sense. So let's dig in here and talk about the home. How did your office get the project?
00;05;46;07 - 00;06;08;01
MT
I received the project in regards to as a dear friend, where I'm on the New York City Landmark Committee for Bedford-Stuyvesant specifically, and Community Board three, and he was a good member, Fred Jones, rest in peace. He had a friend who was in need of architectural services, so he recommended me to the client, which is the richest family, about this project.
00;06;08;03 - 00;06;10;01
DP
So you didn't know the clients before you got the job?
00;06;10;06 - 00;06;18;04
MT
I didn't know the clients. It was a friend of a friend, and he just talked highly about me and said that you should work with me in regards to this project.
00;06;18;06 - 00;06;24;26
DP
So give us a little history about the location. And was I correct in stating that the unit is an end unit?
00;06;24;29 - 00;07;08;00
MT
It is. It's in the beautiful, original, historic district of Bedford-Stuyvesant, which is known as Stuyvesant Heights, and it was established as a landmark district in 1971. So this set of buildings, it's literally between Stuyvesant and Lewis on Bainbridge. There's about 14 series of the buildings, and it's at the end row and there are Spanish style Renaissance buildings. That was created by W.f. McCarthy, who was an architect back in 1919.
And the unique thing about these buildings is that it's the only buildings I've ever been in with it has two staircases inside where there's one in the back and one in the front. So I guess back in those days they would have the servants come through the back and then the owners come through the front.
00;07;08;03 - 00;07;10;14
DP
Roughly, what's the square footage of the project?
00;07;10;16 - 00;07;13;09
MT
It's about 1200 square feet.
00;07;13;11 - 00;07;17;05
DP
And what was the scope and the programmatic requirements from the owner?
00;07;17;07 - 00;10;08;12
MT
Well, the original scope and program was that it was in terrible need in regards to the existing structure, the parapet was buckling. So on the north facade as well as the south and west facades, it was just crumbling. They were scared that it was going to fall down in some way. So the whole idea was to fix the parapet and also to fix all of the step cracking within the facade.
But then as we went along, we started to think also, it was a beautiful building of brick in the front. And the original status was that it had stucco on the very rear portion. Once we started to do the renovation was like, you know, we don't really need the stucco. It really looks beautiful with the brick itself. So we started to expose all the stucco, and by exposing all the stucco, we wound up finding out that this particular building, it wasn't brick behind it, it was actually wood.
So that therefore became more of an extensive project in which it wasn't just the renovation of the exterior facade, it was now a whole new addition and also an entire new rebuild. So we found out the history, and that was the nice thing about it. We really had to go back in the history of it. This is where the assistance of the expediter really came into play, because basically we found out that back in 1956, the building itself had a permit to actually do a addition because all of these beautiful houses.
What makes them so special in this neighborhood, too, is that they have their own private driveway, which many people don't have in that area. And also they have a garage. But then also on the second floor of each of these houses, they have a beautiful sunroom with a balcony. The person who owned the property at 102 Bainbridge, he basically wanted to make an addition.
So he eliminated that balcony and extended the whole square footage of the building so it can be enclosed. When we removed the stucco, we found out that instead of it masonry, he had it wood. So that was back in 1956. So we had to go back all the way to the building department to find out what the original drawings were, which we found out which were these beautiful blueprint drawings that you don't see anymore.
And it said that year they were legally supposed to have an addition, but it was supposed to be made out of brick, not wood. So that's where the whole expedition kind of came in. I had to go back to New York City building department, as well as the landmarks, because everyone was like shocked that it was wood versus masonry.
And we basically had to do a whole reconstruction. And that's where I guess the product of Glen-Gery came into play, because what happened to you is that on the back of the facade, all the bricks in the building weren't the same. The bricks in the front of the building were made out of Beldon, and it was a different type of color scheme.
But then when we removed the stucco in the back, it was a beautiful match with the Glen-Gery Kushwaha Calvert Plantation Middle Plantation, 52DD. It was a perfect match to it. Again, we had to go back to landmarks to make sure that they were approve of that brick to match what was in the rear facade that was being used.
00;10;08;15 - 00;10;17;12
DP
So what's interesting about the photographs that you sent is that the building looks as though some of these walls were completely taken down.
00;10;17;18 - 00;10;59;01
MT
It was because due to the fact it was stucco and I'm an architect that's very conscious about the environment. And stucco is something I concrete and it adds to the carbon footprint. So the whole idea was that this project specifically was to eliminate that process in really being more progressive and more enhancing to the environment. So that's why we didn't use stucco.
We wanted to just expose the beautiful masonry itself. And therefore, by eliminating the stucco, we saw the building was in need of much deeper repair than we expected. That was the thing, because in 1956 you figured that the contractors would be honest and they would do what they were supposed to do. But he wasn’t. And therefore that made this more of an adventure to get it right.
00;10;59;03 - 00;11;05;27
DP
So I would imagine there are a number of other buildings on that block that were also made of wood, that the interior wall construction. Is that correct?
00;11;06;00 - 00;11;44;10
MT
I don't know. That's the whole thing. What happened is, what makes this special is that this is the only house that has the addition. That's it. Everybody else has the sunroom. So this once in particular you thought that you would put it in masonry, but it's in it makes sense. First landmarks had to come and see it.
They were, like, shocked. Then I received the structural engineer, which was SOMA Engineering Firm, which is a great engineering firm. They came, they were shocked. The construction company that we work with, Naim Construction, all of us was basically shocked that this was behind the stucco because it looked like everything was fine. But when exposed, that's when we all gathered together as a team to like how we can resolve this.
00;11;44;16 - 00;11;52;22
DP
Interesting. Let's back up and talk a little bit about the plan of the building. I would assume it's just a large rectangle, two storey rectangle.
00;11;52;24 - 00;11;54;23
MT
Exactly. It was a two storey rectangle.
00;11;55;00 - 00;11;59;29
DP
And had you been contracted to design the interiors as well?
00;12;00;04 - 00;12;20;18
MT
I have for later date because what happens is based on the fact that now the photographs that you have here show of what it was existing. We went back to the premise of what it was back in 1919 when the solarium had these beautiful corner windows. So the design now is encompassing back the original style of that format.
00;12;20;20 - 00;12;25;05
DP
So you had to work with the city. How long did that process take?
00;12;25;08 - 00;12;53;21
MT
This is how it began. The project began in May 2020, during the pandemic. Then we actually had approval to start construction in April of 2021. Then all of these items, open issues about the facade not being what it was, and reconstruction, we basically spent about two years after that, and it was completed around October 20, 23. So it was back and forth with New York Landmarks as well as New York City Building Department.
00;12;53;27 - 00;12;55;09
DP
And the client had somewhere to live.
00;12;55;16 - 00;13;08;12
MT
He lived on the first floor. So the top floor. It was a blessing that he was able to live on the first floor while all this construction was going on. And in the top floor, basically, he had tenants, but then they moved out. When this major construction of us doing the rebuild.
00;13;08;15 - 00;13;09;07
DP
A lot of noise.
00;13;09;13 - 00;13;11;04
MT
It was a lot of noise.
00;13;11;04 - 00;13;11;23
DP
Very dusty.
00;13;11;24 - 00;13;15;00
MT
But it was fun.
00;13;15;02 - 00;13;24;10
DP
That's great. I'm interested as an architect about the drawings that you created in the very beginning. Did you work in 3D or just 2D?
00;13;24;12 - 00;13;33;28
MT
I worked in 2D, but then afterwards, when we started to look at what this condition that was taking place in the rear, I started looking at it in 3D and how it would be.
00;13;34;05 - 00;13;38;05
DP
And did you have to present drawings to a historic commission?
00;13;38;07 - 00;13;47;14
MT
Yes, we present it to Brian Blazak, is one of the senior preservationists on in New York City Landmarks. We had to show the drawings of what we planned to do.
00;13;47;16 - 00;13;48;26
DP
Exterior elevations?
00;13;49;03 - 00;13;50;24
MT
Yeah, exterior elevations.
00;13;50;26 - 00;13;58;25
DP
So again, backing up a little bit, you removed the stucco on one facade and replaced masonry on another. Is that correct?
00;13;58;28 - 00;14;25;03
MT
It's on the same facade. What happens is, is that the entire facade was placed in stucco. But then when we looked at the south elevation, so the windows were there, but it was infilled with wood. And that's what was shocking to everybody because basically it was really dilapidated and it also kind of made sense for the owner later on because he said his tenants always felt cold in that part of the room.
And it made sense because it was the wood and that masonry, there was no insulation whatsoever.
00;14;25;06 - 00;14;30;17
DP
So tell us a little bit about the new wall system that you guys had to create because of that condition.
00;14;30;19 - 00;15;17;03
MT
So the new wall system was still going back to what was historically done in regards to the rear facade was made out of three widths of brick, which basically is like three layers. And what we had to do is that we had to abide by what the actual, once we removed the stucco, what the actual pattern was, because it was a common bond, because as I stated in the beginning, the pattern in the front of the house was completely different than the pattern in the back of the house.
So once we established that, then we wanted to really make it structurally sound and we incorporated steel within the wall. So basically you have the three whiffs of brick on the outside, then you have the steel. It was stainless steel that made sure it was resource sustainably. And then we have our insulation and then our finishes in the inside.
00;15;17;06 - 00;15;26;25
DP
So the project sounds really interesting. Did you guys learn anything new about construction technologies or about building typologies in working on this project?
00;15;26;27 - 00;15;58;06
MT
Yes, the use of materials because again, was very selective about which materials we're going to use because since this building was already historically landmarked since 1919, we wanted to make sure that it lasts for another 100 years. So was very selective on who the steel came from, where the insulation came from, where the bricks came from. All of these were really mindful things and I think moving forward with other projects, I continue doing that, making sure that they are friendly to the planet as well as to the people who are going to live and utilize the buildings.
00;15;58;08 - 00;16;04;18
DP
So did the client bring the general contractor to the project or did you interview a number of contractors?
00;16;04;20 - 00;16;10;09
MT
We did interview a number of contractors, but then the client himself selected Naim Construction for it.
00;16;10;12 - 00;16;15;19
DP
And clearly there's a lot of masonry work. Did you have any challenges finding a good mason?
00;16;15;21 - 00;16;45;27
MT
Oh no. He has very excellent masons and they were very accommodating because we had to go back and forth with New York City Landmarks when we were selecting the bricks where we had to actually do a sample of the wall where the wood infill was of how the brick was going to look. So one of his masons, George, was really who's one of the oldest ones there.
It has most experience. He was very patient. We went on the scaffolding and it was a really cold day, but we did the whole mock up and it came out beautiful. And therefore Landmark said, Yes, go with it.
00;16;45;29 - 00;16;49;16
DP
So you did the mock up and the city came out and took a look at it?
00;16;49;19 - 00;16;56;05
MT
No, we took photographs and then afterwards they were like, because it was cold.
00;16;56;07 - 00;17;05;24
DP
So the city doesn't like to go out on cold days? I think we’ll leave that in there. That's good. So I assume the client's living there now?
00;17;06;02 - 00;17;09;17
MT
He is. He's living in the bottom floor still, but he's happy with the work.
00;17;09;20 - 00;17;12;25
DP
So is it complete? And he has a tenant on the second floor?
00;17;13;00 - 00;17;22;21
MT
He doesn't have a tenant on the second floor. And it's not quite complete yet because now we're just waiting for the historical windows to come in. So that is the last crème de la crème.
00;17;22;23 - 00;17;24;27
DP
And who is the manufacturer of the windows?
00;17;25;03 - 00;17;36;10
MT
It is Norwood Manufacturers, a Canadian company. And again, it was very selective on them because the way they use and harvest wood in order to make the windows, we're really mindful about that.
00;17;36;17 - 00;17;39;23
DP
Interesting. Are they double glazed? Triple glazed?
00;17;39;25 - 00;17;49;03
MT
They're triple glazed, low e glass index and they're quite beautiful. They're the original to what was there before of the windows? So they're replicating those.
00;17;49;05 - 00;17;57;00
DP
So I'm curious in terms of color, you were able to find a brick that you were happy with. You said that matched on the exterior.
00;17;57;02 - 00;18;12;16
MT
The contractor has suggested he was like, this will be a perfect break. I did research and was a Glen-Gery Kushwaha Calvert 52 DD Middle Plantation. That was the one that was selected. And when we put it in place, it was perfect to what was there from 1919.
00;18;12;22 - 00;18;15;27
DP
So do all these row homes, they all must look the same?
00;18;16;02 - 00;18;45;16
MT
They basically all look the same. And the other fascinating thing too, with the project, when we were doing the demo for the wood infield, all the bricks, I learned this like recently from my practice that the bricks that we were removing, that were there all had the names of the brick companies on there. And you don't see that anymore in which they were actually etched into the brick.
I was like, Wow, It's like, fascinating. So it was like an archeological project in the same way of doing something better for the building for another hundred years.
00;18;45;19 - 00;18;52;24
DP
So when you guys put these new windows in, what about the color? Can you do whatever color you want or the colors have to match the other homes.
00;18;52;26 - 00;18;57;13
MT
The colors have to match. It is going to be made out of wood, but they're going to be of a white finish.
00;18;57;16 - 00;19;00;10
DP
And they have to be traditional in style to match the others.
00;19;00;16 - 00;19;01;06
MT
Exactly.
00;19;01;06 - 00;19;11;17
DP
Interesting. So, Michelle, you've been an architect for some time. Based on what you know today about being an architect, you have any words of advice for your younger self or maybe architects coming up in the ranks?
00;19;11;19 - 00;19;41;21
MT
I would say don't quit on yourself. That's for me personally, as a woman and a woman of color in this industry, to always just believe in yourself, that what you find really interesting and powerful within yourself will just keep working at it and you'll get recognition. But it's not really about the recognition. I've always known I wanted to be an architect.
I feel architecture is like a stewardship. You are helping other people to obtain their desires and dreams and designs, but then also, too, helping the planet.
00;19;41;24 - 00;19;49;23
DP
So, Michelle, it's been great to have you here today. Thank you so much for your time. Where could people go to learn more M.Todd Architect and yourself?
00;19;49;26 - 00;19;56;06
MT
You can find me on my website at MToddArchitects.com and then also I'm on LinkedIn.
00;19;56;08 - 00;19;58;10
DP
Well, thank you very much. It has been great to have you.
00;19;58;17 - 00;20;00;24
MT
Thank you so much. Appreciate the opportunity.
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Design Vault Ep. 15 650 Park Avenue with Christa Waring
ABOUT THE ARCHITECT:
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Christa is a Principal at CTA Architects P.C. whose journey with the firm began in 1994 when she joined as a member of the technical staff. With a deep-rooted passion for sustainable design and a keen understanding of Building Code and Zoning issues, Christa plays a pivotal role in driving the office's environmental research and implementation of green technologies, including adherence to LEED and Certified Passive House design standards.
Christa has worked on some of the firm's largest projects, and she brings a consistent focus on sustainability to all of her work. The 90,000-square-foot, mixed-use Lower Eastside Girls Club/Arabella 101 was designed to LEED standards, and the Grand Street Guild moderate rehabilitation featured a 3,500-square-foot maintenance building with a seasonally blooming extensive green roof. Her recent projects include the award-winning exterior preservation of the cast iron façade at 54 Bond Street, and she recently oversaw the completion of the conversion of an illegal SRO into low-income housing for formerly homeless elderly residents on the Upper West Side. Her current workload includes the start of construction on a building rehabilitation project that is part of the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority's RetrofitNY pilot program.
In addition to her work as a Principal at CTA, Christa taught at Pratt Institute for a number of years and lectured for the New York City Urban Green Council and the Northeast Sustainable Energy Association. She is also a member of the New York City Department of Buildings Construction Requirement & Materials Committee and the New York City Energy Conservation Code Commercial Advisory Committee.
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![cta architects.jpg](/sites/default/files/2023-10/cta%20architects.jpg)
650 Park Avenue
designed by CTA Architects
TRANSCRIPT
00;00;00;00 - 00;00;05;13
Doug Patt (DP)
Let's go inside the vault. The design vault.
00;00;05;15 - 00;00;28;26
Christa Waring (CW)
It's only exterior work. Right now, we've just mobilized to start the brick restoration. We had great assistants getting a perfect match to the original white glazed brick that they have there. You want to make sure when you're doing this much brickwork that your spackle is right, and it doesn't stand out in the end. And Landmarks approves the work very easily.
00;00;29;03 - 00;03;30;29
DP
This is my guest, Christa Waring. I'll share more about her shortly in this episode from The Design Vault. We highlight Christa's project in New York City, 650 Park Avenue. 650 Park Avenue is located in the Upper East Side Historic District, built in 1963 and designed by Emery Roth and Sons Architects. It's a 21-story apartment building with a white glazed brick facade and setbacks above the 16th floor.
The base of the building maintains the building line of Park Avenue. Recent façade examinations revealed a deficiency in the wall tie system that connects the face masonry to the backup concrete block masonry. CTA designed a program of facade repairs that include face masonry pinning in addition to the restoration of all shelf angles across the façades. The original construction features have finished glazed edge over all the window lintels, which has an impressive impact on the esthetic of the building. Thus, the project entails an extensive masonry rebuild where matching the existing brick is of paramount importance.
Hi, I'm Doug Pat, and this is Design Vault.
Christa Waring is a principal at CTA Architects, P.C. in New York City. She's been with the firm since 1994. She received her Bachelor of Architecture from Pratt Institute. She's passionate about sustainable design and has a keen understanding of building code and zoning issues.
Christa drives her office's environmental research and implementation of green technologies, which includes adherence to lead and certified passive House design standards. She's worked on some of CTA's largest projects, including the 90,000 square foot mixed use Lower East Side Girls Club, Arabella 101, and the Grand Street Guild. Her recent projects include the award-winning exterior Preservation of the Cast Iron Facade at 54 Bond Street.
She also recently oversaw the completion of the conversion of an illegal SRO into low-income housing on the Upper West Side. One of her current projects includes a building rehabilitation project that's part of the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority's Retrofit New York pilot program. Christa taught at Pratt Institute and lectured for the New York City Urban Green Council and the Northeast Sustainable Energy Association.
She's also a member of the New York City Department of Buildings Construction Requirement and Materials Committee, and the New York City Energy Conservation Code, Commercial Advisory Committee. So welcome, Christin. It's nice to have you with us today. So, tell us a little bit about CTA architects, P.C. in New York City. So where are you guys located in New York. What's the size of the firm? How long have you been around and what type of work do you do?
00;03;31;02 - 00;04;46;14
CW
Well, thank you for having me today. CTA Architects. We're located down in the Flatiron District, just a couple of blocks from the Flatiron. We have 60 plus employees at this point, including support staff. We do a variety of work in New York City. All of our work is focused in the five boroughs, frankly, mostly Manhattan. We do have Brooklyn and Queens, some in Staten Island, a couple in the Bronx.
But we originally started out in 1987 or so. We came into being around the time that the first facade laws came into effect. And so, it was something that we naturally fell into. And we have been doing that work ever since I've been there since 1994. Our founding partner, Doug Cutsogeorge was my professor at Pratt and hired me as an intern in my second year there, and I have been there ever since.
So, I was an intern. I typed envelopes that when we had typewriters, I fax things and then went out and did field measurements and climbed around on ladders and hung on scaffolds. And 29 years later, still there. And I've been a partner since 2014.
00;04;46;17 - 00;04;49;16
DP
Real quickly, tell me about these façade laws. What is that?
00;04;49;23 - 00;05;55;20
CW
You know, my business partner Dan, could give you, like, every single date and iteration, but I'll give you the gist, which is that terracotta fell off a building at Columbia University and that initiated a city response, which was at that time called Local Law ten, which mandated that all buildings over six stories have to be inspected every five years by a registered professional and a report submitted to the Department of Buildings.
So, at that point, all of the buildings submitted on the same day, February 21st, every five years, and as the law developed, it keeps developing based on things that have happened in the city. At that point, it was just the street elevation and you just had to look at it with binoculars. Now it's the entire building and you have to look at it from a hanging scaffold or a bucket truck. And depending on the construction type, you have to open probes through the face masonry to expose what's in the cavity.
00;05;55;25 - 00;05;59;20
DP
Wow. So, the incident at Columbia was that in the early eighties?
00;05;59;21 - 00;06;09;27
CW
That was in the early to mid-eighties. So first it was Local ten and then it was local Law 11. And now it's called the Façade Inspection Safety Program.
00;06;10;05 - 00;06;14;05
DP
So, it sounds like a good thing. They're now inspecting buildings for this very issue.
00;06;14;12 - 00;06;25;23
CW
Right. And now they broke up the buildings. There are three sub cycles, so not every report for every building in the city is due on the same day. So now it's broken up. So that makes it a little easier.
00;06;25;26 - 00;06;32;12
DP
So, tell us a little bit about yourself. So how long have you been a practicing architect and what's your role in the office as principal?
00;06;32;19 - 00;06;53;26
CW
I got my license in 2003, But, you know, obviously I was working for the nine years before that. Currently, as principal, I do a lot of things. I wear a lot of hats. I yell at contractors, I hold clients’ hands and bring in work and put out fires where I need to.
00;06;53;28 - 00;06;55;02
DP
Do you like your job?
00;06;55;04 - 00;07;08;05
CW
I do. It is challenging. It's a lot. You have to really want to buy into it and invest. My partners, I've been with them almost 30 years. They're family and it's a good place to be. They're good partners.
00;07;08;12 - 00;07;11;15
DP
That sounds like a really interesting niche market.
00;07;11;17 - 00;07;33;01
CW
It is. And it's funny because, you know, there are a few firms in the city that do this, and we all know each other, and then we all get offshoots from employees have left and hung their own shingle and proceeded to sell focus and exterior restoration work. I would say it's about 70% of our work is exterior restoration.
00;07;33;06 - 00;07;38;04
DP
Gotcha. Let's talk about 650 Park Avenue. So how did you guys get the project?
00;07;38;06 -00;08;21;11
CW
So, I think, like everything in my history at CTA, it was word of mouth. It's kind of a tangled web. So, we use a consulting engineer who was working on a project out and Garden City, Long Island, and they needed an architect. So, he referred me to the owner, and the owner liked us and then brought us on to some of the more buildings that he owns in Brooklyn.
And then they were going around and around with their facade issues at the building that he lives in. And so, then he brought me in over there. So, it was all this chain. I always say, you never know who you're talking to when you're going to run into them again, who they are, who they end up being. To you and professionally. So that's how we got brought into the building.
00;08;21;18 - 00;08;29;07
DP
That's really interesting. So, could you give us a little history of the location? So, what was there prior to 1963, if you know?
00;08;29;13 - 00;08;43;23
CW
I do not know what was there prior to 1963, but it is a typical white glazed brick building of that era with the wedding cake setbacks. Also, during that construction period, the kind of problems that you find typically in that construction.
00;08;43;26 - 00;08;50;06
DP
So, the scope of the project then was only exterior work. Do you guys too any renovation work on the interior?
00;08;50;13 - 00;09;05;21
CW
It's only exterior work right now. We've just mobilized to start the brick restoration and we are going to visit with landmarks, redoing the ground floor, the base of the building as well.
00;09;05;23 - 00;09;07;20
DP
So, the project is currently underway.
00;09;07;26 - 00;09;08;24
CW
It's just started.
00;09;08;24 - 00;09;09;06
DP
Just getting rolling.
00;09;09;06 - 00;09;11;04
CW
Just getting rolling. It's exciting.
00;09;11;11 - 00;09;18;05
DP
So stylistically, the setbacks on those building that's due to the new laws in New York City at the time.
00;09;18;09 - 00;09;21;25
CW
Yes, those were due to zoning.
00;09;21;28 - 00;09;35;22
DP
Project restrictions - so when you guys are working on an exterior facade, what are the rules of the road? How do you guys end up doing a project like that? I would imagine that the exterior is all scaffolding at some point. What does the city make the contractor do?
00;09;35;24 - 00;11;06;28
CW
Okay, so first we started this project with, I would say, upwards of a hundred probes through the face masonry to really define what the issues were, because there was some debate over the extent of the repairs that were necessary. So, I spent a lot of time on the scaffold in the summer of 2022 looking at all the probes and really identifying the same repetitive problem over and over again.
We're just getting mobilized with hanging the rigs and part of all that entails is we had to file drawings at the Department of Buildings to get our permits and landmarks. Landmarks has to approve first, and we had great assistance getting a perfect match to the original white glazed brick that they have there. You would be surprised at how many iterations of white glazed brick there can be, but you want to make sure when you're doing this much brickwork that your speckle is right and it doesn't stand out in the end.
And Landmarks approves the work very easily. We didn't have any issues. I submitted to them the chip that we had custom made for the building. So that was great. To mobilize, the contractor has to pull scaffold permits, so he has to file with the city to install hanging scaffolds. There was already a sidewalk shed in front of the building to protect the pedestrians on the street. It's a corner building, so a lot of sidewalk shed that's been there for a while.
00;11;07;06 - 00;11;11;19
DP
So, let's back up. How did they know they had a problem? There were bricks falling off the building.
00;11;11;26 - 00;11;24;06
CW
It originally came up in a small exterior restoration project before our time that someone identified that they had a problem, and then it just kept developing from there.
00;11;24;10 - 00;11;29;05
DP
And how many sides were that exposed? Two or three. I understand it's a corner. Does it have a back side?
00;11;29;10 - 00;11;35;18
CW
Actually, it's L-shaped in the back. It has a number of large façades. It has the two large corner facades.
00;11;35;20 - 00;11;39;26
DP
So, the building's L-shaped and plan to then open up to a courtyard and-
00;11;39;26 - 00;11;40;05
CW
It does.
00;11;40;06 - 00;11;44;26
DP
Okay. How long does the project then take? Start to finish on a building this size?
00;11;44;28 - 00;12;12;26
CW
So, we're looking at completion in February of 2025. So, it's going to be about a year and a half on the ground. We have to install all of the pins. We have to pin the face masonry back to the backup block, which is a retrofit wall tie and first they pin and then we're going to strip all the shelf angles above and below the shelf angle and address the flashing and repaint the shelf angles.
00;12;12;26 - 00;12;22;12
CW
And sometimes we'll have to replace some of the angles and rebuild the masonry. And we have some parapet work to do, parapets that are not in good shape.
00;12;22;14 - 00;12;35;16
DP
So just so I understand that. So, they put up the scaffolding. Then you end up spending a bunch of time out there. I would imagine your partners are also out there. What I'm getting at is who identifies the structural issue? Who's the expert? Is it the architect?
00;12;35;24 - 00;12;36;27
CW
Oh yes, I did that. Yep.
00;12;37;03 - 00;12;45;06
DP
Interesting. You then document those issues in drawing form, like two dimensional drawings or 3D drawings and present them to somebody.
00;12;45;11 - 00;13;13;02
CW
Yes. Two dimensional drawings and photographs. I think the photos really speak a thousand words on this one. I presented it to the board. It's a condominium, so they have a board of directors and we met with them. I went over what I saw and the resident manager there was also very helpful, and he understands the situation and saw some of the probes that were open, that were closer to the ground and could confirm what we were telling them.
00;13;13;05 - 00;13;25;13
DP
So, you put together a set of drawings and is that priced like a typical architectural set of drawings by a GC? Is it then bid out and the lowest bidder is chosen? What's that process look like?
00;13;25;19 - 00;14;52;03
CW
So, we put together a set of drawings and construction details because we had opened so many probes, there were no questions. A lot of times when you work on a building and there are no existing drawings, which is probably 90% of the time for us, you're making assumptions about how things were built in the period of the building, right?
So inevitably you open it up and there's a surprise, sometimes a minor surprise, sometimes not so minor surprise. But this one, because we had had so many probes opened, we were able to really pin down what was behind the wall. So, we put together elevations, construction details and written specifications. We put them out to bid like the architects having a niche market in exterior restoration in New York City, there are also contractors who are a niche market for exterior restoration in New York City.
So, we bid to five or six or seven of those guys, the majority of whom I've known for many, many years. You know, we all work on the same stuff, and they select the bidder. Because it's private, it doesn't have to go to the lowest bidder. You know, we usually have an interview process so that the board can meet the contractor and get their feel for if they're a good match, that they're going to be a good match with building staff. So we go through the bidding process and then the contract is awarded and they do all that legal stuff on the side that I don't have to worry about.
00;14;52;08 - 00;14;58;04
DP
So, you guys do two dimensional drawings, details, any 3-D stuff? Not really necessary.
00;14;58;04 - 00;15;00;03
CW
Not really necessary for this type.
00;15;00;03 - 00;15;03;21
DP
And how many people end up working on one of your projects like this one?
00;15;03;24 - 00;15;11;00
CW
So, on this project, it was myself, our project manager, Freddy, and his staff member Arefa.
00;15;11;06 - 00;15;24;25
DP
So, let's get into the details. How does this work? Like, how do you do what you're doing? Are you just replacing bricks in specific areas? Are you replacing entire facades? And what does that detail look like?
00;15;24;28 - 00;15;33;29
CW
So, in the scope that we settled on, we are replacing the bricks along every shelf, angled the building, and this building has shelf angles that every floor.
00;15;34;02 - 00;15;36;11
DP
Explained to us what that is, a shelf angle.
00;15;36;13 - 00;16;11;02
CW
This is a concrete framed building. So, it has a concrete structure, and a shelf angle is a continuous steel lintel basically that holds up the masonry at every floor and it's bolted back to the concrete slab at regular intervals. There are shims and bolts, and it holds the slab in there. It holds the brick at every floor, provides the gravity support, and the wall ties provide lateral support. So, the shelf angles that this building were in very good condition. There are a few issues here and there, but nothing terrible.
00;16;11;02 - 00;16;11;20
DP
They’re all steel?
00;16;11;25 - 00;16;18;08
CW
They are steel like three by three, 4x4 angles. Some of them were shallow. So, we're making them a little deeper.
00;16;18;14 - 00;16;20;04
DP
Were they galvanized or painted?
00;16;20;09 - 00;16;46;03
CW
The original ones were not. They were painted. But when we go back, we go back with galvanized and stainless-steel bolts, and then we replace the shims and the bolts, obviously. And where we find a length of deteriorated shelf angle, we will replace that. We have an allowance for that in the contract to deal with that because there were some areas higher up on the building where they get, you know, more weather exposure that we're in worse condition.
00;16;46;05 - 00;16;49;10
DP
Tell us a little bit about the brick. How did you get the matches?
00;16;49;17 - 00;18;25;21
CW
Fortunately, this building hasn't had any huge projects on it, so it was fairly easy to identify which white glazed brick was the original brick, which was good because there were maybe three different bricks on it, different color, white base. You know, one was a little pink, one was a little white, or some had a brown speckle, some had a fine speckle, some had a varied speckle.
So, because there are so many setbacks, we were able to go to somebody's terrace where there hadn't been any work high up on the building because at the base at stone. So, I'm not comparing it at the base of the building. We also walked along the sidewalk shed because that gets you up higher. And we selected - we were like, okay, this is the original brick.
And then I reached out to King's. They are brick distributors in New York City, and the folks there were super helpful and made me all sorts of custom samples and they have little brick chips and brought the brick chips up to site and went through everything with the resident manager and decided on our brick. And then you mentioned in your intro the finished underside of the brick at all of the window lintels.
So, when you have a shelf angle you don't see in the field of the masonry, you don't see the underside, the clay body of the brick. But over the lentils you can see like the little yellow clay body of the brick. And I really got into the fact that it was finished on the underside. I think it's just a little bit like a perfect little thing that I really liked. So, we asked for that as well.
00;18;25;23 - 00;18;29;11
DP
Is that like a space that's about a half hedge, three quarters of an inch wide?
00;18;29;14 - 00;18;43;10
CW
Yeah, it's about a half an inch. If you have the right amount of bearing. And so, they put the glaze on the underside. So, the Masons have to be aware, obviously, when they're rebuilding to look for that. I'm sure I'll catch some in the beginning before they get used to it.
00;18;43;18 - 00;18;45;13
DP
Is it going to be hard to find a good mason?
00;18;45;19 - 00;18;51;10
CW
We have the contractor on board, and he has good masons on hand, so I'm not very worried about that.
00;18;51;16 - 00;19;01;08
DP
So, did you guys learn anything interesting through the construction process, through the inquiry process, anything unusual, Anything you'd never seen before?
00;19;01;14 - 00;20;11;10
CW
Not anything I've never seen before, thank goodness. Because those are never good surprises. I was happy, given the lack of wall ties, that I was happy to find that the backup masonry was still in good condition. We didn't have to worry about the backup masonry because that can also be an issue. We decided to pin the columns, which I was surprised actually worked because I had never pinned columns before because you're pinning into the concrete.
So, when you do the retrofit wall tie, you can call the manufacturers rep and he'll come out and do a test. He'll drill in the wall tie, and then he has like a crank to see what the force is, to see if the tie actually holds. And I had originally planned to strip all of the column locations in the building and rebuild that as well.
But on another project of mine, we had had pull tests done for retrofit pins on that building and they went into the columns, and I was like, wait, what? I didn't think that could happen. So, we called them out. We had had him do the tests in the field, in the masonry before, but we had him come back and do the pull tests and the columns and the pins drilled right in. So, it was great news.
00;20;11;17 - 00;20;15;13
DP
So, these are columns on the exterior facade behind the brick masonry.
00;20;15;16 - 00;20;31;04
CW
Right there, directly behind one wythe of brick behind the masonry. So, the backup concrete block goes right to the column. And then if you were to take all the face masonry off the building, you would see a grid of the columns with the backup block in between.
00;20;31;06 - 00;20;38;00
DP
And all the residents there. Do they get to live through the construction process?
00;20;38;02 - 00;21;04;06
CW
They do...Yeah. It's never pretty. It's just not. I feel bad, but there is going to be a lot of saw cutting, which is dusty. There is going to be a lot of drilling, which is loud. So, I hope that people at 650 Park, if you're listening, maybe you go back to working in the office for a while. What we do is loud and not anything that anyone wants to have to hear all day long if they're home.
00;21;04;08 - 00;21;08;02
DP
Back to the building for a second. I'm really surprised there were no drawings.
00;21;08;03 - 00;21;13;06
CW
We did have some the building super. The resident manager had some drawings.
00;21;13;08 - 00;21;21;10
DP
Yeah. What's always amazing. I mean, to go back further than that, people-built buildings from so little information, right? I mean, it's crazy.
00;21;21;14 - 00;22;05;26
CW
Yeah. So, we didn't really find any wall details. We had elevation drawings and then there's always elevation drawings, probably some plans and lots of plumbing drawings and mechanical drawings, which I don't need and are never accurate because they never built it that way anyway. And it was sixty years ago. So, lots of things have changed. So, we did go through the resident manager's giant bin of drawings in the beginning and got what we could use and it was helpful.
I mean, it helped us locate all of the columns along the facade, right? We wouldn't have had that if we didn't have the original drawings. It would have been more of a guess. But like in this project I said was knock wood a lot of guesswork so far.
00;22;05;29 - 00;22;16;02
DP
Yeah. And you talked a little bit about existing conditions and drawings. Is that something that you still do, do some existing condition sketches when you're out there and then somebody'll draw it up for you or.
00;22;16;09 - 00;22;56;00
CW
Oh absolutely. That's part of the process. You know, I went to site one day with my notebook and my pen and the contractor said, well, the girl who came last time had an iPad. And I said, I don't have an iPad. I have a notebook and a pen. They tried to give me an iPad, but I'm just more comfortable sketching it.
I feel like there is a connection between pencil and paper that makes you understand what you're looking at and what you're drawing. I don't know. When you go to architecture school, you don't really know anything when you start. And I started to understand through drawing, and I went to school in the era where there was no computer drafting.
00;22;56;00 - 00;22;56;16
DP
Yeah, I experienced the same thing.
00;22;56;21 - 00;23;13;25
CW
Yeah, I feel like there's a real connection and I think, you know, a lot of times there's an assumption that the computer program is the be all, end all. Not that just a tool and people don't really sometimes don't understand what it is that they're drawing because the computer's creating the detail.
00;23;13;28 - 00;23;15;14
DP
They miss it in the learning process.
00;23;15;19 - 00;23;35;24
CW
Yeah. And because we do what we do, that's not something that they teach. They don't teach that at school. I actually didn't have to take construction documents in school because I got credit for my job because I was doing actual construction documents. I worked full time. I went to school part time. So, it took me a very, very long time to graduate.
00;23;35;26 - 00;23;37;09
DP
Wow, that's impressive.
00;23;37;11 - 00;23;37;22
CW
Yeah.
00;23;37;29 - 00;23;42;20
DP
Christa, was sustainability an issue for you guys when you took on the project?
00;23;42;27 - 00;24;46;20
CW
Unfortunately, with this project, given the parameters of the scope, we could not really accomplish the integration of additional insulation in the cavity or something to that effect, moving forward, but in our office, we really focus on the concept of maintaining existing buildings and doing rehabilitations as sustainable practice. We have a sustainability coordinator that we brought on about two years ago.
She's fantastic. She keeps us honest. She's always regulating things, making sure we're composting, taking things out of the garbage can and putting them in the compost. We did a full led switch over on our lighting in the office pushed by her. She's changed our specs, you know, she'll give me and my partner Dan markups on the specifications with suggestions and we integrate that into our specifications. We do have a sustainable component in every job and some jobs, we can take it to a whole other level.
00;24;46;27 - 00;25;03;03
DP
Yeah, it would seem to me that have to go to the interior, right, and rip out all of the plasterwork and drywall and then reinsulate. So, I'm curious, a building like that, it gets a new facade, but it's not going to really change the R-value of the walls and it's still probably going to be a cold building.
00;25;03;06 - 00;25;28;21
CW
Right, there is that. And then a lot of times people say, well, I can put in these super-duper windows. And I'm like, Yeah, but your walls are not insulated at all. And you have a PTAC unit, which is basically a hole in the wall. So, you have to look at the balance of how to accomplish what it is you need to accomplish. But we look at the materials and the VOCs, and the location where things are made as well plays into sustainability.
00;25;28;21 - 00;25;29;29
DP
Yeah, it is what it is.
00;25;30;00 -00;26;06;06
CW
Yeah. I was on the Energy Code review Committee, as you mentioned, the advisory committee, but one of the reasons I signed up for that is because it does not answer existing buildings to the extent that I think it should, given that it's the New York City Energy Code and there's still some gaps in there. But, you know, we're conserving these buildings, we’re restoring them, we're not tearing down and building new ones.
And so that's good for the environment. But then how can we make a realistic energy code that you can apply to all of these existing conditions that we can't just change?
00;26;06;09 - 00;26;09;13
DP
I think it's wonderful. It's something most people don't think about.
00;26;09;20 - 00;26;38;04
CW
They don't know. And I lectured for Urban Green on the Energy Code. I gave a scintillating seven-hour long lecture. I ran out of words, though, during COVID, I couldn't do it on a screen. So, I tell my kids I ran out of words because there are a lot of words, but I think even sometimes the people that I was lecturing to depending on, you know, like you said, a normal architecture firm isn't thinking about this stuff because they're not dealing with existing building. They're dealing with a plot of land.
00;26;38;06 - 00;26;59;27
DP
So, Christa, you've been an architect for some time. Based on what you know today about being an architect, do you have any words of advice for either your younger self or young architects coming up? Because what you do is a little different - the 70% of the work that you guys do - is really very different from what many architects end up doing when they get out of school.
00;27;00;05 - 00;27;33;04
CW
One word of advice is not to be too married to the thought of what you think you want to do and to try different things, and you might really find something that surprises you, that you do. I've found along the way I've done some projects I would never imagine when I was in school that I would do something like that, and I really enjoyed it.
When you go to school, you have a vision, I'm going to do this. I want to do this. And if you just open yourself up to different projects and you might find something that really makes an impression on you.
00;27;33;11 - 00;27;35;23
DP
Yeah. What clearly worked for you?
00;27;35;25 - 00;28;13;05
CW
Yeah. And to my younger self, I don't know that I have advised my younger self because I don't know how much I've changed, but I always felt like if you're doing what you enjoy and you're with people that you enjoy doing it with, then little things that might be irksome to contemporary youth don't really register. They're not important in the long run, and you have to see the big picture.
I mean, did I think when I was hired, did I think when I was 23, someday I’ll own the company? No, I didn't think that, but it happened. So you never know. Hard work and a lot of luck is what gets you where you want to be.
00;28;13;10 - 00;28;19;29
DP
Christa, it's been great to have you here. Thanks for your time. Where can people go to learn more about CTA architects and yourself?
00;28;20;02 - 00;28;44;21
CW
We have a website. It's www.ctaarchitects, all one-word dotcom where we showcase all of our finest work. Sometimes people look at our website and get a little, oh that's very fancy, but I always say it's your portfolio, it's your best, but there's everything in there. There's all this stuff that we do that doesn't make it to the portfolio level that's necessary.
00;28;44;24 - 00;28;46;15
DP
Well, thank you very much. Been great to have you.
00;28;46;19 - 00;28;51;09
CW
Thank you for having me. It was nice talking.
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Design Vault Ep. 26 1 Java with Jeremy Iannucci
ABOUT THE ARCHITECT:
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Born and raised in New York City, architect Jeremy Iannucci brings a design perspective that is deeply influenced by the city's ever-changing landscape. His architectural philosophy, founded on the potential of every effort he contributes to, is intricately woven with each site's narrative and heritage.
In addition to working at Marvel, Jeremy serves as a respected design critic at The City College of New York and Pratt Institute. Here, he seeks to both nurture emerging talent and build a larger, more informed design community.
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ABOUT THE PROJECT:
Goals / Project / Sustainability:
1 Java is a mixed-use residential building located in Greenpoint, Brooklyn, Marvel serves as the project’s design architect and master planner. The project responds to NYC housing market and owners needs, addressing: sustainability, constructability, risk mitigation, tax incentives, and marketability. The development investment strategy requires net-zero ready design and maximization of floor area, the project also includes the largest geothermal array in New York State. The building will participate in the 421a Affordable New York and Inclusionary Housing program, providing up to 261 affordable housing units out 871 total units. This project replaces the former two-story Jerome Motel, which had been used for supportive services. The S:US team offered relocation to current residents, while more than tripling the former site's capacity, responding to the city's housing needs.
Background:
The full city-block site incorporates the only privately-owned pier in NYC. Given the size of the development and the uniqueness of the site on Greenpoint’s East River, Marvel assessed the project from an urban design perspective and a street-level/local point of view. Marvel sought a cohesive design that also broke down the massing into more relatable elements and a more active street front. Unlike most of Brooklyn’s brownstone neighborhoods, Greenpoint housing was created for those who worked there. This is a neighborhood of workers - people who built and sustained the industries that thrived on the docks and in its industrial areas. Marvel’s approach to design involves a research-based process based on information gathering, analysis, engagement and outreach, to arrive at the best design solutions. Our process ensures that design responds to current issues, client, stakeholder, and community priorities, follows best practices while promoting innovation. Our multi-disciplinary team enables open conversations among the team and stakeholders, ensuring collaboration and consensus on design solutions. The research and analysis phase informs the Project Goals and Objectives, which are used as guidelines throughout the design process.
Features / Qualities:
• Acoustical separation (from exterior and between interior spaces)
• Enterprise Green Communities (sustainable initiative)
• LEED Gold
• Fitwel certified
• Net-zero ready
• Geothermal (ground-sourced heat pump)
• Thermally broken façade systems including brick, metal and concrete panel, and glazing systems
• Amenity spaces include lounges, fitness areas, Planted outdoor terraces, recreation areas, rooftop pool
• Landscaped rooftops
• Landscaped, publicly accessible waterfront park (designed by JCFO with MARVEL collaboration)
• Landscaped streetscapes with integrated resiliency (site is within the flood plain)
• Mixed-use with retail, townhomes, food and beverage offerings at grade
Finished Project:
The building rises from Greenpoint into two distinct towers which vary in plan and elevation (355’ and 205’) to maximize light, views, and openness as they mitigate the impact of tower height on the surrounding streets. Terraces on the east and west faces of the tower modulate the Greenpoint-facing and East River-facing elevations while creating private terraces for units and amenity spaces. Retail, food & beverage, live-work spaces and other community facing spaces are consolidated along West and India Streets. The existing circulation and commuter route reinforced by the India Street ferry service make locating the primary pedestrian residential entrance on India St. a natural choice. The pier, already an attractor, can be programmed as an extension of India St. and Waterfront Plaza experiences and increase 1 Java’s ability to become a year- round destination. Townhomes share setback stoops and a small secondary convenience lobby for the low-rise along Java Street. Java St will be marked by a quieter more private character leading from West St. to the waterfront. Services and vehicular access are oriented towards Java Street and reinforce India Street’s pedestrian character.
![Design Vault Ep. 26 1 Java with Jeremy Iannucci](/sites/default/files/inline-images/1Java_Facade-India-2.jpg)
![Design Vault Ep. 26 1 Java with Jeremy Iannucci](/sites/default/files/inline-images/1Java_Facade-India-1.jpg)
TRANSCRIPT
00;00;00;02 - 00;00;05;14
Doug Pat (DP)
Let's go inside the vault. The design vault.
00;00;05;17 - 00;00;30;22
Jeremy Iannucci (JI)
We like to think that the entire project comes from the community around it. We looked at a series of precedents in the Greenpoint neighborhood, historically in Greenpoint, specifically on the waterfront, to inspire the way that we detail these facades. We have a collection of different brick styles that help to break up the massing of the building, different articulations, as well as material breaks with the two precast towers.
00;00;30;25 - 00;03;22;21
DP
This is my guest, Jeremy Iannucci. I'll share more about him shortly. In this episode from The Design Vault, we highlight Marvel’s Project 1 Java in Greenpoint, Brooklyn. 1 Java is a mixed use residential series of buildings located in Greenpoint, Brooklyn. The project responds to the New York City housing market and owners' needs addressing sustainability, constructability, risk mitigation, tax incentives and marketability.
The Development Investment Strategy required a net zero ready design and maximization of floor area. The project includes the largest geothermal array in New York State. The building will participate in the 421A affordable New York and inclusionary housing program, which provides up to 261 affordable housing units out of a total of 871. The new architecture consists of two towers, of prefabricated concrete sheet panels and three lower buildings varying from 6 to 10 storeys with brick masonry facades.
All five buildings rise from Greenpoint in a U-shape plan to maximize light views and open space. Terraces on the east and west. Facades of the towers modulate the elevation while creating private terraces for units and amenity spaces. Retail, food and beverage and live workspaces are consolidated along West and India streets. Townhomes share setback stoops, and a small secondary convenience lobby for the low rise along Java Street.
Hi, I'm Doug Pat and this is Design Vault. Jeremy Iannucci is a registered architect at Marvel in New York City. He has a Bachelor of Architecture from City College's Spitzer School of Architecture. His portfolio encompasses a number of challenging endeavors at Marvel, including a mixed use project located in Brooklyn's Waterfront, which we will discuss today. Jeremy enjoys taking part in international design competitions, one of which was recently shortlisted in a competition to design a children's hospice center, and another was awarded an honorary mention in which he designed a house relying exclusively on daylighting for organizing spaces and form making.
Jeremy also serves as a design critic at the City College of New York and Pratt Institute. So welcome, Jeremy. It's nice to have you with us today. So tell us a little bit about Marvel in New York City. So where in the city are you located? What's the size of the firm? How long has it been around and what type of work do you guys do?
00;03;22;23 - 00;03;52;02
JI
Thank you so much for having me on. We are a New York firm. We also have offices in Puerto Rico, Richmond, Virginia, more recently, Barcelona. We're currently located in New York, in Tribeca, and around 200 people at this point. As far as projects that we take on, we like to say design everywhere for everyone. We don't try to limit ourselves to typology.
We take whatever comes at us. We measure everything against the values of the firm and we really just enjoy design.
00;03;52;05 - 00;03;58;21
DP
So tell us a little bit about yourself. How long have you been working as an architect and what's your role in the office?
00;03;58;23 - 00;04;08;27
JI
So in the office I really work through all stages of the project, through design, working on developing proposals, project delivery and currently in construction to administration.
00;04;08;29 - 00;04;13;06
DP
So this is a really beautiful project and it's extraordinarily large.
00;04;13;12 - 00;04;14;13
JI
Yes, it is.
00;04;14;15 - 00;04;17;06
DP
So how did your office get the project?
00;04;17;08 - 00;04;33;02
JI
So we were invited to participate in the RFP back in fall of 2020. So there was a few other notable firms in the competition. We were lucky enough to be awarded the project, and we've been working hand in hand with Lendlease in bringing it to fruition ever since.
00;04;33;05 - 00;04;37;27
DP
Did you know the clients before you entered the competition?
00;04;37;29 - 00;04;47;23
JI
We had some previous relations with the clients as a contractor, but they've recently started opening a development wing in the United States. This is our first project, working with them in that capacity.
00;04;47;27 - 00;04;53;19
DP
So this site is really large. Could you give us a little history of the location?
00;04;53;21 - 00;05;23;07
JI
The site is 200 feet in the north south and then between West Street and the East River. Around 600 feet with 40 feet reserved for a waterfront esplanade. We actually pulled back even a little bit further from that. And it's located right on the waterfront in Greenpoint. There was recently a rezoning that allowed for a whole redesign of the waterfront, and our project is one of the earlier projects in that redevelopment.
00;05;23;09 - 00;05;29;05
DP
So could you give us an idea of what the scope of the project is and the programmatic requirements?
00;05;29;07 - 00;05;49;14
JI
So it's a residential project, around 834 units, encompassing a total of around 800,000 square feet. This also comes with a series of amenity spaces, a series of retail spaces, as well as that waterfront park, and also a collection of rooftop amenities and green space.
00;05;49;17 - 00;05;56;11
DP
So let's talk about the building design stylistically. Were you guys borrowing from anything locally?
00;05;56;14 - 00;06;21;16
JI
We like to think that the entire project comes from the community around it. We looked at a series of precedents in the Greenpoint neighborhood, historically in Greenpoint, specifically on the waterfront, to inspire the way that we detail these facades. We have a collection of different brick styles that help to break up the massing of the building, different articulations, as well as material breaks with the two precast towers.
00;06;21;18 - 00;06;26;20
DP
So what was on the site before you guys ended up building the new architecture?
00;06;26;23 - 00;06;51;02
JI
Previously, there was a two story warehouse on the site and it really was kind of a beautiful space in its own right before we got the chance to tour around, before it was demolished. And I think walking around really inspired us just with these qualities of light and materials and things that were really native to the waterfront before all of this redevelopment.
00;06;51;05 - 00;07;00;18
DP
And the project, as I said, very large. Could you tell me a little bit about the zoning requirements and any challenges you guys had in terms of planning?
00;07;00;21 - 00;08;03;15
JI
So the project is as of right, it follows the zoning guidelines, the lot itself is actually split up into two different zones. So towards the inland it's mostly low rise. We had a height cap of 65 feet with portions that were allowable to go up to 100. And then towards the waterfront, the zoning actually got a little more complicated where there were a few different conditions that you could meet.
It opened up these different paths for how the building could be formed. One path was a one tower scheme, which would bring you up to 360 feet. And then the other was actually a two tower scheme where if one tower made it to 200 feet, the other would be allowed up to 400 feet. We took advantage of that in order to move more of the mass to the waterfront.
It helped gradually declined the building back into the fabric of the community and it provided more waterfront views overall, just a better experience and connection of the building, both to the water and to the community.
00;08;03;17 - 00;08;06;02
DP
So were there any floodplain restrictions?
00;08;06;05 - 00;08;49;21
JI
Yes. The floodplain has actually set one foot above the highest point of the site, which is the most inland. And then the site gradually slopes down another 6 to 7 feet towards the water. So much of the initial design strategy of the project was finding ways to transition from the ground to above that floodplain elevation. And we accomplished this a number of ways.
We actually set the building back the distance from the lot line as we get closer to the water, and this allows us to use landscaping as a way to gradually transition back up to that flood elevation, as well as moving all of our program spaces above and then moving more utilitarian spaces such as bike rooms down below the flood elevation.
00;08;49;24 - 00;09;12;26
DP
So I'm thinking about our listeners, how to describe the site because we have a series of buildings here. Is there a simple way for you to explain the building plans on the site? So first we describe the shape of the site and plan, and then if you could give us an idea about how those buildings are organized on the site.
00;09;12;29 - 00;09;40;18
JI
So the site's essentially just a rectangle. It's the size of a full city block and on three sides, on the north, the east and the south, we have streets and then the west side is the waterfront. It's the East River. So the way that we've organized the buildings around the site is in this U-shape, where they start up in the northwest corner, move around down West Street and then below, creating a view that opens up towards the water.
00;09;40;20 - 00;09;43;19
DP
So it's really all about the views, which it should be.
00;09;43;21 - 00;09;58;19
JI
Yes, it's something that it needs to be on the waterfront as well as it is about the views back into the neighborhood. We try to open up the view corridors from the building and leave as much view towards the water and towards the horizon from the rest of Greenpoint as we can.
00;09;58;22 - 00;10;08;12
DP
So tell us a little bit about the material choices. You've got a series of different materials and colors there. What were the decisions behind that?
00;10;08;15 - 00;11;00;05
JI
The building massing itself is broken up into five unique buildings and out of those we have two towers that are precast, and those are the buildings on the waterfront and then inland. There are three different buildings that range from ten stories to six stories. And those three buildings are brick. And that we really wanted to draw back from a lot of our inspirations in the Greenpoint community.
There's no shortage of brick precedents there. There's beautiful buildings such as the Astral, which is this Queen Ann red brick Terracotta building. There's St Anthony's Church, which is red brick and limestone trim. It's really beautiful, striking building. We looked towards kind of the history of the waterfront, those manufacturing, industrial buildings, and used that precedent to define these brick colors, these three different brick buildings.
00;11;00;08 - 00;11;28;28
DP
So interestingly, the facades. So we've got the shorter, or we've got the less tall architecture, which are brick buildings, and the facades are a series of what I'll call punctures with spandrel, it looks like spandrel brick in between each one of these vertically in between each one of the window openings, correct? Yes. So how many studies did you guys end up doing to decide what these facades looked like?
00;11;29;00 - 00;12;07;13
JI
Everything kind of melded together at some point. It's hard to break it down into a number because it was just this completely iterative process where we'd look at something, we'd make a model, we draw it, we'd look at it again, we'd make another model, we draw it. And this evolved from the concept schematic designs all the way through to the construction document development.
This idea of the different brick details that actually came from wanting to streamline the project. So we used the same details on each of the brick buildings, but we remixed them in each one. We use them in a different order to create a different identity for each of these.
00;12;07;20 - 00;12;25;01
DP
I think what's really interesting about these facades too, so you separate the facade these into squares or rectangles, and then they have this very, well, it looks subtle in elevation from far away, but it's actually a very large construction joint in between each one of these square rectangular panels, correct?
00;12;25;03 - 00;12;40;03
JI
Yes. We use that construction joint and we overemphasize it. We use this double soldier coursing reveal as a way to further break up the massing and kind of imply this subdivisions within the buildings.
00;12;40;06 - 00;12;43;17
DP
And how deep is that? Is that one brick thickness?
00;12;43;22 - 00;12;44;20
JI
It's two inches.
00;12;44;20 - 00;12;55;11
DP
Two inches. It's nice because when you look at the facade, I mean, it looks quite homogenous. But if you look at it a little bit more deeply, it's separated in these squares and rectangles. Very pretty.
00;12;55;16 - 00;13;14;27
JI
Yeah, that's the effect that we really want to go for in terms of how this fits into the fabric of Greenpoint. We like the idea of there being this large scale massing that breaks down and continues to break down the closer you get and it relates to more your scale relative to the way that you're viewing it.
00;13;15;00 - 00;13;22;07
DP
It really does scale the architecture nicely. So how about the building review with the city? Was that time consuming?
00;13;22;09 - 00;13;34;17
JI
Not at all. As I said, we were as of right building. So working through the construction documents, we were also working through permitting at the same time. It was a very easy flow from one stage to the next.
00;13;34;19 - 00;13;37;18
DP
Now, did you guys work in 2D and in 3D?
00;13;37;26 - 00;13;46;28
JI
Yes. 2D, 3D, physical models, sketches. Things were being passed around the office for a year and a half related to this.
00;13;47;01 - 00;13;51;00
DP
Do you work in Revit or AutoCAD or ArchiCAD?
00;13;51;02 - 00;13;58;26
JI
We're primarily a Revit office. We use Revit for our project delivery. We also do a bit of work in AutoCAD and in Rhino.
00;13;59;02 - 00;14;03;24
DP
So when you did presentation with the clients, did you show them three dimensional images and models?
00;14;04;01 - 00;14;31;01
JI
Yes, there is a lot of modeling. We actually very early on in the project, we built this eight foot long model of the Greenpoint waterfront, and we were working through just several dozens of iterations of the massing, the two towers, a one tower option, and we were all just spread out around the table, around this model, flipping through the different massings and trying to figure out what worked best with what else we were seeing on the waterfront.
00;14;31;04 - 00;14;33;00
DP
I bet the client really enjoyed that.
00;14;33;00 - 00;14;36;26
JI
It was a blast. Every office meeting was always a mini party.
00;14;36;28 - 00;14;57;08
DP
Yeah, clients love models. I mean, they love 3D images. I'm sure when you showed them these three dimensional images, particularly the towers, which are really quite beautiful, the way the facades step back and move forward. And they're just, the architecture is very interesting. So I'm sure they really enjoyed it, especially when they saw the first renderings.
00;14;57;10 - 00;15;12;11
JI
Yeah, again, it was a lot of fun and all these models were tactile and interactive, so it gave us a chance to move some of these blocks and figure out the correct portion, the correct distance that we'd want things to overhang to shift and slide past each other.
00;15;12;14 - 00;15;17;06
DP
So how many people worked on the project? How many people were involved in the office on the team?
00;15;17;11 - 00;15;44;07
JI
It fluctuated throughout phase. I think at the height of it we had around 12 people total, and that's assembling the full construction package, Through concept the team was a bit smaller, we maybe 4 to 6 and this is also spread out between a few of the different locations of our offices. So we had a team in our San Juan, Puerto Rico office and a team at our New York office, both working hand in hand on this.
00;15;44;09 - 00;16;06;15
DP
You know, as an aside, what's really pretty, the red brick that you guys use there, there are a lot of lighter bricks in that facade. And so it makes it look almost pink in color. But you get up close to it and you can see a lot of variations in these colors, in the red colored brick, a lot of like I'll call it value, but it's light and dark red brick.
00;16;06;18 - 00;17;10;16
JI
For that facade we're using a blended brick and we wanted that to echo some of the red brick buildings that you already see on West Street on the waterfront. That was kind of our launching point for coming up with this brick palette. We knew that there was going to be a red brick building. We knew that it was going to be relative to those warehouses and then the other two bricks were kind of an offshoot, based on how we wanted to frame this story of the building as you move around the site.
So to the north, there's a lighter brick. It's something that we see as a little more modern. We try to keep the tones of the brick and mortar and the sills and other materials a little more homogenous and then on the flip side of that, on the southern street of the building Java Street, we wanted to use something with a bit more variation.
We wanted a higher contrast between the grout and the brick, a higher variability within the bricks. And that's something that we saw as a little more nostalgic to some of those worker housings and the smaller buildings that you begin to see as you move more inland.
00;17;10;18 - 00;17;16;27
DP
Now the colors work very nicely together. So where are you guys in the construction phase on this? Forgive me for not knowing.
00;17;16;29 - 00;17;33;05
JI
Where currently pouring the concrete structure. We're up to the sixth floor now, I believe. We have gotten all of the brick pallets finalized. We've gotten all the precast facades cast. It's really kind of a game of assembly at this point.
00;17;33;07 - 00;17;41;28
DP
So, Jeremy, you're a young architect. I'm sure you're learning a lot. As you go along here, anything memorable so far?
00;17;42;01 - 00;18;01;06
JI
It's so hard to pick one thing. This entire project has just been an incredible learning experience. Admittedly, early in my career, there's so many different conditions, so much to consider with a project of this size that I really feel like I got a good breadth of exposure to so many facets of the industry now.
00;18;01;06 - 00;18;03;18
DP
Do you get to be out in the field a lot?
00;18;03;21 - 00;18;27;22
JI
Yes. Every week we have our owner and constructor meetings. We have bank walks on the side and really get to see the progress and it's moving so quickly, month by month. And also I live not too far from the site, so every week I try to make it out there and just see what's going on, see what's changed, and it's kind of humbling just seeing something come to life.
00;18;27;25 - 00;18;46;27
DP
I would imagine something this large, I've never worked on a project that's larger than a residential home. I mean, I've worked on schools early on, but working on a job that's this big has got to be humbling and profound and extraordinarily interesting all at the same time.
00;18;46;29 - 00;19;07;27
JI
Yeah, it's been challenging, but I think throughout all of it I've been extremely lucky just having in the support of a firm like Marvel as well as just an incredibly talented team of consultants, of engineers and clients who have really just been supportive and on board and actively participating in every step of the design.
00;19;08;00 - 00;19;12;29
DP
So I'd like to ask most of our guests, did you guys have any challenges finding a mason?
00;19;13;02 - 00;19;27;21
JI
No, actually, the mason that we've gone with bundling, we've worked on a few of our projects with them before, and the second that they came on board with the project, our confidence kind of skyrocketed. Just because we've had such a good experience with them previously.
00;19;27;23 - 00;19;37;24
DP
For all those young architects out there looking for work at a firm that they admire, how might you recommend young people find the right job?
00;19;37;26 - 00;20;22;06
JI
Well, the right job is kind of a hard thing to qualify. I think the best advice I could give on that is to just put your name out there wherever you can. Don't be shy in asking people for connections and asking people to kind of put you in a position that you think would be beneficial to you. With Marvel, actually, I had a friend from school who knew someone, and through them I was able to get my resume and I actually don't think Marvel was actively hiring. But I got the interview and it went very well. I loved everyone on the team and they loved me and I think I really landed in my right place. But I encourage everyone to really put yourself out to as many places as you can so you can see what fits for you and what works for you.
00;20;22;08 - 00;20;41;12
DP
I always kind of wonder is an older guy working in this field now to social media have a benefit in terms of finding work today? That is, is it easier to reach out to people that you simply don't know with your resume and thoughts about, hey, I'd love to work with your firm?
00;20;41;15 - 00;21;14;24
JI
Yeah, I think it plays a big part. It's playing an increasing part to Instagram as a way that I see a lot of firms work, a lot of firms putting out calls for applications for either positions or internships. It really increases the amount of exposure and it puts everything in one place where people might just passively see it.
And then there's also LinkedIn, where I get so many people messaging me about my experience at Marvel and kind of things that they're looking for, things that they would want to know about if they were to apply for a position or an internship.
00;21;14;27 - 00;22;17;12
DP
It's interesting, just as an aside, I never really thought about this, but when you said it puts things in one place, the web really does help them. It sounds really dumb, but to a guy like me who's 55 years old when I was young, you either have to see an architect work in a magazine, you visit their office and you get to see all the photos of all of their work.
But the web really does an amazing job of putting absolutely everything in one location, right? So you go, especially an app like Instagram, where you simply open it up, go to a page and you can see all 400 projects or 30 projects or whatever it is, and contact people at the firm in 2 minutes. It really has changed the paradigm for employment or simply for marketing and all these other things.
I know it all sounds very obvious, but as I sit here with a young architect, it makes me think that your world is simply very different than what mine used to be.
00;22;17;19 - 00;22;30;19
JI
I also think it's democratized in a way. It's given smaller firms a greater opportunity and platform to put their work out that it could be on the same level with the kind of content that you see from much larger firms.
00;22;30;22 - 00;22;40;06
DP
I love that. That makes a lot of sense. So, Jeremy, it's been great to have you here. Thank you so much for your time. Where can people go to learn more about Marvel and yourself?
00;22;40;06 - 00;22;50;03
JI
Yeah, thank you, Doug. You can visit our website, MarvelDesign.com or also please follow us on Instagram at @Marvel_is_design.
00;22;50;05 - 00;22;55;28
DP
All right well, Jeremy, thank you very much again for being here. It's been great to have you as a guest.
00;22;55;29 - 00;22;59;28
JI
Yeah. Thank you so much, Doug.
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Design Vault Ep. 16 Z House with Shane Neufeld
ABOUT THE ARCHITECT:
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Shane Neufeld, RA is an American architect and artist born in Brooklyn, New York, in 1982. He received his BA in Fine Arts in 2004 from Amherst College, where he studied painting and literature, and his masters degree in 2009 from the Yale School of Architecture. He is the founder of Light and Air Architecture, (www.landa-arch.com) a architecture and design firm based in Brooklyn NY. The firm’s work has been widely published, and completed projects include the Z House, Switchback House, Sterling Place, Skylit House and Nassau Street Loft. The office also focuses on issues concerning social justice, such as L/AND/A’s competition winning entry for the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade Memorial in Richmond, Virgina.
After graduate school, Shane spent three years with Rogers Marvel Architects in New York, working on a variety of projects that focused on urban, residential, commercial as well as institutional architecture. Such designs include Pierhouse, a large-scale residential building to be completed on Brooklyn’s waterfront, SandRidge Energy’s amenities campus in downtown Oklahoma City, and RAMPed Up, a USGBC National Competition Winner for an affordable house in New Orleans. Additionally, he was a Project Architect at Christoff : Finio Architecture where he oversaw the design and construction of the Kentucky Museum of Arts in Craft in Louisville. Shane has also served as a faculty member at the New Jersey Institute of Technology School of Architecture. He is a Registered Architect in New York.
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ABOUT THE PROJECT:
The Z House (named for the shape of its stair) is a transformative renovation providing a different model for the urban, domestic experience. At the project’s center is a new “switchback” stair that integrates the house vertically and horizontally, carving out the existing structure in order to shape dynamic sightlines that connect inhabitants in new and exciting ways. The stair’s drama is heightened by the placement of large windows punctuating the rear façade, allowing the vertical space to open to the exterior - directing views from the stair, through the house, and to the yard beyond.
Z House
Designed by L/AND/A
View ProjectTRANSCRIPT
00;00;00;02 - 00;00;05;13
Doug Pat (DP)
Let's go inside the vault. The design vault.
00;00;05;16 - 00;00;20;14
Shane Neufeld (SN)
I think what was special about this project was that the clients were able to generate a lot of input that forced me out of my comfort zone, think about things in new ways, and take some of the systems and strategies I had in place, but to create something completely different than had been done before.
00;00;20;20 - 00;02;47;11
DP
This is my guest, Shane Neufeld. I'll share more about him shortly. In this episode from the Design Vault, we highlight Shane's project in Brooklyn, New York, called The Z House. The Z house, named for the shape of its stair is a renovation, providing a unique model for the urban domestic experience. At the Project Center is a new switchback stair that integrates the house vertically and horizontally, carving out the existing structure in order to shape dynamic sightlines that connect inhabitants in new ways.
The stairs drama is heightened by the placement of large windows punctuating the rear facade. These allow the vertical space to open to the exterior directing views from the stair through the house and to the yard beyond. Descending from the rear of the parlor floor is a smaller stair slotted between a steel guardrail and oak millwork. This connects the living room to the new horizontal additions below.
Here, the added square footage accommodates the kitchen and dining room in a single dramatic double height space that visually unites the rear yard and the parlor floor above. A green roof located above the garden level helps to buffer sightlines and cultivates a natural intimacy for the residents inside.
Hi, I'm Doug Pat and this is Design Vault. Shane Neufeld is an architect and artist born in Brooklyn, New York.
He received his B.A. in Fine Arts from Amherst College, where he studied painting and literature and his master's degree from the Yale School of Architecture. He is a registered architect and the founder of Light and Air Architecture and Design in Brooklyn. The firm's work has been widely published and completed projects include the Z House, Switchback House, Sterling Place, Skylight House and Nassau Street Loft.
After graduate school, Shane spent three years with Rogers Marvel Architects in New York, working on a variety of projects that focused on urban, residential, commercial as well as institutional architecture. Additionally, he was a project architect at Christopher Fernyhough Architecture. Shane is also served as a faculty member at the New Jersey Institute of Technology's School of Architecture. So welcome, Shane.
Nice to have you with us today. So tell us a little bit about Light and Air Architecture in Brooklyn, New York. So obviously you're located in Brooklyn. What's the size of your firm and what type of work do you do?
00;02;47;13 - 00;03;42;19
SN
It's great to be here. Thanks for having me. Our office is 2 to 3 people. It varies from project to project. We do mainly residential work in Brooklyn, although we have done apartments as well in the city. We're trying to get beyond residential for institutional projects, so we're very open minded about the kind of work we want to do.
But we see a lot of potential spatially, in particular with residential work and in townhouses here in New York. For us, the townhouse is rich with opportunities to explore, and in a city that tends to maximize every square foot, we kind of take a more artful approach where we want places that people want to spend time in rather than maximize.
And so we pursue clients and tell clients this off the bat so they know what they're getting into. And it's a different type of work in our mind than what new people normally see and people are used to.
00;03;42;21 - 00;03;44;11
DP
So how long has a firm been around?
00;03;44;17 - 00;03;55;15
SN
We were founded in 2017. I founded the office on my own house, the Switchback House, which was a derelict brownstone in Bed-Stuy, Brooklyn, and I used that as a starting point.
00;03;55;20 - 00;03;59;01
DP
So that's your home? Yes. Oh, that's so great. It's beautiful.
00;03;59;05 - 00;03;59;19
SN
Thanks.
00;03;59;25 - 00;04;01;28
DP
It must have been a great project for you.
00;04;02;04 - 00;04;28;12
SN
It was intense. I was working still at an office, so I was drawing the plans at night and eventually left my job to work on it full time during construction. It was an incredible learning experience. I hadn't really worked with Townhouse in New York before. I'd work on the Louisville Museum of Arts and Craft, which was a masonry building that would use steel. So I was familiar with the kind of means and methods are getting into, but not in Brooklyn itself.
00;04;28;14 - 00;04;32;13
DP
So you have a family and you all lived through construction.
00;04;32;16 - 00;04;45;05
SN
I actually had a loft in Bed-Stuy, what I call Home Depot Heights, which wasn't so nice at the time. It's loud, but we lived there at the time. My son wasn't born yet, so it worked for us.
00;04;45;07 - 00;04;54;03
DP
So tell us a little bit about the history of the location, the building. How long has it been there? Was it always three stories?
00;04;54;06 - 00;05;33;01
SN
Yeah. So with the Switchback House, my work got out there pretty fast and a young couple came up to me interested in exploring ideas of a new house for themselves that wasn't traditional, that had aspects and qualities that they saw in the Switchback House. And so they had purchased a derelict brownstone in Clinton Hill. It was two stories and a basement, so I guess that's three.
But it can be confusing, but parlor with one above. Basically it had a kind of 1960s faux concrete facade at the time. It was split up into multiple units. They had a big vision for transforming this house entirely from the get-go.
00;05;33;03 - 00;05;39;14
DP
So let's back up a little bit. So you explained how your office got the project. Did you know the clients?
00;05;39;16 - 00;06;31;22
SN
I did not. And so that's something that I've tried to be, you know, getting clients in architecture is very, very difficult. It's very much word of mouth. Obviously, people are spending lots of money. They want to work with someone they're comfortable with, someone they know will provide a product that they're happy with and that works. But it's a catch 22 at the very beginning.
Those connections don't exist. And so what I've really tried to do, and I think this originates from my background as a painter, is that I try to make work that's evocative and I want people to see the images. I want them to say, Hey, that's what I like, that's what I want, and kind of bypass a lot of the other stuff.
That's the hope at least. And so I think thus far I've been able to do that. And so they saw my projects online and had that reaction. And through a series of interviews and get togethers and walkthroughs, eventually they felt comfortable with me through other recommendations, obviously, as well.
00;06;31;26 - 00;06;36;06
DP
So what was the scope of the project? What were the clients’ programmatic requirements?
00;06;36;09 - 00;07;54;17
SN
That's pretty interesting as well. So I mean, there was this idea early on that we sketched of a kind of grand public floor on the stoop level. Basically, they knew they wanted to add to the building horizontally. We weren't yet sure about vertically, but the original building, it was wider than most townhouses, 22 and a half feet, but it was only 32 feet deep.
So the addition was necessary in order to function, basically. Then the idea of the living space on the parlor floor and with bedrooms above and originally, as I've done in other projects, I thought of the adult level on the second floor with the kids above. They pushed me to invert this, which created a very interesting programmatic and spatial result.
Basically with the vertical addition on the rear, you end up having a terrace on the top floor off the master bedroom. I think what was special about this project was that the clients were able to generate a lot of input that forced me out of my comfort zone, think about things in new ways and take some of the systems and strategies I had in place, but to create something completely different than had been done before.
So in that respect, when I first started this project, I thought about it as, you know, Switchback House 2.0. I like this idea of the Switchback as a typology that offers a multitude of spatial outcomes depending on the family's needs.
00;07;54;19 - 00;08;04;07
DP
So it can't be easy getting a new addition done in Brooklyn, right? I mean, what do you go through in terms of project restrictions, zoning codes, etc.?
00;08;04;10 - 00;08;27;29
SN
That's a very good question. I mean, luckily this building wasn't landmarked, so we didn't have to go through landmarks review. We were given kind of free range to do what we wanted. But a horizontal and vertical submission is significant. It requires an old one change of use. We went from a two family or three family to a single family.
It was significant time for approvals. We did not do SOE. We we didn't dig out the cellar in the rear.
00;08;28;02 - 00;08;30;18
DP
So the building plan, straight rectangle?
00;08;30;20 - 00;08;47;05
SN
It's actually staggered slightly in plan and the addition and that has to do with the lot line itself. So you can see that in the kitchen, the area where the sink and window are that that actually pushes out slightly beyond where the sliding doors are that defined the end of the dining room space.
00;08;47;11 - 00;08;48;12
DP
Do they have a backyard?
00;08;48;13 - 00;08;49;15
SN
They do.
00;08;50;39 - 00;08;52;12
DP
So they were encroaching on it when you put the addition on?
00;08;53;29 - 00;08;54;03
SN
Slightly but 30 feet to the rear is the code.
00;08;54;09 - 00;08;56;11
DP
So they still have a backyard. They've got room.
00;08;56;18 - 00;08;57;25
SN
Oh, yes, significant room.
00;08;58;02 - 00;09;04;27
DP
So how long did the planning process take? City Review design to construction? Like start to finish? How long were you on the job?
00;09;05;03 - 00;09;17;15
SN
Well, I started the project. I started designing think it was the end of 2018. It took about a year to get started and the project itself took another two years to finish. Year and a half. Two years.
00;09;17;15 - 00;09;18;07
DP
And pandemic.
00;09;18;11 - 00;09;34;10
SN
Yes, through that as well, through price increases on plywood and windows that took over a year to arrive, miserable at times. But a truly wonderful client who trusted us trusted the process, communicated well, and we really got through it together.
00;09;34;15 - 00;09;41;02
DP
Yeah, a common story for we architects. I mean, everything took longer, cost more. It was insanity.
00;09;41;09 - 00;10;38;09
SN
Yeah. I mean, I think what's really interesting for me about this project was that this addition that we had, we wanted it to feel completely different than the front of the building. We actually restored the front of the building to its original state, which was a cementitious or brownstone facade. Despite adding a floor, we made it look, appear as if that's the way it had always been.
So we were playing up this Jekyll and Hyde inside, outside contrasting relationship. And so the rear is this monolithic kind of earthy force in a way that appears entirely different from the front of the house. And there was a real desire with the large windows to bring light and air into the space, to feel continuous ness of the space between the inside of the building and the rear.
And I think that's really where the search also for the right brick came into play because we knew that whatever we did, which we wanted to be masonry on the rear also had to be that same masonry on the inside of the addition as well.
00;10;38;17 - 00;10;52;02
DP
So tell us a little bit about style choice. So the owners, did they just say right away, hey, we want to do something contemporary? They're looking at your project, the Switchback House, and they're thinking, this is what we want to do. That's why we came to you.
00;10;52;04 - 00;11;14;22
SN
To be honest, I always tried to actually sidestep away from conversations about style, but there was an idea from the get-go that they had seen our work. They wanted something in that vein. There was no conversations about whether something should be stylistically historical or modern or contemporary. There was just questions about where things should be, how they should function, and what material should be the outcome.
00;11;14;29 - 00;11;20;07
DP
Did the city dictate that the third story on that front elevation had to be a traditional aesthetic?
00;11;20;09 - 00;11;22;25
SN
Absolutely not. That that was a client driven.
00;11;22;25 - 00;11;23;16
DP
Client driven.
00;11;23;19 - 00;12;04;00
SN
Yes. And you know what? At first I thought, you know what? If the vertical edition was something modern, stepped back and those were ideas that I was really interested in to play as a counterpoint to the historical facade. But the client and I think to their credit, in the end, this idea of really disguising the kind of dynamism that was going on inside that the front played a more subtle, subdued role.
I really like that. In the end, the front door is a reference to their heritage. Actually, it's a mahogany lattice that references Geoffrey Bauer's work and some of the screens that he developed in his work. So there's suggestions of a kind of different world within, but it's very subtle.
00;12;04;02 - 00;12;10;15
DP
So tell us a little bit about the building restrictions. Was there an FAR? Zoning codes?
00;12;10;17 - 00;12;28;14
SN
Yeah, sure. So it's a 20 to by, I think a little under a hundred foot deep lot. So obviously you have to do your calculations. But no, we are not maximizing FAR, we're close, but not maximizing the envelope is, I believe, 50 feet on the street side. But we're not engaging any of those limits.
00;12;28;20 - 00;12;31;12
DP
You guys used masonry on the interior as well.
00;12;31;16 - 00;12;34;11
SN
We did. And those are full masonry bricks on the inside.
00;12;34;18 - 00;12;35;17
DP
So it's load bearing.
00;12;35;24 - 00;13;13;10
SN
Well, we're not using the bricks for load bearing purposes. It is a CMU all in the addition, but the bricks take up the three and five eighths inch width, which is I think really interesting. I think this is again speaks to the kind of work that we do is that we looked at tile products. I think Glen-Gery very makes tile products too of some of those bricks but we wanted it to turn corners.
We wanted it to move, we wanted it to appear fully authentic. And in the end, I think once we had reflected on all the products available, that using the same brick, the same finish was the right move. And with the 22 and a half foot wide lot, it really afforded us that opportunity.
00;13;13;12 - 00;13;18;29
DP
So tell us about some of the unique construction details that you guys ended up using on the project.
00;13;19;01 - 00;14;20;08
SN
This whole project, this whole house was bespoke. I mean, it kind of drove us mad how difficult it was. We were there almost every other day figuring things out. You know, my office is near Clinton Hill, so it's a five minute bike ride. And there were lots of things to consider constantly as the construction progress went on. But I think that one quality that we like to achieve in all of our projects is this notion of materials and volumes, kissing or abutting in very sensitive ways.
So knowing that if you want two finish materials to have a tolerance of, let's say an eighth of an inch or a 16th of an inch next to each other, one has to constantly move back from those materials and think about what's on the inside. So we worked with Henrybuilt on this kitchen. Henrybuilt produces very beautiful high end kitchens.
But I the architect am the verifying field for that if you can believe it we actually designed and dimension this kitchen before the masonry was built so the masonry that you see in the kitchen was actually designed to the specs of the kitchen.
00;14;20;13 - 00;14;22;16
DP
Wow, that is backwards.
00;14;22;21 - 00;14;38;26
SN
But I had to know where everything was. So we have the CMU in place. I had to understand the depth of all the materials where they would end up. And using that information we decided what the kitchen was, where it would be. And then I'm on the field supervising, making sure that the masonry is indeed where I think it will be.
00;14;39;03 - 00;14;50;06
DP
Yeah, I think it's pretty cool. It's pretty rare to see masonry on the interior of a building. You just referenced, there were other materials you guys talked about using for both the interior and maybe even the rear facade.
00;14;50;08 - 00;16;19;11
SN
The client, they had this dream of a masonry rear facade. I did too. I mean, it's what made sense. I mean, masonry is a East Coast material. It is something we see a lot here. The beautiful old buildings, you know, of the Northeast are made of brick, many of them red brick. And so that was a theme that came up as well.
The client did have a bit of a dream of this red brick facade, but knowing that this brick would live on the inside as well, esthetically, I felt that a red brick spoke too much of exterior use and would be a kind of too much of a contrast to the type of mood and space we were trying to create on the inside.
A lighter brick reflects light. It bounces light around. It doesn't present itself as a color so much as an opportunity for variations in tone throughout a space. There's so much light in this house that we kind of, after some time and looking at many, many different products in many Glen-Gery products, we decided that a white light cream colored brick was the right choice.
And then it came to question, Well, how do we get a white brick that has the texture that works both on the outside and on the inside, and doesn't force someone to see that as an issue in one way or the other. And so we went with, in the end, white velour, which we felt was this perfect middle ground of cream colored was not too white, was not too beige, not too reflective, not too matte, and had a wonderful kind of authentic handed texture to it that I think really helped the house out a lot.
00;16;19;13 - 00;16;23;21
DP
And used a slightly darker mortar. Right? So we didn't know it's brick.
00;16;23;21 - 00;16;39;26
SN
Correct. We tested it out. So that was a sense of do we want the lines to go away? That's always a question you know, architects deal with. I think we found something that wasn't too much of a contrast, but very clearly spoke to the manual craft that goes into putting brick walls together.
00;16;39;29 - 00;16;41;29
DP
So you guys have a green roof on this?
00;16;42;04 - 00;16;42;23
SN
We do.
00;16;42;26 - 00;16;46;11
DP
So sustainability was something you guys talked about?
00;16;46;12 - 00;17;13;21
SN
For sure. We have solar panels on the roof and a green roof, 100 square feet of green roof is required now of new construction in New York on residential projects. If you don't have solar panels, we kind of decided to do both. The solar panels actually came a little later on in the project, but the green roof is integrated into the addition, so that actually when one descends down the stair from the second to the first floor, they look out of a window that views out upon the green roof.
00;17;13;24 - 00;17;30;24
SN
And that green roof also, the intention is over time it grows, it's exotic, it falls down the facade. And so the idea of the brick as a kind of monumental monolithic material that as a counterpoint to the organic quality of the roof itself, our hope is that they really begin to work together in a lovely way.
00;17;31;01 - 00;17;34;05
DP
How much energy can they generate with the solar panels?
00;17;34;08 - 00;17;40;23
SN
Probably anywhere between 40 to 50%. You know, I think obviously in the winter, not so much, but in the summer a lot.
00;17;40;26 - 00;17;49;03
DP
Yeah, that's pretty cool. Let's talk a little bit about the architectural process, 2D 3D. Do you work in both? What are the programs you're using?
00;17;49;08 - 00;19;06;00
SN
Yeah, well, I'm an artist in the truest sense of the word. You know, I'm a draftsman and I was a painter in college. I still paint, I think, with a pencil and paper. I think through watercolors and painting. And that's how ideas begin to formulate in my mind. And so everything begins in a kind of old school way for me, it's kind of funny.
I like digital tools, but I think that I'm most creative on working directly with my hands. So I also think that's very exciting for clients. People forget that you're sitting at a table with paper and you're with a client, and to be able to communicate ideas through drawing is a privilege and it's fun.
And so that's how I begin the process. And then very quickly, we're moving to we use Rhino for all of our 3D design and a lot of model making. So our office, we have a 3D printer, we've created a hybrid process where, you know, as you can see in the photograph, our models have 3D printed components, wood components that are done by hand, concrete.
In a funny way, the models are a kind of precursor to the actuality of the house itself in that image. That's a quarter inch model there. It's a significantly large model and I think we use that with clients. They enjoy it. The model really offers a quality of light and experience that the renderings don't.
00;19;06;02 - 00;19;08;06
DP
Yeah, I was going to say clients love models.
00;19;08;09 - 00;19;12;26
SN
Yeah, they do. We don't charge for them, but we should.
00;19;12;28 - 00;19;17;04
DP
So you said you had two other people in the office working with you on this project?
00;19;17;11 - 00;19;35;07
SN
On this project, it was just me and one employee. You know, we worked together. Hands and hands, both of us. All hands on deck, figuring this out. I did most of the CA, Construction Administration, on this project, and I'm very hands on on site as well, drawing, sketching with builders, working directly with the foremen. And, you know, those are all things I really enjoy.
00;19;35;10 - 00;19;39;08
DP
So you're out on site every two or three days, which is wonderful?
00;19;39;15 - 00;19;43;11
SN
Or terrible, depending how you think about it. But in this case it was wonderful.
00;19;43;11 - 00;20;01;24
DP
Of course, I was just wondering, you know, you spend so much time with the GC and the subs. There's something you learn like every day. I mean, I feel like I learn an awful lot. I'm 54. I've been an architect for close to 30 years, and I feel like I'm learning something new, whenever I'm in the field that happened with his job or any other jobs?
00;20;02;02 - 00;20;44;15
SN
Yeah, I mean, I really enjoy it because it's really humbling. I mean, I'm not the type of architect who thinks they know the right answer all the time. I really approach my projects from a kind of artful spatial perspective, and I rely on the different trades and the experts that I surround myself with to help me through the process to get the project realized.
And so that means I have a trusting relationship with GCs as best as I can, that, you know, we work together. I take their advice. You know, I follow their lead at times to help resolve certain things that I might not know how to do. That's not frustrating for me. That's the best. And I like architecture because of that. Every project offers me a chance to learn something new and I find that challenge exciting.
00;20;44;17 - 00;20;53;05
DP
It's a great attitude. It's a humble one, and it's one most architects should have, right? We go out there and we can learn an awful lot from the people that are doing their job.
00;20;53;12 - 00;21;17;29
SN
Yeah, I mean, at some point I want to be in a position to maybe have a bit more knowledge. But I also think you can't be too trusting. I mean, there are moments when things aren't done right or mistakes are made that will realize in making the project not what it should be. It's hard to speak up at those moments and take agency, But yeah, it's a fine line. But all in all, I approach it through teamwork and being humble and listening to those around me.
00;21;18;01 - 00;21;21;07
DP
Did you guys end up using the Mason that you found right away?
00;21;21;09 - 00;21;30;20
SN
This project is pretty amazing in that the crew that we worked with did everything so the Mason was not someone subbed out. It was a crew of guys that did everything on this project.
00;21;30;22 - 00;21;31;29
DP
That's pretty unusual.
00;21;32;04 - 00;21;34;12
SN
Yes, maybe not as much in Brooklyn, but yes.
00;21;34;17 - 00;22;02;27
DP
So Shane, you're a young architect with a presumably long runway in front of you. Do you have any advice to young architects out there that are looking for projects and they're wondering, like, how does this work? You had said early in our discussion that in the very beginning it's really hard to find work. I mean, you've got to kind of wait for somebody to find you.
And how do you get your work in a magazine and then somebody finds it and then, you know, you're recognizable. It's a long it takes a long time.
00;22;03;00 - 00;23;29;16
SN
I have a lot of varied interest in my life. You know, I have a family, I paint, I do other things. Architecture, obviously is my career and it's what I want to do. But I think, one, it's helpful not to have all your eggs in one basket so that there are many things in life that make you happy.
And I think that helps and affords one with the patience that's needed to be an architect because a project from its beginning to its end to its publishing is five years even on a house, right? So that kind of patients you need, that can be really frustrating I think if you take a step back and think about it that way.
But it's just the reality. Working hard to get the images out there. I do believe I hate to say it, but the photographs are the medium by which our work is understood. It's very important to photograph your work with someone you trust in the way that you imagine it to be understood. I don't think people do that enough.
I work with my best friend is someone I grew up with who's my photographer, and it's very collaborative. We spend one day actually just in the house taking 500 shots. We then go through all of them, choose our favorites, revise, edit, iterate, and you know, then it's a two day shoot and it's a lot of work. We didn't hire a stylist or anything like that for this project.
This is us moving things around, using the client's furniture itself. This is all their stuff. And that's something I worked with the clients on as well. But yeah, just making sure that the project ends up looking recorded the way you intended to be. I think that's really, really important.
00;23;29;18 - 00;23;36;16
DP
So Shane, it's been great to have you here. Thanks for your time. Where could people go to learn more about Light and Air Architecture and yourself?
00;23;36;18 - 00;24;09;27
SN
Yeah, I mean, they should go to my website and look through the work. You can email me at Shane@landa-arch.com, or just search Light and Air Architecture. Either way, you'll end up at my website, and my website shows a selection of finished work and ongoing work. We have a really interesting townhouse that's in construction uptown on 95th Street.
Similar ideas, but completely different type of stair, all constructed out of steel offsite and being brought in more constantly, exploring different ways of thinking about the New York house. So yeah, feel free to get in touch.
00;24;10;00 - 00;24;35;12
DP
Well, thank you very much, Shane.
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Design Vault Ep. 6 Guildford Court with Peter VanderPoel
ABOUT THE ARCHITECT:
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Peter VanderPoel is a practicing architect licensed in Maryland, Washington DC and Virginia. His practice focuses on residential and small commercial projects in and around Washington DC. He received a Bachelor of Architecture from the University of Kansas and a Master of Architecture from Virginia Tech and is a Certified Passive House Consultant. He has taught architecture at the university level for over 10 years and is current an Adjunct Professor at Virginia Tech's Washington Alexandria Architecture Center (WAAC) in Alexandria, Virginia. |
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ABOUT THE PROJECT:
The Guildford Court project was an opportunity to build a luxury home in a suburban area of McLean, Virginia. The demands of the site were the driver of the design. The lost is similar to the state of Georgia, both in shape and orientation, and is located on a cul-de-sac with a very narrow street frontage. The property lines that extended back from the street describe an angle of approximately 60 degrees. The lot if very steep, rising 20' as it extends back from the street to the northwest. "I find the best architectural solutions as ones that respond and accommodate external forces, rather than ignoring or fighting them" - Peter VanderPoel.
The 60 degree angle drawn by the property lines suggested three axes might be used, as a hexagon is defined by three axes to enclose its shape. The program called for three major components: automobile access and garage, semi-public (formal and casual entertaining) and private. Moving cars across the site and garaging them is naturally limited by a cars ability; climbing steep hills and parking on steeply sloped surfaces is undesirable. The south side of the site is the lowest area with a minimal slope running from east to west. This proved most desirable for moving cars on and off the site. Placing the garage block here would also provide some privacy for the interior portion of the lot. These axes allowed for programmatic elements to respond to one of the three axes, depending on needs and relationships. The street frontage is similar to Georgia's Atlantic coast; relatively narrow and near the south side of the property. The semi-public portion of the program is located here with an area for an office near the front entrance, beneath the private block and the family functions in the main, brick clad block. The private portion of the program was placed on the east side of the property raised up to meet the high end of the site, resting on the semi-private block. Stairs provided the hinge on which to turn these three block through their 120 degrees rotate with the semi-public and private stairs expressed as a grand, sculptural stair with a large skylight about. The splayed organization allowed for a natural courtyard scheme with the south and east side screened by the house itself and the trees and slope at the north and west to screen those views. The privacy afforded by this arrangement was leveraged by inclusion of a pool in this area. A series of terraced retaining walls, reliant on the same 3 axis grid, sculpted the steep portion of the site and carved out the level area for placement of the pool.
Guildford Court
Peter VanderPoel Architects
Read Case StudyTRANSCRIPT
00;00;00;00 - 00;00;05;13
Doug Patt (DP)
Let's go inside the vault. The design vault.
00;00;05;15 - 00;00;30;15
Peter Vanderpoel (PV)
Even though it wasn't important at the moment, but with COVID, the idea of having a prominent place or office in the house also came to the fore during the design process, three car garage, the expectation of a pool, some sort of flattened area for a deck around that pool, and then we've got the very steep hill in the back that turned into this terrace for someone could lay out there and get sun. It's fairly private there in the center of that spot.
00;00;30;17 - 00;02;15;21
DP
This is my guest, Peter Vanderpoel. I'll share more about him shortly. In this episode from The Design Vault, we’ll highlight Peter's project, Guilford Court. Guilford Court is a luxury home in a suburban area of McLean, Virginia. The lot is angular and located on a cul-de-sac with narrow street frontage. It's also quite steep, rising 20 feet as it extends back from the street.
Peter uses three separate virtual axes to inform the floor plan and programmatic organization of the house. The garage, located on the south side of the property, is clad in wood, while the private portion of the house, which resembles a kind of modern Tudor facade, is enclosed in fiber cement siding. The middle semipublic spaces are enclosed in a dark brick veneer.
The landscape also reflects the same three axis grid with sculpted geometry that level out the site.
Hi, I'm Doug Pat and this is Design Vault.
Today we're talking to Peter Vanderpoel, registered architect of Vanderpoel Architecture. Peter is a practicing architect, licensed in Maryland, Washington, D.C., and Virginia. His practice focuses on residential and small commercial projects in and around Washington, D.C. He received a Bachelor of Architecture from the University of Kansas and a Master of Architecture from Virginia Tech.
He's a certified Passive House consultant and has taught architecture at the university level for over ten years. He's currently an adjunct professor at Virginia Tech's Washington Alexandria Architecture Center, located in Alexandria, Virginia. So, let's get into the details. Welcome, Peter.
00;02;15;26 - 00;02;16;14
PV
Thank you.
00;02;16;16 - 00;02;27;21
DP
Thank you very much for being here. So first, tell us a little bit about Peter Vanderpoel architecture. Where you guys located? What type of projects do you take? And what have you been working on lately?
00;02;27;23 - 00;02;55;18
PV
The practice is located in Arlington, Virginia. If you're from the area, it's not far from the courthouse metro. Arlington used to be part of DC before receded back to Virginia a few hundred years ago. So we're right near downtown D.C. The practice is mostly residential and some small commercial projects. I'm trying to expand some of the commercial portfolio just to have a better balance in the marketplace. But I've been practicing - I've been on my own now for about 20 years now.
00;02;55;20 - 00;03;02;01
DP
Wow. So, tell me a little bit about the office. So how many people do you have working with you? Is that pretty consistent?
00;03;02;08 - 00;03;27;04
PV
So, the studio is in the backyard of my house, but it is off grid, so I have solar panels to run it and huge battery and a room in the back. It's not a passive house quality in terms of the exterior envelope, but it sort of leans those ways in response to the site. But it's very small. It's not much bigger than a garage. And I have two employees there, one full time, one part time. We can spend most of our day in there in a pretty comfortable fashion.
00;03;27;06 - 00;03;34;18
DP
That's pretty cool. Let's dig into that a little bit. So when did you decide to have an office or a building on your property that was off grid?
00;03;34;20 - 00;04;16;26
PV
Well, we used to have a garage. It was doing self-demolition over time. It used to be – it was not a Sears and Roebuck house, but it was a kit house from the 1980s. Yeah. And I forget the name of the company that made it. And it was one story. So, when my wife originally bought the house and then when our first child came, we decided to add the second floor.
And then I was working in the basement for a long time. But as the practice progressed, decided that I needed extra space. So, we finished off the demolition where the garage was essentially put it in the same location. But it's a story and a half. There's one floor and then there's a mezzanine above. Both my wife and I paint and so we have a couple easels up there on that second level. But the lower floor is all architecture.
00;04;17;03 - 00;04;19;19
DP
That's so cool. How long has your office been there then?
00;04;19;21 - 00;04;28;19
PV
Physically, for about five years. I started doing my own residential work in about 2001 when I was in graduate school, evenings and weekends.
00;04;28;22 - 00;04;31;16
DP
So, your first client, was that somebody you knew?
00;04;31;18 - 00;04;52;05
PV
No. It's a woman and I – she had a house not too far away, and she wanted to make it more energy efficient. So, we worked on that together. It went very well. And she decided that she wanted to do a more robust project. She bought the house across the street from her. Kind of a long, interesting story that goes with that. But then we built a new house for her and that was sort of my first big project.
00;04;52;12 - 00;04;57;02
DP
So, have you always been interested in energy efficiency in architecture and building?
00;04;57;08 - 00;05;29;16
PV
No, to be honest, it doesn't come up as often as you'd think and conversations with clients. But it's something that I'm trying to push now. As a passive house consultant, I can see the value of it, and it's not that difficult to get to. That's kind of fussy when it comes to construction, but in terms of the cost, it's making a much better envelope.
The tail on idea is that the mechanical systems, they don't need to be that special because you're not using them that much. The idea is not to be clever about producing energy, it’s to avoid using it in the first place. So, keep what you have.
00;05;29;18 - 00;05;34;26
DP
So, is it gotten less expensive over the last five or ten years to do energy efficient homes?
00;05;35;02 - 00;05;38;16
PV
I don't think so, because all of the construction costs have gone up after COVID.
00;05;38;22 - 00;05;39;10
DP
Oh wow, interesting.
00;05;39;10 - 00;05;54;11
PV
Everything associated with construction is – most of its up. Some things are starting to come down now. There are some materials that sort of lend towards that or lean towards the passive house and they're expensive like everything else. So, I don't think so.
00;05;54;18 - 00;06;02;28
DP
Interesting. Well, I’d love to talk more about that, but we're here to talk about Guilford Court. So, let's dig in here. How did you guys get the project? How did you get Guilford Court?
00;06;03;05 - 00;06;25;10
PV
I used to belong to a business networking group, and it was there that a friend of mine who was an insurance agent had met somebody who did construction. He wanted to do some projects and I went and had coffee with him one time, and then he had some backers who wanted to do a luxury home, and they found a lot in McLean. So he gave me the call and then we got started on the project from there. So, it was through business networking.
00;06;25;13 - 00;06;40;08
DP
Okay, so you didn't know the clients initially. Interesting. So, let's talk a little bit about the site. Tell me a little bit about the architecture around the site and I guess I should ask, was there a house on the site before you guys got there?
00;06;40;14 - 00;07;13;14
PV
Yes, there was. So, most of the houses there on that cul-de-sac were built, I would think in the seventies, the split-level brick. And over time – so when I first saw the site, all the houses on the cul-de-sac were like that. And during the design and construction process, I think at least two of them now have been torn down and rebuilt. There are a lot of tear downs in Washington D.C. because a lot of people come into the neighborhood – Amazon and whatnot – so it's not too hard to sell a house in that area at this moment. The houses that were on the lots were McMansion. I mean, I want to say-
00;07;13;17 - 00;07;17;05
DP
Sure. So stylistically, colonial stuff?
00;07;17;07 - 00;07;37;24
PV
Yes, colonial, stucco, no modern leanings at that time. That was sort of just before things were starting to get modern in the general building industry in D.C. So, it was typical suburban, large suburban houses. McLean's a wealthy community, so they're large and very nice but kind of standard stuff.
00;07;38;00 - 00;07;44;19
DP
Sure. So, it was kind of goofy when your client was like, hey, I want to do something modern. You're thinking, oh boy-
00;07;44;21 - 00;07;47;09
PV
Oh no. That's what I want to hear! I mean, the nice thing is I-
00;07;47;09 - 00;07;58;01
DP
No, I meant for all the neighbors – potentially for the neighbors. Sure. Right in the back of their mind. Did they ever talk about that? Hey, do you think, you know, we're going to put something modern here? We're excited about that. We don't really care.
00;07;58;05 - 00;08;09;10
PV
I think there's enough new things in that market, and new neighbors and so on that it's not as tight as it might be in terms of styles. And I think that's okay.
00;08;09;13 - 00;08;11;00
DP
How long has the house been finished now?
00;08;11;06 - 00;08;12;18
PV
It's been a couple – three years.
00;08;12;19 - 00;08;15;08
DP
Okay. So, you would have heard by now through the clients?
00;08;15;15 - 00;08;17;20
PV
Yes.
00;08;17;22 - 00;08;26;01
DP
So, let's see, programmatic requirements. So, you guys had your first meeting and they said, this is what we want. What was that?
00;08;26;03 - 00;09;25;17
PV
Well, the program was fairly standard, in that, the expectation to be a family, a number of bedrooms, a studio – if there was an artist, that would be sort of back on the site, but even though it wasn't important at the moment, but with COVID, the idea of having a prominent place or an office in the house also came to the fore during the design process – three car garage, the expectation of a pool, some sort of flattened area for a deck around that pool, and then we've got this very steep hill in the back that turned into this terrace for someone could lay out there and get sun. It's fairly private there in the center of that spot. So, in terms of the programmatic elements, they were more luxurious than some, but nothing out of the ordinary.
And then it was mostly dealing with the site that I think the interest started to come into the project because the first time I saw it, there was a house on there. We went out the back door and I went, ‘Oh my.’ In school you always go, ‘Oh, this will be challenging,’ but then in real life it's like, ‘oh, how are we going to do this?’
00;09;25;19 - 00;09;36;00
DP
So, did they talk about square footage in the beginning too? We want a house that's going to be 5,400 square feet, 3,000 square feet, 8,000. They have an idea because of square foot costs. Did they think about the house-
00;09;36;00 - 00;09;45;23
PV
No. As it was built – so, the contractor made some changes as the project was built. So, there was square footage added between permit and occupancy.
00;09;46;01 - 00;09;47;28
DP
You can do that? Don't you have to re permit?
00;09;48;03 - 00;09;56;08
PV
Different jurisdictions. Like they don't have an FAR in McLean. That's Fairfax County. Alexandria does and it's a-
00;09;56;09 - 00;09;59;09
DP
Yeah, I know. I deal with FAR like, it never ends.
00;09;59;09 - 00;09;59;19
PV
Yeah.
00;09;59;23 - 00;10;05;28
DP
And then you start thinking about renovating the basement and then FAR comes back in and you're working on the house and it's crazy.
00;10;06;01 - 00;10;08;29
PV
Yeah, it's just lot coverage there, and that's never a problem.
00;10;08;29 - 00;10;10;27
DP
Okay. What size is the house?
00;10;11;01 - 00;10;13;03
PV
I think it's 7,000.
00;10;13;03 - 00;10;29;18
DP
Okay, so let's talk a little bit about the building design. So, we already discussed the fact that you've got a site with some challenging topography. Talk a little bit about the unique geometry or the geometries that were generated based on what's physically out there.
00;10;29;18 - 00;12;18;03
PV
So, the lot as it looks in plan, in the site plan, it kind of looks like the state of Georgia and the Atlantic coast of Georgia, which just a little bit to the northeast of Florida is what's on the cul-de-sac. So, there's a very small entrance circle for the cul-de-sac, very small entrance onto the site, and then very steep as it goes up in the back.
And then these two angles that almost describe 60 degrees from the two property lines that go away from the cul-de-sac. And so, my first inclination was, well, that's almost 60 degrees. And so, a hexagonal plan would work on a plot like that. So, then I started looking at precedents for that. I know Frank Lloyd Wright had done the Hanna house in California that was based on the hexagon. He had done a whole series of projects based on geometry. So, I had looked at those, but it was through that less hexagonal forms and more towards three axes rather than we normally think of two axes that X and Y. But this now has these 120-degree rotation that with a hexagon you have three axes that are involved in describing that geometry and that was essentially the same geometry we had on that site. So that became the basis for the design.
And there were three geometries. We've got three programmatic elements of getting the cars on and off the semipublic and then the private. And then we also have this dramatic rise in height. So, we could also do the same thing vertically. We had the garage at the lowest level so the cars can get on easily. The semipublic now faces the street on this very narrow frontage and then the private is up highest and essentially resting on top of the semipublic block and runs back. But because the site is so steep, it touches ground. It's a grade at the back of the property, even though it's sitting on top of the lower level at the front.
00;12;18;06 - 00;12;35;05
DP
So, you did a lot of thinking about this project. The clients must really love that. I mean, you sit down with them, and you start talking about these three axes and three levels, three buildings, three heights, you know, the whole thing up there must have been like, “wow, man, this is really cool. This guy knows what he's doing.”
00;12;35;07 - 00;13;15;20
PV
You had mentioned that I teach, and one of the things that I find the easiest way to engage with clients is to talk about ideas rather than just areas and square footage costs, because everybody wants to be on board with that because thinking is the fun part of the design. The best compliment I get is somebody says, I never thought of that. I feel like, well, so I'm bringing value to this.
I have proposed several different designs. I think I had three different options. I had pinned them all up in the office and had wine and cheese for some people come in and just talk about it, and the design that is there right now was not my first choice. But then someone had said, “well, you know, this has all these things going on with these three axes.” And then it was like, ‘yeah, I think that is the best one.’
00;13;15;26 - 00;13;18;12
DP
When you're talking about people, is that the clients or other people?
00;13;18;12 - 00;13;20;18
PV
No, no. Other people in the office.
00;13;20;21 - 00;13;27;19
DP
Oh, that’s so great. So, you had a kind of design charrette in the office. Everybody's looking at it. You stand back and you kind of go through all the design options.
00;13;27;26 - 00;13;36;09
PV
And then the same thing will happen with the client. This was a speculative house, so it wasn't dealing with the final client, with the person who's going to move into the house.
00;13;36;11 - 00;13;42;15
DP
Oh, it was a spec house. Interesting.
So, local zoning codes and issues there.
00;13;42;18 - 00;14;08;29
PV
Fairfax County isn't that onerous. The usual, there's lot coverage. There's no aesthetic review. They do have those in Georgetown, in D.C., and in Old Town, in Alexandria, Virginia. But most of the other jurisdictions don't have an aesthetic review. And so, we didn't have to worry about that. The FAR, which happens in Alexandria, but not in Fairfax, we didn't have that. It's just lot coverage. It's rarely a problem.
00;14;09;02 - 00;14;10;25
DP
There wasn't anything too challenging.
00;14;10;28 - 00;14;11;17
PV
No.
00;14;11;19 - 00;14;12;15
DP
And building codes, IRC?
00;14;13;11 - 00;14;19;18
PV
Yeah, well, it's - Virginia has a uniform state building code, which is based on the IRC, and they have a couple of tweaks in there. But yeah.
00;14;19;24 - 00;14;26;27
DP
Right. Of course, they do. So, describe the building plan for us. What did you end up with?
00;14;27;00 - 00;16;50;09
PV
Well, one is getting the cars on and off the lot. They can't – just the nature of cars – they can't be going up and down hill. So, we need to get them on the shortest route and the lowest route so that if you think about the site as a state of Georgia, the Florida borderline was where the cars came in. The semipublic faced the cul-de-sac. It addressed through there and then we had stairs going up this series of stones, because one of the concerns was that's a long way up to get to that first floor just because it's so steep. So, we have these stones on the site that are shifted. So, you're sort of walking across these lily pads and then a diagonal that goes up and then a set of stairs. So, there's a variety of experiences moving towards the front of the house.
We also had the office portion and that was right inside the front door. So, if someone in the house decides to set up office there, they have a client come by. They don't have to go into the main house just in and out the front door, take care of business.
And then from there, a few more steps go into the main house. So that opens up in a very large open space. There's the fireplace, dining, living, kitchen are all in that area. And then behind the kitchen is sort of the pool deck area for showers and changing and so on. And then there's a large circular stair that's the pin.
So, if you think about the semipublic and the private, they splay out at 120 degrees and the stairway is the pin that holds us together to do that rotation. So, there's a very large grand sculptural stair up to the second level, and it comes up between the master bedroom and the additional bedrooms so that when you move towards the cul-de-sac, you're now in the master bedroom suite that is like this big diving board looking over. It's a tremendous site of this that was very challenging. But being in that master bedroom and looking out over the trees, away from the site, it's a dramatic view. Going the other direction, there are the other bedrooms, as I said, eventually gets back to grade because it gets so steep in the back. And then there's also the stair continues down.
So, there's a family room in the basement, a large television there as well. And then on the other end, we have that same rotation with the garage, and that's a much more modest stair coming from the garage into that living space. But it's based on those three axes and those two hinges to turn it on to the site, both in plan and in section.
00;16;50;15 - 00;17;00;28
DP
Yeah, that's really cool. So, tell us a little bit about the building materials. We’ve already discussed the house is modern and you use a series of different materials for the house.
00;17;01;01 - 00;17;31;29
PV
Right. There's fiber cement boards for the bedroom space and then the semipublic was a brick, and then the garage was - I think there's a wood on there. So, we have a couple of different faces. There's a brick facade for the semipublic. I think there's some brick as well on the garage. And we also brought some of the brick inside in the living spaces. We wanted to have a variety of materials to represent because everything's now being divided into threes with the garage, semipublic, private spaces.
00;17;32;01 - 00;17;38;19
DP
So, tell me a little bit about why you guys chose to use brick and in particular the dark brick.
00;17;38;22 - 00;17;55;25
PV
The dark brick. That was not my selection. I did not select the colors on that element, but it would also be contrasting. You could see the dramatic change in color because as I said, it's about these three elements and so they read differently everywhere you cut it.
00;17;56;00 - 00;18;02;21
DP
And it would seem to me that you chose to use brick as a differentiated design element, right?
00;18;02;23 - 00;18;13;08
PV
Right. It's also very common in this part of the country. In Old Town, Virginia, and just all up and down the East Coast, brick was the way to do durable construction and still is.
00;18;13;10 - 00;18;17;13
DP
Are there any houses around this one – are masonry as well?
00;18;17;17 - 00;18;36;11
PV
Yes. So, the houses that were there in the neighboring lots, most of them were split level with a lower with brick on the first floor and siding on the second floor. The houses that have come in their place, the two I can think of are stucco, but there's a lot of brick in the neighborhood.
00;18;36;14 - 00;18;53;12
DP
So, this is, as we discussed, it's contemporary. I wanted to talk a little bit about the unique construction details. I'm looking at these two facades that come together at the corner, and we've got two completely different building materials. That must have been a challenging detail. And you got a window, you got a corner window there. So how did you guys do that?
00;18;53;20 - 00;19;59;16
PV
There's steel in there to handle that opening on the corner. The reason why that angle is the way it is – something else that we hadn't discussed is that I used to play the drums, and still do. And for a long time, I used to play actually, in a bagpipe band. More sophisticated than you think – but, so, rhythms is something that I've been dealing with since I was ten years old.
And one thing that came up is what called polyrhythms, where you have overlaying rhythms. You take two rhythms that may not be so interesting on their own, but when they're overlaid with each other, then it creates something more interesting than either of them were to begin with. And that's how I view this project that this overlay, the reason why that window angle is there on the corner is because the geometry of the private portion has been thrust through the semipublic and so there's an angle that goes through. The chimney was rotated along that as well, and the contractor turned that back. But it was that slot that pushed through that mirrors the same access that the private portion is on.
00;19;59;19 - 00;20;05;03
DP
Is the chimney also masonry? And that's supported by steel. Doesn't run straight through the building.
00;20;05;06 - 00;20;07;19
PV
Right. There are portions of it that are supported with steel.
00;20;07;19 - 00;20;11;06
DP
Did you guys end up using any brick on the interior?
00;20;11;08 - 00;20;29;24
PV
Well, there is you can see it on the lower portion there. There's brick for the fireplace surround, which is in the lower left photograph there.
And there were also two trees on the site where we ended up pulling those up, but the contractor had those milled and use them for the trim. The wood that's above the fireplace there is from those trees.
00;20;30;00 - 00;20;31;13
DP
Do you remember the species?
00;20;31;15 - 00;20;34;16
PV
My recollection will be black locus, but I'm not sure.
00;20;34;18 - 00;20;47;06
DP
I was going to ask you what some of the historical precedents were for the for the architecture, but clearly were into much more modern architecture here. However, as you said, we see brick in the area.
00;20;47;08 - 00;20;52;08
PV
Yeah, there's brick. The material is common in Northern Virginia. The building forms.
00;20;52;15 - 00;20;54;02
DP
Yeah. I was going to say we've got gables here.
00;20;54;02 - 00;21;01;21
PV
Yeah, that's pretty common as well. So, the basis of it is traditional, but the implementation has become modern.
00;21;01;24 - 00;21;12;26
DP
And tell me a little bit, what I call this modern Tudor aesthetic. Where did that come from? And I know it's not modern Tudor but describe that for our listeners.
00;21;12;28 - 00;21;22;15
PV
So, from this view, the division of the fiber cement is accomplished with these vertical elements that come proud of the exterior finish.
00;21;22;18 - 00;21;28;16
DP
Okay, so they're not set back into the fiber cement. They're actually proud. So, it's applied.
00;21;28;18 - 00;21;44;00
PV
Yeah. And so that could be considered a reference. It was not the intention, but the half timbers that was common with timber houses would use expressed wood materials and then with stucco in between those and then the angles for the roofs are fairly standard.
00;21;44;05 - 00;21;44;24
DP
Are those 12:12’s?
00;21;45;07 - 00;21;51;25
PV
Tudor style, yes, they are. The contractor ended up putting living space up there as well. So, you made good use of that space.
00;21;51;25 - 00;21;59;28
DP
Oh, of course, that's great. And you had no issues with having a third or fourth story there, right? So, were there any height restrictions on the site?
00;22;00;04 - 00;22;06;12
PV
There are, but Fairfax County, you add up, it's an average the way it was in the back. We were okay on the front.
00;22;06;13 - 00;22;10;19
DP
Right. You said the third story, which was the basement was set down into the site.
00;22;10;22 - 00;22;18;04
PV
Yeah. You can see it on the left, the lower right image there you can see the window for the basement below that large corner window.
00;22;18;08 - 00;22;23;25
DP
So, did you learn anything new about brick dealing with these details, even with this cantilever?
00;22;23;27 - 00;22;37;29
PV
Well, no, it's just with steel implemented in there, it's fairly common. If you go through D.C., the urban renewal period of Georgetown in the seventies and eighties, there’s brick everywhere. And so, everybody knows how to work with brick in D.C.
00;22;38;03 - 00;22;55;19
DP
Well, it's clear it solved a design issue for you guys because you were looking for a series of materials that all went together, and I love the color. It goes so well with everything else. It really just works. I think it looks great. Now, who did the drawings for the job and did you do them in 2D and 3D, 3D, BIM?
00;22;56;11 - 00;23;14;28
PV
No. Well, we did a sketch up model. I was renting some space with the firm down, and Alexander at the time had a woman helping me out to do most of the construction documents in AutoCAD. And then we had the sketch up models for presentation just to talk about the design. There was originally, that's when I used to draw with my hands. I used to do it on sketch paper.
00;23;15;04 - 00;23;33;05
DP
You and me both. It's so great. I got so lucky, I worked in an office in Baltimore, and they got so slow that they trained me on CAD. This was 97, 98. Thank God. I would have been completely unemployable for the rest of my life had I not learned how to draw and, you know, how to use sketch up, which is great.
00;23;33;05 - 00;23;39;09
PV
Well, yes, I do. When I started though, we had a product called GDS, and it was McDonnell Douglas.
00;23;39;11 - 00;23;42;03
DP
Okay, So airplane software. You’ve gotta be kidding me. That’s great.
00;23;42;03 - 00;23;49;24
PV
It was their software. And there was a manual that was about two inches thick. And yeah, once you read it, you were fine, but it wasn't that friendly.
00;23;50;01 - 00;23;54;10
DP
Oh my gosh. So, sustainability and this house.
00;23;54;12 - 00;23;55;07
PV
Not a concern.
00;23;55;12 - 00;24;01;03
DP
Not an issue with the GC? Just wasn't something that you were going to push as part of the design build aspect of the house.
00;24;01;16 - 00;24;03;15
PV
No, that wasn't a concern for this project.
00;24;03;16 - 00;24;08;03
DP
No, I get it. I always ask all our guests; did you have any trouble finding a good mason?
00;24;08;05 - 00;24;11;22
PV
They're easy to find in Alexandria. If you see – I tell you what-
00;24;11;22 - 00;24;12;25
DP
Right. There’s so much brick in Washington.
00;24;12;27 - 00;24;26;16
PV
There's one project I can think of where they didn't get a good mason. I was down in Key West one time and they said, “you know, Hemingway did this wall.” And I said, ‘it looks like a drunk author did it.’
00;24;26;19 - 00;24;33;03
DP
That’s great. Oh, my gosh. So, before you go, I'd like to ask people, what's your favorite part about being an architect?
00;24;33;06 - 00;25;18;21
PV
It's in two phases right now. So, I used to teach full time. When I was teaching full time, I would say, I'm not making anything and I'm - that's what I'm trained to do. When I'm making things, often times I'll say, but this isn't about ideas. And so right now, the balance between those two is very gratifying. And being able to talk about ideas, which I like to think, is one of the benefits that I have in the office, because we'll talk about this stuff. I think everybody's more energized when that happens.
So, it's the camaraderie of the office. I know a lot of people are doing the remote work. We're in place and the studio. It's a fun place to be. The schematic design is my favorite part. You know, when I get close to retirement, everything else is going to go to somebody else.
00;25;18;21 - 00;25;19;02
DP
Oh, that's great.
00;25;19;10 - 00;25;21;19
PV
But I continue doing the schematic design.
00;25;21;21 - 00;25;27;13
DP
Yeah. So, I was going to ask you, what's the one thing you like least about being an architect? And it's probably all the other stuff.
00;25;27;13 - 00;25;32;03
PV
Site surveys. Yeah.
00;25;32;05 - 00;25;34;29
DP
You don't mean like existing condition stuff.
00;25;35;05 - 00;25;36;25
PV
Yeah, I haven't done that. We’re small enough, I’m not still doing that.
00;25;36;25 - 00;25;52;05
DP
It’d drive you nuts. Yeah, I get it, man. I've done many at home. Peter, you talked a little bit about Frank Lloyd Wright. Are there any architects that are usually in the back of your mind when you're designing that you really admire their work?
00;25;52;08 -00;26;35;17
PV
It more has to do with admiring the ideas because that's an inexhaustible font of information, whereas the projects they've done, they're done it does these certain things, but they're ideas that live inside of there that can apply to whatever project. So, depending on materials, depending on geometry, depending on what the site is telling me, that will determine then who I'll look to for references.
Like, for instance, as I mentioned, Frank Lloyd Wright did a series of houses based on a simple geometry that grew from one element that expanded. Corbusier, there was a lot of ideas in how he dealt with space, sort of the modern aesthetic, but it wasn't so much just this look. It had to do with accomplishing something he wanted to do intellectually.
00;26;35;20 - 00;26;41;29
DP
Yeah. Interestingly, Wright used brick in some of his work. Pretty effectively.
00;26;42;07 - 00;26;43;13
PV
Indian red.
00;26;43;15 - 00;26;52;26
DP
Yeah. Indian red. Well, Peter Vanderpoel, it was very nice to meet you today. Could you tell me how we can find out more about you and your architectural firm?
00;26;53;02 - 00;27;04;12
PV
Well, I have a website pvanderpoel.com P-V-A-N-D-E-R-P-O-E-L dot com. That has some samples of my work. And other than that, I'm pretty quiet.
00;27;04;14 - 00;27;07;00
DP
Well, great. The house is beautiful. Congratulations.
00;27;07;00 - 00;27;07;09
PV
Thank you.
00;27;07;16 - 00;27;09;13
DP
I'm sure it's been a big success.
00;27;09;15 - 00;27;13;22
PV
It's very gratifying to see that - to see ideas that happen.
00;27;13;24 - 00;27;15;18
DP
Yeah, I think it's the best part about being an architect.
00;27;15;18 - 00;27;18;14
PV
Marriage of the two things – having an idea that actually gets built.
00;27;18;21 - 00;27;45;25
DP
Yeah, that's great. Congratulations.
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