Embedding the cubes

You may recall (from a few hours ago) that I wrote:

The high row of cubes is full height, which means the roof does not engage. That is, the soffit is at the plate height, unlike the existing house. I plan to experiment with bringing the high roof down 13" so the high row of cubes will be shorter. This will either 1) seem just right, 2) look like a mistake, or 3) make clear how unimportant the cube grid really is.

So here is the model with the Trees Room roof and ceiling 13" lower (13' 8" instead of 14' 9"). I'm thinking that it's #3. I have noticed that the grid's precision and accuracy doesn't matter as much as that it aligns with windows and doors.

Final design for construction documents

Heads-down drawing for the CD phase. Final design is more disciplined; the fenestration is coming together.

Bathroom 1--vanity in an alcove, not behind a door

Bathroom 2--wide vanity, single vessel sink

New l-shaped window (Bedroom 1). The better to see the rockery, my dear.

Matching l-shaped window in Bedroom 4. Horizontal windows can be sliders or awnings.

Center the bed under the horizontal windows, which subtly defines a "living" space near the door.

Entry has 44" cubes. Transom over door is now awning windows.

Several glass companies told me they can do this; one volunteered a price of about $1600

The glass entry roof makes sense, because the inside-outside cube should be visible on the approach. Also, note the importance of the high soffit.

The high row of cubes is full height, which means the roof does not engage. That is, the soffit is at the plate height, unlike the existing house. I plan to experiment with bringing the high roof down 13" so the high row of cubes will be shorter. This will either 1) seem just right, 2) look like a mistake, or 3) make clear how unimportant the cube grid really is.

The new window wall design can go up or down easily--only the height of the upper fixed windows changes with the ceiling height. We can't go down too far, though, because the soffit needs to clear the ridge, as shown in the following photograph:

Windows across the front have 22"-high awning windows. Tall, narrow windows rest on the kitchen counter. 

Open plan room with the cube grid. No columns necessary--we even lost the north-south beams in the entry. I reserve the right to build the V-columns as a decorative element, but the structure doesn't require them.

The window wall is now more fixed glass, with a clean band of awning windows. The handles are @92", which I can reach standing on a chair. (I can reach 96" on a step ladder.)

Furniture

I like the mix of Ikea (like the Poang chair) and timeless 20th Century designs, like the Noguchi coffee table. I'll use this post to collect pieces, the better to find knock-offs at reasonable prices.

George Nelson, X-Leg Table for the dining table.

LC6 table by Le Corbusier.

The Min Table, by Luciano Bertoncini (2011). Matte lacquer glass top can be wood-veneer MDF. Powder-coated steel frame.

Cesca side chair in cane by Marcel Breuer. (They're very comfortable--WED had a conference room with them.)

The Prouvé Standard Chair

Series 7 chair by Arne Jacobsen

The Schroder House

This post is a place to collect photos and notes about Gerrit Rietveld's Schroder House, which has been a looming, unfocused mental model for me whenever I think of "architecture."

Gerrit Rietveld designed this home in 1924 for Mrs. Truus Schroder-Schrader.

The house is prime example of the De Stijl style (De Stijl means The Style, so it's a soup du jour of the day situation.)

Rain Protection for Jehovah's Witnesses

Peggy suggested hanging a roof at the entry, rather than some complicated cantilever beam thing. I like the idea of glass, because the entry ceiling will be interesting, so why not see it as you wait at the door.

Home Depot has a $400 model with stainless steel brackets and a curving clear/grey polycarbonate roof (Palram Aquila 2050).

Here's what I want: CRL Glass Awning system. I'll contact a glass dealer. Maybe they can hook me up with the glass connectors, wall brackets, and cables.

Thinking about it, I'm a little worried about uplift. A tension cable system would do nothing to stop the wind from flattening the glass against the wall. A rod in tension could handle the compression wind load, but that's why it would be better to buy someone's engineered glass-holding system.

You Floor Me

Update 6/8/15: What I really like is a matte gray tile in a grid or offset grid pattern, like this:

This is elegant (in my mind). 24x24 tiles are heavier and the corners break more easily. Maybe 16x16?

Tile that looks like wood, in a light gray, also works.

I've always thought that we'd have engineered hardwood in the main part of the house with carpet in BR3 and ceramic tile in the three bathrooms. You don't want to break up the spaces; you do want to draw the eye from the Trees Room across the entry, dining and into the kitchen. But the oak in BR1 and BR2 can be refinished and Geoff Hill says buyers like authentic wood floors. BR4 can be refinished, too, and Jeff Lane can feather in new wood so you couldn't tell.

The problem with underfloor hydronic heating is that water temperatures above 80° can damage wood floors, and poorly-insulated homes require as much as 90° water to heat a room to 72°. The floor finish that is to be avoided is carpet, because it takes more heat to push the heat through the carpet into the room.

Talking with Peggy, we got on the subject of slate. Tile could run into the bathrooms, not breaking up anything. She thought a pattern like this (but with darker and more neutral colors):

I like it, but I also like a grid pattern to match the cube entry. They sell 16 x 16 gauged slate tiles, 3/8" thick, for $3.25/SF, and we have about 1800 SF. ("Gauged" means uniform thickness. You might use "ungauged" on the wall.) So $5,850 would put the exact same floor material in every room, every closet, every bathroom of this house. I would really like that consistency. We'll need an area rug in the Trees Room for sound absorption anyway. Shaw offers Metropolitan Slate tiles in several colors, including the gray Luna Park. They make 6x6, 12x12, and 18x18 as well as matching cove base.

A Few Design Tweaks Later

A few changes to the model.

Bedroom #3 with a tall sliding door and a modern fireplace.

Bedroom #3 fenestration from the backyard

Hanging light array in entry, larger transom, slate-like tile throughout

Dark cabinets in dining, light birch in kitchen

Door-less lav sink widens hallway. Laundry counter to left.

Metal and glass entry roof. Note taller kitchen windows.

Front elevation as it looks now