After I graduated from undergrad at the University of Virginia, I decided that I really needed to learn how to build buildings- physically- not just theoretically. I took a job at Big Timberworks in Gallatin Gateway Montana as an intern architect and sometimes builder.

The myth of the architect as the lone creator is a pervasive one. Whether it is the fictionalized architect of novels, toiling away in his office or the starchitect being lauded for the work of a five hundred person firm, our culture seems determined to avoid thinking of creation as an act of collaboration. We recently had the pleasure of working on a project that is great example of how even a small project requires a great amount of collaboration.

It’s an unfortunate reality that many of the homes we live in are not very energy efficient. In Seattle, much of the older single family housing stock was built in a time when energy was of no concern at all. There was abundant fuel right outside your door for the taking. As a result, these older homes were built with little to no insulation and their exterior envelopes are extremely leaky (energy wise).

This is one of the topics that pops up fairly frequently with clients during design discussions and we thought that we would share some of our thoughts. With the right material choice and the right finish, plywood as a flooring material has a modern feel but still carries the warmth of wood and is usually significantly cheaper than hardwood. We have used plywood as flooring in two of our own projects and recently we have been talking with other practitioners who have used it in order to decide if we wnated to use it again. After careful consideration our final verdict is.... maybe.

This is one of those posts that has been sitting in the edit bin for a while. Not because we didn't want to get it out there but because.... Well, everything kept changing. And it still is. Changing that is. But after a while we thought we would just throw it out there as it might be instructive to show how uncertain things can be in the global development world.

In early 2011 we returned from the Matagalpa region of Nicaragua where we had been working on a master plan for another new Agros village. The only catch was that instead of a new 30 household village, which is what we had done for the last three, we were working on a new 150 household village. Needless to say we encountered some scale issues.

I recently had the pleasure of attending a class on public interest deign offered by the Public Interest Design Institute and the SEED network. Now, I am normally a fairly skeptical guy. If Cameron Sinclair is the eternal optimist, I am the eternal pragmatist. I do not need to be inspired. I have already decided that I am going to devote a large chunk of my professional life to this kind of work.

We recently had the opportunity to be involved in an interesting project. A homeowner approached Bruce Parker, a good friend of ours and the owner of Microhouse, with an interesting proposal. The homeowner had a beautiful little house that she had spent the past years restoring to its original early Seattle ‘craftsman’ glory. Unfortunately, this house had the misfortune to be small and located on a lot that was zoned L1, making it a prime target for redevelopment.

We were recently asked to design a cabin on a large rural site for a client who envisions this as the first part of a complex of structures to house family and friends. Future plans call for orchards, a fish pond, trails, guest cottages and maybe even a distillery. What’s not to love? On top of that, the cabin is going to use passive solar design and use rainwater collection for potable and non potable uses. Right up our alley.

Below are a couple of early design images. More soon.....

You need more space. Your mother in law is moving in to torture you and/or help with child care and there isn’t any space in the house. Or maybe there is space but there isn’t enough ‘space’. Or maybe you are finally ready to go out on your own and start that software company. As it really is customary to do this in the garage you are all set as you a have an underused one sitting out back. The problem is that we don’t live in California and working in the garage in winter is less than ideal. Wouldn’t it be great if you could convert it to a nice heated office? It would! But……