Tuesday, December 23, 2014
Jakarta House
The clients wanted Spanish style for their home in Jakarta, Indonesia. That style works well in hot climates and urban settings where houses are typically built right up to the property lines. This design uses the property walls to create a series of courtyards that become outdoor rooms that provide privacy, and allow cooling flow-through air circulation in all the main rooms. The idea is that each courtyard has a unique identity and are placed such that the living space flows indoor and outdoors, making one never sure if they are inside or outside.
Fengshui governs some room locations, orientation, or relationship to other areas in the house. An exterior staircase provides access for business associates so they do not have to circulate through private family areas to get to the third floor studio and office. Layering of courtyard walls and tiered tile roofs with deep overhangs break up the scale and mass of the house as seen from the street.
The further development of this design can be seen here.
Monday, December 15, 2014
Modernizing a Portland House Details
Creating a more contemporary feel for this house remodel involved using more modern materials with simple detailing that highlighted contrasting colors, shapes and textures.
Before - After rooms views of this project can be seen here.
Tuesday, November 25, 2014
Modernizing a Portland House
A recent whole house renovation I completed involved modernizing a nondescript 1980's era home. The renovation involved replacing all the windows and doors, new roof, new bathrooms and new LED lighting throughout. The challenge was to create a very contemporary interior in architectural spaces that were generic and definitely not modern in character. The solution was to find a balance between clean minimalist details and contemporary surfaces that would not look out of place in the existing building. The overall effect is bright light filled spaces with warm wood finishes that create a comfortable daily living environment.
Saturday, October 11, 2014
Mobile Cabin Two
This design takes the Mobile Cabin design one step further by adding a separate bedroom module, expanding the sleeping capacity to 8 people. The first module has an expanded Living and Dining area as well as a larger Kitchen, while still keeping the full bathroom so that the couch surfaces can be used for sleeping. This open design creates a "great room" that is 24' long, and by using the typical RV slide out, over 10' wide. It will have a very spacious feel despite it's total living area of 544 sq. ft. Probably too big to be considered a "Tiny House", more of a "Minimum House", that is very comfortable and livable while still offering the mobility to to be moved to a variety of locations as a vacation retreat.
The design of the Mobile Cabin can be seen here. For another Mobile Cabin Design see here.
Both cabin designs are shown set in the desert on the East side of Steens Mt. in the far SE corner of Oregon.