On style, it’s hard or difficult to pin down why a certain direction is taken- or how that direction got charted in the first place.  I don’t think it is a totally conscious decision it feels more intuitive and subconscious- why one material is luminous and another is loathsome, or lackluster.  Just as an example- I love stone, don’t LOVE brick- why?  I have no idea.  It even sounds blasphemous to say “i don’t love brick” …seriously? Aren’t you an architect?  But compared to stone, well to me- there is no comparison.  When I do use brick, typically its covered in stucco or mortar- or painted.  I want to see a WALL, not a bunch of little b-b’s jockeying for position.  Just saying…  Now I will get letters from the Brick Institute.  Again, this is merely an example of the inexplicable.  A process of predilections and leanings which form, along the way- a style.  We call that- “our version of the truth“.   I use brick all the time, please don’t send me nasty comments (humor added).  Just one more thing about stone, its not a stone if you can pick it up with ONE hand.  That, is a rock.  You throw those…  away, hopefully.

I think more than anything there is what Sir Isaac Newton termed, “standing on the shoulders of giants”.   I became more the student of history after I left college, in part because I realized my own attempts to scare the world with a new resplendent architectural style all my own were actually quite scary to, me.  Perhaps had I actually paid attention in all those architectural history classes I would have found some ideas worth keeping.  But when you are 18 years old, you can’t be told a whole lot.  I had my own ideas about how things should work, no matter if it looked like concrete waves or UFO landing sites, and could never be built.  After some time I began to discover the old masters like Lutyens, Mackintosh and Voysey.  Those were the English (and Scottish) heroes who championed a style we today call Arts and Crafts.  There were lots of other famous thinkers of that age, but those were the ones who still today I hear whispering through my pencil as I draw, erase, edit and create-  of course, now they speak with a slightly more southern accent.  Their work was clean almost modern and timeless.  In a word it was elegant, and for me and others- still inspirational even today, 100 to 125 years later.

In the middle of the last century there came a great shift in architecture away from traditional and familiar design towards a new expression and philosophy.  In a large way our work is more akin to the designs of the 18th century- which perhaps in some ways is again new.  I have been inspired and borrowed from the ideas of many of the leaders of this revolutionary group- such as Wright, Kahn, Corbusier and Scarpa- whose works I have discussed and portrayed on this blog previously but in this post more specifically.

Modern day heroes also abound, even though it may be difficult to demonstrate in most of the work we do, it is inspirational to marvel at the technological innovation and creativity of others.  Those in this still living group (impossible to list them all) would be- Gehry, Calatrava, Liagre, Foster as well as Herzog and de Meuron.  Is a theme nascent?  If it is I can’t see it, maybe it is too close to see…  I know to me, it is of the utmost import to be inspired, in hopes I may somehow, inspire others.  Inspiration is my goal for our work- as well as the fuel necessary to create it.  Einstein is quoted as saying, “creativity is knowing how to hide your resources“, which is amazingly humorous- coming from one who surely had few resources to pull such a unique thing as the theory of relativity out of his hat.  From the creations and inspirations born from the lives and work of these masters and mentors,  I am happy to share a few of mine.

Louis Kahn

Sir Edwin Lutyens

Charles Rennie Mackintosh

CFA Voysey

Carlo Scarpa

Appropriate takes no prisoners is a no bullsh#%*t guy (its the John Wayne of my design philosophy), appropriate just works- is reasonable, unquestionable, intuitively correct.  Now I am also positive that appropriate could possibly be an excuse for boring, but that is why we have other words like delight, or my personal favorite- the zinger.  Amongst all this thinking and design work I have also enjoyed immensely the prescribed exercise to demonstrate the idea- which is even better than words, and transforms and transcends words which is namely, to draw.  I became an architect based mostly on my hearts desire to draw.  I believe something magical and potentially spiritual- takes place inside a person when they pick up a pencil and whats inside them comes out in a drawing, no matter how crude or how elegant, something deep of ourselves is revealed.  The whisper of a sketch is almost like a secret; by which we see what was hidden inside.

Cave Paintings- Lascaux, France

Like these cave paintings, some from (if you believe in carbon dating) as far back as 35,000 years ago, but to say the very least from pre-historic times, even before we had pencils we had the desire to draw to create imagery to communicate our ideas through visual means.  I still doodle strange shapes that aren’t readily understandable while I talk on the phone, What? YES- I was listening to what you said!  The love to draw is seminal and obviously primal and apparently innate rather than learned, maybe like running a 4.4 second 40 yard dash, or being 7 feet tall, some people have it and some don’t.  As they say in sports, “you can’t coach speed”, height either for that matter.  I think unfortunately people miss out on the enjoyment of sketching for fear of what?  So try doodling when you are on the phone, (at your desk not in the car) or in a cave- and see what happens.

The subjects of my own latest efforts are not animals and not drawn on cave walls but still, I have noticed what comes out frequently has a life of its own.  Though there are a variety of factors and influences like say, (topography/views/solar orientation/ light/ clients/ style/ budget) ok can we leave the last one off- that must be considered in the creation of a thoughtful place I find that also that some things just resonate.   One of these is a sense of scale.  Since most people are about 5 or 6 feet tall and as such, have a certain feeling relative to the size and breadth of a building, that it is way bigger than they are, it can be sometimes a little intimidating.  In terms of making it more approachable and hopefully inviting, I believe the thing should be broken down into smaller pieces.  So, in these cases where it could be just fine to put everything under one singular roofline and have the footprint be one “big box” -I prefer instead to make it a series of boxes each with its own smaller, more bite size “hat” of its own.

Napa Residence

Hill House (San Antonio)

So what to do with these little casinos.  Exploding apart a building; besides making for interesting possibilities and experiences creates two additional important virtues. One, it enables LIGHT and air to move in and around the interior rooms over the period of a day which is life giving to the inhabitants. Two, these smaller boxes can be arranged to create wonderful OUTDOOR rooms in which to smell the roses.  Like sit outside, get some fresh air, feel the warm sun in the early spring, plant something you can eat, or just enjoy the color and scent of,  do some al fresco dining.  Porches and pergolas are great for this but don’t have to be the end of the trip, more to be a transition INTO the true out of doors space- the courtyard; Websters defines as an area wholly or partly surrounded by walls or buildings- (aka the plaza, piazza or my favorite the cloister).

Cloudrock- Moab, Utah

I suppose the deeper issues of why these kinds of places resonate to us would be fascinating to understand and worth the effort to unearth all the reasons.  I will leave it to the psychologists to nail it all down.  I think making places with more possible experiences creates a richness of life, of living.  I think it has to do with Bill Gwin’s statement that good design should “provide for opportunities and not to limit“.  Leonardo da Vinci is quoted as saying, “where the spirit does not work with the hand, there is no art“.  I know that like my pre-historic and famous friends, armed with my pencil I am still figuring it all out.

Da Vinci wing sketches

It’s been a while since my last post (umm, in October) and although I wanted to find some time I could devote to writing, there is a very exciting reason why.  Over the last two months besides the normal workaday plateful (plus the holidays) there has been a special project I have devoted much time to, and that would be the new offices for Dungan Nequette in the English Village of Mountain Brook.  On Wednesday, November the 30th, 2011 at about 10:30am I walked out of my office in downtown Birmingham, after darkening that doorway almost everyday for 12 years, (about four thousand days) to call a new office “home“.  It was at once, very exciting and still admittedly a tiny lonely twinge leaving the place where were made all those memories of people patrons and projects- but time continues its headlong rush into the future, and our future is at 1906 Cahaba Road. I have thought and pondered for a while about how to describe this process and the place that has been created, there are many aspects I wish to convey, but almost so much I don’t know where to start.  There is the unbelievable job the contractor (Francis Bryant and Sons) did, and the fun we had together in an easy working relationship that was just a beautiful thing.  There is the part of being the architect, interior designer and the client all in one and how much fun that was.  There is the stretching creatively and taking chances that would not safely be taken with a client for risk of it all blowing up in your face.  Then there is the final (well almost final) product of the building- and a space that comes so much farther in making a statement of what you find interesting, what you believe in- and experience of how it elevates your daily work and your feeling of well-being.  Gandhi said “happiness is when what you believe and what you do and say are all in alignment“.  In a design way of  understanding this is much closer to what we hold dear than our former environment ever was or could be.

The exterior was a brick facade with some little parapeted entry with the Gotham city Batman look, but overall was underwhelming while simultaneously not horrible.  It had potential but it needed a little love.  The lipstick came in the form of a new slate roof from leftover pieces of past projects that the builder had, along with a new limestone entrance and a small drafting room that looks as if a porch was taken in, we call the sunroom.  When we were at the building just thinking about the design, it was obvious we would need more space in Louis and my office space.  We saw that the footprint would allow us to come forward to the street and I remember saying to Louis that the little extra space would be like our first office, which was the sunroom of his then apartment in Forest Park.  How fitting that after all the years it has come full circle.  The final design of the street facade to me is of an English ancestry, as it should be if it is to take its place as a happy addition to English Village, but also its quite admittedly Flemish (see below).  Which I like also, because a strict adherent to tradition I am not.  Of course the detailing is critical for all the exterior pieces, and plenty of thought was given to copper roofs and rafter tails and wood paneling and so forth, when you only have a palatte of roughly 50 feet in width and its in a denser village area, you have to sweat the details, to hold the added attention and scrutiny that the exterior will receive.  Lots of people will drive by and not give it a second glance, but others pay attention and appreciate the details- this is for them.

I would say we have designed at least 3 but perhaps 5 offices for ourselves- over the last 7 years, which for one reason or another- never materialized.  Maybe all those other layouts prepared us and helped us think through how we would like to live and what kind of a space would help us live that way better.  At any rate a building became available owned by a friend in the real estate business, and it was perfect location but the building was not quite the cats meow architecturally or from an interior layout at all what we needed.  So we decided to give it facelift on the exterior as well as fairly well GUT the interior (except for bathrooms).  We did some sketches over the summer of a face lifted version and began sketching layouts of the inside.  After hitting on an open plan where everyone could see across the space, yet have their own slightly more cozy work-space, and open as well as closed conference rooms plus a basement where we can also have meetings but moreover is really going to be like a cozy den- complete with 65 inch tv and small kitchen.

There are of course all the other spaces you would assume like reception, foyer, storage but really, as I have said before in posts its not those amenities as much as it is THE FEEL.  The emotional response is the desired culmination of a thousand decisions.  Its hard to say exactly, and only time will tell how other people react and use their own words to describe, but to me it feels cozy with a pinch of mystery.  So much so in fact that it is noticable people talk lower in the space, not quite in a hushed library way but noticeably  is a little respectful of the space and that also because it is quite open.  While the openness of the space does emote a little demure sense, its finishes and materials are anything but formal and not in the least way fancy.  All the materials are reclaimed, not because its green (though for some that is ample reason) but because they are beautiful, have character, and connect us to the past in an elegant way.  We used 4 different kinds of pine flooring of differing widths and colors and textures and refused to let the very diligent installers sand them at all, for love of the randomness and the more you sand them, the more they all look the same.  As the French say, vive la difference.  Understand that this leaves you with a floor that is not totally flat and in spots a little uneven- just be more aware of your steps.  It reminds me of Hundertwasser House in Vienna, Austrian artist Friedensreich Hundertwasser actually laid uneven tile floors and planted trees (all over the building) to create a sense of walking through the woods,  so this design doesn’t get quite that adventurous, but I figured if Fred could get away with it surely a little unevenness is ok.  But perhaps my favorite space in the place is the little drafting room, which has arguably the best view in all of English village.  Also makes it hard to hide from clients but I’m just saying…

Friedensreich Hundertwasser

Surely this design is a culmination of years of looking and borrowing and trying different things, from travels and from standing on the shoulders of giants.  Louis Kahn, Charlie Mackintosh, CFA Voysey and many other giants still exert their influence and it seeps through the boards into the work.  Many people also played a role in getting it all complete in a fashion that is also very well done including our staff as well we are very thankful to the welders, the carpenters, Clay Klinner (reclaimed wood), Randy Burnham’s Fine Cabinets, Mike White, Grant Trick, and Eric Brandino. Lastly the uber talented team at Francis Bryant & Sons, who were just as easy and friendly to work with as is humanly possible- they did the entire project in 3 months, and never publicly at least without a smile, in a word with aplomb.  Its good that it is during this season of Thanksgiving and Christmas when we are thankful for life and freedom and the light coming into the world that we find ourselves in such a place.  It is particularly appropriate at this time that we are given a great gift on top of all the others to treasure and enjoy.

I would further the discussion of Maslow’s pyramid of needs beyond the first level through the second level and would make the simple statement that great design- of a level rarely seen in everyday life; is attainable which even enables us to more easily have the rare feelings of self esteem, confidence and respect- even creativity and problem solving… all because of this environment and its ability to embue inspirational and educational properties.  In terms of this conversation, regarding the “human factors” and how they are used in design to our benefit, I would break them down into my own hierarchy of need. First let me say I understand the word “design” to be the following; a specific response to a certain set of criteria- also can be described as the “problem“.  I dont use the word problem in this case as a deragatory or a negative situation, but rather more like an algebra test- where you are presented with problems to solve. Using the correct theorems or expressions and equations and then working the math and executing fundamentals will yeild the “correct” answer. Any mistake in selection of the equations OR even if the right strategy is chosen, but the execution of it is not perfect, will create an incorrect solution or answer.  Do we get partial credit?  Sometimes, but that is small encouragement to the gentle designer- or as Coldplay said “you didn’t get to heaven, but you made it close“. So luck is not on our side in design, actually as the old country song said “if it werent for bad luck, I’d have no luck at all“.  In design, I have found this to totally and thoroughly be the case.  So it is a fickle thing, and why would it not be- attempting as a mere individual to create meaningful sustainable places for the highest and most complex organisms on the planet. Even our needs are not at all static but ever changing, even as the seasons change- so do our desires and environmental reactions evolve and change on a yearly basis, so the equation becomes more complex, even though a simple answer is usually the best.

I have been fortunate to design in places as diverse as Nova Scotia and Utah, Guatemala and Philadelphia- and as the cultures and climates change so do the needs and desires; sometimes significantly. For example, the basic human desire or need for sunlight.  In places as close together as even North Carolina and northern Florida, separated by only one US state- have significantly differing factors which cause the designs to respond quite differently as well.  In the mountains of North Carolina light is much more difficult to come by on the interior spaces, therefore glass is used liberally and on almost any exposure, be it north south east or west.  Also the climate is quite termperate and cooler therefore the warmth from the sun is more desirable over a large part of the year.  All in an effort to promote natural lighting, warmth -and the feeling of well being that comes as a result of it. Whereas in areas like Seaside, Florida because of the OTHER effect of sunlight, eg excessive HEAT- every effort is made to minimize the sunlight from proceeding too far into the structure.  By use of effective overhangs, calculated by the solar orientation and the solar angles at different times of the year, (higher in summer and lower in winter) also by creative and effective and skillful use of that great invention, THE PORCH- the thoughtful designer can keep the sun at bay. At least enough to give the tanned and glistening inhabitants some modicum of relief from its rays.

Let me review what I think are the main factors inherent if a sustainable and enduring design is to be created. First I start with the earth, its hard to ignore terra firma, or better to say only ignored at our own risk.  The site is so important because if you listen closely, the site will tell you exactly what to do in order to have a structure which appears to have either grown out of the ground, or been there since the beginning of time- either one is desirable.  In addition to the topographic conditions to be designed to, the site also creates an orientation towards the best view and just as importantly, the poor view. There are usually views to be eschewed just as much as there are views desirable to be captured.  Lastly, the solar orientation touched on earlier very rarely is in a copacetic relationship with these views and topographic constraints.  Therefore these DIVERGENT needs must have thier way with the design and exert their influence upon the very first notions and considerations of the intelligent designers mind.  Finding the place in the world to make the most of all these important considerations leads towards the success of any sustainable design.

Second but no less important is the arrangement of spaces. From Christopher Alexander’s thoughts on privacy and public spaces; even those within a home- it is apparent that a happy “family of rooms” and spaces is imperative to creating a place where people can feel comfortable and also more easily live their lives.  From the site diagrams of orientation to the earths movements and suns pattern come a general direction and a SHAPE that fits these lines like a hand in glove.  During that analysis the designer must also simultaneously be considering how a human would move through this building and how groceries get in and garbage gets out, how guests could easily find thier way to the powder room at a cocktail party, and what would be the most impressive way to see the sunset from the rear pergola terrace.

In these considerations the form of the house or building begin to have much greater detail than the site diagram, becoming much like arteries and veins form a system that feeds nutrients and oxygen to the rest of the body- these circulatory components need to have a simple and thorough path that serves the needs of the building.  In a magnificent example Carlo Scarpa designed in an existing 1000 year old castle one of the finest museums, which so intuitively the patron may explore its chambers of artwork there is no need for a map or guide. Through what would have been a laberynthine experience, is gleaned the delight of discovering this piece and that sculpture, over 4 stories of history, with ease the viewer discovers his way as effortlessly as hansel and gretel following the bread crumbs.  That is what my clients call “flow” in layman’s terms.  I don’t believe I recall any one of them in an initial meeting not requesting their desire for flow and for their house to have a sense of ease of movement and simplicity of space.

I think from here things get more interesting, and complex and rich. It would be hard to imagine any intelligent person arguing against sustainability of designing to the earth, the sun, light, and human needs. I feel I am stating the obvious, hopefully persuasively- yet “preaching to the choir”, what is inarguable, yet not always fully obvious. The interesting things in life to me, are those truths which are counter-intuitive.  These mysteries are the best parts of life.   I would love to additionally discuss at a later time, more of beauty and its role and subjective nature in our lives and in design as one example of mystery and the power of it. The great variable of my experience in design is and are the fundamental differences in human beings in their personas and personalities and egos- and the influence these psychological factors have on their desires and the resultant designs to serve them. When these factors are cross-referenced and interlaced with the previous and aforementioned factors the resulting design paramaters are as myriad as what Sir Herbert Read called “the infinate permutations of heredity“. And it is that which makes each design as totally individual as a snowflake, and brings my life’s work the most fulfillment and variety. In more detailed words, persons who are more formal, or more relaxed will want VERY different environments. Maslows hierarchy of needs is a elementary roadmap that is a cartoon in light of these types of psycholgical considerations. Not that it is without usefulness and notwithstanding its declaration of the obvious baseline of human desires and needs. It is my hope that these are the very beginning of an intelligent conversation, about how we live best and what we really need and want- but it is like a first date and not as intimate as we need to be; if we are to create places of the higher order- full of mystery and intrigue, and deep fulfillment.

What would be of architecture, if it was without windows.  If its true that – “the eyes are the windows of the soul“, as  Shakespeare said- then surely windows are the EYES of our architectural designs- of our homes.  I know when I look on a house of course I notice the rooflines, study the materials and other things- but the windows are the focal points where you look to glimpse inside, the objects in the field of the wall.  This is not to mention gangs of windows, where we turn a whole wall into an opportunity for light and hopefully fresh air to come inside.  Or bays, transoms, casements, double hungs, jalousie, awnings, hoppers we have so many types and terms and uses for our transparent friends.   What are french doors but windows who got big enough to let us not just see outside, but walk through their portal and into the garden, or in italian- portafinestra which is a door-window.

Did you ever consider that windows are in some ways nothing?  The null, the void- the transparent-clear-invisible thing.  In math there is the zero,without which ironically, we would not be able to have our tens system but perhaps would have run out of numerical symbols by which engineers, accountants and musicians use to describe things.   I think similarly somehow, the window makes our architecture more viable, although mystically it is this negative part of the equation that actually adds so much richness to our designs.  Less abstractly, without windows how could see out?  How could we let LIGHT inside? Where indeed would we be without windows!  So great is our affection for them that in some cases we have designed entire buildings with them as the sole material.  Philip Johnson’s glass house and I.M. Pei’s Louvre Museum for starters.  And what would decorators do without the necessity of window treatments!  Think of all the industry created that would not exist without them.  Drapes, blinds, shades, awnings, shutters would have no reason to exist.

I have certain admitted preferences about windows. I like casement windows best. Why? Because they are like DOORS, they swing out and when open, you have one big opening. Not so with double hungs, you have a big bar (sash) across the middle that blocks your view, when you “open” them they only give you HALF the opening that is open!  They should call them HALF hungs really-  Dont love them.  Another thing, the just about perfect proportion for the “lites” in a divided lite window is 7 to 11 width to height.  As in inches.  I am happy to share the big secret.  Of course each window is different in its overall size but the same proportions apply.  Ever see windows that have square lites or lites that are wider than they are tall?  Not pretty. Ok, unless its an ART DECO building in Miami, then its ok- but thats it.  No other exceptions, in my book.  I also much prefer the muntins to be no larger than 7/8 an inch wide and prefer 5/8 but only a few window makers do them this thin.  Then there are leaded glass windows which of course are just resplendent in their gauzy-ness and ancient feel- in leaded glass parlance the muntins are actually referred to as CANES.

Just in case I accidentally lost you, regarding window terms like lites and sashes, for this ONE time I will be technical and talk about the components of a window.  First off there is a frame, which is mostly hidden by the trim around the window.  Lets do trim another time, its complicated.  The parts of the window you see are starting from the perimeter, the SASH.  This the operable border of the window that holds the glass.  The glass is bordered by MUNTINS, these are the smallest pieces of solid material (wood or metal) that divide the glass into pieces.  Those pieces of glass are called of course, panes- or in more technical terms LITES.  Now one last thing- zoom back out to where you have two or three windows or heck five windows all in a row.  The larger pieces of wood that separate the windows are called MULLIONS.   Not to be confused with muntins.  But obviously pretty close to sounding the same at least in English.

Speaking of the English, a little history, back in the centuries man just carved an opening to satisfy their desire to see out, also it came in handy in castles to shoot those pesky invaders, without risking life and limb- but obviously rather drafty.   The Romans had some crude glass windows, and in the orient they used paper instead of glass-  but the windows closely related to ours came as early as 14th century in Northern England. After some more centuries went by, industrial glass making came along and thus what we today call windows.  So important are they that in England they actually taxed them.  During the reign of William III and Mary II, during the 1690′s the “window tax” was introduced.  It was easy to enforce since they could be counted by tax collectors from outside.  People actually dodged the tax by bricking up their windows, and unbricking them as soon as the tax collector had gone!

I love the way Louis Kahn put it when he said “consider the momentus occasion when the wall departed, and the column became“.  I think it’s plausible to insert the word window into that same sentence.  Ever since that moment, we have been fascinated with seeing out, or peeking in-  and architects have been making spaces filled with light, from where comes all life, its rays piercing through the darkness.

Walls have great power to support, and protect, and also divide and separate.  The Berlin wall, the Great Wall of China, Hadrian’s Wall,  the Wailing Wall-  are examples of whole nations use of that power and the physical representation of a government’s will – in a WALL, It can be a BARRIER, which can separate and divide yet also protect. In terms of our use of them in design of what we hope to be great places, I find the walls become an amazing tool to actually create experiences.  First and foremost they protect us from the sun, rain and wind, (in conjunction with the roof) and keep us safe from bugs, animals, and yes- even other people.

Dmitri Rostropovich plays at Checkpoint Charlie as Berlin Wall comes down, November 1989

Weather is the first practical and basic thing for us to consider, yet these days it apparent that it isn’t done nearly as much by many designers or builders.  We have become too assuming that new technology will save us.  One thing I am always aware of in this regard is that our weather 90 percent of the time originates and is directed at us from the south-west direction and causes, along with the vicious western sun – the most damage possible to the walls on that orientation, period everytime.  Did you ever watch the rain closely,  it rarely falls straight down, and most of time comes slingin in at quite an angle from the ol south west.  So what to do?  I use the most resilient materials on the west side as much as possible, like HARDIE PLANK right? Aaarrrrnnnkkkk. Wrong answer, lets use some stone to ensure that wall is standing for say next 200 years or so, at least before they have to make any major repairs.  Too expensive for you?  No problem, lets use some reclaimed brick they are only 50 cents apiece.  Another favorite tactic is to do a porch on the south and/or western side, like a tackler in football, whoever gets lowest usually wins.  Not to mention a porch is a great place to watch the kids play or the sun go down, or enjoy the rain watering your flower garden if you feel like it- all the while under the watchful, brooding protection of the metal porch roof.

Of the other wonderful virtues and uses of the wall the gentle designer has in his repertoire I mentioned earlier; is that walls basically define our experience of spaces.  How tall is the wall of the great room?  What about a nooks walls?  Not only this but the walls form the FLOOR PLAN do they not?  So as we sketch along our pencils trace the faintest line yet it may mean a 12 inch thick solid masonry stucco and plaster beast holds the inhabitants of that room.  Walls divert us and make us go one way and not another, openings frame views of the ocean and the mountains or an internal garden courtyard-  the power to form in us a certain experience and define how we use a space or a place is largely defined by walls. In the hands of thoughtful designers walls direct us, hold us, urge us onward to the next room.

Carlo Scarpa (1906- 1978) was a genius of an architect and was commissioned by his Verona countrymen to convert a 1000 year old building into a museum for Italian art and sculpture.  He took an ancient fortress and over a seven year span converted it into a museum (from what would have been a maze) that is so intuitive to walk through that it requires no map, no museum guide to navigate.  In large part due to the deft use of beautiful existing walls and positioning artwork as breadcrumbs- to toll visitors through each gallery.  Scarpa, ever the crafty master, used new techniques and modern materials to squeeze each piece of art into, through and between 500 year old walls-  and the result was a place that became art itself.

All because of walls?  Not only them- but it would surely be hard to imagine the place with out them.  Walls are the substances that hold us, what we want to protect, what is precious to us.

Walls form the repositories of our lives, and all we hold dear.

The roof is the warrior-poet of any great design.

Isn’t it fascinating to realize that a structural engineer starts with the roof- before he can design the proper load carrying ability in the footings!?  We say metaphorically, that you must first “have a good foundation”, be it financially or spiritually perhaps- yet it’s not the base but - the roof - that is the first thing we see of a new town, the skyline to a great city, and is the first line of defense against the elements.  But in fact its one of the most misused or under-utilized design elements I can think of.   Ponder having four walls yet with no roof, how well would you fare in a hot, or rainy, or snowy environment?  It’s the roof that covers us, and takes the brunt of the heat, the sun, and the rain- and render them almost useless against our comfort and safety.  These are of course pragmatic and functional aspects, but I can promise that you would do alot better at the beach without walls than you would without a roof, which is perhaps why tents came to be so useful to certain cultures, the single most important and portable building component.

But if its only mere function that the gentle designer uses, he misses so many opportunities.  I love a simple gable with perhaps a few dormers to keep things interesting.  And who can resist the charm of a stoop, with a little swooped roof over the doorway on a cottagy house?  The roof will tell you if the layout of walls underneath it was exercised with care and thoughtfulness, or conversely- have you ever seen a roof that is so busy trying to cover it’s runaway train of a house that it too, becomes a confusing and convoluted mess? I won’t show a picture of ugly things usually, we all have too much access to the unfortunate as it is.

And regarding the material ON the roof, what a statement that makes.  Think about your first impression of a house with say, a slate roof for example.  How about clay tiles? Too spanishy for you-  ever noticed flat clay tiles?  Doesn’t have to be incredibly expensive, either-  one of my favorites is an old tin roof on a mountain house, (at the beach it works just as well)-  and how wonderful is the sound of the rain on a rusty metal porch roof?  Ok, I will admit, I love copper in small doses, I like to use it on lower slope roofs like shed dormers, or lower areas where it’s inherent beauty can be appreciated up close.  But my favorite may very well be ….drum roll… Cedar Shakes.  Not to be confused with cedar shingles which are sawn, not split as shakes are… Now I do also believe cedar shingles are very wonderful, but to be sure; I love that natural texture of the hand split cedar, and make no mistake- it smells good too, (just an added bonus).  But there is a certain smell around a cedar shake house, that gives it a certain woodsy yet aristocratic perfumed feeling.  The great thing to me- is that it’s a REAL material, not synthetic, just natural, simple and elemental.  It’s soft, and elegant, it’s not stiff not formal-  can be used on a large English arts and crafts house or a cottage, even a barn.

There are details also to a great roof that can be used to bring much beauty and interest.  Now; the roof transfers it’s first blush impression- and becomes the FIELD in which these details become the OBJECTS in- the jewels in the crown.  These jewels, such as dormers, chimneys, vents, dovecotes (gable vents of a certain type) all create a pattern in the roof’s field.  When used carefully and judiciously, in conjunction with an equally thoughtful and contoured roofline, and beautiful materials- the roof is not just a great way to keep the rain out, it becomes a piece of art.  I haven’t even mentioned the wonderful creativity that can be made from the edges where the roof meets and flirts with the wall- the rafters which can be exposed as hundreds of tiny decorative whimsical sculptures, marching along on equal spacing like good soldiers- dutifully and delightfully carrying out their mission.

All to support their royal subject, the roof.

From the Armani quote on the cover, I derive extreme hope that if clothes can increase certain positive feelings, surely so too our true outerwear- the rooms and houses we live in.  In some recurring recent conversations, I have realized that a theme is nascent – maybe it is more of a realization, that I am interested in arriving at or creating, a certain feeling to a place or a space.  When I say this, I am speaking to the goals of the design effort, and especially at the conceptual outset.  In all the world it seems there is too much focus on data, on numbers- even as they are related to design, instead of what we really desire- which is- …a certain feeling of well being, or as the founding fathers said, “the pursuit of happiness“.   I think it’s easier to understand numbers for many people.  They add up and subtract and divide- the same way every time,  you can really depend on those neat and tidy suckers!   Like, how many square feet this project should be, or we want “x” bedrooms and baths and- what is the cost per square foot.  Also, another almost equally red herring-esque notion is style, as in what style is this house or room.  All of these thoughts are ways to describe a place- and have their logical reason for being, but if that’s ALL we use- then we get places that have little soul, and completely fail to touch ours.

I think maybe this way of thinking came from the real estate industry, because when you are plunking down hundreds of thousands- or even millions of dollars, how do you quantify what you are getting?  And size matters, as they say in Texas.  Now, if I am buying a warehouse that’s super important, but for the place I live or eat or work and have my being and we spend much of our lives, maybe there are other factors we need to design towards.  Like how do I want to FEEL in this place? What does this place SAY about me to people who drive by, or come inside?  Those are harder, but better-  questions to wrestle with if we want to see, as a client recently asked me rhetorically-  ”Can a house save us?“.  Well, can one kill you?  Possibly…I   have been in some that felt downright oppressive.  How much of our lives do we spend surrounded by a man-made environment, and how does it affect-  either inspiring who we ARE-  or causing us to live less well.  Does the place you are in right now help you live or work better?  Is there any natural light? A view? Of what?  Are you inspired by your man made environment?

What has fascinated me for some time, is the idea of designing for a desired psychological effect.  Great places do exact from us an emotion, a feeling, which we experience and remember.  Houses are a great laboratory for exactly this kind of emotional engineering experiment.  I like to start with the overall property as a whole and an idea or a desired direction for that.  Where is north? Where does the sun rise and set, and therefore how does the light play through the spaces (both interior and exterior spaces)- and how can we leverage the light and time of day to support certain moods.  Then you have this great opportunity with all these rooms like- kitchens (communal/sharing), keeping rooms (conversational/personal), great rooms  (formal/impressive), nooks (cozy/bookish), bedrooms (retreat/ intimate) and bathrooms (refreshing/restorative).  All of them have these potential energies that comes along with them.  Some are made to be shared with others, and some are made to be alone.  A weary mom once told me she wanted her master bath to be like a spa, where she could retreat for a little while.  It struck me how important it seemed to her, and I asked why that was…  I never forgot her response, “because that’s the only place in my house where I can be alone for a few minutes“.  For her, that bathroom needed to be a sanctuary.  Over the years I have had clients who took the same attitude for the entire house.

A house should have an emotional tone, and that is based on it’s owners, and also on it’s location.  The people who use the home come with their own set of personalities.  Some are formal and business like- others are whimsical and all points in between.  Some people want houses that entertain, others are meant to be retreats from the rest of the world.  Once these over-arching factors are intuited, contemplated and understood- an appropriate direction can be charted- or better yet, will emerge.  What excites me is that design will be unique as the people who live there and the region or “terroir” that surrounds them.

The difficult thing is that there are no theorems or algebraic equations that can measure and predict all these factors and spit out an answer that makes us say WOW what an amazing place this is!..  Also, there are way too many human variables- and even those are tied to what Sir Herbert Read called “the infinite permutations of heredity“.  This kind of design thinking is an intuitive process that is based on human spirit and creative searching.  As they say, if it was easy- everybody would do it.  But it’s not impossible either, there are many talented and sensitive designers out there doing it, creating meaningful and inspiring places all over the world.  Christian Liaigre, John Saladino, Frank Gehry, Santiago Calatrava- and those are just a few of the ones who are still alive, I wont even bother to mention the “shoulders of giants” past.  I will likely pick back up on this theme in more depth as it bears much more thought and pursuit.  Bo Bennett said,”music, is what feelings sound like”, I wonder if great architecture and interior design is-  ”what feelings look like“…

I love to travel.  It is the best school I have ever attended- I learn so much from other people in different regions, and glean from them new ways to solve or even approach design problems. Also differing vocabularies of design language and style.  We all want to keep the rain out, and make our lives more comfortable enjoyable and fulfilling, but there are so many various ways to go about solving for those simple goals.  St Augustine said, “the whole world is a book and those who do not travel read only one page”.

I recently had the opportunity to visit with a client and friend, his native country of Guatemala.  It was really just an amazing experience the food was great the people I met were fairly pleasant and American-tolerant;  but the scenery was for me, transformative.  I pay close attention to nature and especially plants- and saw only two or three that we have in the South. Creeping figvine, hydrangeas and bouganvilla were the only ones (unless you count ficus trees which only grow inside in the south), and if you ever tried to keep bouganvillia alive above south Florida you know its not REALLY a viable southern plant. There is not much more resplendent than bougainvillea and in all of plant-dom, virtually unmatched for just profuse and lush color.  All the rest that met my eyes were totally new and foreign to me, also gorgeous and brilliantly colored.  The national tree is a giant Ceiba, (pronounced SAY-BA) which grow to 180 feet tall, and would quite easily dwarf any oak tree.  The word ”Guatemala” is derived from the Aztec name Quauhtlemallan, meaning “Land of many trees.” Another amazing tree- the Jacaranda, has unbelievably purple flowers that totally cover it.   Of course- FOOD is always a favorite topic but I won’t have time to go into the steak asado and plantains and ceviche’ and cordon negros or huhevos rancheros or verde salsa and Gallos beer, but if you can find some Carlos Zacapa dark Rum or the XO version of the same, get it.  If you don’t like I will buy it back from you!  Sorry, but best coffee award still goes to Costa Rica…

Ok, now for the best part.  We went to a wedding in Antigua and stayed there a couple days.  If you have been to Alys beach down around seaside, the design of that place was patterned after Antigua, except for the lack of color part.  The city has been there since the 1540′s (about 450 years) and is a small but uber dense network of una via (one way) streets all of cobblestones and almost all the buildings are walled enclaves which touch on all sides, so there are no front or side yards, just very interesting walls many topped with bouganvillea or other vines, and has acquired that ancient patina that builds up as only centuries of volcanic ash and rain and sun can achieve.  The city is surrounded by three very tall volcanoes (Volcán de Agua, Acatenango,Volcán de Fuego), some still active which are upwards of 12,000 to 13,000 feet in elevation-  yet the city is in a valley nestled cozily amongst these towering masses.  There is nothing fake or false or remotely Disneyfied about it-  is so rare to be in a truly authentic place.  In my last post I talked about materials and their power as a design tool, and Antigua has that completely covered.  It appears that they use the “why use one material when six different materials will do?” rule.  I almost never saw the same paving surfaces on terraces or walls there were usually at least two or three.  The result is kind of a patchwork quilt that looks anything but corny or haphazard, just the opposite effect it has a richness and variety (the spice of life) that is just Delightful.

But let me back up a step, I forgot to describe that one of the most interesting and unique things about the place is the use of courtyards and walls to gain privacy and protection by creating walled outdoor rooms- that you enter into right off the street through an always gated entry.  These walls are about 7 or 8 feet tall and many have all kinds of growies atop which create some shade and kind of a crown for the wall. The gate connects to a covered porch which borders the courtyard and the cover takes you to the inside, which I use loosely because there is little distinction between inside and outside in the way we think of it in the States.  Of course it helps that they don’t really have seasons like we do either,  so the need for very airtight indoor areas really just doesnt exist in the same way we are used to. How nice to not have to worry with that whole indoor outdoor separation so much (but I wouldn’t trade Autumn for it)!  But honestly, with all the colors they have, who would miss it?  Inside these courtyards is a treat for all the senses- most of them have water, in cisterns, in fountains, in rills, in pots, in spouts you name it.  So now we also have the element of sound well not just sound but pleasant sounds.  Also they have brought into the experience, smell- through the flowering plants and also through another element we seldom use- incense.  There were in places these large burners of incense with smoking embers (see last photo).  The smell kind of wafts around and every so often you get a wonderful snoutful- because you know, your senses just needed one more thing to experience.

I really had a hard time taking all I experienced in, and of course it was impossible trying to synthesize it into a language I could understand fully and much less explain.  In the end, I just enjoy- and know that it’s influence will come out in my work in it’s own intuitive honest way.  But if I had to try and explain it I think it feels very layered, and lush and protected.  When you walk through those gateways become portals to some other world, and that moment is transforming and resplendent.  Henry Miller said, “The destination is never the place; but a new way of seeing things“, and that is the most transformative part of it all.  As I was leaving, I realized I was personally richer, and truly would become a better thinker-  than the one who arrived.

 After some perusal of the last post, I realized I had not touched on an incredibly important element and instrument of making great places, which is that of materials, and how they are used.  In hindsight I think it was providential that it happened that way. I believe that there are few more powerful tools at the designer’s disposal than material.  Louis Kahn, who used light and designed all his work to showcase the medium of light, said that material was “spent light”.  I like that way of thinking about it, (from physics 101) there is potential energy and there is latent energy- and then there is spent energy.  It also says that there is a story behind that surface, and it had a previous life somewhere in nature.  That oak hardwood floor was a tree at some point in the recent past, standing tall in the forest, casting a shadow.  The stone floor, once at the bottom of a vast ocean, prior to being heaved up into the mountains of Brazil by folding tectonic plates.

Some pieces have an even longer story; being re-purposed, or like a cat with nine lives, on it’s second or third version.  I love the look and feel of old wood, or antique wood as we call it, which may have first been oak siding on a barn in Kentucky, or heart pine floor decking from a textile mill in Georgia. They even “harvest” old trees from the bottom of rivers that have been soaking in minerals for decades. Stone too is a wonderful material and can be used in so many places, and what else is like it?  You can see the age in it, it wont burn and it remains cool to touch, no matter how hot it gets outside.  The best word I can summon to explain our love for these is character.  Honestly it seems a little bit of hyperbole to use such a term that would be reserved for good people only-  but there is a power and a real sense of history present in these pieces- that is inescapably palpable.

Have you ever noticed the smell of a room that is all wood, or a cedar closet, a barn? What about the scent of a wet stone patio and some nearby tea olives. How about the look of “burled” wood- where the tree grew a limb and indelibly bent the grain? How about the tannin stains in old timber that spent the last hundred fifty years at the bottom of the Mississippi? Yes materials have a story to tell if you are willing to listen.  Or as the Beatles said, “isn’t it good, Norwegian wood?”.  Look at the side of a real stucco wall in the glint of summer sun you will see the swirls of the trowel marks or horsehair brush the masons used.  What about the strength of an old (board-formed) concrete wall in some ancient warehouse, there are some whose face have witnessed tens of thousands of sunrises.  Their grains of sand and tiny gravel are exposed by the weather of a thousand thunderstorms and relentless southern sun blazing in from the west.

In the hands of a really amazing talent like say, Christian Liaigre’- the simplicity of using great materials can create amazing impact just honoring and presenting them in a simple and elemental way. 

As a stark contrast, have you ever heard anyone speak of the beautiful patina of old vinyl siding?  Who searches far and wide for old asbestos roof tiles, or vinyl composition tiles or synthetic stucco homes for resale or re-use?  No, we throw these into the landfill, and re-roof, re-floor and re-skin with “new” materials.  The great irony is that these are usually and actually, the time tested ones that weather honestly- and age with great grace and beauty.  I guess in this sense using the word character, isn’t really such an odd word to employ after all.