Table of Contents September-October 2004

from the editor

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  a question of value

  I've gathered from our scads of e-mails about architectural fees that this downward pressure on prices is happening to residential architects, too. With so many sources for house design, consumers are understandably driven to find the “value equation” in this extremely expensive purchase. Many...

   

home front

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  lavocation

  When I was designing my house, I was loathe to use anything off the shelf,” says Whitney Sander, AIA. “There's something satisfying about designing fixtures and fittings—you can get the exact size and quality of light or mood you like.” Apparently others were also captivated by the translucent...

   

• domestic bliss

  Josef and Anni Albers changed residential interiors forever. When the German-born, Bauhaus-educated artists emigrated to the United States in 1933, they brought a holistic view of design incorporating bold new notions about color, material, and texture. Not content to work within the traditional...

   
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  swede revenge

  in an unusual turn of events, it's people who are replacing computers at Klara Zenit, a massive building in the center of Stockholm. The 65,000-square-foot structure was a relic of the 1970s, designed to house the post office's old computer system. “It was a big black box without light in the...

   

k+b studio

bath

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  openly private

  Once we concluded that the entire corner of the house would be a glass curtain wall, we debated what room should go above the kitchen to take advantage of the light” says Stelle. “It ended up being the master bath because it's the one room you never want to be dark.” The glass has a mild reflective...

   

kitchen

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  swiss lessons

  Two language barriers confronted architect Frederick Stelle when he began renovating this lakefront house in Zurich, Switzerland. A German-speaking Swiss associate in his office solved the obvious one. But the existing visual expressions were more difficult to sort through.

   

perspective

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  face the future

  I watched my grandfather mix paint from linseed oil and pigment. I watched my father excavate, frame, plumb, wire, heat, roof, and finish houses.

   

practice

• diplomatic design

  Designing for 120-degree heat, calculating the costs of building in a city without electricity, and making fortresses seem friendly dare all in a day's work for Sorg Associates, of Washington, D.C. There's a lot to investigate when you're designing embassy housing for the U.S. State Department, as...

   

• going global

  Doing architecture abroad raises many issues, though, only one of which is the spoken language. Will the architectural terms translate? How about the building technology? Local builders often use a completely different set of materials and construction techniques, and you don't want them learning...

   

profiles

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  northern lights

  After nearly four decades of practice, Olson Sundberg Kundig Allen Architects is in the enviable, if well-deserved, position of being a star firm. The partners are at the top of their game, humming along from one plum project to the next. The firm possesses a nationally ranging portfolio of houses...

   

projects

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  norway: nordic track

  The architect of this 3,000-square-foot house in southeastern Norway, Einar Dahle, isn't one for hyperbole.

   
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  australia: court and sparkle

  As it turns out, houses and neighborhoods abroad suffer from similar growing pains as those in the United States. A case in point is this row house in Surry Hills, Australia—a once rundown urban area in Sidney now in the midst of a dramatic rebirth.

   
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  china: open-and-shut case study

  Any architect who thinks a room with a Murphy bed represents the apex of flexibility should meet Gary Chang of EDGE Design Institute.

   

architects' choice

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  zeluck of the draw

  Zeluck Windows: When the budget allows, Dynia favors custom windows and doors from high-end manufacturer Zeluck. “They have a premium rolling door with a really low profile threshold and nice details,” he says.

   
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  meshing around

  When the budget allows, Dynia favors custom windows and doors from high-end manufacturer Zeluck. “They have a premium rolling door with a really low profile threshold and nice details,” he says. Zeluck windows are made from Honduran mahogany and feature solid 2¼-inch sashes, mortise-and-tenon...

   
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  joist the thing

  When the budget allows, Dynia favors custom windows and doors from high-end manufacturer Zeluck. “They have a premium rolling door with a really low profile threshold and nice details,” he says. Zeluck windows are made from Honduran mahogany and feature solid 2¼-inch sashes, mortise-and-tenon...

   

doctor spec

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  glory glaze

  Ludwig Mies van der Rohe's Farnsworth House and Philip Johnson's Glass House stand as seminal works of minimalist architecture. Few who laud the uninterrupted roofs and floor planes, however, would want either house as their home: The large expanses of glass make both houses demanding and expensive...

   

end quote

• a simple plan

  The interior of this Montecito, Calif., home, one of Smith's first commissions after returning from Europe, reveals his love for straightforward, almost minimal, forms.

   

Other Articles

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  gripping experience

  Hand-stitched leather doorknobs from Turnstyle Designs make opening the door a tactile treat. Individually crafted in England from vegetable tanned, full-hide leather, the spheres come in black, chestnut, or chocolate. To enhance the feel of real leather, Turnstyle developed a shape that's...

   
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  flamboyant fish

  Aquarius Series ceramic tiles add a touch of the Caribbean to any room. Five sea-inspired designs (among them, starfish and ocean waves) come in 4- or 5-inch square tiles, coordinating borders, and accent pieces.

   
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  macchiato madness

  The high-design Profi-Coffee Center cooks up complex coffee-house concoctions or simply brews a cup of freshly ground java. The built-in, plumbed, stainless steel, self-cleaning, automated unit guides bean fiends through one-touch menu options or minute grind ratios and temperatures.

   
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  tourist trap

  More attractive than the fabled falls is the Niagara bathroom set created by hip Italian designer Paolo LaCivita. Lacquered oak cabinets come in 16-inch or 60-inch drawer units and mix with matching counters of various lengths for powder rooms or master suites.

   
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  hot seat

  Myson, manufacturers of European radiators, expands its U.S. offerings with steamy new designs such as this bench radiator. The artful piece of furniture incorporates a five- or six-column radiator beneath a laminated beech seat.

   

• under cover

  Always an environmentally friendly product, Fine Paints of Europe has lowered VOCs even further with its ECO line. ECO has a VOC of 42, about 90 percent less than conventional solvent-borne coatings, the company says.

   
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  cool shade

  The form of the Shade range hood relates directly to its function. Created by designer Fu-Tung Cheng for Sacramento, Calif.–based Zephyr, the matchbook-inspired hood has a cover that automatically starts the unit when it's opened or tucks away when not in use.

   
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  top drawers

  New from Benton Harbor, Mich.–based KitchenAid are these sleek and versatile dishwasher drawers. They come together in a single unit but can wash two loads simultaneously at separate settings.

   
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  full exposure

  Simpson Strong-Tie is exposing its wares—at least some of them. The Dublin, Calif.–based company, known for its behind-the-walls structural building connectors, has launched a line of prefinished connectors and joist ties for exposed wood applications.