residentialarchitect Magazine

checks and balances and checks

When we had the brilliant idea to do an issue on design/build firms, we thought we'd given ourselves an easy summer assignment. We'd already planned a cover story on multi-talented Marmol Radziner and Associates, so picking a few other like-minded firms for our design portfolio seemed like a...

on the boards/blue moon rising

There's an interesting infill phenomenon going on at the edge of downtown Tucson, Ariz., and an interesting new firm is behind it.
deep green

Writers Alex Wilson and Mark Piepkorn have put together the most accessible, up-to-date residential green building guide on the market.
mighty minis

The first-ever Green Dollhouse Competition produced pint-sized winners, but it packed an extra-large ambition: to educate the public about green building.
the mayne event

Los Angeles architect Thom Mayne, winner of this year's Pritzker Prize, has built his reputation on large-scale public and institutional buildings with striking, exuberant forms.

asia calling

Out the kitchen doors and across the courtyard, a quiet master suite is the antithesis of the kitchen's constant buzz.

hover craft

Three young architects with a passion for craftsmanship launched their new design/ build firm and this 6,000-square-foot interiors project nearly simultaneously.

safe and sound

During the last 50 years, the development of crime prevention through environmental design (CPTED) in the United States has had international significance. It began with Jane Jacobs and Oscar Newman laying down the principles of defensible space, which have since been universally accepted, and...

peripheral vision

An increasing number of architects, it seems, are getting paid to design Web sites and product packaging and to invent brand identities.

the construction zone

Andy Byrnes put himself through architecture school by building houses, and he enjoyed every minute of it. When he moved to Phoenix after graduation, his priorities were to get his contractor's license and track adown fellow Tulane alumnus Richard Fairbourn.
superior interiors

Architect Jim Zack got his first taste of construction when he was 16. He liked it so much he continued to work as a carpenter for five years before heading off to the University of California at Berkeley. “Architecture was a natural extension of what I had been doing,” he says.
right to the end

Marmol and Radziner refine the art and craft of design/build. The two of them thrive on interaction—with clients, with colleagues, with the public, and with their own staff. Which works out well, because running perhaps the most sophisticated residential design/build firm in the country leaves...

architects' choice
lyte commercial

Place Architects often re-purposes industrial products for residential applications. Stonco's Roughlyte is one example.
super rohl

As far as Johnston is concerned, Shaw's Original apron-front sink by Rohl can be used in any architectural situation.
easy does it

When the budget is tight, Johnston reaches for Amana's Easy Reach refrigerators.

keeping it real

As a decking material, acomposite excels. Made from virgin or recycled plastic and wood waste, composite is durable, weather-resistant, and virtually maintenance-free. But while those attributes may satisfy your clients' practical side, the product's ersatz appearance may leave some of them feeling...

double up

budget-friendly prefab and modular stair systems step lively.
metal detector

Copper and stainless steel, selected for their durability and visual appeal, are the exclusive metals used for DSI fabricated stair systems.
flexible fix

Kompact staircase kits offer flexible configurations to solve numerous space issues. Risers are adjustable, as well as the height, depth, and rotation.
stair apparent

Copper and stainless steel, selected for their durability and visual appeal, are the exclusive metals used for DSI fabricated stair systems.
tread heavily

A double supporting structure in painted or stainless steel looks great and holds more (400kg per square meter) than most modular stairs, says the company.
pipe dream

Architect David Weingarten's brainstorm is now a patented prefab circular stair that's about half the cost of custom. Using a 3-foot-diameter steel pipe as supporting stringer and railing makes for easy installation.
hats off

This isn't your grandmother's toilet—in fact, it's barely recognizable as one. Kohler, Wis.–based Kohler has reduced the traditional toilet to its bare essentials, a hatbox-shaped minimalist unit.
screen shot

Residential garage doors are generally run-of-the-mill steel products or custom traditional styles made of wood. With its new aluminum and glass contemporary unit, Cincinnati, Ohio–based Clopay Building Products adds some flair to the mix.

presidential architect

George Washington was a man of many identities—surveyor, military leader, Founding Father, and farmer. But he also harbored a keen interest in design and construction, which he explored with the transformation of Mount Vernon, his family's home on the Potomac River.

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