Home Builder Developer - Interior Renovation and Design

This is the third column of Practice Values, abi-monthly series by architect andtechnologistPhil Bernstein. The columnfocuses on the evolving role of thearchitect at the intersection of design and construction, including subjects such as alternative delivery systems and value generation. Bernstein was formerly vice president at Autodesk and now teaches at theYale School of Architecture.

Disabling (Professional) Expertise

In 1977, social critic Ivan Illich argued that the mid-20th century should be named The Age of Disabling Professions, asking whether if this age, when needs were shaped by professional design, will be remembered with a smile or with a curse. Illichs skepticism about the importance and role of doctors, lawyers, and architects was an inflection point in the ascendance of the professional class that began with the industrialization of America. What followed for architectswho, at just about the same time as Illichs query, were subjected to the emergence of alternative forms of project delivery (like design-build), new incumbents treading on our turf (like construction managers), and influence from extrinsic forces (like lawyers and insurance companies)was several decades of existential angst with which we are all familiar.

Forty years later, there are more architects, and more work for us, than everyet the existential angst remains: If recessions, construction managers, and liability insurance underwriters didnt manage to dismantle the profession, now what? Answering that question comes the Oxford duo of Richard and Daniel Susskind and their 2015 tome The Future of the Professions, an exhaustive examination of how the broad influences of digital technology may be the end-of-times challenge to the professional class so desired by Illich. The Susskinds argue that it will not be a loss of faith in architects, lawyers, and accountants, but rather the broad democratization of expertise through big data and data sharing, expert systems, and automation that will transform the work of human experts. As knowledge work begins the same transfiguration in the world of computation that manufacturing experienced with machine automation, the bespoke relationships curated by architects with clients will be circumvented by widely accessible knowledge systems, architects will no longer be the anointed gatekeepers of professional knowledge or judgment, and the increasing complexity of building problems will face economic pressures demanding that architects provide even more service for less money. Large swaths of professional services will be routinized by computers, further decomposing those services into discrete automated tasks. New systems of design and construction delivery will reconstitute from traditional professional scopes disintermediated by algorithms and big data.

But if the essential value of architects is our ability to designsee the world creatively, synthesize disparate information, generate new and innovative ideasarent we safe from this digital onslaught? Not so fast, according to the Susskinds, who ask, To what problem is judgment the solution? They cite the 60 million disputes on eBay resolved with automated mediation (and no lawyers), medical advice dispensed by WebMD on smart phones around the world, or the online tax-preparation software used by millions of taxpayers each year; many of these folks would have never dreamt of hiring a lawyer or an accountant. And this is the core of their argument: Technology will democratize expertise, making it available to many more recipients than could ever by curated by 1:1 professional relationships.

Since society created the professional class to codify and distribute professional expertise, shouldnt this trend to democratization be embraced? And since architects design a small percentage of the built environment, isnt this trend, in theory, all for the good? Should architects cede our authority to algorithms, its likely well lose all control and influence over the forces that often reduce great design aspirations to mediocre results. It is difficult to argue, however, that the changes that automation and the resulting process innovation that the Susskinds predict will put great pressure on the role of our profession while simultaneously eliminating the need for broad swaths of production work like working drawings.

How to respond? As far back as Illichs original provocation, architects have decried our diminishing influence while embracing new technologies and their opportunities with at best mild enthusiasm and at worst outright hostility. This wave of automation-innovation will be much more profound than CAD or even BIM. Perhaps it offers a chance to deeply examine the value proposition of architecture and architects, and, using our skills, to design our roles in the future supported and accelerated by new technology rather than, once again, threatened by it.

Read the original:
Thanks to big data, all architects will face a major professional crossroads bigger than CAD or BIM - The Architect's Newspaper

Dennis Drabelle, a former contributing editor of Book World, writes frequently on environmental issues.

As Ken Burns put it in the subtitle of his 2009 documentary on the national parks, they are Americas best idea. In Wonderlandscape, an energetic and insightful new book on Yellowstone, journalist John Clayton shows that, at least as applied to Americas first national park, the best idea has been an evolving one.

Several men claimed to have hatched the notion of designating federal land in Wyoming, Montana and Idaho as a national park. The semiofficial credit the nod given by Yellowstones influential superintendent Horace Albright at the parks 50th birthday party in 1922 went to attorney Cornelius Hedges. In 1870, Hedges took part in a fireside conversation in which several other well-heeled sightseers discussed filing legal claims to the canyons and geysers they had been exploring. As reported by a witness, Hedges argued that there ought to be no private ownership of any portion of that region, but that the whole of it ought to be set apart as a great National Park. He may have had in mind the counterexample of Niagara Falls, its environs already reduced to an international eyesore by commercial greed.

[National Park Service turns 100, and some sites are showing their age]

Clayton calls this anecdote the national parks creation myth. Today many historians believe that Hedges was merely articulating a commonly held view, a previously expressed impulse, to somehow honor this magical land. Two years after Hedgess recommendation, at any rate, Yellowstone National Park was up and running.

Advancing his insight that the story of Yellowstone is the story of what America wants from Yellowstone, Clayton identifies boosting the national ego as a powerful early desire. Scenic marvels such as Yellowstone set the United States apart from gently picturesque Europe. America is special, the reasoning went, because of its wondrous landscapes.

Artists and architects gravitated to Yellowstone with something more personal in mind: challenges and fame. A year before the parks establishment, a painter named Thomas Moran had come into his own there. His watercolors, shipped back to Washington and enlisted in the cause, gave lawmakers a sense of the incomparable scenery they were being asked to save from spoliation by private enterprise. (Morans eventual masterpiece in oil, The Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone, graces the Wonderlandscape cover.)

In a bravura chapter on the parks architecture, Clayton focuses on Old Faithful Inn, designed by Robert Reamer. Although multistory lobbies are quite common today, the author observes, the inns was a huge innovation in 1903: a space so tall and airy that it seemed to be both indoors and outdoors at the same time. So admired was Reamers design that it fathered a new style, known as National Park Service Rustic.

Seven decades after Morans visit, during World War II, another visual artist, the photographer Ansel Adams, arrived with a commission from the federal government and a private agenda. Yellowstone, Adams believed, was being sold to the public as a pleasure ground, whereas to him it was more like a church. Leaving humans out of his shots, he believed that the spiritual validity of wild, beautiful places arose in part from our simplicity of experience in them. That usually meant sacrificing comforts and undergoing difficulties. If this sounds elitist, the pendulum swung the other way a generation later, with the broadcast of the 1960s animated TV series The Yogi Bear Show. Fans of the program flocked to Yellowstone to see the inspiration for Yogis Jellystone. The cartoon bruin, Clayton writes, secured [Yellowstone] for the masses.

By then the masses tended to live in suburbia; accordingly, the Park Service had embarked on Mission 66, a system-wide infrastructure upgrade to make its holdings more car-friendly. At Yellowstone, this entailed the razing of an old hotel and its replacement by motel-style accommodations in an uninspiring location about a mile away. The change, Clayton dryly notes, was poorly received.

Old Faithful and other thermal features are the parks signature attractions, but Clayton fails to do them justice. After reminding us that the park contains nearly one-quarter of all the geysers in the world, he says little about what spawned them. Geologists, too, have wanted something from Yellowstone scientific understanding and Clayton would have done well to tag along with one of them as he investigated the parks innards.

[We must recommit to national parks, Americas cathedrals]

On the other hand, I like the authors frankness. Yellowstone, he admits, is not an illimitable cornucopia of wild splendor. Although [the park] unfolds vast quantities of empty backcountry, much of it is monotonous lodgepole-pine forest. If youre looking for a steady stream of awe-inspiring solitude, he adds, you might try Glacier National Park instead.

Clayton closes his book with a discussion of what might eventually happen to Yellowstone: an eruption of the supervolcano beneath it, a blowup that might conceivably unleash 8,000 times the fury of Mount St. Helens in 1980. The growing concern about such a cataclysm, the author suggests, reflects todays zombie apocalypse mentality. In fairness to the zombies, it should be noted that, in June, tremors felt in Montana suggested that the supervolcano might be waking up from its long nap. In any event, supervolcanic fears nicely round out Claytons thesis that throughout its history, Yellowstone has long been both a showcase of natural extravagance and a cultural construct.

Wonderlandscape

Yellowstone National Park and the Evolution of an American Cultural Icon

By John Clayton

Pegasus. 285 pp. $27.95

See the rest here:
Yellowstone as a magical land and backdrop for artists and architects - Washington Post

COOKFOX, Olson Kundig, Gensler, Kohn Pederson Fox Associates (KPF), and Morris Adjmi Architects, have all been named as some of the nine architects spearheading Water Street Tampa, the$3 billion project that will give the Florida city a skyline.

Spread over nearly50 acres, 18 buildings comprise the scheme which is being backed by Strategic Property Partnersa consortium between Jeff Vinik, who owns NHLs Tampa Bay Lightning, and Bill Gatess Cascade Investment. Though first announced in early July this year, more details, such as the architects involved, have been released.

Heres the $3 billion project that will give Tampa a skyline. Pictured here: A rendering of Water Street Tampa shows what the city will look like in less than 10 years. (Courtesy Strategic Property Partners)

Four New York firms are in on the act.COOKFOX will be designing two buildings: an office and a residential block which will sit atop some retail. KPF has been commissioned for a series of apartments and condominiums which will reside above some retail and a grocery store.Morris Adjmi Architects has scooped arguably the largest commission: a157-key five-star hotel, a range of luxury condos, more apartments, and retail.Gensler, meanwhile, will be behind twooffice over retail projects.

Seattle firmOlson Kundig is also doing a similar project andBaker Barrios, from Orlando, are to design a central cooling facility.Greenery is coming via Tampa-based Alfonso Architects, who are fronting the redevelopment vision for the citys Channelside with a new public park, waterfront shops, and living units. Another Flordian firm, Nichols Brosch Wurst Wolfe & Associates from Coral Gables, are designing a 500-key hotel. Finally, New Haven, Connecticut practice Pickard Chilton are behind three projects that will office and residential over retail.

When finished, Water Street Tampa will boast more than two million square feet of offices. In doing so, the scheme will bring the first new office towers Downtown Tampa has seen in almost 25 years. Located on theGarrison Channel and Hillsborough Bay, the project, according to a press release, intends to bridge the citys cultural landmarks, including the Tampa Convention Center, Amalie Arena (where the Tampa Bay Lightning play), Tampa Bay History Center, and Florida Aquarium. This will be achieved via an array of public parks and spaces that lead to the waterfront where the Tampa Riverwalk, and five-mile-long Bayshore path, can be found.

See original here:
COOKFOX, Olson Kundig, Morris Adjmi, and KPF are among the firms reshaping Tampa's Downtown - The Architect's Newspaper

the daebong-dong commercial project has been carried out on a side road of the old quarter of daegu city, south korea.in 2010, as the korean singer kim gwangseoks streets were being built around, the area became a popular neighborhood where many young people would visit on the weekends. a new cafe street was being formed as the cafes voluntarily entered around the daebong-dong community service center. this trend resembles when, in the mid 2000s, street atmosphere changed as cafes started entering in hapjeong-dong and sangsu-dong, while the business area in hongdae expanded with cafes as well.

the daebong-dong commercial project has been carried out on a side road of the old quarter of daegu city

the legal floor area ratio is 220 %, meaningkorean based 2m2 architects could design a building up to 550 m2on a 4-story scale. however, the project team wanted a building with a floor area of about 200 m2, which is a little different from other building owners. the client, whose purpose is not to pursue rental profit, plans to run a bakery and cafe directly. so, the architects designed a building that does not stand out too much compared to the neighboring buildings, but has its distinct features and can be combined with the neighborhood atmosphere with 1/3 of the legal maximum possible size.

the project team wanted a floor area of about 200 m2, which is a little different from other buildings

usually, a franchise company would have a large floor area, but in a neighborhood that has its own distinct characteristics, 2m2 architects believed that was not the case. so, a large floor was divided into several small spaces. for this purpose, the architects set the basic direction as a skip floor, and it is a two-story building, but it actually became a space of four floors up to the outside deck on the roof. on the same floor, a concrete wall was exposed in the middle and divided it into two parts again. the floor and ceiling finish produces contrasting effects. the first floor was constructed with a wooden herringbone pattern, and the concrete slab and beam are exposed for the ceiling finish. the design team polished the concrete slab on the 2nd floor finishing, allowing the concrete to have its own texture, and the ceiling was finished with a wood loose louver to contrast it. in addition, by installing a skylight, natural light enters the room during the daytime.

the concrete slab is polished on the 2nd floor and the ceiling is finished with a wood loose louver to contrast it

there are many unique cities in korea, which are comparable with other famous cities in the world. there are also many historical towns. over the last few decades, the cities have experienced rapid development and change. as a young architect, lee junghee, founder of 2m2 architects, thinks that there are many roles to bring vitality to each alley in the neighborhood. rather than just designing a building to maximize lease revenue with the logic of capital simply in the understanding and support of the owner, he has designed and supervised in hopes of making a place to be loved by many people who are visiting daebong-dong.

by installing a skylight, natural light enters the room during the daytime

lee junghee, founder of 2m2, thinks that there are many roles to bring vitality to each alley in the neighborhood

the first floor was constructed with a wooden herringbone pattern

on the first floor, a concrete wall was exposed in the middle and divided it into two parts

the wooden louver contrasts with the buildings concrete walls

the architects designed a building that does not stand out too much compared to the neighboring buildings

the client, whose purpose is not to pursue rental profit, plans to run a bakery and cafe directly

2m2 architects has designed in hopes of making a place to be loved by people who are visiting daebong-dong

designboom has received this project from our DIY submissions feature, where we welcome our readers to submit their own work for publication. see more project submissions from our readers here.

edited by: apostolos costarangos | designboom

Read the rest here:
2m2 architects designs korean caf with a skip floor layout and contrasting materials - Designboom

Drawing on the 2014 Case Study House, a new modern showpiece adapts for another partners family.

WHEN YOU BUILD a Case Study home, you pretty much are obligated to study it. (Otherwise, you know, youd just call it a home.)

Youre not obligated to live there, of course, but the architectural partners of BUILD LLC have discovered that design is best studied from the inside. Kevin Eckert and his family lived in BUILDs 2014 Case Study House, a light and bright living laboratory in Seattles Roosevelt neighborhood, and now its Andrew van Leeuwens turn.

His familys 2016 Case Study House is, again, a deliberately, distinctly modern home in an established neighborhood (Tangletown this time).

Established neighbors might have noticed.

The house was a little polarizing, van Leeuwen says. But everybodys been kind and honest. One couple walked by, and you could tell what was coming. They asked me first: What do you think? I said, Its coming along. Dare I ask what you think? They said: We hear youre very nice people. I appreciate the honesty. As a modern architect, Im fully aware its not for everybody.

Along with serving as a showcase for clients, this particular modern home is designed to work for this particular modern family: van Leeuwen lives here with his wife, Angela Nelson; their 6-year-old son, Parker; daughter Kennedy, 4; and Nelsons mother, Helen. She lives in a fully independent, but beautifully integrated, accessory dwelling unit (ADU) on the lower level.

The primary motivations for the home were to bring three generations of family together and provide sensible density to the city, van Leeuwen says. Seattle is so expensive; solutions are more and more important. The fact that we put an apartment in this house for minimal additional construction costs is a huge deal. Its been a paradigm shift for my little family, and its been pretty awesome to see daily interaction between grandchildren and grandparent.

New element number one, then: sweet success from the get-go. Elsewhere, design decisions informed by the 2014 home continue to evolve:

Please enjoy our stairs: While the open-tread staircase served as an interior focal point in the 2014 home, We wanted to take this design element a step further and share it with the neighborhood, van Leeuwen says. A striking geometry is created when viewed in elevation, and the CSH2016 allows the passer-by to view the entire stair column illuminated at night via wall-mounted tread lights.

Speaking of lights: The 2014 home designated space in the common area for a desk, but van Leeuwens devotes an entire room to a fully enclosed office and art studio. We took an honest look at our lifestyle and, for better or worse, concluded that we work most evenings, he says (Nelson works for Microsoft). Its a space we enjoy close enough to keep an eye on our kids, plus a connection with the neighborhood: The office is perched above the entry and acts as a beacon with its illuminated floor-to-ceiling glass walls. Its a bit of an aquarium, a glowing corner at night.

Way more wood: Cedar was an element, but not a huge element, in 2014. Here, though, We wanted to think of the cedar as a volume; it wraps the entry and office beacon above, van Leeuwen says. Because the cedar siding defines these volumes, it extends inside, flanking the stairway and enclosing the office. The glowing cedar becomes a design feature both inside and out.

Back to the drawing board: Eckerts 2014 kitchen welcomed natural limestone countertops lots of personality, van Leeuwen says, but also lots of weathering and staining. Kevins kids are older, he says. They dont have magic-marker parties anymore. We needed something bulletproof. To the rescue: polished Cascade White PentalQuartz.

Not a lot of lot: The 2014 site had room for a backyard artist studio, but van Leeuwens oddly shaped lot, at just 4,300 square feet, was considerably more challenging. Fitting this house on this site was like squeezing a square peg into a rhombus hole, he says. The footprint created slivers, so landscape architect Shaney Clemmons shaped one into an outdoor room of hardscapes and garden spaces, with a vertical green wall. Specific plants and arrangements were chosen to encourage interaction between our children and their grandmother: picking strawberries on the vertical garden, harvesting blueberries at the retaining wall and growing food in the edible garden, van Leeuwen says.

Sometimes, as with the inverted floor plan, the clearest lesson was: Lets do that again. The 2014 and 2016 Case Study homes both have awesome hatch-accessed rooftop decks, slatted cabinetry in the living areas, interior glass sliding doors, grasscrete driveways, and plane- and quarter-sawn oak hardwood floors.

Its validating, van Leeuwen says. There is an answer to how we design. If you take all the considerations of both houses, were getting very close to the solution.

The experiment continues in Ballard with BUILDs newest living laboratory, Case Study House 2017: It will have a detached ADU with its own garage.

See more here:
BUILD architects live and learn - Seattle Times

AtThe Architects Newspaper, were plain addicted to Instagram. Sure, we love seeing Brutalist concrete through Inkwell or Ludwig filters, but theres also no better place to see where architects are getting their inspiration, how theyre documenting the built environment, andwhere theyve traveled of late.

Below, we bring you some of the best Instagrams of this past week! (Also, dont forget to check out our Instagram accounthere.)

OMAs European Instagram account teased its nearly-complete Lab City at the UniversitParis-Saclaysee their account for more pictures.

Were not sure if this is ArandaLaschs drone or not, but either way, the firm was there to capture this flying machine drift toward the sunset.

Its what it wanted.

A post shared by ArandaLasch, NYC & Tucson (@arandalasch) on Aug 23, 2017 at 4:49am PDT

We missed this last week, but T+E+A+M teased its project (#ghostbox?) for the upcoming Chicago Architecture Biennial.

3XN revealed this design for a childrens hospital that will feature both solar panels and vegetation on its roof, along with what appears to be some very colorful cladding.

Last but not least, Cooper Robertson gave The Architects Newspaper a nice shout-out for our coverage of their Las Vegas streetscape design (thank you!). Read how this project is part of the citys big gamble on sports, conventions, and leisure.

More:
Flying a drone at the Salk Institute and other updates from the architects of Instagram - The Architect's Newspaper

TNA the tokyo-based firm led by makoto takei and chie nabeshima is the latest architecture studio to reveal plans for a residence to be built in the spanish region of matarraa. following in the footsteps of office KGDVS, pezo von ellrichshausen, and johnston marklee, the scheme forms part of christian bourdais solo houses project and initiative that asks a new wave of architecture practices to populate the remote spanish landscape with small resort-style dwellings.

all images courtesy of makoto takei + chie nabeshima / TNA

makoto takei and chie nabeshimas design for solo houses appears as an upside down concrete pyramid that has been partially sunken into the rural terrain. large apertures provide the home with daylight and ventilation, while internal living spaces are organized around a series of mezzanines or platforms, set at different heights. as the property is embedded into the sloping topography, guests enter at the dwellings intermediate storey an elevated platform that overlooks the dining area below.

an elevated platform overlooks the dining area below

at this lower level, a large window overlooks the surrounding forest, while a passageway provides access to the adjacent kitchen and pantry. another staircases leads to a separate mezzanine, which hosts a living room that also overlooks the level below. three bedrooms are joined by a lounge at the larger uppermost storey, with all four rooms sharing a direct connection with a centrally positioned swimming pool. see other designs unveiled as part of the solo houses initiative here.

the design appears as an upside down concrete pyramid image sadao hotta

large windows would overlook the surrounding forest image sadao hotta

site plan

floor plans

floor plans

section

Save

Save

Save

Save

Save

Save

philip stevens I designboom

aug 25, 2017

View original post here:
makoto takei + chie nabeshima unveil an inverted pyramidal structure to be built in rural spain - Designboom

When Karen Clark ventures down to one of the three basements of the Logan Library, she always makes sure someone knows where she is. She fears falling down the old concrete stairs and waiting days for someone to find her.

Clark, the library director, heads below on a daily basis to check on the decades-old mechanical equipment that keeps the library running. If the green lights are flashing, thats a good sign.

You have to come down and make sure that everything is working, that youre getting heating and cooling, she said.

She makes sure no alarms are going off and crouches under air ducts to make sure there isnt flooding. On Thursday, a small pool of water had formed next to a sump pump. She said water had seeped in from the irrigation system.

I just have to watch; usually this water dries up, but it takes a while, Clark said.

The flooding hasnt been too bad since they installed the two sump pumps, but at its worst Clark, a 20-year Logan Library veteran, said the water has gone just above her ankles.

Youll notice that everything is up on pallets because the basement floods, Clark said. A lot.

The majority of this particular basement is filled with cardboard boxes containing the Everton Collection. According to a 2005 Herald Journal article, its one of the largest genealogical collections in the country, with 82,000 pieces from different states and foreign countries.

The two other basements are completely disconnected and accessible from opposite ends of the building. They are smaller, used for storage and rarely visited.

According to Logan Mayor Craig Petersen, the library is a conglomeration of six buildings dating back to the 1930s. One section was a dance hall, then Sears Roebuck bought the whole structure. Under the direction of Mayor Newell Daines in the 1980s, the building was converted into a combined city hall and library.

In 2009, the new city hall building was built, and the library took up the entire building.

The facility was never designed for Library use, Petersen wrote in an email. As a result, the space cant be efficiently used.

On the main floor, Clark points up to the ceiling panels where water stains are common. Most library goers probably miss the blue recycling bins that sit atop some of the bookshelves in the adult non-fiction sections, ready to catch drips of rainwater.

We dont even keep books up there because weve lost a lot of collection, she said.

Its worse during the winter, she said. Water freezes and clogs the drain and standing water seeps in through the ceiling.

Looking down, the childrens section has relatively new carpet, but Clark said the carpet in the adult wing is from 1986 and has never been replaced.

We cant even clean it because the cleaners worry about it disintegrating, she said.

A closer look at the flooring shows multiple materials and levels. Clark stepped on a creaking panel where her office used to be before city hall vacated the building in 2009.

Logan Municipal Councilman Tom Jensen, an architect by trade who has worked on libraries, said a number of studies have found that the windows, roof and mechanical system are failing, as well as problems with the flooring and the different foundations from several old structures.

The floor, sometimes youre walking on concrete, sometimes youre walking on plywood with carpet over, Jensen said. Its functionally obsolete, and the systems are seriously in need of replacing.

Another well-kept secret at the Logan Library is the completely unused second floor. Up the staircase the former offices of the mayor, finance department, city attorney and other staff sit vacant.

Now we have a whole upstairs we cant even use, she said.

There is no elevator going to the second floor, no access for people with disabilities and the floors arent heavy-duty enough to hold stacks of books. So it remains unused.

I could have (my office) up here, but then Id have to run down the stairs every time somebody asks me a question, Clark said.

Higher still, on the roof, the air conditioning fans broke last summer forcing the library to close for a week. Clark said the fans broke, and since the unit is so old, the parts arent made anymore so they had to be custom made.

Similarly, Clark said replacement parts for the freight elevator that connects the main basement to the main floor arent made anymore.

As Logan weighs the pros and cons of building a new 21st century library and community center or remodeling the current building, the choice is a no-brainer for Clark. When she hears people say the city doesn't need a new library, she said she feels sad and disappointed.

The new library is not going to be like this, she said. Its going to have so much more availability than what we can offer right now.

If the existing library was remodeled, Clark said she wonders what would happen during the construction process.

Would we have to close for two years? Clark said. Would the remodeling be so much that we had to shut down and not have the library and wait two years while it gets fixed?

In the process of considering the option of building a new library or remodeling the current building, Kent Craven, a registered architect with local firm Design West, wrote a memo detailing some observations about the existing building.

He concluded that the concrete post and beam structure in the main basement limits remodel goals. Mold seems to be present as well as the possibility of asbestos. The building needs new windows. Most of the mechanical systems would need to be replaced. The existing electrical and alarm system would require major replacement or an upgrade.

The memo states three factors that trigger a decision to take a serious look at an aging facility: health and safety deficiencies, outdated building systems and program changes.

All three factors are considered high for the existing library, Craven wrote.

The rule of thumb in the industry is if a remodel costs 65 percent of a new building, its not worth it. Craven calculated that a remodel could cost anywhere between 75 percent to 86 percent of a new building.

Even if it was remodeled, Craven wrote that the building would still be less environmentally efficient, less safe, less sustainable, less appealing, have a shorter life cycle and would be less responsive to the needs of a 21st century library.

You could spend $7 to $9 million dollars to patch up a building that would be functionally still obsolete, Councilman Jensen said. Or you could spend slightly more to have a building that was functional and new and would have much lower energy cost.

Its not just our library its everyones library, Clark said.

Read the original post:
Remodel the library? Experts say it's functionally obsolete - The Herald Journal

SEATTLE Jeff Pelletier approached the achy Queen Anne Craftsman like a skilled orthopedic surgeon, noting the age of the patient, assessing her weary bones and ultimately knocking her out and opening her up.

This was a major operation.

This is the first home for Kaitlyn and Jason Tamulonis, and its an old one, built in 1904. They loved its walkable neighborhood, its proximity to family and its charming aesthetic, but it had been limping along with painfully poor circulation since an unfortunate remodeling incident in the 1980s.

Assorted ailments included a sunken family-room addition that was like two separate homes next to each other; an enormous master bath with no shower; a massive master bedroom with no closets; and a series of really tiny, closed-off rooms, said architect Pelletier, of Board & Vellum.

A lot of older homes typically have large, open spaces; this was the most cramped house Ive ever worked on, he said. Early on, like a ball of string, we could slowly pull it all out and have it make sense. We tried to keep what we could, but the whole house was gutted.

And now its cured, thanks to the fusion of a strong, central spine: One single staircase.

The biggest problem was staircases everywhere: The front stair was like a dollhouse staircase, super-tiny; the one to the basement was like a ramp; and the addition had two staircases to the basement, Pelletier said. The staircase kind of designed the house. Solving the stair problem allowed everything else to happen.

Lots happened. By opening up the main floor, we created a grand space for entertaining, a quiet window seat off the entry and a generous mudroom at the back entrance, Pelletier said. The addition a few steps lower than the kitchen is now better integrated with the rest of the home. The house now has three full levels of living space, including a finished basement and second-floor master suite. Outside, theres a new front porch, an enlarged upper deck and a coordinating new two-car garage in back.

The result: Beautiful, updated balance that works for the way a young family lives (Jason and Kaitlyn have a baby daughter, Julia, and a fuzzy pup, Kascade).

When youre planning, you look at compromises, Pelletier says. How do you turn whats there into opportunity? What battles do you fight? The goal was to have it all make sense, on a budget.

Smaller things made a big difference, Jason said. The upstairs front bedroom was slightly massaged and enlarged just enough after an earlier staircase vacated, says Pelletier, creating breathing room for a cozy nook.

Downstairs, expanded window wells pour light into Jasons office; a guest bedroom; and a big, open play area, where once there were crowded bedrooms, a utility space and a bizarre little bathroom aka, not a space you wanted to hang out, Pelletier said.

Off the family room, a mysteriously sited tall shower made way for a lovely mudroom, with built-in cubbies stuffed with baby and dog gear. And the newly proportional master suite gained a lovely shower and closet space.

Aside from that one critical, fully exposed staircase, Kaitlyn said, We dont feel like we splurged a lot. We got everything done in one go, with everything baby-friendly.

Like any professional with a first do no harm outlook, Pelletier is thrilled to have had a go at rejuvenation in the first place.

As first-time homebuyers, instead of tearing it down and building a box, they kept the bones that were there, he said. I love to remodel older homes. So many are chopped off. Theyre not sustainable. I feel like this remodel lasts another 100 years. The bones of the home are right now.

2017 The Seattle Times. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency LLC

Continue reading here:
A Seattle Craftsman gets a major remodel - The Exponent Telegram (press release) (registration)

The Collinsville Library has a new and improved look and updated features thanks to a major remodeling project that was carried out this month.

Branch Manager Rhonda Weldon said the upgrades came on the heels of the library celebrating the centennial of its opening as a Carnegie-grant institution in July.

The renovation, I think its an extension of our 100th anniversary celebration, she said. It was basically just time for a facelift we just needed a little sprucing up, really.

The scope of the project, which took place August 7-20, involved adding new technology, stripping and refinishing the floors, repainting all the walls, adding shelves and rearranging the layout to make more room for patrons.

Library staff also organized and expanded its media center and childrens book section, as well as created a new nook for kids to play and read together.

The library, were the hub of the community in many ways, Weldon said. The fact that were open again in time for school, thats really important.

One of the major changes carried out during the remodel was removing the main desk and replacing it with two digital self-check machines for customers to use for all library services.

The Collinsville branch is the first in the entire Tulsa City-County Library system to incorporate these high-tech devices, which offer a one-stop shop for patrons to check in and out, browse titles, pay fines, renew their account and more at their leisure.

Weldon said the reason for adopting the new technology was to continue to stay relevant in the digital age by embracing a customer-focused service model.

The customers who need to come in, pick up library materials, check out and go on with their day can do so without needing to wait on a library staff person to be available, she said.

Other structural renovations included replacing the deteriorating concrete steps at the north entry, excavating around the perimeter of the building to install new basement waterproofing and a French drain, and installing new high-efficiency air conditioners in the basement meeting room.

Read the original post:
Collinsville Library reopens after major remodel with improved look, updated features - Tulsa World