The traditional center of the home is the hearth. There are lots of design features in this fireplaces that make it a focal point of of the home. In this video, we follow it from start to finish.
The Fireplace
Creating the Eyebrow Arch
I've always loved the "eyebrow" form in buildings. It's a three centered arch with gentle curves, here forming and archway which is quite large yet welcoming and not overly grand. Our curve is formed by three layers of decorative woodwork and a gutter that curves vertically. A gutter like this is a special fabrication built in Atlanta which had to exactly match and perfectly offset the curves of the woodwork. With a little luck, it looks easy.
The Gambrel Roof, a Brief History
Here's a roof type that can be seen throughout the older cities as well as rural areas: the gambrel roof. With the availability of long straight roofing materials today, the gambrel is a stylistic statement that is softer and less tall than a conventional straight pitch with the same span. But it's roots are in a time where materials were used more judiciously and it balanced efficiency and aesthetics. This video explores this roof style's history and how we build it today.
The Kitchen Hood
The hood is one of the most complex components in the house to get built. It has decorative metal work, cabinetry, electrical, duct work, co-ordination with tile, framing, duct work and exhaust equipment. Getting the metal work fabricated had lots of interesting twists and turns. The corners bend in two directions and having them fabricated seemed to stump everyone. I have a custom metal shop that just finished the huge bronze doors for the Barnes Foundation but couldn't seem to figure this out. I found a fabricator of curved metal who could make the thing in stainless steel with their rolling equipment, but not brass due to the softness of the metal. My copper fabricator in Atanta that made the curved gutters over the porte cochere wanted to mill each side with a CNC mill and braze it up into the double curve. I seemed to keep repeating my speech to each new metals fabricator: this is blacksmithing, not rocket science. As you see in the video, I had fabricated a curved jig to use for this purpose. I got into a discussion about this with my excavator, a jack of all trades type who said "I can do that". Took it home and brought it back the next day: perfect!
Kitchen Design and Construction
Creating Vaulted Ceilings
Creating these ceilings requires careful interaction between ourselves as designers and the tradesmen who fabricate them. We supply the calculations and detailed drawings then help layout the work in the field. By translating the design intentions, the carpenters are empowered to fill in the work accurately.
Thoughts on Design/Build
There is joy in seeing a project from concept through construction. From working with clients on the creative aspects of the architectural work, bringing in the expertise and creativity of engineers and special consultants that support and challenge the design, to working with craftsmen from the first shovel and the client's first blush of excitement, through snow, mud and sometimes perfect sunshine; the grind of schedules and co-ordination, until the sudden sunrise of completion. The smell of freshly turned earth mixed, wet concrete and sawdust is every bit as heady as the cerebral pursuits of design and engineering. Client's and tradesmen's paths may cross just once in a life time and each is richer for it. When we are able to bring good people together in the cause of a lasting outcome, it's a subtle thrill and privilege.
Personally, I am as happy drawing a landscape design in the mud as on a computer. A great day for me is standing on a ladder with a laser and a marker sketching trim and cabinetry on plywood and framing. ​No matter how good the craftsmen or how technologically perfect the drawings and management, good work requires this more often than not.
Discussing the Design
Here is a video presentation of the design: from the first input from the clients through its final configuration. The video was recorded prior to the start of construction
