08/24/2010
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Blogs
Architect Magazine 2010 R&D Award for R-House
08/17/2010
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DB and ARO were honored with a 2010 R&D Award from Architect Magazine for R-House, in Syracuse. You can see the entire list of winners (and slideshows of winning projects) here. Congrats to our colleagues.
Public Relations
08/16/2010
Nothing deceptive about the blog post, rather this is simply an update on press we have gotten recently, mostly across the blogosphere and Twitterverse. Thanks to ArchDaily for featuring 459 West 18th Street and Copper House, and to Paul McGinnis for investigating R-House at The New York Green Advocate. And thanks to all of those who tweeted about or linked to the pieces.One clarification: In his article Paul refers to a pre-fab Passivhaus for Hometta, but that isn't the case yet with our design. We are desiging a house involving PH principles and Hometta doesn't sell pre-fab houses but rather house plans. Regardless, we are very thankful for Paul's devotion to the cause and for featuring our project.
Follow the Bouncing Ball
08/16/2010
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Architects often search for the poetic amidst the pragmatic, or attempt to overlay meaning upon that which may not deserve any. Too often designers struggle to make something more than it is (we are not excluded, of course - after all we want to believe that what we do matters). A trip to Queens yesterday yielded an idiosyncratic moment, an experience of effortless emotion, of sheer joy, directly attributable to architecture.
PS1's "Pole Dance" installation, by Dumbo's SO-IL, was the catalyst. Though quiet on a gray Sunday afternoon, the courtyard at PS1 was 90% smiling, with only two people looking self-serious (perhaps there was a break-up going on, or a discussion of Derridean non-certainty sparked by colorful beach balls). Our kids loved it, but they were not the only ones. We adults couldn't stop playing either. It is a rare piece of architecture that actually makes one happy. Comfortable, sure. Inspired - sometimes. But happy? Not always. We imagine that the process of designing and making "Pole Dance" was a hoot, though not as much of a hoot as actually getting to shake, rattle, and roll in it.
Bravo, SO-IL.
The City We Imagined/The City We Made
08/12/2010
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The Architectural League's excellent exhibit "The City We Imagined/The City We Made", currently showing on Governor's Island (and designed by the uber-talented brothers Granger and Robert Moorhead), closes up this weekend. If you can make it out you should. Full disclosure: The picture below (as well as seven others of ours) are in the show, we were proud to have been selected for inclusion. A database of thousands of images contributed by volunteer photographers can be viewed here, and even a casual scan is well worth the effort -- there are many gorgeous and compelling shots.
Construction - Lightbox
08/05/2010
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Another site visit, another step towards completion. More painting done, floor finishing, additional Cor-Ten installation, stucco on the exterior ramada. The ramada has a very large and dramatic cantilever, engineered (as was the entire house) by our friend Nat Oppenheimer at Robert Silman Associates. More pictures after the jump.
Construction - Lightbox
07/26/2010
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We inch closer and closer to completion...Painting has started, decorative metalwork has been installed, and the Cor-Ten steel for the exterior has finally arrived and is going in. A couple of additional pictures after the jump.
DomaineLA Site Visit
07/23/2010
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We spent Wednesday out at DomaineLA, helping Jill (our sister and also the knowledgable proprietor of the store) with some additional design tasks - pending Los Angeles approvals there will soon be a tasting bar at the shop. It was our first visit to the store since it had been completed, a mere 10 months late! The contractor, Hinerfeld-Ward, did a great job, as did Helander, the metal spinner who fabricated the decorative ceiling fixtures. We capped the visit with a meal at opening night of star chef Ludovic Lefebvre's sensational "Ludobites 5.0" -- Jill has provided wine pairings to Ludo and Krissy in the past. For those in LA who have had the good fortune to procure a reservation, her recommended pairings for the current version are here. We were also able to take some new pictures, which are attached to this post and on the Domaine project page.
DB and Hometta
07/23/2010
Hometta, the Texas-based website that sells modern house plans, is expanding their roster of participating architects. As there are many notable firms providing designs (including our friends at LTL and fellow Dumbo denizens nARCHITECTS), we were obviously eager to contribute to their second round of submissions. Look for plans and images of the house sometime in the Fall (or as they become presentable).You can follow Hometta on Twitter, as well.
YouTubin' R-House
07/20/2010
Here's a video about R-House up in Syracuse featuring DB Studio Director Garrick Jones, Mike Hughes of Home Headquarters, David White of Right Environments, and Kevin Stack of Northeast Natural Homes. It's a nice summary of what has gone into R-House from a design and technical standpoint.
Vitale. Brian Vitale.
07/15/2010
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Ok, so occasionally we'll use this soapbox to talk about someone other than ourselves, as tough as that may be. Today it's Brian Vitale, a schoolmate and close friend of ours from Washington University. Brian is currently the Design Director at the Chicago office of Gensler, and he is the hand behind their beautiful "Museum of Bond Vehicles and Espionage" in Momence, Illinois.
R-House Energy Monitoring
07/13/2010
Up in Syracuse R-House has made it through testing for air infiltration and these measurements are enough to to eventually obtain Passivhaus certification, a big step. Marie Morelli has more information on the energy monitoring and the progress of the three FTGU houses at Syracuse.com.
R-House Syracuse - More Photos
07/02/2010
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Street view (and no, the Syracuse landscape isn't black and white)
As promised, some additional photography from Garrick's visit to the site yesterday. As the photos show, the interior is fully insulated (the insulation is 16" deep with a value of approximately R-70) and they are almost ready to sheetrock the interior. The house next door, TED by Onion Flats, is mostly clad, while R-House should be done in a week to ten days.
R-House Syracuse - Update
07/01/2010
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DB Studio Director Garrick Jones is up in Syracuse today and sends along a picture of the aluminum siding installation at R-House. The siding was fabricated by LITSCO and is stucco embossed mill-finish aluminum. The protruding piece of flashing that runs mid-elevation is being cut back slightly to reduce its prominence, and the house should be fully clad within days. More pictures from the visit when Garrick returns, potentially some from a device other than Garrick's pinhole phonecam.
Lightbox Progress - 6.28.2010
06/29/2010
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Some more progress at Lightbox. This week saw the installation of the Cedar ceiling in the main living/dining room, Beech flooring, more sheetrock work, radiant heating, and an Ikea kitchen.The kitchen is white, by the way, not white and blue. Though we do like the color of the protective film!
R-House Progress
06/17/2010
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Photo by David Lassman, Syracuse Post Standard
An update from Syracuse - R-House is getting very close to adhering to the air infiltration requirements for Passivhaus acceptance. Head to the Syracuse Post Standard for a full update on all three houses under construction.
Lightbox Progress
06/15/2010
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Master bedroom skylight
Some images from today's visit to Lightbox, in the Hamptons. Progress included the concrete pour on the ground floor, roofing on the photography studio and window/door installation, and continued GWB work.
Site Visit
06/09/2010
DB Studio Director Garrick Jones is on-site in Syracuse today to review the cladding details, so R-House should be getting wrapped up, quite literally, over the next two weeks. Pictures to follow.
Syracuse Progress
06/06/2010
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From a couple of weeks ago at The Architects Newspaper, Matt Chaban links over to Syracuse.com and their update on the From the Ground Up construction. The work is moving fast on our house, designed in collaboration with ARO, along with the houses by Cook+Fox and Onion Flats.
Almost there!
DB on Facebook
06/06/2010
A reminder that we have a Facebook page, so if you are a member of the community surf over and follow us there.
Welcome
06/03/2010
We are happy to say that with the assistance of the supremely talented Jochen Hartmann (and with the foundational inspiration of the brilliant chaps at the MAP Office), we have re-launched a new website and blog. We will continually update the site with new projects, press clippings, and announcements about our firm.