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APRIL 2023
DEPARTMENTS
BUILDING TYPE STUDY 1,052
14 EDITOR’S LETTER RECORD HOUSES
19 NEWSMAKER: 2023 Pritzker Laureate 64 Introduction 90 Shaw Residence, Fayetteville,
David Chipperfield By Josephine Minutillo Arkansas MARLON BLACKWELL
66 Four Roof House, Helmville,
25 TRIBUTE: Rafael Viñoly (1944–2023) Montana T.W. RYAN ARCHITECTURE ARCHITECTS By Michael Cockram
By Rodolfo Machado & Jorge Silvetti By Leopoldo Villardi 96 House Six, Berkshire County,
29 TRIBUTE: A. Eugene Kohn (1930–2023) Massachusetts EASTON COMBS
72 House Between Forest & Field,
By Clifford A. Pearson ARCHITECTS By Laura Raskin
Dutchess County, New York
33 PRODUCTS: Paints & Coatings NARCHITECTS By Linda C. Lentz 102 Saltmarsh House, Isle of Wight,
United Kingdom NÍALL MCLAUGHLIN
34 PRODUCTS: Surfaces 78 Enso House II, San Miguel de
ARCHITECTS By Chris Foges
43 GUESS THE ARCHITECT Allende, Mexico HW STUDIO
By James Gauer 108 Nebo House, McDowell County,
46 CLOSE UP: Cultural Center, Ishinomaki, North Carolina FULLER/OVERBY
Japan SOU FUJIMOTO ARCHITECTS 84 Hill House, Lakeville, Connecticut
ARCHITECTURE By Clifford A. Pearson
JOEB MOORE & PARTNERS
By Naomi Pollock, FAIA
By Suzanne Stephens
53 INTERIOR: House on the Park, Toronto
SUPERKÜL By Alex Bozikovic

59 LANDSCAPE: Matagouri House, Otago, BOOKS 117 CONTINUING EDUCATION:

New Zealand FEARON HAY ARCHITECTS Defining Sustainability
By Sarah Amelar 36 Manual of Biogenic House Sections, ARCHITECTS GRAPPLE WITH THE LACK OF
by Paul Lewis, Marc Tsurumaki, and CONSISTENT TERMINOLOGY FOR BUILDING
PERFORMANCE By Justin R. Wolf
David Lewis Reviewed by Fred Bernstein
COVER: HILL HOUSE, LAKEVILLE, CONNECTICUT. BY JOEB
MOORE & PARTNERS. PHOTO © DAVID SUNDBERG/ESTO. 38 Residentialism: A Suburban
Archipelago, by Lina Malfona 139 Dates & Events
THIS PAGE: CULTURAL CENTER, ISHINOMAKI, JAPAN. BY SOU
Reviewed by Franco Purini 144 SNAPSHOT: Curtain House,
FUJIMOTO ARCHITECTS. PHOTO © MASAKI IWATA. Milwaukee JOHNSEN SCHMALING
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9
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 From the EDITOR

The Power of Architecture

THE ANNOUNCEMENT in early March that David Chipperfield
had been named the 2023 Pritzker laureate sent a clear message:
Architecture matters. While in service of broader societal goals, archi-
tecture remains committed to the formal, spatial, and material means
through which it communicates. Spaces can inspire awe. Landmarks
bring history to life, and carry that history into the future. To represent
society in its broadest sense means to do so by translating it into archi-
tectural form.
In my conversation with Chipperfield (page 19), the 52nd Pritzker
laureate calls for architects to embrace this sense of agency. “We can
regain territory that we’ve lost,” he said. “We can regain it if we remind
everybody that the principal concerns of architecture are to improve our
environment and quality of life, and that we should use all our skills and
tricks to do that.”
Chipperfield’s point is well taken, as we are reminded in our tributes
to two towering figures in the profession we lost in March. Rafael Viñoly
(page 25) and KPF cofounder Gene Kohn (page 29) understood the
power of architecture not only to give shape to buildings, but also to
transform cities.
While these particular architects have dealt with large-scale cultural
and commercial endeavors, no type of architecture touches our everyday lives more than the design of
houses. This year’s Record Houses (beginning on page 64) gives renewed attention to the pitched roof
as a more-popular-than-ever component of residential architecture that transcends the traditional, the
Modern, and even the Postmodern. It has come to symbolize “home.” The gable roof on the cover,
rendered in an Asplund-like austerity, belongs to a Connecticut residence designed by Joeb Moore &
Partners. Other pitched forms in Montana, New York, and England are executed with striking variety.
The gable need not just signify a single-family house: Japanese architect Sou Fujimoto has used
that simple shape in multiple ways to create larger institutional buildings that have a sense of the
familiar. Most recently, he aligned 20 blocks, some peaked, others rectangular, in a 558-foot-long
row for the Ishinomaki Cultural Center (page 44), of which an early sketch is included below.
Another point could be made about this annual Record Houses issue. Most of the firms are receiving
this honor for the first time: Among those are Joeb Moore & Partners, as well as nARCHITECTS
(for its first-ever house); Fuller/Overby (for its first-ever ground-up project); London-based Níall
McLaughlin (who last year won the Stirling Prize for a new library at Magdalene College in

IMAGES: © JILLIAN NELSON (TOP); COURTESY SOU FUJIMOTO ARCHITECTS (BOTTOM)

Cambridge); the young Mexican firm HW Studio; and Easton Combs (a 2012 Record Design
Vanguard). There are recidivists: Marlon Blackwell, the 2020 AIA Gold Medalist, had his first
Record House published in 1991. Some 30 years later, he won a second time, by exploring the
courtyard house with intriguing results. And this is the second time within the last three years that
T.W. Ryan Architecture, a young three-person studio, has a Record House.
In each case, the design of these houses was a chance for its architects—both young and not so
young—to experiment. Experiments and experiences that will no doubt inform bigger projects.
And, who knows? Among them may be a future Pritzker Prize–winner . . .

Josephine Minutillo, Editor in Chief

14 ARCHITECTURAL RECORD APRIL 2023

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Turner Contemporary, Margate, UK (2011).

David Chipperfield Wins the 2023 Pritzker Prize

PHOTOGRAPHY: COURTESY SIMON MENGES

In March, Sir David Alan Chipperfield was How do you feel about winning the Pritzker? don’t work to get prizes. However, they’re very
announced as this year’s winner of the Pritzker Happy. Yes. And relief. nice when they come along.
Prize. The British-born Chipperfield, 69—the
52nd Pritzker laureate—was lauded for his With the unexpected choices of Pritzker If your selection sends a message about
subdued yet powerful and elegant work, and as laureates in the last few years, did you think architecture, what would the message be?
an architect who demonstrates a reverence for that this was an award that might elude you? Don’t give up! No, I don’t know. I would
history and culture while honoring the preexisting I expect all awards to elude me. I’m sur- hope it’s that I’ve tried to run a critical practice
built and natural environments. Chipperfield prised when they don’t. I thought maybe I’d that attempts to be relevant, yet operates in a
spoke about those aspects of his work with lost the moment—after the Neues Museum, commercial environment. We’re not an “artistic
record editor in chief Josephine Minutillo. there was a lot of chat about Pritzker. We practice,” but we want to establish an attitude

19
 Record NEWSMAKER

Athens was certainly a nice compensation

after a rather uncomfortable professional
experience at the Met—one of the most un-
comfortable professional experiences I’ve had.
The project in Athens is a fantastic com-
mission, and it was interesting to find out
about the other runners. The stakes were high,
so I was very happy that our project was cho-
sen very much for our values, such as trying to
be extremely responsible to the urban situa-
tion, to the existing building, to the collection,
and to the whole idea of what we might add to
the city and to the institution.
Architecture is a method of doing some-
thing. It’s not the thing itself. And it was very
reassuring to realize that the unanimity of our
selection was very much based on understand-
ing, and, in a way, promoting, the values we
express in the project. It wasn’t a beauty pa-
rade where we were lucky that someone said,
“I think this was nicer than the other ones.”

about professional and intellectual qualities. ing because of the image, not because they There is a classicism that you bring to archi-
have actually been there. tecture, or perhaps a regard for the canon. Is
With regard to creating good architecture some of that getting lost today or considered
and having a successful practice, you have It was just announced that you got a very too conservative?
achieved both. How is that possible with sought-after commission to expand the Conservative with a small “c” is perfectly
offices in so many places all over the world? National Archaeological Museum in acceptable. It’s a very unfashionable title in a
All architects want to choose their proj- Athens. Yet you also lost the job you previ- profession that has been motivated by innova-
ects, because, by selecting certain ones, you ously held, to design the modern and con- tion integral to the Modern movement, where
might control the potential outcome and temporary wing at the Metropolitan Muse- architecture was part of the new world.
quality. And by working with certain typolo- um in New York. What do you make of this? By the time we got to the 1980s, when I was
gies, you stay away from the messy business of
commerce and all that sort of grubby stuff.
Nevertheless, I’ve always felt that our
office should get our hands dirty and try not
only to do museums and public works, where,
obviously, we have been happy and successful,
but also to try to get involved in more general
concerns of architectural production.

You are incredibly well known for doing

museums, which has been the gold standard
of architectural commissions. Is this percep-
tion old-fashioned?
Look, museums are great commissions,
because we can concentrate on qualities that we
hold very dear—space, light, material, and the
overall experience of architecture. On the other
hand, museum design over the last few decades
has also become part “branding,” in the way
museums attempt to reposition themselves.
And that’s a slippery slope. There’s nothing
wrong with it, but it’s a part of the shift of
architecture over the last 30 or 40 years, from
something which is very much about sub-
stance and experience towards something
The Hepworth Wakefield, West Yorkshire, UK (2011).
which is slightly more dominated by image
and identity. Sometimes people love a build-

20 ARCHITECTURAL RECORD APRIL 2023

 trained, that vision had slightly been lost, and
we ended up in a Postmodern condition. In
this current situation, the idea of progress,
innovation, and novelty are ambitions to be
checked—or at least there’s a question about
what progress is and what innovation is.
Innovative ideas do not necessarily create
something that looks different; they can actu-
ally be based on habits that we are re-adopting.
The real challenge is to think harder about
where we build, what we build, and not just
trying to mitigate the consequences of build-
ing. So we have to question some of those
things. And in that process, I would have to
say, flamboyant architecture is starting to
look a little bit less attractive.

You’re probably in the unique position of

being a Pritzker laureate who has worked
for two other Pritzker laureates—Norman
Foster and Richard Rogers. They have been
known as instigators of the futuristic archi-
tecture that is very unlike what you do.
What did you learn from them?
The early work of both of Foster and Rogers
was not only about technology, it was about a
social idea. Pompidou Center [by Rogers and
Renzo Piano] in Paris is the last great radical
building, in my opinion. And not because they
put the air-conditioning on the outside. It was
radical because a firm of young architects tried
to completely redescribe the relationship be-
tween a cultural institution and society.
If you think about Norman Foster’s early
projects, the Willis Faber building in Ipswich,
PHOTOGRAPHY: COURTESY THE HYATT FOUNDATION/THE PRITZKER ARCHITECTURE PRIZE (OPPOSITE, TOP);

England, which I very much admire, was an

office building where he persuaded the client
at that time—nearly 50 years ago—to put in
escalators instead of elevators, because people
talk on escalators, and the social interaction
within an office is much stronger. Foster also
created a garden on the roof and said, “This is
for the people who work in Willis Faber,” and
he installed a swimming pool in the base-
ment. He persuaded a commercial company to
prioritize the work environment.
From Richard Rogers, I learned an enor- Amorepacific Headquarters, Seoul (2017).
mous amount, in terms of what he felt was
the responsibility of an architect—that you
should look for a larger role, even if you’re not I think it’s fair enough to say that the prize office, we’ve all been on a bus for 35 years. Lots
IWAN BAAN (OPPOSITE, BOTTOM); NOSHE

really invited to do it. As architects, we’ve is possibly between encouraging genius and of people have got on and off of that bus. I’ve
somehow lost our credibility within society, rewarding patience and diligence. Obviously, tried to keep the bus driving in a good way,
but that doesn’t mean to say that we shouldn’t I’m in the second camp. Yet the prize has and to keep the spirit within it a positive and
step forward and try to be engaged. been given very cleverly to certain people, like critical one. But now when we look out the
Zaha Hadid. Thank God. I’m sure it helped windows, we find that it is in a very different
In the past, the Pritzker was credited with her career develop a lot. That is a very respon- place than it was 35 years ago. Now we are at
getting commissions for its younger laure- sible way of using the prize at the right time. an existential moment where we cannot con-
ates. What does it mean for you to receive As for the second part—is there anything tinue acting professionally in the same way as
the Pritzker at this stage of your career? left? There’s a huge amount left. As I say in my we have done in the past.

21
 Record NEWSMAKER

This brings up the issue of sustainability. One of the most sustain-

able things we can do is to maintain existing buildings. And you’ve
worked with structures designed by Cass Gilbert, Friedrich Stüler,
and Mies van der Rohe. What is the specific challenge of doing that?
These were buildings you wouldn’t knock down. I didn’t really have
to chain myself to the front of the building to protect them. However,
these projects were fascinating to work on. Such tasks can be as fasci-
nating, if not more interesting than building anew. Architects too often
believe that it’s much better to get rid of a building and have freedom
to do exactly what you want. We question that thinking, and we have
demonstrated it is not necessary. Take the importance of history, fabric,
and continuity and graft onto that the idea of sustainability. Nothing is
less sustainable than knocking a building down.
We just won a competition for the London School of Economics.
The brief called for knocking down a 1950s building, and we were the
only team that said, “You’ve got to work with the existing building.” It’s

PHOTOGRAPHY: COUTESY SIMON MENGES

an ugly building. It’s not a great monument. It’s not a Neues Museum.
It’s not anything of great cultural significance, but it’s not a bad build-
ing, and it’s a responsible resource. And there was huge resistance to
this. But, in the end, the moral imperative won. I said to the institu-
tion, “This building is to promote dialogue and understanding between
people, and I presume when it’s open, one of the subjects that is going
to be discussed in this building will be about resources and sustainabil-
Morland Mixité Capitale, Paris (2022). ity.” So we won a competition, not because of aesthetics but because of
ethics. And I think this is now a weapon for us as architects. n

22 ARCHITECTURAL RECORD APRIL 2023

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 Record TRIBUTE

Rafael Viñoly (1944–2023)

BY RODOLFO MACHADO AND JORGE SILVETTI

Celebrated Uruguayan architect Rafael Viñoly

died unexpectedly of an aneurysm, in New York,
on March 2 at the age of 78. A lifetime of friend-
ship with him is remembered by his schoolmates in
Argentina, Rodolfo Machado and Jorge Silvetti,
founders of Boston-based Machado Silvetti.
What follows is a chronology of their shared
experiences, written by Machado and interspersed
with poignant memories from Silvetti, from
their first meetings with Viñoly to their last.

RM: After the shock of Rafael’s passing, the

memories came, a torrent of images from the
past—flashes, the special tone of his voice. After
a while, one begins to sort them out, to put order
to the flow, to reason out our shared lives.
There were episodes in my and Jorge Sil­
vetti’s lives that brought us together with
Rafael, times when we experienced firsthand
his ferocious capacity for life, his multiple
intelligences—we may say an artistic (musi­
cal, mostly) intelligence, the special intelli­
gence and multiple sensitivities one needs to
become a successful architect, plus the cold, Viñoly, photographed by his son Román.
piercing intelligence of the businessman.
I will mention four of those episodes—mo­ Bastones largos,” as it is known in Argen­ from which, until he passed away last month,
ments of duress, transition, and definition. I tinean history—the University was taken over he never stopped looking high and far, as if
write them down chronologically, from youth by the military. It was closed, our lives dis­ there were nothing in the field of architecture
to maturity, and consequently geographically, rupted. Rafael and I were in a group that did that he saw as too difficult, too big, or too
from the south to the north of the Americas its final thesis project in lockdown—policed complicated to tackle.
in which we live. and under great traumatic stress, we gradu­ There was something marvelous and con­
ated. Rafael showed great strength and deter­ tagious in the persuasive optimism with
Buenos Aires, 1966: Graduation mination. which he approached some of the most com­
We met at Facultad de Arquitectura y Urbanis­ plicated and thorny architectural and urban
mo at the Universidad de Buenos Aires in the JS: What brought us together—and at problems, problems that would have scared
early ’60s. I cannot remember how—just kids times we were inseparable—were our com­ most and left some paralyzed. His attraction
crossing paths at school, all of us put together mon interests in music and in drawing, two to problem­solving endeavors, his search for
to study under the best teachers of the day. We artistic practices that we had learned and extreme precision in resolving the tension
were immediately drawn to one another. experienced since infancy, prior to our jour­ between a design’s form and performance,
Then the military dictatorship happened, ney into architecture. and his ever­daring attitude to break well­
and on July 29—during “La noche de las New York offered him the proper platform established and resistant design conventions,
all bore fruit late in his life in one of his most
PHOTOGRAPHY: © COURTESY RAFAEL VIÑOLY ARCHITECTS

delicate and rigorous transformative de­

signs—one that required the courage of the
brave and the coolness of the sure of mind—
the daring attempt to redesign one of the
sacred cows of Western cultural artifacts: the
grand piano.
Interestingly, in our last meeting, a lunch
we had in Boston a few months ago when we
were able to finally meet after the pandemic,
we had, as usual, a great animated conversa­
tion, intelligent, funny, entertaining, and
profound—and, also as usual, we talked more
Viñoly designed the Carrasco International Airport in his city of birth, Montevideo, Uruguay (above). about music than about architecture!

25
 Record TRIBUTE

offices, the Princeton campus (where we both

worked), occasionally our homes.
We discussed ways of practicing, how to
make enough money, the current devaluation
of the architect, how to win competitions, or
to win the best projects—all of it. As always,
we had in Rafael a brilliant, most intelligent,
engaged interlocutor.

JS: With his brilliant mind’s ability at syn-

thesizing complex problems, his rich repertoire
of formal devices, and techniques acquired
since an early age practicing drawing and
painting, and the sense of proportion native to

PHOTOGRAPHY: © COURTESY RAFAEL VIÑOLY ARCHITECTS

his musical sensibility, Rafael would push the
“parti” method—that distinctive pedagogical
component of Beaux-Arts education, which
survived in our school of the 1960s—to limits
beyond and unknown to its historical sources,
Viñoly’s 432 Park Avenue towers over the Chrysler Building on the May 2015 cover of Record (top, imbuing each of his projects with formal clarity
right). His Tokyo International Forum (above) and Maene-Viñoly Concert Grand piano (below). and formidable image power.

RM: We practiced architecture well, but

Boston, 1978: Becoming North Americans Design, in the Department of Architecture, differently. Over time, we found our paths,
RM: Knowing of Rafael’s desire to leave which I chaired. and those paths took us a certain distance
Buenos Aires, Jorge invited him to teach at Many seminar-like discussions joyfully from each other. That is regrettable, and
Harvard, at the GSD. Rafael came with his took place. How to teach undergraduates, to sad—as is his premature death. n
wife, Diana, and their children; they were, better transmit architecture? The value of the
like us, immigrants then. art-school pedagogical model versus univer-
Many long, bonding conversations took sity teaching, the notion of authorship, the
place amongst the four of us. How to adapt, deep continuity of architecture, images,
how to live here? The costs of exile, the pains styles, tastes, etc. Rafael—strong-minded,
of language acquisition, cultural misunder- convincing, charismatic, controversial, was a
standings, our otherness . . . Rafael, prag- good teacher.
matic and clear-minded, adapted quickly.
Boston, New York, and beyond, from the
Providence, circa 1980: Teaching mid-80s on: Practicing
Well aware of Rafael’s talents, I invited On and on we conversed—the same haunting
him to teach at the Rhode Island School of subjects, held in various locales such as our

26 ARCHITECTURAL RECORD APRIL 2023

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 Record TRIBUTE

A. Eugene Kohn (1930–2023)

BY CLIFFORD A. PEARSON

MORE THAN for the design of any build- tion documents, and the team-building
ing or skyscraper, A. Eugene Kohn, who died events during which Kling would play guitar
March 9 at the age of 92, following a battle and regale his troops with stories. From
with cancer, will be remembered for crafting Warnecke, he learned to cultivate relation-
and nurturing a firm that designed major ships with influential leaders in business and
projects around the world. That firm, Kohn government. But when Warnecke refused to
Pedersen Fox (KPF), launched on July 4, change the structure of his firm to adapt to
1976, at the nadir of a long recession, grew to the difficult economic climate of the mid-
become a pioneer in global architecture 1970s, Kohn left, and then lured Fox and
responsible for six of the world’s 12 tallest Pedersen to join him in starting their own
buildings. Though best known for his skills practice.
at landing commissions, he was much more Although he had won design awards at
than a silver-tongued salesman. It was his Warnecke and saw himself as a good design-
vision of a practice adept at designing and er, Kohn realized that Pedersen was a bril-
delivering complex projects that shaped KPF liant designer. So he let Pedersen design the
from the start and guided it as economic, firm’s most important early projects and put
technological, and internal challenges arose. Fox in charge of managing internal opera-
Instead of showcasing the art, and ego, of an tions. Kohn focused on drumming up busi-
individual designer, KPF would promote a ness and strategizing the firm’s future. KPF’s
team approach to architecture. To do that, first job came after he read a short notice in
Kohn understood that he and his partners, The New York Times that the American
William Pedersen and Sheldon Fox, would Broadcasting Company, the then-upstart
need to attract talented young architects, The Philadelphia-born KPF cofounder was television network, had just acquired an old
mentor them, give them the opportunity to instrumental in the New York firm’s global growth. armory on West 66th Street and planned to
work on significant projects, and eventually convert it into studios for producing soap
hand over leadership of the firm to them. ties, Kohn learned how to work with power- operas. Kohn turned that unglamorous proj-
Before founding KPF, at age 46, Kohn ful clients and assemble design teams that ect into a decades-long relationship with
had run a major architecture firm—John could produce complex, award-winning ABC that led to a series of bigger and sexier
Carl Warnecke & Associates—and worked at buildings. From Kling, he acquired an un- projects for the network.
large Philadelphia firms such as Vincent derstanding of the unseen but critical compo- Within a few years, KPF was designing
Kling & Associates. Mentored by Warnecke nents of a successful firm—such as the cadre headquarters for corporations such as AT&T
and Kling, two big, but different, personali- of skilled detailers who worked on construc- Long Lines, Motorola, and Rocky Mountain
Energy, and high-rise office
buildings in Denver and
Philadelphia for developers such
as Reliance Development and
Urban Investment &
Development. In 1980, KPF
beat out bigger and more estab-
lished firms such as SOM, Pei
PHOTOGRAPHY: © RAIMUND KOCH (RIGHT), COURTESY KPF (BOTH)

Cobb Freed, and César Pelli to

win the job of designing a huge
new headquarters for Procter &
Gamble in Cincinnati. In 1983,
KPF’s design for 333 Wacker
Drive in Chicago won almost
universal acclaim when it
opened and established the firm
as a major player in American
architecture. For the rest of the
1980s, the firm rode a wave of

Completed in 2020, One Vanderbilt

(left of center) is Midtown
Manhattan’s tallest tower.

29
Record TRIBUTE

high-profile commissions throughout the

country—from Wilmington, Delaware, and
Minneapolis to Los Angeles and Boston—
mostly speculative office projects and mostly
Postmodern in style. In 1990, the American
Institute of Architects named KPF its Firm
of the Year, one of the youngest practices to
win that honor.
Being identified with Postmodernism
and commercial architecture, though, would
hinder the firm as design trends changed
and clients for museums and cultural proj-
ects looked elsewhere for design services.
Decades after KPF pivoted to a more
Modernist approach to design, Kohn some-
times heard that clients still thought of the
firm as Postmodern.
In 1985, Kohn attended an Urban Land
Institute conference and heard a speaker
warn: “If you’re not global by 1990, half of
you will be out of business.” Kohn took the
message to heart and made a concerted
effort to find clients and projects abroad.
Although his partners were wary of seeking
foreign clients and over-extending the firm,
Kohn pushed forward. He made trips to
London to cultivate relationships with
developers, bankers, and influential figures
such as Peter Murray, who had been the edi-
tor of the RIBA Journal and helped put
together an exhibition of KPF’s work in
333 Wacker Drive opened in 1983 in Chicago.
London. By the early 1990s, the firm was
busy in London, Frankfurt, Hamburg,
Sydney, and Montreal, as the U.S. economy vited KPF to compete for an enormous
slogged through a grueling recession. mixed-use project for Japan Rail in Nagoya.
While working on an office building in Winning that project convinced Kohn that
Chicago in the late 1980s, Kohn got to know Asia offered huge opportunities and led to a
executives of the Japanese company Taisei, a remarkable string of megaprojects including
co-developer of the project. They later in- Plaza 66 in Shanghai (2000), Roppongi Hills
in Tokyo (2003), the Shanghai
World Financial Center
(2008), New Songdo City in
South Korea (2001–09), the
Jing An Kerry Center in
Shanghai (2013), the Lotte
World Tower and Concert
Hall in Seoul (2017), the Ping
An International Finance
Center in Shenzhen (2017),
and the China Zun tower in
Beijing (2018). Such projects
kept KPF flush while many
American firms struggled in
the 1990s and early 2000s,
and created opportunities for

Sheldon Fox, Bill Pedersen, and

Gene Kohn (from left to right)
at the office, circa 1993.
 young associates to move up in the firm.
Kohn groomed Paul Katz, Lee Polisano,
and James von Klemperer to take over KPF,
accompanying them on business trips to
projects around the world. Polisano, who ran
KPF’s London office, became president of
the firm in 2003, initiating a transition that
proved rockier than expected. Polisano
stayed in London rather than move back to
New York, and his tenure at the top of the
firm was difficult. In 2009, he announced
his intention to set up his own firm in
London and keep many of KPF’s projects
and clients. Kohn, who was 78 years old at
the time, refused to allow his firm to split
apart and decided to fight his protégé mano
a mano. He moved to London with his
wife, Barbara Shattuck Kohn, an experi­
enced investment banker, and managed to
keep most of KPF’s employees there and its
clients. When many of his contemporaries
were retiring, Kohn relished the challenge of
rescuing his London operations and keeping
KPF on an upward trajectory.
Kohn didn’t give up on the firm’s plan
for transition, soon making Katz president.
For the next five years, the firm prospered,
with Katz as president and Kohn as chair­
man of the board. In 2014, Katz died sud­
denly at age 57. Kohn, who loved sports and
prided himself on developing a deep
“bench” of talented players, then handed
the reins to von Klemperer, who continues
as president today.
“Gene brought together the art of archi­
tecture and the commerce of building cities.
He presided over the creation of some of the
PHOTOGRAPHY: © BARBARA KARANT (OPPOSITE, TOP); TIM GRIFFITH (RIGHT), COURTESY KPF (ALL)

greatest city centers in the world,” said von

Klemperer in a recent interview, referring to
the firm’s multiple projects in places like
Tokyo, Shanghai, London, and New York.
“He was a conductor, not a soloist, and got The Shanghai World Financial Center (2008).
everyone to play together.”
“He was an optimist who always looked
forward to the next opportunity,” noted Kohn understood the importance of good
Pedersen. “But he surrounded himself with clients to the creation of good architecture.
people like Shelley and me, who were more For many years he taught a class at the Har­
skeptical.” Pedersen remembered Kohn’s vard Business School, “basically training
pushing the firm to enter the competition future clients,” explained Pedersen.
for the World Bank headquarters in Although he became friends with power­
Washington, D.C., even though he knew ful people such as King Charles III of
architects from around the globe were aim­ England, Guggenheim director Thomas
ing for the same prize. “My initial reaction Krens, and developer Minoru Mori, “he
was to say no. His was to say, ‘Let’s do it.’ ” never pretended to be anything but a guy
KPF won the job, and the building opened from Philadelphia,” noted von Klemperer.
in 1996 to wide acclaim, including a glowing “That was part of his charm.” n
review by Benjamin Forgey in the
Washington Post. It later earned a national Contributing editor Clifford Pearson is the coauthor,
Honor Award from the AIA. with A. Eugene Kohn, of The World by Design.
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new book, with the dry title Manual of trying, however they can, to empower others
Biogenic House Sections, cuts through some 55 and make a difference. ■
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 BOOKS

Residentialism: A Suburban Archipelago, by representations of com- nologies of extraordinary

Lina Malfona. Actar, 230 pages, $45. munities, and positive potential, a total depen-
REVIEWED BY FRANCO PURINI
tensions between various dence on digital design
historical periods, all systems, and the pervasive
FOR MORE than three decades—probably realized in form and presence of fads in the
resulting from the globalization that began space. Designers have media. The intellectual
with the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989—his- become more concerned values of architecture,
torians and critics have identified various new with what is around which introduced us to the
threads of architectural exploration. Such buildings than with the higher sphere of the spirit,
proliferation of interpretations has given rise ways of thinking about no longer exist.
to a scene so complex that it is almost impos- architecture and making Lina Malfona’s book
sible to comprehend the large number of it concrete. The history of Residentialism: A Suburban
trends and projects that abound—we are architecture is passed Archipelago provides an

PHOTOGRAPHY: © MATTEO BENEDETTI (OPPOSITE)

witnessing an incessant competition to find over, if not entirely ex- exemplary counterpoint to
an ever-greater, singular, spectacular, and cluded, which can be the aforementioned the-
instantly recognizable expression. There has attributed to a constant matic framework. Intro-
been widespread recourse to philosophy, expansion of architec- duced by architect Pippo
literature, sociology, anthropology, environ- ture’s own disciplinary Ciorra, who frames the
mental sciences, mediated communication, boundaries, the increas- author’s built work within
and the Internet, just to name a few of the ing marginalization of the art of composition, the critical-theoretical context of the architec-
themes that have preoccupied architects. and the dissolution of the very reason for ture of the last 30 years, and supplemented
But architecture is the physical manifesta- building—that is, its true essence and pur- with texts by Kenneth Frampton and Stan
tion of living—it is a constellation of indi- pose. In front of historians and critics today is Allen, the book presents a series of 14 houses
vidual and collective memories, different a radical neo-functionalism comprising tech- designed by her firm, Malfona Petrini Archi-
J P M O R G A N C H A S E TO W E R

38 ARCHITECTURAL RECORD APRIL 2023

 and to discover harmony. The most important
aspect of Malfona’s idea of composition is her
manner of conceiving the relationship be­
tween grammar and syntax. This determines
the character of an architectural work and is
sadly underinvestigated by historians and
critics. Consider the work of Giuseppe
Terragni, for example: architecture only
clearly expresses profound content when the
distance between grammar and syntax is
minimal—when the two systems are ap­
proaching overlap. Malfona is able to all but
eliminate that gap. Her architecture conveys a
precise and inspired portrait of its unique
moment, but would also seem to transcend
stylistic definition.
The House in the Bush, designed by Malfona Petrini Architetti. Architectural space is divided into absolute
space and phenomenological space. The
tetti, in Formello, a countryside town north of looks create a promenade architecturale that former is created by a unified envelope; the
Rome, each with evocative landscapes. Clev­ activates the sonorous cavities of the villas. Yet, latter by assembling spaces that individually
erly conceived from a spatial point of view, the at the same time, her architectural composi­ foster scenographic effects. Mies van der
houses explore both precise and poetic geom­ tions radiate a kind of deconstructive energy. Rohe’s spaces were absolute, while Le
etries. As if in a dance, walls and columns, Today’s architecture largely fails to explore Corbusier’s were phenomenological. As re­
openings and enclosures, staircases and over­ structure, proportional and spatial devices, vealed in the book, Malfona does not make a

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39
 BOOKS

distinction between the two but knows how

to unify them—not through synthesis but,
instead, by alternating between the absolute
and the phenomenological in a rhythmic
cadence that recalls Goethe’s idea of architec-
ture as “frozen music.”
One final consideration concerns light. In
the houses of Malfona Petrini Architetti, a
kind of ontological view of light merges with
an analytical view of light, creating an atmo-
sphere in which the constructive elements of
architecture are identified and their roles in
tectonic and spatial ordering made clear—and
at the same time they transform into some-
thing indelible. Malfona’s work is able to
evade readings of a sociological nature and

PHOTOGRAPHY: © FABIO BASCETTA

overcome a utilitarian dimension. It is both
concrete and delightfully idealistic. These
villas are not mute, nor do they merely
speak—instead they sing to celebrate life. n

Franco Purini is an Italian architect, essayist,

and professor emeritus at the Università
Villa A and Villa B of Finestre sul Fiume, designed by Malfona Petrini Architetti. Sapienza di Roma.

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 CLOSE UP

Road to Recovery
Sou Fujimoto builds a community hub using familiar forms for a town devastated by
the 2011 earthquake and tsunami in Japan.
BY NAOMI POLLOCK, FAIA

FACING the Pacific Ocean, Ishinomaki was water and about two miles from the town but connected volumes, a strategy he em-
one of many towns devastated by the earth- center, was chosen for the new, combined ployed previously at both the 2006 Children’s
quake and tidal wave that struck northern facility. Like most post-2011 public works in Center for Psychiatric Rehabilitation, in
Japan on March 11, 2011. On that fateful day, Japan, it will double as a disaster emergency Hokkaido, where house-like boxes adjoin
more than 3,000 townspeople died, blocks of shelter center. Prior to the competition, tem- horizontally, and the 2010 Tokyo Apart-
buildings were demolished, and life as it was porary housing occupied the designated land, ment, where they stack vertically. This time,
known in this tight-knit fishing community which faces athletic fields to the south, the he aligned 20 blocks, some pitch-roofed and
was literally washed away. Over time, the Toyakemori Mountains to the north, and others rectangular, in a row. “I like to use
detritus was cleared, and rebuilding begun. recently developed timber-framed two-story the site’s length to create identity,” explains
But revitalization remains an ongoing pro- houses to the west. Fujimoto.
cess. Completed 10 years after the disaster, Fujimoto addressed this challenge with a Since most people arrive by car, a parking
Sou Fujimoto’s Ishinomaki Cultural Center is white 140,000-square-foot monolith that lot abuts the 558-foot-long facade, with the
an important step in this direction. contrasts with the tree-studded slopes and main entrance at the building center and a
The project began with a government- can be seen from a distance without seeming secondary access door at the west end for
sponsored competition to remake Ishino- imposing. “From far away, it appears as a those walking from the homes next door.
maki’s destroyed museum and theater centers. friendly gathering place where many different Out of deference to these neighbors, the
Originally the two buildings stood close to things are going on,” explains the architect. center’s individual components—each con-
the sea, but a more secure site, far from the He achieved this with an amalgam of discrete tains a different function—step up in size.

46 ARCHITECTURAL RECORD APRIL 2023

 The community center’s
many volumes (above and
top, right) mimic the shapes
of the town’s wood-framed
houses (right),
PHOTOGRAPHY: © IWAN BAAN, EXCEPT AS NOTED

47
 CLOSE UP

Hanging signage lends the lobby (left) an urban feel. The building’s
two theaters each have their own entry foyer (above and opposite).

8 8

8 1 LOBBY

2 OFFICE

3 PERMANENT EXHIBITION
6
4 TEMPORARY EXHIBITION
9
4
3 5 CITIZENS GALLERY

6 SMALL HALL
5 7 2 7 SMALL HALL FOYER

8 LOADING

9 GRAND HALL
1

0 50 FT.
GROUND-FLOOR PLAN
15 M.

48 ARCHITECTURAL RECORD APRIL 2023

 They range from the single-story permanent
exhibition hall at one end to the four-story,
1,254-seat Grand Hall with its 99-foot-tall
fly tower and foyer at the other. Varying in
height, the volumes in between contain
temporary galleries, a 300-seat hall, and a
cluster of smaller spaces, such as a shop, and a
kids’ area, plus theater-related storage and
dressing rooms accessible from both perfor-
mance venues. Cross-mullioned windows,
and chimneys, which serve as both skylights
and smoke vents, help diminish the overall
mass and create an informal feeling. “Especi-
ally for kids, we wanted to make the building
feel familiar,” explains the architect.
Reminiscent of the warehouses which once
lined the Kitakami River nearby, the corru-
gated metal-clad building elements are per-
pendicular to and unified by the streetlike
lobby. Opposite, small seminar rooms and
studios jutting out toward the parking area
break up the long elevation. The lobby’s
linearity is also relieved by varying ceiling
heights, angled interior walls, suspended
strings of bulbs inspired by outdoor harbor
lighting, and hanging signage that contrib-
utes to its urban atmosphere. But built-in
elements, such as shelving, columns, and a
café, bring the space down to human scale.
While construction of the gabled forms
was easily achieved with reinforced concrete,
supporting the airy, light-filled lobby was
not so straightforward. Here Fujimoto used
a steel frame to open the space, and create
transparency with lengths of glass at grade.
Thickened and reinforced with concealed
beams, the facade’s solid upper wall acts like
PHOTOGRAPHY: © MASAKI IWATA+SOU FUJIMOTO ARCHITECTS (OPPOSITE, RIGHT AND THIS PAGE)

a truss. While windows were positioned

between the steel elements, canopies mount-
ed outside act as additional stiffeners, help-
ing resist deflection. From afar, the galva-
nized-steel walls and roofs read as pure
white, but close inspection reveals three
different shades, chosen to further articulate
the individual volumes.
As in his earlier projects, Fujimoto used
house-shaped pieces of various sizes to build
big. Sliced and diced differently each time, this
compositional method not only addresses the
disparate needs of individual building pro-
grams, it also paves the way for future projects.
“By showing diverse elements, it is possible to
create a new form of cultural complex,” he
says. Making the building flexible as well as
approachable, this strategy has broad applica-
tions for public projects anywhere. n

Naomi Pollock, FAIA, is the author of Japanese

Houses Since 1945, to be published in October.

49
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 INTERIORS

Everything Old is New Again

Superkül expands and updates a classic Edwardian house in Toronto for the 21st century.
BY ALEX BOZIKOVIC

A WHITE steel screen does not belong in a classic Edwardian house. prominent apartment building that still stands on Sunset Boulevard in
Or does it? In a 1915 manse in Toronto, recently remodeled and expand- West Hollywood.) The Neoclassical architecture, which includes a
ed by the architecture firm Superkül, two such elements reach up from a semicircular portico, bears a strong resemblance to the White House.
newly installed white-oak floor to touch a restored plaster ceiling. Like The current owners—a young family with a serious contemporary-
much else in the 13,000-square-foot interior, this move embodies a mix art collection—asked for a judicious update. The exterior, which was
of modernist experimentation within a grand old-school residence. largely intact, was carefully restored. The architects cut away some later
The remodel is a collaboration between Superkül and interiors additions to the house and designed a new volume for the kitchen, clad
PHOTOGRAPHY: © DOUBLESPACE

studio Pencil Design. The familiar division between “modern” and in brick and cement board. Its pale yellow hues fit with the house’s
“traditional” does not apply here, explains Superkül partner Meg original buff brick and Indiana limestone facade. The new architecture
Graham. “This house is both,” she says, “in different measures at “does not mimic the old,” Graham said. “It picks up the datum lines of
different times.” the house, but we didn’t put a cornice on it.”
A century ago, the Toronto publishing magnate Sir William Gage
commissioned the house from the American architect Charles S. A contemporary wood-clad steel stair curves around a corner of the
Cobb. (Cobb would soon move to California, where he designed a home’s two-story atrium to the second-floor bedrooms.

53
 INTERIORS

54 ARCHITECTURAL RECORD APRIL 2023

 Inside the existing structure, Superkül
placed two sculptural steel stairs of its own
design, each with continuous guardrails and
one extending from the basement to the
primary suite on a newly remodeled third
floor. Each unfurls in a not-quite-regular
spiral, modeled with Grasshopper by architect
Kenneth Wong, a member of the Superkül
design team, and fabricated by EeStairs.
Other architectural elements carry a simi-
lar sensibility: those white steel screens, the
matte white panels on the curved walls of the
foyers, and new round structural columns,
which combine steel and quarter-rounds of
Crema Marfil marble. Throughout the house,
finishes include gentler touches created by
Pencil and the architects. “The goal was to
bring a soft, monochromatic palette,” explains
Pencil interior designer Johanna Peters. “We
talked a lot about texture and warmth.”
This collaboration plays out in the public
rooms on the main floor, which unfold through
expansive doorways. The new wing’s contem-
porary kitchen (light sage green cabinets, pale
marble counters) connects to a skylit sunroom.
These transition into the Cobb building, where
the design team created a grand dining room, a
mural by artist Tisha Myles dancing across its
walls, with animals—four of them, chosen by
the family’s four kids—mixing with Twombly-
esque brushstrokes.
The designers also restored the original
plaster ceiling of the adjacent living room,
which is embossed with the signs of the
zodiac, gently illuminating the space with
linear LEDs discreetly tucked into simple
crown moldings below it. New paneling
covers the main surface of the wall. Made
from MDF covered with linen and then
painted, these decorative elements are framed
by deep doorways in white oak, an assertive The addition,
move by Superkül that evokes Louis Kahn in containing a
emphasizing the heaviness of the wall. In the kitchen and
library, just beside it—reached by an off- mudroom, links to
center doorway that breaks with the Classical the existing house
logic of the plan—the paneling takes on a at the sunroom
(above), which
green hue, and a dramatic scalloped marble leads to the dining
fireplace brings in a Loosian flair. room (left). A steel
This was an unusual project for Superkül, a stair in the
midsize Toronto firm whose typical work adjacent service
ranges from custom ground-up houses to area spirals
high-rise buildings. But, Graham says, work- through all levels
(opposite, top
ing in concert with a significant historic house
right), while the
provided a pleasant intellectual challenge. “You living room and
want to feel that there is a synthesis,” she says. library are
“There is a happy marriage of old and new.” n connected via a
deep wood portal
Alex Bozikovic is architecture critic at The (opposite, top left
and bottom).
Globe and Mail in Toronto.

55
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sketch printed on it! The winning sketches will also be announced at and utilized on napkins at our Innovation Conference in October.

The sketches of the winners and runners-up will be published in the November 2023 issue of Architectural Record and shown online in the
ArchitecturalRecord.com Cocktail Napkin Sketch Gallery.

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 LANDSCAPE
A LAKESIDE DWELLING BY FEARON HAY FUSES WITH THE CRAGGY TERRAIN OF NEW ZEALAND’S SOUTH ISLAND. BY SARAH AMELAR

SITED on New Zealand’s South Island,

Matagouri House nestles into the undulant
lowlands between Lake Wakatipu to the west
and the snow-capped (and aptly named)
Remarkables mountain range to the east.
Auckland-based architects Fearon Hay,
which also has a studio in Los Angeles, want-
ed the house’s massing and position to engage
the extraordinary 360-degree views while
deferring to the landscape’s virgin character
and sense of remoteness. Firm directors Tim
Hay and Jeff Fearon were intent on preserving
not only the rolling topography of this 2.6-
acre site, but also its existing matagouri
plants—thorny native shrubs or small trees
that can live more than 100 years. Though
this vegetation is not legally protected, says
Hay, “people here tend to show respect and
sensitivity toward the slow-growing and
long-lived matagouri.” The resulting 4,470-
square-foot house’s simple rectangular forms
are set into two hills. Spanning them, a hori-
zontal timber-structured roof effectively raises
the ground plane one story: mounded with
earth and planted with the same dry native
grasses as its surroundings, it echoes the
terrain’s natural contours. So begins the
gentle dialogue between building and land-
scape that informs the entire project.
In imagining a second home for them-
selves, the clients, a creative couple with
grown children, were inspired by Scottish
castles and farmhouses. Though New Zea-
land has no history of castles, the poetic
qualities of partial ruins—masonry struc-
tures merging with the land—resonated in a
country where tumbling, low stone walls in
fields often become mossy or weed-covered
over time.
The house’s two main forms, each partially
embedded in sloping earth, are linked by a
corridor with support spaces. The northern
volume—which houses the kitchen/dining/
living area at ground level—rises on one end to
form a modest two-story tower (perhaps a nod
to a castle’s keep). Filling its upper level is the
primary bedroom suite, an aerie with views all
around. The house’s southern volume contains
guest rooms and a study. The living spaces
surround an open-ended courtyard, sheltered
beneath an extension of the landscaped roof.
Evoking stony mass and the natural degrada-
PHOTOGRAPHY: © SIMON WILSON

tion of ruins, the architects clad the house in

pale-gray stucco (over masonry block), a sur-
face hand-scratched with trowels while still

Flanked on one end by an open courtyard, the

main living space offers sweeping, mountain-
shrouded views of Lake Wakatipu.

59
 LANDSCAPE

1 ENTRANCE 10 KITCHEN/DINING

2 CLOAK ROOM 11 SUNKEN LOUNGE

3 POWDER ROOM 12 SCULLERY

7 7
4 GARAGE 13 OUTDOOR COOKING 8
5 GUEST BATHROOM 14 LAUNDRY

6 STORAGE 15 COURTYARD

7 GUEST BEDROOM 16 PRIMARY SUITE 6 5

5
8 STUDY

9 LIVING AREA 15 3
13 4

12 1
16
14
A 10 9 A

11

0 10 FT.
SECOND-FLOOR PLAN GROUND-FLOOR PLAN
3 M.

0 10 FT.
SECTION A - A
3 M.

60 ARCHITECTURAL RECORD APRIL 2023

 wet. The resulting rustic texture is rough and, simul-
taneously, soft, diffusing shadows that would other-
wise appear sharp-edged in the crisp, clear air.
Inside, fluid open spaces, with stretches of floor-
to-ceiling glass, offer immersive views of the land-
scape. Even where the roof ’s deep eaves extend over
the patio, the shading plane curves strategically to
keep sight lines unobstructed. Within the living
spaces, high ceilings rise to open timbers overhead,
revealing the roof ’s structure and peaks. Underfoot,
floors of polished concrete (with radiant heat) reso-
nate with the earth tones outdoors. The interior
design, a collaboration between the architects and
owners, draws on the clients’ attraction to the
Shaker sensibility, with its almost Modernist sim-
plicity and quiet attention to craft and detail.
Among the house’s many sustainable features
are the thermal mass of its embedded structures
and the insulation and shading capacity of its
roof—all features that passively modulate indoor
temperature.
Wild as the property seems, it sits about a
20-minute drive from the gateway town of
Queensland, with its commercial airport. Yet the
PHOTOGRAPHY: © SIMON WILSON

building’s precise and subtle siting obscures even

distant glimpses of (and by) neighbors. Further
intensifying Matagouri’s sense of seclusion in
nature, the facing shores of Lake Wakatipu have
no development, lights, or road access. And, even
on this side of the water, the house itself almost The house is nestled into the mountainous landscape in the southwest of New Zealand’s
disappears into the surging waves of hilly land. n South Island (top and opposite). Overhead view of the vegetation-covered roof (above).

61
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 BUILDING TYPE STUDY 1,052

RECORD HOUSES 2023

Since 1956, the editors of record have looked for houses that upend expectations, push
disciplinary limits, and redefine established vocabularies in imaginative ways. This year’s
selection showcases nimble responses to diverse landscapes—whether in the desert, along
a tidal marsh, or tucked into wooded hills—and feats of craft, from hand-worked weath-
ering steel to precisely chiseled stone. Forms vary, too, from modernist courtyards and
Miesian compositions to pinwheeling pitched pavilions. Every year, the house proves to
be an inexhaustible laboratory for architectural exploration.

PHOTOGRAPHY: © JOE FLETCHER

64 ARCHITECTURAL RECORD APRIL 2023

66 Four Roof House 90 Shaw Residence
Helmville, Montana Fayetteville, Arkansas
T.W. Ryan Architecture Marlon Blackwell Architects
72 House Between Forest & Field 96 House Six
Dutchess County, New York Berkshire County, Massachusetts
nARCHITECTS EASTON COMBS Architects
78 Enso House II 102 Saltmarsh House
San Miguel de Allende, Mexico Isle of Wight, United Kingdom
HW Studio Níall McLaughlin Architects
84 Hill House 108 Nebo House
Lakeville, Connecticut Nebo, North Carolina
Joeb Moore & Partners Fuller/Overby Architecture

FOUR ROOF HOUSE, HELMVILLE,

MONTANA, BY T.W. RYAN ARCHITECTURE

65
 RECORD HOUSES

FOUR ROOF HOUSE I HELMVILLE, MONTANA I T.W. RYAN ARCHITECTURE

Rugged Retreat
Peaked roofs mimic the dramatic terrain of the American Rockies at a secluded getaway.
BY LEOPOLDO VILLARDI
PHOTOGRAPHY BY JOE FLETCHER

TUCKED away in a rough-and-tumble landscape in western Montana up on an ATV to survey the 40-acre property in search of the perfect
is a retreat for a retired clinical psychologist and art collector who spot. “But, in a way, that question had already been answered for us.
wanted to be closer to her family, which had recently settled there. That The previous landowner knew a good spot when he saw one.” Reusing
proximity comes with a catch, though—it’s far away from just about an existing foundation of a house that was started but never got fully
everything else. After reaching Avon, population 114, cellular service off the ground, the architect settled for a small plateau at the top of a
cuts out, so printed directions are a must for the remaining 30-minute steep hill, all but invisible from the main road about a mile away.
drive to Helmville. But the Four Roof House—T.W. Ryan Architec- Climatic conditions make this an environment to be reckoned with.
ture’s second Record House—is well worth the trek. Here, the architect Strong summer hailstorms, the persistent threat of forest fires, and
delivers tough cowboy modernism with an artful edge. annual temperature swings of up to 120 degrees Fahrenheit demand
“The most daunting aspect of working with a vast landscape like sturdy building materials. As the architect notes, “Trying to design
this one is siting,” says principal Thomas Ryan, as he recalled saddling something impervious to change in this part of the country is a lost

66 ARCHITECTURAL RECORD APRIL 2023

THE WEATHERING STEEL house is sited
at the top of a hill, surrounded by pines
(this image and opposite).

67
 RECORD HOUSES

1 UTILITY SHED

2 ENTRY HALL
B
3 PATIO

4 GUEST ROOM

5 EXERCISE AREA
1
6 DOG RUN

7 PRIMARY SUITE

2 4 8 OFFICE

9 LIVING ROOM
5
12 6 10 DINING AREA

10 11 KITCHEN
8
11 9 12 MUDROOM
A 4 7 7
13 13 GARAGE

14 BASEMENT
3 A
7

0 20 FT.
FLOOR PLAN
6 M.

11 2
13 4 11 9 8 7 7

14 14

SECTION A - A SECTION B - B

68 ARCHITECTURAL RECORD APRIL 2023

cause,” so he embraced unpredictability in-
stead. The exterior—wall and roof—is en-
tirely sheathed in 14-gauge weathering steel,
patinated in situ—a distinction worth noting.
Left to the elements, the individual 16-inch-
wide panels take on tones and hues according
to their place in the ensemble, with blotches
and streaks painted by the sun, wind, and
rain. Nature’s abstract expressionism is bal-
anced by man-made order: a succession of
regularly repeating, vertically oriented 1¾-
inch standing-seam ribs, all braked and
crimped by hand.
Although copper, not iron or steel, is deep-
ly intertwined in the area’s mining history, the
facade still feels of the place—the same burnt
undertone colors the bark of spindly pondero-
sa pines that dot the land. Used farm machin-
ery and rusted sheds can be spotted on nearby
ranches. Red and ochre lichens pattern nearby
rock formations. The house’s materiality,
combined with its peaked silhouette, conveys
a certain kind of restrained monumentality.
As monolithic as the house seems, the
entry facade is especially intriguing and
compositionally dynamic. A detached utility
shed, clad as though it were part of the house,
is tightly nestled underneath an eave to form
an exterior anteroom leading to the main
door. In the entry hall, attention turns to the
cloudlike sculpture of black netted spheres by
Japanese designer Nendo that hangs from the
ceiling straight ahead. As guests walk for-
ward, an oblique interior wall with softly
rounded corners leads to the main living
space, on axis with the dining table, where
the house’s perched placement becomes
breathtakingly evident.
The panoramic vista of a mountainous
landscape, framed by delicate cruciform
columns, bears an unexpected resemblance to
Mies van der Rohe’s 1937–39 scheme for an
unbuilt house in Wyoming for MoMA board
member Helen Resor. But, here, those col-
umns are given a soft edge with mahogany
slats affixed to two opposing flanges (a nod to
another design giant, Alvar Aalto). Ryan is an
enthusiastic and emphatic study of architec-
tural history, and his built work, replete with
references, shows it well. “We all have certain
people who are always in our head,” he says.
To the west of the main living area is a
guest suite, providing accommodations for
grandchildren and the “grand-dogs.” To the
east is the primary suite, made slightly more

A DETACHED utility shed is disguised as part of

the approach facade (opposite). The entry hall
(right) leads to the main living space (above).

69
 RECORD HOUSES

A KINK in the floor plan and mahogany slats keep the primary suite
(above and left) out of view from the living room (opposite).

private by a kink in the plan and vertical slats of mahogany, which

obscure views down the hall without blocking daylight. In contrast to
the expansive landscapes visible from the main living area, many small-
er rooms feature square windows that precisely capture outdoor scenes.
Overhead, subtle but deceptive tectonic moves are at work—the ceil-
ing vaults do not always share the same pitches as the larger, canted
roofs above them. Guests are probably too entranced by the views and
interior spaces to notice, but the strategy makes a rather singular and
muscular exterior feel more intimate and complex inside, and heightens
the transitions from flat ceilings to vaulted ones. At the center of the
living room and kitchen, skylights that include “reflectors” introduce a
diffuse glow and prevent damage to the client’s collection of art from
ultraviolet radiation.
The interiors, orchestrated by Douglas Durkin Design (whose
eponymous principal, a close confidante of the client, suggested Ryan
as the architect for the job), are finished in a warm ecru, with smoky
plain-sawn oak floors. Basalt, used for exterior patios, is also brought
indoors in mantelpieces and guest-bathroom backsplashes, where it is

70 ARCHITECTURAL RECORD APRIL 2023

bush-hammered for added texture, as well as for bathroom floors. Like Many might immediately dismiss a rust-covered house. “What a
the exteriors, the palette is earthen and honest. crazy idea! But if you own that,” says Ryan as he gestures toward the
Four Roof House is a feat of construction, not only because of its client’s Robert Rauschenberg, a found-object sculpture that includes a
remote location, but because there were so few local contractors willing rusty wheelbarrow, “you understand that it can be something much
to tackle a project of this complexity. Much of the house was framed, more sophisticated.” And, while not everyone might agree, his client
in wood, by a father-and-son team, while another man, over the course certainly does. n
of a winter, almost single-handedly undertook the house’s steelwork
(his nephew joined in the spring to finish the job). Components that
were produced off-site faced a perilous journey to the house. Roof
trusses—all 176 of them—were shipped via a tractor trailer, which Credits Sources
needed to navigate a narrow and winding driveway with a 250-foot ARCHITECT: T.W. Ryan Architecture
TRUSSES: Simkins Hallin
— Thomas Ryan, principal; Luigi
elevation change. As stressful as that sounds, the process brought the Grosso, project manager METAL PANELS: Bridger Steel
architect a great deal of joy. “The fact that they could physically do all INTERIOR DESIGN: HARDWARE: Sun Valley Bronze
this labor amazed me. They were all very proud of what they were Douglas Durkin Design WINDOWS & DOORS: Duratherm
making—and they were immune to all kinds of weather.” ENGINEERS: Salvetech (structural); PAINTS & STAINS: Benjamin Moore
If only the elements were the lone safety concern. “During construc- Energy 1 (m/e/p)
LIGHTING: B-K Lighting; Q Tran;
tion, I would camp at the site. I was warned that I’d need a gun,” the CONSULTANT: Ambiance (lighting) WAC Lighting; Tech Lighting; Vode;
architect remembers. Cougars, grizzly bears, and gray wolves all roam GENERAL CONTRACTOR: Reggiani
freely here, and, while fatal attacks are rare, they happen. The enclosed Lohss Construction PLUMBING: Dornbracht;
dog run adjacent to the primary suite ensures that Henry, the client’s SIZE: 5,000 square feet Speakman; Duravit
chipper Australian labradoodle, doesn’t make any unwanted friends. COMPLETION: November 2022

71
 RECORD HOUSES

HOUSE BETWEEN FOREST & FIELD I NEW YORK I NARCHITECTS

Tree
Hugger
A discreet second home emerges from the woods,
with respect for the land around it.
BY LINDA C. LENTZ
PHOTOGRAPHY BY MICHAEL MORAN

ON A BRISK and sunny February afternoon, the cedar-clad house

designed by the Brooklyn-based nARCHITECTS was barely visible
from the road. Tucked into the trees at the northwestern corner of a
grassy, wheat-hued clearing in New York’s rural Dutchess County, its
wood-slat rainscreen facade was, on that day, a near perfect color match
with the wintry landscape. Its slender lines, barnlike massing, and deeply
pitched gable roof, too, create such a discreet profile it can be easy to miss
from certain angles. Yet those who make their way up the inconspicuous
approach that snakes to the front door will discover a surprisingly trans-
parent country house, playfully punctuated by broad windows that open
to expansive vistas.
This is the first house completed by the 2004 Design Vanguard
studio known for its explorations of various typologies through public
and commercial works in and around New York, such as the Jones Beach
Energy & Nature Center (record, March 2022). To preserve and take
advantage of the house’s idyllic setting “between forest and field,” as they
refer to it, the architects pushed and angled the 27-foot-deep by 70-foot-
wide building into the trees as much as they could. “But we also wanted
it to peek out for daylight and views, mainly the latter, which are amaz-
ing,” says Eric Bunge, firm cofounder with his wife and partner, Mimi
Hoang. Hoang adds that, fortunately, the land is zoned Rural Residen-
tial, so the fields (and views) have to be maintained.
Located on 13 acres, 100 miles north of Manhattan, the 3,600-
square-foot residence is modest in scale and materiality, both to mini-
mize its impact on the site, and to satisfy a mandate for a functional,
family-oriented second home issued by the clients—a couple with three
older children, who, like the architects, are also from Brooklyn and
acquainted with them through their respective sons, friends at school
who, coincidentally, facilitated this commission.
The compact wood-frame structure navigates the hilly topography on
a stepped concrete slab that follows the natural grade as closely as pos-
sible. A small basement on the north accommodates a mechanical room
for a geothermal heat-exchange system, which works in conjunction with
four new wells. And, while a few trees had to be cut during construction,
they are being replanted—with more to come, say the homeowners.
According to Bunge, inspiration for the main concept also came
from his young son, who suggested they build a tree house for his
friend. “Of course, he was thinking of a house in a tree,” says Bunge.
“But we thought, what if you experience the house the way you experi-

72 ARCHITECTURAL RECORD APRIL 2023

73
 RECORD HOUSES

4 1 6 8 1
5 12
7
6
13

2 9 10
11
3 3 3 6

FIRST-FLOOR PLAN 0 15 FT.

SECOND-FLOOR PLAN
5 M.

1 FOYER

2 FAMILY ROOM

3 BEDROOM

4 BATHROOM

5 LAUNDRY

6 PRIMARY SUITE

14 7 MECHANICAL
11
12 8 POWDER ROOM
9
9 KITCHEN
13 10 DINING AREA
8
11 LIVING AREA
1
12 LIBRARY
4 7
6 5 13 PORCH
7
14 LOFT/STUDY

SOUTH-FACING SECTION AT THE ENTRANCE

74 ARCHITECTURAL RECORD APRIL 2023

SPACED battens on the porch (this image and
below) and generous fenestration (opposite)
lend a porous quality to the building.

ence a forest?” With this as a reference, the

architects developed a scheme around the idea
of structural cores as metaphorical tree trunks
that both support the skylit galvalume roof
and frame the building’s programmatic vol-
umes within a relatively open floor plan.
These eight cores also do double duty as key
functional zones that contain, for instance,
kitchen appliances, stairs, storage, mechanical
equipment, and a chimney. In addition, the
robust raw-steel knee walls of a central third-
floor loft study overlooking the living area
(like a tree house) serve as structural beams.
Such material efficiency enables the attenu-
ated roofline, high ceilings, and connected
communal spaces the clients were after.
Beautifully detailed Luan-plywood-clad core
walls and heated oak floors are the dominant
surfaces of the main living space, which flows
freely throughout the second floor, from
kitchen to living room, leading to what every-
one agrees is the most popular “room” in the
house: an enclosed porch, with stairs that
connect to the surrounding grounds.
Key to the success of this arrangement is the
placement of the bedrooms on the first floor.

75
 RECORD HOUSES

“We presented the clients with two ideas,”

says Bunge. “One was living in the sky; the
other was sleeping in the sky.” “Luckily,” he
adds, “They chose the former.” The resulting
ground floor contains a small family room and
four bedrooms on the building’s south side,
each opening to the landscape with glazed
sliding doors that provide direct access to the
outdoors. A warmed concrete floor here is
“softened” with random leaf impressions,
made with actual hand-ironed foliage.
To unify the whole design, the architects
turned to the region’s vernacular barn typol-
ogy, reinterpreting it by enveloping the build-
ing with slatted western red cedar, even the
porch, giving this outdoor room an especially
intimate and protected quality. Subtle spac-
ing variations between slats on alternating
sections enliven the facade. However, it’s the
bold fenestration that really commands atten-
tion. Placed to maximize daylight and breez-
es, the wide windows and sliding glass doors
lend a permeability to the house that results
in as many views through it as out of it.
At the time of record’s visit, three addi-
tional small structures by nARCHITECTS
were in construction—a wedge-shaped garage,
a combined music studio/guest house, and a
lap pool—closely encircling the house. And
while it is currently a family getaway, it was
clear from our conversation that it would
become a more permanent residence in the
future. “We’re excited to be here and by the
work that they did,” the homeowner said.
“This is our home, and we’re really pleased
about it.” n

Credits
ARCHITECT: nARCHITECTS — Eric Bunge,
partner in charge: Mimi Hoang, partner; Isabel
Sarasa, project architect; Laura Lee, Paul Mok,
Jason Kim, Adina Bauman, Michelle Lin, Emilie
O’Neill, design team
ENGINEERS: Silman (structural); T.M. DePuy
Engineering & Land Surveying (site/civil); OLA
(m/e/p)
CONSULTANTS: Lumen Architecture (lighting
design); Ellana (cost estimation)
GENERAL CONTRACTOR: UCE Fine Builders
SIZE: 3,600 square feet
COMPLETION DATE: July 2022

Sources
MOISTURE BARRIER: Benjamin Obdyke
WINDOWS & DOORS: Sierra Pacific
CURVED KNEE WALL: Pepin Steel & Iron Works
LIGHTING: Luminii; Muuto; Flos
FURNISHINGS: Muuto; HAY; Humanscale; Blu
Dot; Bensen; DanishDesignStore
SOLID SURFACE: Stone Source

76 ARCHITECTURAL RECORD APRIL 2023

PHOTOGRAPHY: © FRANK OUDEMAN

STRUCTURE doubles as a steel knee

wall and wood stair (opposite, top)
and fireplace (this image). Bedrooms
open to the land (opposite, bottom).

77
 RECORD HOUSES

ENSO HOUSE II I SAN MIGUEL DE ALLENDE, MEXICO I HW STUDIO

Lines in the Sand

Inspired by Mies, but translated into local stone, a minimalist house stretches out on the desert landscape.
BY JAMES GAUER
PHOTOGRAPHY BY CESAR BEJAR

78 ARCHITECTURAL RECORD APRIL 2023

79
 RECORD HOUSES

IF MIES VAN DER ROHE’s seminal yet sadly unbuilt Brick project by contemplating what he calls “the three variables of architec-
Country House—designed in 1923 as an abstract composition of ture: place, user, and designer.” To learn about place, he and his team
orthogonal planes extending far beyond the volumes they enclose—had make multiple site visits to “listen to its soft and particular murmurs.”
been rendered in stone, it might look like Enso House II. This complex He gets to know his clients through a personality profile test, adminis-
of parallel and perpendicular walls, made of locally quarried Mexican tered by a neuropsychologist who asks them to assess themselves for
cantera, stretches out onto a high desert plateau north of San Miguel various traits such as self-discipline and extroversion. Then, in his role
de Allende. Its architect, 42-year-old Rogelio Bores, founding princi- as designer, Bores meditates silently on the information gathered.
pal and creative director of HW Studio, based in Morelia, readily “Until we have completed these three tasks, we try not to think about
concedes the similarity, saying with a laugh, “It’s the son of Mies and architecture, and let ourselves be carried along by the process, like a
Fred Flintstone.” leaf on a river.”
Bores designed the 2,100-square-foot compound, completed last These elaborate predesign rituals may seem a bit much, but you can’t
year at a cost of $300,000, for Cem Turgu and Adriana Alegría, a argue with the rigorous results. Bores organized the plan as a cruciform
young married couple, she from Mexico, he from Turkey. Both work in of long stone walls, with parallel paths for circulation, dividing the site
the oil industry as engineers. They met in South Africa, and, after into four quadrants. Each serves a single purpose: parking area, entry
living in many parts of the world, decided to settle in a secluded loca- garden, home, and office. The house is a low, rectangular volume
tion in the northern central highlands of Guanajuato state. Their needs whose flat concrete roof cantilevers to provide protection from the
were basic: a modest dwelling with one bedroom and an office. They desert sun. Inside, a central service core, containing a bath and closet,
had initially hired Bores for a more ambitious project, Enso House I, separates the bedroom from a living and dining area with an open
but the Covid pandemic and its uncertainties caused them to rethink kitchen. This room’s east-facing exterior wall of butt-jointed glass looks
their plans and downsize. “The name Enso,” says the architect, “de- out to a mountain about six miles away, framed by acacia shrubs in the
rives from a Buddhist term for an imperfect handmade circle that middle distance and a prickly pear cactus in the foreground. The view
symbolizes the fullness of the simple.” to the north from the bedroom, though less dramatic, is expansive and
Bores takes a decidedly spiritual—you might say mystical—ap- serene. A smaller, more vertical outbuilding, which serves as an office,
proach to design, which informed the name he gave to his architectural with mechanical space above, punctuates the insistent horizontality of
practice, HW Studio. “The letter H in Spanish has no sound,” he
explains. “It is the graphic representation of silence. The W refers to THE CANTERA stone walls, with hues that match those of the desert
the Japanese tea ceremony Wabi-Cha, from which several Japanese (below), punctuate the landscape and define the free-flowing interior,
aesthetic principles, such as Wabi-Sabi, are derived.” He begins every including the main living space (opposite, top and bottom).

80 ARCHITECTURAL RECORD APRIL 2023

81
 RECORD HOUSES

both the architectural composition and the

surrounding landscape. “The intent here,”
says Bores, “was to flirt with the iconic vol-
umes of the Santa Brígida mine,” a local
landmark of three tall stone pyramids rising
from a plinth in nearby Mineral de Pozos.
Despite its modest size and program, the
complex has a strong but subtle monumental-
ity. This is due primarily to the extensive and 5 4 3 2 1
massive cantera walls, which are 20 inches 6
thick and approximately 8½ feet high, on
average, and total almost 500 feet in length.
Their variegated hues range from pale warm
gray to ochre and terra-cotta. Travertine
flooring and the weathering steel cladding of
the service core (with a matching metallic
laminate for cabinetry) adhere to this limited
palette. These are the colors of the Mexican
high desert, and their rich yet muted tones
and textures provide an organic counterpoint FLOOR PLAN
to the strict orthogonal geometry of the
architectural plan and massing.
1 LIVING/DINING 4 CLOSET
“In this area, stone is an element deeply
2 KITCHEN 5 BEDROOM 0 15 FT.
rooted as a form of cultural expression,” says 5 M.
3 BATH 6 OFFICE
Bores. As a result, experienced masons are
readily available. They cut the cantera by

82 ARCHITECTURAL RECORD APRIL 2023

BUTT-JOINTED glass in the bedroom (opposite)
and elsewhere blurs the distinction between
indoors and out. Circulation paths (right) follow
the stone walls’ cruciform configuration.

hand and determined the arrangement in

which the pieces were laid. “It’s like a Tetris
game,” says the architect. The mortar is
brushed to recess it slightly, making it less
visible. The walls disturb the site as little as
possible and look as though they have always
been there. The effect, according to Bores, is
like “an ancient monastery, framing the land-
scape but at the same time forming a natural
part of it.”
The architect has detailed the house with
elegance and precision. Frameless glass inter-
sects seamlessly with cantera walls, travertine
floors, and concrete slab ceilings. Asked
where he acquired the technical skills to
accomplish this, Bores cites lessons learned
while earning his graduate degree at
Universidad Europea in Valencia, Spain.
There he studied with several masters of
materiality, including Fran Silvestre and
Alvaro Siza. He also credits the skilled crafts-
men, whom he supervised carefully in weekly
site visits. “However,” he adds, “I do not rule
out that the meticulous obsession of my sur-
geon father had something to do with it.” n

James Gauer, an architect and author based in

Chicago and San Miguel de Allende, Mexico,
contributes regularly to record.

Credits
ARCHITECT: HW Studio — Rogelio Vallejo
Bores, CEO and senior architect; Oscar Didier
Ascencio Castro, Nik Zaret Cervantes Ordaz,
architects
CONSULTANTS: Constructora ARGA
(structural); Mur Studio (kitchen)
GENERAL CONTRACTOR: Constructora ARGA
CLIENTS: Cem Turgu and Adriana Alegría
SIZE: 2,100 square feet
COST: $300,000 (construction)
COMPLETION DATE: November 2022

Sources
PRECAST CONCRETE: Concretos ABC
TEMPERED GLASS: La Unidad
WINDOW AND DOOR FRAMES: Cuprum
HARDWARE: ASSA ABLOY
COUNTERTOPS: Cosentino
CHAIRS AND TABLES: NAMUH STUDIO
LIGHTING: Illuminación Megamex, Tecnolite
LIGHTING CONTROLS: Bticino
PLUMBING FIXTURES: UREA, Interceramic

83
 RECORD HOUSES

HILL HOUSE | LAKEVILLE, CONNECTICUT | JOEB MOORE & PARTNERS

Pitched Perfect
A cluster of pavilions by Joeb Moore & Partners fits unobtrusively into the idyllic scenery of Connecticut.
BY SUZANNE STEPHENS
PHOTOGRAPHY BY DAVID SUNDBERG

DISCRETION seems the favored modus operandi for those seeking faire. In this particular case, the 5,800-square-foot weekend home for a
to build among the rolling hills of Connecticut. Forget the razzmatazz couple from New York was to be located on 32 acres, where a portion of
of arresting architectural forms; as shown by the quietly restrained the land is protected by an open-space covenant.
house Joeb Moore & Partners designed in Litchfield County, the sensi- Since the clients have grown children who would be visiting, along
tive solution is one that fits organically into the bucolic site. The archi- with other guests, they sought places for gathering outside and in, and
tectural office, founded by Moore in 1993 and based in Greenwich, rooms that could afford privacy as well as offer expansive views of the
Connecticut, is renowned for embracing the regional vernacular of the variegated landscape.
New England cottage, but executing it with a modern minimalist savoir “There are four distinct ecologies of place,” Moore points out about

THE MAIN ENTRANCE (opposite, top) is

nestled into a glacial ledge. Stone spheres
by artist Alicja Kwade herald the approach
(this image).

84 ARCHITECTURAL RECORD APRIL 2023

the property: a hickory grove, a glacial ledge, a
broad sloping meadow, and an old wooded area
protected by the conservation plan. According to
Beka Sturges, a principal of Reed Hilderbrand
landscape architect, the team needed to tuck the
house into a slope without disturbing the valued
hickory, maple, oak, and beech trees on the site,
and place a photovoltaic array (providing two-
thirds of the compound’s electricity) out of sight.
Moore came up with a plan where four inter-
locking pavilions would be nestled into an in-
cline between the rocky ledge of glacial schist
and the large grassy meadow. (A fifth pavilion—
for the garage—stands apart.) The different
structures form a pinwheel plan around a central
hall. The public areas of the house—living,
dining, kitchen, and billiard room—are located
in two rectilinear wings oriented in an L-shape
on one side of the hall. On the opposite side, the
main bedroom, library, and home office form an
L-shape arrangement with the guest wing.
Gabled roofs constructed from rafters or
wood trusses top the timber-framed pavilions,
while cedar clads the entirety, including the
shiplap siding for the walls. The ensemble
appears startingly abstract: no gutters, down-
spouts, or other protuberances interfere with
the purist silhouettes. In order to arrive at this
seamless effect, Moore created an invisible
gutter hidden between the roof plane and the
layer of waterproofing. Here, a space, 1½ inches
deep, allows the water to trickle into down-
spouts, which also are concealed in an 18-inch-
deep void behind the enclosing walls. To clean
debris from the gutters, the architects designed
removable roof boards near the vertical pipes.
“The detail looks simple but takes a lot of
thought,” says project architect Devin Picardi.

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 RECORD HOUSES

THE GARAGE is a separate building to the east (above,

left), opposite the service entrance (above). Gutters are
concealed behind the cedar cladding.

WOOD ROOF CLADDING

AIR SPACE
4 3 8
WATERPROOFING MEMBRANE

GABLE END WOOD

COURSING ALIGNMENTS

REMOVABLE GUTTER BOARD

BUILT-IN GUTTER
9 VENTILATED WOOD SOFFIT

STRUCTURAL BEAM
5
RECESSED SOLAR SHADE

GYPSUM CEILING

2 10 ALUMINUM-CLAD WOOD
CURTAIN WALL

6 STRUCTURAL COLUMN

SHIPLAP WOOD SIDING

WOOD FLOORING/
RADIANT FLOOR HEATING
1
11 FLOOR FRAMING
7 11 11
INSULATION

SILL SEAL

MASONRY SILL

CAST-IN-PLACE REINFORCED
PHOTOGRAPHY: COURTESY OWNER (LEFT)

CONCRETE FOUNDATION WALL

0 10 FT.
FLOOR PLAN SECTION DETAIL
3 M.

1 ENTRANCE 5 KITCHEN 9 LIBRARY

2 GALLERY 6 MUDROOM/LAUNDRY 10 HOME OFFICE

3 GREAT ROOM 7 BILLIARD ROOM 11 GUEST BEDROOM

4 SCREENED PORCH 8 MAIN BEDROOM

86 ARCHITECTURAL RECORD APRIL 2023

THE GREAT ROOM (right) overlooks a hickory grove; its
dropped gabled ceiling (below) floats above the sitting
and dining area, edging an artwork by Kay Rosen.

(And perhaps the cleanup should not be handled by

regular do-it-yourselfers.)
The inventive gutter and downspout detailing owes
much to Moore’s sense of experimentation, reflective of
his years of teaching in the architecture programs at
Yale University as well as Barnard and Columbia
colleges. Fortunately, he also had clients knowledge-
able about design—the husband had studied architec-
ture before going into real estate. As an architect
manqué, he was active in the whole process, even to the
point of sketching his responses to the schemes. “We
had a great ongoing dialogue,” he says. The wife, an art
advisor and independent curator, wanted to ensure her
collection of contemporary paintings and sculptures
played a dominant role in the house. She ended up
with an art gallery, which now occupies the 58-foot-
long, 18-foot-wide central hall, and finds this seren-
dipitous use for the spine of the house offers a stimulat-
ing transition from the public to the private areas.
The art gallery connects the main entrance door,
where steps have been cut into the glacial rock out-
cropping, to the south window wall and its expansive
view of the meadow and an off-axis swimming pool.
Unlike those of the L-shaped pavilions, the gallery
roof is flat and covered with sedum and wildflowers.
Two rows of skylights edge each side of this turf; they

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 RECORD HOUSES

THE MAIN BEDROOM (above) overlooks the older

woods. The native plants in the garden (left) pick
up the colors of the art in the gallery.

are double-layered to protect the art from the

sun’s rays: the topmost layer is a laminated mem-
brane; beneath it is a matte membrane with
ultraviolet blockers.
The living and dining area on the southeast
corner of the house has a wood-framed dropped
ceiling that seems to float over the space, its
distinctive gable shape articulated by the reveal
the architects created between the sloping ceiling
planes and the wall. On the black steel shelves
flanking the fireplace, the wife, working with
interior designer Rebecca Wu-Norman of the
firm WUNO, arrayed silver pieces and Chinese
porcelain inherited from her family. The display
forms a dramatic counterpoint to the modern
furniture such as the Piero Lissoni sofa, a
Charlotte Perriand daybed, a coffee table by
Florence Knoll, and dining chairs by Gio Ponti.
Elsewhere, family heirlooms, such as a Chinese
console table in the entry area and Biedermeier
chairs in the main bedroom, inject surprising
traditional notes. And, throughout the house,
fumed-oak planks for the floors, walnut shelving,
and stained pine window framing add a natural
warmth to the ensemble.

88 ARCHITECTURAL RECORD APRIL 2023

 The architects, clients, and landscape archi-
tects all remark on the collaborative spirit that
went into the creation of this complex. The
give-and-take allowed spaces contained within
straightforward volumes to unfold gradually
and unpredictably, revealing colorful art-filled
interiors that interact dramatically with the
views of the arcadian landscape outside. n

Credits
ARCHITECT: Joeb Moore & Partners, Architects
— Joeb Moore, principal in charge; Devin Picardi,
project architect; Thalassa Curtis, Robert Scott,
project team
ENGINEERS: Edward Stanley Engineers
(structural); GZA GeoEnvironmental
(geotechnical); Berkshire Engineering and
Survey (civil)
CONSULTANTS: Reed Hilderbrand (landscape);
WUNO (interior designer)
GENERAL CONTRACTOR: Richard E McCue
SIZE: 5,800 square feet
COMPLETION DATE: May 2020

Sources
METAL/GLASS CURTAIN WALL AND
WINDOWS: Unilux
GLASS: Guardian
MOISTURE BARRIER: Huber
SKYLIGHTS: Solar Innovations; Newmat (solar
fabric)
LIGHTING: Lucifer; Tech Lighting; Pinnacle; Bega
PHOTOVOLTAICS: AEGIS

A SCREENED PORCH is divided from the great

room by a fireplace (top), and looks out over
the sloping lawn and pool below (this image).

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SHAW RESIDENCE I FAYETTEVILLE, ARKANSAS I MARLON BLACKWELL ARCHITECTS

A Study in Contrast
A surprising courtyard house stands out among its suburban neighbors.
BY MICHAEL COCKRAM
PHOTOGRAPHY BY TIMOTHY HURSLEY

90 ARCHITECTURAL RECORD APRIL 2023

EVEN without knowing the exact address,
the Shaw residence, designed by Marlon
Blackwell Architects, would be easy to spot.
Located at the crest of a hill in an upscale
Fayetteville, Arkansas, neighborhood—a
20-year-old development lined with mani-
cured lawns and sprawling European-manor-
style McMansions—its low, rectangular form
stands out among its traditional neighbors,
appearing to float above the ground plane
behind a golden swath of prairie grasses.
Firm principal Marlon Blackwell, recipient
of the 2020 AIA Gold Medal, has a penchant
for the unexpected, as exemplified by such
diverse projects as the Thaden School, a
dynamic ground-up middle and high school
campus in Bentonville, Arkansas (record,
January 2022), and the spare St. Nicholas
Eastern Orthodox Church, housed in a re-
fined metal building in nearby Springdale
(record, November 2011). For this project,
the architect reimagines a courtyard-style
house on a suburban hillside in the Ozarks.
The concept originated with the clients,
Dennis and Evelyn Shaw, who are downsiz-
ing as they move toward retirement. The
couple envisioned a home with a sense of shel-
ter and refuge but open to nature, with a
daylight-filled core.
“We looked at the Roman courtyard house,
of course,” Blackwell says, “and Le Corbu-
sier’s La Tourette monastery was an inspira-
tion for the project.” As with the French
priory, the architect’s response to the sloped
site was to raise the brick-clad steel structure
on rectangular piloti. This allows the land-
scape to flow unobstructed beneath it, and
into a terraced courtyard as it steps down the
hill. The house itself is U-shaped and sur-
rounds the central open-air space on three
sides with a glazed curtain wall. On the
south, however, the interior transitions to a
covered breezeway, maintaining the orthogo-
nal flow of the structure’s metal roof above it.
This al fresco room bridges over the descend-
ing courtyard and frames views of the adja-
cent woods and distant forested hills.
“The scheme moves from solid to void,
from figural exterior facades to the Miesian
glass curtain wall that surrounds the court-
yard,” says Blackwell. This focus on the
central outdoor space makes the landscape
design especially important. In view of that,
Blackwell and his team collaborated with
Phoebe Lickwar, principal at the landscape

THE U-SHAPED house revolves around a central

courtyard on three sides, opening to a covered
breezeway that frames views on the south.

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1 2 6

SECTION A - A

0 10 FT.
3 M.
A

1
10

2 3 1 FRONT PORCH/
ENTRY

10 2 LIVING ROOM

3 LIBRARY/DEN
9 4 KITCHEN
4 11 12 5 DINING ROOM
8
6 BREEZEWAY

7 MASTER SUITE
7
8 DRESSING ROOM/
TORNADO SHELTER
7 6 5
9 LAUNDRY ROOM

10 OFFICE/GUEST
BEDROOM

11 STUDIO

12 GARAGE

0 15 FT.
FLOOR PLAN
5 M.

92 ARCHITECTURAL RECORD APRIL 2023

architecture firm Forge. “The terracing of the LOCATED within a
courtyard emphasizes the horizontal datum of suburban-style
architecture and draws the landscape up and development (right),
the house’s interior
into the central living space,” she says. Com­
(below) is concealed
plementing the bold lines of the building, her by an articulated
scheme supplants the typical lawn in both the brick facade on the
front and rear of the house with long horizon­ north (above).
tal bars of prairie grasses that change with the
seasons.
A strong formality is embodied at the front
of the house, on its north elevation, which is
enlivened by an articulated brickwork pattern
and punctuated by a cantilevered entrance
canopy and a tall, angled light monitor cum
chimney stack that rises from the roof like the
tail of an airplane. “We wanted to have one
facade rather than 15,” Blackwell says, allud­
ing to the tendency in contemporary “tradi­
tional” houses to shift pieces of the facade in
and out to create multiple planes. The irides­
cent glaze of its long Roman­style brick—
which reappears on the house’s two fireplac­
es—reflects light in various ways. This
luminous effect is augmented on the north,
where a custom­shaped brick creates a kinetic
texture as alternating courses angle in oppo­
site directions. The reflective masonry con­
tinues around the east and west facades with a
more standard bond and smooth face. All
around, a spare vertical fenestration controls
views into the house, with one exception: a
large corner window projects from a home
office on the northwest corner, providing a
panorama of the streetscape.
Inside, the living room stretches along the
entrance wall, culminating in a broad fireplace
that anchors the northeast corner. The house’s
functional spaces are situated on the east: a

93
 RECORD HOUSES

THE TERRACED courtyard

(this image) draws the
landscape up into the
kitchen and dining room
(below). A roof monitor and
skylight filter daylight into
the living area (opposite).

corridor to the garage, the clients’ painting

studio, and the kitchen and dining areas. The
three bedrooms are on the west, where a light-
filled hallway separates these private rooms
from the expanse of glass along the courtyard.
Simple material variations respond to each
space as one moves through the house. For the
most part, the largely white oak plank ceilings
slope down toward the courtyard on all four
sides, giving warmth to the rooms and con-
trasting with polished-concrete floors and
steel-and-glass window walls. In the living
room, the ceilings become a series of white
planes that follow the changing contours of
the roof.
As with many of Blackwell’s projects, day-
light is a critical component. The design team
angled skylights above the fireplace and posi-
tioned the light monitor, which is adjacent, to
capture a “snapshot” of sky. Sunlight tracks
throughout the house as the day progresses,
directing its morning light into the west bed-

94 ARCHITECTURAL RECORD APRIL 2023

room corridor from the east, penetrating the kitchen and dining room Credits SIZE: 5,460 square feet
with a western glow in the late afternoon, and filling the living area with COST: $1.5 million (construction)
ARCHITECT: Marlon Blackwell
a balanced luminance throughout the day. Architects — Marlon Blackwell, COMPLETION DATE: May 2020
In the table of contents of Radical Practice: The Work of Marlon Meryati Johari Blackwell, principals;
Blackwell Architects, a recent book of essays on Blackwell’s work, the Kertis Weatherby, Spencer Curtis,
David Jaehning, Stephen Kesel, SOURCES
strength and clarity of his form-making is demonstrated in a column of project architects CLADDING: Sioux City Brick;
small black-and-white icons that spill down the page, each represent- ENGINEERS: Engineering Hopkins Sheet Metal; Kawneer;
ing one of his projects in elevation. As with the Shaw residence, inno- Consultants Inc. (structural); HP Razorback Ironworks
vative form is grounded in relationships to the people it serves, the Engineering (m/e/p) GLAZING: Viracon; Crystalite
place it inhabits, and to time, past and present. n CONSULTANT: Forge (landscape) UPSWING DOORS: Overhead Door
GENERAL CONTRACTOR: PAINTS & STAINS: Sherwin-Williams
Michael Cockram is a freelance writer and director of Bowerbird Design in INSiTE Construction
LIGHTING: Lumenpulse; Lucifer;
Fayetteville, Arkansas. CLIENT: Dennis and Evelyn Shaw Lightolier; Acolyte; Legrand

95
 RECORD HOUSES

96 ARCHITECTURAL RECORD APRIL 2023

HOUSE SIX I BERKSHIRE COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS I EASTON COMBS

View Finder
A Berkshires home makes the most of its above-the-treetops vistas.
BY LAURA RASKIN
PHOTOGRAPHY BY DAVID HIEPLER

97
 RECORD HOUSES

MOST HOUSES with spectacular views are at the end of a very long volume clad in a black-stained eastern cedar performs a visual and
road. But the payoff, in both prospect and refuge, is often worth the structural trick inside, revealing a two-story perch. (Down the hill to
extra challenges in construction and access. Architects Lonn Combs the east, rescued ponies and goats gaze back up at the house from a
and Rona Easton know this particularly well. Two of their most recent barn just added.) The judicious use of extra-large windows defines
projects are, coincidentally, at the terminus of the same winding rural the house’s elevations and provides rolling views over treetops, the
road in southern Berkshire County, a verdant and culture-rich corridor Berkshire Hills, and, on the horizon, to Monument Mountain, the
in western Massachusetts. One, dubbed House Four, was completed in highest point in the state. “The configuration and geometry was as
2018. The most recent, House Six, followed. Call it a mini-compound, much aspirational as about the landscape and the site,” says Easton.
EASTON COMBS-style. “The house occupies the edge condition—it opens up this view—but it
That style, while not adhering to any formal signature, is one that the creates something low-slung and intimate upon approach.”
husband-and-wife team, a 2012 Design Vanguard firm, has been chisel- The clients, who own a publishing company focused on sustainabil-
ing with precision since the founding of the studio in 2004, focusing on ity and have grown children, were looking to move from the Spring-
material innovations, passive systems, bioclimatic design, and refined field, Massachusetts, area and found themselves lured to the Berkshires
detailing. Following a few years at the American Academy in Rome in on day trips to Jacobs Pillow or Tanglewood. They had a programmatic
the early 2010s, the couple settled in the Berkshires. They purchased a brief that Combs says is common and yet deceptively tricky to pull off:
property with a 1970s house and reused the foundation, designing their an intimate space that can also comfortably accommodate family for
own home and studio (House Five) as a model and a calling card. Since extended periods of time. “Our conversations with the clients always
then, they have deepened their roots in the community, with local resi- centered around space, light, sequence, interior intimacy, openness, and
dential commissions that reflect the clarity of the studio’s mission. The the communal aspect,” says Combs.
net zero House Four, comprising two black metal-clad volumes con- To achieve this balance and avoid a corridor of empty guest rooms
nected by a bridge, was designed for a client who wanted to cut her and closed doors, the architects torqued the southern end of the upper
dependence on fossil fuels. bar volume, creating an embracing gesture on the exterior. Inside, this
House Six, a few lots away, was a natural evolution of the architects’ delineation subtly separates the main living space from a more private
ideas about craft and efficient use of space and materials. Combs and wing containing a bedroom, bathroom, and office—a visitor barely
Easton took advantage of the inclined, previously cleared site and built realizes that the house doesn’t end but, instead, turns a corner. This is
into a slope. What appears upon approach to be a single-story bar aided by a black wood wall that, with another at the entry hall, forms a

98 ARCHITECTURAL RECORD APRIL 2023

GENEROUSLY sized and carefully
placed windows, the largest of
which is in the dining room (right),
frame the landscape. As one
approaches the house, the glazed
entry (opposite), along with a
stair-hall window (above), provides
a hint of the dramatic views
beyond.

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 RECORD HOUSES

set of visual parentheses framing the public areas of the house.

Multifunctional spaces include a “pop-up” loft, defined by a floating
stair anchored with vertical metal rods, which also animate the entry
hall. In the loft, a deck, carved into the roofline, obscures the view out
and instead focuses it skyward. Like the southern wing, it privileges
other, more intimate views—a necessary respite from the drama of the
main living area.
That drama is otherwise hard to resist. In the dining area, a 9-by-14-
foot fixed-glass unit, the house’s largest, creates an oblique sight line
from the entry to the eastern viewshed beyond. In the slightly sunken
living room, which flows from a jewel box–like black oak kitchen vol-
ume and open dining area, another generously sized window meets a
25-foot-long sliding glass door, forming a prow-shaped corner.
A varied roofline is a response to the undulations of the landscape
and the choreography of the house. It forms an interior crease that runs
from the primary bedroom in the northern wing, through to the main
living space, and then diagonally through the ceiling plane of the guest
wing. Combs and Easton achieved this with 120 prefabricated scissor
trusses, each one unique in geometry and dimension.
Also central to the architects’ design philosophy is taking advantage
of daylight. “Window placement is key,” says Easton, “but natural light
from above is in many ways more important in creating a dynamic inter-
play within the life of the house.” At House Six, skylights help define
different living zones, as with the one incorporated into a three-sided
wood hearth, or those placed meditatively (and somewhat spiritually)
above the showers. Each is positioned adjacent to a wall on the north
side, creating a wash of diffuse light. Due to the deep roof trusses (and
requirements for high insulation value), they form a kind of lantern, with
the incorporation of electric lighting for nighttime and dark winter days.
The wood-frame house was designed according to Passive House
principles, though it is not certified. The windows are triple-glazed and
the structure highly insulated—achieving above R40 for the walls and
R60 for the roof—without dependence on petroleum-based insulation,
using instead a combination of wood fiber and dense-pack cellulose. The

8 6

9
1
A

2
5 A

10
4

5 5

0 10 FT.
LOWER-LEVEL PLAN MAIN-LEVEL PLAN
3 M.

100 ARCHITECTURAL RECORD APRIL 2023

SKYLIGHTS, including the one above the hearth (opposite) and the thermally efficient envelope allows for a modest geothermal heating and
primary bedroom (above), help define different living zones. cooling system. With the installation of photovoltaic panels, planned for
the near future, the house is expected to be net zero operationally.
House Six has already inspired Combs and Easton to continue their
experimentation in construction and performance—this time with mass
timber. House Seven will begin construction this summer in the Berk­
shires; House Eight is planned for Teton County, Wyoming. n

2 Laura Raskin, a former record editor based in Brooklyn, New York,

writes about architecture.

5 Credits Sources
ARCHITECT: EASTON COMBS FRAMING: Nordic Structures
Architects — Lonn Combs, Rona INSULATION: Gutex
Easton, design
MOISTURE CONTROL: Pro Clima
0 10 FT. CONSULTANTS: Taconic
SECTION A - A
3 M. Engineering (structural); Michael GLAZED WINDOWS AND DOORS:
Boucher Landscape Architecture Bewiso
(landscape); Derek Porter Studio HARDWARE: PBA
(lighting); Aztech Geothermal
1 ENTRY 5 BEDROOM 9 POOL DECK KITCHEN: Henrybuilt
Heating and Cooling (m/e/p)
LIGHTING: Zumtobel
2 KITCHEN 6 PRIMARY BEDROOM 10 WORKSHOP/ GENERAL CONTRACTOR:
STORAGE Eric Zahn Builders PLUMBING FIXTURES: Duravit
3 DINING 7 FAMILY ROOM

4 LIVING 8 GYM
SIZE: 5,000 square feet
COMPLETION DATE: June 2022

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 RECORD HOUSES

SALTMARSH HOUSE I ISLE OF WIGHT, UNITED KINGDOM I NÍALL MCLAUGHLIN ARCHITECTS

Quaint Quarters
An intricately designed pavilion offers guests a seaside sojourn on the Isle of Wight.
BY CHRIS FOGES
PHOTOGRAPHY BY NICK KANE

FOR AS LONG AS the British have visited the seaside for pleasure, began with the idea of a delicate frame, floating above the ground,”
the country’s coastal architecture has borrowed freely from far-flung says McLaughlin. “A simple sketch might have shown a platform
places. Victorian resorts abound with onion domes and pagodas that sheltered by a canopy roof, and the changing light coming in from the
promised new sensations and leisured ease. There is an enjoyable echo sea and the sky.”
of this tradition in Níall McLaughlin Architects’ Saltmarsh House, an Diverse influences fed the development of the design, from the
elegant pavilion providing entertainment space and guest accommoda- memory of fragile greenhouses that once stood on the site to a wide-
tion on the grounds of its clients’ waterfront home on the Isle of Wight, spread fascination with Asia at the time the main house was built.
four miles from the English mainland. London-based McLaughlin also had in mind particular Australian
The main house, a crenellated 19th-century pile, sits on a low hill, houses, whose openness allows an intimate connection to the environ-
with gardens that sweep down to tidal marshland adjoining a natural ment, and a certain freedom within.
harbor. A winding path leads down to the pavilion at the water’s edge. Regulations on thermal performance now make such minimal struc-
It’s a sensitive setting, and the primary aim was to tread lightly. “We tures challenging, but the realized building has an almost ethereal

102 ARCHITECTURAL RECORD APRIL 2023

THE DINING HALL (this image)
overlooks an adjacent salt marsh and
harbor (opposite).

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 RECORD HOUSES

1 KITCHEN

1 2 3 2 BEDROOM

3 BATHROOM

4 HOT-WATER TANK
A 4 A 5 DINING HALL

6 5 6 COVERED TERRACE

B
0 10 FT.
FLOOR PLAN
3 M.

SECTION A - A SECTION B - B

104 ARCHITECTURAL RECORD APRIL 2023

 CAPTION Parum faccabo. Nis autatecti
quatem et aut aperuptasit elessim excessed
quibus non comnihilit parchil icabo.

SIX TRIANGULAR skylights (above) bring light

into the dining hall, while deep eaves (right and
opposite) express the pavilion’s horizontality.

lightness, which becomes more apparent on

approach. Low stilts lift a timber deck just
clear of the grass. Above, a dark copper roof
folded into intersecting pyramids is held aloft
on attenuated uprights that barely seem pres-
ent. Three copper-clad volumes—enclosing a
kitchen, bedroom, and bathroom—appear to
hover below its deep eaves with no visible
means of support.
When arriving by the short footbridge that
leads to the deck, the spectacular effect of the
building’s featherweight frame, executed en-
tirely in 1⅝-inch steel tubes, is revealed. Two
rows of columns, spaced 16 feet 5 inches (5
meters) apart, produce four square structural
bays, inset from the edges of the deck and roof
by half that distance. Three of the bays are

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THE FOLDING planes of the roof (left and

opposite) are structured by a delicate frame of
steel tubes.

glazed to enclose a long glass-walled dining

hall overlooking the water, with one left open
to create a covered terrace at its entrance.
Each skeletal column comprises four tubes
in a loose cluster, so that glass walls can pass
through them, preserving legibility of the
frame from inside and out. Finding a way to
do that was critical, says McLaughlin, but
eluded the architect until he spotted quadri-
partite stone columns on a visit to the 10th-
century Amber Fort in Jaipur, India.
Overhead, a cat’s cradle of gold-painted
steelwork supports the folding planes of the
roof, which are expressed with slats of ash and
frame triangular skylights. Within the dining
hall, warm wood panels line the walls below
three big windows on the seaward side, inter-
spersed with vertical strips of glass showing
how the columns meet the floor. The same
careful articulation of elements occurs again
on the opposite wall, where deep doorways to
the smaller rooms are coupled with bookcases
in three discrete blocks. More evidence of the
rigorous logic governing the design appears
wherever you look—cylindrical light fixtures,
for example, have the same diameter and
finish as the steelwork.
Harmonious coherence among the parts
allows the intricate, richly detailed room to
feel remarkably serene. There is enjoyment in
reading the pavilion, but it can also recede
from view, giving way to a more impressionis-
tic experience of light shifting across the walls
and the slow ebb and flow of the tide. Reason
and feeling are both engaged. “There’s some-
thing the human spirit finds deeply satisfying
about the interplay between the two,” says
McLaughlin. “Everything sits within a logi-
cal, geometrical, and constructional order that
is grounding, but at some point you can forget
about the architectural decision-making and
the building enables you to feel situated in a
different way.”
Its combination of openness, shade, and
shelter allows close connection to the envi-
ronment in all weather. In what McLaughlin
describes as the pavilion’s coup de théâtre, three
large, motorized windows on the seaward side
drop like guillotines, descending through low
walls at their base to hang below the floor.
Open to the air, the interior fills with the
scents and sounds of the marsh while remain-
ing protected from the elements by the encir-
cling veranda, which the architect likens to a
Japanese engawa.

106 ARCHITECTURAL RECORD APRIL 2023

 In another moment of delight, wood screens pop up from each a compact cabin on an ocean liner, or a railway sleeping car from a by-
windowsill to prevent the room from feeling like a fishbowl at night. gone age. That might be frustrating to live in full-time, but short vaca-
Their inner faces are lined with hand-painted silk and patterned with tions from convention can be exciting. It’s of a piece with the whole
delicate wetland reeds. ensemble—a building perfectly attuned to its intended use and its place,
Achieving such exquisite precision relied on close collaboration with with an alluring hint of far-off architectural worlds. n
Millimetre, a specialist contractor known for tackling innovative and
intricate structures for both artists and architects. It was the most Credits SIZE: 1,140 square feet
challenging project the firm has undertaken, says director Karn COMPLETION DATE: October 2021
ARCHITECT: Níall McLaughlin
Sandilands. “We worked with tolerances of 3 millimeters throughout, Architects — Níall McLaughlin,
which took enormous stamina and foresight.” The steel components principal; Tilo Guenther, project
associate; Alastair Browning, project Sources
and interior woodwork were handmade off-site, along with timber-
architect; Andreas Mullertz, architect METAL PANELS: Roles Broderick
framed “pods” for the three small rooms.
ENGINEERS: Smith and Wallwork LIGHTING: Mike Stoane Lighting
The organization of these antechambers is ingenious, if eccentric. (structural/civil); Ritchie + Daffin WINDOWS & SKYLIGHTS: Cantifix
Single pocket doors to the kitchen and bathroom align with sliding (m/e/p)
TIMBER FLOORING: Dinesen
windows, providing views from the hall on axis to the garden, while the CONSULTANTS: Kim Wilkie
paraphernalia of everyday life remain out of sight on either side. In the (landscape); Montagu Evans
bedroom, however, the building’s strict geometry means that the bed fills (planning/heritage)

the length of the room, and separate doors are required to access either GENERAL CONTRACTOR:
Millimetre
side of it. With beautiful built-in furniture and brass fixtures, it might be

107
 RECORD HOUSES

NEBO HOUSE I NEBO, NORTH CAROLINA I FULLER/OVERBY ARCHITECTURE

Family Plan
A young New York firm designs a mountain residence for a special client.
BY CLIFFORD A. PEARSON
PHOTOGRAPHY BY PAUL WARCHOL

108 ARCHITECTURAL RECORD APRIL 2023

ON A STEEP, wooded site in western
North Carolina, architects Emma Fuller and
Michael Overby clustered eight pavilions to
form a house that wraps around a central
patio and reaches out to views of Lake James
and the Appalachian Mountains beyond.
Designed for Overby’s parents, who moved
back to North Carolina after retiring from
busy careers in Florida and then Seattle, the
modestly sized house—just 2,750 square
feet—uses the hillside to protect itself from
temperature fluctuations and reduce its
energy consumption. The architects met at
Cooper Union’s School of Architecture, then
worked for different firms—Fuller for Diane
Lewis and Overby for Reiser+Umemoto—
before establishing their own practice in
New York in 2019. So far, their firm has
worked mostly on residential projects and
galleries, including a small design studio on
an alley in Richmond, Virginia, where Fuller
comes from.
The Nebo House, their first ground-up
project, offered Fuller and Overby an oppor-
tunity to address the push and pull of a chal-
lenging site and the needs of clients they
knew well but had never worked for. Though
still active and in good health, Kathy and Ken
Overby wanted a house that allowed them to
live mostly on one floor, with guest rooms on
an upper level. “We knew it would be modern
but wanted it to be warm and comfortable,”
says Kathy Overby, who had been a brand
manager for Boeing. Designing for his par-
ents was a process of discovery for Overby. “I
didn’t know my dad was so detail-oriented,”
he says with a laugh. His father, who had
been a firefighter and a golf pro, wanted a
house that would be easy to maintain. So the
architects designed a tight footprint and used
materials like cypress siding, concrete floors,
and stone paving that are durable and age
well.
The site drops 100 feet from the top of the
driveway to the water’s edge. To anchor the
house to the hillside, Fuller and Overby
inserted a pair of concrete retaining walls
diagonally across the plot, establishing the
south and west edges of the structure. The
architects liken the gouge in the earth to a
hunter’s blind that opens to the patio and
views of the lake. A third retaining wall
bolsters the upper edge of an entry court, with
a two-car garage hidden behind it. From this
court, the cypress-clad pavilions with zinc

OVERLOOKING a meandering lake created 100

years ago, the house reads from the driveway
as a village of small pavilions.

109
 RECORD HOUSES

standing-seam roofs appear to be a village of

strongly articulated volumes. To find the front
door—recessed behind a pavilion with a
sharply angled roof—you walk down a set of
stone steps and turn toward the lake.
You enter on an upper level, where guest
rooms and a sitting area are located, and
you’re greeted by a big view out to the lake
and a peek through a narrow clerestory to the
sky. Playing off views out and up is a third
source of illumination: a trapezoidal skylight
at the top of the steeply roofed pavilion.
The stair that takes you down to the main
floor acts as an element that both divides space
and connects it. With its Corbusian curves,
cantilevered landing, thin pipe railing, and
cool white color, the stair—as well as the
sculptural interplay of spaces—recalls the
house that Charles Gwathmey designed for his
parents in Amagansett, New York, in 1965.
The stair’s form and location make it the hinge
around which the house revolves—with the
living room and kitchen to the north, a service
spine to the south, and the patio to the west.
Standing on the landing, you can appreci-
4 ate the fluid character of the ensemble, as well
7
as the dialogue created between the whole and
6 its details. “We layered spaces,” says Fuller,
“so you can look at and through them.”
5
3 Instead of walls, changes in ceilings and
materials demarcate rooms and functions. For
example, the architects designed a faceted
white oak ceiling over the kitchen, giving it a
separate identity within the flowing plan. In
0 10 FT.
MAIN-FLOOR PLAN the adjacent living room, a wall of built-in
3 M.
cabinets, stained various shades of blue, and a
cantilevered banquette with orange upholstery
show how colors play an important part in the
ambience. A stone-clad fireplace, charred
cypress siding on the exterior, white oak
1
flooring on the stair, and a Moroccan plaster
called tadelakt applied to the walls of the
master bathroom all add texture and warmth
to the architecture.
Public functions occupy one side of the
2 main floor, while the clients’ bedroom suite
2 anchors the other. Set between them, the
bluestone-paved patio with its single Japanese
maple tree offers a carefully composed but
casual space to enjoy the air and views. Sliding
floor-to-ceiling glass panels open the living
room to the outdoor heart of the house, giving
0 10 FT.
UPPER-FLOOR PLAN the residence an expansive character. “It’s a
3 M.
void that’s as important as the built work,” says
Fuller.
1 SITTING 5 LIVING
The clients, who have family nearby and
2 GUEST BEDROOM 6 MAIN BEDROOM enjoy entertaining, wanted a house that would
3 KITCHEN 7 PATIO work when just the two of them are there but
4 DINING also accommodate large gatherings. “We tried

110 ARCHITECTURAL RECORD APRIL 2023

PUBLIC space flows from a sitting area on the upper level (above),
down a cantilevered stair (right), and to the kitchen and living room
(top). Windows are carefully placed to frame views of the lake and
woods (opposite).

111
 RECORD HOUSES

112 ARCHITECTURAL RECORD APRIL 2023

SLIDING glass panels can open the patio (opposite, top) to the living Credits Sources
room (above). The main bedroom (opposite, bottom) has its own terrace ARCHITECT: Fuller/Overby WOOD SIDING: Nakamoto Forestry
and relationship to the outdoors. Architecture — Emma Fuller, Michael STONE STEPS AND PAVING:
Overby, partners Hammerhead Stoneworks
ENGINEERS: Nat Oppenheimer, METAL ROOFING: Rheinzink
to balance the social and the private throughout the house,” says Michael Silman (structural); Mark Cambria,
Overby. So the architects designed the interiors to function in multiple Fusion Systems Engineering METAL WINDOW FRAMES:
(mechanical) Solar Innovations
modes—tucking a breakfast nook at one end of the dining room, for
GENERAL CONTRACTOR: CABINETWORK AND CUSTOM
example, and inserting elements like banquettes in larger spaces on the WOODWORK: South Fork Millwork
Cottonwood Development
upper floor and in the living room. CLAY WALLS: Jim Erskine Masonry
CLIENT: Katherine and Ken Overby
The clustered forms of the Nebo House create a dialogue between TADELAKT: Metaphor Finishes
SIZE: 2,750 square feet
the architecture and its context. By pushing the pieces together and
COMPLETION DATE: July 2022 CONCRETE COUNTERTOPS:
splitting them apart, Fuller and Overby engage them in a relationship DEX by Gate
that changes with the time of day, the season, and the activity of the FURNITURE: BoConcept
people inside. n (living room)

113
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 CEU DEFINING SUSTAINABILITY

Zeroing in on Zero
Architects grapple with the lack of consistent industry terminology for building performance.
BY JUSTIN R. WOLF

WHAT do we mean when we call something

“zero carbon”? Its definition is self-evident,
like “gluten free” or “tax-deductible.” But does
the term need a qualifier?
The nomenclature of sustainable design
has evolved in the last two decades. From
humble beginnings (“green building”) to
regenerative pathways (“living building”), the
terms and superlatives we use are meant to
distinguish excellence. “Net zero energy,”
“carbon neutral,” “emissions free”—these and
related permutations are bandied about by
government actors at United Nations climate
summits and by nearly every corporation
looking to make good on their ESG (environ-
mental, social, and governance) pledges. The
designations are leveraged at all scales, from
single-family houses to entire nation states.
They are now commonplace. So, why the
confusion?
Perhaps the biggest question the building
industry is grappling with today is how to
measure carbon. While a zero-carbon build-
ing is self-explanatory (broadly defined as
having a net zero amount of carbon emissions
associated with its annual energy demand),
the means to achieve zero emissions diverge
greatly depending on which performance
standard is being adopted, among other fac-
tors, and thus call into question whether
certain projects that claim the distinction are
legitimately carbon neutral. We have near
universal agreement on the technical defini-
tion of “zero carbon,” but only relative agree-
ment on its practical definition and how to
achieve it. And some industry experts believe
it’s not even possible, in the strictest sense. If
methodologies and outcomes vary, then may-
be the definition is compromised, or the term
itself becomes relative.
According to Drew Shula, CEO of Ver-
PHOTOGRAPHY: © ANTON GRASSL

dical Group, a California-based sustainability

consultancy, we need industry-wide consensus
on what “zero carbon” truly represents, so that
we may “compare project performance apples
to apples.” Jason McLennan, founder of
McLennan Design (now part of Perkins & THE OFFICES of HMTX Industries, in Norwalk, by McLennan Design,
Will, where he also serves as chief sustain- are expected to be Connecticut’s first Petal-certified Living Building.
ability officer), maintains that definitions

117
 CEU DEFINING SUSTAINABILITY

single project, it dilutes the value for hundreds

more that claim the title in good faith. It was
for this reason that McLennan established
ILFI, in 2006, an organization that sponsors
building-performance standards that are
considered the industry’s most stringent.
“Words mean what we want them to mean,”
says McLennan, paraphrasing a passage from
Lewis Carroll’s Through the Looking Glass.
McLennan points to those performance stan-
dards that permit the on-site burning of natu-
ral gas coupled with offsets (when emissions
are reduced through reforestation or other
means to compensate for emissions generated
elsewhere). “That’s not zero carbon!”
Despite his (and others’) ongoing attempts
to codify a common language, McLennan
doesn’t advocate for some overhaul of the
lexicon. Zero carbon, carbon-neutral, net zero
energy—“These are not protected words,”
unlike the label “organic,” he says, which is
federally regulated. A creative act of market-
ing can attempt to mimic the connotations of
“organic” with claims about being “natural,”
but the word itself is practically untouchable.
“Regenerative” design, on the other hand—
which was first adopted to describe net-posi-
THE INTERIORS at HMTX benefit from such biophilic qualities as connections to the outdoors, tive acts of healing and denote “going beyond
plentiful daylight, and indoor plantings. less bad as a paradigm”—is now being em-
ployed in “strange and incorrect ways,” says
don’t need tweaking, just reinforcing. Some source of grid-delivered electricity are consid- McLennan.
people try to change the meaning of what it is ered to various extents across the different As an example of a project that aims to be
to be “green” and “net zero,” says McLennan. programs. restorative, McLennan points to his firm’s
“That’s because these terms have value— Alexi Miller, NBI’s acting director of recently completed headquarters for HMTX
they’re part of the lexicon of design.” building innovation, doesn’t endorse any one Industries, a manufacturer of flooring materi-
The contributors to a building’s carbon pathway over another. The point of pursuing als, in Norwalk, Connecticut. It expected to
output can be broken down into the emissions carbon neutrality is to mitigate the impacts of be the state’s first Living Building Challenge
associated with grid-delivered electricity, using a lot of energy, he says, and “getting the Petal–certified project. (Of LBC’s seven
on-site combustion, and embodied carbon architectural community to think about all performance “Petals,” as the certification
(the emissions produced by material extrac- the ways we can get to net zero.” system’s requirement categories are called,
tion, construction, and demolition and dis- Miller is adamant that decarbonization is a only Water was not pursued, though a
posal), as well as water consumption, and straightforward process, but with numerous 5,000-gallon cistern captures rainwater and
refrigerants, according to the New Buildings interrelated considerations. He points to provides graywater for toilets and other utili-
Institute (NBI). Currently, there are more NBI’s Five Foundations of Zero Carbon ties.) The four-story, 24,000-square-foot
than a dozen organizational definitions of Building Policies: energy efficiency, renewable office building is far from the typical corpo-
what constitutes carbon-neutral building energy, building grid integration, building rate campus. Situated on a sloping hillside in
operations, all represented by a roughly equal electrification, and [reducing] embodied suburban Fairfield County, the building is
number of standards. The ones with the most carbon. Within the constraints of this multi- designed as an innovation center, including
brand recognition include LEED Zero Car- pronged approach, ensuring that any building three apartments for artists-in-residence, a
bon, Zero Code, and the International Living or development abides by its carbon and printing fabrication lab, makerspaces, and an
Future Institute’s (ILFI) Zero Carbon certifi- energy targets demands holistic thinking, art gallery. Its relatively compact, forested site
cation. Though they generally agree on the from design to construction to operations. also benefits from a light building footprint.
PHOTOGRAPHY: © ANTON GRASSL

need to reduce site energy use and the impor- Straightforward though it might be, getting A substantial portion of the vertically ori-
tance of operational efficiency, each one paves to zero carbon is far from simple. ented structure sits atop a series of tiered
a slightly different pathway to achieving “People have a tendency to overstate their pilings, so that the existing landscape is
carbon neutrality. For instance, on-site com- claims because they want the marketing ben- preserved for native plantings and stormwater
bustion is still permitted, to varying degrees, efit without having done all the work,” says retention. The interior spaces benefit from
by most standards, as is the use of off-site McLennan. When the value of something like connections to the outdoors, carefully con-
renewables, while embodied carbon and the zero carbon is artificially inflated, even for a trolled daylight, and planted green walls.

118 ARCHITECTURAL RECORD APRIL 2023

 Electricity needs are exceeded through on-site
solar power, and the building is expected to
operate with zero carbon emissions.
As with every other Living Building Chal-
lenge project, HMTX’s pathway to zero
carbon is grounded in context—its geography
and climate, the client’s culture, and their
long-term goals for the building. In keeping
with LBC standards, the building also omits
the use of on-site combustion.
The LBC is arguably the closest thing to a
universal sustainability standard the world
has. Which begs the question: do we need a
universal standard? Architect Sabina Cheng
doesn’t think so. Cheng, a studio director at
Los Angeles–based RIOS, says consolidating
the pathways into a singular yardstick would
hamper innovation and blind designers to the
performance and operations needs of regions
and communities on a micro scale. There is
no perfect system, Cheng says. “There is no
true net zero. But that shouldn’t stop us from
trying to do as much good as we can.”
Cheng refers to LEED certifications as
“chasing points,” but stops short of dismissing
their positive influence. “[LEED] has made a
huge difference in how people consider green
buildings today,” she says, but it’s “become a
commodity” that developers get to showcase
in pursuit of public accolades. Cheng’s col-
league at RIOS, Elizabeth Wendell, a senior
project designer, likewise doesn’t take so
much exception to how a term like “zero
carbon” is defined, but rather to the context in
which it’s used. To get at the question of
value, Wendell hypothesizes two buildings:
one is zero carbon and in the middle of no-
where, the second is high-performance, con-
tinually occupied, and fully integrated within
its community setting. “We have to ask our-
IMAGES: © BENJAMIN BENSCHNEIDER (TOP); COURTESY LMN ARCHITECTS (BOTTOM)

selves what the goal is,” says Wendell, and

consider not just what is being built and how,
but also why.
To test Wendell’s hypothesis, one must
ask, does a high-performing (though not net
zero) building that benefits an entire commu- WHEN RENOVATING an office for Hines in Seattle, LMN reduced embodied carbon by 65 percent
by reusing existing partitions, doors, and interior glazing, among other strategies (top and above).
nity have greater value than a certified zero
carbon building that’s used sparingly and in a
remote area? If so, then does the value of a acre plot, includes specifications for a the project on the right path towards zero
zero-carbon standard become inadvertently 45,000-square-foot rooftop photovoltaic carbon. But that isn’t RIOS’s singular preoc-
diluted? system that will offset all energy needs. Its cupation. “There’s a reason to build,” says
Cheng and Wendell cite their firm’s work other offsets are the “intangibles” that bring Cheng. Zero carbon or not, in her estimation,
for the on-the-boards Watts Community people together, says Cheng, like being a electing to not build the center is worse than
Center as an example of purpose-driven catalyst for community-revitalization efforts, the alternative.
design. It will provide a critical amenity in the enhanced green spaces and playing fields, and Barring the existence of a universal build-
center of LA’s notoriously underserved Jordan providing much needed shaded areas within ing-performance standard, some companies
Downs Projects public housing community. an urban heat island. Net zero energy has and organizations have elected to chart their
The proposed mixed-use community space been key to the design discussion of Watts own pathways. Seattle-based LMN Archi-
and adjoining park, sited on an oblong 6.5- from the start. Achieving just that would put tects is one such firm. In early 2022, the firm

119
 CEU DEFINING SUSTAINABILITY

is to get our energy from renewable sources

and wean all buildings off fossil fuels, he says.
“At the heart of the war of words and various
definitions is the massive global energy tran-
sition we’re in the midst of today.” Worldwide,
the burning of fossil fuels accounts for about
80 percent of today’s energy use; some projec-
tions have that figure dropping to 20 percent
by 2050. That’s kicking the can, he says.
Shula believes that energy transition can be
fast-tracked, and that we shouldn’t settle for
vague reduction targets that are time-stamped
decades into the future.
Efforts to do good shouldn’t fall short in
pursuit of perfection, and Shula prefers to fix
his attention on matters unrelated to the
nomenclature of sustainability. “We need to
stop bending to the money and influence of
fossil-fuel interests and keep the goal of slow-
ing global warming front and center. This
will frame our decision-making and allow us
to focus on what really matters—carbon
reduction.” While conceding the extreme
THE ROOFTOP at the RIOS-designed Watts Community Center in Los Angeles will have a
rarity of true zero carbon, he doesn’t consider
45,000-square-foot photovoltaic array to cover its energy needs.
pursuing it a fool’s errand. Shula says our
capacity to design for self-sufficiency is prov-
launched its Path to Zero Carbon Series, a forward,” according to the Path to Zero en, and the means to severely reduce carbon
research-focused project aimed at making Carbon Series website. output across all phases are viable. “It’s im-
sense of the issue of carbon emissions. Confu- This ambitious yet grounded approach is portant to know that net-zero can be achieved
sion is pervasive throughout the industry, manifested in LMN’s design for the Seattle yesterday.” n
according to Sam Miller, a partner with headquarters of global real-estate firm Hines.
LMN. “We felt we needed to get smarter on The recently completed 7,120-square-foot Justin R. Wolf is a Minnesota-based writer who
the topic.” At its core, LMN’s Path to Zero is renovation, located on the eighth floor of the covers green building trends and energy policy.
an exercise in humility, not marketing. While historic Modernist Norton Building, was
acknowledging the building industry’s in- carefully programmed to reduce the impacts
creasingly sophisticated tools for reducing of embodied carbon without relying on off- CONTINUING EDUCATION
To earn one AIA learning unit (LU), including one hour of
emissions, the firm considers “net zero car- sets. This was achieved through conscientious
health, safety, and welfare (HSW) credit, read “Zeroing
bon” and “carbon neutrality” as (mostly) salvage and reuse efforts, including a feature
in on Zero,” review the supplemental material found
disingenuous, because select large emissions wall made from roughly 1,100 square feet of
at architecturalrecord.com, and complete the quiz at
sources, particularly embodied carbon, are upcycled wood offcuts and salvaged local
continuingeducation.bnpmedia.com. Upon passing the
ignored or sidelined by key players. wood for a central conference table. A major-
test, you will receive a certificate of completion, and
Justin Schwartzhoff, LMN’s embodied- ity of the existing partitions, doors, and inte-
your credit will be automatically reported to the AIA.
carbon-research lead, calls the all-encompass- rior glazing were identified for reuse and, in
Additional information regarding credit-reporting and
ing “zero” a “squishy number.” We may even- many locations, were reused in place. The
continuing-education requirements can be found at
tually reach a point when we can legitimately insulation from those partitions that were
continuingeducation.bnpmedia.com.
claim zero carbon, he says, but he also stress- removed was donated to local rebuilding
es, “Right now, we are far away from that.” efforts for flood victims. In the case where Learning Objectives
This pragmatism stems from LMN’s unwanted existing materials couldn’t be 1 Outline the varying definitions for terms such as net
stance that all phases and scopes of carbon repurposed or new furnishings couldn’t be zero energy, carbon-neutral, and emissions-free.
emissions—embodied and operational—come sourced from salvaged items, LMN conduct- 2 Debate the importance of standard definitions for
with price tags that we haven’t even begun to ed meticulous embodied-carbon analysis in building-performance terminology.
calculate. At present, carbon pollution is each instance. The result is an office renova-
3 List the main factors that account for a building’s
largely an externality—something its produc- tion with a 65 percent reduction in embodied
carbon emissions.
ers are not required to take financial responsi- carbon compared to a baseline remodel of an
IMAGE: COURTESY RIOS

bility for. LMN would like to reverse that empty office space. 4 Describe possible pathways for achieving zero-
thinking and reach a point where the price of When it comes to large-scale carbon re- carbon buildings.
carbon is reflected across the building indus- duction, Verdical Group’s Shula is laser fo- AIA/CES Course #K2304A
try. But, in the meantime, “advocating for cused on the grid, and believes the other
carbon reductions as a public good is the path phases of carbon output will follow. The goal

120 ARCHITECTURAL RECORD APRIL 2023

Towards a Decarbonized Sustainable
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0.1 ICC CEU PE PMD 0.1 ICC CEU; 1 GBCI CE HOUR PM ST SU 0.1 ICC CEU; 1 GBCI CE HOUR BE ST SU

CATEGORIES
BE BUILDING ENVELOPE DESIGN PMD PRACTICE, MANAGEMENT, SU SUSTAINABILITY
IN INTERIORS DIGITAL TECHNOLOGY ST STRUCTURAL
PE PROFESSIONAL ETHICS RE RESIDENTIAL
PM PRODUCTS AND MATERIALS RR RENOVATION AND RESTORATION
Courses may qualify for learning hours through most Canadian provincial architectural associations.

123
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CONTINUING EDUCATION

Photo: Detail Homes; courtesy of Bison Innovative Products

Whether building a new

home or renovating
an existing residence,
homeowner “wish lists’’
have shifted significantly
in just the past three
years. Finishing touches
being placed on a modern
house in Mississippi.

Adaptability Creates CONTINUING EDUCATION

1 AIA LU/ELECTIVE

Opportunity 0.1 ICC CEU

Emerging ways of living in the home 1 IDCEC CEU

Sponsored by Bison Innovative Products, Marvin, and Plastpro Learning Objectives

After reading this article, you should
By Amanda C Voss, MPP be able to:
1. Discuss emerging design trends in the
residential market.
2. Detail how the desire for more natural

H
omes today are tasked with an homeowners undertook some 135 million light, connection to nature, and useable
outdoor space can be accommodated
increasing array of roles: they are home improvement projects, spending an
by products and design.
a place to relax and reinvigorate, estimated $624 billion, according to the most
3. Explain how the enhanced emphasis
a space to entertain loved ones, a shelter of recent American Housing Survey from the on and demand for energy efficiency
peace from uncertain times, and a location U.S. Census Bureau. That is an increase of and comfort can be met through
from which to work and to educate. Home about $100 billion in home improvement products that go beyond insulation.
has become not just where we live or sleep, spending over the previous survey period 4. Analyze the opportunities to remove
but also where we host events, engage in (2017-2019). barriers between inside and out and
hobbies, and exercise. Whether designing Homeowners are also appreciating maximize space with modular and
a new home, or planning for renovations, their existing homes more. Most planned pedestal decking.
trends in residential design are demonstra- improvements are not targeting potential
bly shifting so that homes can adapt and home buyers. According to a 2022 Home To receive AIA credit, you are required to
support these varied needs. Improvement Report, “Just 20% of home- read the entire article and pass the quiz.
owners considering home improvements Visit ce.architecturalrecord.com for the
RENOVATING WITH PURPOSE within the next two years say it’s to make complete text and to take the quiz for free.
The pandemic renewed interest in reno- their home more attractive to potential AIA COURSE #K2304G
vations. From 2019 to 2021, American buyers. Instead, the most commonly cited

124 ARCHITECTURAL RECORD APRIL 2023

Reimagine the Outdoor Experience

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 ADAPTABILITY CREATES OPPORTUNITY EDUCATIONAL-ADVERTISEMENT

Photos courtesy of Marvin

CONTINUING EDUCATION

Natural materials and views lead to better wellness.

homes are pushed to serve multiple purposes different design visions without the need for
throughout the day. custom or costly materials. Architects can
To connect with the outdoors, home- include a mix of pavers and surface materials
owner preferences are shifting toward larger including wood, stone, structural porcelain,
expanses of glass in windows and doors crushed rock, grating, artificial turf, and
when building or renovating. Across the concrete, with planter cubes and benches, to
industry, manufacturers report demand for create unique, custom looks and exceptional
larger glass profiles and an increased focus diversity in creating a client’s space.
on energy efficiency. New window products Offering tremendous design flexibility,
are also catering to this desire. An innovative coupled with ease of installation, adjustable
window product solution creates a glass nook pedestal deck systems provide a unique alter-
Connection to nature through fresh air, with unparalleled views and natural light, native to traditional deck building materials
light, and views is a major catalyst for satisfying the desire for biophilic connection and methods. Pedestal decks can be used
home design, whether in renovation or and respite─bringing the outdoors in. Surveys in a variety of spaces: balconies, rooftops,
new construction. of design professionals found that clients and on-grade applications. Modular decks
are making it a priority to request unbroken installed with a pedestal system provide the
views and views that connect them to the opportunity to turn underutilized or wasted
reasons include making it more comfortable natural surroundings. outdoor spaces into a functional amenity,
(54%) and simply feeling more satisfied extending indoor living spaces or generating
with it (52%).” CAPTURING OUTDOOR SPACES an outdoor oasis of its own.
With people increasingly reporting the Just as bringing nature inside is a priority for Regular interactions with the outdoors
desire to improve their current homes, today’s homes, harnessing usable outdoor have been proven to lower blood pressure,
rather than sell, the residential construc- areas is very important to homeowners. reduce stress, expedite healing, and improve
tion market is seeing growth in renovation Functional living spaces have risen to the top a person’s mood and focus. Modular systems
versus new construction. Homeowners are of renovation wish lists. Exterior space adds also allow for easy incorporation of vegeta-
also beginning to view their homes as a more room for entertainment, exercise, and tion and greenery into the homeowner’s
key factor in their own well-being. Beyond relaxation. Dwelling spaces are also being regular routine through the use of integrated
simple improvements aimed at how the home outsourced to the outdoors: between 2009 planter cubes and pots. Available with
functions, renovations are shifting to make and 2019, the number of first-time listings standard irrigation sleeves and drainage
changes that improve living situations and of accessory dwelling units (ADUs) grew on holes, modular systems can host plant life in
provide a sense of control. average 8.6% year-over-year, according to a the summer and be repurposed for seating
The desire for more natural light, a 2020 study released by Freddie Mac. and storage in the winter.
connection to nature, and/or useable Outdoor decks are a hallmark way to By choosing products which rely on
outdoor spaces has risen to the top of home- connect residents to the natural environment modular design, design professionals can
owner priorities. Proprietary and secondary through the utilization of natural materials, easily create an abundance of different design
research reveals the quest to capture and such as wood and stone. Using deck and visions without the need for custom or costly
transform areas in the home into oases of exterior products that rely on a modular materials. These deck materials can adapt
calm, quiet, and relaxation, a wish that has design for surface materials and accessories to accommodate any project’s specific and
become increasingly difficult to fulfill as allows designers to fulfill an abundance of particular needs and wants.

126 ARCHITECTURAL RECORD APRIL 2023

 ADAPTABILITY CREATES OPPORTUNITY EDUCATIONAL-ADVERTISEMENT

Photo courtesy of Plastpro

QUALITY MATERIALS MATTER
While homeowners are prioritizing the con-
CONTINUING EDUCATION

nection with nature to enhance health, they

also are increasingly aware of wellness and
energy use within their homes. This trend is
reflected in the number of homeowners who
report a planned investment in better ther-
mal insulation and an energy efficient HVAC
system as a renovation priority. Having
improved thermal insulation was considered
as ‘very important’ for homeowners by 43%
of industry experts surveyed.
“Wellness features, driven by the
COVID-19 pandemic and an elevated aware-
ness of the indoor environment’s impact on
physical and mental health, are no longer
a luxury, but rather a necessity in today’s
Door manufacturers are offering innovative materials, like fiberglass, that provide the look
homes,” reports Dr. Jie Zhao, Executive Vice
clients desire while also satisfying the demand for heightened performance.
President of Delos, a New York-based well-
ness real estate and technology company.
Photo courtesy of Marvin
A surprising example of this is the exterior
door. Since, exterior doors make a dramatic energy performance, complies with the
visual impact on a home, they are a frequent Environmental Protection Agency’s SNAP 20
target of renovations. Unfortunately, doors regulations, and utilizes sustainable alterna-
also can be one of the home’s worst energy of- tives for foam blowing agents. The fiberglass
fenders. Traditional door materials, like wood material itself is designed to last for decades,
and steel, incur major energy penalties. Due reducing construction waste, and requiring
to thermal homeostasis, wood acts to absorb less maintenance than traditional wood
heat and draw it away from the conditioned doors. This makes fiberglass doors more
interior, while steel doors require costly cost-effective over time.
interior insulation to be sufficiently effective. Fiberglass doors offer a more energy
In answer to these problems, and to sup- efficient solution for concerned clients and
port the increased interest in energy efficiency home buyers looking for environmentally
and comfort, door manufacturers are offering friendly and efficient products. Fiberglass
innovative materials that provide the look creates the ability to fortify a residence at its
clients desire while satisfying the performance exterior doors and take clients closer towards
requirements they need. One answer is fiber- their home performance goals.
glass. Doors made from fiberglass are weather
resistant and do not conduct heat well, so that POST-PANDEMIC
a fiberglass door acts to keep outside elements RESIDENTIAL DESIGN TRENDS
from having an impact on the conditioned Whether clients are building from the
interior. Doors crafted from fiberglass have a ground up, or embarking on renovations to
longevity similar to steel doors and are harder an existing space, surveys among design pro-
to scratch than a steel door. Fiberglass is built fessionals demonstrate that they have a whole
to withstand intense conditions for long new list of demands for their home.
periods of time with little-to-no maintenance,
compared to wooden doors. They can also be Quality and Wellness
finished, sanded, and refinished. Aesthetically, Consumers are becoming very conscious
the material can be formed into a number of about buying quality products and materials
different shapes to adapt to a client’s desired that will last. High quality products, made
style, mimicking everything from classic with timeless design and created to last for
wood mainstays to modern designs. Fiberglass many years, are consistently seen as worth
doors offer a green alternative to traditional the investment.
materials, since they are durable, have a longer Coupled with this enhanced emphasis on
lifespan, are energy efficient, and environ- quality comes a focus on energy efficiency and
mentally friendly. the longevity and durability of products. For The desire for better living at home starts
Leading fiberglass door manufacturers windows and doors, most homeowners report with light, air, and views. Industry-wide,
have created a proprietary foam core that that it is essential or highly desirable to have demand for more glass and bigger glass
provides superior insulation for maximum energy-efficient windows that will hold up exposures is a dominant trend.

128 ARCHITECTURAL RECORD APRIL 2023

 3

5
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security. Our 8/0 doors have a steel bar in addition to the LVL to help
increase the structure’s rigidity.

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 ADAPTABILITY CREATES OPPORTUNITY EDUCATIONAL-ADVERTISEMENT

Photo courtesy of Marvin

CONTINUING EDUCATION

MODERN RAILROAD-STYLE HOME –

NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA

At first glance, the long, narrow residence located in the historic

Lower Garden District of New Orleans appears quite compact. The
average pedestrian, in scanning the mere 18-foot-wide lot, might be
surprised to know that a family of four comfortably lives inside. But
this modern railroad-style home was designed by a husband-and-wife
team who are architects and designers by trade, and they took on the
challenge of maximizing the narrow-but-deep home to perfectly suit
their family’s needs.
Sabri and Caroline Farouki, who co-own an architecture and
interior design practice called Farouki Farouki, designed and Maximizing natural light allows the narrow footprint of the
renovated the 1,600-square-foot space in 2020, moving their family kitchen to transcend its boundaries.
into the home in 2021.
“[The lot] looked more like where you would park a boat or an
RV—not a house,” Sabri said. “But that was what attracted us to in the kitchen and living room with our two kids.”
it. We felt that, if we used our imagination and creativity, we could “Upstairs, there are windows on almost all sides,” Sabri said. This
make it work.” was intentional, as the family knew they’d be spending most of their
Their vision for the space included a juxtaposition of beautiful time on the second floor. “We wanted to have as many windows
materials and textures inside, a modern façade that paid tribute to as we could to open it up, and it feels really good. It doesn’t feel as
the historic district in which it was located, and from room to room an skinny as it is, and that’s the feedback we get when people visit. The
impressive economy of space. windows definitely play a big part of that.”
The main entrance is located along the side of the home, with Numerous windows amplify access to natural light and make
an ornamental gate that faces the street, serving as a conduit to the space feel larger than it really is. In the kitchen, four interspaced
the front door. This was an important design choice from the start, casement windows illuminate the clean white hues and austere
and it allowed the homeowners to balance the flow of the interior stone material comprising the kitchen island. The design choice to
spaces well. “The ornamental gate acts as the front door,” Sabri break up the space with clean, dark lines from window frames and
said. “To someone on the street, it gives you a sense of entry. steel structural support beams identifies spaces and guides the eye
Going through that gate, you then proceed halfway down the through the rooms. The kitchen is where the Farouki family spends
length of the house, where there’s a French door with a sidelight— most of its time, with the two boys sitting on the stools of the stone
that's the front door.” island while their parents cook. Light floods the space from casement
“One of the most fundamental moves was to put the living spaces windows, and off the dining room is a cozy rooftop terrace to enjoy
upstairs,” Sabri said. “We knew we’d want to spend more of our time fresh air and neighborhood views.

and perform as expected through cold winters indoor and outdoor space. The integration of percent of respondents reported having the
and hot summers for years to come. indoors with outdoors is another command- option to work from home five days a week.
Hand in hand with quality products is ing post-pandemic design trend. McKinsey found these numbers particularly
the newly prioritized desire for wellness. For notable because the respondents represented
clients, the desire for better living at home The Hybrid Home all areas of the country and all kinds of jobs,
starts with light, air, and views. Industry- The third edition of McKinsey’s American including not only “white collar” profes-
wide, demand for more glass and bigger Opportunity Survey provides a unique da- sions, but also those traditionally labeled
glass exposures is a dominant trend. Leading taset on how the new, flexible work environ- “blue collar” jobs that might be expected to
manufacturers report an exponential ment fits into the lives of today’s American demand onsite labor.5
increase in orders for scenic doors and larger workers. McKinsey worked alongside the
expanses of glass, with door panel sizes market-research firm Ipsos to survey 25,000
increasing 10% since 2017. Using windows Americans in spring 2022. The most striking
to help with a home’s energy efficiency, figure to emerge from this research is the Amanda Voss, MPP, is an author, editor, and
daylighting, and natural ventilation are a number of Americans who reported hav- policy analyst. Writing for multiple publications,
client priority. Large patio and scenic doors, ing the opportunity to work from home at she has also served as the managing editor for
made from glass, facilitate the flow between least one day a week: 58 percent. Thirty-five Energy Design Update.

130 ARCHITECTURAL RECORD APRIL 2023

 ADVERTISEMENT

PRODUCT REVIEW
Adaptability Creates Opportunity

CONTINUING EDUCATION
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131
 EDUCATIONAL-ADVERTISEMENT
CONTINUING EDUCATION

Photo courtesy of Häcker Kitchens

An organized, clutter-free kitchen

adds to household harmony.

The Kitchen That Works CONTINUING EDUCATION

1 AIA LU/HSW 0.1 ICC CEU

Innovative organization strategies
Sponsored by Häcker Kitchens | By Kathy Price-Robinson Learning Objectives
After reading this article, you should
be able to:
1. Discuss how an organized kitchen
adds to occupants’ health, safety, and

A
serene and orderly home is critical tranquility more vital than the heart of well-being.
for the health, safety, and well-being the home? A well-ordered kitchen requires 2. Describe the factors of a well-ordered
of today’s homeowners. A well- intricate coordination between appli- kitchen.
ordered and functional kitchen is key to ances, surfaces, storage, lighting, plumbing, 3. Identify options for drawer and
achieving that goal. No matter how elevated fixtures, power, ventilation, and aesthetics. cabinet organization.
the aesthetic of the kitchen, it cannot be Depending on the designer’s attention to the 4. Define ways to find and organize
considered a success unless the client has or- client’s needs, a kitchen can be calming or hidden or underused storage space.
ganizational strategies to make the kitchen a confusing. It can make cooking enjoyable or 5. Discuss case studies to illustrate the
functional space, customized to their needs. exasperating. The organizational features in use of sophisticated organization
This course reflects on the dangers of a non- a kitchen can be highly sophisticated or they strategies.
orderly home and kitchen, touches on the can be virtually nonexistent.
benefits of orderly spaces, and launches into With the specification of innovative,
a robust examination of the myriad ways forward-thinking kitchen organization strat-
drawers and cabinets can reach their highest egies, designers can transform this key space To receive AIA credit, you are required to
potential with innovative, forward-thinking into the most functional and least stress- read the entire article and pass the quiz.
organizational products. Three case studies inducing room in the house. We’ll begin with Visit ce.architecturalrecord.com for the
bring these principles to life. the consequences of a disordered kitchen complete text and to take the quiz for free.
and home, the benefits of orderly spaces, and
AN ORGANIZED HOME LEADS ways to achieve an orderly kitchen.
TO OCCUPANTS' HEALTH, SAFETY,
AND WELL-BEING Consequences of a Disordered Kitchen
For designers, the kitchen is by far the most A disordered kitchen is caused by two fac-
complex room in the house. But the stakes tors: visible clutter and hidden clutter. Both AIA COURSE #K2305D
are high to get it right. Where is orderly can have negative impacts on mental health.

132 ARCHITECTURAL RECORD APRIL 2023

EDUCATIONAL-ADVERTISEMENT THE KITCHEN THAT WORKS

Photo courtesy of Häcker Kitchens

The health effects of clutter are listed in
an article on the award-winning WebMD

CONTINUING EDUCATION
website.1 They include:

• A wandering mind that makes it hard to

focus on important tasks when several
things compete for attention. Researchers
have found that being around disorganiza-
tion makes it harder for a brain to focus.
• Stress is created in the body when clutter
occurs. Studies show that women who saw
their homes as cluttered produced higher
levels of the stress hormone cortisol.
• Isolation can occur when people with
cluttered homes hesitate to invite people
over, leading to feelings of loneliness.
• Safety can be an issue in cluttered spaces.
• Weight gain can happen around clutter
and hoarding. According to the article,
A well-ordered kitchen involves innovative storage strategies in the cabinets and drawers, as
one study found that “as hoarding got well as display shelves with sophisticated lighting.
worse, so did body mass index (BMI)
and binge-eating symptoms (eating large
amounts of food in a short time).”
a kitchen functions smoothly, the more the same findings.3 “Homeowners want
While women suffer more from a clut- likely an aging occupant can continue expanded space for storage and functional-
tered home than do men, older people suffer using that kitchen. ity.” One key takeaway from the NKBA
more than younger people. However, accord- report: “Homeowners prefer kitchens with
ing to a recent study, both genders and age Trends in Kitchen Design an open look and feel that have features to
groups suffer from cluttered environments.2 Point to Need for Organization hide clutter.”
Homeowners increasingly prefer smaller Highly regarded kitchen companies un-
Benefits of a Well-Ordered houses. This is according to a recent trends derstand and respond to customer desires.
Home and Kitchen report from the National Association of “We’ve reached a tipping point within the
The benefits of an organized home and Home Builders: living kitchen trend where classic kitchen
kitchen are the opposites of the negative con- “Home buyer preferences have con- furnishings are being carried into the liv-
sequences of a cluttered space. Concentration tinued to shift home building trends in ing room and other spaces,” said Andreas
improves, stress lessens, and safety increases. the wake of COVID-19,” the report states. Gommeringer, president Häcker Kitchens
Well-ordered, non-cluttered spaces also pro- “Following a brief uptick in new home sizes North America. “The array of new launches
vides these benefits: in 2021, the average size of a new home is impressive, even for Häcker Kitchens. We
dropped slightly from 2,525 square feet to have dramatically increased our options for
• Saves time—When every item has a 2,480 square feet in 2022, and the percent- on-trend personalization, all within a very
place, less time is used looking for lost or age of new homes with 3+ full bathrooms accessible price point for designers and
misplaced items. and 3+ car garages dipped to 33% and their customers.”
• Maintains harmony—In a well-ordered 17%, respectively.”
kitchen and home, there is likely to be The report quotes Donald Ruthroff,
fewer arguments about lost items. AIA, founding principal at Design Story
• Increases ergonomics—A thoughtfully Spaces LLC.: “We’re learning that if we use
designed kitchen is easier for clients to use less space, we can spend more on details and Kathy Price-Robinson is a nationally known
without undue strain. Think of a client finishes to make rooms such as bathrooms writer focusing on building and architecture. Her
using a sophisticated swinging shelf in feel more luxurious….And people will pay award-winning remodeling series ran 13 years
a cabinet corner, rather than the client a little more for solutions, such as cabinetry in the Los Angeles Times. She has written for
searching on hands and knees for an item add-ons that eliminate dead space, that add dozens of publications in the design and building
tucked into a dark recess. utility.” A trends report from the National industry and developed more than 100 continu-
• Contributes to aging in place—The more Kitchen and Bath Association reflects ing education courses.

Häcker manufactures modern fitted kitchens that meet the highest requirements in terms of quality, functionality, durabil-
ity and design. Founded by Hermann Häcker in 1898, the family-owned company, now in the fourth generation, supplies
more than 60 countries on every continent. The North American headquarters is located in Miami, Florida. State-of-the-art
production facilities allow the company to meet customer requirements down to the last detail. Häcker Kitchens is the first
kitchen furniture manufacturer whose entire product portfolio is climate-neutral. https://www.hackerkitchens.us/

133
 EDUCATIONAL-ADVERTISEMENT
CONTINUING EDUCATION

All photos courtesy of BQE Software

The financial health of a firm is directly related

to the financial health of projects–and the
ability to successfully manage relevant data.

11 Top Key Performance CONTINUING EDUCATION

1 AIA LU/ELECTIVE

Indicators (KPIs) of 0.1 ICC CEU

Successful Firms Learning Objectives

After reading this article, you should
Practice management and profitability be able to:
can be informed by good data 1. Describe why managing your project
and firm health is as crucial as
Sponsored by BQE Software | By Peter J. Arsenault, FAIA, NCARB, LEED AP managing your own health.
2. List the 11 Key Performance Indicators
(KPIs) that every firm must understand

A
and what they really mean for your
rchitects, engineers, and other an agreement with a client for one or more firm’s health.
design professionals often find specific projects. In exchange for providing 3. Define and quantify KPIs that are
themselves in the position of need- the project design services, the client agrees to meaningful to achieve your business
ing to successfully (i.e., profitably) manage pay for those services in the amount and time- and personal goals.
projects, or a portion of a firm, or even frame agreed upon. As long as each side does 4. Recognize how technology plays into
the entire firm. Others see the potential in it’ spart, then both the client and the design managing a healthy firm, just as it
does with managing your own health.
starting their own firm but struggle with professional are fundamentally satisfied.
the uncertainties of how to do it and make While all of this sounds simple, the reality
money at it. In many of these situations, the is that most firms are engaged concurrently To receive AIA credit, you are required to
most common mantra heard is “we never with multiple clients, multiple projects, and read the entire article and pass the quiz.
learned how to do this in school!” This multiple people working on them. Keeping Visit ce.architecturalrecord.com for the
course is intended to help fill some of that track of all that activity can be challenging complete text and to take the quiz for free.
gap in education. It covers some basic con- unto itself. Doing it all so that the firm
cepts of managing a practice from a business remains profitable requires paying attention
and profitability perspective. It also focuses to the financial and business aspects of a
on the key data that every manager needs to firm. Without bringing adequate money into
track, monitor, and act upon in order to not the firm each month, employee payroll can’t
just remain solvent, but to thrive. be met, overhead payments can’t be paid,
and business debt may become an undue
WHAT MAKES FOR A burden. Those things create an economically
FINANCIALLY HEALTHY FIRM? unhealthy firm.
The basic business premise of any firm On the other hand, a healthy firm
that provides professional design services manages the different variables such that
(i.e., architecture, engineering, landscape the billable work completed each month AIA COURSE #K2304D
architecture, surveying, etc.) is to enter into generates enough fees to meet or exceed all

134 ARCHITECTURAL RECORD APRIL 2023

EDUCATIONAL-ADVERTISEMENT 11 TOP KEY PERFORMANCE INDICATORS (KPIS) OF SUCCESSFUL FIRMS

the expenses. The usual way to achieve that

is to first focus on the management of the in-

CONTINUING EDUCATION
dividual projects. Fundamentally, if projects
are being managed to stay within the budget
of “direct project costs” (labor, consultants,
etc.) and the project time schedule, then they
should be generally profitable. If a firm is
consistent at managing projects profitably,
then the business should be profitable overall,
if there aren’t undue non-project costs that
are being carried by the firm. Hence, keeping
other overhead, financing, or “indirect” costs
under control is important, too.
Most design firms of any size wouldn’t think about doing design work without the use of CAD
The Basic Metric: Time or BIM because of the superior results they provide. The same is true with effective manage-
The most common basis for determining ment software which can streamline and simplify many administrative tasks while producing
the cost of providing professional services information that is invaluable to better decision-making.
is the time spent on each project. Profit or
loss is often determined by whether all the
time spent on a project can be billed to the can include things like office rent, utilities, WHAT ARE KPIS AND
client, or not. In this regard, there are a few supplies, computer equipment, software, WHY DO THEY MATTER?
fundamental points to keep in mind: etc. Most of these are fairly stable or Recognizing the importance of data within a
“fixed” costs from month to month. As firm is the first step to running a financially
• Time spent on project work is referred such, they can be allocated across projects healthy firm. It has been commonly said
to as “direct hours”–i.e., time charged or as part of a multiplier of employee time. that “You can’t manage what you don’t
directly to a project. This means that measure.” However, to be truly useful, the
employees need to track their time, which Based on these realities, the best way data needs to be relevant to the things that
is commonly done on a paper or electronic to monitor the financial health of a firm make a difference in the profitability of the
time sheet. The recording of time spent is to track the time and associated costs of firm. They also need to be distinct enough
is important whether the employee is the people working in the firm. Tracking not only to provide information, but to
paid hourly or if the employee’s salary is the time spent on projects compared to the enable actionable intervention when needed.
allocated proportionately to a project with time spent on other things is important at The term used for such data are “key
an hourly rate equivalent. both the project level and the firm level. performance indicators” or simply KPIs.
• Project team members who are well- Relatedly, understanding other costs and In the largest sense, KPIs track success or
managed and efficient with their time can allocating them properly as part of project challenges by measuring financial perfor-
complete projects within a budgeted time costs reveal the true profitability of projects. mance within a firm. They can be applied
schedule and then move on to another– Having the right data that is up-to-date firmwide or focus on specific projects,
hence generating fees to cover, or exceed, and current, managers can analyze it to see particular teams, project types, or even
the cost of producing the work. trends, identify problems, compare projects, the performance of working with specific
• Spending more time than can be legiti- make adjustments during a project, and clients. Of course, since each firm has dif-
mately billed to the client causes a drain determine whether to pursue more work ferent goals and ways of working, the most
on cash flow and profitability of the firm. with a particular client or not. important KPIs can vary between firms and
• It is important to recognize that employees Currently, the fastest and most efficient even from project to project.
need to spend time on things other than way to collect and analyze this data is to
project work such as administrative work, use readily available software designed
paid time off, training, or other purposes. specifically for professional design firms.
This is referred to as “indirect time” that Using such management software is
needs to be accounted for and absorbed by comparable to using design software (e.g.,
the firm since the employees still get paid CADD, BIM) for efficient, quality design Peter J. Arsenault, FAIA, NCARB, LEED AP is a
regardless of how their time is spent. and documentation results. This is true nationally known architect, who has managed small,
• In addition to personnel costs (i.e., salary, whether the firm is a sole proprietorship, a medium, and large firms and is also a prolific author
benefits, taxes), a firm usually has some small partnership, a mid-sized office, or a advancing better project and firm management.
level of overhead costs to cover, too. These large multi-office organization. www.pjaarch.com www.linkedin.com/in/pjaarch

BQE CORE is the award-winning firm management software, created by architects for architects, that project-based firms
trust to run their operations for better project outcomes, and more profitable futures. Their fully integrated suite of intuitive
tools with 24/7/365 support provides back-office automation to power front-office insights, making firm management more
agile, informed, and data-driven. Learn more at bqe.com/architecturalrecord.

135
 EDUCATIONAL-ADVERTISEMENT
CONTINUING EDUCATION

Photo courtesy of Connie Zhou / JBSA Images

The Mercer Street

academic podium
facade of New York
University’s John A.
Paulson Center.

Urban Academic Buildings CONTINUING EDUCATION

1 AIA LU/HSW 0.1 ICC CEU

Today's challenges and the flexibility of structural steel
1 GBCI CE HOUR
Sponsored by The Steel Institute of New York
Learning Objectives
By William B. Millard, PhD After reading this article, you should
be able to:
1. Assess the distinct requirements
of academic buildings and the

U
rban universities frequently find in traditional manufacturing have re- conditions of urban environments,
themselves in paradoxical posi- treated over the past half-century or so (see noting contrasting campus models
for urban universities with different
tions of simultaneous influence Mallach, particularly Chapters 3-5). And,
degrees of separation from
and constraint. Their status as purposeful unlike academic institutions located in neighboring nonacademic space.
communities within a city's wider social, smaller towns with pastoral campuses and 2. Analyze the experiences described
cultural, and economic context makes them affordable land available nearby for expan- in the case studies at major urban
a unique category of client for architects, sion, an urban university is nearly always universities and apply that knowledge
with complex programs that often super- spatially hemmed in. to future projects with comparable
impose different building functions within A university's distinctness from its settings and missions.
close quarters, offering opportunities that surrounding community is not a given but 3. Identify the properties of structural
call for high degrees of design ingenuity. a variable. The built environments of urban steel that have addressed the
As major employers, talent magnets, and academic institutions fall into a spectrum challenges of complex programs,
environmental effects, interdisciplinary
land stewards in dense cities, universities of patterns, depending on relations with flexibility, control of vibration and
can be powerful engines of local economic neighbors and internal and civic policy acoustics, and tight construction sites
and cultural reinvention; along with the choices regarding the quality of student and where work proceeds amid ongoing
hospital sector (either as university com- faculty life, personnel recruitment, security, academic and research activity.
ponents or as neighbors) and the private expansion, and other considerations. At one 4. Design academic facilities that
spinoff firms that academic research end of the continuum are self-contained accommodate the goals, challenges,
often generates, they drive the “eds and universities essentially replicating the and uncertainties of 21st-century
meds” economy that many observers see pastoral-campus model through walled and higher-education institutions.
as essential to the well-being of communi- gated designs that concentrate academic and
ties and the nation. The flip side of that research activity internally, dedicating part To receive AIA credit, you are required to
condition is the inevitable entanglement in of the host city exclusively to the school. At read the entire article and pass the quiz.
gentrification controversies and town-gown the other end, a university can be structured Visit ce.architecturalrecord.com for the
disputes involving socioeconomic class as an overlay on a city's street grid, opening complete text and to take the quiz for free.
and displacement, which are particularly its buildings to ground-floor retail and AIA COURSE #K2303Q
intense in cities where economies based its quads, pathways, performance spaces,

136 ARCHITECTURAL RECORD APRIL 2023

EDUCATIONAL-ADVERTISEMENT URBAN ACADEMIC BUILDINGS

lecture halls, and athletic facilities to the

nonacademic population.

CONTINUING EDUCATION
NYU'S PAULSON CENTER: INTERWOVEN
Few schools occupy positions at the
extremes of this spectrum, and the logic of NEIGHBORHOODS IN A SINGLE BUILDING
the eds-and-meds economy arguably favors a
shift from the enclave model toward greater The new 14-story multipurpose building for New York University (NYU) in Greenwich Village,
collaboratively designed by Davis Brody Bond (DBB) and Kieran Timberlake (KT), combines
public permeability. One major urban uni-
functions that in a non-urban campus might be distributed across at least five different
versity, whose full official name underscores
buildings: classrooms, social space, athletics, the performing arts, and housing for students
this relationship, Columbia University in the
and faculty. Blending these programs within tight boundaries, with I.M. Pei and James Ingo
City of New York, is in the midst of a major
Freed's Silver Towers residential complex (built from 1964 to 1967, landmarked in 2008) right
expansion, adding an entirely new campus a next door, Paulson Center executes feats of spatial gymnastics that only a steel frame could
short walk from its traditional location, with make possible. A building that might easily have become a Frankenstein's monster turns out
the explicit goal of enacting such a shift. to resemble an internally coherent academic ecosystem.
When universities seek new facilities “NYU's square footage per student,” notes KT partner Richard Maimon, is “roughly half
to accommodate growth in programs or of its peer institutions',” requiring extremely efficient allocation of functions to space. The
scale, the physical expression of town-gown university's Plan 2031, announced in 2010, called for a 3-million-square-foot expansion in the
relations and policy decisions inevitably area (Paulson provides 735,000 of those square feet). Neighbors including the Greenwich
becomes the concern of architects and Village Society for Historic Preservation have expressed concerns through the city's Uniform
planners. An academic building is often a Land Use Review Procedure (ULURP), community-board activities, and other channels that
high-profile project for a firm, with insti- the school has been overwhelming the Village. Whatever the university chose to do with this
tutional prestige contributing to visibility. site would inevitably come under close external scrutiny.
Conversely, major universities frequently At the same time, NYU's programs have outgrown subpar quarters. Housing in this area
(perhaps increasingly) seek the cachet is notoriously scarce and costly, the university's athletic facilities were antiquated, and space
associated with memorable building profiles for classrooms, offices, gatherings, and arts infrastructure was cramped. Faculty at the
and boldface-name firms. Functionality, prestigious Tisch School of the Arts, notes DBB partner William Paxson, have been “doing
however, remains the foremost concern in most of their teaching out of rented theater spaces and studios, and they didn't actually ever
most academic construction, particularly have a proscenium theater on the campus with a full fly tower.”
The Paulson Center's Iris Cantor Theatre, seating 350, remedies this shortcoming. The
when urban spatial limitations imply that a
building also adds two smaller flexible theaters with capacities around 150, the African Grove
multipurpose building will be preferable to
Theatre (named in honor of the nation's first Black theater, which operated on the same site
several separate facilities answering the dif-
in the 1820s) and the Warehouse Theatre, plus an orchestral rehearsal room, and replaces the
ferent needs of these complex institutions.
single-story Coles Gymnasium, its predecessor on the site, with a basement gym complex
Architects planning such buildings that includes four basketball/volleyball courts (using movable seating for varsity games) and a
frequently need to combine classrooms; pool. Athletic facilities are also available to the public, requiring careful thought to circulation
libraries; laboratories; residences; faculty through security checkpoints from the street. All these large-volume components call for long
and administrative offices; gathering spaces spans and major load transfers, since the programs placed on top of them, particularly the
for students, faculty, and sometimes non- two housing towers, create substantial dead and live loads, and columns through any of them,
university-affiliated visitors; facilities for particularly the theaters and gym, would be undesirable (see image 3).
the performing arts, visual arts, athletics,
and other specialized activities; and outdoor CASE STUDY CONTINUED ONLINE
space with at least some vegetation, often
a component in short supply in urban
neighborhoods (see images 1 and 2). Today's
universities also maintain high standards its effect on local economic variables—can student interest in different academic
for the environmental performance of their pose particularly tricky balancing acts in programs requires building designs flexible
facilities, being centers for research and an academic building. One may encounter enough to accommodate future changes,
scholarship related to the climate crisis, scenarios where a science laboratory foreseeable and unforeseeable.
including strategies for its mitigation and containing delicate equipment must cope
societal adaptation to it. with vibrations from a subway nearby,
The conditions affecting any type of or where a heavy building component
urban construction and building operations such as a dormitory tower is to be placed Bill Millard is a New York-based journalist who has
—high population density, availability of above an athletic facility that must remain contributed to Architectural Record, The Architect's
public transit, neighbors with concerns over column-free to preserve openness, or where Newspaper, Oculus, Architect, Annals of Emergency
a new building's physical encroachment or a university's need to respond to changing Medicine, OMA's Content, and other publications.

The Steel Institute of New York is a not-for-profit association created to advance the interests of the steel
construction industry by helping architects, engineers, developers, and construction managers develop
engineering solutions using structural steel construction.

137
 EDUCATIONAL-ADVERTISEMENT
CONTINUING EDUCATION

Photo courtesy of Sprung Structures, Inc.

The 270,000-square-
foot head office for
Blue Origin in Kent,
Washington, erected
from ground breaking
to completion in just
eleven months.

Revolutionary, Permanent CONTINUING EDUCATION

Tensioned Membrane
1 AIA LU/HSW 0.1 ICC CEU

1 GBCI CE HOUR

Aluminum Frame Learning Objectives

After reading this article, you should
be able to:
1. Describe the architect’s role in
Supported Structures managing the installation of rapidly
constructed tensioned membrane
aluminum frame supported structures.
A permanent solution for architects 2. List performance standards, including
improved daylight, acoustic, and
seeking rapid, cost-effective, sustainable, fire-safety measures, engineered into
and energy-efficient construction these high-performance buildings to
enhance the physical environment and
provide emotional and social well-
Sponsored by Sprung Structures, Inc. | By Celeste Allen Novak, FAIA, LEED AP being to occupants.
3. Identify strict code-compliance

F
regulations for these buildings that
ast tracking, value engineering, sus- trade-off between two of three choices: cost, benefit the physical environment
tainability, and integrative design schedule or quality. Design and technological through increased energy efficiency
are driving the delivery of most 21st advances in tensioned membrane aluminum and recyclability.
century buildings. These initiatives are frame supported structures may provide an 4. Discuss project management and
supported and encouraged by architects alternative for owners and architects who design of these buildings from pre-
design to post-occupant evaluations
and owners racing toward ever-tightening want it all. From TESLA to SpaceX, Harvard
that allow for a wide range of
project-delivery schedules, budgets, and to Blue Origin, homeless navigation centers to configurations, including multistory
energy-efficient mandates. ice arenas, clients are choosing to fast-forward interiors, various surface colors, and
It takes a remarkable structure to meet into the 21st century with sustainable build- massing alternatives.
the goals of a remarkable company. When ings that deliver on cost, quality, and schedule
constructing their headquarters in Kent, without sacrificing permanence and beauty.
To receive AIA credit, you are required to
Washington, Blue Origin opted for a read the entire article and pass the quiz.
solution that incorporates energy efficiency, Visit ce.architecturalrecord.com for the
sustainability, and speed: a tensioned mem- Celeste Allen Novak, FAIA, LEED AP, is a complete text and to take the quiz for free.
brane aluminum supported structure. Michigan architect, author, and advocate for
Design teams often confront owners sustainability and universal design.
AIA COURSE #K2303W
with a “devil’s bargain.” There is too often a www.linkedin.com/in/celestenovak

Sprung is the world leader in the design and manufacture of engineered frame supported tension membrane structures.
Significant advantages over conventional construction include speed to market, energy efficiency, long-term flexibility, and
lower overall project costs.

138 ARCHITECTURAL RECORD APRIL 2023

 DATES & Events

Upcoming Exhibitions career of Pritzker laureate Norman Foster.

Occupying 23,000 square feet, the exhibition
Aldo Rossi. Insulae
Berlin
More with Less: Reimagining Architecture includes drawings, workbooks, and proto­ Through May 14, 2023
for a Changing World types of almost 100 projects from the past six This exhibit at the Museum of Architectural
Newcastle, England decades, including the Carré d’Art in Nîmes, Drawing displays over 110 works by the late
April 22–September 10, 2023 France (1993), the Hong Kong International Italian architect, many of which are being
Led by British architect Sir Terry Farrell, the Airport (1998), and the Apple Park in Cuper­ shown publicly for the first time. The exhibit
Farrell Centre is a new public exhibition space tino, California (2017). For more informa­ is divided into three sections, titled Corpus
and research hub dedicated to architecture tion, see centrepompidou.fr/en. Mediolanensis, Works for Berlin, and Insula.
and urbanism, housed in a former 19th­ The latter series, from which the exhibition
century department store. For its inaugural Ongoing Exhibitions draws its title, is a collection of drawings by
Rossi that were inspired by architectural
exhibition, the center asked four architectural
practices—Dress for the Weather, McCloy + Andrea Branzi: Contemporary DNA models from antiquity. For more information,
Muchemwa, Office S&M, and the Hub for New York see tchoban­foundation.de.
Biotechnology in the Built Environment—to Through April 22, 2023
create installations that propose new design The Italian architect, who cofounded the Himali Singh Soin: Static Range
responses to the climate emergency. For more, radical design studio Archizoom in the Chicago
see farrellcentre.org.uk. 1960s, presents his third solo exhibition with Through May 15, 2023
the Friedman Benda Galley in Chelsea. On In her first solo exhibition in the United
Norman Foster display are three new bodies of work by the States, at the Art Institute of Chicago, artist
Paris architect, titled Roots, Germinal Seats, and Himali Singh Soin presents an immersive
May 10–August 7, 2023 Buildings, emphasizing natural and reused imagining of the history and future of “nucle­
The Centre Pompidou presents the largest materials in household objects such as chairs, ar” landscapes—post blast or power sites. The
retrospective so far dedicated to the prolific cabinets, and lamps. See friedmanbenda.com. multimedia exhibit, which includes poetry,

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139
 DATES & Events

music and video, textiles, ceramics, drawings, For this exhibit at the Roca London Gallery, Future”; the citywide exhibition features
and a therapeutic garden, was designed by the architect Hamza Shaikh brings a wide range contributions by 89 participants, over half of
artist in close collaboration with the local of architectural imaginings by his contempo- whom are from Africa or the African dias-
architecture office Future Firm. See artic.edu. raries into dialogue with historical precedents pora. See labiennale.org.
from the Drawing Matter archive. Drawings
François Dallegret: Beyond the Bubble by Mies van der Rohe, John Hejduk, and Le Towards a Decarbonized Sustainable
New Haven Corbusier are displayed side-by-side with Multi-Modal Transportation Network
Through May 22, 2023 products of the latest virtual technologies, to New York
Montreal-based architect François Dallegret, show how digital architecture follows and May 20, 2023
a central figure of the architectural avant- expands upon the profession’s drawing tradi- In light of federal funding now available for
garde of the 1960s and ’70s, is known for his tion. See rocalondongallery.com infrastructure repair, the Institute for Public
meticulous designs for futuristic objects and Architecture is hosting a free one-day sympo-
spaces. Building on the 2011 exhibition GOD Garden Futures: Designing with Nature sium to discuss reuse opportunities for the
& CO: Beyond the Bubble, the exhibit, at the Weil am Rhein, Germany Brooklyn Queens Expressway, which has
Yale Architecture Gallery, includes drawings, Through October 3, 2023 slowly been falling into disrepair due to de-
objects, films, and ephemera from six decades The Vitra Design Museum presents an ex- cades of deferred maintenance. Four diverse
of Dallegret’s practice. For more information, hibit designed by Milan-based design studio panels will convene at the Harbor School on
see architecture.yale.edu. Formafantasma, on the history and future of Governors Island to discuss highway removal,
the modern garden, which argues for horti- alternative transportation systems, commu-
Parall(elles): A History of Women in culture as a potentially radical means of ex- nity land trusts, and community visions for
Design perimentation and incubation. With a broad the future, led by experts, policy-makers, and
Montreal scope of inquiry that encompasses contempo- community members from Brooklyn and
Through May 28, 2023 rary community gardens, green facades, and Queens. See the-ipa.org
This large-scale exhibition at the Montreal vertical urban farms, the exhibit includes
Museum of Fine Arts gathers close to 250 work by landscape architects Roberto Burle NeoCon
works by American and Canadian women Marx and Mien Ruys, and artist Derek Chicago
dating from the mid-19th century to today. Jarman. See design-museum.de. June 12–14, 2023
Organized with the Stewart Program for An annual fair that has been held in the city
Modern Design, works are displayed against Events since 1969, NeoCon gathers industry profes-
the historical backdrop of the social and sionals to learn about and experience the
political issues that have shaped the careers of Concéntrico 09 latest innovations in commercial interior
women designers over the past 150 years. Logroño, Spain design. This year, nearly 1 million square feet
They include a broad range of objects from April 27–May 2, 2023 of exhibitions will display over 400 products,
artisanal craft to industrial design, including The six-day architecture and design festival from both leading companies and emerging
ceramics, glass, metalwork, jewelry, textiles, returns for its ninth iteration this year with designers. For more, see neocon.com.
furniture, consumer products, graphics, fash- a roster of events, installations, and exhibi-
ion, and interiors. See mbam.qc.ca. tions throughout the city. Featured are design Competitions
proposals and concepts that celebrate the
Retrotopia: Design for Socialist Spaces public realm and civic life. For more, see Architecture at Zero 2023
Berlin concentrico.es/en. Deadline: June 15, 2023
Through July 16, 2023 The competition, presented in part by AIA
This exhibition at the Museum of Decorative NYCxDesign California, is seeking design proposals for an
Arts in Berlin explores the vast body of work New York agricultural center in Allensworth, the first
produced by architects and designers in the May 18–25, 2023 town in the state to be founded, financed, and
former Eastern Bloc during the Cold War. Returning for its 11th year, the architecture governed by African Americans. Emphasiz-
Displaying both realized and conceptual and design festival attracts over 300,000 ing goals of decarbonization, equity, and
spaces imagined by architects and designers visitors to the city to explore a diverse roster of resilience, the competition brief invites stu-
from behind the Iron Curtain, the exhibit talks, exhibits, installations, and walking dents and professionals to design proposals
brings to light work from figures little known tours. See festival.nycxdesign.org. that recognize and advance the site’s aspira-
in the western world, among them Czech tion to become a destination for sustainable
architect Věra Machoninová, designers Sirje Venice Architecture Biennale 2023 agriculture and Black history. For more, see
Runge and Bruno Tomberg of Estonia, and Venice architectureatzero.com.
German architect Lutz Brandt. For more, see May 20–November 26, 2023
smb.museum/en. The 18th edition of the Biennale is curated by E-mail information two months in advance to
Scottish-Ghanaian architect Lesley Lokko, [email protected].
Vanishing Points: Architectural who founded the Graduate School of Archi-
Imagination in the Digital Universe tecture in Johannesburg in 2015 and the
London African Futures Institute in Accra, Ghana, in
Through July 29, 2023 2020. This year’s theme is “Laboratory of the

140 ARCHITECTURAL RECORD APRIL 2023

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 SNAPSHOT
The Curtain House, by Johnsen Schmaling Architects, sits on a quiet residential block
in Milwaukee’s Lower East Side, tucked between two century-old houses on a narrow
and long-vacant lot. Designed for a local couple, the three-story infill residence features
flexible living and working spaces centered around an interior courtyard. The street
facade, from which the house draws its name, is composed of tightly spaced timber-
wrapped aluminum panels that invoke the movement and function of fabric curtains.
Offering privacy from the street, the screen shades south-facing rooms from the sun
while still allowing natural light to penetrate the interior. “The panels are fixed in place,
but there is the illusion that, if the wind were to blow, they might shift,” says firm
partner Brian Johnsen. “The undulation changes, depending on where glazing or solid
wall panel is. To think through the choreographing of their placement was an
interesting exercise in movement.” Pansy Schulman

PHOTOGRAPHY: © JOHN J. MACAULAY

144 ARCHITECTURAL RECORD APRIL 2023

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