Paring back to the essential
The architect John Pawson’s latest book is a wonderful discovery and an inspiration. Pawson is a master practitioner of identifying the essential, setting everything else aside and making the essential beautiful. Pawson elevates the everyday to something simple and rich with meaning. Mies van der Rohe pioneered this approach and called it beinahe nichts.
Cooking and and spending time with family are super important to us and its expression in our home is a priority.
What’s essential in your life?
Is there something–an activity or a pursuit–that you want to make a priority in your space?
How do you want to live?
John Pawson’s book Home Farm Cooking
#johnpawson #focus #kitchen #family #phaidon
The architect John Pawson’s latest book is a wonderful discovery and an inspiration. Pawson is a master practitioner of identifying the essential, setting everything else aside and making the essential beautiful. Pawson elevates the everyday to something simple and rich with meaning. Mies van der Rohe pioneered this approach and called it beinahe nichts.
Cooking and and spending time with family are super important to us and its expression in our home is a priority.
What’s essential in your life?
Is there something–an activity or a pursuit–that you want to make a priority in your space?
How do you want to live?
John Pawson’s book Home Farm Cooking
#johnpawson #focus #kitchen #family #phaidon
Wood structural systems that behave like steel
When we think of innovative structural systems, we think of Mies's iconic 50 x 50 house which was supposed to be built in Winnetka but we are unsure exactly where. The 50 x 50 house was built in steel but what if it could be completed in wood? (Periana Architecture in LA is actually building Mies's 50 x 50 house which is pretty cool.) Wood embodies carbon rather than creating it as in the case of making steel. Here's an idea in wood where laminated eight 2x4 beams are laminated together and then arrayed in alternating rows 5 feet apart and then stacked a 3/4" threaded rod at each intersection bolts the assembly together. 60 foot clear spans are possible. Check out the model and a completed interior. #architecture #mies #Chicagoarchitecture #chicagoarchitecturecenter #cac #miesvanderrohe
How do you want to live?
When we think of innovative structural systems, we think of Mies's iconic 50 x 50 house which was supposed to be built in Winnetka but we are unsure exactly where. The 50 x 50 house was built in steel but what if it could be completed in wood? (Periana Architecture in LA is actually building Mies's 50 x 50 house which is pretty cool.) Wood embodies carbon rather than creating it as in the case of making steel. Here's an idea in wood where laminated eight 2x4 beams are laminated together and then arrayed in alternating rows 5 feet apart and then stacked a 3/4" threaded rod at each intersection bolts the assembly together. 60 foot clear spans are possible. Check out the model and a completed interior. #architecture #mies #Chicagoarchitecture #chicagoarchitecturecenter #cac #miesvanderrohe
How do you want to live?
Zoning Services
Early Wednesday, the phone rang. The number had a check mark by it so I picked up and warmly greeted, "Good morning!"
"Hi, we are going to buy this vacant lot and I want your help with designing a three unit condo building on it."
"Sounds good. What's the address?" I asked.
He told us and we looked it up on the City of Chicago's fabulous zoning site.
"The zoning district is RT-4." I observed.
"Oh, yes," the caller said "and the 4 is for the number of units I can build on the lot."
"Ummm, no, that's actually the zoning district–in this case it's residential– and the number classifies the density of the district. The number of units you can build on a lot come down to a couple of items spelled out in the district's bulk and density regulations."
"Really?" He puzzled.
"Yes, the first place is with the rule 17-17-0302 which defines the lot area per dwelling unit. In RT-4, 1,000 ft2 of lot is required per dwelling unit. What are the dimensions of your lot?"
"25 feet by 100 feet," he replied.
"Ok, so 2500 sf divide by 1000 sf per unit gives you two dwelling units."
"Really?" He sounded let down.
I continued, "the other number to keep in mind is the Floor Area Ratio."
"What's that?" He asked.
"It's a multiplier known by the acronym FAR. RT-4's FAR is 1.2"
"What does that mean for our lot?" He inquired.
"So 1.2 times 2500 feet equals 3000 square feet. So that's maximum square footage allowed. It doesn't count a basement that's more than 50% under the grade."
"So I cannot build the 3 condos I was counting on when I bid for the property." He observed.
"Exactly! Sorry to hear that but no at least you know BEFORE spending $400,000."
"I really appreciate it, William. You saved us from making a big mistake. I am gonna talk this over with my wife and I'll get back to you with another property."
So we have a full suite of advisory services. This one was pretty straightforward but many times an analysis of a property can be complex and we’ll discuss another example soon. #chicagozoning #realestate #realestateadvisory
How do you want to live?
Early Wednesday, the phone rang. The number had a check mark by it so I picked up and warmly greeted, "Good morning!"
"Hi, we are going to buy this vacant lot and I want your help with designing a three unit condo building on it."
"Sounds good. What's the address?" I asked.
He told us and we looked it up on the City of Chicago's fabulous zoning site.
"The zoning district is RT-4." I observed.
"Oh, yes," the caller said "and the 4 is for the number of units I can build on the lot."
"Ummm, no, that's actually the zoning district–in this case it's residential– and the number classifies the density of the district. The number of units you can build on a lot come down to a couple of items spelled out in the district's bulk and density regulations."
"Really?" He puzzled.
"Yes, the first place is with the rule 17-17-0302 which defines the lot area per dwelling unit. In RT-4, 1,000 ft2 of lot is required per dwelling unit. What are the dimensions of your lot?"
"25 feet by 100 feet," he replied.
"Ok, so 2500 sf divide by 1000 sf per unit gives you two dwelling units."
"Really?" He sounded let down.
I continued, "the other number to keep in mind is the Floor Area Ratio."
"What's that?" He asked.
"It's a multiplier known by the acronym FAR. RT-4's FAR is 1.2"
"What does that mean for our lot?" He inquired.
"So 1.2 times 2500 feet equals 3000 square feet. So that's maximum square footage allowed. It doesn't count a basement that's more than 50% under the grade."
"So I cannot build the 3 condos I was counting on when I bid for the property." He observed.
"Exactly! Sorry to hear that but no at least you know BEFORE spending $400,000."
"I really appreciate it, William. You saved us from making a big mistake. I am gonna talk this over with my wife and I'll get back to you with another property."
So we have a full suite of advisory services. This one was pretty straightforward but many times an analysis of a property can be complex and we’ll discuss another example soon. #chicagozoning #realestate #realestateadvisory
How do you want to live?
Curating Art at the Intersection of Art and Architecture
The English caricature artist Jonathan Cusick paints with a wit and superb technical ability that make his paintings fun, beautiful and contagious with delight.
Oscar Wilde was one of the greatest wits in the English language. He was a caricature in real life. So what better subject for Jonathan Cusick?
Oscar Wilde toured America in the early 1880s. He disembarked at New York City and reputedly was asked by a customs official if he had anything to declare, and he supposedly replied: “I have nothing to declare but my genius.”
Wilde took the train to Chicago and walked up Michigan Avenue and encountered the Water Tower, a landmark that was legend for surviving the Great Chicago Fire. The limestone Water Tower hid the pressure regulator for the water pumping station across the street. Wilde called it “a castellated monstrousity with pepper boxes stuck all over it.”
So when I commissioned Cusick to for a portriat of Wilde, I asked him to include the. So Jonathan went to work and came up with 2 versions and he made a small and large mockup of one. In the first–which was my idea–Wilde is standing in front of the Tower. He made two versions–small and large. Next, Jonathan really thought about how to create a reference in a more clever manner. He painted a Water Tower lapel pin and added it Wilde’s collar.
You can scroll to the see the mockups and a closeup of the lapel pin. The first version is the final one.
Jonathan Cusick’s website
#jonathancusick #caricature #caricatureartist #oscarwilde #oscarwildeinchicago
The English caricature artist Jonathan Cusick paints with a wit and superb technical ability that make his paintings fun, beautiful and contagious with delight.
Oscar Wilde was one of the greatest wits in the English language. He was a caricature in real life. So what better subject for Jonathan Cusick?
Oscar Wilde toured America in the early 1880s. He disembarked at New York City and reputedly was asked by a customs official if he had anything to declare, and he supposedly replied: “I have nothing to declare but my genius.”
Wilde took the train to Chicago and walked up Michigan Avenue and encountered the Water Tower, a landmark that was legend for surviving the Great Chicago Fire. The limestone Water Tower hid the pressure regulator for the water pumping station across the street. Wilde called it “a castellated monstrousity with pepper boxes stuck all over it.”
So when I commissioned Cusick to for a portriat of Wilde, I asked him to include the. So Jonathan went to work and came up with 2 versions and he made a small and large mockup of one. In the first–which was my idea–Wilde is standing in front of the Tower. He made two versions–small and large. Next, Jonathan really thought about how to create a reference in a more clever manner. He painted a Water Tower lapel pin and added it Wilde’s collar.
You can scroll to the see the mockups and a closeup of the lapel pin. The first version is the final one.
Jonathan Cusick’s website
#jonathancusick #caricature #caricatureartist #oscarwilde #oscarwildeinchicago
Cost difference between an electric heat pump system and a legacy gas forced air or gas hot water heater
What is the cost difference? Upfront? Over 10 years? What are the tax credits? Great questions! As architects who–like all of us–are aware and deeply concerned about the threat of man-made climate change, we advise all our clients to go solar and use electric or geothermal for heating and cooling.
Federal tax credits
For an 80,000 btuh output and a 50 gallon hot water heat pump water it’s about $25k versus $12k before the tax credits. The federal goverment allows you to subtract $2k per heat pump per year from your taxes through 2032. That’s about $32k in savings.
#energysaver #climatechange #solar #sustainableheating #mrcool #mitsubishi #hydronicheating
What is the cost difference? Upfront? Over 10 years? What are the tax credits? Great questions! As architects who–like all of us–are aware and deeply concerned about the threat of man-made climate change, we advise all our clients to go solar and use electric or geothermal for heating and cooling.
Federal tax credits
For an 80,000 btuh output and a 50 gallon hot water heat pump water it’s about $25k versus $12k before the tax credits. The federal goverment allows you to subtract $2k per heat pump per year from your taxes through 2032. That’s about $32k in savings.
#energysaver #climatechange #solar #sustainableheating #mrcool #mitsubishi #hydronicheating