| December News | 
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Historic Restoration Specialists has begun work on our office building, pictured above. Starting with the nine bay windows, all sashes will be removed and restored in the contractor's shop in Smithsburg, MD. Window frames and masonry will be restored in place. We will also be installing new storm windows on all thirty windows.
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If you have ever wanted to learn computer-aided drafting (CAD) or Building Information Modeling (BIM), I will again be teaching both beginning AutoCAD® and Revit® Architecture at Carroll Community College starting February 1st. Both will be happening on Tuesdays and Thursdays. The BIM course will be from 10:30am to 12:25pm, and the CAD course will run from 6pm to 7:55pm. Sign up today!
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| Architectural Jargon | Architects, like many specialists, have a vocabulary all their own. We hope this regular column will aid you in the translation. This month's theme: openings.
Astragal
A molding covering the joint between pairs of doors or windows.
Awning Vent
A top-hinged project-out window sash.
Bifold Door
A compact door made up of two leaves, joined with hinges, with one leaf pinned and the other suspended from an overhead track.
Butt Hinge
A door or window hinge made up of two rectangular plates joined on one edge with a pin.
Casement
A window that swings open along its length, like a small door.
Dutch Door
A door consisting of two separately operating leaves, one mounted above the other.
Light
A pane of glass.
Mullion
A vertical member separating windows or doors in series. Windows joined in the factory may be "mulled" together.
Sash
The movable part(s) of an operable window.
Stool
A narrow shelf at the interior base of a window.
Stop
Molding applied to the interior of a door or window frame against which the door or window closes.
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We wish you a happy holiday and hope you enjoy this monthly newsletter. You are receiving it due to your professional or personal relationship with our firm. We want to keep you informed not only of what's happening at our firm, but in the world of architecture as we see it.
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Project of the Month
Many prospective clients ask whether we specialize in either residential or commercial projects. The answer is that we design both, but really enjoy unique projects.
Funded and managed by Anverse, Inc., the Carroll Nonprofit Center serves as home base for many Carroll County nonprofit organizations. For a very modest rent these groups can locate their business offices within the building, affording them the legitimacy of a mailing address, but even more, the synergy of proximity to other nonprofits. Completed in 2005 and now home to a diverse sampling of groups such as the Community Foundation of Carroll County, the Literacy Council of Carroll County, the Marriage Resource Center of Carroll County, the Carroll Technology Council, and many others, the 40,000 sq.ft. building has become a true community hub. Occupying its entire lower level is the Catholic Charities Head Start program for Carroll County, providing day-care services for over a hundred children daily.
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Frozen Music
I call architecture frozen music." - Goethe
Continuing this thought by the famous polymath and author of Faust, I have long viewed the best of architects as the composers and conductors of built symphonies. Using rhythms of structural framing, melodies of material textures, and chords of light, these architects really do create works rivaling the best musical compositions. The architect's score is written in notes of volume and color and shadow. Even minor buildings can have moments that transcend what would otherwise be the equivalent of an architectural jingle.
If you have ever visited an architectural masterpiece you've probably experienced, as I have, moments that take away your breath. And you really do have to be there in person: unlike a wonderful recorded performance, photographs cannot do justice to a building. To be appreciated, you must surround yourself with these livable works of art. Walk through them. Observe the shifting perspective as you travel from one space to the next. Listen for the subtle echoes of those who have passed before you. Sip the vista from the balcony.
Unlike other works of art, most buildings result from the efforts of many people. The architect composes the original score, and must know the range and qualities of each instrument. The builder is the conductor, interpreting the architect's creation and coordinating an orchestra of specialists who work together to produce a monument to everyone's hard work.
This is where the musical metaphor breaks down: while music is a linear experience, with one group of notes and beats following another, a building is apprehended by many senses at once. It doesn't matter what order your path takes, because the next time you visit you may walk in a different direction.
The Roman architect Vitruvius wrote that a successful building must have positive qualities of firmness, commodity, and delight; that is, a building must be strong, it must function efficiently, and it must be beautiful. Contemporary architects would also add five more to this list: the qualities of safety, durability, sustainability, comfort, and economy.
To be strong, a building must support its weight and that of its occupants against not only gravity, but also lateral forces such as wind and earthquakes. An efficient building is one that places similar activities adjacent, that doesn't force its occupants to travel far to carry on their daily activities. As for safety in buildings, this is the reason we have building codes: every paragraph is a response to someone's suffering. Comfort in buildings refers not only to heating and air conditioning, ventilation and humidity control, but also providing for adequate lighting without glare. And buildings must be economical not only in their frugal use of materials, but also in the energy spent in placing and maintaining them. Economy rears its head in architecture another important way that rarely has the same impact in music: when someone makes a mistake. A miniscule error during design can multiply geometrically when under construction, transforming into far more than a sour note. No one is perfect: even Frank Lloyd Wright said, "The physician can bury his mistakes, but the architect can only advise his client to plant vines," and "An architect's most useful tools are an eraser at the drafting board, and a wrecking bar at the site."
Then there's beauty. Unfortunately for us, very few buildings sing. Most buildings and their environs don't exhibit the first faltering notes toward this musical metaphor. Driving through the city can be like repeatedly thumbing the TV remote and discovering there really isn't anything good on all those channels. All too often, the criterion of cost subordinates that of beauty, and we become surrounded by a cacophony of thoughtlessly assembled boxes like wood blocks strewn across a playroom floor.
In striving to balance those six qualities in their designs, architects are recognized among artists as Renaissance people. Their best buildings will play their frozen music for the generations to come.
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We hope you've enjoyed our newsletter. If you have comments on anything you've read here, please drop us a line. And of course, if you have a project in mind you'd like our help with, let us know that too. We'd love to hear from you! Sincerely, Dean R. Camlin, AIA, LEED® AP
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