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105 W. Main St. Suite 100
Freeport, IL 61032
Toll Free (866) 233-2215
Phone (815) 233-2215
www.fyearch.com |
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Creating buildings in harmony with nature and place begins with taking time to understand your site. In the fast-paced world of building, it is easy to overlook what attributes the site has and to view them as obstacles. Take the time to truly understand the site, to embrace the features as opportunities, and to learn from the land what the house can be. As you view the home as an enhancement to the land by valuing the surroundings, and as you consciously work with the natural features, you are on the path to integrating the house into the site, not manipulating the site to the house.
"The Land", from Small Bungalows, by Christian Gladu
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Side Note:
Patterns of Home | |
Each month, we'll share the guidelines from Patterns of Home that inform architects (and you!) when considering the pattern in design.
Working with the "Inhabiting the Site" Pattern:
*Protect the heart of the site by keeping driveways and parking toward the edges and by blocking objectionable views with buildings or plantings.
* Put the main social and communal spaces on the more public part of the site as a shield for the private spaces tucked into the more remote part.
*Decide what part of the site is most special then preserve it.
*Extend the building's wings, decks and garden walls out into the site to knit the house strongly to the land.
*Orient the wings and rooms to the best views.
*As you locate and arrange the main elements of the building on the site try to make a positive contribution to the larger surroundings, to the neighborhood. | |
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Always Up to Something! | |
Late last year, Manny's Pizza in Savanna, Illinois lost their historic downtown building to a devastating fire. cf+a is delighted to be designing their new building which will allow them to expand both the pizza/taco business and provide an enhanced banquet facility for Savanna and the region. Manny's great pizza can still be found in Savanna as they are operating out of a temporary downtown location. We'll post some drawings and construction photos as the year progresses!
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Photos:
In the Architect's Words | |
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The Ten Essentials of Enduring Design
This year, Design Matters embarks on a quest to discuss those design elements central to making a house a home. We seek to enlighten the home owner, the home dweller, the home dreamer about how the design process works and why it's important to consider these essential patterns whether designing from scratch, adding on and remodeling, or just working to make your existing home a better place to be.
As you can well imagine, we read a lot of books. A LOT of books. Once considered essential to the architectural library, Chris read A Pattern Language by Christopher Alexander, roughly thirty years ago. It has informed his work and the work of many architects, landscape architects and urban planners during the last few decades. From that landmark publication comes the authors Max Jacobsen and Murray Silverstein who, as young architects, studied under Alexander and helped divine the "pattern language". Along with Architect Barbara Winslow they created their residential design firm. The trio has written a book entitled Patterns of Home (2002) which elucidates the essential design patterns originally discussed in Alexander's' tome, while at the same time reducing these patterns down to just ten for home design. The original book, published in 1977, contains no less than 253 patterns which define design elements for homes and communities, from the first 94 patterns for "Towns" through the last 48 patterns detailing materials and methods for "Construction". (Not a book the average homeowner would wish to slog through, but those architects you know, they're a little different!)
Prior to the wholesale development of printing and publishing, homes built were in the "vernacular" style, meaning that they reflected the tradition of the region in which they were built, and the particular skill or style of the builders in the region. But by the middle of the 19th Century with the advent of mass printing production, there were many, many "pattern books" used extensively by carpenters to create the Gothic, Victorian and Italianate houses that sprung up all over the nation. A.J. Downing's The Architecture of Country Houses is an example of the popular patterns used in the day.
The Patterns of Home book pays homage to the teachings found in Alexander's book while bringing essential design knowledge to those of us not trained in the art, science and technology of architecture. Plus, the philosophies defined and applied within the pages of this book go well beyond the elements of "style", like the use of the "gingerbread trim" that defines the Gothic house, and well into the substantive, comprehensive thought process practiced by attentive, effective architects. For the next several months, we'll highlight these patterns, pointing out their use (or lack thereof) in house designs of ours, or others. We'll also discuss, as do the authors, the patterns "in context", that is, how several patterns are integrated as the design process continues. We think you'll enjoy seeing the thoughts come together into one whole design concept, as indeed, "it is the way (patterns) work together that makes all the difference in a house design. . . .the patterns are all part of a larger whole." |
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PATTERNS OF HOME - THE TEN ESSENTIAL ELEMENTS OF ENDURING DESIGN
- Inhabiting the Site
- Creating Rooms, Inside and Out
- Sheltering Roof
- Capturing Light
- Parts in Proportion
- The Flow Through Rooms
- Private Edges, Common Core
- Refuge and Outlook
- Places in Between
- Composing with Materials
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Featured Article
Design Matters
Patterns of Home : Pattern One
January 2011
Pattern One: Inhabiting the Site
It makes perfect sense that a discussion of design begins with the site. Site planning is the first step in the process of creating a home, or any building. Capitalizing on the site's characteristics and creatively working with problems presented by the site is first and foremost when considering the design and eventual construction. Oddly enough, there are plenty of homes built in which it is painfully obvious that the site itself - the slope of the land, the position of the sun as it moves through the day, the presence of obstacles, or of existing infrastructure (streets, roads, utilities, water and drainage) - was an afterthought if indeed it was considered at all. We can't begin to count how many times we've seen a site with a beautiful south orientation allowing for maximum solar gain - particularly sites in newer subdivisions - where the house faces that beautiful sunshine with a blank wall or a garage. Clearly no thought was given to the site, nor to the plan of the house which could well have been flipped to better utilize the solar power afforded by the site. And frankly, no house should ever have one side with no windows - not only is it unfriendly to live in, it's just poor design.
When site is not fully considered as one of the the first design discussions, the house and site may well end up in conflict with each other. As our authors state, "The house may be founded on unstable soil or it may be built on the very spot that was the most beautiful and useful space on the site, preventing you from ever enjoying it again. The sun may not reach the building in the winter, but beat down on it in the summer. The windows of the building may not capture the best views but instead gaze awkwardly into the neighbor's house. In the worst case, the house may end up feeling like it simply doesn't belong on the site."
When building in a subdivision, with covenants and restrictions, owners and builders tend to choose a plan they like from a standard, or required, portfolio and proceed to plunk it down, whether it fits or not. This is when you end up with lost opportunities like solar gain or excellent views (even it it's just a view to the woods or meadow behind). Think about how many "McMansions" you've seen planted on lots that are clearly too small for the structure, yet somehow seemed OK in that two-dimensional drawing. In addition to the dangers of poor site utilization, there are also missed opportunities - "a graceful tree, a rock outcropping, or a dramatic view" - that can be lost with poor placement on a siste. Too, one needs to consider the home's public face. "The placement of the buildings can define both an attractive public front for the site and a more private, secure back." We've seen more prominent garage doors than we care to - it's time to lose this relic of home design and consider once again the street presence, the welcome of the facade, and incorporate the necessity of the garage into the site in ways that do not obstruct the view of the front door or the inviting nature of a home. Difficult sites pose challenges that standard suburban sites do not. Most architects take great pleasure in working through these challenges in order to place a home in such a way as to capitalize on the difficulties - a steep slope, a rocky cliff, a natural swale or spring-fed creek - to create a home that "fits" with its surroundings rather than doing battle with its quirky characteristics. Lucky the owner who finds the beautiful, but difficult, site and the right architect to work with the pattern of inhabiting the site. |
In the architect's words:
"A house must begin and grow from its site. When a house grows out of the uniqueness of the site, it will seem as natural and as integral a part of the whole as the trees are a part of the forest.
Site planning is really the first part of designing a house. When a house is placed correctly, it inhabits its surroundings harmoniously, rather than interrupting, or worse, destroying the natural characteristics of the site.
For me, placement of the house so that it's long axis with the important living spaces and views facing south, is most important. The southern exposure offers the warmth and light of the sun - so important here in the cold Midwest - and the natural shelter of the building from the north.
For the residence shown in this issue of Design Matters, built in rural Winnebago County, we relied on the wisdom of the pattern, "Inhabit the Site".
The house developed from its location on the land. The Owners, having purchased the land many years previous to actually building on it, had the foresight to place a mobile home on the site, which gave them, over time, a very clear idea of how the site "worked". They noted the pattern of the sun and seasons, the wind and weather, the birds and wildlife, and brought that valuable information to our design discussions. The location of the mobile home turned out to be the ideal location for the house as well. In addition to opening to the south for solar gain, the house was sited so as to be sheltered by the woods from the cold North winds and to be open to the views to the South and Southeast.
The house is sited within its 20-acre property in such a way as to be nearly invisible from the public road, offering complete privacy, yet being totally open to the sun and the views. By building a detached garage, we created an "entry court" that welcomes visitors to the public space. We sited the house and the "mother-in-law" cottage so as to take full advantage of both the views and the solar gain, even canting the cottage a bit to the East for the best long views. We designed the living spaces for both the main house and the cottage so that they open to the "outdoor living spaces" which created a seamless flow between interior and exterior uses. The outdoor living areas are then also sheltered by the house for maximum usage over the seasons. Essentially, we analyzed the site, took in its main characteristics, supplemented by the long-term site knowledge of the Owners, ascertained the best solar gains, and worked within the confines of the woods and the expansive site to place the home in the best possible location." |
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Last Call
Now is the perfect time to plan your new home, addition/remodeling or business expansion. It may not feel like it with those chill winds howling about the corners, but spring will be here before you know it and the builders will be looking to bid your project. Call cf+a today to schedule a design consultation!
Christopher Fye + Associates
(866) 233-2215
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BE SURE TO LOOK FOR OUR NEXT ISSUE FEATURING PATTERN TWO,
COMING OUT FEBRUARY, 2011!
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