Trace Townhomes

The next three townhomes to be constructed on the lot next door to my live/work townhome. These are primarily for empty nesters such as myself. There will eventually be 8 townhomes in this mixed use zoning fronting on a city park, with a " Rails to Trails " bike path that runs through the center. 

:: Floor Plans for a Front-loaded House ::

If the 2-car front-loaded garage is a requirement, the attached set of floor plans (currently at design development stage) are an option.

Note:

- Front-loaded plans typically have the family room & kitchen (1st flr) and master suite (2nd flr) located at the rear of the house, as is the case with this set of plans with exception to 2nd Flr C, which is a variation placing the master suite at the front of the house... a porch off the master bedroom, stacked above the 1st Flr front porch, could be an option.

- Flexibility in use of space was of great interest while designing the floor plan variations. 

- The garage could be flipped, front-to-back, if the plan was revised for a rear-loaded lot.

Town center plan for a suburban development in Washington State

Design with Laurence Qamar.  This is a former historic town that was redeveloped as a 60s-style (sprawling) resort development.  They are now trying to redevelop to create a proper town center.  Sprawl Repair!

We used a pattern language, and built on the historic architecture of the previous town.  Concept sketches for the street elevations are below.

Addition to a Small International Style Fire Station

This project is an addition to an International Style fire substation.  The current use is a shoe store.  The original garage doors were replaced with storefront glazing. The addition is of a stock room and a small second floor apartment.  The apartment is on the northwest corner of the building and the solution was to provide a deep overhang and balcony to the west and a large industrial window to the north where there is a view of adjacent verdant residential back yards. The addition is meant to be consistent with the original building, but the programmatic requirements of a stock room and a dwelling unit are different enough from the original purpose of the building that they create an assembly of discrete objects with a common vocabulary.  Attention was paid to how the addition and the original building intersect and how the rear entry from the parking lot interfaces with the original building.

The design method was to work in a simple chipboard model.  Here is an aerial view; the addition is on the left:

 

Here is the view from the street, which faces south:

Here is the view from the southwest.  The apartment is on the second floor:

 Here is the completed building.  The addition is the part of the building to the left of the tree:

Here is the joint between the original building and the addition:

 Here is the northwest corner of the building showing the apartment's north facing industrial window and balcony:

concept sketch for a small mixed use building...what a great way to critique your design!

Fifth Street Townhouses

This design was for an residential project that was stalled during construction due to the financial collapse of the original developer.  The foundation, slab, and all underslab plumbing was done.  I was brought in by the bank to see what could be built without moving anything.  Here is the street facade...

Romance Diamond Below, Rockfish Above

Simple vertical mixed use building.  This was designed and built by my office way back in the late 20th century.  It has held up well in my opinion, except for those skewed Abolights.

Illustrative design for a hamlet outside of Fitchburg, Wisconsin - designed in collaboration with PlaceMakers, LLC in 2010. The rural hamlet remains one of the most underutilized development models, IMO.

University of South Carolina Beaufort, Campus Gate House.

This is a proposal for an entry Gate House to the Historic Beaufort Campus of the University of South Carolina.  This is a counter-proposal from us in lieu of a traditional suburban monument type sign.  It gathered critical staff support but is dying a slow death-by-bean-counter.  It references the Historic Beaufort College Building of 1858.

Stirling Inn, Fort Lauderdale, Florida

View from the New River with the Restaurant on the first floor on the left, and four rooms above. The Bar on the first floor on the right, with two rooms above. The Elevator tower
between in the rear, which opens onto the Lobby, with four rooms on the first floor and
five rooms above in the West Indies style building.

concept sketch - trying to fix a  future family dollar in beaufort

Carolina Inspirations - other books and original

looking for input on redesign of Original Book I posted yesterday, any input would help.

Sketch of a Mixed Use Building on a Corner

Here is a facade study that I did a few years ago for a corner site.  I always meant to go back and add color, shade, and shadow but so far have not had the time.  I hope that by posting it here, it will remind me to spend a few hours and get this drawing farther along...maybe it will lead to something.

From the Drawing Boards

 

A quick town house facade study for a project we are just starting in KY

 

 

 

Posted with Blogsy

conceptual design of a two bedroom cottage for a guy that just doesn't want too much anymore

Begijnhofs: Models for American Urbanism?

The blocks around Union Station in Washington, DC, stretching from the station to the Capitol are, at this time, either empty or parking lots. As a proposal for my Master's thesis at Notre Dame, I proposed the build out of these blocks in the pattern of the existing fabric of Washington. Additionally, I looked at one block in particular to see if a model I discovered in the Netherlands and Belgium (the begijnhofs) could be applied to an American City. Since we are "pinning up" ideas, I hope you'll find this project interesting.

(My book on the beguinages as a model for American urbanism is forthcoming)

Snapshot from Google Maps of the empty blocks around Union Station:

Study of a block applying the model of the beguinages (begijnhofs), a type of courtyard housing, to the block at left. The perimeter of the block is formed of larger buildings and houses. The interior of the block comprises small and medium sized townhouses around a landscaped square. Such interior blocks could be used to house groups we wish to have fully integrated into communities while still offering some protection or control, such as the elderly or students.

Elevations of designs for small, medium and large urban houses. The small and medium models are attached townhouses, the large house is designed as a detached house. 

 

A glimpse into the new square surrounded by the small house type:

The begijnhof of Breda (Catharinabegijnhof Breda) shown below is a typical configuration of a begijnhof with similar houses surrounding a garden within a block and a chapel for the beguines located within. For more images of my images of begijnhofs throughout the Netherlands and Belgium, see here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/christineghfranck/tags/beguinage/. And for a bit of history and additional images of this begijnhof, visit here: http://www.begijnhofbreda.nl/index.html.  

New Carolina Inspirations I cover design?

In the process of coming up with a new cover for Book one - always referred to as the "blue" book. Most have seen it. After much inner firm debate I thought I would love to get some input from a bigger group. What do you think?

Stirling Inn, on the New River in Fort Lauderdale Florida

Stirling Inn, on the New River, Fort Lauderdale, new construction to be constructed to the rear of
two turn of the century victorian houses, which will be restored in an adaptive restoration, in a quasi
partnership with the city of Ft. Lauderdale.

Aerial perspective under construction by Jeff McSwain from my CAD drawings. This will be finished
in water color after the existing landscaping is inserted. The two houses are to be reroofed with the existing metal shingles and the new west indies building will have a red corrugated roof. Restaurant
on the first floor of the columned building, and bar on the first floor of the other. 15 rooms total
on the second floor and the first floor of the west indies building.

"Jewel Box" - 6 Year Anniversary

Soon after I started working with South Main, I had an opportunity to design a concept house for a "potential" client, who was interested in buying a lot in the Development.  I was given a basic program, and the concept of designing a "jewel box", meaning tight square footage, high quality.  It's 1,466 s.f.

We discussed it internally as an opportunity to explore the "classical spectrum" of the South Main Style, more refined, with elements such as cut stone (ambitiously imagined as cut from granite boulders on site).    Unfortunately it was never built, but remains one of my favorite unbuilt projects.  Ironically, it was six years ago today that I finished the schematic....

Ruskin Heights Double Dormer House

This is a drawing from several years ago for a neighborhood that was never built.  I like the way that this house works on small lot that sloped side to side and back to front: