Category: Remodeling

In my final ideabook I looked at stairs created from thin plates of metal which seemed ribbonlike in their continuity from step to step. One impression you get from that combination of material and form is they appear to float. This next look at stairs considers steps that float more literally; cantilevering from one side, each measure is independent, the antithesis of the ribbonlike steel staircase.

What follows are predominantly wood stairs, anchored along a solid wall and projecting into space. The different effects are certainly dramatic, aided no doubt by the detailing of the guardrails and the treatment of the adjacent wall, in addition to the articulation of these steps themselves.

Amitzi Architects

This first example features a wood stair that is well integrated into a porous wall composed of horizontal members together with spacers and gaps between. It’s easy to imagine the steps slotted between the horizontals continuing through the other side of the wall. Another view …

Amitzi Architects

… accentuates how the wood steps cantilever from the wall, particularly since the snowy guardrail is independent of these steps. While the steps look like solid wood, most likely the are partially hollow, to get a (steel) Structure within that retains the steps horizontal as they are used as time passes. This technique applies to just about all of the wood steps presented here, many of which are large enough to conceal the inner structure doing most of the job.

Webber + Studio, Architects

Here the wood steps are created from the exact same wood as the adjacent wall, projecting from it with no obvious connection. It is safe to say the supporting construction is hidden within the steps and behind the wall. Many regional codes would demand a rail on the right but somehow this stair exists without one.

These wood steps are more slender than the prior example, but a close look at their underside shows steel plates in a T-section which are attached into the concrete wall. But from above the effect is the same as other stairs here, in which the steps appear to float independently in midair.

John Maniscalco Architecture

Here the link to the wall is more overt, as the stringer that holds the steps is exposed, albeit painted white to match the wall. Another look shows…

John Maniscalco Architecture

. . .how the glass wall, a few inches past the steps, essentially acts as a guardrail. Just a slim handrail is subsequently needed on the other side.

Elite Metalcraft Co. Ltd

This example melds my previous ideabook on steel stairs with this one-on-one steps. A wood stair cantilevered from one wall is built in wood, making it ribbonlike, yet weatherproof. The glass guardrail strengthens the floating impact of the stair.

Feldman Architecture, Inc..

Not all cantilevered staircase need to be really striking, projecting the full width from a wall. This example features steps extending beyond a wall beneath the stair. The choice to do so might be related to the demanding, stacked-stone wall or the need for usable space beneath the stair. After that, a straight-on look…

Feldman Architecture, Inc..

. . .shows the cantilever is all about one-fifth of the stair’s width. The way the wood risers are intended to coincide with the treads is well done. I would love to find that the risers be the drawers to take advantage of the space beneath.

Aidlin Darling Design, LLP

Another example of a partial cantilever echoes the prior example, but the risers match the walls, not the steps. The thick wood of the treads strengthens the way that they float, with no need for extra structure.

Eisner Design LLC

However, what about other substances? The stair’s treads are made from translucent glass set into stainless steel framing. A T-section attached to brackets on the brick wall provides the support for the stair.

Eisner Design LLC

A similar stair elsewhere in the exact same project as the previous example shows the simplicity of the T-shaped tread. In cases like this the structure continues into the wall. A look from below…

Eisner Design LLC

. . .gives an notion of how these steps allow sunlight to filter down the different degrees, an important consideration in urban living. If these steps were wood the sunlight could be severely diminished.

Steel plates, such as the ones in my previous ideabook, can also be configured for cantilevers. Here the bend takes place across the wall, making treads with no risers. This is a really simple and elegant that just requires a bit of steel to the underside for strengthening.

GLS Architecture/Landscape Architecture

This last example is included to illustrate that cantilevered stairs can also be used in outdoor applications. These concrete steps project from a cast-in-place concrete wall, and they float above a wood deck. This structure is hidden in darkness, as most likely intended, but the effect is sublime.

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Artful Stairs — Continuity in Steel
Level Changes Define Interior design
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Living off the grid might not be as simple as slapping a few solar panels on a roof or side of a structure, but it definitely helps decrease those electricity bills. But if a person decides to add solar panels to a home, the way to do it? Though the panels have slimmed down in size and are making strides towards looking less solar-panel-like, most homeowners don’t want to listen to them. And incorporating them into an existing house requires some consideration and ability. What follows are a few examples of various ways solar panels are being incorporated into house design.

As soon as it’s a common practice to put solar panels on the roof, this multi-family project by Pb Elemental utilizes them overlooking the garden. In this instance it is important to coordinate with the panels together with the adjacent landscaping, therefore the latter does not block sunlight; differently the panels may be better suited to the roof.

What I like a lot about this program is that they way the solar panels do triple duty: They produce energy but they also color the inside space and discard water away in the operable garage-type doorway. Thanks to this canopy, the massive opening combines indoors and out even when it rains.

Sam Crawford Architects

The perfect orientation for solar panels would be southerly (in the northern hemisphere) and in an angle that takes advantage of the sun’s arc across the sky during the entire year. Thus the specific orientation and angle varies, but a scenario such as this photo predominates, because flat (flat roof) and vertical (wall socket ) programs don’t absorb enough of the sun’s rays to make them viable energy producers.

ZeroEnergy Design

In an effort to learn more about the design of busy (solar panels, photovoltaics) and passive (direct solar heating) solar design, a Solar Decathlon is held each summer, inviting architecture schools to design and build a prototype home in a competition for the most”energy-efficient houses powered exclusively by sunlight.” Previously found in the National Mall in the nation’s capital — this year the competition will be held in nearby West Potomac Park — examples similar to this 2005 entrance from Cornell University illustrate what occurs when solar energy drives a design.

ZeroEnergy Design

The east-west orientation of the National Restaurant signifies homes gesture towards the south to soak up the sun’s rays. In this case it is the roof that does the job in terms of active solar design. Photovoltaic panels can be found on the sides, but at the center is something different: a solar thermal system that uses sunlight to warm water circulated through pipes and tubes. This water is then utilized to heat water in a boiler, reducing the need for external energy to perform the same. One common application of this system is to assist heat pools.

ZeroEnergy Design

In terms of passive solar design, the south-facing elevation has quite small glass: a couple small openings along with a folding glass wall. The latter lets sunlight into the living area and opens the space to the patio. The mainly wood cladding minimizes direct sunlight in the remainder of the home, thereby reducing the need for cooling the home in warm weather. Horizontal shades at the of each opening cut on direct summer sunshine.

Back in 2006 Workshop/apd won a competition for GREEN.O.LA, a competition co-sponsored by Brad Pitt as a part of his efforts for rebuilding New Orleans’ Lower Ninth Ward after Hurricane Katrina. Their design comes with a shed roof outfitted with solar panels clipped to a standing-seam metal roof. Such as the Solar Decathlon home prior, this home lets sunlight create a part of its form.

David Vandervort Architects

Inside this project in Seattle, Wash., the solar panels are restricted to a small pop-up section of the home. It’s like the walls and roof are reaching towards sunlight and the sky, grabbing sunlight for electricity use. This part is angled from a portion of the home below to reap maximum advantage from the sun’s rays.

Feldman Architecture, Inc..

This last example departs from all the last designs, in the solar panels have been employed to flat skylights. House Ocho from Feldman Architecture has plenty of windows, yet this skylight assists daylight reach the profound center of the strategy.

Feldman Architecture, Inc..

The integration of photovoltaics into House Ocho’s glass skylight allows to get a filtering of the sunlight entering the spaces. This perspective also shows the way the grid of the PV panels are just like a microcosm of this bigger grids made by the wood and steel beams; aesthetics is still an issue in this simple application.

Fulcrum Structural Engineering

Last is an opinion of House Ocho’s skylights from out. Surrounding them is a green roofing. This illustrates that active solar design is typically 1 aspect of a larger embrace of sustainability, extending to factors of vegetation, water, biodiversity, etc.

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So you would like to have more space. A small amount of additional room since the household is growing, kids or parents are moving back home, you have started a home based business, you have always wanted that number, or any of the million other reasons why your existing house just is not big enough.

You have also lived in your home for some time and understand its little idiosyncrasies. You have become very familiar with the way the light changes with seasons, the very best views of the lawn, how motion from room to room takes place.

Together with all of this knowledge you choose to embark on constructing an addition. Maybe it’s likely to be a kitchen addition. Maybe a living room addition. Maybe an additional bedroom or two. Which ever the case, you’ll be considering adding on someplace. Will it be on the rear or the side of the home? Will it be over the home? Will it be different from the home? What about design? Will it combine with the home? Will it make a definite statement of its own?

To get started you’ll want to interview a few architects to see what they think about the chances of expanding your residence. Since each architect is going to have different approach, go ahead and ask them in which they envision the addition and how it will tie into the existing house. Determine which stocks your vision.

Pondering an addition to your property? Here are 10 design options to take into account.

Frank Shirley Architects

Connect into the lawn. The most common addition has to be the one which attaches onto the rear of the home. Normally, especially in older homes, these are kitchen and / or family room additions. A great advantage to an addition in this way is the ability to strengthen the home’s connection to its lawn. Here, new doorways lead into some new outdoor room complete with furniture.

COOK ARCHITECTURAL Design Studio

Use a different substance. Another advantage to getting an addition to the trunk is the opportunity to change materials. Rather than trying to match an existing brick, which could be expansive and debatable, also could be of timber. Keeping the all the timber the same color contrasts each bit into the whole.

Bud Dietrich, AIA

Head the scale. A large addition can easily overwhelm an existing structure. So rather than create one big cube, split it into bits that are related to and do not overwhelm the existing arrangement (see next photograph).

Bud Dietrich, AIA

Rather than having one big gable roof which would have peaked over the existing, the addition roof is broken down into smaller and lower bits.

Matrka Group

Produce a jewel box. Like a conservatory, improvements are chances to create something genuinely special.

Matrka Group

Filled with light and space, an addition can let you live outdoors all year round.

Mark Brand Architecture

Make a (small) statement. Occasionally different is better. Explore the way the addition could express your own aesthetic. Certainly an addition on the rear of the home can afford an opportunity to become more expressive.

Texas Construction Company

Make a (large) statement. Occasionally you’ll want to really express yourself and let the entire world understand. No backyard addition is going to do. Something obviously visible from the road announcing that this is your home lived in by 21st-century people.

David Churchill – Architectural Photographer

Produce a pavilion. If the site is big enough it’s possible to extend the addition out and away from the existing home. Doing this will give you a opportunity to create an almost stand alone pavilion which can be quite different from yet match the original.

Glenn Robert Lym Architect

Stretch out it. Again, if the site is big enough attempt extending out the house across the property. The best thing about this is to create everything could be rather big and enormous into a series of small and connected pavilions.

COOK ARCHITECTURAL Design Studio

Boost the roof. Look at a second floor addition in a metropolitan area with little opportunity to expand horizontally. This is an especially effective strategy on a tiny lot and also is rather large.

Bud Dietrich, AIA

Ranch up. Rather than using up valuable ground area and building a base, including a second floor addition to a ranch home is a great and economical way to acquire that excess space. Since this kind of an addition calls for a brand new stair be located in the home, it is a great way to repair some of the inherent deficiencies of ranches (including the dreaded going through an area for into an area syndrome).

Are you adding on? Tell us about your job below!

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Stunning is the sole word to spell out using onyx as the the lower wall – . The back-lit part with the counter, cupboards and lighting leads to a kitchen that is eye-catching.Kenneth FrommeExactly the same layout theory functions in smaller doses.

Designers have already been using back-lit onyx for quite a while to develop a high end modern-day appearance in commercial uses, particularly in the hospitality business. After viewing it integrated throughout resorts along with other industrial areas into bathroom sinks and dressing tables and employed with reception desks in receptions, customers have taken notice and began to request uses in residential jobs. Continue Reading