so we are 2 3rd year BA students and a 4th year up in the pacific northwest. our instructor has procured an actual client/project for us. did the site visit and then met with the client today. it's a house at the edge of a rather splendid bluff looking into a woodland canyon.
so what's the problem? well... now we have to do it. client's up against actual deadlines and budget issues and we have a house to design. this is our first non-studio project, barring a few competitions. instructor is taking a mostly hands-off approach to it, but will advise as necessary.
getting paid and getting built seems odd though it is ostensibly why we're in school in the first place. you might do this all the time, but remember the very first one??? we're competent but not confident (or is it the other way around?!)
good luck crillywazzy. use all the resources and people at your disposal and find more if you need 'em.
when i taught i always questioned the wisdom of getting students in this deep while they were still in school. i still feel that school is a time to try things and make mistakes. when thrown in to a project like yours, there is excitement and the opportunity to mess with real stuff, but it's awfully early to be introducing the pressure of a construction project with all of its implications.
the first thing that comes to mind for me regarding a house at the edge of a bluff is to question the soil conditions. what is the bearing capacity? how close to the edge can you get before you're likely to have shear failure issues? do you have to deal with sewer on site? all things that you aren't usually exposed to in school (so it's a plus that you will be dealing with them) but also things you may not think about (potentially bad).
for a project like this, when i was practicing on my own, i would probably have hired a structural engineer on an as-needed basis to give advice and check my drawings. not necessary to have the engineer produce drawings unless you feel way out of your comfort zone.
presumably you - or the school or the professor - are receiving a fee. pay for any help you need out of this fee just to save yourself some stress.
that's a sweet opportunity, and uber valuable experience.
i'm guessing it's not your stamp so, no stamp, no problem. besides that, rock it out, and get your prof. more involved if you feel uncomfortable, no shame, you are only 4th years with presumably very little experience.
aside from being careful on the bluff, as is very pertinent to design and budget, you need to get plugged in to the region, talk to local professionals, contractors, consult with other people building in the area and figure out what bumps in the road they had to overcome. what was the permit process like? what materials are prolific? expensive? banned?
i doubt it's like cook county, but, man, if you don't know or your contractor doesn't build here, be ready for some shit.
Good luck to you - +1 to all of Steven's comments. From your site description, it sounds spectacular with lot of potential, however the site is almost guaranteed to be located in a "critical area" and subject to landslides, etc. Check your local codes as this may trigger the need for a geotechnical/soils report and a very robust (expensive) foundation consisting of shoring, piles, pin piles, etc. that will eat a significant chunk of your project budget and may be a deal breaker for the client.
I would suggest a couple of field trips....on to visit a Lautner site and the other Falling Water....if your client has any kind of a budget. There is nothing like experiencing the real thing in person....your client might get excited and charter a Jet....who knows.
i'll have to visit lautner et al in pictures unfortunately...
i fear there will be budget tightness in this. client's builder suggested they'll be at approx $120-130 per squ. ft. for the envisioned 2200-2300 total SF desired. can anyone suggest what this means? not familiar with how $ goes on a project. will we be laughably underfunded or is there some wiggle room. if god loves us there WON'T be room in the budget for travertine (inside meier-hating joke)...
client claims to prefer rustic, farm/barnesque as opposed to "foo-foo", scrolly or pillars, which i guess is okay with me. she mentioned being comfortable with the house be unlike typical tract housing, and has a friend who pushed her towards hiring an architect in the first place so she could get something with more character and vision than she'd find in a planbook. all this sounds right, but ommv.
just over the brush it all drops off at a decent angle. not too steep, but significant enough regardless.
a huge issue for us is that client wants a ranch-style (single level) house, since they have better resale value (!?) and since she won't want to navigate stairs as she gets older. this demands a creative response to the slope.
Great view! any notion about the prevailing minds? Typically this will be the major constraint for planning outdoor living spaces on exposed bluffs. Look to Charles Moore/Larry Halprin's Sea Ranch.
So you have three choices for siting the house: hidden in the woods with filtered views to preserve the wild charecter of the site, nestled into the edge of the forest for minimal visual impact with the best views, or in the meadow for the biggest 'look at me - I'm architecture' statement that can destroy the enjoyment of the rest of the site...
My preference is to choose the edge of the woods to preserve the open space and frame the view with the trees...
Do you know the history of the site- why is there a meadow? forest fire? shallow bedrock (impact for a septic system/foundation)? Logging? Farm?
Ask lots of questions before jumping to solutions ;-)
Oh- if you have to cut down any trees- going rustic allows you to utilize them with the building.
Aug 24, 06 10:48 pm ·
·
Block this user
Are you sure you want to block this user and hide all related comments throughout the site?
Archinect
This is your first comment on Archinect. Your comment will be visible once approved.
oh shit... now we have to do it.
so we are 2 3rd year BA students and a 4th year up in the pacific northwest. our instructor has procured an actual client/project for us. did the site visit and then met with the client today. it's a house at the edge of a rather splendid bluff looking into a woodland canyon.
so what's the problem? well... now we have to do it. client's up against actual deadlines and budget issues and we have a house to design. this is our first non-studio project, barring a few competitions. instructor is taking a mostly hands-off approach to it, but will advise as necessary.
getting paid and getting built seems odd though it is ostensibly why we're in school in the first place. you might do this all the time, but remember the very first one??? we're competent but not confident (or is it the other way around?!)
will keep you posted if it gets exciting...
good luck crillywazzy. use all the resources and people at your disposal and find more if you need 'em.
when i taught i always questioned the wisdom of getting students in this deep while they were still in school. i still feel that school is a time to try things and make mistakes. when thrown in to a project like yours, there is excitement and the opportunity to mess with real stuff, but it's awfully early to be introducing the pressure of a construction project with all of its implications.
the first thing that comes to mind for me regarding a house at the edge of a bluff is to question the soil conditions. what is the bearing capacity? how close to the edge can you get before you're likely to have shear failure issues? do you have to deal with sewer on site? all things that you aren't usually exposed to in school (so it's a plus that you will be dealing with them) but also things you may not think about (potentially bad).
for a project like this, when i was practicing on my own, i would probably have hired a structural engineer on an as-needed basis to give advice and check my drawings. not necessary to have the engineer produce drawings unless you feel way out of your comfort zone.
presumably you - or the school or the professor - are receiving a fee. pay for any help you need out of this fee just to save yourself some stress.
would love to hear more about it.
that's a sweet opportunity, and uber valuable experience.
i'm guessing it's not your stamp so, no stamp, no problem. besides that, rock it out, and get your prof. more involved if you feel uncomfortable, no shame, you are only 4th years with presumably very little experience.
aside from being careful on the bluff, as is very pertinent to design and budget, you need to get plugged in to the region, talk to local professionals, contractors, consult with other people building in the area and figure out what bumps in the road they had to overcome. what was the permit process like? what materials are prolific? expensive? banned?
i doubt it's like cook county, but, man, if you don't know or your contractor doesn't build here, be ready for some shit.
crillywazzy: good score!
The updates sound like an interesting schoolblog. Consider emailing Paul to start an account.
Good luck to you - +1 to all of Steven's comments. From your site description, it sounds spectacular with lot of potential, however the site is almost guaranteed to be located in a "critical area" and subject to landslides, etc. Check your local codes as this may trigger the need for a geotechnical/soils report and a very robust (expensive) foundation consisting of shoring, piles, pin piles, etc. that will eat a significant chunk of your project budget and may be a deal breaker for the client.
I would suggest a couple of field trips....on to visit a Lautner site and the other Falling Water....if your client has any kind of a budget. There is nothing like experiencing the real thing in person....your client might get excited and charter a Jet....who knows.
coolest!
i'll have to visit lautner et al in pictures unfortunately...
i fear there will be budget tightness in this. client's builder suggested they'll be at approx $120-130 per squ. ft. for the envisioned 2200-2300 total SF desired. can anyone suggest what this means? not familiar with how $ goes on a project. will we be laughably underfunded or is there some wiggle room. if god loves us there WON'T be room in the budget for travertine (inside meier-hating joke)...
client claims to prefer rustic, farm/barnesque as opposed to "foo-foo", scrolly or pillars, which i guess is okay with me. she mentioned being comfortable with the house be unlike typical tract housing, and has a friend who pushed her towards hiring an architect in the first place so she could get something with more character and vision than she'd find in a planbook. all this sounds right, but ommv.
my god we've created a monster!!!
_01.jpg)
vado: got image size?
i wanted it like that. miller/hull iz who i'd look at.
the site:
just over the brush it all drops off at a decent angle. not too steep, but significant enough regardless.
a huge issue for us is that client wants a ranch-style (single level) house, since they have better resale value (!?) and since she won't want to navigate stairs as she gets older. this demands a creative response to the slope.
Waz-
Great view! any notion about the prevailing minds? Typically this will be the major constraint for planning outdoor living spaces on exposed bluffs. Look to Charles Moore/Larry Halprin's Sea Ranch.
So you have three choices for siting the house: hidden in the woods with filtered views to preserve the wild charecter of the site, nestled into the edge of the forest for minimal visual impact with the best views, or in the meadow for the biggest 'look at me - I'm architecture' statement that can destroy the enjoyment of the rest of the site...
My preference is to choose the edge of the woods to preserve the open space and frame the view with the trees...
Do you know the history of the site- why is there a meadow? forest fire? shallow bedrock (impact for a septic system/foundation)? Logging? Farm?
Ask lots of questions before jumping to solutions ;-)
Oh- if you have to cut down any trees- going rustic allows you to utilize them with the building.
Block this user
Are you sure you want to block this user and hide all related comments throughout the site?
Archinect
This is your first comment on Archinect. Your comment will be visible once approved.