My Thoughts on Greg La Vardera's "Our Re-Modern Movement - The Tipping Point?"

I got really fired up this morning after I read a great post in architect Greg La Vardera's blog. In "Our Remodern Movement - the tipping point?" Greg suggests that now might finally be the time for modernist homes to find a place in the mainstream. I really hope so. I see the momentum. And I believe in "tipping points." I know exactly what the tipping point was for me personally, the one thing that got me really excited about modern homes. I picked up a copy of Dwell at the newsstand for the first time, the April/May 2005 issue with Charlie Lazor's Flatpak house on the cover.

I had always been interested in homes. I always dreamed of something better and more exciting than the standard fare of suburban cul-de-sacs, though I wasn't totally hooked on modern yet. But when I saw this cover, with a real family in a cool-ass house, it was like a lightning bolt. I can't tell you how badly I'd like to live in a Flatpak. It's one of the top three contenders for me. It just fits me and my family so perfectly. When the time finally comes to really build a new home I will be giving them a call to talk.

It's funny though, how "weird" most people think modernist homes are. My mother said "you want to live in a white box?" with a look on her face that was pure disbelief. Talking houses with some neighbors I could detect their nervous smiles when I mentioned concrete and steel, as in "uh, okay, sure, as long as it's not next door to my house." And look at the real estate markets. That's all you need to know. You don't see a lot of developers building modernist spec homes. Just pick up a real estate magazine and thumb through it for a minute. How many cool modernist homes will you find in the listings. Maybe one or two in a hundred page book. And they're mostly really big, expensive houses, probably built in the eighties after watching too many episodes of Miami Vice. Good, simple, modern homes for real families are hard to come by. Your best bet is a fifties ranch. Even those are a minority in the market compared to the grand total of everything else.

But I think Greg is right. This is the right time. Dwell has been so successful that some other similar publications have started to appear. Blogs like mine are popping up like daisies. Sarah Susanka's "Not So Big House" movement has a lot of followers (because it makes a lot of sense). Or consider John Brown's Slow Home Movement. And green is suddenly king. People finally realize that their choices have a real impact. Now is definitely the time of Less is More, and modernism fits that bill perfectly.

Probably the biggest helper in all of this, in my opinion, is going to be the bursting of the real estate bubble. I say that for one simple reason: it will make people change their view as to what their home really is - a home to live in and not an investment to make a fortune off of. I really believe that people won't/can't build what they really want because they are too hung up on resale value and growing massive equity. I don't know if this attitude caused the housing bubble or vice versa, but either way they combine to create an effect where the resultant high cost of housing distorts our views, closes our minds to new ideas, prices lots of people out of the market for a good home, and places too much power in the hands of developers, not in the hands of consumers where it should be. And so, here we are. With the bubble busting and home prices correcting I think we may also see home buyers making very different decisions about what they want to live in. I know this is the case for my wife and I, and I hope, at least, that this is the case for others.

It's definitely time for America to focus its attention on things like better homes, greener communities, reliable energy, even better communications technology, education and health care. These are the things that make up the infrastructure of this country. We won't have to worry about foreign threats for long if we allow ourselves to fall apart from the inside.

This whole country is at a tipping point, or near one. Modern homes are just a tiny, tiny part of that. We can choose a better way to live without giving up all the really great things we already enjoy.

Better living through design. Work smarter, not harder. Find the holistic solutions.

We can do it.

Thinking of Eames ... Retro Modern Groove In Newer Designs

I'm really in to the Case Study Houses right now. My favorites are the simple ones like CSH#4 (which never got built) and CSH#21. But the more I think about what I want in a place for my family though, the more I start leaning toward something roomier like the the Eames House, CSH#8. I'm also inspired by the sort of retro vibe at DO Research, which always makes me think of the Eames. And I always really dug the Eames furniture, all of it, in a big way.

This documentary short by the Charles and Ray Eames gives you the spirit of the house:





A lot of recent designs evoke the Eames' groove:

Flatpak House from Lazor Office (images from the Flickr set)







EcoContempo 6030 and 6040 by Lavardera (images from LamiDesign Blog) - Greg, leave us a comment - were you inspired by Eames?





Royal Homes Muskoka Modern (images from Royal Homes site). By the way, nice mudroom. My chief gripe about most modern homes - no good entry for muddy feet. Come to Detroit in February and see what I mean.







I'd have said, "build me a house around this ..."

Image credit - Design Within Reach

... but Eames already did. And any one of these three new designs would do the trick too.

Interesting Concepts From Danish Architect Soren Korsgaard

Everyone, everywhere, is working on prefab. New ideas are popping up like dandelions on the first pretty spring day. I was just browsing YouTube (inspired by this post on Equity Green) and hit on this concept:





Interesting. It's from Danish architect Soren Korsgaard. I checked his website, and the house is actually a vacation cabin. It has an interesting sliding doors strategy that allows the occupants to reconfigure the house for different views, privacy, shelter from changing winds, etc. Kinda neat.





I also saw this other cool house concept on his site, the "Standard House." It's anything but, though it would be great if it were, and everyone really lived in something like it. Check it out:







The house is designed to be built fast, to take advantage of passive heating and cooling principles, and will incorporate "root zone water purification." It's decidedly modern, and I like the simple solar shell concept.

It actually reminds me very much of a solar house some family friends lived in back in the 1980's when I was growing up. The design was very similar to this. On a cold but sunny winter day they'd have to open the windows to let out extra heat, yet in the summer all the thermal mass kept the house nice and cool.

Korsgaard's other works are interesting as well. I like this industrial-inspired multifamily concept, curiously called "commune housing" (made me think communist bloc, not communal living).





Cool stuff, I think Korsgaard is one to watch.

Image credits - Soren Korsgaard site

See Great Construction Images of Nearly Completed Happy New House

A while back I blogged about the Alan Family's Happy New House - a groovalicious remodel aimed at transforming a small mid-century home into something more suitable for a busy, modern family. It's a smart and spirited design that's sure to brighten your mood. Personally, I'm in love with it.



The remodel includes a major addition, and the home isn't finished yet, but the site has been getting updated with pictures of construction. They recently added a page on finish details, which means they're getting close. You should pop in and take a look if you haven't visited in a while. Some of the construction pics are great teasers of what the finished house will be like. Here's a couple of examples:






Nice, huh? You bet! I am really looking forward to seeing this house when it's all done. It has everything going for it: a famous architect, high style, modest size (just 2,000 sq-ft for a family of five), lots of light, and bright colors. So cool!

Image credits - Happy New House site

Tezuka Architects Roof House

I've fallen in love with the simple, uniquely clever style of homes by Japan's Tezuka Architects. The tiny Engawa House is in my top five all time favorites. Here's another great one: the Roof House.

Every family has some unique requirement for their home. The family that commissioned the Roof House liked to sit out on their roof and eat lunch. That's what they wanted, literally, a house with a big roof deck. And why not? The site of their new home is on a beautiful hillside overlooking a small, pleasant valley. If you have a view like that why waste it?




The Tezukas delivered a home with a gently sloping roof that parallels the terrain of the site. The space is fully equipped for family living. It has an outdoor kitchen and dining table, a stove, and believe it or not, a shower. From the pictures I've seen it is not enclosed or sheltered from the neighbors' windows. Now, I know Japanese sensibilities are a little different from Americans', but I think I'd take my shower in the inside bath. Nevertheless, I love it when a home challenges convention, and this one surely does. And issues of culture and modesty aside, I'm sure anyone can enjoy lunch in the sunshine, taking in the panorama below. There's a small wall section to help shelter diners from the prevailing breezes. It looks extremely pleasant up there.




Now, I have small children, and I'm not sure I'd be totally comfortable with them playing on an open roof with no kind of rail. But again I'm inclined to ignore that in favor of appreciating the creativity of the space.

Inside there are skylights everywhere - eight of them - and lots of ladders to take you up to the roof (there's even one in the inside bathroom). Thought the family prefers lounging on the roof the inside space is great too. In typical Japanese fashion it has a small but effective kitchen, a nice open living space (minimally furnished), a small bedroom for parents and another for children, a small office, and a single bath. Simple sliding doors divide the rooms where necessary.




It looks like a really comfortable and livable family home. Very open and bright. Very relaxed.

Visit the Tezuka site for more photos of the house, or pick up the book Small Houses- Edition 2007 by Carles Broto. The book features both the Roof House and the Engawa House, as well as many other fine examples of compact homes.

Image credits - Tezuka Architects site

The Alan Family's Happy New House by Architect Neil Denari

Here's a website and a home you just can't resist - The Happy New House. The site outlines the Alan family's home remodel, transforming a 1,000 sq-ft mid-century home into a 2,000 sq-ft 21st century marvel. What's special is that the Alan's are a family of five, with three daughters in elementary school, middle school, and high school. You can imagine how living space was at a premium in a small, older home. Like a lot of families they've outgrown their space and need a home that enhances, rather than hindering, the way they really live.




The concept renderings of the remodel/additions (underway as of last summer) are stunning. Yet the modernist design does not ignore, but rather embraces family living. Probably the most important page on the whole site is the one called "The Family Brand." It outlines their strategy and tactics for meeting the specific needs of the Alan Family. I find it incredibly useful to think of home design in these terms. Here's how they conceptualized the project:

Family Brand Attributes:
• Artsy but not artsy-fartsy.
• Cultured by not elitist.
• Spontaneous but not disorderly.
• Creative but not obsessively so.
• Informal but not messy.
• Into macs + iPods but not techie.
• Enjoys the finer things of life but not extravagantly.

Strategy:
• Stay connected as a family.
• Grow as individuals.
• Live in “the now.”
• Encourage the enjoyment of momentary pleasures.
• Remain flexible.
• Anticipate family’s future needs.
• Connect to the natural environment.

Tactics:
• Create privacy realms for individuals.
• Create public realms to encourage “elbow-rubbing” opportunities.
• Provide multi-use “flex space” for varied family activities.
• Create a sanctuary to counter-balance the daily stress of the outside world.
• Reduce clutter.
• Connect to backyard by creating an outdoor living room.
• Provide ample + convenient storage.

One thing I particularly like about this house is the master bedroom suite. It's a simple and practical, yet really attractive approach to the space that I'm going to keep in my scrapbook. I also like the kitchen. Notice the washer and dryer tucked away beneath the kitchen island. Clever. Another cool idea to squirrel away for later.




The remodel/addition was designed by L.A. based architect Neil Denari, for whom stunning modern work appears to be the norm.

Image credits - The Happy New House website

Affordable Modern - David Sarti and Upe Flueckiger Houses

If you have any doubt that a fresh, modern home can be built affordably there are two houses you need to look at.

One is architect David Sarti's cool 800 sq-ft house in Seattle. I've been drawn to this home's sunny disposition since I read about it in Dwell a few months ago. There's also a really good Seattle times article online, as well as a nice piece on Metropolis by Karrie Jacobs, author of the recent book, The Perfect $100,000 House. Using simple materials Sarti built a great home on an urban infill lot in expensive Seattle for well under $200,000. The house has huge windows that let light pour in, high ceilings, spacious and comfortable rooms, and an attached workshop. The house is also featured on an episode of HGTV's Small Space Big Style (one of my favorite shows).







The other house is architect Upe Flueckiger’s home in Texas. This house is for a family, has 2700 sq-ft, and cost only $51/sq-ft to build! Like Sarti’s house, simple materials and clever design are used to control cost and make the most of the space. The house is cheerful and clean and made for modern and stylish family living. Flueckiger is interviewed on mocoloco.com. There’s also a nice article on the home at the NY Times website.






I'll keep looking for other examples of great modern homes built on a budget. Rest assured, they are out there!

Image Credits: Seattle Times Article, MoCo Loco Interview

Pugh+ Scarpa Dwell House Entry - Blueprint for the Perfect Family Home

For my inaugural post, I wanted to share someting I found on the website of Pugh + Scarpa Architecture. In the description of their entry to the Dwell Home II contest they eloquently outline a fantastic blueprint for the modern American family home:

"For Lawrence Scarpa, lead designer on the project, Dwell House II’s modest budget and difficult lot symbiotically combine to create something entirely fresh and unexpected, a house that almost appears programmed by the site itself. The starting point for the design were its site and budget. While Glen and Claudia desired a 2500 square foot home, Scarpa felt this would prove difficult given the project’s limited budget, and chose instead to create a smaller, appropriately programmed 1800 SF structure, with a strong connection to the outdoors. Beginning with a large public/living area that occupies over 65% of the home’s square footage-unusually large for a home of this size-Scarpa was able to maintain a strong quality of spaciousness and flow in the house, by siting the structure to take direct advantage of the panoramic views to the north, and incorporating a living porch that, when opened, expands the public area of the house by nearly 50%. With so much square footage devoted to living area, however, less remains for the private space of the dwelling. Turning the conventional ratio of public to private space on its head, this becomes a further asset of the house, and something entirely unique: sleeping and bathing areas treated as small, nest-like spaces that give one the impression of sleeping among the stars. The three small bedrooms remain pleasant through their tall ceilings and contact with nature, but are only used for sleeping, saving precious extra footage for larger more spacious public areas. An adaptable playroom/office/den area is positioned as a transitional family space, in a zone between the public and private areas of the house. Implied throughout these choices is an underlying theme that because comfort and retreat will be found through a connection with the environment and an entirely new concept for proportioning space, the large private spaces of conventional thinking become unnecessary, even undesirable."

Pugh + Scarpa really nailed it. It just doesn't get much better than that. Not only do I love the home's forward aesthetic, I love its concept. The consideration of the site. The balance between public and private spaces. The treatment of bedrooms. The incorporation of a multi-use transitional space and large outdoor rooms. As I ponder a new home for my modern family, I always go back to this short piece. It's a wonderful guidepost.

Image credit: Pugh + Scarpa