final drafting

Gray house

         The Gray house, on Gray St, here on UNCG is nestled down in the woods.  The structure is tucked away on the edge of the park and used as the campus office of the Architects.  The house was never intended for this use.  My concentration for this report is to strip the house down to it’s intended use and discover the essence of the design.

         In 1969 a female designer, Dr. Clara Ridder finalized her plans for a living workshop, where students could not only get a feel for running a home but also stretch their creative legs for decoration and the science of the home.  The duplex would be called the Gray Home Management House, not for the original land donor for the UNCG site, but for the street that ran in front of the location.  The street was named for Robert Terelius Gray (1), however the home was named strictly to differentiate it from the McIver location. 

         The home opened in 1970 and was used for testing, developing and designing home products.  Everything form floor wax resilience to chair design was taught and lived.  The students lived in the north and south sides of the house with the counselor living in a two-room location in the middle.  I truly believe Jefferson would have approved of this teaching method. 

         The key feature of the home and what drew me to the project is a center atrium.  A single tree grows in the atrium and allows external solitude and exclusion from the rest of the home.  The fifteen foot square area is a design feature that you would not expect.  My favorite features are ones that are discovered and, only to be revealed upon exploration and study.  A central courtyard such as this is designed for the residence of the home rather for the enjoyment of a simple person passing by.  

         There is not much information about the home, the designer, or the architect.  I moved early on in my search to wandering through the home to see what it told me.  The plans show the house to be set with a true east face.  When the home was built the sun would have entered the recessed porch from the other side of the valley.  Three of the six bedrooms would be filled with light, as would the main eating areas.  The Kitchen’s, storage, and powder rooms were located along the western face receiving the evening light.  The northern dormitory area had a dining room that joined the atrium allowing light to penetrate the space throughout the day.  I see now that the atrium was not just decorative. 

         I have related this project to Alvar Aalto’s experimental summer home.  Both homes incorporate an atrium but physical features are not what connect them.  The feel of the designs are both oriented to the intended use.  These are not structures that were created with a strict physical beauty in mind but the intended use.  Alvar Aalto was attempting to make an economically and culturally accurate structure for mass production.  He built with the intended user in mind.  This helped me to recognize that the Gray home was not designed as an architectural marvel but with the intended user in mind.  Dr. Clara Ridder was looking at a place where home products would be crated, improved, and studied while paying attention to incorporating the counselor on site and making the student’s comfortable.  

Final Note:

After looking at this structure for the entire semester I still thought this was about wood, paint, and shingles... but... this design is much more than that.  The essence of this building is the students and Dr. Ridder's love for the arts.  She created a setting where students and counselors could live together and share meals, sit around the fireplace, and all this nestled into the woods of the campus.  Patrick asked me once if this house "fit" in.  I guess I didn't understand.  After looking further and visiting a dorm to see a friend I "got it".  This home isn't brick and mortar, it is warm, cozy wood.  It is about creating an environment where friends work and live together.  The IARC program is much like what they had.  We live and work together.  Essence and Duality were the two words I had the most trouble with this semester.  The essence of this building is the duality of work and play, being strangers and best friends.   Thank you for the opportunity for learning.  Dr. Clara Ridder would appreciate what we are doing now and where her vision has taken us.

influences on design

I am a huge patriot at heart.  My family has been military for generations.   With a proud history and natural roots all over the globe I feel a true child of this nation.
I was introduced to the Blandwood mansion by a friend.  While visiting I noticed the pocket windows and shutters.  I was amazed how something with such simple design could change the way we look at this design without being noticed.  It was designed to be hidden.
When I was five my grandfather gave me an Old Timer pocket knife.
The year my grandfather died (a veteran pilot) I gave this statue to my father.  I think it was the first time I ever saw him weep.  To understand the emotional impact of design was a powerful moment.
Yes, my military background has given me a different outlook on life.
My Japanese Ice carving tools allowed me to shape ice when I couldn't draw anything.  I could not put my ideas down in two dimensions but I could shape them in three.
The immediate gratification my four star henckle chef knife game me from the beginning of my career was immense.  In 15 min you could change raw product into a work of edible art.

I think this should be required reading for all young minds.  Imagination is so important.  J.R.R. Tolken took my mind where my body could never go.
LEGOS...  my first control over a structure... We had an entire foot locker of these colorful building blocks.

Until I was old enough to go to the Smithsonian by myself I didn't know that any other building existed there.  The National Air and Space Museum was almost an annual trek.  The building and it's contents were admired by my father and grandfather... We were just along for the ride and by the age of 12 we could have given the tour.

final week Opus

For this final opus I am going to use only one image.   I'm not sure why the text is seperating but I need to get this one on the books....  The image is my final project for Studio.  It is a composition of light study, positive/negative space, flow, and a myriad of terms and ideas passed on to me this semester.  There are more than 5 images contained within and over 40 hours of work...  

The words for this week have little to nothing to do with the project though.  I have been studying the leed certification books and see that they all fall within the realm of Green building.  Within the community of designers or architects we have a stewardship to protect the planet.  Carl Elefante mentioned in his speech last semester that we have 3 p's to worry about when doing "green" design.  People, Planet, and Profit must all be respected when putting a design in play.  If any one of the three are ignored the design will have problems.  The innovation of design is the responsibility of our generation to undo what has happened in the past.  Stewardship of the planet has been cast upon us.  These words are strong but they are why I joined this program.  Green design will disappear.  It should disappear.  It should be replaced by design which is green as a normal component.  Fad words such as Green are great to get something started but need to fall by the wayside to allow for a sustainable method to continue.  Authenticity is the final word for the week and the semester.  To be authentic an object needs to be an original, a true, unadulterated thought or feeling.  Green design is not authentic.  We have replaced how to design for the centuries  with how to design for next months magazine cover.  Our thinking has to change and our designers have the responsibility to do that.

community stewardship innovation authenticity

reflections

Reflections

 

In this unit we explored a different way of looking at the world.  Instead of trying to copy the past and create an accurate replica, we were looking at the past and trying to reflect the ideals of the generations before.  We “hearken” back to Rome and Greece with a tip of the hat here and a nod or wink there but rather than the styles of the past being the canvas they are a little of our palate of paint.  We are building on our own ideas and pushing boundaries.  Exploring ideas of verticality and new materials while showing that we still have classical training and trying to show that influence in our work. 

Arts and Crafts movement is my personal favorite and spins off from the minds like Frank Lloyd Wright and 

week13 opus

meditation/celebration....  This seems like a great place to start.  With the pending project completely surrounding meditation/celebration I am getting frustrated.  The two words sound like they are opposites but I believe they can be melded into the same area.  I don't think I am going to be moving in the direction of separate spaces for this job. Light/shadow...  Working with the sketchup program I am starting to understand where the shadows play in my design.  Suzanne talks about putting light into our drawings.  I see after using the markers that we need to concentrate on strategic placement for the shadows.  light is just the absence of dark. Stoel talks about lineweight to show distance... we don't do shadows for him but distance is shown in other ways.

transpose/juxtapose...  There have been several times in this sem

ester where I have had to walk away from a project.  when I come back, looking at it differently I can work from a different angle.  I was thinking about these two words this week when I was working on my Sacred Space project.  I realized that there are more th

an one way to look at this.  I moved the door and with a simple change opened up several options.  

literal/abstract...  This is the hardest point for me to tackle.  I am way too literal.  I have been learning to abstract this semester.  I took the window project and built a version of a Shoji screen for a sketch model.  

After some feedback and looking at how to abstract 

the form, I layed out the project on the ground using skewers...  I pushed lines down and right until I had the form changed.  I created a new form and constructed it.  Putting my window project together was a great feeling of accomplishment.  I only wish I would have realized early on that light was a material.  I have been too worried about the craft and completing the requirements but not in the learning that we were doing.  This picture is a great example of the light and I took this image to form the next concept.

Monologue/dialogue...  

Building report

March 14^th 1969, Robert E. L. Peterson finished the plans for the Gray Home Management Building on UNCG.  He named it after one the two men who initially donated the 10 acres for the universities site.  Unfortunately there is no information or living heirs to Mr. Peterson that I am able to locate so the building will have to speak for itself.   A basic ranch style grey building nestled within the trees behind the infirmary has little to no character from the street.  I was drawn to it when I stepped inside. 

The Gray Building started out as Learning and living quarters for the Home Management program when UNCG was a Women’s College in the early 70’s.  A six bedroom classroom housing an instructor in counselor's quarters and five dormitory style bedrooms for participants.   With a dining room that would accommodate 20-25 people it was a wonderful place to learn and live.  

Looking at the home, plans, and location I have really begun to understand the architect.  His orientation is unlike the rest of the campus with a true West facing entrance.  The porch is recessed and gives access to the counselors quarters as well as the north side dining room.  The South side quarters also has an entrance on the west face with entrance to a formal living room, fireplace, dining room, and the house's focal point, an atrium.  The two sides are connected by a single door in the storage area.  

Built in the late 60's we see several focus points in this home.  The country was returning from VietNam and front porches were disappearing.  Frank Lloyd Wright was instrumental in pushing the envelope about homes and the way to change the looks...  The chimney has been moved to the front, the atrium is a roman idea, the focus of the home is around the hearth.  

This was not created as a house but a classroom on how to run a house.  Unfortunately Peterson is not available to discuss his ideas about the 

When the campus progressed and outgrew the space provided by the house it was used for storage. 

:::  I realized partway into this project that the current use of this home is unimportant.  I am focusing on the intended use and design of the project.  The current use was my initial plan and I have included the narrative from that idea but I am not planning on using any of it.

In 1998 renovations were started to convert the space to house the campus Architects office.  Bedrooms and Bathrooms were converted to offices.  The dining room became a conference room.  Bedrooms were enlarged and updated to become conference rooms and workspaces.  One eating area and living space was separated to make a workspace and offices.  The exterior was kept the same though, as was the most enchanting aspect of the house, the atrium.   Revitalizing an old building is more of a green idea then tearing down an existing structure and building a new one.

A single tree grows in the center of the house.   When I visited I saw one of the architects sitting at the table working and enjoying an occasional glance at the tree.  The current inhabitants find inspiration and a little nature in the midst of concentration and workload.  I asked the secretary about the tree and she said that anyone could go out there when they need a breath of fresh air.  I have always wanted an atrium house, but had never seen one that works well.