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Selasa, 07 Januari 2014

Term 5 Final Project: Advanced Residential / Piano Mansion

Do you all remember me talking about my major studio project for the fall, and then basically disappearing off the face of the blogging earth? Well, let's just say that this project consumed and challenged me more than any project to date, but that the satisfaction of completing it (and getting a great mark) was well worth the long hours, piles of discarded ideas, and even tears.

If you recall, my original concept for the house was the piano (as the client is a family of musicians), but as I developed the project further, I moved away from such a literal shape and idea into a larger concept of the stage and performance, into a liveable concert hall idea. I kept some of my original concept, such as the pitched roof, but basically, I wanted the home to capture and reflect the feeling of grandeur associated with attending a night at the theatre, as well as creating a liveable environment that was simultaneously conducive to entertaining, parties and performance. Here is the final result (click on photos to see them in larger format):

I was basically architect, structural engineer, landscaper and interior designer for this project and I also had to consider barrier free elements as one family member is in a wheelchair...did I mention the plot of land we were given was on a cliff like hill? That's a lot of hats to wear in ten short weeks, but I am so happy I pulled it off and proud of myself for not giving up!

Here's to a new term! xo

Rabu, 21 November 2012

Staddle stones

Virtually unchanged in design for many hundreds of years, Staddle Stones, (also known as mushroom stones) were originally used to raise barns and granaries off the ground.
This kept the produce from spoilage by damp, and also prevented mice and other vermin from interfering with it, as they couldn't climb past the staddle stone caps.
Due to regional influences,they come in various types of stone with slight variations of form. They are extremely popular as garden ornaments especially in rural areas such as The Cotswolds and The West Country (UK).

In Middle English staddle or stadle is stathel, from Old English stathol, a foundation, support or trunk of a tree.

Staddle stones used as garden ornaments. Source here

An old barn supported on several Staddle Stones at Boscombe, Wiltshire. Source here

A building sitting on staddle stones, at the Somerset Rural Life Museum. Source here

Granary, Weald & Downland Museum. Source here

The store house in the garden of Sheldon Manor is built on staddle stones, designed to keep out the rats. Source here

Granary on staddle stones, Lower Bottom House Farm, Chalfont St Giles. Source here

A haystack standing on staddle stones. Source here

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Assorted staddle stones Source here

A set of 6 staddle stones for sale. Source here

Nowadays these gorgeous ‘mushrooms’ are used as decorative garden ornaments.

‘Mushrooms’ in the garden. Source here

Staddlestones along the driveway. Source here

Staddle stones as a garden fence. Source here

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Where to find staddle stones for sale?

Here are only a few addresses of so many to find in the UK.

Below Stairs of Hungerford

English Garden Antiques

MASco Architectural Salvage

Beeston Reclamation

Leominster Reclamation & Architectural Salvage

I wish all my American friends and readers a HAPPY THANKSGIVING !!!

The First Thanksgiving (1621), painting by Jean Leon Gerome Ferris (1863-1930) source here

Greet

Senin, 09 Juli 2012

Belgian architecture : introducing the ‘Begijnhofstijl’

Since a number of years we do see evolve in the Belgian architecture a new style which is inspired by the architecture of the Flemish beguinages.

So today I would like to introduce you to the ‘Begijnhofstijl‘.

First you do have to know something more about a Begijnhof (Dutch) or Beguinage (English) and its residents.

A beguinage or begijnhof is a collection of small buildings used by beguines. A beguinage comprises a courtyard surrounded by small dwellings. It is often encircled by a wall and secluded from the town proper by one or two gates.Poor and elderly beguines were housed here by benefactors.

The first beguinages were set up in the 12th century.

No country has more beguinages than Belgium.

The Flemish Beguinages have been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1998.

For those of you who don't know, the Beguines were various lay sisterhoods of the Roman Catholic Church, founded in the 13th century in the Low Countries (Belgium, The Netherlands), comprising religious women who sought to serve God without retiring from the world. Their success was attributed due to a surplus of women after their men died in local wars. Great number of women had no option but to unite and collectively secure aid of rich benefactors. A common misconception is that beguines are nuns', which is not true.

Unlike sisterhoods that required a life spent apart from society under vows of chastity, these Catholic women looked for holiness outside monastic norms. Although they lived and prayed together within an enclave, partly as a form of mutual protection — some historians believe they banded together after losing their men to the Crusades, which left behind mainly criminals and louts — beguines were not confined to the cloister. Many ministered to the poor and sick outside their walls. Lifelong celibacy was not required either. They could leave the order and marry (but not return). The beguinages were experiments in communal living that worked successfully for centuries. But as the options for many European women multiplied after the 18th century, within the Catholic Church and beyond, the numbers of beguines rapidly declined. Belgium, which once had 94 beguinages, had only 20 in 1856; the members of the sisterhood fell by more than half between 1631 and 1828. Today, the order has only one surviving member, the 91-year-old Sister Marcella (Beguinage of Kortrijk) who lives in a Belgian rest home.

I posted pictures of some of the Belgian beguinages and in between I have shown you images of new build houses, inspired by the beguinage architectural style.

Beguinage of Bruges