2001-2002 Western Home Awards.
From Arizona to Washington, the winners of our 23rd biennial program share the spirit of innovation* What makes a house Western, relevant to living in the early 21st century and a source of ideas and inspiration for anyone seeking to remodel or build? The 2001-2002 Western Home Awards--cosponsored by Sunset and the American Institute of Architects--offers a kaleidoscope of answers.
The jury selected 13 winning projects out of 350 entries. The winners resolve many of today's most urgent design concerns, including productive use of small spaces and tight lots, energy efficiency, sustainable construction, recycling, restoration, and even fire-resistant design.
They range from a new straw-bale house in Arizona to the meticulous reclamation of a Montana ranch. Among the winners are three Honor Awards for projects worthy of study by the profession, five Merit Awards for outstanding examples of today's architecture, and five Special Awards for solving distinct problems.
climbing courtyard
Marmol Radziner
"The house becomes a parts of its site. It's really a landscape you can live in." --jury comment
* The architects faced an ambitious program for this Santa Monica remodel: to preserve an existing historic clapboard cottage, protect the coast live oak trees and the sloping site, and expand the cottage (on the flat area at the bottom of the slope). The expansions were to include a new two-car garage, a kitchen, a dining room, two children's bedrooms, a guest room, and a master suite. Their solution is so successful that, as the homeowner remarked, "Friends have told us they didn't realize it was a remodel."
The overall strategy was to make the addition climb the hill and wrap around a large mature oak, the heart of a generous U-shaped dining courtyard. The garage was excavated into the lowest part of the slope, becoming part of the foundation for the addition. The new kitchen and dining area open to the courtyard, while the new master suite--at the top of the house and accessible across a small bridge--overlooks it.
Jurors applauded the way the materials and color palette reinforce connections to the setting: Earth-toned, board-formed concrete creates a rustic foundation that repeats the horizontal lines of the original clapboards, and clapboards covering the addition are painted a moss green to blend with the tree canopy One juror concluded, "It's a wonderfully skillful response to the topography and architectural history of the site."
ARCHITECT: (310) 264-1814
tower suite
Bernie Baker
"It's where every visitor is going to want to stay." -- jury comment
* The dollhouse quality of this 350-square-foot guest house--transformed from a derelict garden shed--on Washington's rural Bainbridge Island captured jurors' attention at once. Though small, it makes a big impression, thanks to the clever incorporation of a two-story element that echoes the slant-walled shapes of the area's old water towers. Actually, there was a water tower on the site, but its open framing stood on a rickety platform (see "before" photograph).
The architect's simple but ingenious idea was to turn the tank platform into a real tower, with a small room on the ground floor and a cozy loft accessible by a ladder. The rest of the structure contains a sitting area, a bedroom, and a bathroom. An acrylic-stained concrete floor, board-and-batten wainscoting, and a pair of built-in dressers with upper cabinets behind copper-paneled doors complete the cottage. As one juror said, "It's charming without being cutesy: a romantic version of a vernacular building tradition."
ARCHITECT: (206) 842-6278
a drive to recycle
Leger Wanaselja
"An artful renovation that uses auto parts in unexpected, beautiful, and memorable ways." -- jury comment
* The pair of green station wagon tailgates standing at the top of a stairway is sure to stop traffic. The tailgates, anchored to custom-fabricated bases, function as the railing for the upper-floor living room, but they also capture the wit and spirit of ecologically oriented architecture. Indeed, the jury felt the design explored the theme of recycling in compelling new ways.
This project includes the remodel of a 100-year-old house, which now has business space below two upper-floor living units, and the conversion of an adjacent concrete-block structure into the architects' office. Located on a busy street in a mixed-use Berkeley neighborhood, it was constructed with innovative salvage, minimal construction waste, and sustainably harvested or recycled materials.
Whimsical but practical recycled elements blend easily with the handsome Victorian architecture. Graceful, curving awnings above exterior doors are salvaged windows from hatchbacks. Colorful truck tailgates become benches and railings, and pop-out rear car windows become display shelves. Discarded road signs cover a bathroom wall, and fragments of recycled glass color a kitchen counter. Pendant lights made from heated and slumped French vinegar bottles light another counter.
ARCHITECT: (510) 848-8901
defense against wildfire
Barton Myers
"An exceptionally imaginative response to the climate and the site."--jury comment
* The oak-, madrone-, and sycamore-filled canyons in Santa Barbara County are beautiful but dangerous: The tinder-dry landscape means fire looms as an ever-present threat. So when architect Barton Myers decided to build his home here, he took special care to combine maximum wildfire resistance with design that capitalizes on the natural character of his boulder-strewn creekside site.
Each of the three steel-and-glass structures--main house, studio, and guest house--can open wide to the views and fresh air because of oversize glazed sectional doors that roll up (similar to garage doors) and sliding doors. However, an outer layer of roll-down metal shutters can also close up the house like a clam in case of wildfire. These shutters also add security and thermal insulation.
Flat roofs furnish more fire resistance as well as thermal mass, since they are covered with shallow pools of water. In addition, the rear section of the guest-house roof incorporates a 4-foot-deep lap pool accessible from the patio of the main building. Recirculating water cascades down the rooftops through a series of falls and ponds to create yet another fire barrier.
The energy-efficient home is cooled by summer breezes that enter through doors and rear clerestory windows. Overhanging roofs shade the interior during the summer but allow sunlight to reach the concrete floor in winter.
ARCHITECT: (310) 208-2227
forest retreat
Cutler Anderson
"It's a rustic yet elegant nature-viewing platform--like a small park lodge." -- jury comment
* This house impressed the jury because its almost iconic form and elemental palette of materials--a simple wood-and-glass gable rising out of a stairstepping platform of rustic stone--so perfectly suit the forested setting. It recalls Northwest park architecture of the early 20th century.
On the site of an old family cabin that had collapsed, the house occupies a clearing on a ledge overlooking Washington's Sequim Bay. The owners asked for a design that preserved their privacy while taking advantage of water views. The architect devised an L-shaped plan; the long leg of the L contains the main living spaces facing the water and resembles a large gabled lantern; the short leg contains the garage and a recreation room. Near the junction of the two wings--and accessible from the kitchen--is a stone-paved patio complete with a fireplace. It functions as the summer living room and shares views of the water from behind a stone parapet.
Inside, the warm honey tones of wood floors, beams, ceilings, and cabinetry are set off by white walls. Interior clerestory windows allow one space to borrow light from another. As one juror observed, "It's an organic response to the site and brings nature into sharper focus."
ARCHITECT: (206) 842-4710
urban curtain wall
Turnbull Griffin Haesloop
"The side-yard orientation makes the most of a tight urban lot. It's innovative and neighborly at the same time." --jury comment
* Narrow lots in established neighborhoods present challenging design problems. Here, the dilemma was how to take full advantage of a side yard while complementing the San Francisco streetscape. Inspired by early Charleston, South Carolina, houses with narrow ends facing the street and wide porches along the side, the architect oriented the new house to the side yard: A two-story wall of windows opens to a porch running the length of the building. From the street, the garden remains partially visible.
The facade is like a double curtain wall--one layer made of glass and another of posts, beams, and a shed overhang. A decorative wood railing screens sun and provides privacy Inside, the rooms are organized in a barbell scheme, with the light-filled gallery linking front and rear.
ARCHITECT: (510) 841-9000
HONOR AWARD
Barbee Association with Mary Helen Pratte, Austin, TX
summer camp
"A deft use of simple materials coupled with a wonderful sense of restraint helps the house merge naturally into its environment." - jury comment
* This 1,000-square-foot guest cabin captured the jury's attention because of its straightforward approach to building, its sensitivity to nature, and the way it celebrates indoor-outdoor living.
The site, near Austin, Texas, borders an aquifer recharge zone, so a restricted footprint was important. The choice of the material for the cabin floor was environmentally sensitive as well: It's made of Trex, a decking lumber manufactured from recycled plastic bags, reclaimed pallet wrap, and waste wood. A network of concrete piers helps the primarily wood-framed structure appear to float above the land. A standing-seam metal butterfly-shaped roof directs rainwater into a large aboveground cistern located outside the living room.
The layout is simplicity itself: The heart of the house is a large screened porch containing the living-dining area and kitchen. A bathroom is behind the kitchen; two bedrooms are behind the fireplace on the opposite wall.
With screens for most of its walls, the cabin feels like a large breezeway. All-weather canvas shades can be snapped down for privacy, insulation, and sun control. "This is about as close to nature as you can get," commented one judge. "It's a contemporary summer camp."
ARCHITECT: (512) 494-1201
ranch recovery act
Fernau
Berkeley
Hartman Architects
"Almost poetic. An eloquent affirmation of place. Not just adaptive reuse, it's redemptive reuse." -- jury comment
* What could be more Western than a partially abandoned ranch compound in the Big Sky Country of Montana? And what could be more difficult than to turn such a place into a contemporary vacation home without damaging its flinty, authentic character? Here's a project that succeeds on all counts.
The compound originally consisted of a 1,200-square-foot house "last occupied by cattle and vermin" and an abandoned 1,200-square-foot granary. The program included restoring and repurposing these structures and adding a 1,250-square-foot "car barn."
The architects treated the structures like found objects in a large architectural collage, relocating house and granary to create more dynamic relationships to the site. After repairing and replacing key house elements like windows and siding, they inserted a dormer, a porch, and a large, elegant steel-and-glass bifold door.
They reconfigured the interior around a new two-story wall clad in red-stained horizontal siding. It functions as a display and storage wall and brings an outdoor feeling indoors. The ground floor is a flexible space for living, dining, and cooking, with access to the new porch. Bedrooms and a play loft are upstairs under the eaves. The granary became a bunkhouse, gym, and theater.
This ranch is ready for its next hundred years.
ARCHITECT: (510) 848-4480
neighborhood design
Ross Chapin
"A flexible, high-density in-fill project that accommodates changing lifestyles." -- jurry comment
* In this Whidbey Island, Washington, development, a shared alleyway rambles through the backyards of three adjacent 1,200-square-foot houses, separating each from its own 425-square-foot detached cottage. (Progressive city zoning allows accessory detached units in single-family zones as long as the units are compatible with neighboring homes.) The jury particularly applauded the inclusion of the cottages because they introduce a great deal of lifestyle flexibility--they can serve as home offices, separate family rooms, master bedrooms, starter homes for grown children, in-law quarters, guest cottages, studios, or even long-term rentals.
The larger houses combine kitchen, dining, and living rooms in a single multifunctional space. Peaked ceilings, windows placed for maximum daylight and side-yard privacy and light colors keep these great rooms open and bright. The largest of the three, which is designed for wheelchair accessibility, also features an elevator and third-story view tower.
"The in-fill project fosters a sense of community by design," says architect Ross Chapin.
ARCHITECT: www.rosschapin.com
straw-bale solution
David E. Shambach
"Handsome regional style in an energy-efficient design." -- jury comment
* Summers run hot and winters can be bone-chilling in the high-desert environment of Payson, Arizona, so the challenge here was to design a 1,960-square-foot home that could maintain a comfortable interior temperature all year. At the same time, the owners wanted their house to depict principles of sustainable architecture. So the architect made straw-bale construction--with its naturally well-insulated, thick walls that are reminiscent of Southwestern masonry construction--the basis for his design.
The site is part of an old cattle ranch, and the house draws its form, as well as the wood, metal, and stacked-rock palette, from nearby homestead buildings. Cross-shaped in plan, the home resembles a one-room cabin that was expanded over time. The main axis--a long, lofty great room containing living, dining, and kitchen spaces--is flanked by lower-ceilinged bedrooms.
The house faces south to take advantage of sun and afternoon breezes that vent the interior. A 10-foot-deep porch shades major living spaces. Other energy-efficient features abound, including double-glazed windows, heavy attic insulation, a ridge-venting roof system, a 6-inch-thick concrete floor (which adds heat-absorbing mass for low-angled winter sun), and a heat-reflecting Rumford fireplace.
ARCHITECT: (520) 624-9366
harvesting the view
Arkin Tilt
"It's a series of frames for seamless indoor-outdoor living." -- jury comment
* Like a farm compound nestled into a tawny hillside, this project in Northern California's Wine Country creates a timeless, self-contained world. Four separate structures constituting 2,680 square feet take maximum advantage of rolling oak and grassland views.
Each structure plays a distinct role: carport, guest quarters, main living and eating space, and bedroom wing. The jury particularly admired how the exterior spaces linking these units serve as open-air halls and a grand outdoor living room. The flow in and around the buildings makes the house feel especially spacious.
The three-story tower--which contains a ground-floor guest suite, an office on the middle level, and a covered deck at the top--anchors the compound and offers the grandest views. Like the other two living spaces, it has 18-inch-thick, terra-cotta-colored walls made of a sprayed mix of earth and cement called pneumatically impacted stabilized earth. The mass of the walls helps moderate temperature swings. The uphill sides of the other two living spaces are partially notched into the hill; they provide additional temperature buffering.
The use of recycled materials--including roof trusses made of reclaimed fir, ceiling decking made of wood salvaged from pickie barrels, and a kitchen counter from part of a bowling lane--contributes to the home's ecological spirit. Jurors appreciated the regional character of the house, established with elements like slatted wood cribbing, corrugated metal roofing, and plywood-and-batten siding drawn from California's agricultural building traditions. Cast-concrete counters and a lap pool with a "disappearing edge" add contemporary touches.
ARCHITECT: (510) 528-9830
hayloft home
Max Levy
"A simple and powerful presence on the land--remarkable in a spec-built house." -- jury comment
* This little house on the Texas prairie--built on spec to illustrate architectural guidelines for a new residential community--garnered recognition for its powerful but suitable presence in what is essentially an agricultural landscape.
Designed to emulate the barns and granaries found in the area, the 2,000-square-foot, three-bedroom, three-bath house is built on a stained concrete slab and has siding of wood and corrugated metal. It consists of three freestanding structures, each with an upper room with windows on all sides. A long porch and an enclosed gallery connect the structures.
"The idea was to leave the floor plan as open-ended as possible," says architect Max Levy. The lower floors function as dining, living, and kitchen areas, the upper ones as individual retreats, bedrooms, or home offices. Sliding screens mounted on stock barn-door tracks roll along the west side of the porch for sun control. French doors and awning windows open the house to breezes during summer. An outdoor room with a freestanding fireplace--and screens for protection against insects--can be used nine months of the year.
It's a bit bigger and more modern than the homestead in one of Laura Ingalls Wilder's books, but it's equally suited to the prairie.
ARCHITECT: (214) 368-2023
ornamentalism
Jeff Shelton
"It's unusual for a speculative development to use such beautiful, contextual, handcrafted elements." -- jury comment
* An undulating tile rug spilling from a second-floor window captures the spirit of this eight-unit condominium complex. The hand-painted tiles add color and geometry; and the faux rug shape brings unexpected sculptural form and a touch of whimsy to the world of commercial housing. Elsewhere the shapes of aloe leaves appear in wrought-iron pieces--grillework, railings, chimney caps, and pot brackets--as well as in ornate wall and ceiling paintings.
The project sports an intimate charm inspired by Andalusian villages, which are characterized by tall walls, private courtyards, and front doors close to narrow streets. White walls and red tile roofs help the development fit into an existing Santa Barbara neighborhood. Drought-tolerant and low-maintenance land-scaping flanks a central gravel-covered driveway-street with meandering pathways of poured concrete.
ARCHITECT: (805) 965-8812.
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| Author: | Bertelsen, Ann; Gregory, Daniel; Whiteley, Peter O. |
|---|---|
| Publication: | Sunset |
| Date: | Oct 1, 2001 |
| Words: | 2857 |
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