And Then There Was Fire...

As we slowly move on in the house design, one of more important focal points of the house is the fireplace.  Below is our first rough design of the fireplace that will be situation along the south glass wall between the living room and the dining room.  The fireplace will be exposed on three sides and will include a wood storage comparment.

Show Me The Renderings!

Now that we have the plans completed for the house, the next step was to have renderings prepared.  Below are the first drafts of the renderings of the house from three different angles prepared by Mark Dessert of PowderHaus.  

Below is the view of the west and south facades of the house looking northeast from Park Hill.

Below is the south facade from the intersection of Park Hill and Roosevelt Way.

Below is the view of the south and east facades of the house from Roosevelt Way.

Survey Says...

....A triangular lot.  One of the more difficult things with dealing with this site is understanding the elevation changes between the Park Hill side of the lot and the Roosevelt Way side of the lot.  In order to get an accurate grasp of the site we had a survey company prepare a land survey of the site that includes all the measurements of the site, including the existing building and neighbor's building, as well all the elevation changes.  Below is the land survey for our site.

Next up...models and renderings.

Now That's a Walk-In Closet

After many arguments between client and architect about the location of each and every element - we have finally arrived at floor plans that we are both really happy with. So, without further delay, below are the floor plans for both the main house as well as the studio unit.

Based on the above plans, the current layout of the house will be significantly reconfigured for the new house.  The bottom unit will be decreased to a single floor and will be turned into a studio unit and the main house will be configured into a four bedroom, three bath house with two garages.

The bottom left plan shows the layout for the studio unit.  It will include a small kitchenette, full bathroom and sitting area.  The bottom left plan shows the first floor of the house and it includes three bedrooms, two bathrooms, and den.  This floor also includes a garage that is accessible form Park Hill Avenue.  The second garage is accessible form Roosevelt Way and is one level below the studio unit (see the cross-section below).

The top right plan shows the main common level of the house which includes the living room, dining room, family room, kitchen, and bathroom.  This level will also include the main entrance to the house that will be accessible by an outside staircase from Park Hill Avenue (see elevations from a prior post).

The top left plan shows the master bedroom level, which also includes the master bathroom, walk-in closet, and roof deck.  Yes, now that's a walk-in closet.

In order to help understand the configuration of the house, below is also a cross section showing the different floors and how they align with the sloping topography of the site.

Return From Hiatus

Over the past few months we have been working on refining the design and we now have some elevations that we are truly proud of and excited to see turn into reality over the next few years.

Below are three elevations of the house - the West elevation shows the house from Park Hill Drive, the South elevation shows the house on the approach form Roosevelt Way and the East elevation shows the house from down the hill on Roosevelt Way.

After a brief hiatus from the blog for the holidays - we are now back and running on all cylinders.  So, stay tuned over the next three months to see in situ renderings of the house, floor plans and further details on the exterior materials.

I want to see it in 3D!

We now have some digital models of the current concept we are working on.  They are still a bit rough and some of the details, such as the entry sequence, will likely get slightly redone .  However, this is a good sneak peak as to what will come.

In this proposed concept, the downstairs apartment will be reconfigured into a studio/Jr. one bedroom apartment above the third garage on Roosevelt Way.  The top floor of the apartment on the Park Hill garage level will be reconfigured into two bedrooms, two bathrooms and a den for the main house.  The main house level above the double garage will include a kitchen, breakfast nook, family room, formal dining room, formal living room, bathroom and laundry room.  The third level will include a master suite and a roof deck.

The common connecting element between the main house level and third level will be a double height glass entry that is set back to form a entry light well.  The glass wall will continue on the third floor and will give way to the exit to the roof deck on the Roosevelt Way facade.

The below rendering shows the Park Hill facade of the initial concept design.  The two garage doors will be inset from the facing wall, a vertical window spanning the second and third floors will be added on the left side of the facade.  The dark colored panels will be wood while the remaining portions will likely be exterior plaster.

As shown below, the wall on the Roosevelt Way face of the main level will be punched out to form a massive window to take advantage of the city and bay views.  The window will span the formal living room and formal dining room.

The master suite on the third level will be slightly set back from the main periphery of the house to provide a small private wrap-around terrace that will be separated from the public roof deck by the glass entry alcove (see below).

Elevations

As we continue documenting the existing structure, the next necessary step is preparing elevations as they currently exist.  Below are the elevations of the structure form three perspectives - West (from Park Hill Ave.), South (from the intersection of Park Hill Ave. and Roosevelt Way), and East (from Roosevelt Way).

Starting from the left is the Park Hill Avenue elevation with the entrances to the two main garages.  The walkway to the entrances to the house and lower apartment is on the right-hand side of the two garage doors.  The middle elevation from the South shows the sloping of Park Hill Ave. and Roosevelt Way, since the walkway leading to the entrances to the house and apartment is at street level with Park Hill, while the third garage on Roosevelt Way is two floors below.  The last elevation depicts the East view of the structure form Roosevelt Way.