house compactor

just back from our meeting this evening, we were sorting out the kitchen appliances and cabinetry.
this video is very representative of our meetings, here we are; Kris, Jim, Charlie and I, (i'm the one growling)...
notice how the back wall of the existing house keeps moving towards the front...

R2...R2... where are you??

426 Mission mid dec. framing

we have finally connected the two structures and taken down the dividing walls.
today we figured out the lighting in order to leave the ceilings of the addition ready for the led's.

this view is from the original house front door down the hallway, with the addition on the background.
and here is a view from the end of the hallway...

connection at guest/study room;

Doris Miller Memorial

a couple of months ago my neighboor George Schroeder, a known local sculptor specializing in large scale steel sculptures approached me to enter a national competition for a memorial in waco. this is our second collaboration.

we had the presentation this saturday at Baylor after having made the finals.
here's some images of the presentation model.

to get a sense of scale of this proposed memorial, it is close to 220' in lenght and 25' tall at the hight point. if we include the berm and trees it's around 300'x150'.

Doris Miller was the cook on one of the ships being raided at Pearl Harbor in ww2, he took over one of the ship guns and took down enemy planes. he was the first african american to receive the navy cross. he was from waco, where the memorial is scheduled.

schematic design

this are some images from the schematic set, about 4 months ago.

there's been a couple of revisions since, but not drastic, one of the main changes had to do with the addition's ceilings. now, we have exposed rigid duct running a/c just above the clearstories all along the perimeter.

we could not conceal the moment frame for the nana walls once the ceiling became exposed. 

deleted the columns at the courtyard when the overhang got cantlivered.

there was an existing tree relocated to the back, inside the 20' setback and right outside the master bath screened terrace. there's talk of utilizing the flat ceiling between the two volumes as a terrace/deck, this will take place after the cfo.

tie to existing structure

we got the addition and the existing structure tied in last week. There was a need to reinforce the roof rafters on the existing house attic to brace from an older remodeling which took out part of the structure to accomodate for a central air and heat unit.

we need to transition between the existing shingle roofing and the new corrugated metal roof of the addition. the distinction between the two materials is important, it's very apparent from the courtyard.
here it is two weeks ago.

As soon as we are dryed in, the walls of the existing structure at the connection will come down.

site

here's our site plan.
the addition (indoor space in yellow) is following the angles on the front and back of the propierty, (the lot is not square).

the addition, which is basically a courtyard pool wrapped around by a 2:12 shed roof on 3 sides, plays along two main angles, the one of the existing structure and the one of the lot.
because of the historic nature of the site, the addition is meant to contrast with the existing structure. the main
courtyard volume is finished in corrugated metal.

december framing

moment frames got installed.
the knock out to receive the track at the slab needs to be redone.

the forecast looks dry throughout the week, the goal is to tie to the existing structure by saturday, and have
it dryed in by the middle of next week.
there's a corncern about clearance for the rigid a/c duct right above the kitchen because of an structural beam, we need to meet with the mechanical sub early next week.

426 Mission

2.5k sf addition to a 1.2k bungalow, historic district.


framing mid november... weather has cooperated, everything is moving along.

considering using black river rock for the transition between the pool and the slab.... i'll suggest that on our
meeting later today.