keep it up

I was warned. If I want to have a blog I need to continue to write or no one will read it. I don't even know if anyone has read anything so far...I'm not really a good writer, but I want to let people know what architects do and think outside and inside of architecture. I hope to let my clients see updates of their projects when they aren't around to see the progress themselves.

I usually take a walk or a run mid-day with the dog. It gets me out from behind the computer screen and sometimes even inspires me. My usual walk takes me past these two properties, which are inspiring. The forms are clear and uncomplicated. One is old, one is new. They state their presence without overstating.

I am designing a house in Greenport that is on the Main Road. The owners want the house to be reminiscent of a farm house, yet modern. They want it to be 'green'. I am thinking about a simple form like these two, to keep the costs down within the budget. I like the metal roof for the aesthetics, and the heat reflectivity, and the material sustainability.

I don't know who designed the new house, or who the owners are. I walked up the driveway today along the rye grass field. No one is there during the week. I am working up the courage to visit on the weekend, unannounced, to state my interest. I am hoping for a warm reception.

Coordination

Yesterday was a beautiful spring day. The sun was shining in a crystal blue sky. The breeze was blowing softly, the birds were singing and the jackhammers were pounding the old concrete slab into oblivion.

Yesterday was the first day of construction on the studio renovation in Orient. I met with the contractor, and we discussed all the site issues. It was so invigorating for me to get out of the office and into the nitty gritty of a project.

We were in the crawl space looking at the waste lines, out on the street looking at the LIPA poles, discussing the location of the new supply well, the dispersion well for the geothermal heat, the septic lines, the electrical supply to the house and studio, and the water lines for both buildings. How in the world are we going to keep them all the necessary distances away from each other and the house, the studio and the trees? Architecture is like a life size puzzle that is constantly changing shape. I love puzzles.

Sunday Morning

This morning I will meet with clients and a contractor to review the contractor's bid for the renovations and additions of their home in Southold. It is a beautiful site on the bay. We are discussing ways to bring the cost down. My clients wanted to spend $450,000.00 on their house not including the kitchen and landscaping. I didn't think that this was possible since the amount of work is so great. The bids came in at almost $600,000.00. They are going to move ahead anyway.

The drawing is the new design. The photo above is what the house looks like now. The addition on the back of the house was done in the 1970's. It doesn't work well with the rest of the house in terms of design, flow and functionality. Because of its location around the stone chimney, it leaks terribly whenever it rains with a northeasterly wind. It will be removed and replaced with an addition that is responsive to the original roof forms of the house. I can't wait to start construction and see the transformation.

Applications

For the past few weeks, my job has been all about filling out application forms for all of the various agencies in the Town of Southold and Suffolk County.

I finished the schematic design for a house renovation in Southold over a year ago. My client was so happy about the design she called to tell me that she had already picked out the paint colors for the different rooms. Then the housing market crashed. The husband is retiring in 2011, and the plan is to sell their primary residence in Westchester County and move here full time, debt free. So, the plans have sat, while we wait for the market to turn around.

Recently, they called to say they want to start again. I was thrilled. With the design mostly figured out the next step is get the Southold Town zoning variance and the Suffolk County Health Department permit.

The Health Department is pretty straightforward: show the proposed addition on the survey along with the new septic system, the location of the water supply, and the same information for all of the adjacent properties, fill out the application and mail it along with the check.

The ZBA is a different story...The application is extensive, with numerous forms to be filled out and copied and collated. The drawings need to be noted with information that the Board is looking for, and the corners of the proposed work need to be staked out, photographed printed and labeled. In the back of my mind, while all of this work is being completed, I am thinking that after all eight copies are submitted I will get a phone call telling me that I forgot something, or need to change something. Then I head down to the Town Hall annex with my white out and my pen.