Ambrose Redmoon Quote

Courage is not the absence of fear, but rather the judgement that something else is more important than fear

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Nullam ornare, sem in malesuada sagittis, quam sapien ornare massa, id pulvinar quam augue vel orci. Praesent leo orci, cursus ac malesuada et, sollicitudin eu erat. Pellentesque ornare mi vitae sem consequat ac bibendum neque adipiscing. Donec tellus nunc, tincidunt sed faucibus a, mattis eget purus. Nunc ipsum orci, consectetur in euismod id, adipiscing nec libero. Vivamus sed nisi quam. Donec id arcu non libero pellentesque condimentum at in mauris. Duis et lacus lectus, eu aliquet tortor. Maecenas cursus consectetur tellus non lobortis. Donec sed arcu a justo cursus varius ut et diam. Suspendisse lobortis pulvinar velit, id convallis eros pulvinar ac. Cras a lorem lorem, et feugiat leo. Nunc vestibulum venenatis est nec tempor. Nunc mattis sem in mauris posuere aliquam.

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Designing in my sleep

Dreaming in ArchitectureI have noted before that I have probably spent more time thinking about design in my adult life than most people have spent sleeping. In this post I shall one-up myself. Sometimes I dream-design. In a dream a few days ago there were some houses moved onto our property that had been built by my late father-in-law and we had inherited them. It was in the middle of the winter and the property bore no relation to our own and my father-in-law didn't build houses and there was other strange dream stuff such as the two elderly Asian women sitting high up in a window of one of the houses eating and the sink was full of dishes that should have been frozen in another house. You get the picture. In one house, there was a specific arrangement of the stairs to the very long kitchen table which set me off into that place in my head where I design things – It seems that whether I'm conscious or not has little to do with it. I started exploring the design and pinning things down on a very personal thesis of some things I really would like to explore in how I would like to live in a house in Vermont.

The idea of a very long kitchen table that was where everything happens formed the basis of my exploration. An important part of the thinking came from a recent photo I had seen in a magazine with a hearth room off the kitchen where the ceilings were low, windows minimal and set in deep walls, books, mattresses, comfy chairs, a stone floor, and lighting only for reading. It is a perfect space for reading in the winter evenings. It is very “Slow Living” Who needs a living room? An advantage of designing while I am dreaming is that my ideas come out with greater clarity. When I wake up and sketch out my ideas I may find that none of them work very well in that they ignore some practical aspects of form and function. This design, however, identifies some issues that I will need to think about and develop. It probably isn't very marketable as it comes from so deep within my own self but it may be interesting to others in terms of thinking about how design can respond on a very deeply emotional and personal level that goes far beyond searching for the perfect floor plan.

Why Hire an Architect ?

An older post buried away and re-posted here today for ya'all with some extra muttering added.

As I have mentioned before, much of my work is for people who would never have gone to an architect in the first place, thinking that they could never afford it. Designing a custom home for someone is an incredibly complex endeavor. You can buy a set of plans relatively cheaply that may go 75% of the way towards fulfilling your needs and end up with a decent house. Most people go this route. However, some of my best work to date has been for people who are more concerned with money and value. I have been hired by clients to say “no, you can’t afford it” when they lose focus in the process of building a home and start to make a decision or series of decisions that would blow the budget. A good architect should be able to save a client at least the cost of architectural services if that is one of the stated goals. If you have $250,000 to spend on a house you can buy a plan and build a house that is worth $250,00 or you can spend $20,000 on an architect and build a house for $230,000 that gets you a better looking house with a more efficient and flexible floor plan and nicer spaces that fit your lifestyle more comfortably, a house that costs less to maintain over the longer term. Notice that I keep saying “good architect”. As with any profession there is a wide range of talent and specialties. Always ask for and check references. Find an architect and a builder who you are comfortable with. You need to develop a good relationship with these folks. They’re not just there to sell you something.

Of course if you have lots and lots of money, maybe you don't need an architect. Many problems can be solved by throwing more money at them. Perhaps a not-so great-floor plan can be solved by increasing the size of the building. If it starts looking too big you can add jigs and jogs and gratuitous dormers and gables to lessen the visual impact. Perhaps a high heating bill doesn't bother you so why bother with energy modeling and value engineering? Perhaps you are not planning on spending a lot of time in the new home so certain things are simply less important. If your caretaker discovers leaking, rot and mold 6 years down the road there are folks who are perfectly willing to deal with that too.

Be My Guest

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Duis at purus ut est cursus imperdiet. Sed condimentum massa in enim cursus, sed mattis elit malesuada. Nunc tincidunt magna sit amet metus sagittis tempor. Maecenas lacinia condimentum ultricies. Sed et lacus nec augue venenatis interdum. Fusce sit amet luctus augue. Aenean scelerisque porttitor ultrices. Nulla dui tellus, egestas sit amet posuere sit amet, dictum tristique mauris. Praesent sed elementum mauris. Nullam et enim eget nisl eleifend auctor lobortis et dui. Curabitur at malesuada magna. Nunc nec tincidunt mauris, vitae tincidunt enim. Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Suspendisse ante leo, bibendum at metus in, dignissim sodales nisi. Curabitur id augue iaculis, elementum diam eget, ultrices massa. Fusce eleifend tincidunt neque, a porta nibh faucibus non.

More Passive House Stuff

From Passive House Academy - I like the use of wine. It takes only two bottles of wine for a family of four.... or something like that. Just watch the video.

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Interdum

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Donec luctus odio eget ipsum lacinia lacinia. Suspendisse porttitor laoreet sagittis. Nulla mi justo, auctor sed posuere sit amet, pretium ac metus. Nulla porta justo ac velit accumsan faucibus. In dignissim, orci nec ultricies elementum, erat mi tristique dui, a tristique ligula quam non est. Suspendisse mattis aliquet est, at tempor ipsum lacinia a. Cras enim sapien, dapibus sit amet iaculis sit amet, pharetra non diam. Curabitur sed nisi in metus eleifend fringilla. Aenean viverra sem in quam luctus eget gravida diam scelerisque.

Quisque at dolor venenatis justo fringilla dignissim ut id eros. Quisque non elit id purus feugiat vestibulum. Phasellus eget sodales neque. Morbi eget odio nec justo consequat gravida. Phasellus dolor nisl, venenatis eget euismod et, dapibus et purus. Maecenas interdum nisi a dolor facilisis eu laoreet mi facilisis. Mauris pharetra interdum lorem eu venenatis. Praesent est diam, fringilla in hendrerit vel, ullamcorper et mauris. Vivamus risus mi, lobortis ut congue vitae, vestibulum vitae augue. Maecenas nunc odio, pulvinar id vulputate nec, porttitor at quam. Suspendisse vulputate diam eu leo bibendum feugiat. Integer luctus orci a nunc consequat eleifend. Nam tempus quam sed felis tristique faucibus. Aliquam facilisis vehicula malesuada.

SEON - building science learning group in Brattleboro

SEON or Sustainable Energy Outreach Network is a relatively new organization in the Brattleboro area. The mission from the website is to “establish a network that promotes Southeastern Vermont and its neighboring regions as a vibrant center of sustainable energy.” which sounds rather vague. I think they are trying to feel out exactly what their role in the community will be. They are off to a great start by sponsoring a monthly building science learning group. This is in a presentation and discussion format, often moderated by Peter Yost of EBN and GBA, with topics brought to the group by the participants who are mostly local builders.

“Each month over 20 building professionals meet for 3 hours to advance their understanding of building science principles especially as it pertains to the problems they confront on their worksite.  Case studies are reviewed, root cause analysis is applied, hypotheses are generated based on the physics of building science.  The challenge is that there are no clear solutions to many of the problems.  We are still learning in the midst of uncertainty and ever changing product design.  Hence the need for ongoing discussions.”

The discussions are at a pretty high level but are very accessible to everyone as a goal is to bring the general building science knowledge level in this area to a very high level, making this area even more of a hotbed for green building than it is currently. Many of these folks are way beyond the standard hour and a half presentation you tend to get in symposiums such as at Better Buildings up in Burlington – not to knock that one (definitely go!) - and, perhaps had been feeling the need for much more in-depth and collaborative discussion relevant to their own daily work.

As an architect, this is a joy to see because these are the folks that I get to work with on a regular basis. As an architect, I often have to provide a basic education in building science to both the builder and the client. Having a builder who is “hip” to green building and building science issues makes my job much easier.

I encourage any local builders, architects and designers, and any folks involved with building and energy to check this group out. They usually meet from 3 to 6, once a month on a Wednesday or Thursday. Where and when can be found on the website calendar.

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