Residential architect '04 Design Awards

Residential Architect, May, 2004 by Meghan Drueding, Cheryl Weber, Nigel F. Maynard, Shelley D. Hutchins

Brown added warm cherry wood cabinets on skinny legs, black granite countertops, and a wall of shiny stainless steel appliances. To finish the transformation, he wrapped the opposite family room wall in the same materials to contain a fireplace and entertainment center. The strong concept impressed the judges, who called it "a very smart renovation."--c.w.

principal in charge: Randy Brown, AIA, Randy Brown Architects: project architect: Steve Mielke, Randy Brown Architects: general contractor: Randy Brown Architects; project size: 1,430 square feet; construction cost: $76.92 per square foot; photographer: Assassi. See page 128 for product information.

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renovation

merit

wheatland farms log cabin, waterford, va.

reader & swartz architects

winchester, va.

the jury liked that this sensitive addition to a nearly 200-year-old cabin "grew organically around the original structure." And they felt a contemporary glass catwalk gave the design "that extra oomph." The judges' comments reflected faithfully the intentions of architects Charles Swartz and Beth Reader. "We wanted to make it about the cabin and not our architecture," says Swartz, "but we did allow ourselves the architectural wink of the glass floor since space and light were so restricted."

Existing walls were stripped and exposed with wiring, ductwork, and insulation added above round pole rafters and metal roofing. The kitchen and baths are relegated to the addition, leaving the 14-by-18-foot cabin intact as the living room. A perimeter of hidden overhead light fixtures helps mitigate the room's 7-foot-high ceiling. "Basically," Swartz says, "we wanted to turn the original building into an antique art piece and let it stand as a pure object."--s.d.h.

principals in charge / project architects: Beth Reader and Charles Swartz, Reader & Swartz Architects: general contractor: Douglass C. Reed, Preservation Associates, Hagerstown, Md.; project size: 880 square feet; site size: 550 acres; construction cost: Withheld; photographer: Ron Blunt Photography. See page 128 for product information.

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multifamily

grand

the titan, san diego, calif.

jonathan segal, faia

la jolla, calif.

art and architecture intersect at the Titan, a 22-unit apartment building in San Diego. Jonathan Segal, FAIA, conceived the building's two-part facade after viewing the abstract planes of a Richard Diebenkorn painting. "It's incredibly brilliant," said a judge. "The scale, proportions, and materials are beautiful."

Segal, also the project's developer and general contractor, was operating on a limited budget. He used simple, straightforward floor plans and minimal detailing to keep costs down, focusing his funding on the front of the four-story building. Sheets of rusted steel cover the horizontal portion, and the vertical component consists mainly of laminated glass. "The intention was to collage the two boxes, which are sitting on a stucco base," he says. "The forms are very simple; there was nothing elaborate about it."