Re: [GBlist] houses old, new, borrowed recycled blue

[Aimee M Houser <hous0088@tc.umn.edu> (Aimee Houser)]

This is a good reminder. Also, in my region there is a terrible housing
crisis, with rents skyrocketing and new construction focusing on "luxury
apartments" etc.


> It is amazing to me how casual and sometimes glib we are about what we do
> and want to do with our homes.  I know people here in South Texas who have
> no homes at all.  It reminds me how desperate this very basic need for
> shelter can be.  It is so very expensive to buy a home in America today that
> homeowners in this region are a minority.  There is something terribly wrong
> with that.
> 
> SBT Designs
> 25840 IH-10 West #1
> Boerne, Texas 78006
> 210-698-7109
> FAX: 210-698-7147
> www.sbtdesigns.com
> 
> ----- Original Message -----
> >From: "John Salmen" <terrain@shaw.ca>
> To: "Aimee M Houser (Aimee Houser)" <hous0088@tc.umn.edu>;
> <deumling@socrates.Berkeley.EDU>
> Cc: <greenbuilding@crest.org>
> Sent: Monday, January 07, 2002 8:37 PM
> Subject: Re: [GBlist] houses old, new, borrowed recycled blue
> 
> 
> > One of the continuing ironies here is that small houses can be a
> 'luxury' -
> > being outside the vernacular and outside the envelope. The scale of
> > appliances has already been mentioned but it extends into most
> > 'commodities'. I've often drawn a room and then tried to 'plug in' the
> > drawing of some manufactured upholstered object only to find that it was
> > designed to seat some giant and left room for little else. Everything in
> > N.A. is big or gargantuan. A small soft drink here would serve to satisfy
> a
> > daily liquid intake and at least a monthly sugar intake. I'm always amused
> > at the recommended minimum clearances for toilets - generally enough to
> have
> > a few people join you. Without careful planning it generally is easier and
> > more cost effective to build a 'large house' than a purpose built small
> > house. The dividing line is probably now about 1800 sq.ft. for standard
> > assemblies, but even at that level there seems to be a lot of compromises
> or
> > 'custom detailing'.
> >
> > I was trying to be a bit of devil's advocate in bringing up the issue of
> > designing with limitations. Most houses that exist from the 30's-50's have
> > those limitations and people have experienced the frustration of
> remodelling
> > them. Most are based on a rectangle or square with centrespan support
> > generally within the 10-15' dimension. Centrespan is usually a wall
> divider.
> > Remodelling for open concepts has usually required major structural
> > reworking of the original plan, replacing walls with beams. I've actually
> > been involved over time in a project that initially opened a floorplan up
> > with a centrebeam support replacing the original dividing walls and then
> > subsequently creating new divisions within that space. I think a basic
> > generic concept for housing now is that is should be designed for open
> span
> > between exterior support walls - and interior walls should become less
> part
> > of the building process and more part of the finishing process, similar to
> > how kitchen cabinetry is developing wheels and legs.  It would seem a
> > no-brainer but having been involved in mult-family housing projects - it
> is
> > not happening.
> >
> > Despite the fact that this is my work, I'm continually and perhaps
> > progressively amazed at how much income and energy is expended on 'homes'.
> > Over the last couple of decades the concept of what it takes to 'house'
> > someone has grown simpler but the details have become incredibly complex.
> >
> > still enjoying this discussion.
> >
> > John Salmen
> > TERRAIN E.D.S.
> >
> >
> >
> >
> > ----- Original Message -----
> > From: "Aimee M Houser (Aimee Houser)" <hous0088@tc.umn.edu>
> > To: <deumling@socrates.Berkeley.EDU>
> > Cc: <greenbuilding@crest.org>
> > Sent: Monday, January 07, 2002 6:36 AM
> > Subject: Re: [GBlist] houses old, new, borrowed recycled blue
> >
> >
> > > I agree with your concern about lavish building of 2000 sq ft houses
> under
> > > the misguided assumption that that is living small and in hindsight, I
> > > would've clarified my stance in relation to her ideas, her books. The
> > > post-war cape cod (my house) has some problems (it is difficult, tho not
> > > impossible, to tighten it up because of the kneewalls), but one thing it
> > > has to its benefit is inherent flexibility. I am working towards
> > > accomodating my mother and hopefully a child in the coming years without
> > > adding, only reconfiguring.
> > >
> > > I see now where your ideas about sq footage come in--that there aren't
> any
> > > such constraints, even suggestions, in the not-so-big house's way of
> > > thinking. I guess I do not think that Susanka's ideas are akin to
> > > recycling, but they can be used as a starting point in thinking about
> the
> > > architecture of reconfiguration. I think that is where I got my ideas to
> > > radically rethink my existing space. Its not that Susanka's ideas are
> > > complete, but that they (to my mind) constitute the first representation
> > > (iteration?) of rethinking mainstream residential architecture as "the
> > > sky's the limit".
> >
> >
> >
> > ______________________________________________________________________
> > This greenbuilding dialogue is sponsored by REPP/CREST, creator of
> > Solstice http://www.crest.org, and BuildingGreen, Inc., publisher of
> > Environmental Building News and GreenSpec http://www.BuildingGreen.com
> > ______________________________________________________________________
> >
> 
> 
> 

______________________________________________________________________
This greenbuilding dialogue is sponsored by REPP/CREST, creator of
Solstice http://www.crest.org, and BuildingGreen, Inc., publisher of
Environmental Building News and GreenSpec http://www.BuildingGreen.com
______________________________________________________________________