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weekly wrap up
00/00/0000, 00:00 | Design*Sponge
it’s been a great week here at d*s and i’m super excited for next week…because it’s the premier of the d*s and new york public library project! so please tune in on monday at 1pm for the launch of the first episode of our series! i’m so pleased with the results and can’t wait to share it all here. i’m filming the second episode on monday and we have a bonafide design celebrity joining us so stick around on monday to find out who that is! until then, here is a roundup of this week’s highlights. have a wonderful weekend! [above is a beautiful paper cut out from heather moore of skinny laminx. click here for more info]
- must read post(s) of the week: ugliest pillow contest- finalists and voting! and alyson fox’s gorgeous wedding
- regional roundups: austin regional roundup part 1, 2, and 3
- new sneak peeks: ruth shively, melissa mcclure’s LA loft, matte stephens’ portland home, dolan geiman’s studio
- new guide: doorstop roundup
- new diy projects: custom house of cards, kate’s ceramic planters, candy control
- new before & afters: andrea’s outdoor seating, barb’s wooden table, whitney’s ottoman, summer’s dresser
- furniture: schindlersalmeron stools
- paper: new morris & essex stationery, linda and harriett calendar
- artwork: john murphy collages, alexander girard prints
- textiles: japanese tea towels, fabric covered boxes
- misc: new coe and waito ceramics, things i’m loving- metallics, modern pet houses, crystal kluge monogram font, new jocelyn warner wallpaper, pattern show at olio united, gorgeous green interiors
- gift guides: we’re launching ours after thanksgiving but better living through design just launched a great gift guide. click here to check it out.
- new d*s guest blog: click here to check out sarah fox’s fantastic guest blog posts (including 4 diy projects!)
- recipes: in the kitchen with ditte isager (fruit meringue cake), sarah fox’s goat cheese pear tarts
Drew Mandel Design - 83A Marlborough Ave
00/00/0000, 00:00 | Modern Residential Design
Infill house on a 13ft wide plot, becomes feature residence of the street - Drew Mandel has used every inch of this brownfield (ex 1 car garage & garden) site to create his ideal residence. Influences of Frank Lloyd Wright and Rudolph Schindler eminent in the residence's façade lead to elegant use of wood detailing for the interior.
Overview
Drew, an up and coming Canadian architect snapped up an “interesting” plot, that his colleague at MacLennan Jaunkalns Miller Architects, David Miller had on offer. Setting out to create his debut "big time" design, Drew won a number of awards in Toronto and Canada. The house is an impressive example of modern infill, coming in at a modest $182 per ft2.
The Lot
Miller and his architect wife, Amy Falkner, had obtained a minor variance allowing them to build to the very edges of the property line without the usual margin of grass or ground cover. (It's only because the houses on each side are set back from the lot line that there is any space at all between the Mandel-Cooper house and its neighbours.) To support development, the municipality had allowed a substantial increase in the floor space, from 908 to more than 1,280 square feet above ground.
Their relatives labelled the plot a bowling lane, Mandel and his wife like to think of it as a lane each.
Design
Focusing on commercial design at work, Drew’s evening efforts on his own house pulled from his designs of multiplexes, community centres, libraries and banks. The main Achilles heel of the plot, the extended walls down either side of the property, led Drew to (as he sometimes reflects) to overcompensate with house glass panels at either end and a large light well at the centre of the build. I disagree; the house is fantastically bright and airy.
Breaking the house away from other designs out there and I believe linking it to his favoured FLW and Rudolf, is the use of patchwork glass rather than a large expanse of industrial like uniform façade. A cute modernist take on the Juliet balcony protrudes from the master bedroom, breaking the rear wall further and allows great views down to the meticulously landscaped garden, that complements the house so well. Adding to the functionality of the glass façade, a large central panel pivots to allow bigger pieces of furniture to be hoisted in.
Bringing in that industrial design know-how resolved the issue of construction methods too. Such a narrow tall design refused traditional frame design used in residential projects, meaning an industrial to balloon framing technique was adopted. Steel supports for the entire 38-foot length of the walls were put up first, and then the floors were locked in afterwards.
Further industrial features of the house include the two ramps from the entrance of the house to the living room and from the master bedroom to the second bedroom, a comfortable alternative to stairs.
Layout
From the semi-subterranean guest room at the front of the house you head south up the ramp to the living room, then north up five stairs to the dining room-kitchen floor, then south again up the house's only full flight of stairs to the master bedroom and bathroom. Finally, completing the layout you head north, up the second ramp to the second bedroom.
The Result
Drew and Denise have blown their relatives away. Despite the restricting plot they've created a house that through it's high ceilings, skylights and maximum glazing at both ends is a bright, spacious and airy home.
Plans
Architect/Designer: Drew Mandel Design
Client: Denise Cooper & Drew Mandel
Completed: 2007
Structural: Blackwell Engineering Ltd. (David Bowick)
Builder: T. Fijalkowski & Associates
Site Plan Approval: David Miller & Amy Falkner
Lot:13' x 115' or 1560 ft2
Costs: $182 per ft2
Information courtesy of: Drew Mandel Design