Wednesday, June 30, 2010

Farmhouse 10


Three bay with siding and enclosed porch.

Tuesday, June 29, 2010

Farmhouse 9


A house on my way to work on Route 401 and has inspired my house designs for the simplicity and additions over time.

Monday, June 28, 2010

Farmhouse 8


The Ship Inn in Exton, not quite in full glory, but a nice corner building regardless.

Sunday, June 27, 2010

Farmhouse 7


A neat off center entry, 6-bay house on 202 North

Saturday, June 26, 2010

Farmhouse 6


Using an extinct type of stone in central Chester County, Serpentine.

Friday, June 25, 2010

Farmhouse 5


A great oldie on the way south out of West Chester.

Thursday, June 24, 2010

Farmhouse 4


A house in our development that used to be the only house on the property, because this was another farm turned into a "community."

Wednesday, June 23, 2010

Farmhouse 3


Another in the row of these farmhouses, unfortunately, this one is gone now!

Tuesday, June 22, 2010

Farmhouse 2


Another in Plymouth Meeting, unfortunately obscured by the truck! A great two and a half story house.

Summing up my idea

I read this about a tea-house project, "A contemporary expression of a historical typology." This is what I am striving for in my farmhouse design, but not necessarily for the plans for sale that I have drawn. I believe we, as architects, should be looking to this concept more often, evoking the past and being current.

Monday, June 21, 2010

Farmhouse 1


This is one of three near Plymouth Road in Plymouth Meeting.

Friday, June 18, 2010

New work

Networking lately has started to pay some dividends. People calling and emailing, setting up appointments to talk about work! As the weather stays hot, possibly the economy will follow suit.

Wednesday, June 16, 2010

Hand Land

Did I mention that yesterday a potential land owner seemed to forget that he was supposed to meet myself and our realtor. Oops! Gives us some time to do more research and think about other options. Meanwhile we also found a hose on a great lot in a development we love, the house has to go! Can we live there for 2-3 years before we raze it and build new. I think we are going to see it soon and see what we think.

Tuesday, June 15, 2010

Funds?

Are you involved in your township or boro? Do you know of paths to government funds for developing properties? Let me know if you have heard of grants or gov't funds!
Trying to put out some feelers about how sprouting builders/developers get started! There is money available from banks and the govt, and they want to lend it to businesses, not people to get the economy moving. So I am a prime candidate. Let's see what is shaking.

Monday, June 14, 2010

LEGO Bricks

Lego bricks are great, now I am reading a book that my mother sent me "Lego, a love story." It affirms all the positive and negative aspects of enjoying building as a child and a parent. Just started reading the book at the pool this afternoon, so more to come!

Sunday, June 13, 2010

Weekend Work

Just keeping myself busy while the fire under me still burns for buying a lot. We checked out a great lot in East Fallowfield, but it is in C'ville, so not sure if it is where we want to be. Bought a couple of great books that I am looking to get into this week, let you know how they are!

Thursday, June 10, 2010

5 years

not just a Bowie song, but the time that has elapsed since I graduated from Drexel!
That is all!

Tuesday, June 8, 2010

Summer project

I would like to post photos of inspirational farmhouses from the SEPA area. I will take as many pix as possible, organize them by township/boro/county. Details are going to be points to this project, along with overall scale, location, and orientation.

Monday, June 7, 2010

New work

Another weekend has come and gone. Another proposal! This is an interior renovation and has the opportunity to get into the details of cabinetry, etc. Met with the realtor and are working to find out info about lots in the area. Some have the dreaded 4 - letter word written all over them...SPEC. I think there is a time for change, and it is now, or very soon.

Thursday, June 3, 2010

Eagle Village?

We have been looking at more properties and have found out about a few near us and in walking distance to most of Eagle. This is really intreaging and it could be the beginning of Eagle as a walkable community. A few lots that could be developed with a few buildings having shops and apartments or loft type housing. I am going to speak to the owner in the next few days and see what happens! We continue to keep our ears and eyes peeled for something to get us out of our townhouse development.

Wednesday, June 2, 2010

Monster House

The second of the two "family films" that are in the category of "House as a character." This is a fun Halloween tale of the creepy old neighbor yelling at all the kids to get off his lawn. The film starts with a girl wandering too close to the sidewalk of the "Monster House" while riding her tricycle. The House doesn't take kindly to the intrusion and swallows the trike. Watching from a house across the street, a boy, and eventually his friend and another girl, begin their investigations to the disappearance of the trike, basketballs, and other toys from the neighborhood. This house is alive and can move, grab skateboards, people, pets, and anything violating its' space. The trio of children consult a local teenager, supposedly knowing about the way that a human and an object, like a house, can meld. He suggests destroying the heart of the house. Back at the house, after several warnings from the cranky owner of the house, he is taken to the hospital, after over exerting himself and the three kids explore the house. While inside they find years of lost toys. They also find a furnace named "Constance." When they escape, the old man has returned and then explains what happened with the house. Years in the past, he fell in love with a circus freak, a monstrous woman, and he frees her and they begin to build a house together. Unfortunately, some children are playing near the house while it is under construction and taunt the enormous woman. The children do not mean harm to her, but everyone else has poked fun at her due to her size. She gets upset and falls into the foundation of the house and is cemented in place! Returning to the present, the old man tries to console the house, Constance, but is enraged at the recent transgressions, and a climatic battle ensues. The children ignite a stick of dynamite and finally end the houses rampage by dropping the stick down the chimney. With Halloween night starting soon, the children and the old man return to the basement and begin distributing the toys that had been accumulated over several decades.
This is a fun little story that has some spooky moments, funny lines, and great animation of the humans, the world, and the Monster House. Similar to other movies that have been reviewed in this series, the house, in this case a former human, have been wronged and are now trying to control their lives by making everyone around them miserable. Unfortunately, some people are miserable, similar to this house, and there is very little that can be done, even with caring by the owner or friends and family looking for answers as to why they are not happy. For Constance, she is acting out because she had just been freed from the circus, beginning to live a normal life, when fate stepped in and again made her a prisoner of the house, an immobile object, for the most part. Since she tasted freedom, she wants to punish those around her for not being able to live her life as a free person. This interpretation seems correct, because most people that are cantankerous are that way for a reason, maybe someone near to their heart died young, maybe they were teased as a child, sometimes we will never know, regardless, this film shows the motivation of the house more clearly than the "Amityville Horror."

Tuesday, June 1, 2010

Long weekend

This was a great weekend away from architecture. Instead, I spent the hours at soccer games, birthday parties, pool parties, the lake, and generally taking a mental break. Now the time to get back at it. We have had more lots floated by us and we continue to discuss what and where we should buy and build. Do we move into a single house now so that the kids have a place to play? Do we do this when rates and prices are low? As we continue to educate ourselves about the entire process, we are more confident of what we will do in the future. There is no doubt that we can get it done, but where and when? Also, the last film, Monster House will be written up shortly.