Designing outside the Box: Stairs

Stair design is such a uniquely fun opportunity for an architect.  A great stair can become one of the most dynamic and fun elements of layered architecture - sculptural in its own right.

Here you can see the evolution of a non-traditional stair in a One Architects home currently under construction, which, even at this early phase already contains elements of sculptural opacity, translucency, material layers, and a wonderfully creative riser detail.

For more photos of some of our favorite finished stair designs, please visit our earlier Stairs as Art post!

Evolution of a Bridge Detail

It is highly gratifying to see design come to 3 dimensional life in the construction phase of a project.

Here's a peek at a few job-site photos from a One Architects project in the Mountain Village, now nearing completion.  Working with Russ from All-Steel, these custom steel details came together beautifully with reclaimed wood on this bridge connector element, a main feature from the entrance to the property.  We are excited to share the finished project after it is photographed this spring!

Design: No Substitute for Sketching by Hand

Architecture, at its best, expresses itself from the larger scale ripples a building's design can have on the urban fabric of its neighborhood, to the smallest details to be touched, felt or noticed in a quiet moment.  A computer program and skilled draftsperson can whip up a CAD drawing and insert standard details for a garage pretty quickly.  But when a talented architect takes the time to ponder the design of details, respond to the site and think of every choice as an opportunity, that's where real architectural magic can transpire!

This single page from Jodie's sketchbook - detailing a new One Architects project - expresses a thought process which addresses multiple perspectives and scales of a single element of the home.  She takes no detail for granted and begins to bring a dream - of what in this case what looks to be a pretty amazing garage - to life on the page.

Travel Maps | Mapping Travels

Sketches from One Architects' recent travels to London & Barcelona.  For Jodie, an architect with the soul of an artist, "looking in every direction at any given moment and finding amazing architecture; old, new, weird, dirty, crazy" can be profoundly inspiring.  

Anticipation fills me as I look forward to seeing how recent travels inform One Architects' new designs!  See more of Jodie's gorgeous hand drawn maps at Hand Drawn Map Association.

Extraordinary Bathrooms

There's no rule that says a bathroom has to be a hidden room in the leftover space of a home.  

These designs release the bathroom from its tangential, hidden place -- one where we snuck off in quiet, perhaps shameful privacy -- and usher it into its more deserving place: 

A sanctuary for refreshing, clean and inspiring architecture to renew and invigorate.

all spaces designed by one architects, inc.  |  photos © Jennifer Koskinen | Merritt Design Photo

Kitchen Connection

Having spent plenty of time in homes where the kitchen is secluded in a back corner (old school, to avoid mingling of guests with help), the contemporary approach to bringing the kitchen - the heart of the home - closer to its center is a plan change worthy of celebration, both socially and architecturally.

Opening up the plan and inviting the kitchen to take a more center stage position engages space and use in a way that is dynamic, interesting, and as most of us have experienced, far more conducive to entertaining.

The above kitchen is the heart of this home, looking out over dining, living and entry, and connecting to the master wing of the home as seen here:

This playful kitchen is home to both a breakfast nook, and a cozy sitting area/library, with open connections as well to living spaces beyond:

Warm natural light, open space and comfortable materials connect this kitchen to the surrounding living spaces in this comfortable mountain home:

Central to the vision of this remodel was to reconnect a kitchen which had been isolated behind walls.  See through upper cabinets help keep the connection wide open without having to sacrifice storage space:

Popped out from the main living spaces, its edge defined and highlighted by a show-stopping glass bridge, this kitchen is both independent and connected, perfect for entertaining:

The evolution of the kitchen continues; materials, appliances and kitchen plans among the changes, but perhaps most significant is the position of the kitchen within the larger context of the modern home.  What do you dream about for your perfect kitchen?

all spaces designed by one architects, inc.  |  photos © Jennifer Koskinen | Merritt Design Photo

Dreaming Design

Without a doubt, computers play a vital role in the production of architectural drawings today.  But equally vital to the design process is the role of sketching and drawing by hand.

An architect engaged in his or her world is constantly seeing, interpreting and sketching; translating back and forth between the 2nd and 3rd dimensions to understand spatial relationships and better inform the design process.  This process of discovery through sketching then better enables the communication of architectural spaces as they are being imagined.

These sketches (Bruce's "Dream Commute" above, Jodie's travel sketch below) demonstrate how much fun the communication of imagination and interpretation through the eyes of the architect can be.