Design And Solutions Studio
Wednesday, February 12, 2020
Wednesday, January 17, 2018
Tuesday, December 6, 2016
Making the Most of Small Apartments - Smart Storage Solutions
The
popularity of the book by Marie Kondo – "The Life-Changing Magic of
Tidying Up: The Japanese Art of Decluttering and Organizing" – a New York
Times bestseller, has people interested in achieving a streamlined,
clutter free living. It is said that clutter-free and well
organized spaces make you more creative and productive while also increasing
your feelings of freedom and joy.
This
certainly seems like a valuable goal to reach for. In fact, in cities like New
York, with limited space in one’s home, clutter reduction is not only a choice but
a necessity! If one lives in a small space,
a reality for most New Yorkers, as items get accumulated, the living space
rapidly feels smaller and actually gets restrictive. Kitchen counters in
suburban settings that comfortably manage juicers, coffee machines,
fruit-baskets, knife racks etc. find it hard to do so in a dense urban
situation. Similarly, retaining a separate room for a home office is a luxury
rarely afforded to the City’s natives – and the resulting desk in the living
room or bedroom significantly reduces the size of the room, all the while
adding to the potential of clutter.
It
is no surprise that many of our City clients ask for creative solutions
to streamline their apartments. In response we have made it a point to
spend considerable energy and time designing built-in storage and furniture
that enables multi-purpose uses by stowing / hiding away utility items
when they are not in use. In this article, we
share some techniques and ideas how to maximize efficient storage and create
solutions for equipment to appear and disappear as needed. Enabled in this manner it keeps rooms tidy and clean in addition to
increasing the overall usable square footage.
A
famous holistic example of multi-functional space usage is that of micro-apartments.
A clip featuring one of our designs (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J7Ue7B89PIM) shows space-saving storage and moveable furniture
solutions. Although
not everyone wants to live in a micro-apartment,
the solutions we describe are useful in regular sized apartments as well. Some
can even be retrofit into existing cabinets.
Here are some examples with suggestions and techniques we use.
1. Built-in storage
below windows: Most New York City apartments have PTAC Units,
Radiators or AC Units located below windows. Unsightly and cluttering from a visual
and physical perspective, they are the basis of our most frequent client
request. As part of a solution to hide them, we double down and design millwork
to create more storage and usable counter space. The example below shows
built-in cabinetry designed for a one bedroom apartment
in Chelsea. The PTAC unit is hidden behind a
white matte-lacquer wood enclosure with added
cabinets on both sides. As you will see from the “before” and “after” images, the
room feels more spacious with the PTAC unit and
dresser combined into one wall to wall millwork piece. Note from the
provided cross sections how the wall-unit’s functionality is not compromised.
After |
Section through Cabinet |
Section at Ptac Unit |
2. Stow away your office. As mentioned above, most people living in cities don't have an
extra room for their office, and don't want their desk and office equipment on
display in the living room – the usual de-facto office of a cramped NYC
apartment. Featured here is a project
showing cabinetry designed for the client with a fold-out desk. One of the
cabinets contains a desk which slides and folds out for use while the one next to it contains the printer, modem, paper
supply, etc. The laptop can be slotted on the fold-out desk
and stowed away with the desk in the cabinet, saving time and space at the same
time.
Desk is folded back into the cabinet |
Desk is being folded out |
3. Hidden TV – Entertainment when you need it. For many clients, a TV on continuous display makes little aesthetic. They may rather prefer to hang art on the wall, an uninterrupted view through a window or maybe just a smooth, clean, object-free surface. In the tight space shown below, a TV on the counter or wall would have either blocked the view out of the window or taken up valuable wall space. The solution is to lower the TV into the cabinets using a lift, when it is not in use. As the photographs show, the built in lift raises the TV to sit above the cabinet, ready for viewing, then lowers it back to storage when not in use – and provides for a clean, uncluttered living space.
Living Room, TV sits in lower cabinet |
TV sits on top of cabinet when in use |
TV lift raises TV out of the cabinet |
4. Dressers – going deep with shallow solutions. What do you do if your bedroom does not fit a dresser, but you need one? One solution is to install a dresser that is shallower than standard store bought options. The depth of regular dressers ranges from 15 to 21 inches. The drawers are between 13 and 19 inches deep. However, if the drawers are for socks, undergarment or folded shirts stacked lengthwise, drawers of 9-10 inches depth are sufficient. A built-in dresser saves another inch or two. This is often all it takes to provide significant storage in a tight space without compromise. In the example below we show the cross section of a floor-to-ceiling dresser for a small bedroom. The overall depth is only 12 inches (from wall to front of dresser) and the drawers just 10 inches deep. The top section is for shirts and jackets where a valet hanger system is used to rack them parallel to the door, instead of sideways as in a regular 24 inch closet. In the example shown, the client has the option either to use the hanger system or put in removable shelves the millworker has already provided.
Floor to Ceiling Dresser |
Valet hanger system |
5. Closet doors – make space, don’t take space. In an apartment
renovation, if existing closet doors are to be replaced, a convenient way to
increase storage is by making
existing storage more accessible. We often suggest increasing closet door
height. A regular closet door is either 6 feet 8 inches or 7 feet. The highest
shelf is installed at about 5 feet 6 inches We enlarging the existing openings,
installing an additional shelves at ca. 6 feet 8 inches and new doors that are either
8 feet or all the way to the ceiling. They might not match the doors of the room,
but where space is limited the additional shelving and accessibility is a welcome benefit. While replacing, consider using bi-fold
or sliding doors so that space in the room can be functionally utilized instead
of being reserved for the doors to swing open.
Wednesday, November 16, 2016
Architecture and Nature I: Taliesin West- Organic Architecture
Frank Lloyd Wright, the great American Architect, was one of the first to consciously design and build structures and interiors as a part of their environment, in a unified whole. Buildings were not considered separate from their furnishings, surroundings or inhabitants. To Frank Lloyd Wright, a building needed to ‘grow’ from its immediate surroundings and environment, to appear as one continuous unit.
He was the first to coin the term "Organic Architecture". In the Architectural Record (August 1914): “…the ideal of an organic architecture... is a sentient, rational building that would owe its ‘style’ to the integrity with which it was individually fashioned to serve its particular purpose – a ‘thinking’ as well as ‘feeling’ process.”, Frank Lloyd Wright wrote, “... In organic architecture then, it is quite impossible to consider the building as one thing, its furnishings another and its setting and environment still another. … The spirit in which these buildings are conceived sees all these together at work as one thing.”
View of the Drafting Studio |
Frank LLoyd and Olgivanna Wright's Living Quarter |
Founded in 1937, Taliesin West was Wright’s design laboratory for organic architecture and, at the same time, one of its prime examples. It was the winter home for the Taliesin Fellowship, where fifty to sixty apprentices could study under the architect. Every winter, when Wright and his students returned, he would see the place with fresh eyes, adding and removing walls here and there, experimenting with building materials. In Taliesin West he used the design principles of organic architecture, which can be summarized as the following:
- Use building materials
in their natural state
- Build in harmony with
nature
- Let the building grow
out of the earth
- Allow the interiors to
flow and engage in a dialogue with the outdoors
- Break the box — remove
the corners and free the space
- Design “from the
inside out” — express the interior through the exterior form of the building
View from Prow |
Another example of Wright’s abstracted interpretation of the
surrounding nature is the slanted roof lines that echo the surrounding
mountains; brightly painted, carved wood forms jutting like spiky wildflowers. “Wright
wanted others to experience this amazing place as he experienced it”, said
Frederick Prozillo, Director of Preservation at Taliesin West. The triangle
shape repeats itself in section, elevation and floor plan. Using low level,
horizontal planes the buildings were kept low to the ground to insure effective
natural ventilation and protection and shade from the intense desert sun.
Floor Plan 1938 |
Drafting Studio and Pool |
Apartment, Sunset Terrace and Garden Room |
Dinning Room |
Wright always favored using the materials
readily available on site rather than transporting it there. This matched not
just his philosophy and aesthetic, but also the critical economic and logistic
constraint of bringing any exotic material to what was then a remote location. The
architecture of Taliesin West described in Wright’s own words: “There were
simple characteristic silhouettes to go by, tremendous drifts and heaps of
sunburned desert rocks were nearby to be used. We got it all together with the
landscape…”. The flat surfaces of the rocks were placed outward facing and
large boulders filled the interior space so concrete could be conserved.
Water Tower |
The rich red hue (a favorite Frank Lloyd Wright color) from the redwood timber along with the earthy, sandy hues from the concrete and stone of the walls creates a close natural relationship between the house and landscape. Frank Lloyd Wright’s typical color pallets can be reviewed here:
https://www.ppgvoiceofcolor.com/collections/frank-lloyd-wright/the-original-taliesin-color-palette-from-1955
Cabaret |
Structural elements of office painted red |
Color scheme at Drafting Studio |
Typical Color Scheme |
Compression Door |
Compression |
Release |
Dining Room View while Seated |
Taliesin West is one of the great examples how drawing inspiration and all aspects of its design from the surrounding environment can enrich both, the architecture itself as well as the environment it sits in, making it a truly organic architectural complex.
Monday, September 12, 2016
Passive House Apartment in the East Village
Living and Dining Room |
Bedroom |
What is a Passive House? Passepedia defines it as the following:
"Passive House is a building standard that is truly energy efficient, comfortable and affordable at the same time. Passive House is not a brand name, but a tried and true construction concept that can be applied by anyone, anywhere.
Yet, a Passive House is much more than “just” a low-energy building:
-Passive Houses allow for space heating and cooling related energy savings of up to 90% compared with typical building stock and over 75% compared to average new builds. Passive Houses use less than 1.5 l of oil or 1.5 m3 of gas to heat one square meter of living space for a year – substantially less than common “low- energy” buildings. Vast energy savings have been demonstrated in warm climates where typical buildings also require active cooling.
- Passive Houses make efficient use of the sun, internal heat sources and heat recovery, rendering conventional heating systems unnecessary throughout even the coldest of winters. During warmer months, Passive Houses make use of passive cooling techniques such as strategic shading to keep comfortably cool. -Passive Houses are praised for the high level of comfort they offer. Internal surface temperatures vary little from indoor air temperatures, even in the face of extreme outdoor temperatures. Appropriate windows and a building envelope consisting of a highly insulated roof and floor slab as well as highly insulated exterior walls keep the desired warmth in the house – or undesirable heat out.
-A ventilation system imperceptibly supplies constant fresh air, making for superior air quality without unpleasant draughts. A highly efficient heat recovery unit allows for the heat contained in the exhaust air to be re-used.” (http://www.passipedia.org/)
Living and Dining Room |
In general, a deep energy retrofit is done for an entire building, and that is almost the only way to guarantee a continuous airtight layer around the space and a “thermal bridge free” design - both very important for a low energy building - in a reasonable budget. An additional issue that added a degree of difficulty was that the apartment was on the highest floor with low ceilings and a small rectangular extension in the back connected by a narrow uninsulated corridor. This limited the thickness of the insulation layer we could install in the walls and roof (see floor plan below).
Due to the rules of the Co-op building, we were also constrained from making any changes to the exterior envelope / walls. Windows sizes and location were dictated by the existing openings. We were also not allowed to add exterior shading nor an extra layer of insulation on top of the existing roof.
This was our solution:
Air Barrier and Insulation:
In order to keep the construction cost reasonable we insulated and provided an airtight layer only on the exterior walls and roof; we chose not to do so on interior walls where the apartment was adjacent to another conditioned space. We added as much insulation as we could using dense pack cellulose in all the walls and ceiling. We chose dense pack cellulose insulation for it’s ability to store condensation moisture and release it over time. For the air barrier we used a membrane, Intello, which also functions as a smart vapor retarder (https://proclima.com/systems/intello/how-it- works). Any stored moisture can be evaporated to the inside of the building during the summer. This membrane was installed on the inside due to the existing masonry structure of the building. It is taped to the windows and at all penetrations. This is very important. there should be no penetration of this barrier, as it would lose its effectiveness. In order to minimize penetrations through the membrane, we installed a service cavity on top of the Intello using 3x2 battens so that wires, outlets and AC lines can be run through them without disrupting the air barrier. This service cavity is also insulated. (See detail section and images below). The air barrier tightness was checked with a blower door test. All penetrations and even the smallest holes where taped and sealed.
Walls with new wood studs and ceiling with Intello |
Ceiling and studs at floor level have air barrier |
All air barrier joints are taped |
Service cavity battens |
Light tube in bathroom for natural light |
Windows:
We used triple-pane Klearwall aluminum windows which have a low U-value, are thermally broken and airtight (see http://www.klearwall.com/Windows/passiv-alup.htmlhttp://www.klearwall.com/Windows/passiv-alup.html). Triple-pane windows are a must for Passive House construction in the Northern Climate zone. The double hung windows which are typically used in New York City are not feasible for a "low-energy" building, as they are too leaky- creating draughts and let letting conditioned air escape to the outside. The solar tube in the bathroom is airtight, thermally broken and insulated to reduce energy loss in the winter and overheating in the summer (https://foursevenfive.com/product-category/fenestration/lightway-solar-tubes/).
Solar tube in bathroom |
Tilt and turn bedroom window |
Ventilation:
As we created an airtight envelope on all exterior surfaces of the apartment , a mechanical ventilation system is needed to supply the apartment with fresh air. Each room had an existing gas heater which we removed and we reused the openings to install a through-wall ventilation unit with heat recovery. (http://www.lunos.de/en/product/e_with_heat_recovery/). These units supply the apartment with fresh outdoor air while ejecting stale air from inside the space. Heating/cooling losses are minimized (with an efficiency of 90%) with a heat-exchange within the units. Energy losses are minimal and the apartment is supplied with a constant flow of fresh air. Windows can be opened or closed, as in a normal building, but it is just not needed for ventilation anymore. In fact, using a ventilation system such as this keeps the space better ventilated than a regular building with less temperature loss and thermal variation.
Lunos e2 in bedroom wall |
Heating and Cooling:
For heating and cooling we installed two of the smallest ductless Mitsubishi Mini-Split units. While one unit would have been enough to cover the heating and cooling demand, the unusual shape of the apartment forced us to install two.
Mini split unit for heating and cooling |
In summary the overall look of the apartment is simple and understated. The light coming in through the windows is bright, yet does not overheat the apartment. The apartment stayed surprisingly cool during the hottest weeks even without the AC being used. We are very excited with the result and look forward to the winter months to assess the overall energy saving and quality.
Living Dining Room |
Kitchen |
Bedroom |
We conducted an open house where architects, clients and Passive House practitioners visited to review the results. Here is a little comment we received from a fellow architect after she walked through the apartment:
"I had the opportunity to tour an apt coop unit that had just undergone gut-rehab -- but via energy-saving Passive House construction techniques, thanks to Stefanie's expertise and a forward-thinking client.
I remarked on how the super-insulated walls created deep, crisp window jambs, actually complementing DAS Studio's elegant minimalist design. Then I noticed all the sunlight streaming-in through the super-insulated efficient windows, yet how comfortable the temperature was inside (even though we were at the top floor of a 1920's brick building in the sweltering summer). Only 2 split AC/heating units are needed to serve the entire apt. Talk about energy savings! But one of the best revelations came near the end of my visit, when I acknowledged how calm the space felt. I realized this was because it was so quiet. The air barrier tightness and super-insulation of Passive House technology truly does keep the noise out.
..... It’s a perfect integration of elegant design with environmentally responsible methods and materials."
Please contact us with any questions and comments at: info@das-studio.us. We will be
happy to provide additional information and details.
Bathroom |
Kitchen |
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