Friday, October 16, 2009

The Wolfe Den

The Wolfe Den by MJ Neal Architects

2,400 sq ft
Austin, TX

Single family dwelling for a young professional couple. The site is a small 47′ by 125′ rectilinear in-fill lot situated within a twenty minute walk of downtown.

The house consists of two parts, a simple rectangle along one side of the lot and an adjacent courtyard. This configuration provides privacy from the street while allowing the interior living areas to open onto decks and garden. An overhang with lattice provides the transition to the garden and protection from the west sun.

The house, although conventionally framed, used green methodology and materials: Slab on grade with diamond ground finish. Bio-base (soy) blow-in insulation for the exterior wall and roof. Recycled denim insulation on the interior walls. Recycled rubber flooring on the upper level. Formaldehyde-free plywood. Low-voc paint. Ipe hard-wood from sustainably managed forests. Locally manufactured brick. Fluorescent and low voltage lighting. Geothermal HVAC system. The house is also photo-voltaic ready for when budget allows.


Tuesday, October 6, 2009

OlsenBeal Construction




I made a site visit today to OlsenBeal. They are about 85% complete with the steel erection, the rest of the steel is sitting in the yard waiting to be installed. The remaining pieces are mostly the cantilevered projections and hanging steel. It is pretty cool to see that the steel already has a nice patina to it, which will only get more rich with time. Hopefully next week the wood infill framing will begin.