This week we’re delighted to share some images from Deb Grosenbaugh’s farm just outside Athens. Thank you for sharing, Deb! These are wonderful!
“I asked Lori to design a house in the spirit of the Japanese sukiya living environment, with a seamless transition between inside and outside the house. Working from home this past year, it is hard to imagine a better place to be ‘stuck’ during a pandemic.”
“A variety of aesthetics are often expressed in the sukiya living environment. One of my favorite rooms allows me to express my love of ikebana (flower arranging) and shodo (calligraphy) in a traditional tokonoma.”
“In the other corner of that room there is an alcove where I can practice shodo while viewing the azaleas in bloom.”
“The master bedroom opens to an enclosed garden, which is also visible from the shower and soaking tub in the attached bath. This allows for a tranquil start and end to each day and is constantly changing with the seasons.”
“The kitchen/dining area commands a view of the back pasture where, at sunrise, the horses come up to remind me that it is time to grab a “to go” coffee and head down to the barn to feed.”
“Hi, I’m Mary, and my studio is also here in the Leathers Building. Would you be interested to design a modern house with a climbing wall inside?”
15 years ago (2006), shortly after Lori moved to Athens, local artist Mary Engel came to her with an exciting proposition — designing her first house, and a fun one at that! For a young architect who had been focused on commercial and higher education projects (at the time, Lori was finishing construction administration for the Segerstrom Concert Hall and Samueli Theatre in Costa Mesa, CA), this was a dream opportunity that kicked off her design of multiple modern residences in the Pulaski Heights neighborhood in Athens.
While Athens has a wonderful history of mid-century modern homes and commercial buildings, and there are pockets of 1970s and 1980s modern homes scattered around town, there weren’t too many modern style homes being built in Athens at the time. We remember the head of the framing crew remarking one day, “this isn’t like any houses from around here; it looks like something from California!” :+}
Thanks for sharing some pictures with us, Mary!
The climbing wall has since been repurposed for artwork (it initially extend from the lower floor to the main floor ceiling) when Mary’s studio moved into the lower floor.
Thanks to Janelle and Kirk Anderson for sharing these beautiful photos from their home at Lake Oconee.
“This personal photo was taken from the upper left bedroom. Hands down, the best view from inside-out!” said Janelle.
“We built this modern home with significant glass (doors and windows), so nature was always in view. During Co-Vid, we opted for this destination to do a lot of ‘work from home.’ Kirk has a sit-stand desk in this bedroom/office, and keeps his binoculars close by to watch for birds (herons, ospreys, woodpeckers and now bluebirds), fishing boats (are they catching anything?), and of course the light views as the sun goes up (and down).”
Below: sunrise on a winter day, from our kitchen windows.
“For this blog project, we thought it would be fun to compare this rendering image created during design with the actual results,” said Janelle.
Arcollab shout out to Jones & Jones Premier Builders for the outstanding job they did building this beautiful home. We hope we’ll have more collaboration together!
This week’s post highlights another in-town Athens home that looks out into the trees. Thanks to our friends and neighbors, Kim & Tim, for your contribution to our series.
“This beautiful space was created for two musicians and now it’s home to three musicians! The open and modular common area space is amazing for our son, especially, to create whatever scene is necessary for his creativity. You can see his log drum space and his art space (he calls it his architecture work). It has also housed many a family dance party as well as a drumset, and the list goes on!”
“We also love our views and outdoor space,” said Kim. “Since living here, we’ve created a beautiful backyard retreat, only enhancing our views from our plentiful decks and porches.” (Note from Arcollab: Their deck and porch have been some of our most liked images posted on our Houzz.com page.)
“Our favorite ‘wasabi wall’ 🙂
“Lastly, with abundant glazing throughout the home, the sun shines in beautifully and creates lovely shadows and plenty of natural light. Daytime hours generally never require our lights to be turned on, which we love.”
Arcollab designed a custom mountain home with sauna, soaring cantilevered porch ceilings, open floor plan, and beautiful views out to the surrounding forest. The project is now nearing construction completion, just in time for springtime to burst forth.
Our clients, David and Katie, sent these photos of the construction progression, noting, “it has been fun watching the house grow up as an extension of the ridge top.”
This week we’re featuring a project that was recently published in the book, The Modern Residence. Our thanks to Mark Ebell and Laura Bierema for sharing as part of this series.
“Especially these days, it’s good to have a bridge and not just walls,” said Mark. “This bridge was a creative solution to a challenging, heavily sloped lot and provides a wonderful transition from inside our home to the outside world.”
“The hearth, in and of itself, is a work of art. It is also a way to display art, including a small sculpture called “The Family” by Frederick Hart, and the painting “Winter’s Walk” by local artist Terry Rowlett.”
And, we’ll close with a haiku. “Our housesitter’s grandaughter has a name for the train, and Mark was inspired,” said Laura. (No train photo included.)
This week’s post includes the first construction-in-progress project in the series. Our clients’ existing home is also featured. Both projects are in the Pulaski Heights neighborhood of Athens, and both share the similarity of beautiful views looking into a forested buffer along a stream, making in-town urban living feel like a getaway to the woods every day!
“We bought a small home in Athens, GA in 2011, and Lori helped us design an addition that completely reoriented the house toward the woods in the back yard, bringing the natural beauty of the neighborhood into the home,” said Molly and Gray.
“Floor-to-ceiling windows in our living room and master bedroom make us feel like we live in a gorgeous treehouse!”
“We especially love the large screen porch, which has been a lifesaver during the pandemic. We set up a temporary projector screen and watch movies outside with friends and family.”
“When we got the chance to build nearby, we were excited to have Arcollab help us with our new project, too! We can’t wait to move in!” Below are a few images of the construction-in-progress. Framing just started this past week. The new house was designed incorporating many Passivhaus concepts to have high energy performance.
We’re thrilled to have Molly and Gray in our neighborhood and have enjoyed working with them on both projects. Thanks for your contribution to this blog series and to our community, y’all! We appreciate you.
