1. Fireplace – We lived in the house for a year before the stone made it onto the fireplace. In that time we debated whether we even really needed it. Lori convinced us the room would look unfinished without it. As always, she was right. This beautiful stone, recycled pieces of granite, makes a bold, yet somewhat subtle statement. Stone on the fireplace, reminiscent of old lodges in the mountains, was high on the list of must haves for the house. We are so happy with this big central element. It makes the room.
2. Entry – We love the way this entry welcomes people to our home. The 16′ ceiling, the capiz light fixtures, the long bookcase, the stone on the back of the fireplace, and the space for art are beautiful. They’re a little grand but not intimidating – people come in and immediately want to see the rest of the house. It’s like these pieces of the entry come together to say, “This is a great house – wait until you see the rest.”
3. Bookcase – One of us is a minimalist and one of us could never have enough books and has collected pottery for a long time. The beautiful, 10′ tall bookcase allows the book loving pottery collector a place for her treasures while keeping things organized and all in one place. It provides both a focal point for the living room as well as something of a divider between the living room and kitchen.
4. Kitchen – Our home is open so it was a given that the kitchen would be beautiful. I cook and I bake so this kitchen needed to work hard. It does and it is a joy to gather here to cook, to visit, to just be in this lovely space. We plan to age in place so I read everything I could find about designing a kitchen for older folks. The drawers below, the microwave drawer, the ovens that swing open to the side are all features that will make cooking here a joy into my 90s.
5. Porch – Our home sits on a hill in the woods, above a river, with two sets of shoals giving us the constant sound of flowing water. We wanted outdoor space where we could enjoy the river, the birds, the trees, and the deer that wander through our backyard. Our porch is remarkable. The 16’ ceiling, the great view, and the fireplace combine to make this a space we use year round. The master bedroom and the living room open onto it. It is perfect and one of the things we most love about our home.
Arcollab’s principals, Lori Bork Newcomer, Gabe Comstock, and Joe Smith, have been designing custom homes for clients for about fifteen years. We approach designing a home as a melding of the architect’s artistic expression and the client’s dreams within a specific contextual location to create a lasting contribution to the fabric of the surrounding community. We are deeply committed to designing spaces and structures that look beautiful and feel good, that function well, that provide comfort and pleasure to the occupants, that respect and engage their location, and that are healthy places in which to live. We care about the materials used, the way light moves through space, how air circulates, and how people live within their homes – including inside and outside spaces. Each project is designed as a one-of-a-kind – we do not replicate custom residential plans.
We often photograph our projects throughout the process of construction and when they are recently completed. This initiative, which we’re calling Through Our Clients’ Lenses, is an opportunity for us to reconnect with many of our past clients and explore architectural design from the perspective of our clients.
We have invited our clients (and in some cases, those who currently live in homes we designed for someone else) to share glimpses into the spaces and places of their homes that they appreciate for one reason or another. We have also asked them to briefly describe the images they send to us. What you will see and read in this blog series will truly be a reflection on Arcollab’s work as observed through our clients’ lenses. We hope that this will be interesting and fun for our clients, for us, and for others who visit our website and social media.
This spring, Arcollab is hosting Amanda Ochieng, a senior at Clarke Central High School in Athens, as a Young Dawg intern. Amanda is also enrolled at the University of Georgia while she wraps up her senior year in high school. As part of her internship with us, Amanda is helping to coordinate this Through Our Clients’ Lenses initiative.
Arcollab is pleased to share the news that Principal Joe Smith’s design work for the Madison Livery Stable was honored with a Georgia Trust Excellence in Rehabilitation Award. The old livery stable, which sits across from the Madison Town Park in downtown Madison, Georgia, is now home to Amici.
Georgia Trust for Historic Preservation Excellence in Rehabilitation Awards recognize projects that make compatible use of a building through repair, alterations or additions while preserving features of the property that convey its historic value.
The Annex to the Mary Vinson Memorial Library in Milledgeville, Georgia, is nearing completion. The historic Fowler Motors Building has been transformed and will offer the Library administration new office space as well as multi-purpose meeting space and other library services for the community.
The thermally-modified ash used on the front awning and the new side entrance and the custom-made steel planters and benches all look beautiful!
Steel railings are going in. Interior treatments include nickel-gap pine on the walls in the stair and riser-seating area.
The murals were installed by local artist, Elise Williams, and look fantastic!
Enjoy a few more shots of the construction in progress.
“Between now and 2060, the buildings industry is poised to add a whopping 230 billion m2 of new construction worldwide. That means we will double the amount of buildings we currently have on the planet over the next four decades. To put this into perspective, we are constructing the equivalent of an entire New York City every month for the next 40 years. Let that sink in.”
Thus opens a fantastic article by Anthony Pak explaining the concept of Embodied Carbon and what that means for the built environment, in particular, what that means for those who design the built environment. Pak continues, “Given the sheer volume and speed of new construction, it is critical that we design all of these buildings as sustainably as possible. But what do we mean when we say sustainable? When you hear the term ‘green buildings’, what comes to mind?”
Check out the link to his article (above) and learn all about Embodied Carbon. The best technical article written for a broad audience that I’ve come across. And if you get hooked and want to dive deeper, check out the Embodied Carbon Network hosted out of the University of Washington. Great stuff!
We may not yet have all of the answers regarding stabilizing atmospheric CO2 levels, but the questions are certainly valid. It’s heartening and inspiring to see how architecture, construction, and yes even policy are evolving and slowly but surely embracing a low(er)-carbon future.
Arcollab Principal, Joe Smith, and several community members associated with the Fairview School preservation project in Cave Spring, GA were interviewed yesterday by Atlanta’s WSB-TB Channel 2. The historic African-American school house has been restored and will soon be full of life again as young people (young in age and young at heart!) from the community come together to share and learn. Updated images of the restored building can be seen in this news clip and will be posted to our website soon.
The Georgia Lake House is under construction! The views to the lake through the glassy wall will be spectacular. Stay tuned for updated construction progress images.
