Three More Mid-Century Modern Days (and nights)

Part of the clan went to the beach again. I've blogged about the house before. It's worth a repeat from October 09.

But first: This is how we like to do it, how the architecture tourist beach bunny marine command gets the job done at Ormond by the Sea. The pelicans perform a fly-by.



Last weekend we visited Debbie and Dave in their mid-century modern home 1300 feet from the beach. We'd been several times before but this time we played Architecture Tourists.

I confess that I'm tired of the words "mid-century modern." The pictures in magazines and on the web are all about the extreme show houses of the time. And the furniture, well, you know what I mean.

But there are a ton of ordinary, good-living modern houses and we had 3 nights to enjoy one of them. And enjoy it we did. It's a remarkably pleasant house.

Here she is, 2 bedrooms, 2 baths, single garage (with workshop and laundry), huge screened lanai and screened pool, about 1300 square feet. It sits on a street with similar ranchers, some with 2 car garages and 3 bedrooms. Built in 1964, perhaps from a pattern book.



Here is the entrance. Notice the overhangs and big windows. Does anyone know what to call those concrete trellis things on either side of the doors? (The perforated concrete wall is called a brise soleil, French for sun breaker - thanks to Spencer Howard) The street has a great variety of those things. Whatever they are called, there are 17 feet of floor to ceiling windows behind them opening to the big room. The back side of the big room also has 17 feet of floor to ceiling windows that can open completely to the lanai. And that is a nice room.



Deb and Dave replaced the solid front doors with these all glass doors. Obviously it was designed to have glass doors.

Can imagine this view with solid doors? It wasn't nearly as good. My eye avoided looking over there. Now, the trellis thingys frame the view through the doors. It's a Zen view (134. ZEN VIEW). Even at night with outdoor lights this view works to extend the big room. Tara would be proud of the vanishing threshold and that's not the only one in the house.



Here is my hand drawn floor plan. Note the floor to ceiling windows. Each is a vanishing threshold. They make the house feel huge. It's like the huge lanai is part of the master, the big room, and the kitchen.



For you Pattern Language Fans: 159. LIGHT ON TWO SIDES OF EVERY ROOM. Enough said except: Notice the bath between the bedrooms? It has just one window over the toilet. Yet, it is a most pleasant space. Following the pattern, it works because it is a wide window, with a deep reveal in a very shallow room. Nice, nice, nice.

Before I quit two words:

Terrazzo Floors. I think the entire house has Terrazzo floors now done in wood. But the terrazzo is still there in the bathrooms. Until this house, I didn't realize that I love Terrazzo floors. Nice, nice, nice.

Wait, there is a puzzle: My house has more and bigger windows but Deb & Dave's is brighter inside. How come? Well, Atlanta has big, tall trees. At our place they smother the house in the summertime. On Deb and Dave's barrier island there aren't any tall trees, at all. It makes a big difference. When the leaves are gone and the sun is lower, our house brightens right up.

Thanks,
Terry

An Outie in an Innie English Regency Style

Things that Inspire is having the best discussion about whether casement windows should open in or out.

It got me thinking about niches and orioles - THAT kind of innie and outie. I like Innies AND Outies in sculpted Regencies. You?

Here is the 1936 Thornton-Jones House by Philip Shutze a beautiful English Regency.


It's has niches in the gables. "Niche" is barely adequate to describe this innie.




Here is a 2001 Harrison Design Associates English Regency. It's a good look, no?


As with the Shutze then ends massive double chimney with sculpted curvy effects. An outie oriele window this time.


I guess this is an outie in an innie.


Warning: Lame design Haiku ahead. I think this post's title has a better rhythm.

sculpt a proud gable
outie in an innie for
english regency

Architecture, stained glass, organ tour at Druid Hills Presbyterian

The sanctuary ceiling at Druid Hills Presbyterian Church is dark and beautiful.


This is the only Phoenix Flies Event I did: the sanctuary, stained glass, and organ tour. It was first class and memorable. For architecture tourists, a drive-by only scratches the surface.

Francis Palmer Smith, the first director of architecture at Georgia Tech designed the sanctuary. He was draftsman for the architect W. T. Downing; he taught Philip Shutze, Ed Ivey, Lewis Crook, Flippen Burge, and Preston Stevens. Mr. Smith designed my favorite art deco building in Atlanta, the W. W. Orr Doctors Building. He designed the Gothic Cathedral of St. Philip at "amen corner." This is certainly the finest Atlanta architecture pedigree.

It's not too showy and doesn't look too big from the street. But it's big. They call it French Gothic.


The "jewel glass" rose window sets the tone for all the stained glass inside.


One of my ambitions is to see all the great stained glass in Atlanta. This is a great start. My words and pictures fail me.

Henry Lee Willet designed and executed the glass. Mary-Elizabeth Ellard of Druid Hills Church told us about it: the jewel glass of the rose and passion windows, the grisaille glass of the aisle windows. We touched the windows, saw the witty bits. We learned why they didn't use the opalescent "Tiffany style" glass popular at the time.


Mary-Elizabeth produced a book documenting the windows. It available from the Church.
A Soft Radiant Light
The Stained Glass Windows of Druid Hills Presbyterian Church
Atlanta, GA
by Mary-Elizabeth Ellard, photography and design by Cader Howard.

I gave up trying to get good pictures. You can get a sense of the aisle windows framed in Gothic arches, beneath hammer beam trusses.


Then Cliff Frierson, organist at Druid Hills Presbyterian, explained and demonstrated the Aeolian-Skinner organ.


Cliff had us climbing in the pipe rooms.


Architect Howell Adams gave us part three: How to maintain, preserve, and adapt the building for today and tomorrow.


Did you know that Druid Hills and Cathedral of St. Phillip had similar leak problems? Howell explained that and more. The ceiling decking isn't wood. At the time the acoustic style was sound absorbing echo-free panels. There are craftsmen who specialize in moving and scribing church pews so they don't rock; shims just don't do the trick.

Howell lectures into a blur. Have a look at the "Passion Window" behind him.


The choir has the best seats in the house.


We begged Cliff Frierson to play the organ for us while we were in the choir between the two pipe rooms. I didn't tell him I was videoing. He claims he made a few mistakes. My JoAnn offered him a second take.

To me the only mistake was not being there to hear it. Thanks Cliff, Howell, and Mary-Elizabeth and Druid Hills Presbyterian for a wonderful tour. "Toccata-of Charles-Marie Widor's Fifth Symphony for Organ in F Major"


Thanks and happy Easter,
Terry
terry @ surf303.com

P.S.
Druid Hills Presbyterian is part or Ponce de Leon's own "amen corner" with 2 other extraordinary churches. Here is Druid Hills Baptist


and Druid Hills United Methodist by Ivy and Crook.

Best window-boxes in Morningside

(Please see the update at the bottom)

I want a window-box planter for our triple window. So I've been scouting around the neighborhood, checking out the Internet. Now I "see" them when I'm out. Here is the best in Morningside; it's not even close.



It's a teardown that didn't try too hard to blend. I think it turned out great. The window-boxes are a big part of it.



Those things are way up there. How do they water them?



Aha! A drip system:



I think these are metal lattice with matching planting pans. I guess you could use individual pots instead of the pans.

Here are a few more from the Duck Pond Tour. This one contains more plants that my whole yard. It's wood in a very straightforward rustic style, probably my style.



This one too. It also has a drip hose.



Here it is in context with your umbrella toting host. This is like our house (stone, white brick, sage trim) but kicked up by orders of magnitude:



So where do you get them? Smith and Hawkin is gone but there are plenty of ready-mades. They have several standard sizes but our triple window isn't a standard size.



Ideally we'd get a custom design and thus custom built boxes. They'd cost more than furniture. Well as Tara says, they need to look great when empty and they have to survive in the rain and sun.

The Atlanta architecture firm, Spitzmiller & Norris, offer professional plans on their website, a very good thing from a very good outfit.

Here is an actual Spitzmiller & Norris window box in one my favorite homes/yards in Atlanta. This house has been on "Homes Across America."



This house:


Windowbox, gravel, dovecote, and everything else by Spitzmiller & Norris.



Seen any good window-boxes? Tell where I can fix some pictures and plans.

Thanks,
Terry

Update: Thanks much for Pam Kersting at the GardenDesigns & More for the comments, please read them. She's a pro and raises the questions that magazines can't answer:

• Is there a higher priority than a window box?
  
• A style and size of box that compliments the house?
• Boxes for one window our how many windows?
• The right plants in context with the house and landscaping?
• The right plants by seasons?

Here is the triple window from the street:



Here it is at Thanksgiving



Not long after the famous front yard drainage and sewer massacre.

Shutters? Louvers? Curtains? Heliodons? a video

Lightroom Studio an architecture / design shop in Decatur, Georgia modeled their building and used a heliodon to understand how to manage the sunlight, pretty important in a modern design.



Trees play a huge part managing Atlanta's summer sun. It get wawm down here. Probably does where you live too.

Thanks,
Terry

You might enjoy following Lightroom Studio on Twitter.

Appreciation: Atlanta churches and church windows

There are so many and most Atlanta churches are worth a good look inside and out. Most regular church goes only see the inside of their own. I don't know how to photograph church interiors. Better to go in person.

Here is one on Ponce:

And one in Decatur: