Developed on a parking lot located at a prominent historic intersection, this modestly scaled 12-unit multifamily project takes architectural cues from surrounding historic buildings to respect the neighborhoods past but reinterpret the elements in a contemporary way. Respecting critical sightlines of a neighboring historic house, the project pulls back from the highly commuted corner while the roofline subtly slopes to reveal the house behind. Fronting the more residential scaled street, the visual scale of the building is diminished by breaking it into four equal parts and revealing seams between, reminiscent of the side yards seen throughout the neighborhood. It steps down the sloping site with small, gated yards, and entry porches recalling Victorian and Craftsman houses on the block. Building materials, balcony bays, and window proportions and compositions articulate the apartment building to further assimilate it with its century-old neighbors.

H I G H L I G H T S

• Slate tile facade

C O L L A B O R A T O R S

Longwood Properties

How do we reinvigorate an existing home while respecting a memory of the past?

Located directly off a harbor in New Hampshire, the existing home was in the client’s family for the last 80 years. Preserving the main volumes of the existing house and using its framing as a skeleton, an internal renovation and addition was proposed. By providing additional space and light into the current property the home is adapted to allow aging in place and year round inhabitation. Salvaging materials from the current property and reimagining their relationship to the house ties the memory of what once was to the redesigned spaces.

C O L L A B O R A T O R S

Dockham Builders

How do we create a brand culture centered on people, food, and place?

This was the vision presented by the Steel String Brewery founders for their new production facility at Pluck Farm. After operating since 2011 in a small storefront in downtown Carrboro, the founders were ready to scale up production and expand their community on a 70-acre farm tract 15-minutes down the road. Our team began with a phased masterplan vision for the property, followed by a deep dive into the production facility for phase one. Steel String is hyper-local, centered around growing a portion of their ingredients for a truly farm-to-brew experience. Over time, this property will grow with the community offering a series of outdoor activities, events, and educational opportunities.

The production facility is the heart of the operations. Its placement on the land sets up future uses at the macro scale, while simple recessed porches organize outside gathering spaces and pathways at the micro scale. The brewery is constructed using a classic metal building for economy of scale. A separate pavilion bookends a seating and activities courtyard in between and organizes food truck parking. This 7,000 sf facility had to meet the many requirements for beer production, storage, shipping, and management. Inside the use of skylights and clerestory windows allows natural daylight throughout, reducing energy costs and making for a pleasant space to work.

C O L L A B O R A T O R S

CHADCO BuildersH I G H L I G H T S

• Elevated market status with cost-effective design

• Rainscreen facade

C O L L A B O R A T O R S

SGH Structural Engineers | CSI Engineering | Erland Construction

How can we foster community and family gathering through a collection of individual dwelling units?

Nestled within a dense forest on the client’s existing property, the Guesthouse was designed to house their visiting family during the warm summer months in North Carolina. Comprised of 3 distinct pavilions: a large living volume and two smaller sleeping suites, the pavilions are stitched together by outdoor spaces and a single butterfly roof overhead.

In its day the general hardware store was the social crossroads of this rural area - providing both necessary goods and daily conversations. Its reactivation would once again allow the citizenry to gather fThe pavilions tread lightly on the ground, held up by four single large concrete columns like tree trunks. Simple wood structured volumes are stitched together by large sculptural trusses carrying the roof.

These trusses, known as stressed skin trusses, are widely used in aircraft construction for their minimal weight and high strength attributes. This allows there to be far fewer structural elements carrying the tremendous load of the roof while also permitting that roof to feel as light as possible.

Experientially, as tall sculptural vertical elements, the trusses are analogous to the wooded site, mimicking the way trees modulate space, light, and view. Their precise construction and furniture grade finish marry both function and craft, akin to the structure of a boat. or town meetings and other events. The new supporting addition also adds flexibility for activities, and graphically displays the building’s social history through photographs and storytelling. These displays and the reuse of this building will preserve the cultural history of Summerfield for future generations.

How can a home enhance the closeness of family, engage the outdoors, be aging friendly, and sustainable in under 1800 square feet?

The client asked us to create a home that was modern, green, affordable, and designed for aging. The property is a beautifully wooded half-acre lot in Carrboro. For accessibility, we responded with single-level living that incorporates universal design principles and easily adapted amenities for future aging needs.

To control costs, we kept the plan compact and simplified the details. The form of the house shifts to create multiple yards and mediate privacy from neighbors. A vertical zinc wall, inspired by tree bark, visually anchors the house and signifies entry while separating private and public spaces inside. Movement throughout the house (down the hall, through a doorway, or across the room) is always toward a view of the outdoors or natural daylight – creating a connection between inside and outside 24-hours a day.

H I G H L I G H T S

• AIA NC Honor Award, 2015

• George Matsumoto Prize, 1st place, 2015

• AIA Residential Tour Award, 2014

• NC Modernist Houses Modapalooza Tour, 2014

• Designed for aging [single-level & accessibility]

• Geothermal, solar, radiant floor, rainwater capture, superinsulation, cool roof

P R E S S

dwell, Light-Filled Home, 2017

Chapel Hill News, Aiyyer House nods to Japanese sensibilities by Sally Keeney

Raleigh News & Observer, Small and Customized by Jody Brown

C O L L A B O R A T O R S

Excel Engineering, Structure | Laura Moore, Landscape Architect | MCF Builders | DLSS Manufacturing, zinc siding | Lazarus Renovations, cabinetry | Michael Cincala (bedroom, kitchen photos) | Mark Herboth Photography

How do we craft a contemporary home informed by its pastoral setting?

Located in a rolling meadow surrounded by hammocks, horse farms, and estates, this home is designed to enhance the owners’ love of living in nature. The house is nestled into the sloping site and positioned in proximity to an existing barn. This grouping of buildings and spaces creates a territory in the rural setting.

The house itself emulates the agrarian structures that mark the region with the living area and garage connected by a floating glass bridge. Placed directly between an existing farmer’s pond downhill and a grouping of hardwoods on the adjacent horse farm uphill, the house’s great room opens up with large sliding glass doors on both sides to take in these picturesque site features. Selective placement of windows in other spaces reinforces the immediate and distant connections with the landscape when moving through the house during daily routines. The two-story house is designed for aging-in-place with the upper level as the primary living area for the owners and the lower level provides guest quarters, storage and utilities.

How do we design a flexible kiosk that thrives in both summer and winter?

In contrast to the typical kiosk, we sought to create an architecture that is light and transparent. Located on the heavily trafficked North Avenue beach in downtown Chicago, the identity of the kiosk is twofold: an expression of the elements of architecture and the vendor who inhabits it. The transparent skin blends with its context like a chameleon, as well as showcasing the vendor. Two opposite sides have two doors each that fold up, permitting the kiosk to become a gateway that visually and/or physically forms a framed connection between two places, such as the city and lake. The flexible framework allows the kiosk to operate functionally in a multitude of ways. We imagine anything from a food vendor or hot chocolate station to a community performance stage.

H I G H L I G H T S

• Adaptable framework

• Rainscreen facade

• Flexibility for unique vendor identity & graphics

• Rainwater captured for use as a washing station or irrigation

• Solar panels to power an outlet and LED lights

• Folding panels allow natural breezes to circulate through

• Interior sun baffles and panels folded up provide shade beneath

• Durable and maintenance free materials

How can the peacefulness of nature entwine with the experience of living?

The house and its pavilions weave between the massive live oak and palm trees on this waterside property.

Pavilions for writing, woodworking, and music recording dot the property and choreograph walking paths. These paths unfold with a sense of discovery as one moves around the property. Each room responds to the owners’ lifestyle and working habits while engaging the surrounding nature, bringing the outside in and the inside out.

H I G H L I G H T S

• Acid-washed metal exterior siding

C O L L A B O R A T O R S

Tina Govan, AIA | Lou Pontigo & Associates | Aria Homes | Nick Renard

How can a startup incubator become a hive of collaboration and galvanize change in its community?

The redevelopment of 259 Quincy Street is conceived as a bustling hive for collaborative, interdisciplinary exploration and creation focusing on integrating technology into all aspects of problem-solving – an innovation laboratory that serves the community. Marked by canopies, living walls and interactive murals, the building design fosters a dialogue with the community as a collection point for local artists and not-for-profit startups accessible to the public. The end of the building features a community meeting hall with amphitheater seating that can be fully opened to the sidewalk and adjacent plaza for events as an extension of the pedestrian realm.

C O L L A B O R A T O R S

Dorchester Bay Economic Development Corporation | FAB Labs for America

H I G H L I G H T S

• Adaptable framework

• Rainscreen facade

• Flexibility for unique vendor identity & graphics

• Rainwater captured for use as a washing station or irrigation

• Solar panels to power an outlet and LED lights

• Folding panels allow natural breezes to circulate through

• Interior sun baffles and panels folded up provide shade beneath

• Durable and maintenance free materials

How do we turn a second-row beach lot into an oceanfront living experience?

Inspired by the beach jetties, the linear body of the home is used like a camera lens to foreshorten the viewing distance to the water. The design diverts from the neighborhood’s ubiquitous built-on decks and pitched roofs by treating the roof as an occupied surface, and using negative space to carve out balconies shielding the interior from the summer sun.

Inside, an open staircase with integrated shelving stretches three-stories and choreographs movement through the house to maximize the visual experience of the site. Moving between the first-floor office and the dining room above, one sees primarily water and foliage. Selectively placed windows on the east and west walls reinforce telescopic views while providing complete privacy. The staircase culminates at the roof deck, which appears to merge with the ocean from the house’s master suite.

H I G H L I G H T S

• Custom Home Magazine | Design Merit Award

• Waterfront Home & Design | Launching Pad

• Metropolis | View Finder

• 1000 x Architecture of the Americas

C O L L A B O R A T O R S

JR Broadway Company | Rampart Construction | Gorman’s Cabinet Works | Richard Leo Johnson | Matt Silk Photographics

How can startup breweries build customers and galvanize growth together under one roof?

Developer Michael Tilford asked us to create a brand and space that could house multiple micro-breweries and offer a unique customer experience centered on the brewing process. Such a brewer incubator allows brewmasters to operate at a low cost by sharing some equipment, building an individual identity, and having a direct connection to the customer at the same time. Each brewery has its own bar setup and holding tanks while sharing the central brewhouse at different times.

C O L L A B O R A T O R S

Rapscallion

How can we enhance the interactions of family while engaging the lake frontage on a thin lot with a home only 16 feet wide?

The thin 16-foot wide house contains spaces that are arranged linearly to fit the narrow property. The design connects the beach to the heavily vegetated yard through a simple palette of materials that creates an uninterrupted flow throughout the interior spaces of the home.

Pavilions for writing, woodworking, and music recording dot the property and choreograph walking paths. These paths unfold with a sense of discovery as one moves around the property. Each room responds to the owners’ lifestyle and working habits while engaging the surrounding nature, bringing the outside in and the inside out.

H I G H L I G H T S

• Acid-washed metal exterior siding

C O L L A B O R A T O R S

Tina Govan, AIA | Lou Pontigo & Associates | Aria Homes | Nick Renard

How can we establish a brand identity and ample merchandise opportunities in only 165sf?

Kendall Square has become as mecca for companies making tremendous advancements in technology and science but the recent commercial development has followed the status quo. This project proposes to play a unique role of enlivening a dead zone in the urban fabric by establishing an adaptable urban event space and an adaptable light filter to create opportunities day and night for organized events or low-key spontaneous gatherings. It is formed by two parts that establish its identity in the urban fabric. The ground level adaptable urban event space is defined by large bi-fold and swing doors that allow the Adapter to fully open up providing for a multitude of programmatic options. The upper section is an adaptable light filter made up of periscopes to choreograph the seasonal southern daylight, project light and graphics at night, and provide unique views into and out of the Adapter. The space is a brand, it stimulates interactive experiences and encourage users to observe space, light and material in unanticipated ways through its extreme adaptability.

H I G H L I G H T S

• Adaptive reuse of an underutilized MBTA utility space

• Flexible furniture components such as stages, bleachers, service counters, bike rack bartops, and display shelves adapt to various programmatic uses.

• Use of bi-fold hanger type doors.

How can a child’s playhouse foster open-ended creativity and self-direction?

Rather than replicating figurative notions of house this play structure departs from traditional playhouse designs by providing a dynamic framework for imagination.

Its renewable redwood slats filter light and create a rich spatial interior that allows passage over, under and through its various levels. A perfect place for learning, growing and discovering, the play structure exposes children to the value of design through lively hands-on interaction.

H I G H L I G H T S

• Visit our cubePLAY blog for more modern playhouses

C O L L A B O R A T O R S

Paul M. Bowers Photography

How can we reinvent the stereotype of a bus shelter?

Typically, bus shelters consist of an enclosure for protection from the elements and a poured concrete slab to provide a standing surface. The sheltered garden reinvents this stereotype as a pocket park, able to be inserted in new or existing conditions to enrich the cityscape and improve the passenger experience by integrating a large bench, information and advertisement panels, trash receptacles, handicap accessibility, and native grass and plantings. The shelter is an undulating surface composed of a translucent fiberglass roof with perforated cor-ten steel panels below. It takes formal cues from the dilapidated agricultural structures that dot the North Carolina countryside. Like a leaf canopy over a forest, the shelter filters light and diverts water into the garden below. This sustainable approach allows for better storm water management with gravel recharge areas and plants to filter toxins out of rain water runoff.

H I G H L I G H T S

• Sustainable storm water management

• Use of native grass and plantings

• Simplified construction sequence to allow for use in new or existing conditions

Within this open loft condominium, a strangely inaccessible and residual space is converted into a study for a young professional couple looking to expand their family. Integrated into the 16 foot by 5 foot shelf space is a desk with two workstations, shelving for storage and display, and a alternating tread stair with guardrail. The legibility of construction for these new components and simple expression of off-the-shelf parts help give scale and sophistication to this otherwise ordinary loft.

C O L L A B O R A T O R S

Nancy Stracka Interiors

How can a mountainside home enhance the feeling of serenity?

The home is perched like an observation post atop the mountain. This retreat and future retirement home is designed to facilitate relaxation while working with the owners various hobbies and interests. Large open spaces provide views of the valley below and the distant mountain ranges. Smaller spaces focus on particular views of trees, rocks, and sky, allowing privacy for bathing, contemplating, and reading.

H I G H L I G H T S

• Corten steel exterior panels

• Butterfly roof with exposed wood structure

How do we design flexibility into a modest, passive solar home?

The home was planned as a guesthouse with additional space for a woodworking, workout, and home-office. Over time the Owner wanted the ability to change the interior configuration and use it fully as a traditional home. To accomplish this we utilized a simple post and beam structure to allow the interior layout to change as desired.

Passive sustainable strategies are implemented throughout to reduce energy usage. These include proper orientation for passive solar and ventilation, increased insulation, and efficient mechanical systems. A solar panel array on the roof provides most of the homes energy needs.

H I G H L I G H T S

• Passive solar design

• Post and beam construction

How can we craft a home reflective of the owners’ indoor routines and outdoor hobbies while being aging-friendly?

The home was designed for animal lovers with a passion for gardening and being outside. A sunny plant room anchors the corner with space outside for potting and pruning. The home is planned as single-level living with accessible bathrooms and aging-friendly design features.

The spaces and materials of the home slip by one another to create paths and connections to the surrounding landscape and gardens. The home is oriented on the property for passive solar design with proper overhangs, increased insulation, and efficient mechanical systems. These features help to reduce the homes energy usage.

H I G H L I G H T S

• Passive solar design

How can a home on a steep canyon hillside feel both modest and expansive at the same time?

The home was designed for animal lovers with a passion for gardening and being outside. A sunny plant room anchors the corner with space outside for potting and pruning. The home is planned as single-level living with accessible bathrooms and aging-friendly design features.

The spaces and materials of the home slip by one another to create paths and connections to the surrounding landscape and gardens. The home is oriented on the property for passive solar design with proper overhangs, increased insulation, and efficient mechanical systems. These features help to reduce the homes energy usage.

H I G H L I G H T S

• Passive solar design