courtHOUSE by Mark Meyer (aka less than 1,000 square feet)

[mfojas]

Between Greg pointing out the feature, imagining it myself in my mind, and Tim subsequently posting an elevation, I have to say that I love the side cutout which incorporates the tree... it really makes a dramatic statement for this tiny house. It will really make a lot of people do a double take and wonder if the tree is really coming from inside the house.

I could see this doing really well in the more chi-chi parts of Israel... like Sara said, along the coast. Modernism (both good and bad) is just part of the local vernacular here... mostly because craftsmanship in homebuilding is not something that is cultivated here, and modernism and prefab is a necessity for architects to get anything done here at a reasonable cost. Even the finer stucco here is usually executed or overseen by Italian craftsmen... but even after 50 years of heavy pollution, this work still looks fairly new and attractive.

Anyway, these contributions alone make me glad that you weren't banned after I suggested it. This is really good work, but I'm sort of sad that it'll probably remain as a theoretical excercise rather than being produced, or dare I say it? Manufactured...

Did I just kill the warm fuzzies?

[fabadmin]

> Insert Group Hug Here

[ezekieltattoo]

i have a hard time seeing a tree planted in any particular spot as really part of the appeal of a design. it's possible to achieve this visual trick with any courtyard house, really.

p.s.-the courtHOUSE-L design is possibly undergoing lung surgery soon (not quite heart surgery, but serious nonetheless).
_________________
"I don't try to design the detail, I try to make detail disappear, because I always try to use less material, less lines."

[tim]

i couldn't agree with you more--the tree is very much beside the point--it's a compositional device for the sake of the drawing and a symbol of letting nature in. What i was really trying to hint at with the plan sketch is spatial sharing/continuity/interconnectedness/overlap and habitability (how many scales of space can a single wall define--how much spatial variety and accomodation can you get out of 1200 sf and what role does vista and lack of vista and containment vs. lack of containment play in all that)--the tree is a gimmick- a throw-away, shwag if you will.

[mfojas]

And yet the schwag is a very effective icon that says, "Hey, nature-- or something interesting, is going on here!" Yup, it could be done with other designs but I think it is much more effective than when the architects here (in Israel), put a pergola motif up on a roof to say "this is a public space", or "party here". It sounds a bit tackier than it actually is (well, OK it often IS tacky) but that's what architects do here.

Agh... I'll have to take a picture to show you guys what I mean... which probably means I'll never get around to doing it...

I don't know if it's just a local lexicon for architects here, or whether it's a part of the Bauhaus design school language (where most of the influential architects here come from). They all seem to do it though...

100th edit before having breakfast with my wife: Anyway, I realize that the cutaway and the tree is not "the point" of the sketch but it's a detail I liked... that's all.

Ezekial,

So any hints on what to expect? By lung surgery I suppose you mean the two arms of the "C"

[ezekieltattoo]

or the 3 arms of the "E"

the living area looks to be becoming an "L"

the kids' rooms/naked space might move to an arm

the studio might be connected to the master area

but, the general shape is not going to be changing much.

we've played w/the courtyards in the back, but found ourselves returning to the front again.

the square footage may decrease slightly, but the plan has grown more spacious at the same time?

[mfojas]

Hmmm this seems to make a lot of sense... it works very well in practice. So where would the master be?

[sportsmedguy23]

Mark...
Do you think the courthouse design would work in the Chicago metro area. Building code here can be strict/tricky--all electrical has to be run through metal conduit etc. Also, how will the courthouse stand up to the Chicago winters...I really love the courthouse design and just tossing around ideas for modern housing here...

PAT

[eamesdaedelus]

The SIP company I'm currently working with on the courtHOUSE-L and some other projects actually place 3/4" conduit for electrical in the wall panels, so there is no problem there. The rest of the issues would be aesy enough to deal with as well. The winters are easy enough to design for as well, since it takes just a bit fo enginerring to make sure the structures can handle the dead-loads for snow.

Since the design is more or less derived from a specifically urban condition I don't think it would be too hard to make it work for an infill type situation.

Mark
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designSTUDIO
box 684742
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512.619.6962

[ezekieltattoo]

there is new stuff, including a new floor plan and new renderings on my blog

http://www.livemodern.com/Members/ezekieltattoo/blog
_________________
"I don't try to design the detail, I try to make detail disappear, because I always try to use less material, less lines."

[ezekieltattoo]

we're starting to get into the quote phase for the courtHOUSE-L (1.3)
the 1st preliminary elevations are posted on my blog

[mfojas]

Thanks for keeping us posted, Ezekial. Mark, is there any news on your surf-house system?

[mfojas]

Mark, Ezekiel,

Any progress on getting one of these puppies fleshed out in the real world?