Fernau & Hartman Updates

Construction at Avis Granary Retreat: Update No.4

2011-12-22T11:11:00.001-08:00

First views of the near-complete Cookhouse interior--just in time for the holidays!

Photos courtesy of North Fork Builders, Inc.

Laura Hartman to speak at AIASF Panel Discussion on Collaboration with Landscape Architects

2011-12-21T13:52:00.000-08:00

Laura Hartman will be at the San Francisco AIA offices at 6pm on January 17th as part of an AIA Panel discussion. The panel will focus on the dynamics of architect / landscape architect collaborations and is lead by Charlotte Frieze, author of Private Paradise: Contemporary American Gardens. Fernau & Hartman’s work with SCAPE Landscape on the Amtrak House is featured in the book.

The garden at F&H's Amtrak House, also known as the Barnacle House, from Charlotte Frieze's Private Paradise. (photo courtesy of SCAPE)

Leftover Table II Update No. 5

2011-12-13T13:24:00.000-08:00

See all posts on the Leftover Table II.

Leftover Table II Update No. 4

2011-12-09T17:51:00.000-08:00

See all posts on the Leftover Table II.

Construction at Avis Granary Retreat: Update No. 3

2011-12-09T17:27:00.001-08:00

Construction updates from November and December.

See all posts on updates at the Granary Retreat.

In Cookhouse stair, looking towards Sleeping Nook.

Cookhouse upstairs, looking towards cooling chimney.

Equipment Barn taking shape.

Progress on the pedestrian bridge that will connect the new Cookhouse to the rest of the Compound--Granary House and Granary in background.

Leftover Table II Update No. 3: Base Struts and Supports

2011-12-08T15:32:00.000-08:00

Fabrication of parts for the table base--connectors for the struts at the top of the base that allow the adjustable tabletop to slide smoothly--is happening at Swerve Co; at Berkeley Mills, the tabletop is coming together!

See all posts on the Leftover Table II.

Leftover Table II Update No. 2: Base Struts and Supports

2011-12-07T20:00:00.000-08:00

See our progress below on the "Leftover" Table II's moveable, adjustable base back at Swerve Co. furniture manufactory.

See previous posts on the Leftover Table II and its progress.

The new base design has cherry struts with aluminum alloy connections on rubber casters.

Polypropylene sliding supports that hold the tabletop and removable center leaves.

Leftover Table II Update No. 1: Crafting the tabletop

2011-12-07T19:30:00.000-08:00

Unlike its predecessor, the tabletop for "Leftover" Table II has more subtly contrasting pieces composed from the colors and grains of walnut, cherry, and wenge wood. See F&H's continuing production in collaboration with Berkeley Mills.

Creating custom notched wood connections for center leaves and end pieces.

Happy MiesGivings

2011-11-24T12:08:00.000-08:00

We hope you don’t have any misgivings about MiesGivings. This year Fernau & Hartman and friends celebrated a Mies-themed Thanksgiving at the F&H office, featuring Mies van der Rohe’s IIT Campus Pastelon and glimpses of Modernism in Jacques Tati’s 1958 “Mon Oncle”—although with F&H’s Holiday Sangria, we’d say "more is more."

The Leftover Table II

2011-11-18T17:02:00.000-08:00

Fernau & Hartman has designed custom furniture for a number of residential projects in the past and is pleased to enter production of a current project, the "Leftover" Table II. In collaboration with Berkeley-based Swerve Co., F&H revisits our earlier "Leftover" Table design, which repurposed unused "Finply" wood pieces to create contrasting adjustable leaves. Beginnings of the project below:

The original "Leftover" Table.

Mockup of the base at Swerve Co.

Selecting woods at Berkeley Mills.

Construction at Avis Granary Retreat: Update No. 2

2011-11-15T16:09:00.000-08:00

We hope you enjoy these Fall views as much as we do, from F&H's visit to the Avis Granary Retreat last month.

See all posts on updates at the Granary Retreat.

House in Dry Creek Valley featured in Nature Framed by Eva Hagberg

2011-11-01T10:52:00.000-07:00

Eva Hagberg's recent book Nature Framed (The Monacelli Press) explores the blending of indoor and outdoor spaces. Fernau & Hartman's House in Dry Creek Valley, designed for an artist and writer, provides outdoor live and work spaces on a site that offers 365-degree views of the surrounding Sonoma County vineyards. F&H is pleased to be featured alongside other Bay Area and North America works by firms such as Allied Works, Anderson Anderson, Toshiko Mori, Tom Kundig, Marlon Blackwell and others.

See it in Dwell and The Monacelli Press.

Laura Hartman to Lecture at Ohio State University Knowlton School of Architecture

2011-10-25T13:22:00.000-07:00

Laura Hartman will be at the Knowlton School of Architecture at Ohio State University on Wednesday, Oct. 26th, 2011 to present the winners of 2011 AIA Columbus Design Awards as well as give a lecture on recent work by Fernau & Hartman.

http://knowlton.osu.edu/event/laura-hartman-fernau-hartman-architects

http://www.aiacolumbus.org/industry/design-awards

Engineers' Office Mixed-Use Addition on Shattuck Ave., Berkeley

2011-10-12T10:31:00.000-07:00

Fernau & Hartman is glad to be working again with Tipping Mar & Associates, structural engineers and F&H's frequent collaborators. This mixed-use building will provide additional office space next door to the firm's current office, also designed by F&H. The new addition will reference the beloved 1994 design but assert its seismic independence with sturdy piers that support the second floor drafting room and offices. Each pier will sport a base-isolator near its top that--in the event of an earthquake--will allow the engineers to shift in a two foot radius above the cafe/retail space below.

See the Tipping Mar building on our main site.

site of proposed addition, adjacent to current office (click to enlarge)

Proposed addition on left; Existing office on right (click to enlarge)

Current office, design by F&H in 1994

Entry to current office

Gallery House in Palo Alto

2011-10-07T18:58:00.000-07:00

We're excited to share Fernau & Hartman's latest work in Northern California, images from design development on the Gallery House in Palo Alto, CA.

CuriOdyssey: Conceptual Design Updates

2011-10-03T17:36:00.000-07:00

Fernau & Hartman's competition-winning design for CuriOdyssey gets a facelift moving forward in conceptual design. Renderings below show the introduction of an interactive viewing platform where visitors can observe wildlife--coined the "bird blind".

See previous posts on F&H's design and winning competition entry for CuriOdyssey at Coyote Point of San Mateo, CA (formerly Coyote Point Museum).

Inside Outside House: Update

2011-09-22T14:56:00.000-07:00

The following shots were taken by landscape photographer Marion Brenner at the Inside Outside House in Santa Ynez, CA.

See more images here and our previous posts on the Inside Outside House in Construction and the concept of Outdoor Rooms at the Inside Outside House.

Yellowstone Bend Ranch receives Merit Award

2011-09-22T12:38:00.001-07:00

Fernau + Hartman's homestead at Yellowstone Bend Ranch in Big Timber, MT, has received the Merit Award at this year's AIA Montana Design Awards. This renovation of a farmhouse and abandoned barn into a community center renewed the homestead to an active role at the center of ranch life.

See our previous post on Yellowstone Bend Ranch.

Construction at Avis Granary Retreat: Update No.1

2011-09-20T15:15:00.000-07:00

Foundation for the Equipment Barn addition while construction of the Cookhouse continues.

See all posts on updates at the Granary Retreat.

Revisiting colors from the site.

Inside Outside House

2011-08-23T17:26:00.000-07:00

The following shots were taken by photographer Richard Barnes at the Inside Outside House in Santa Ynez, CA, completed in 2010.

See our previous posts on the Inside Outside House in Construction and the concept of Outdoor Rooms at the Inside Outside House.

Cookhouse in Construction at Avis Granary Retreat

2011-08-23T14:24:00.000-07:00

Construction is under way at the Granary Retreat in Clyde Park, Montana, F+H's extension to the award-winning Granary Cluster completed in 2004. The following photos were taken on site this month, showing color studies and progress on the Cookhouse.

See all posts on the Granary Retreat.

Rhinecliff House

2011-08-02T15:30:00.000-07:00

Construction and renovation of a home in Rhinecliff, New York were completed earlier this year. The project includes a number of "barnacle" additions to the house, including a zinc-clad barnacle housing the master bedroom that looks out on the Hudson River. The original house, dating back to the early 1800s, is treated as a found object to be cleaned up, expressing what is old as old and what is new as new. The following photos span two shoots--one in winter and one in fall.

CuriOdyssey - Conceptual Design

2011-03-11T17:01:00.000-08:00

The following image was developed as part of the conceptual design F&H completed last year for CuriOdyssey (formerly Coyote Point Museum) in San Mateo, CA. As CuriOdyssey, the museum continues its mission to inspire people to take care of the Earth wisely, while encouraging children to engage directly with the natural world.

Yellowstone Bend Ranch

2010-10-27T18:41:00.000-07:00

The following images come from Yellowstone Bend Ranch, a homestead renovation and master plan in Big Timber, Montana that Fernau + Hartman completed in 2007.

Yellowstone Bend Ranch received a Merit Award from AIA Montana, see more images here.

Conceptual master plan (click to view larger)

Barn: before

Barn: after

House: before

House:after

Avis Granary Retreat

2010-10-01T15:10:00.000-07:00

Fernau & Hartman is at work again in Clyde Park, Montana.

Design development is currently wrapping up for a Granary Retreat (comprised of a Cookhouse and a Car Barn) that will extend a complex of buildings F&H designed for the clients in 2004.

The earlier, multiple-award-winning sustainable “Avis Granary Cluster” was an act of reclamation: one part restoration, one part adaptive reuse, and one part infill. F&H took the pieces of the proposed single-family residence, distributed them among re-purposed existing buildings (a farmhouse and a granary), and added an outbuilding to meet the client’s programmatic needs while minimizing development and preserving the local rural character and way of life.

The two new buildings will continue the Granary Cluster’s understated sensibility.

A series of exposed wood frames will support the Cookhouse’s low-slung metal roof. Like the barn of a typical agricultural property, this larger building will provide a new focus for the compound.

The Car Barn will be an outbuilding to house supporting functions. It will provide parking and storage, act as a staging area for events, and serve as a gateway to the Guesthouse/Cookhouse from across a shallow creek.

Outdoor Rooms: Inside Outside House

2010-08-19T17:59:00.000-07:00

Outdoor rooms are at the heart of every Fernau & Hartman project. For an outdoor room to function properly it has to have some, if not all, of the qualities of an indoor space.

Photos copyright Ro Snell.

A delicate steel sunshade tones down the noontime sun on the terrace that separates the kitchen from the art studio.

The dogs voted with their paws.

In addition to a sunshade, this outdoor living/dining room tempers the elements with adjustable windscreens. It also has a sleeping nook and BBQ

A poured concrete counter, while elegant, takes abuse well.

When the wind isn't blowing, the shutters open onto a California Live Oak.

An oversized cushion will transform the this nook into a poolside bed on warm Santa Barbara nights.

The view from the dining area, across the aquatic carpet, and through the glassless window.

Looking back across the central courtyard, one can see more of the amenities: an outdoor shower (left), boulders and benches.

On the east side, a deck off the master bedroom takes in the morning sun. We made the transition from the bedroom to the deck as comfortable and seamless as possible.

Inside Outside House in construction

2010-08-07T10:54:00.000-07:00

The following photos were taken over the course of construction of the recently-completed Inside Outside House in Santa Ynez, California. Some photos come courtesy of client Ro Snell.

Laura Hartman to Lecture at Penn State University

2010-03-31T14:54:00.000-07:00

Laura Hartman is the Kossman Lecturer at Penn State University's Department of Architecture for 2009-2010. She participated in thesis review in the Spring of 2009 and will be lecturing at the University April 7, 2010 at 6:00 pm.

The lecture is titled "Making, Mining, and Margins" and will reflect on practice (the work of Fernau & Hartman Architects), visual research (mining structures in Appalachia), and material explorations (art).

Coyote Point Museum

2010-02-15T15:36:00.000-08:00

The following renderings were included in Fernau & Hartman’s winning competition entry for the renovation of Coyote Point Museum in San Mateo, California. F&H is currently working with the museum to revise and refine the concept design.

House in the East Bay Hills

2009-11-16T16:00:00.000-08:00

Fernau & Hartman Architects recently completed the redesign of this Northern California home. With breathtaking views of San Francisco Bay and a colorful past, the house was reimagined as a light and open environment suited to the owners' art collection as well as the surrounding landscape.

HOUSE IN THE EAST BAY HILLS

KENSINGTON, CA

When our clients, a couple approaching retirement, moved back to the Bay Area from Los Alamos, NM, they were drawn to this secluded site and mid-century modernist house that had briefly been the home of Robert Oppenheimer and his wife Kitty in the 1950’s and was originally designed for the painter and art theorist Erle Loran. Perched high above a dense three- acre oak woodland, the two-story house, with garage below and living spaces above, was dark and mostly chopped up into small rooms. The two exceptions were the living / dining room and an adjacent painting studio, awkwardly added by Loran, standing high above the ground on rectangular piers. The studio was oriented for north light and completely turned its back on wide panoramic views of San Francisco Bay to the south and west. One of the remaining elements is the brick fireplace, at one time the site of meetings that drew the attention of the House Un-American Activities Committee.

The owners were fond of both the original house and the associations they had, through Los Alamos, with the previous occupants, but they wanted a house that was much lighter, more open, that would allow for their art collection and that connected better to both the immediate oak-filled site and the more distant landscape.

Panoramic views on the upper level are framed and carefully selected and external sunshades of cedar slats protect from the predominantly southern sun. The kitchen and living area each open to new ipe decks, where the oak canopy, at railing height, results in a nest-like enclosure in the treetops with views out to the Bay and San Francisco in the distance.

Piper House

2009-10-22T11:45:00.000-07:00

Fernau & Hartman Architects recently completed this custom Northern California home. Offering stunning views and opportunities for outdoor living, the house engages its site while responding to the lifestyle of an active family.

PIPER HOUSE

WALNUT CREEK, CA

Located in an oak woodland just beyond the manicured sprawl of suburbia, the Piper House stretches out snake-like along the contours of the East Bay Hills of Northern California. As the house weaves between the trees of the north-facing slope, it finds patches of sun and catches stunning distant views. The dominating presence of Mt. Diablo rises to the east while a dense forest of pigmy oaks runs uphill to the south. Summers here are hot and winters are mild, allowing for outdoor living much of the year.

A robust family of five with roots in South Africa, the clients were accustomed to outdoor living and wanted a house that facilitates dining and lounging outside. Moving freely between the indoors and outdoors, they see their home as a base camp and cook nearly as often on the outside grill as they do on the kitchen range. Feeling connected to the site was also a high priority. Despite needing to be large enough to accommodate the family, the relatively exposed nature of the site suggested to us an alternatively quiet and recessive house.

The combination of these desires led quickly to a linear plan that hugs closely to the contours of the site and carves along its length a continuous outdoor room. The thin section facilitates daylighting, solar gain, and natural ventilation. The house wraps around the slope under a single roof with deep eaves that create shelter, dip for sun protection, and rise for views. This undulating shed forms a southern, uphill courtyard that is the primary living space onto which all major interior spaces open. The family, like sandpipers at the edge of surf, constantly move in and out, sitting, eating, cooking, showering, and sleeping, depending on the time of day and the time of year.