Amazing views have been a hallmark of many of our recent projects and this one is no exception. Poised looking over the Blue Ridge Parkway in the Elk Rock Meadow subdivision this home is designed to capture views and enhance livability. So many of our clients understand the importance of design for flexibility, energy efficiency, and durability and this home features all of these. This Blue Ridge Mountain home highlights and enhances the beauty of Virginia.
We work hard to balance the budget and aesthetic goals with building science facts. Sometimes you want to capture views with lots of glass and therefore you have to enhance the insulation in other parts of the home to maintain comfort. Working through a custom design process we find the answers to “what life do you want to live in this place” and develop a home that enhances that goal.
Added to the idea of custom solutions that enhance livability, we incorporate building science knowledge to make a home comfortable and durable. Over the past year, indoor air quality has become a major point of discussion. We look at how the home can “clean” the air you breathe, what materials are being used that might off-gas chemicals, and where those air leakages might happen to reduce infiltration. This focus on building science and functionality of space creates solutions that when incorporated with aging-in-place design concepts create homes for a lifetime.
We are thrilled to see our small business clients growing and expanding. In 2016 we did a major interior renovation of Weiler Orthodontics clinic to update the aesthetics and improve the functionality of the space. This project was well documented in blog posts HERE, HERE, and HERE. We worked with Herr and Company and defied time of construction rules to get this space back up and running. As their business has continued to grow there grew a need for some more functional changes in the existing space and we were thrilled to get the call to help Weiler Orthodontics.
The current renovation work is updating some of their spaces for new technologies used in the business, improving the waiting area for parents, and providing some additional examination rooms. While this renovation is much smaller in scale than our 2016 effort, the value of this additional space is enormous for where the business has grown to in 2021.
There is nothing better than having clients call us back for their next project and no better feeling than seeing our clients enjoy success.
We love working with theBrethren Mennonite Heritage Center to preserve our local history and enhance the campus for generations to come. This past summer they approached us to design a brooder house to honor the rich history of the poultry industry in our area. Chick brooders, also called broiler houses, are wood-framed structures set on sleds to allow for moving them. They are heated and are used for chicks until about six weeks old. This concept was started right here in the Shenandoah Valley 100 years ago.
Brooder houses were developed by the Wampler family in the early 1920s for growing turkeys. This replica structure that we design in collaboration with JZ Engineering will be slightly larger than a traditional brooder house for purposes of telling the history of the structure and allowing for tour groups to move through. We used photos provided by the Wampler family to get the “details” just right for the structure.
The Brooder house is in process of construction using volunteer labor. If you are interested in supporting the Brethren Mennonite Heritage Center by swinging a hammer or donating to their efforts – check out their website here!
The Hillcrest project took shape through the pandemic with a lot of changes happening in our industry and how we communicate. These new stressors that were added to this process tested our systems, and I believe made the Hillcrest House and our design systems even stronger. The first key ingredient to making this an amazing project is the phenomenal clients willing to give grace, and take time to get the house design just right in the midst of a global pandemic. The second was working with a contractor, Herr and Company, that was willing to be flexible with the design process to help us hit the target for aesthetic and budget goals.
As the project takes shape, we are thrilled that our clients will enjoy a home designed around their specific goals for life here in Harrisonburg. The aging-in-place and energy-efficient features incorporated in the home’s design will provide comfort and flexibility for years to come. While the grade of the site proved to be a challenge we adapted and created solutions to overcome while staying true to the client’s vision for their dream home.
When designing a home, it is important to ask a lot of questions to figure out the goals of the new project. Why do you want to expand that room, how do you use this area, and even, what kind of car do you drive? Understanding the specific ways things are happening and how the client wants them to happen is at the heart of good design. If you have ever thought about it, you probably realize that a house is the most complicated machine you will ever own. A home has water vapor moving through walls, mechanical systems moving air, vents exhausting fumes and humidity, walls resisting wind, roofs shedding water, and the list goes on. Buildings are complicated for sure, just like the lives they facilitate are complicated.
So when approaching a renovation or addition project it is important to know the client’s values. In order to best design the right solution for them you have to know the goals, problems, challenges, and budget. This is the work that we do as architects, we boil down complicated problems into easy-to-digest decisions. Our work in the early phases is an act of uncovering the story. We develop a narrative of spaces and shapes working with your budget in mind. These parts are woven together into a built form that can be used to create the physical space.
As architects, we help reduce stress and unknowns through our shared experiences and work to enhance livability through design solutions. It is not only our job to understand you but to be able to translate your goals, lifestyle, and hopes into a physical space that will flourish with you. This project renovation in Fluvanna County would not have been possible without the contracting skills of M3 inc.Teamwork withtrusted partners is another key to a successful project.
The Elk Rock Meadow Farmhouse has started to take shape. I visited the top of Afton Mountain yesterday to see how things were going and to enjoy the views. Herr and Companyhave started their work with site layout for this majestic farmhouse project that will capture views across the Appalachian Trail of the Blue Ridge. This new neighborhood has a couple of houses already and the addition of this farmhouse continues the tradition of beautiful homes.
The challenges of the last year have been well documented. We were forced in a very short amount of time to adapt our business to a virtual world with remote workers. I met with these clients on a regular basis using zoom, text, and phone calls. We exchanged ideas as they told me their dreams of living in this beautiful place close to family. We sketched, erased, changed, and modified to develop the finished product. The Elk Rock Meadow Farmhouse will sit near the entrance of the neighborhood and fits just right into the topography of the site.
Working with clients online and remote was a challenge. It makes it harder to read body language, or to point at items on the screen, and communicate desires. We had to learn from each other through the process to be better at communicating and the process has made us stronger designers. We achieved Architectural Board Approval for the design with no modifications – a difficult challenge for any neighborhood. The house has a sophisticated style and one that will fit well in the neighborhood. The interior layout will enhance livability for this family, I hope for many generations. The house is custom just for them and is designed withaging-in-place features, durability, and of course healthy indoor air in mind. I cannot wait to see it take shape.
