Objective:
Design a small house using concrete blocks for the exterior walls.
Special Challenges: The design
of the house and the construction drawings had to be completed in
only a few weeks.
Additional Information:
This modest house is sited adjacent to Hunter Creek in a dense grove
of Cottonwood trees in the city of Aspen. The exterior walls are
constructed with standard, 8" × 8" × 16"
concrete masonry units. The use of masonry resulted from the need
to construct the house as inexpensively as possible. Masonry construction
was less expensive at the time.
This house was designed and detailed in approximately
two months in the early autumn of 1971 so that construction could
begin before winter set in. My client was the general contractor.
The masonry, plumbing and electrical work were subcontracted to
local firms. I constructed everything that was made of wood.
The room arrangements and circulation of the floor
plans occur within the geometry of a square measuring 24 feet 8
inches to a side (see drawings). Window and door openings are modular:
dimensioned according to multiples of 8-inch masonry units. Lintels
are reinforced concrete block channel units (to avoid seeing the
bottom flanges of steel angles—the standard method of support).
The total gross floor area is 1,216 square feet
(608 square feet per floor). The entry, bedrooms and bathrooms occur
on the first floor. The living, dining and kitchen areas are located
on the second floor, affording better views of the mountains. A
spiral stair provides access between floors. A central, built-up
wood column at the upper level supports 2" × 16"
wood beams which support 2" × 8" wood planks covered
with a 3/8ths-inch plywood deck, rigid insulation and roof membrane.
The roof deck slopes to an internal roof drain contained inside
the single supporting column.
The photograph of the kitchen shows the wood column
supporting the roof. The column is constructed with a pair of 4"
× 12" and 4" × 4" wood members fastened
together with lag screws to provide a hollow core for the roof drain.
The beams, roof deck and column have a smooth (dressed) surface.
The other interior photograph shows the fireplace,
with the log storage compartment located to the left of the opening.
The hearth is a cantilevered concrete slab with a 2" ×
4" wood fascia bolted to the edge. The windows are framed with
4" × 4" wood members bolted to the interior surface
of the exterior walls. The window jambs, heads and sills are 2"
× 6" planks fastened to the 4 × 4's. Custom-made
operable metal hopper windows are set below the horizontal transom
sill beams.
The original owner sold the house in the mid eighties.
The new owner, Mark Friedberg, commissioned me to design an addition.
The addition, also constructed with concrete masonry units, and
also square in plan, is located on the opposite corner of the house
(as shown in the photograph below). The position of the addition
is such that an imaginary, common diagonal line bisects the opposite
corners of each unit. The adjacent corners of each unit (aligned
with the diagonal as described) are approximately eight feet apart.
An enclosed corridor connects each unit at the second level.
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