With so many options available, one of the first decisions to make when you shop for a new unit will be to choose between gas or wood. Many people like the ease of a remote-controlled gas fireplace. Others enjoy chopping and stacking windfall branches. A geologist client of ours chooses to burn wood (a renewable resource) rather than natural gas (a fossil fuel).

But in order to reduce particulate pollution, many municipalities limit the installation of new wood burning fireplaces. Check with the local building department before buying. Some cities such as Boulder and Winter Park, Colorado, allow one new EPA qualified wood burning fireplace per residence. These units reduce the soot output, eliminate back draft down the chimney, and vent more of the clean heat into the room. Some applications are listed for a federal tax credit.

We at Lawrence and Gómez Architects have included the efficient wood burning Fireplace Xtrordinaire Elite in several projects. To see more photos of the room shown at the top click here. For more photos of the room above  click here and for a published article about it click here.

The fireplaces in these two projects come from Boulder Stove and Flooring. Other brands also make EPA qualified models such as Lennox and Industrial Chimney Company. For more information on efficiency and tax credits click this link to Burn Wise.

Winters can be long and cold along the banks of the Platte River on the Colorado prairie. In the early 19th century, non-native traders built several solid compounds dotted along the Trapper Trail. Living inside adobe walls with an R-value of 7, on a dirt floor R-4, and below a roof R-5, early settlers had to improvise insulation with the available materials and borrow technology from the local peoples. For comparison, the current standards in the city of Fort Lupton (per 2006 IECC) require walls at R-19, roofs R-38, and floor R-13.

This door demonstrates the ingenious use of animal pelts as weatherstripping around jambs and between door slats.

To witness the reconstruction of this 1830’s trading post, visit Historic Fort Lupton

http://www.spvhs.org/fortluptonreconstruction.html

Just a few miles north you can see the original adobe of Fort Vasquez

http://www.historycolorado.org/museums/fort-vasquez-museum

Grain elevator and water tower of La Salle, Colorado

Tracks and train cars

The faint November sun enters this pioneer window.

Pouring a slab isn’t as easy as pouring a slab. For best results, a concrete slab should be planned, designed, and engineered. “It can be heartbreaking when people spend all that money on the color and surface treatment of a concrete floor or patio and then get bad sags or cracks because it wasn’t reinforced properly,” says Jon Giltner, structural engineer.

Patio A – Sometime after completing the remodel of a house, Lawrence and Gomez Architects designed hardscaping and Patio A (on the left) for this property in Boulder, Colorado. Patio B is the existing square patio on the right.

Proper design always begins with soil investigation. Scott of Reardon Custom Homes, general contractor, and Gary Rosson, soils engineer, discuss the ground’s conditions and get ready to dig exploratory holes. Gary then makes recommendations for soil compaction and anchoring for the new Patio A.

A wood form is placed around the compacted soil. A worker lays a grid of steel bar and welded wire. It is ready to receive the colored concrete.

Following the concrete pour, when the material is setting but still workable, the expert hands of Boulder Flatwork cast the control joints and stamp the stone pattern with molds and a dyed release powder. This process must be done quickly and by experienced craftsmen since the material leaves little room for corrections. In the two weeks to follow, Boulder Flatwork washes and seals the slab to achieve its final appearance.

The new Patio A looks so good that Patio B (an existing gray slab nearby) looks, well, gray and old. It has withstood the decades well, so we determine it is worth saving. But to freshen its looks and prolong its longevity, we call Carl Borrego of Lone Bull. He brings us samples of applied stains, dyes, and colors on concrete squares. Carl determines that a dye with matte finish is the best choice for this application, since there will be a hot tub on this patio. He polishes the concrete with a 600 grit diamond blade, a slow, patient process. Once ground, Carl determines the mix of dye colors that will achieve an overall look compatible with Patio A.

New stamped and colored Patio A on the left; Patio B on the right, polished and dyed.

Whether working on a small project such as a patio or tackling a larger foundation challenge, careful attention to the ground conditions and the inner structure of the material yields lasting results.

Photo by Beto Santillan

“Machu Picchu’s technical planning is surely the key to the site’s longevity and functionality,” writes Ken Wright. It has survived looking good for centuries because its builders spent 70% of their efforts on things you can’t see, underground and inside.

]]> http://lawrenceandgomez.wordpress.com/2011/10/18/golden-leaves-falling/feed/ 1 mamaarchitect GoldenLeaves GoldenNCAR hyPLAN GCsoils hyREINF hySTAMPING hySamples GoldenLeaves2 RecoloredPatio MachuPicchu http://lawrenceandgomez.wordpress.com/2011/09/25/schools-as-civic-architecture/ http://lawrenceandgomez.wordpress.com/2011/09/25/schools-as-civic-architecture/#comments Sun, 25 Sep 2011 16:00:16 +0000 mamaarchitect http://lawrenceandgomez.wordpress.com/?p=247 ]]> This Guest Opinion by Juana Gómez of Lawrence and Gómez Architects  appeared in the Boulder Daily Camera on September 25, 2011

Excerpt: A few days into this school year, the Citizens’ Bond Oversight Committee held its regular meeting at the new Columbine Elementary School. Principal Guillermo Medina welcomed our group and shared his enthusiasm for the project, “This is what a school should look like. You can see that just by having a new building, the kids are walking tall and proud through the hallways.”

This fall many Boulder Valley families returned to renewed school buildings. Others are enjoying the maturing landscape of remodels completed a year or two ago. As a direct result of the work, some schools like Casey and Manhattan have included into their curricula the study and observation of their building’s energy consumption.

Photo: Bear Creek Elementary additions and remodel by RTA Architects

These school buildings will stand as symbols to our kids of our commitment to their futures. Good public architecture has intangible benefits that include feelings of pride, accomplishment, and a sense of common purpose. At their first school assembly, Principal Medina seized the opportunity to teach civic duty by exhorting his students to take care of their new facility. “You got this building,” he told them, “because they believe in you and in your capacity to do great things.”

As he left the CBOC meeting, Mr. Medina parted by thanking our committee, “Thank you for supporting this community.” Those words are actually meant for you, the tax payers and families of the Boulder Valley School District. Thank you for supporting education.

Now enjoy the fruits of your efforts.

Though early in the book Johnson succumbs to the fad of ascribing all good things to cities, most of the examples he cites come from rural, urban, or exurban settings. In fact, Darwin’s insights in the Galapagos and on an atoll in the Indian Ocean happened in the wilderness. Google and Apple took shape in suburban two-car garages and blossomed in suburban Silicon Valley. Edison toiled in rural New Jersey, purposely distancing himself from towns or cities.

For a thorough history of Thomas Alva and the race to electrify the world, read the scholarly and entertaining Empires of Light by Jill Jonnes. You will also meet George Westinghouse and Nikola Tesla.

Don’t get me wrong. I love cities. But why do urbanist writers need to twist data to make their poinst? Even the author of Triumph of the City, Edward Glaeser, lives in the suburbs. He even gave his book the pompous subtitle How Our Greatest Invention Makes Us Richer, Smarter, Greener, Healthier, and Happier.

The trend of Urban-Is-Great pops up everywhere. This story is from CBS on line:

“CITY COUNTIES RANKED HEALTHIER THAN RURAL”

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2011/09/08/earlyshow/health/main20103165.shtml

O.K. But when you actually look at the maps, you find that the boroughs of NYC are at best in the top 40% of health, with the Bronx actually being last in the state (see link below for the actual data). In Colorado, Douglas County is the healthiest, with Denver ranking in the bottom 22% of the state. The healthiest counties are the suburbs immediately adjacent to urban counties, not the cities themselves. Other healthy counties are in rural resort areas. Why didn’t CBS underscore those points instead?

COUNTY HEALTH RANKINGS

http://www.countyhealthrankings.org

Ed Glaeser and Steve Johnson, to an extent, attempt to make a case for cities as the best places to think. Just this year, Forbes came out with this survey.

Forbes’ Geekiest City- The 20 U.S. cities with the highest percentage of workers in the science, technology, engineering and mathematics professions

http://galleries.forbes.com/gallery/Top-Geek-Cities

No. 1 San Jose, CA: 980,000 people =  5,000 people/sq  mi

No. 2 Boulder, CO: 92,000 =  3,800 people / sq mi

No. 3 Framingham, MA:  67,000 people

(compare to NYC: 8+ million, 26,000 people / sq mi; or Chicago: 2.8 million 12,750 peop / sq mi)

Like the study of health, these are actually low-density or suburban areas near big cities. Why not highlight that fact?

A balanced study of health and creativity would look at the complex relationship between cities, suburbs, and rural areas. I patiently search for that book.

In the project show above, new elements will emphasize the classic horizontal lines and low-pitch roof of a mid-century modern in South Boulder. The renewal work will include components to mitigate the extremes of heat gain and wind loads. These include an entry trellis, efficient windows with specialty glass, and a custom metal sun shade. The angled columns will continue the play between symmetry and asymmetry of the original.

Then the homeowners can invite friends to share another Colorado version of a classic,

Peach (or mango) salsa

2 large, tree-ripened peaches freshly picked from Colorado’s western slope

OR 2 mangos, finely cubed

1/3 cup red onion, minced

2 medium farmer’s market tomatoes, finely cubed

1/3 cup cilantro, chopped

Lightly toss ingredients in a bowl. Keep refrigerated until ready to serve over fish tacos or with backyard BBQ chicken.

Pair this setting with ceviche. All along the Latin pacific coast, locals prepare this light and healthy dish with regional variations. The version below comes from Lima. Except for the fish, all ingredients can be grown in your own garden or purchased at the local summer markets.

1 lb wild caught Halibut, but into ½” cubes

juice of 4 limes

½ red onion

1 clove garlic, crushed

2 Tbsp cilantro leaves

salt

2 boiled potatoes, cold and sliced in half

2 boiled sweet potatoes, cold and sliced in half

lettuce leaves

1 sliced jalapeno (starts with ½ and add as needed) OR prepared green hot pepper sauce

In a large bowl, gently combine fish, lime juice, onion, and garlic. Let sit covered in the refrigerator for 10 minutes. Toss in the cilantro and salt to taste. Add the hot peppers or serve on the side. Present as shown over freshly picked lettuce leaves.

If you loved Technology in the Ancient World or The Mummies of Urumchi, you will enjoy Women’s Work, The First 20,000 Years. Elizabeth W. Barber tells the story of textiles as a branch of anthropology that she helped launch.

Clothing, like architecture, presents a first line of defense against the elements. And then it acquires meaning and symbol.

So much of what we use and experience each day can be taken for granted. Traditional history and prehistory trace a line narrative stringing together accounts of great deeds and interpreting durable remnants of peoples past. Buildings, engineering, coins present hard evidence. But, just as in our present time, the social infrastructure that made those deeds and monuments possible was made up of the perishable goods and services in people’s everyday lives. Food preparation, child rearing, textiles, or nursing leave few and ephemeral physical traces.

By studying the scant evidence of fabrics and looms together with depictions of the work and descriptions in texts (such as in the Odyssey), Barber weaves a complex and engrossing tale of that essential craft that shaped our world.

Fastforward to the 21^st century’s Triumph of the City by Edward Glaeser. Architect-type friends have mostly raved about this book. The subtitle seems promising: “How Our Greatest Invention Makes Us Richer, Smarter, Greener, Healthier and Happier” (author’s caps). Ed is an urban economist. Great! I think that’s exactly who should be looking at the complexity that is a city. I am cautiously optimistic. I’m into the first few chapters right now.

Hopefully the author won’t fall into the trap that has become standard in the expostulations about urban life. These usually decline into taking sides for or against cities versus suburbs. If you love one you must hate the other, the argument goes. So far Glaeser alludes to the silliness of such discussions. But he slides a little into that abyss by slicing and selecting the data. In demonstrating how the concentration of people in cities magnifies their collective intellectual potential, he recounts that in the middle ages the centers of knowledge were in the few largest cities. Did he ever hear about monasteries? Those were exurban enclaves, for sure. But many were the centers of intellectual activity. Just like Silicon Valley. To Ed, Silicon Valley has produced such talent because of its city-like qualities, not its monastic qualities (founded far from a city to attract focused, like-minded individuals). Hmmm. Trap?

Anyway, I really hope that an urban economist can be objective and look at the macro scale of the problem. To me, that includes the city with its many surrounding smaller towns and suburbs. Dear Mr. Glaeser, please discuss:

1. Why is Grand Central Station so busy and important? It might be because even a city as great as New York cannot be self-contained. It can’t exist by only employing its residents, nor can it always employ all of them. And many of its workers simply choose the amenities of living beyond NYC. Glaeser himself must commute from the City to Boston to teach his classes, a Big-Foot carbon print.
2. The great cultural attractions usually are headquartered in large cities. As well they should be. Some years ago when volunteering for a non-profit, another volunteer there had just finished putting together the Colorado Ballet’s gala fundraiser. She told me that the bulk of her donors were from the suburbs of Denver. It was not the city population that supported the Ballet. The Cultural and Scientific Facilities District that funds such venues as the Denver Zoo extends far beyond the city core, well out into the suburbs and small towns. Without the exurban population, those facilities would be underfunded. Should Broadway musicals not cater to anyone living outside Manhattan, they’d go bankrupt.
3. It seems to me, cities have never existed without the countryside and the suburbs. There are many things we can hate about the suburbs. But what, specifically, is to be hated? What loved? Many urbanites are able to appreciate and enjoy the small towns and exurbs in other countries, but rarely the ones in their own country (unless it’s their country house).
4. What constitutes a city versus a suburb? Most people who live in pre-WW2 suburbs don’t consider themselves suburban. Is Queens suburban? How about Newton, Massachusetts? Or Washington Park, Denver?

I can’t wait to see if the economist puts numbers to these items.