Tag: ecological stone house

Architecture and Nature; Architecture and Natural Light: hanrahan Meyers architectsNew York Architects; Modern Minimalist Design; Natural Architecture; Green Architecture

December 8th, 2009

hMa: hanrahan Meyers architects
New York architects hanrahan Meyers (hMa) believe that abstract and minimal form is part of an ongoing transformation of design as a global practice of universal forms, as well as a local practice that values essential human experience by accomplishing the most with the least means.

Architecture and Nature
hMa’s architecture of abstract and minimal form is open and sympathetic to nature, as well as revealing of nature. It is open to nature by allowing natural spaces and materials to come into buildings. It also reveals nature by contrast, where the single architectural gesture frames complex topographies and views. In this way, the architecture of hMa both absorbs and measures nature.

Holley House, Garrison NY, 2006: Victoria Meyers and Thomas Hanrahan architects

Trajectories
These two statements place hMa in the school of designers and artists who conceptually integrate art, architecture and nature by means of essential forms and experiences, including such figures as Carl Andre, Mies Van Der Rohe and John Cage. This conceptual integration is a complex cultural phenomenon belied by the simplicity of forms that are employed, relying both on the invented and the found, the new and the contextual, and the abstract and the natural.

hMa has teamed with artists on several projects. Composer Michael Schumacher and sculptor David Teeple have been in-house consultants on a number of hMa projects. For hMa’s new Community Center adjacent to Ground Zero, Michael Schumacher composed the composition, ‘Birdsong’, that establishes the formal language for a ‘frit’ pattern that will go on the glass façade of the building. David Teeple’s sculptural vision was part of the formal discussion both for Holley House, as well as Dune House (currently in design). hMa has served as an ongoing advisor to Mark di Suvero and Socrates Sculpture Park.

hMa’s value that they place on abstraction in their architecture is exemplified by their design of the Holley Loft in Manhattan, featured in MoMA’s ‘Un-Private House’ show. Holley Loft was included as a demonstration of hMa’s concept of ‘liberated living’. The Holley House in Garrison, New York is their second commission for the same client and is the rural counterpart to the urban loft.

Ecological Form
By integrating nature and minimalism into their work, hMa accomplishes the most with the least means: extensive natural light, buildings set into topography, renewable energy sources and local materials . hMa’s practice began when partners Victoria Meyers and Thomas Hanrahan came to international attention after designing the winning entry in the design competition for Chattanooga Nature Interpretive Center. hMa’s winning entry was arguably the first ecologically designed museum in the world, and set the tone for their practice and their ongoing dialogue between nature, art, and minimalism.

Office Research
Research by hMa include investigations into sound and sound waves (WaveLine; Ojai Festival Shell); research into techniques for stone wall construction (Holley House); research into vision and sight as they relate to formal constructions (See-Thru House); research into light and shadow to coordinate the placement of architectural program in space (Queens Museum of Art; Won Buddhist Retreat); Research into the fabrication of sound waves into visual patterns in order to allow visitors to inhabit sound, visually (Battery Park City Community Center); Research into the development of pre-stressed and failed materials in the design of a dwelling (Dune House); Research into the use of pre-fabricated elements to create dwelling (Pre-Fab House). The firm’s researches into these areas are in the process of being collected for hMa’s next book.

Natural Light

Light is a special focus of hMa research. hMa published the firm's research into Natural Light in 2006 with their book 'designing with light'. To see a preview of the book, go to the book's website: www.designingwithlight.us.

hMa is a certified WBE.

White Space/ Ash 4 Ways, NYC, 2005: Victoria Meyers and Thomas Hanrahan architects
Walls: Modern American House: Holley HouseGreen Home Design; American Houses; Modern American House

July 17th, 2009

Walls are basic building blocks of architecture and architectural form. At a certain moment, every architect needs to confront the idea of ‘the wall’ – and decide how they see this basic construct philosophically.

Holley House: looking down the stone Farmer's Wall toward bedroom wing Click here to view all photos of Holley House on hanrahanMeyers.com

close-up view: final approved sample wall construction

At Holley House, hMa spent close to six months having stone masons construct various walls, using different stones, all of which came either from the house site, or from a local quarry. What we are showing on the blog today are a handful of the many variations that we produced in pursuit of the final wall details.

Questions arose: how to make the wall: with varying stone sizes (rejected – as this seemed to make the wall way too figural); with regularly sized stones, with varying degrees of roughened edges (selected finish for final house design); how thick to make the joint lines (we experimented with joint sizes from 1/2” to 1/8”. We settled on 1/8”.); how to detail the connection between the top of the wall (which was meant to read as an object in its own right) – we wanted to install the wall with glass @ the top surface. This approach was rejected by our client who did not want to make his ceiling height exceed 11’ in his living room areas. We settled on installing a deep ½” reglet at the top of the wall, separating the wall from the ceiling plane).

What we are presenting here is a catalogue of the various stones and stone configurations that hMa studied during that difficult period of critical design decision making.

This image (above) shows where the house design began, with the client and the architects admiring existing farmer’s walls on the site. Part of the construction process included hiring local stone masons who excelled in rebuilding these walls. The original walls were rebuilt and renovated as part of the overall design for the property. They also became the inspiration for the design for the house, which was organized around two 65-foot long walls built from stone local to the Garrison, New York area.

Stacks of the stone that the architects looked at to make the final stone wall samples. The architects looked at a variety of widths and lengths of stones prior to making a final selection. They also investigated the use of varying lengths of stones, as well as patterns that mixed varying thicknesses of stones.

the stone wall for the bedroom wing; in construction – Holley House by hMa

stone wall for the pool area; in construction – Holley House by hMa Click here to view all photos of Holley House on hanrahanMeyers.com

Tag: ecological stone house

Architecture and Nature; Architecture and Natural Light: hanrahan Meyers architectsNew York Architects; Modern Minimalist Design; Natural Architecture; Green Architecture

Walls: Modern American House: Holley HouseGreen Home Design; American Houses; Modern American House