Wow! Did you take any inspiration from Alvernia Studios? They have the most amazing floorplan I think I've ever seen.
No, but it is an amazing studio indeed, never seen it! No, the inspiration came just like that. I love modern architecture and was doodling while receiving my chemo. So I looked around in the room and saw a series of 'octime' coffee mugs... and it hit me.
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is that studio gonna be based in belgium ?
can you share those floorplans with us ?
Hey, long time no hear!
No, actually it will not be in Europe. Since I am still in the bidding phase for the land, I'd like to not disclose the exact location at the moment.
As for the floorplans, too early as well, but I will ask the architect.
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Back with a vengeance... cancer is for wussies :D
(insert clever one-liner here)
I'm back, with 2+ weeks worth of updates. The latest blog posting is massive! All the info you could possibly want is there, but for those of you addicted to this project's progress, an extra dose of photos, not on the blog, is offered to make up for my two-week hiatus...
The glass block has been unmasked (and the control room/sound lock walls finished as far as they go):
And looking kinda in the opposite direction, the outer wythe that abuts the Loggia:
Conduit trenching in the Annex is almost done, and pipes will be laid in soon:
The final bond beams are done for the booths (and all the rest of the main building's masonry):
The roof over the booths (the title story of my latest blog posting) is underway:
Some nice block glow:
And a picture of a little friend who stopped by briefly just to chill out:
I think it was mentioned that it would be the final natural color of the blocks for the finished exterior. I like it!
Thanks! Also don't forget that the building has a long way to go before it's finished. Proper landscaping is part of the plan. What made Fallingwater a great building was not merely the use of steel, concrete, and glass, which most modern office buildings feature today, but the integration of the building with the land. Right now you are looking at the building only partially contextualized. When nature returns to claim its domain, and the grass, gravel, stones, and seasonal streams are replaced, then you can judge the building's true aesthetic. Our concept of organic architecture does not end with the outermost lines of the building, but continues to the boundaries of the land and the sky.
I really like the look, also! Reminds me of Frank Lloyd Wright, which I love. (I wonder what it would have been like to have him design a studio?)
To answer that question, I have to do a bit of bragging.
First and foremost, I have an awesome wife, who not only allowed me to undertake this project, but actively encouraged it. Frank Lloyd Wright was famous for taking more interest in his client's spouses than their projects. Wes has no such reputation.
Second, there was a point in the project when Wes needed to convince my wife to cross a line she told me she would not cross, and that was when it was clear to me (and which had been clear to Wes for some time) that we needed a second mix room much more than we needed a two-car garage. We arranged to meet together at Wes's house and on the way she told me "I just want to you know that I'm prepared to say 'no' if I don't like the plan". She had already rejected virtually every attempt I made to re-carve the space. Wes gave a 20 minute refresher on the whole project--vision, design, programming, architecture, etc.--and when she said "let me see it" Wes rolled out a design so perfect that she could only smile and say, almost in disbelief, "Yes!". Wes definitely earned his commission that day, which I promptly and happily paid.
Third, you could ask the architects at Taliesin and they'd probably tell you that you will not find a [recording studio] design more faithful to Wright than the designs of Wes Lachot. In fact, in mid-2007, the plans for Manifold Recording found their way into the hands of one of the Taliesin architects. They immediately called Wes and said "can you come up here tomorrow to give a lecture?" Ever faithful to the client, Wes said "no" because he was scheduled to meet with me. A week later, and with my blessing, he went and gave two lectures ([1][2]) that were received as authentic elaborations of Wright's almost unknown and otherwise undeciphered concepts of acoustics as related to architecture.
Finally, Wes has the benefit of a structural engineer who knows things about steel and concrete that Wright and his contemporaries could only guess about. As the history of Fallingwater teaches, Wright's fundamental slab-and-cantilever design, upon which the entire house balanced, was not sufficiently understood by either the structural engineer or the contractor (or both), so that when the house was built, the cantilever was compromised, and developed a sag. As you know from my blog, there is quite an interplay between steel and concrete in the structure of the studio. The characteristic bond beams (which were expensive in time and materials to construct) have so far maintained their elegant lines, and, knock on wood, will do so for another 500 years. Wright was a genius and a pioneer, and his occasional failures and mishaps create a wealth of knowledge from which we continue his great tradition of architectural integrity and organic architecture. Wes is also a genius, and deserves to be recognized as a leader of the new generation of that great tradition.
Last edited by Clueless; 14th October 2009 at 04:21 PM..
Reason: spelling, grammar and style
This is an excellent example of how dreams can come true. An awesome concept, and an awesome implementation. Congratulations man, wishing you the best of business and profits with this facility. You deserve a dollar for every cent you pour into this project.
This is an excellent example of how dreams can come true. An awesome concept, and an awesome implementation. Congratulations man, wishing you the best of business and profits with this facility. You deserve a dollar for every cent you pour into this project.
Thanks! But there's still about a year of construction, wiring, and general facility prep before we can declare victory. But I'm glad that the intention and implementation are starting to show.
We're kinda stymied on a code issue right now. Don't want to say more about that right now, but we need to get our view accepted so we can keep making progress.
I put some photos up on the blog that show a little bit about what's underneath the big blue tarp. Unfortunately, the longer we're delayed on this code issue, the more damage the weather does to our ducts, so I hope we get it cleaned up right quick.
I'm looking forward to your presentation at the Idea Exchange being held at the Center for Design Innovation on Tuesday in Winston Salem from 5:30 - 7:00 p.m. that everybody is welcome to attend (shameless plug).
Two things. One, comments on the blog do work, but you have to wait for them to be moderated. There was just too much comment spam when I let people freely post.
Here are some photos, not on the blog, for your enjoyment:
I took a picture of my rafter lookouts to show some detail. These should do a good job of holding the exterior soffits in place!
Here's a shot of the air handlers and ducts up in the roof at the start of the week:
The wall plates have been added for the Music Room (interior) soffits:
The bathroom walls are coming up nicely:
We located the patio slabs and equipment corrals. Here's were the patio outline crosses what is now our grout pile:
(See the floorplan on the site if the above is confusing...this is the northwest corner of the patio.)
Here's a shot of the booth roof framing progress, with materials positioned to clad said roof:
Here's the annex tech wiring conduit locked in concrete. We poured in 4 yards of concrete, and you can see the wheelbarrows standing up in the distance:
Here are two views from inside the booths after the roof was mostly clad. Looking East:
and West:
I'll stop there because there seems to be a new policy limiting posts to 10 photos per posting. While this may be a reasonably limit in other forums, it kinda defeats the purpose of a studio construction photo thread...
fitZ: that's a pretty amazing sketch of the control room! Did you draw that from my walkthrough?
As for what's happening behind the soffits...I think there might be some air handling going on above the monitors. We're discussing what happens below the monitors: could be solid concrete (acoustic coupling to the earth) or it could be a strong pedestal arched over the amplifiers for the monitors.
Do the units on the Music Room handle the whole building? If so, how do the ducts make it from the "upper elevations"? I don't recall seeing any provision for that inside the walls...
Do the units on the Music Room handle the whole building? If so, how do the ducts make it from the "upper elevations"? I don't recall seeing any provision for that inside the walls...
The ducts above the Music Room are only for the Music Room. There's a whole other system that will handle the lower level.
fitZ: that's a pretty amazing sketch of the control room!
Thank you. Coming from you I feel flattered.
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Did you draw that from my walkthrough?
Actually, no. Its for a project I'm working on currently. Heres an exterior shot.
And looking in the skylights.
And heres a section. Don't want to impose too much on your thread though.
One more for just for drill. This is still in the planning stage.
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We're discussing what happens below the monitors: could be solid concrete (acoustic coupling to the earth) or it could be a strong pedestal arched over the amplifiers for the monitors.
Thats what I was curious about. This is usually one of those "hidden secrets" studio designers usually won't discuss publicly. At least the ACTUAL details. I hope Mr. Latchot will allow you to show them. Heres what I have in mind.
Actually, no. Its for a project I'm working on currently.
I guess with your eyes closed, all RFZs look the same
I'll be interested to watch your project develop. If you do start a thread, I recommend naming the studio in the title. There are too many "I'm starting a build" threads for me to remember which is which.
The Music Roof is now all dried in except for the center section. That will continue to remain open until we get all the duct work done, which continues, alas.
We got some new string outlines in the Annex:
Here's a view that shows the Annex CR outline highlighted in red:
Conduits are being positioned in the upper soffit for eventual electrical work:
More corners are being pointed:
And we're looking at various options for filling those corners. Note that the bottom 5 courses are mortared and the top ones are not yet:
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