Posted by Derek Leavitt on Thu, Jun 10, 2010 @ 04:52 PM
If you've been following along with us here over the last few weeks, you've surely noticed that we've been bashing open architecture competitions and even suggesting alternatives to these time wasters.
So you may find it a bit hypocritical that today I'm announcing that we won a competition. That is, until you note the following differences between this competition and a typical open architecture competition.
Not Just an Architecture Competition
The competition we entered was through the Urban Land Institute (ULI) to develop housing for the chronically homeless. As I posted back in April, it was a team development competition consisting of other young real estate and social work professionals. Architecture was only a piece of the proposal. Our team had to find a property, create a program, design a project, determine the services offered, and develop a detailed pro forma of how the project would be financed. The process simulated a real project compressed into six weeks.
The site we selected in Glendale.
The Competition Wasn't Open
Our team had to apply in order to get accepted to participate. There were only five teams competing.
We even got to make our own cool logo. We were called Team HETED (Homeless Empowerment Through Efficient Development)
Collaboration
Each team was assigned a city to work with in Los Angeles County: Pasadena, Whittier, East Dominguez Hills, Long Beach and our sponsor city, Glendale. We also worked closely with homeless non-profit advocates and developers, Path Achieve Glendale
and Path Ventures. The city and these organizations acted like our clients. By working with them we got to make real connections. Connections that could lead to future work.
The project concept is a hybrid of preservation of 1920's bungalows and modern intervention of adding new elements to bring the project up to code and provide services for the residents.
Team Aspect
Our team really enjoyed working with each other on this. I think we will collaborate again on future projects.
Exposure
The Urban Land Institute is a diverse organization. It reaches all types of real estate professionals. We prefer this type of exposure over showcasing our work to a bunch of fellow architects.
Pro Bono
This competition was our launch into pro bono work. We spent 130 hours working on this competition. This gives us a real gauge as to the level of commitment required to do future pro bono projects. We already have an idea for our next pro bono project. It won't be through a competition.
Overall view of the project
Whether or not you buy our arguments for entering this competition, I encourage you to check out our winning proposal. You can also view our online press release.
What do you think of our proposal?
Posted by Derek Leavitt on Sun, Jan 25, 2009 @ 07:12 AM
The Willow Glen Pool Pavilion was just added to the projects section of our website. Here's a bit about our design approach to this unique project:
The Slope
When a successful young professional came to Modative
about adding a pool and pool house to his property in the Hollywood
Hills, we thought it was a pretty straight forward request. That was,
of course, until we saw the property in person.The existing modern home
which sat at street level was immediately followed by a steep 45 degree
downslope. As a site for a pool, it was not ideal, but as we enjoy a
good challenge; we saw this as an opportunity to design a dynamic
solution that would provide the client's request for valuable outdoor
space in an unlikely place.
Blending In
The
client had few requests, but one was that the pool pavilion be pretty
well hidden from the house above. Our solution was to landscape the
roof having it appear as an extension of the sloping side. This green
roof not only helps disguise the building from above, but reduces
runoff, heat island effect, and provides insulation to keep the
pavilion cool in summer months.
Here Comes the Sun
The steep slope also provided difficult solar challenges. To discover the optimal location for the pool, Modative
did thorough computer solar simulations with numerous schemes,
eventually settling on a pool and deck location that get the most sun
possible.
A Special Place
The pool is designed
with an infinity edge that floats over the drop off allowing for
uninterrupted views from the dramatic hillside location. The main space
of the pool pavilion is designed for flexibility. Multi-track sliding
doors pull back at the corner, opening up the room to the outdoors. The
pavilion's wood-clad bathroom was given equal attention. Accessed via
stepping pads in the pool, the bathroom also takes in the view from
it's oversize shower.
A Vertical Journey
Because
of the intensity of the slope, the pool was located several flights of
stairs below the house. Resting points, viewing platforms and changes
in direction help compensate for the long vertical journey from the
house down to the pool. The main view point along the stair, a
projecting landing, was envisioned to double as a DJ booth for parties.
Visit the Willow Glen Pool Pavilion project page
Posted by Derek Leavitt on Tue, Jan 06, 2009 @ 09:21 AM
One important thing as a young architecture firm (Modative turns three early this year) is to give your current and future clients a real sense of your experience in the field. As in any profession, especially one that involves the complexities of designing buildings, displaying competence through experience (in this case photos of actual buildings) is critical.
The difficult part, however, when your firm is still young, is that the architecture and construction process takes time. This means that it can take years (and it does) to accumulate a portfolio of built projects.
This is why when we founded Modative we decided that our website should not only show our projects that we have designed since forming Modative, but to also show projects that we played a major role in while working in prior offices. This allows us to display projects that have gone through the entire process, meaning that they are built; as well as show the wide range of project sizes and types that we have experience with.
So, three years in, this is why we still like to show the Project Experience portion of our Projects page. We hope it gives you a proper feel for the types of architectural projects we have helped realize and level of experience the three founding partners had prior to forming Modative.
The following is a project that Christian and I designed and managed while in a prior office.