This page offers a closer look at specialized architectural elements used in past projects, showcasing a range of innovative solutions. From eco-friendly designs to structural details like caissons, bridges, and moats, each project emphasizes sustainability, durability, and aesthetic integration. These features demonstrate a commitment to thoughtful design that respects both environmental impact and engineering precision.
3D
We create a virtual building from which all our plans, elevations, and sections are generated. If we change a door or move a wall on our model, all drawings automatically change with it. This makes errors less likely, and it allows our clients to see their homes in perspective, from any angle, at an early stage in the project.
Moat
By code, any drop in elevation on a grade of more than 30 inches requires a guardrail. Guardrails are functional, but they can also block your view. We replaced the railing with a pool that acts as a moat to protect people from the cliff below without blocking the ocean views.
Bridge
An exterior bridge meets a traditional door in a steel frame wrapped in stone veneer. The stone is surrounded by frameless glass, so it appears to float in the air. Behind the door, the bridge continues into the interior of the mezzanine.
Loggia
How do you get ocean views without destroying the integrity of a Tuscan-style home? Here traditional Italian logia, common in outdoor spaces, has been captured with glass that passes through the stone columns. The result is wide open views from a habitable space that looks as if it is outdoors.
Water Shedding Lovers
In rare instances, a City’s lot coverage is limited by roof area, not by building footprint. On this project, we wanted a covered walkway from the entry gate to the front door but did not want to give up 200 sq. ft. of habitable space. So we designed an open trellis that did not count as a roof but had overlapping channels to make for a rainproof passage. Each L-shaped section is notched at the ends for water to flow away from the path of travel.
Aqueduct
This home, built against a steep mountain hillside, had very large areas above that needed to drain to the street. Rather than risking conventional drains and pipes that can clog and overflow, the rainwater was treated with a sculptural element. A concrete V ditch behind the home funnels into a channel which becomes a property line aqueduct above the sloping land, terminating in a waterfall to the street.
Cassions
Before excavation, holes are drilled deep into the earth. Steel rebar cages are dropped in place and then filled with concrete. Once hardened, these caissons act as 'flagpoles' to support the earth above as the soil is excavated on the downhill side. This is referred to as shoring. Most shoring is temporary construction devised to hold up the earth until the retaining walls are constructed.
Retaining Walls
After excavation, waterproofing is put in place, and steel rebar for the concrete retaining walls is tied to the rebar coming out of the caissons. Concrete will be 'shot' onto the rebar with a fire hose and troweled flat before it cures. This is done in 'lifts' several feet at a time so that the weight of the concrete above does not push out the wet concrete below. The final result is that the home's shoring, retaining walls, and exterior walls have all been constructed as one. In this case, the savings in cost was approximately 3/4 of a million dollars compared to conventional construction techniques.
Curved Steel
The roof of this home is curved. The wall below also bows out and in an “S” shape. Therefore, the steel tube headers needed to be curved in both plan and elevation. The computer drawing files of this part of the building were sent to the steel subcontractor, and with CADCAM technology, the steel was bent and welded to the exact shape required.
Outdoor Grill
Looking like an outdoor fireplace, this is a grill and trellis for Rio Del Sol in Cathedral City.
Berm as a fence
Most housing developments make good neighbors with fences. We placed a thin greenbelt with a 6 to 7-foot-high landscaped berm for privacy and a feeling of openness.
Energy Efficient
This development in the desert was constructed of ICF ( insulated concrete forms). The combination of super insulation with the thermal mass of concrete creates the perfect material for the temperature extremes of Cathedral City. 24-inch deep open web trusses in the roof allowed for twice as much insulation as typical homes. This community's energy needs are dramatically less than those of neighboring homes.
Behind the glass of the Great Room is a series of water-filled aluminum tanks that collect solar heat during the day that radiates back into the house at night. Insulated blinds are drawn at night to help conserve energy. The roofs have 18 inches of insulation, and the walls feature 6 inches between the studs with an additional inch of rigid insulation. There are only 6 square feet of glazing to the North. Decades before energy conservation became fashionable, this home had utility bills that were less than half that of their neighbors.