Albion News

Winter in CA

It's hard to believe that I haven't posted for almost a year but here are some current exterior pics of the rock I have been rolling up this hill. Now its winter again and we move inside to actually do some of the fun stuff (as soon as the heat gets fired up). Yesterday morning was 29 degrees and fog.

The true face of this piece won't be revealed till we attempt to further "physicalize" the architect's intentions but we are working with a minimal pallette of concrete, VG douglas fir and glass. No trim, no tolerances and no excuses. At the end of the day, what most visitors call "is that going to be a school?", will become a family's home in the midst of pristine CA rolling farm land.

Right now, its still a skeleton but the interior shapes will start to reveal and warm themselves. This collaborative process of design (architect) and builder (janitor) has been a conundrum since before the pyramids of Giza... hey Pharoah, you wanna build what out here?? Regardless of where one enters the conversation (design, environment, politics, morality), this dance goes on.

For me, its about the HOW. How do we share ideas, how do we work together, how do we do no harm, how do we make meaningful choices, how do I afford more wine to cope with this madness, how, how how...

January projects

 

Nose to the wheel these days. Juggling two new residences coming out of the ground in the midst of rainy winter. Not fun, just El Nino mud.

One is for a client who purchased the infamous, 45 acre Bob Weir ranch (Grateful Dead) in Nicasio (one of the most beautiful, quiet villages in Marin County, CA). The other is a two story, LEED certified, strawbale compound outside the city of Sonoma, CA on 35 acres. The Nicasio project has already won a design award for it's modern concrete and glass design. The other will be a working organic farm with focus on hand plaster walls, local stonework, reclaimed douglas fir woodwork, stained concrete floors, a living roof and state of the art, heat sink sand beds to contain the solar driven energy storage.

 We inserted 1 inch thick pieces of Lexan plastic into the concrete pour of the Nicasio project to create a light window through the wall. More pics as these projects develop.

 

Sonoma Spring

     
 
There's nothing like spending time with friends, eating great local food, dissing conservative blowhards and drinking good wine. So in this spirit, I ventured off the beaten path to balm my wounds and breathe a little fresh air. April/May in NorCal is inspiring and that is why I try to take a big bite. I had been working on another house for Charles Schwab in Woodside, CA so it was a quick, much needed hop up to wineland.

My friends at Clos du Bois Winery in Geyserville asked me back to build another winespace for them in their Hospitality Center. This is where they entertain their salespeople and special guests. The space has a full commercial kitchen, dining and media area with a beautiful, panoramic view of the Alexander Valley (Sonoma County).

Truth be told, this was one of the smallest areas I've ever built but it had all the challenges. Constellation Brands is the corporate owner and CduB is the largest purchaser of grapes in Sonoma County but the setting is beautiful. My friend, Erik Olsen, is the head winemaker and his Marlstone and Briarcrest wines are incredible. But when you walk the vine rows with the wild mustard and just enjoy being in the country, all problems just fade away.

Desert Rats

   
 
So my wacky musician/builder friend, Gizmo, his beloved Dr. Catherine along with cats Harry and Whit, have retired and moved to Joshua Tree in the heart of the Mojave Desert. Yes, that 110 degree Mojave. Against my sage advise, they have decided to create their sustainable lizard ranch. Spending their days building a passive solar house, writing books, recording music, howling at the moon ... what are these knuckleheads thinking? Get a real job!!!

Living with Wine

  
  
 
Back in April 2008, Damaris Colhoun got in touch with me about a book that she and Samantha Nestor were putting together on custom wine cellars called Living with Wine. She asked if they might include some of my client's cellars in the book and of course I said, hell yes. My friend Alice Feiring was writing the text so it sounded like a great project and long overdue.

Damaris' family has Landmark Vineyards in Sonoma County which makes wonderful chard and pinot and is in one of my favorite hangs, Kenwood. They have a long family ag history as her mother is the great, great granddaughter of John Deere. Most importantly though, they have a wonderful cottage on the vineyard to stay at if you are in the area.

This was all going great and then it didn't...

Nashville Jazz

 

In 1989 I met Steven McRedmond. He was fighting to refocus a family property which was once the 1,000,000 sf Neuhoff meat packing facility on the banks of the Cumberland River in downtown Nashville. Long shut down, his vision was to bring in architects and create an arts centered community. A little backstory ... Nashville is a huge US transportation hub, a major university center, the state capitol, the country music center, etc. In any other US city, this site (with a panoramic view of the downtown skyline 10 minutes away) would have been scooped up years ago for development. Some of us were excited.

Nashville G'tar Town 2009

     

A dear friend, David Hart, who owns Nashville Wine and Spirits in said Tennessee city, called out of the blue last week and put me on a plane to "the Athens of the South". They actually do have their own full size replica of the Acropolis with manditory Athena statue. When David calls, its bound to be challenging but I will always dive in because I don't want to miss out on something interesting. But I digress...

Community Issues

 

In the midst of all the lavaflow of current capitalist flameout, Nancy and I retreated for a walk up the hill to where the great blue herons have been nesting for years. The newborns now stand three feet tall in deep nests of thick dead branches. The elders come and go .

Next to our little 1897 cottage is a huge 150 year old Monterey cypress tree and these herons seem to use her as some sort of fulcrum. They fly on one side while going down to feed at the estero and back to their nest on the other side. As we sit on our backporch at dusk with a bottle of wine, we notice their neighborhood orbit.

Building as a Path

   

Buddhist teaching, as expressed through Japan, has formed a large part of my world view. I have written here about growing up under the influence of Tassajara Zen Center in Carmel Valley, CA. That's half true, as that special place served as a strong focal point in my teenage years. The other, earlier part is that I grew up on our family's ranch (my mother's side) in the house of my inspired uncle. Click on either photo above for a slideshow.