Bero Architecture News Page

A quick post of links to three articles discussing the existing building approach to sustainable building.

“Downside of Green Architecture” by Laura K. Zavala & Katie Eggers Comeau

Exerpt:

Preservation has always been a green activity. New construction, no matter how green it is, uses valuable resources and energy and also creates waste. Furthermore, while the value of newer, greener construction can’t be overlooked, it is crucial to understand that many of these technologies are able to be applied to existing buildings. The demolition of buildings in the United States generates at least 124 million tons of debris a year, all which ends up in a landfill. Reusing existing buildings lessens demands and conserves embodied energy in structures.

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“The Original Green” by Stephen Mouzon

Exerpt:

Any serious conversation about sustainable buildings must begin with lovability. If a building cannot be loved, then it is likely to be demolished and carted off to the landfill in only a generation or two. All of the embodied energy of its materials is lost (if the materials are not recycled.) Worse, all of the future energy savings are lost too. Buildings continue to be demolished for no other reason except that they cannot be loved. Even a landmark so revered by the architectural profession as the Boston City Hall is now in danger of just such a fate because it is famously unlovable. If it can’t be loved, it won’t last, and is by definition unsustainable.

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“Prioritizing Green—It’s the Energy Stupid*” by Joseph W. Lstiburek, Ph.d.,P.Eng., Fellow ASHRAE
Exerpt:

So what’s with all these “green” programs providing “points” for “durability” and “indoor air quality”?  I mean it’s pretty pathetic if we have to reward architects and engineers when they provide details and specifications that should be basic to fundamental practice.  If you design and install a controlled ventilation system that meets Standard 62 you get points.  You get more points if you keep the rain out and design the building to dry if it gets wet.  And you get still more points if the occupants are actually comfortable.   Aren’t these code requirements?  Shouldn’t these be “the standard of care”?

Have we architects and engineers sunk so low that we now get points if we meet basic building requirements that all buildings should meet in order to be called buildings?

Green programs waste a lot of time and money on stuff that is obvious and more time and money on stuff that is irrelevant or unimportant.

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A friend of mine sent me this link to a New York Times article/essay (by NICOLAI OUROUSSOFF) that provides a snapshot description of the importance of the architectural history and it’s preservation in Buffalo.  I used to live in Buffalo and I don’t think it is hard to appreciate the warmth and intimacy of that city.  In my opinion, for everything that was done wrong in Buffalo there was something done right.  Please check out the story.  It is very interesting and provides an alternative to the snowy reputation often used as a one-line definition of a very great place.

(Photo: Tony Cenicola/The New York Times)

Set amidst the Olmstead designed Highland Park, Warner Castle is a hidden treasure of Rochester.  Built in 1854, this castle like Gothic-styled residence was the home of Rochester attorney and newspaper editor Horatio Gates Warner.  The house was designed by the owner to resemble the ancestral castle of the Clan Douglas which captivated his fancy during a visit to Scotland.  The building is now owned by the Monroe County Parks Department and occupied by the Rochester Civic Garden Center.

Bero Architecture is administering a repointing project at the building.   Currently masons Fritz Hopfinger and Mike Needam, Bricklayers Local No. 3, are experimenting with different mortar mixes to ensure that the final design is compatible with the original mortar mix.  The sample locations will take almost a week to cure. When preparing mortar key things to consider are:

1)The new mortar should match the original in color, texture,  and tooling

2)The sand should match the sand in historic mortar

3) The new mortar must be softer than the masonry

During the preparation of the stone joints for repointing the masons recovered “historic backer rod” in the form of old newspaper.   It was found behind the mortar at the jamb of the basement window.  The date of the paper is December 6, 1897.

We received a nice mention in todays Democrat and Chronicle. Here’s the link to the story about reducing your carbon footprint.   A past associate with us now belongs to an area association committed to help spread the word about increasing your environmental friendliness.

Funny and probably not meant to actually be a reference, this video is still worth showing here since power point presentations are so often very boring.  I try to make a difference helping people make slideshows I really want to watch by spreading what info I can.

Also, Seth Godin is known for his own fight against bad slides. Here is the result page for a google search of his blog for “powerpoint”.

And if you don’t want to sort through that yourself, here’s a direct link to one of the posts found there.

The new issue of Cadalyst Magazine arrived in the office, and the back cover caught my attention because it advertises a video tutorial that promises to fix my biggest AutoCad peeve:  the everlasting problem between pressing the F1 key when I mean to press Esc.

There is a moment of dread when AutoCad pauses while Help is being loaded. I’ve been commited to waiting for processor eternity.

Well, if you’re running a full version of AutoCad, you can reassign the F1 key to run the Cancel command instead.  Check out this video to get out from this clumsy finger induced torture.

Other techniques and methods for using AutoCad as if it were a well-designed program are at the Cadalyst video website for Lynn Allen’s Tips and Tricks .

Now if only I were using not AutoCad LT, which allows you to reassign every key but F1.

If you’ve subscribed here, then you need to know that I’ve switched to feedburner for all matters rss. Please come with us and copy the link available at the Subscribe link ( ) over to the right, and updating your reader.

Thanks

St. Paul’s Episcopal Church here in Rochester installed a new gargoyle at the tower roofline. The replacement was hand carved to match the orginal gargoyal by Traditional Cut Stone in Toronto. Made out of limestone, the gargoyle throws rainwater from the roof away from the tower walls.

Our esteemed Virginia Searl gave a presentation at the Landmark Society’s Preservation Conference last weekend titled “Restoring Your House: A Practical Guide (Where To Start)”. She presented advice from her experience restoring the 1912 Art’s and Crafts home that her family has lived in since her childhood.

All buildings experience change and modification as time moves on. Specific needs and aesthetic choices drive us to both take parts of them away, and to add parts to them. Sometimes we just rearrange them, covering up one part, or revealing another. Sometimes our buildings need repair, and how we provide the maintenance affects the appearance, performance, and the experience of our homes.

Then, inevitably, we move on, and share that building with someone else. I say “share” because, in the case of homes especially, we always retain some kind of ownership of it, whether we still live there or not. When my wife and I moved into our new home a year ago, it took a while for the neighborhood to begin referring to the house with our name attached, instead of referring to it by the surname of the previous owners. (Which I consider fair since they lived there for 45 years.)

We all have experience watching buildings change. Sometimes we witness it as we drive to work, measuring progress at construction and renovation sites. Other times we visit our old neighborhoods after many years of being away and discover how different they are from when we were last there. Sometimes they improve, sometimes they go the other way. Of course, both directions are a matter of our own opinion. And sometimes, we are the cause of change. We want a new space, we have one more kid than we have bedrooms, and we’re tired of painting the siding.

Sometimes we don’t understand the decisions of those before us. We can’t imagine why a wall now divides a huge living room into two smaller and less useful rooms, or why windows were removed from the south wall. (Or why pink and green tile was used so liberally in the bathroom!) These opinions lead us to modify a building for ourselves, to make our nest the way we like it. Some begin this project by conceiving what is popular now and in the future, some begin by trying to figure out what the place was like in the past. Again, both methods are a matter of our own opinion.

Virginia’s restoration of the house towards it’s past incarnation is guided by memories of growing up in the house and by the photographic record found in old family photos when the memories aren’t so detailed. Design pattern books that document the styles’ heyday, architectural style guides, and modern nostalgic magazines also help inform the restoration. She is lucky the people who changed the house previously saved the parts they took off, and stored them in the basement. Sometimes it’s obvious where they came from, and sometimes it is a puzzle to figure out where pieces should go.

We have been working with the Gates Historical Society to plan the renovation of a classic victorian house into their offices and museum.

They have been doing the work in small pieces. A video showing some of the work and some of the existing conditions is on youtube.

The Hinchey’s were a prominent family in the history of the Town of Gates. The house is very important to the local history. It’s listed on the National Register of Historic Places, and the Town of Gates received an EPF grant for the restoration of the house. You can read more about the restoration here.
(You can watch the video there again too…)

The First Presbyterian Church of Albion came to Bero Architecture asking for assistance with the restoration of the plaster ceiling in their Sanctuary in Albion, NY. The project involved removal of a layer of fiber ceiling tile to expose the original plaster ceiling above. We knew some of the original plaster had deteriorated from water damage in the attic, but not how much. An essential part of the project was to save what ceiling materials could be salvaged and replace only the plaster that had become unkeyed or severly cracked. The rest would be cleaned, painted, and stenciled with a replica of the existing decorative stenciling.

As the project moved on, elements of an original decorative scheme from 1910 kept being discovered still in tact under the most recent coat of paint. An historic newspaper article was found in the town archives describing the 1910 renovation in the designer’s own words. This became the starting point for increasing the scope of the project in include extensive stenciled borders, symbolic shields, and faux-finish painting to bring back the beauty of the forgotten scheme to modern eyes in what ended going from a ceiling restoration to a Sanctuary renovation.

As part of the re-dedication ceremony at the end of November, a panel discussion of the history of the church, the congregation, as well as gothic architecture in general was held by the town and county historians, the contractor (Henry Swiatek) and myself. It was exciting to see, during the service itself, the excitement and passion that the Pastor held for the project. He made the connection between enriching the church building and enriching yourself very meaningful.

It was a pleasure to work on this project.

The Sanctuary Restoration Project at the First Presbyterian Church of Albion is underway. Almost 60 years ago acoustic tiles were installed to cover damaged plaster in the church’s sanctuary. The plaster ceiling dates back to the time when church was built in 1874 and is now revealed after 60 years!

For updates on the progress of the restoration go to the church’s site.

Anyone who’s been reading my posts (1|2) here are familiar with my interest in a drawing table sized interface for architectural design and drafting. I’ve posted about Jeff Hahn and multi-touch interface technology (think iphone) a couple of times before. Now, Microsoft joins the race with “Surface”. The Microsoft site explains that the computer masquerading as table will initially only be available to retail partners. That means they are first selling to hotels, restaurants, and bars.

Microsoft	|	Technocrat	|	Techshout
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I just read Seth Godin’s blog post about the trouble with predicting the future of new stuff, so I’ll refrain from making any judgements, but I do have questions.

• Is the hotel lobby the best place to introduce these machines?
• Will they generate business for participating hospitality businesses?
• Will the general public choose where to stay based on a fancy coffee table computer?
• Will they know how to use it?
• Will they know it’s there? (I never use the hotel lobby- I walk right on by).
• When we think of finding places to go, or looking something up online, I think we still rely on our own laptops, cell phones, or car-based navigation systems, or God help us, the phone book.

• Will this unit just look like a tv under glass? If a hotel does have one, and they follow Microsoft’s lead and place it between a couch and two chairs, it won’t get used. I guess that people will be hesitant to give up a comfortable place to sit to let others use the Surface. That might mean that one person can hog the whole glorious thing for as long as they sit there, because we don’t like to share a living room set-up with people we don’t know.
• Why set it up as coffee table? The uses of computer and table are contradictory. You can’t use one while using the other. Am I supposed to clear off the magazines and remote controls to use the computer? Or is this another single use piece of status-furniture that will crowd my living room/hotel lobby/restaurant table?
• p.s.-speaking of restaurant tables-they are already crowded enough with condiments, specialty menus and the like. Where do those go when I want to order something?)
• And lastly-When Can I stop drafting with my mouse?

The Susan B Anthony Neighborhood Association, along with the Landmark Society of Western New York, is hosting workshops this weekend exposing ways to maintain historic homes. Their goal is give to homeowners looking to fix up their buildings a reliable source of accurate information. So much conventional wisdom is out there circulating and sometimes doing a disservice to people who mean well…because sometimes the conventional wisdom is wrong. John Bero has been asked to talk to the attendees about keeping your historic detail intact, keeping your energy costs in check, and keeping your house in shape.

Other city representatives will be there discussing funding programs and the ins and outs of living in a preservation district.

Part of the funding for the event will be allotted to let homeowners sign up for on-site consultations with John, much like the previously posted Historic Pittsford consultations.

The workshop will be held at the Cafe Underground Railroad, 480 West Main Street, Rochester, NY Saturday May 19, 10am to 1pm.

Bero Architecture assisted the Susan B Anthony House with renovations and master planning projects from 1993-2000.

You may remember from a previous post that Bero Architecture recently completed an addition to Asbury First United Methodist Church, here in Rochester. This past weekend marked the official opening and blessing of the new rooms. Also celebrated was the installation of a new holy water/baptismal font made by parishoner Robert Trout.

A diagram showing the addition in between the Sanctuary and the Education Wing.

Last year, the George Eastman House ranked Number 23 on The Almanac of Architecture and Design’s List of Most Popular Historic Houses. Bero Architecture is proud to have worked on the preservation of the landmark home of George Eastman, founder of Eastman Kodak, here in Rochester NY. Here’s this year’s list:

Most Popular Historic Houses 2007
as published in the Almanac of Architecture and Design,
James P. Cramer, Jennifer Evans Yankopulus, editors.

Biltmore Estate, Asheville, NC: Richard Morris Hunt, 1895 Mount Vernon, Mount Vernon, VA: George Washington, 1785-86 Hearst Castle, San Simeon, CA: Julia Morgan, 1927-47 Graceland, Memphis, TN: Furbringer & Ehrman, 1939 Arlington House, The Robert E. Lee Memorial, Arlington, VA: George Hadfield, 1817 Monticello, Charlottesville, VA: Thomas Jefferson 1768-79, 1793-1809 Vanderbilt Mansion, Hyde Park, NY: McKim, Mead and White, 1898 The Breakers, Newport, RI: Richard Morris Hunt, 1895 Betsy Ross House, Philadelphia, PA, Unknown Architect, 1740 The Edison and Ford Winter Estates, Fort Myers, FL, Thomas Edison, 1886 (Edison Home), Unknown Architect, 1911 (Ford Home) Paul Revere House, Boston, MA: Unknown architect, c.1680 Lincoln Home, Springfield, IL: Unknown architect, 1839 The Hermitage, Home of President Andrew Jackson, Nashville, TN: Unknown architect,1819-1821 David morrison,1831-32 Joseph Reiff and William Hume, 1835-37 Boldt Castle, Alexandria Bay, NY: Hewitt, Stevens & Paist, 1900-04 Fairlane-The Henry Ford Estate, Dearborn, MI: William H.Van Tine, 1915 Marble House, Newport, RI: Richard Morris Hunt, 1892 The Elms, Newport, RI: Horace Trumbauer, 1901 Taliesen West, Scottsdale, AZ: Frank Lloyd Wright, 1937 House of the Seven Gables, Salem, MA: Unkown Architect, 1668 Fallingwater, Mill Run, PA: Frank Lloyd Wright, 1939 Vizcaya, Miami, FL: Burral Hoffman, 1916 Rosecliff, Newport, RI: Stanford White, 1902 Laura: A Creole Plantation, Vacherie, LA: Unknown architect, 1805 Franklin D. Roosevelt Cottage, Lubec, ME (PDF link): William T.Sears, 1897 FDR’s Little White House, Warm Springs, GA: Henry Toombs, 1932 Source: DesignIntelligence

Bero Architecture P.C. was hired by Elizabeth Classen in 2002 to design a new assisted living facility that would blend with the established Cornell Heights neighborhood of Ithaca. Recently the City of Ithaca recognized the Bridges Cornell Heights with a Pride of Ownership award. The tudor revival style home includes many elements designed to meet residents needs.

See more on the Bridges Cornell Heights

Aldersgate United Methodist Church in Greece is nearing completion. They’ve recently had their first service in the new sanctuary. The original church was built with a plan to expand in the future, this recent expansion was part of that plan. The program includes a new entrance, vestibule, sancturary, fellowship hall, and administrative offices. A new elevator makes the entire facility more accessible for everyone. One exciting feature of the addition is a curved wall in the chancel that has a conrete light baffle and skylights that cast shadows over protruding courses of brick to achieve a dramatic effect.

See more construction photos at the church’s site here