Boulder, Colorado - M. Gerwing Architects blog posts for M. Gerwing Architects
architect boulder
In all of our projects we go through an extensive process of trying to choose materials for interior finishes. There are an almost infinite number of choices available for tile, wall and ceiling colors, flooring, etc. The final selection should reinforce the ideas of the design as well as meet the budget, technical and practical uses of each location.
I have been thinking a lot lately about vernacular architecture and indigenous responses to local climate. By that I mean how a building and design practice, over time, has found architectural solutions to solve some of the problems posed by heat and cold, sunlight and shadow, aridity and humidity. Reading through some older posts on my delving into the possibility of trying to define a Colorado vernacular, it strikes me that very few of those examples I identified tackled the issues of heat and solar gain. That might sound like a recent concern, more one of energy use and sustainability, but a few quick glances at traditional southern architecture reveals design/technological solutions that we have largely forgotten in the age of air-conditioning.
Another in a series of posts of some of the remarkable architects that were working in Boulder, Colorado in the 1960s. This was a particularly fruitful time for questioning the basis for especially residential design and Boulder's building boom allowed some of the more talented local architects to experiment with new forms, materials and most notably, new sets of relationships between the house and landscape
A number of years ago we worked on a project in Boulder that held a number of challenges, not the least of which was a long narrow lot with severe building restrictions. My client's property was 50' wide by 188' long, but because of its corner location, both street-facing sides of the lot require a 25' wide setback from the street. That setback along with additional side and rear yard setbacks made the building envelope 20' wide by 128' long, a 6 1/2 : 1 length to width ratio
I went down to the San Luis Valley to photograph some of the small village chapels that dot that flat, dusty landscape. So as I was driving around, I was keeping a keen eye out for any structures, like a steeple, that might pop up out of the surrounding buildings or clusters of wind-ravaged trees. As I approached Antonito, one of the larger towns on the west side of the Valley, a shining, luminous vision sparkled in the morning sunlight above the two-story town. Upon closer inspection I found what I later learned was Cano's Castle.
I have written a post about evil lairs a while ago and wanted to follow that up with some thoughts on the special domains of superheros. Of course we are not talking about real heroes here, but the pop culture protagonists of comic books and movies. My initial impression was that these places were not as interesting as their counterparts evil lairs, as Dante's Inferno is significantly more interesting than Paradiso. However, some repeating themes in these places are quite intriguing
