Makes My Heart Sing

8:50 - Oh my gosh! This is exactly the aesthetic that I love! I'd absolutely love to design and live in a house like this. Not sure how intact (and safe) the surrounding neighborhood would be, if you know what I mean, living next to a run down auto mechanic doesn't seem to be the best security blanket. The inside is decorated very sparsely and I would want to change that. A place so cool on the outside and within its architecture needs rugs, velvet, pillows, and lots of wood. A crackling fireplace would help too, and lots of friends over for dinner and wine.







Here's what the architects have to say about the spaces above:

I started by driving around in the bad neighborhoods. Vacant lots, railroad lines, burned-out buildings. These are the industrial parts of the downtown, which still show the deep scars of a late-century urban flight. I was looking for something that nobody else wanted anymore. Something anonymous, something forgotten.

The building had been abandoned for 7 years. It had always been, since 1947, an automotive parts warehouse. When the owner died in 1992, the family locked the door and moved out of the state. Since then, the roof had collapsed from the weight of standing water. It took me three months to track down the descendants of the owner, and when their agent showed up to meet me, I had to climb over the walls to get in. Demolition took six months.

I began with what was left: 4 windowless walls, a concrete slab, the roof joists, and the ever-present sky. Across the 3 freight train tracks, you approach the front door under a rusted canopy, 16 feet tall. Unknown to the street, inside is a private courtyard with a fireplace and a table for 18 friends. The paint, the rust, the decay - all is preserved. Further on, the back wall of the courtyard is all glass. Eight doors make a window inside to the studio.

The studio is one room: 1000sf. Between the studio and the living area are two parallel walls. These walls are staggered and sliced by gaps filled with glass. The parallel walls hold three rooms: a kitchen, a utility room, and a shower room. When you wash dishes, when you do laundry, when you shower, the gaps in the walls frame views to the courtyard and beyond to the sky.

At the very back, the living area is 850sf. It holds a bed, two chairs, and a table. From the bed, through the gaps in the walls, you can keep your eye on the front door. Except for the trains, it is very quiet at Villa de Murph. And with the skylights, the night is often as bright as the day.

An interesting phenomenon occurred yesterday afternoon. I was walking in the parking lot and I thought to myself, let's walk as if I am a well respected architect. Know what happened next? My posture straighten, my focus hardened, and my confidence rose. Amazing isn't it! Fake it till you make baby!

Images found via: bldgs - The office of architects Brian Bell and David Yocum