Slow Clouds

I recently went to the open house for a single-family residence named the Harpoon House, designed by Matt Kirkpatrick. I’d been riding my bike by the site for weeks and watching their progress and the emergence of a three story wood rainscreen-clad building. There was a well-designed sign in front that gave some basic information about the project and the website address where I have since learned a lot more about the house; including the process they have gone through with the bank,  project costs (less than $200k), and all the ups and downs of the construction.

Located on an urban infill lot in the inner Southeast Portland neighborhood of Buckman, the Harpoon House is 16 by 28 by 28 feet tall (1152 square feet) and built of structurally insulated panels, with the exception of the unconditioned basement, which is concrete and stick framing. The siding is a ventilated rainscreen made from unfinished cedar 1×4′s, held off the sheathing with 4×4 posts. Waste pipes and other utilities are hidden behind the screen to reduce thermal bridging that would occur by carving up the panel insulation. The house has beautiful triple pane wood windows, the single most expensive part of the project, and in my opinion, worth every penny. The construction is 100% green roof coverage, thanks in part to a grant received through the city of Portland’s Bureau of Environmental Services (BES) to cover the cost difference between doing standard roof construction and green roofs (estimated at an additional $5/ sq. ft.).

The interiors are tastefully restrained, I’m sure in large part a need for economy, but they put their money where it matters; in the beautiful wood floors, a combination toilet/ sink fixture for graywater reuse and some nice built-in cabinetry. Most impressive, however was that the landscape was not an afterthought or cut from the budget towards the end, as it so often is. They had already put in a gabion rock retaining wall and several fruit trees and planted beds well before the construction was completed! The green roof is entirely planted out and the street trees stand ready to go in the ground. Oh, and they even have a very nice root cellar in the basement to put all their fruits and veggies in at the end of the season!

JFAK- Kings House

Alice Kimm of JFAK (John Friedman Alice Kimm Architects) came up from Los Angeles this week to give a lecture at the White Stag building in Portland. I have been in the habit of going to a lecture at least once a week and it has been a fascinating thread to learn how each architect’s career has developed. Alice Kimm’s story demonstrates this eclectic range; she got her start in Korea, where she and her partner did a number of projects while developing connections and attempting to break into the Los Angelos scene. She talked about how her firm sees the spirit of LA and how their work embodies and is rooted in this unique locale. Other qualities of design that define their work are a focus on social space (even in private projects), research into materiality (performative and emotional), the fluid nature of space, the importance of site, and the need to create identity for clients. I would also add the way they are combining digital media with materials and fabrication techniques, because it makes their firm and a number of their projects standout.

One of the things I really liked about their work is the use of various levels of transparency with screens, semi-translucent plastics and even painted boards that are woven to ‘dematerialize mass’ (see above image). In their private residences they often break away corners to open up the residence to the social spaces, whether those be the neighborhood or outdoor gardens. Alice was able to connect the development of these design elements all the way back to their first project in LA, a nightclub called Club Sugar. I think it is interesting that despite the fact that architects don’t always have control over the clients and projects they receive, it is still possible to develop a language that is unique and work on developing that over the span of a career. I think it is just this quality that makes their work special and the reason they have been such a recognized firm.