If you remember my video where I tore all the siding off the front of my house last month, you will remember that my front door is pretty drab. My friend is trying out a couple new door designs that he has and asked if he could come put one on my house to see what it would look like "in the wild". I was amazed a what a difference it made on how our house looks! The pictures really don't do the door justice (especially the bad photoshop work!). The door itself is made of solid core walnut with 1/2" structural glass. The fit was perfect, it's just too bad it was only a test and we had to send it home at the end of the day.

While this one was a sort of prototype, he is working on a production model. Pricing should be very affordable, especially when compared to Neoport and all other "Modern" door manufactures. I'd love to know what people think of the door, do you love it, hate it, what would you change about it?

If you want any more info about it, feel free to drop me a line via the contact form.

Break out your college ruled notebooks and #2 pencils. It's time to get educated. Join Elizabeth Smith, Chief Curator of the Museum of Contemporary Art in Chicago, as she discusses the experimental home design program (1945 - 1966) which produced iconic work by Eames, Neutra, and Saarinen, among others.

If you live in Utah, you've probably heard of the massive planned community way out west - Daybreak. It's suburbia gone so...right? Wrong? Old school? However you feel about it, it represents the old suburban dream of our parents and grandparents, among other things. It has that same eerie charm of a perceived perfection - Pleasantville type quality. Up to this point, I've mostly avoided it (it's creepy!) and its targeted marketing. But earlier this week I received a very 'hip looking' mailer with a very modern looking home printed on 100% recycled paper boasting about "3 new ways to live in Utah": Ultra-modern single family homes, row homes, and lofts - unlike anything you've ever seen in the Salt Lake Valley. And it was right - I've never seen anything like it in Utah, let alone Salt Lake. I was intrigued. (About that targeted marketing...)

So I checked out these new ways of living in the Beehive State and I liked what I saw, or at least I liked that people were starting to embrace a new kind of aesthetic in Utah. It was almost enough to buff out the "creepy" from Daybreak's perfect patina.   See it for yourself and share your thoughts. Would you live there? Why or why not?

Pictured: Style A / Style B from the Solaris Collection by Garbett Homes. Style A starting at $206,900. Style B starting at $239,900.
Award-winning builder Garbett Homes introduces the solar-powered Solaris Collection at Daybreak. These homes demonstrate that a first-time homebuyer can now afford a contemporary modern-style, solar-powered single-family home. Garbett Homes has teamed up with internationally renowned, California-based KTGY Architects to design and build Utah’s first truly affordable solar-powered home.

Go to www.daybreakutah.com/themix then click on "It's a mod, mod world" or "Home Gallery" for more. Be sure to watch the sweet flyover video for the lofts. It's almost enough to make me want to live there.

One of the best things about having our economy completely tank is that it has spurred the creation of more affordable modern options. Last week I blogged about ClearSpace, a Austin modern prefab company making MCM inspired prefab for just over $100 a square foot. It turns out they aren't the only ones in Texas trying to make modern affordable.

Ma Modular, also based out of Austin, is a modern prefab company that takes a building block approach to prefab. They have two standard modules, both 15 feet wide and 30 or 60 feet long, that can be combined in a myriad of ways depending on the site. The end result is a flexible modern prefab system with prices starting at $125 a square foot.

Ma Modular

I grew up with chickens and had to go out every morning to collect eggs, so I admit the novelty of having those feathered foul in your own backyard has worn off for me. Backyard chickens is a rising trend however, and if you have ever thought about getting some chickens of your own you should definitely check out this chicken coop. Designed and built by Modern Coops, each coop is made of recycled cedar and sports a fiberglass roof. The base model is $525 and there are various add ons that you can add from there. It's so good looking, it almost makes me want to get chickens again. Almost.

Available from Modern Coops

Here is some wonderful footage of the Miller House which was designed by Eero Saarinen in 1957. It was recently donated to the Indianapolis Museum of Art (IMA). The famous home is currently being prepared for public tours and should be ready in 2011.

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People have been waiting a long time for prefab to revolutionize the modern housing industry by making a modern architecturally designed home affordable. Unfortunately until now most of the modern prefab homes have been as expense to build as traditional construction. That's not to say that affordable modern prefab can't be done, just that no one (besides perhaps Rocio Romero) has done it.

Luckily there is a new kid on the block looking to shake things up. Clearspace modular homes was started to "offer affordable high-quality modern prefab housing that is sustainably focused and inspired by mid-century modern architecture and design". Sound pretty good right? It is. While they are still in the process of building their first house, base model pricing is expected to be $110- $115 a square foot, which is affordable by any standard. They have several different model to offer ranging from 400 sq/ft to over 1,500, sq/ft.

Clearspace Modular Homes.

Last weekend we were down in Palm Springs for our third Fiesta Movement mission. Ironically we went down there looking for some Eichler homes only to find that Eichler never did any developments there. It was still an amazing trip though, we stayed at the beautiful Chase Hotel and saw plenty of gorgeous MCM homes. Most of the residential development in the 50's was done by the Alexander construction company, and you can read about it here.

More info on Palm Springs via the Eichler network

The Chase Hotel

The first thing I thought when I saw these Cabanne modular spaces was that they looked an awful lot like those cheap portable carports with a rainscreen put on them. I say that as a good thing though, because I love the idea of an inexpensive and attractive semi-portable source of shade. The Cabanne was designed by architectural firm Bestetti Associati in collaboration with furniture manufacture Paola Lenit, and is a "modular system, allowing for endless possible architectural solutions tailored to the spaces, the situations, the requirements”.

Made of steel and iroko wood (similar to a teak) the structure is probably neither affordable or portable, but what if you were to add a rainscreen to affordable steel carport? It could be a nice little outdoor space for not a lot of work or money.

Blame it on the hours spent reading The Boxcar Children as a little kid, but the idea of living in an old shipping container is fascinating, especially if it looks like one of these structures from IC Green, Inc. From 320 square foot studios to 2400 square foot homes, these container dwellings are excellently designed and score major points in sustainability. Aside from the recycled shipping container bones, the insides boast their own green features: radiant flooring, green (living) roof, dual flush toilets, etc. I have to say it: ingenuity at its best!

About:
IC Green is the next breakthrough in housing and sustainable green structures. Designed to be architecturally pleasing yet affordable, IC Green manufactures and pre-assembles a wide-range of structures from small backyard cabanas and office space to expansive residences.

IC Green combines the skills and design excellence from our in-house architects and builders to deliver you a fully engineered, affordable and high-quality product that exceeds most finishes of many high-end custom homes.

Learn more at icgreen.net.

I'm so happy Dwell has all their featured homes archived on their site. It's fun to go back and look at all the amazing projects over the years and to see some you may have missed. Here's an oldie, but a goody, from the Oct/Nov 2004 issue. I love the airy feeling and all the pops of color in the Valentine House by Singe Speed Design. Enjoy all the photos here and then read the original article for more info!

Valentine House photos by Roger Davies

I ran across Fung + Blatt while I was off foraging for some eye candies. I dare say I hit the jackpot! While their whole portfolio is impressive, I was struck particularly by the Rome Residence in Los Angeles. A few of my favorite features are the slatted staircase and fully tiled bathroom!

About the Rome Residence:

Sited on a gentle swath of land, Rome deploys simple forms to create a dynamic of relationships between interior and exterior spaces. The L- shaped house, together with its carport and connecting retaining walls, form an S around two informal courts. The sequence begins at the arrival court, ascends between a pair of concrete walls, and skirts a private court to reach the main level. At the lower level, bedrooms focus onto a private court that is centered on a Brazilian pepper tree. A studio steps down and opens to a front patio veiled by a California pepper.

The upper level living space stretches from a cantilevered deck with city views to a family/dining area that extends out to a pine-shaded patio, future pool and gentle hill. An open kitchen and a core of cabinetry around the stair tower punctuate this spatial continuum as it turns the turn to the master bedroom wing. Further up the stair; a library over looks the family area and opens to a viewing deck of its own. The three-story stair tower serves as a ‘thermal chimney’ and impart natural light deep into the interior, and along with clerestories at the mono-slope roofs, enables convective cooling throughout the house.

Rome’s relationship to the land, thoughtful assignment and sequence of spaces proves that spaciousness and livability is qualitatively conceived rather than quantitatively measured.

See more at www.fungandblatt.com

Loving these unique wood tiles from Spanish company Kuups. Through a specialized process, Kuups has created a high-quality product that can withstand heavy use both indoors and out, wet or dry. Available in over 10 different woods (all sustainable and Pan European Forest Council certified) and 13 different styles, these tiles are a fresh, modern approach to flooring.

Learn more at www.kuups.es

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Here is some great eye candy of the famous Case Study House #22 The Stahl House designed by Pierre Koenig. You may need to protect your keyboard from the inevitable drool that will follow.

When we first moved into our house, there were a lot of things that needed updating. The berber carpet and yellow paint were the first things to go. After that we knocked down a wall in our kitchen and added some new cabinetry. We've been here for over a year now, and the inside if finally looking fairly nice. The outside has been a different story. Our whole house is made of atlas block, a structural brick. Sometime between now and 1956 when it was built somebody thought it would be a nice idea to wrap the whole house in blue aluminum siding. It's been an eyesore to us ever since we bought it, but we were afraid to start tearing it down because we didn't know what kind of condition the exterior walls would be in. Last night a good friend stopped by to measure for a new door we are putting in (more on that later) and in the process we needed to peek behind the siding to be able to plan for the larger door. Once I started pulling that ugly blue down, I just couldn't stop. The result is refreshing and wonderful. The original atlas block has never been painted and is in fairly good shape. The gabled section has some old wood lap siding that is painted a great dark pea green. It will need to be replaced eventually, but for now it looks wonderful compared to how it was. Best part about it is that it was absolutely free (in fact I'm sure we'll make some money off the aluminum) and it is taking the house back to the way it was originally designed.

The Wilton Pool House by Hariri & Hariri Architecture is truly something to behold. I think if I were the lucky owner, I'd take up temporary residency here for the whole summer. I'd never leave!

Project Description:
This 1200 square feet structure was designed as a minimalist sculpture in the landscape. It is part of a 3.5 acre property in Connecticut. The architecture of the pool house hovers over a 48′x20′ pool like a vessel in the water. On the North there is a spa and an outdoor/ indoor shower, and on the south there is a roofed veranda acting as an indoor/ outdoor dinning area with a large opening on the wall framing the landscape beyond. The area around the pool becomes a sunken courtyard paved in Travertine with steps and walls of stone.

The interior of this pool house contains a living/ entertainment room, kitchen and bar area, simple bathroom and variety of terraces and decks. It is enclosed by series of metal and glass sliding panels that would allow the structure to be transparent and open up towards the outside. A wall of green mosaic tiles cover the wet areas (both inside and out side showers) and becomes part of the main composition of the facade bringing color and tactility to the place. The main frame and the ceiling of the structure are in Ipe Wood and make the place warm, nautical and sculptural at the same time. The wood floors stretch out from the interior hovering over the pool and becoming a deck for reflecting or simply sitting around and putting your toes in the water.

See more at www.haririandhariri.com.

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Joseph Eichler may be one of the most well known Mid-Century Modern residential architects developers. In the 50's and 60's he was fortunate enough to design and build whole neighborhoods in California. I must admit when it comes to Eichler I'm pretty ignorant, but I'm looking to change that. Next month for my Fiesta Movement mission I'll be heading to California for a weekend to look at Eichler homes, and hopefully take some good pictures and video. Before I go I need your help!

What are some good websites to learn more about Eichler?

If I could only go to one neighborhood, which one should it be?

  

The Stage House is a sublimely minimal 'weekend home' with a distinct Japanese aesthetic. Every element of the house has such a sense of balanced energy. I especially love the way it relates to the surrounding landscape, its profile nothing but a dark sliver amongst the trees. Completed in 2007, the Stage House is the creation of Japanese architecture firm TNA.

Check out more of their work at tna-arch.com.

This week for our "Way Back When" spotlight goes to the Utah Heritage Foundation. While many people think of historic preservation as saving a bunch of victorian pioneer houses, Utah Heritage Foundation has set out to prove that they are interested in preserving and promoting education on all historically significant buildings, including MCM ones. UHF has recently added profiles on their website of prominent MCM architects like Dee Wilson and John Sugden who studies under Mies. Head over to their website for some great articles and photo's. Also make sure you join the Salt Lake Modern facebook page if you want to stay up to date on local events and learn more about MCM homes in Utah.