Stowe Home featured in Vermont Magazine

One of our recent residential projects has just been published in the latest issue of Vermont Magazine. 

“At Home in Vermont” tells the story of how this family’s home began from the small-house plans that Lee and Rolf developed during the depths of the housing crash in 2008.  The design was then tailored to the site and personalized for this client, who wanted an energy-efficient home that could support an active lifestyle.

Designed To Be Tops,

  from the Bottom Up

The concept for this home was one of a small, energy-efficient house that blended in with the land.

Lee Grutchfield likes to think that the path that led to his becoming an architect, and Principal with TruexCullins Architecture in Burlington, might be part of a tradition steeped in New England craftsmanship: apprenticeship, in which a potential architect learns to make a building from the ground up. Through hands-on experience, he believes an architect learns to intuitively understand acoustics, structural principles, mathematics, and the workings of natural light. Lee should know; he spent 14 years working as a carpenter prior to studying architecture at Norwich University, where he earned his master’s degree.

To read the rest of the article, pick up the March/April 2012 issue of Vermont Magazine at a newsstand near you!

Working Fireplaces

Yesterday we looked at some of our favorite fireplaces from a few of our recent residential projects. At this time of year, we are reminded that a fireplace can be both the physical and emotional center of a home, providing warmth for the building and the soul.

But our fireplace designs show up in our other studios as well: workplace, education and resort projects. 

You wouldn't normally expect to see a large custom fireplace in an office space, but at many of the workspaces we've designed, you would see just that. The fireplace provides an opportunity to set a company apart from the rest. It can reinforce a brand identity that – especially in Vermont - may be focused on a natural, outdoor lifestyle. Or it may simply be a way to promote more social interaction, both internally among employees but also with customers and guests.

At the Burton headquarters here in Burlington, a curved stone fireplace with an integrated tall stack of firewood is the dominant feature in the main entrance lobby, wrapping the entire side of the room. This is what guests experience when they first enter the space. The fireplace instantly sets the mood for this edgy company that fully celebrates winter.

Our biggest custom fireplace project in recent history is probably the Lake Placid Lodge. The original lodge was built in 1882 and was destroyed (ironically, by fire) in 2005. TruexCullins designed a new lodge in a style true to the original Adirondack heritage. There are 35 guest suites in the main Inn, each one with a unique stone fireplace that adds to the rustic elegance and mountain feel. Exterior fireplaces also occupy spaces around the building, at sitting areas that overlook the Lake, such as this one:

Notice the impressive stonework, all laid by hand. We were very pleased with the work of the local craftspeople on the job. Each of the fireplaces were finished with uniquely designed stone surrounds, mantles and hearths. Our design drawings –also individually crafted by hand – communicated this design intent to the builders in fairly specific detail.

The last project we want to share is a completely different aesthetic than the rustic Adirondack feel of the Lake Placid Lodge. Our Interiors department designed these fireplaces for the Portland Harbor Hotel in a soothing contemporary style befitting this oceanside property.

Six new suites were added to the hotel in a four-story contemporary wing served by a private elevator. In the Executive King Suite, the room is split into separate sitting and sleeping zones with a see-thru double-sided glass fireplace. This is a gas fireplace by Town and Country, with the "Tranquility Burner" of river rocks and white sand for a very clean and contemporary look. The fireplace is built into a custom wood casepiece of golden walnut wood paneling.

Downstairs, the in-house restaurant Eve's on the Garden was completely reconfigured to improve service for all three meals of the day. Our design for the new dining room included the addition of another new fireplace in the center of the space. This is also a double-sided, see-thru unit, facing the entrance to the restaurant, with the main bar behind. Similar wood paneling was used at the surround, but with more traditional detailing and a nod to the nautical spirit of the Portland coast. Here, the surround is tiled with a tumbled mosaic Mexican limestone, and a replica Schooner is perched on the mantle to complete the look.

A proper fireplace does more than just provide heat. It is often the physical and indeed, spiritual center of the home (or business). A warm fire brings people together, but can also be a vehicle for personal reflection. A well-designed fireplace provides comfort, therapy and peace.

Home is Where the Hearth Is

There may not be much snow on the ground this year, but there is still a chill in the air that reminds us of one reason we love winter so much: this is the time of year that we enjoy gathering around the fireplace.

As architects and designers working in a northern climate, we have designed many custom fireplaces that occupy a prominent place in our projects. We thought it would be fun to take a look at some of our favorites:

This is one of our newest projects: a home in Stowe that was just recently completed, built by Grist Mill Builders.  The Owner's son is an avid rockclimber and is practiving his moves on the face of the exterior fireplace at the covered patio.

This is a double-sided indoor-outdoor fireplace. On the opposite side, the fireplace faces the living room, with the same stonework rising to the exposed wood timbers at the ceiling.

The combination of stone and wood is a theme we often return to. In this next example, the stone fireplace is flanked by custom wood casework with dedicated space for firewood storage. A copper-lined box incorporated into the base of the wall provides a functional need – with logs close at hand – and becomes a prominent design feature of its own.

Sometimes it is desirable to close off the firebox opening when it is not in use. In this home in Jeffersonville, these fire doors are engineered for easy operation, and are designed to be a beautiful addition to the composition, even when closed. 

A mechanical fire gate closes off the opening with the turn of a crank handle set into the stone surround. The operation is assisted by a pulley system with concealed counterweights. The doors are faced with annealed copper, in a design that mirrors the view of the mountain range visible from this Great Room.

Not all of the residential fireplaces we design consist of a traditional stone surround. This is one residence that was recently mentioned on the popular website Houzz.com for the contemporary wood stove that terminates the main living space:

The author noted the location of this fireplace within the seating arrangement and pointed out that we made the modern stove the focal point of the living area by centering it, creating a dark, dramatic wall shield and flanking it with bookshelves.

Whether traditional, contemporary, or Classic Vermont, these fireplaces all serve as the heart of the home. But the fireplace is not confined to our residential work. Come back tomorrow and we'll continue this winter theme with a look at some of our favorite fireplace designs in our workplace, education and resort studio projects.

TruexCullins wins Design Competition for Brazil School

We are pleased to announce another exciting project has just been awarded to the international practice team of our Education Studio. In competition with 3 international design firms, TruexCullins won the contract for Master Planning for the Escola Americana de Campinas (EAC).  In their decision, the selection team cited TruexCullins' strong green credentials as a significant factor.

Campinas is a city of 1 million people located just north of Sao Paolo, Brazil. The EAC is a K-12 school that currently serves 650 students and is growing rapidly. TruexCullins will be assisting EAC assess their educational, functional and environmental needs as it plans for the future.

The proposed design that TruexCullins submitted for the new EAC green campus center was an environmentally sensitive approach with earth-bermed spaces, shading elements and green roofs.

Here are a few views of the existing facility, located on the site of a former coffee plantation:

Fighting Climate Change in Vermont, One Net-Zero House at a Time

We are in the middle of one of the warmest winters in memory, with a noticeable lack of snow. Many are still cleaning up from Tropical Storm Irene, which hit a state not used to dealing with hurricanes and flash floods. As these examples of extreme weather events grow more common, fewer people are doubting that climate change is affecting Vermont in very real, measurable ways.

A new exhibit is now open at the ECHO Lake Aquarium and Science Center that explores the impact of climate change in New England. Seasons of Change: Global Warming in Your Backyard is an interactive travelling exhibit that will be at ECHO until March 25, 2012.

You may think you know what to expect with global warming, but this exhibit will open your eyes to much more. Developed by members of the New England Science Center Collaborative and Brown University, Seasons of Change looks at how climate change is affecting things in Vermont like invasive species, foliage, maple products, fishing and more.

This is a daunting challenge, but we are rising up to meet it.

This week we will be attending the Better Buildings by Design conference, an annual event hosted by Efficiency Vermont that brings together architects, engineers and builders for 2 full days of interactive learning about building efficiency. Global warming is often thought of as the result of pollution from cars and power plants, but buildings are actually an equal culprit. Nationwide, buildings are responsible for one third of all greenhouse gas emissions, equal to that of transportation and industry.

At Truexcullins, we are working for a better climate future by designing net-zero energy buildings. These buildings produce as much energy as they use. By intelligently managing the energy demands and eliminating the need for fossil fuels, we can reduce greenhouse gas emissions and slow the spread of global warming.

One of our recent green homes will be recognized with an award from Efficiency Vermont at this week's conference. This net-zero energy home in Calais, Vermont will be receiving the award for Best of the Best in Energy-Efficient Residential New Construction. TruexCullins Principal Lee Grutchfield was the architect on the project, with general contractor Hobie Guion and energy consultant Andy Shapiro of Energy Balance, Inc.

 

Congratulations to the entire project team!  We have more of these projects in the works, and we look forward to working with all of our colleagues and consultants to develop net-zero energy buildings that help to solve our climate challenges. 

Fire and Ice at Hotel Vermont

You may have seen our magazine ads, or perhaps you've heard us mentioned on the radio. But this weekend, we tried out a new marketing approach. We are advertising in ice:

This is actually one of the ice sculptures from this weekend's Hotel Vermont Ice Bar, which was held at the future site of Burlington's most anticipated new hotel.

TruexCullins was one of the sponsors of the event, which entitled us to our own piece of frozen art. The theme for our modest sculpture was "fire and ice", a reference to the future bar and lounge space in the new Hotel Vermont. You see, once the hotel is open, you will be able to enjoy your own Vermont-crafted cocktail – on ice – while you cozy up to a wood-burning fireplace. Our Interior Design team is busy working out the details, selecting Vermont materials and products to finish off the space.

But this weekend was a time to celebrate winter in Vermont. You can find more photos from the Ice Bar event on the Hotel Vermont facebook page.