Capturing Vermont in Metal and Wood

You've heard us say that the interiors of the new Hotel Vermont will be all about Vermont, reveling in all its funky, earthy, independent spirit. This is true both in style and execution.

Case in point: see if you can figure out what this is a photo of:

Stumped?  These are the legs of the lounge chairs that will grace the lobby in the new hotel.  We based our original design of these chair bases on the rails of a classic winter sled.

They are being made by our friends at Beekon Parsons, a woodshop run by a couple of talented furniture makers who have been creating fine wood furniture in Vermont for 30 years. We think you'll agree that the wood and metalwork on these chairs is coming out beautifully.

We have worked with Bruce and Jeff on many projects, and we are thrilled that their work will be featured in Hotel Vermont.  Here are a few more photos from their studio workshop in Shelburne where this furniture is taking shape:

A Sneak Preview of the Hotel Vermont guestrooms

We are counting down the days until the opening of Hotel Vermont.  As you may know from past posts, TruexCullins is designing the interiors for this LEED-certified hotel going up on Cherry Street in Burlington.  Last October we shared some renderings of the proposed bar at Juniper Lounge, located on the lobby level of the hotel. Check them out here if you missed it the first time.

Now we have new renderings of the hotel guestrooms, courtesy of our in-house digital wizards.  The rooms are all very modern and clean, with natural wood casegoods, dramatic lighting, and full-height doors and headboards.

In the Whirlpool King room, guests will enjoy a luxury bath that opens to the bedroom by a sliding glass door and an in-room fireplace facing the bed.

All of the guestrooms, including the Deluxe King, feature custom wood casegoods and furnishings.  The centerpoint of the room is the floor-to-ceiling headboard crafted from character-grade White Oak.  A built-in window seat makes maximum use of the space in front of the window and integrates seamlessly with the adjacent desk and dresser unit.

In this view, looking back towards the entrance, the guestroom bathroom is visible as a cube within the space.  Wood doors with translucent panels slide away on both sides of the bathroom so that when open, all the spaces flow continuously as one.

Some rooms have a larger entry, with a console unit as seen here.  A sliding door opens to the bathroom, with backlit mirror and vessel sink.

TruexCullins Interiors is responsible for the design and specification of most everything you see in these images, from the finishes and furnishings right down to the artwork and room accessories.

The Hotel Vermont guestrooms promise to be as unique as our state itself, and we can't wait to see the finished product!

A New Venue for the Big Game, on the Field and on the Ice

This is it, sports fans: the weekend you’ve all been waiting for. (cue football music) On Sunday all eyes will be on New Orleans for the biggest sports event of the year.

This will be the seventh Super Bowl played at the Louisiana Superdome (now rebranded as the Mercedes-Benz Superdome). This impressive arena opened in 1975 and soon became a major draw for its size and location. More recently, in 2005 it suffered major damage from hurricane Katrina and became the symbol of institutional failure in the wake of a disaster.

But this year marks a new beginning for the aging structure. With a major renovation complete that spanned 6 years and cost $300 million, the Superdome may seem like a brand new building, inside and out, to the millions of fans tuning in.

If you’re still reading, you’re probably wondering what our connection is to this modern architectural landmark. Well, this is the moment in the TruexCullins blog when we roll out our design for the new 70,000 seat sports arena that will soon grace the Burlington waterfront.

Well, not quite. But we can share a sports facility renovation project that’s a little more… Vermont-style.

While modest in comparison to this weekend’s Super Bowl site, this project nonetheless would have made a notable difference for some local skaters. The project is an addition to one of our community ice rinks.

The building currently consists of two ice rinks connected by a long walkway. The design on the drawing board connects the two sides with a new addition that provides a suite of new amenities. A new Pro Shop, concessions, seating areas, offices and locker rooms all occupy a central location, with direct access to each of the rinks. The project improves circulation for players and spectators, and it unites the two rinks under the same roof with a singular grand entrance.

Unfortunately, this project can be filed under ‘Unbuilt Works’ due to a detour on the road to construction. This is a story not uncommon in the world of real estate and development, as many projects never get off the ground. But perhaps some day this addition will be built, and perhaps some day millions of viewers will tune in to watch two teams go head to head on the ice in northern Vermont.

A Sneak Preview of the Juniper Lounge

Anticipation is mounting on the west end of Cherry Street.  You may have seen the 200 foot crane towering over the downtown block as the city’s newest hotel takes shape.  Hotel Vermont is set to open in Spring 2013, and we are looking forward to a very grand opening.

This photo, taken earlier this month, shows the progress being made on the exterior envelope.  The hotel, designed by Smith Buckley Architects, occupies a formerly underutilized parcel on Cherry Street, between Macy’s and the Courtyard Marriott.  The hotel will be in an ideal downtown location, halfway between the waterfront and the Church Street marketplace.

Meanwhile, our work on the interior is continuing, with the design of natural materials, custom furnishings and dramatic lighting.

On the main floor, the heart of the hotel will be the Juniper Lounge.

With juices and pastries in the morning, and creative cocktails in the evening, this is a fluid and flexible space that will change accordingly throughout the day.  We recently produced these photorealistic renderings of the bar area, with actual materials and colors.  The bar features a local wood floor and wall finishes of white oak and black slate.  The space looks out to an outdoor terrace with a fire pit and lake views. (Click to enlarge.)

You can see these and more images on the Hotel Vermont Pinterest site.

TruexCullins Fundraiser

CALL TO ARCHITECTS!

Bird House Silent Auction for King Street Youth Center.

Clients, vendors and other friends of TruexCullins are welcome to design and donate a bird.  Houses are due on Monday, December 3^rd.

Since space is limited, TruexCullins reserves the right to select the best to show.

For more information: contact Carmen George at 802.488.8232.

Meet the Intern

posted by Carmen George

TruexCullins is pleased to welcome Pier Giovanni Spaziani to our firm. Pier began his internship at TruexCullins in June 2012. He is from Foligno, (near Pervgia) Italy, where he earned his master’s degree in sustainable architecture from the Sapienza University of Rome at Valle Giulia. Pier is a registered architect in Italy. He was recommended to TruexCullins by our good friend landscape architect Keith Wagner.

Pier’s family values architecture. His father is an engineer, his mother is a professor of hospitality management, and his older sister is an architect. Growing up, he spent many hours with his father discussing building design.  Pier is an artistic person who uses architecture to express his creativity. In school, he was drawn to design that deepened a person’s relationship with the natural world around them.

He has been enjoying his internship at TruexCullins. Residential and public buildings are his main interest, especially projects where community and sustainability are a priority.  He has been contributing his European perspective to discussions about design projects.

Pier lives in Burlington with his wife Freya, whom he met in Rome four years ago. She is an assistant manager at Edgewater Gallery in Middlebury, Vermont.

Hotel Vermont at the Vermont Expo

Visitors to the Vermont Business and Industry Expo last week had a chance to get a sneak preview of the interior design work we are developing for the new Hotel Vermont. We assisted the hotel with their booth at the Expo, with the arrangement of interior finishes that will grace the new boutique hotel in downtown Burlington.

The presentation of carpets, fabrics and greenery gave visitors to the Expo a sense of what the new hotel lobby and lounge will feel like. 'Stay Natural' is the tagline of the new hotel, and the interior design will deliver on this promise, with local, natural and healthy materials.

Some of our 3D renderings of the first floor lobby and lounge were also on display, along with this video from the groundbreaking ceremony featuring the owners and designers explaining the project.

The Vermont Business & Industry Expo is the region's largest business-to-business trade show and is hosted by the Vermont Chamber of Commerce. An estimated 3,000 people attended the two-day show held at the Sheraton Hotel and Conference Center in Burlington.

Hotel Vermont Under Construction

Many people have been asking us when construction will begin on Hotel Vermont. Well, the wait is over. After a winter hiatus, construction has resumed on the new hotel that will occupy lower Cherry Street in Burlington.

With the foundations completed last year, the crews from PC Construction are now on site moving this project forward. The building is designed by Smith Buckley Architects, with Interior Design by TruexCullins.  Our work on the interiors will continue throughout construction, as we develop the design for both the first floor public areas and the guestrooms above.

The hotel is on track to be open to guests in April 2013, so get ready for Hotel Vermont. To learn more about what you can look forward to, take a look back at last fall's announcement event:

Hotel Vermont: Announcement Event 09.21.11 from HotelVermont on Vimeo.

Two Vermont Schools gear up for Solar Decathlon 2013

As a dedicated reader of the TruexCullins Blog, you must know we are big fans of the Solar Decathlon, the biennial competition sponsored by the U.S. Department of Energy that pits 20 collegiate teams against each other to design and build a fully self-sufficient solar powered home.  After all, we wrote about the event here, here, here, here, and, oh... here.

Last year was the fifth Solar Decathlon competition since its inaugural run in 2002.  And last year a Vermont school was admitted for the first time: Middlebury College, a small liberal arts school that has no professional architecture program to speak of.  In fact, since the Solar Decathlon began 10 years ago, Middlebury was the first liberal arts college to ever enter alone, without teaming up with a larger architecture or engineering University program.  Despite this underdog status, Middlebury managed to come in an impressive fourth place overall. And of the 10 competitions, they scored first in 3 of them: Market Appeal; Communications; and Home Entertainment (which was partially based on a dinner party featuring a home-cooked Vermont meal).

The plans are being drawn up now for the next Solar Decathlon, being held October 3-13, 2013.  For the first time, the event is moving away from the National Mall and heading west, where it will make a new home in California, at the Orange County Great Park in Irvine, just south of Los Angeles.

The 20 student teams chosen to participate have just been announced, and we are happy to see that two Vermont schools will be competing this time.  Middlebury College will be returning to build on their successes from last year, and they will be joined by Norwich University. Norwich has a bachelor’s and Master’s program in Architecture, and we know they have been planning for the Solar Decathlon for a while now.

It will be exciting to see Vermont so well represented in the field of renewables on this national stage, and we wish the best of luck to both schools!

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!

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.

Camp for a Day

Each year, our office closes its doors for a day for a staff-wide field trip.   Typically, we venture out to visit notable works of architecture around New England, or visit some of our own recently completed projects.

This year, in response to the widespread damage from the spring flooding and later from Hurricane Irene, we decided to forgo the annual field trip and instead spend a day volunteering our time for some of our neighbors in need.

So on Tuesday we headed to Camp Ta-Kum-Ta, a Vermont summer camp for kids with cancer.  Ta-Kum-Ta is an independent, non-profit organization that completely relies on donations and volunteer labor so they can offer once-in-a-lifetime experiences to all their children tuition-free.

In 2008, the camp moved from their previous home at Camp Holy Cross on Malletts Bay to their current location in South Hero.  It is a wonderful place to be, with over 150 acres, a cluster of new buildings, and a quintessentially Vermont view encompassing fields, farms, mountains and lake.

While there, we worked in the gardens, the fields, and the cabins.  We did our little part to help, but in the end, we probably got more out of it than they did.  It’s impossible not to be affected by the positive energy you feel from being at this place.

To learn more about the camp and how you can help, visit www.takumta.org.

In this spirit of lending a helping hand to our neighbors, we are also looking forward to more community action this weekend.  Governor Shumlin has declared this Saturday, October 22nd to be Vermont Clean-Up Day.  This is a statewide day of volunteering to assist communities affected by Tropical Storm Irene.

Clean-Up Day is modeled after the state’s springtime Green-Up Day, and is similarly planned to become an annual event.  You can find additional information and learn how to help at www.vtcleanup.org.

In Memoriam: the Vermont Law School Gazebo

Consider this the first obituary we have had to write for the TruexCullins blog.

The gazebo on the edge of the Oakes Hall parking lot at the Vermont Law School campus was a humble, intimate structure designed for individuals to peacefully reflect and quietly ponder their place in the natural environment.  It was an expression of material, craft and assembly, executed as a simple shelter from the elements.

On the morning of August 29th, the White River raced through South Royalton, overflowing its banks from the forces of Hurricane Irene.  The town of South Royalton suffered $10 million in damages from the storm, with bridges and roads washed out and people’s homes ravaged by the rising floodwaters.  The Vermont Law School thankfully avoided major damage to their campus, but one unfortunate casualty of the storm was our little Gazebo.

The demise of the wood structure was caught on camera in this dramatic video.  The gazebo is shown here eerily floating down the river, posted to YouTube by someone obviously aware of the irony in the situation, as they titled the piece: “Symbolic Bridge to Nature returning to its natural habitat”

The Gazebo at the Vermont Law School was designed by Rolf Kielman, who also led the historic renovation and addition to the nearby Debevoise Hall.  In 2006, the VLS Gazebo was awarded the AIA Vermont Excellence in Architecture Design Award for a Small Project.  The jury thought the project had “charm, pure, simple elegance” and was “very inviting”.

Luckily we had the project documented at the time by our friend Jim Westphalen.  Here are some more photos of the Gazebo that until recently lived at Vermont Law School:

 

 

Solar Decathlon Review, day 3: Our Favorites

This Sunday, October 2nd is the final day for public viewing of the 19 student-built solar-powered homes of the Solar Decathlon on the National Mall.  The excitement is building as the points are adding up and a winner is coming into focus.  Tomorrow, Saturday Oct 1st, the winner will be announced, the team that has accrued the most points across the 10 categories in fields such as architecture, engineering, energy and affordability.

Many of the houses incorporate some of the technologies and green design strategies that I described in yesterday’s post, but the best houses are the ones that bring it all together beautifully.  Here are 3 of our favorites:

LIVING LIGHT by the University of Tennessee

This house is based on the cantilever barns of Southern Appalachia, with an open plan anchored by a dense core at each end.  But the real intelligence is in the envelope.

The all-glass north and south elevations consist of a 16” thick double-façade system, with a fixed plane of glass on the exterior, alternating fixed glass and full-height casement windows on the interior, and internal blinds.  In the winter, the air space within the south-facing façade collects heat that is directed to an ERV, supplying the home with preheated air.  In the summer months, the system works in reverse, drawing fresh air from the north façade by the ERV and pre-cooling it before it hits the ductless mini-split units.  Exhaust air is directed through the south façade to cool the cavity and reduce heat gain.

Energy is generated from a 10.9 kW rooftop array of cylindrical PV panels.  Look closely: those are cylindrical tubes that make up the canopy over the south façade.  Thin-film PVs are wrapped around these tubes, collecting sunlight from any angle.  There is no need to worry about the correct angle of the panels here, since the cylinders absorb sunlight from all directions.

You can get more info on the University of Tennessee solar house from the project website, livinglightutk.com, including some great detailed descriptions and explanations of the smart façade, roof top array, and more, at: livinglightutk.com/smartsystems/

WATERSHED by the University of Maryland

This house is all about the conservation and management of our water resources.  Coming from the Chesapeake Bay area, the students of the University of Maryland drew inspiration from the 64,000 square mile Chesapeake Bay watershed and have designed a house that addresses the storm water issues that threaten this fragile ecosystem.

The form of the house is defined by two rectangular modules with a split-butterfly roof.  A 9.2 kW solar PV array covers one side, and a green roof tops the other.  Rainwater is captured from the roof and directed to a series of captured wetlands, where the water is naturally filtered by plants until it can be pumped out for reuse as irrigation water.  Greywater from the shower is also directed to the constructed wetlands for reuse.

 

 

Finishes include thermo-treated exterior wood siding of poplar and ash, and recycled concrete countertops.

This is the 4th time the University of Maryland has competed in the Solar Decathlon, and their experience is paying off: as of this writing, they are currently in 1st place.

More information on WaterShed can be found at the University of Maryland project website, 2011.solarteam.org.










 

SELF RELIANCE by Middlebury College

This is the first year that a Vermont school is competing in the Solar Decathlon, and as a Vermont architect, I’m happy to say that Middlebury College has put up an impressive first showing.

The Middlebury house, dubbed Self Reliance, is a modern take on the traditional Vermont farmhouse.  It hits so many of the themes we all associate with the Vermont lifestyle: natural materials, sustainable food production, and family-friendly spaces.

Wood floors were harvested from Sugar Maple trees on the Middlebury campus.   The kitchen floor and island countertop is made of local Vermont slate.  And the children’s bedroom furniture is made by our friend Lincoln Brown of Modern Vermont.

While most of the other houses on the Mall covered every possible surface with spray foam insulation, Middlebury came out firmly against the stuff and instead went with a completely cellulose-insulated envelope. They explained their approach this way:  “Conventional insulations such as fiberglass or spray-in foam contain particles hazardous to all forms of life. They are also non-biodegradable and require tremendous amounts of oil and energy to process.  On the other hand … Cellulose insulation is safe, low-energy, cheap, and – most importantly – natural.”

Self Reliance is focused on personal, sustainable food production.  A greenhouse wall in the kitchen is not much more than a system of shelves for growing potted vegetables and herbs, but it is centrally located and promotes home-grown healthy eating. By making this such a prominent feature of the house, the students are trying to highlight the connection between local food production and energy use.

This is a very family-friendly house, designed for a family of four, with a division of public and private spaces.  Most of the other schools seem to struggle with the space constraints of the competition, designing homes under 1,000 square feet with murphy beds, movable walls, and multi-purpose spaces.  Many don’t even have real bedrooms.  The Middlebury house actually has TWO bedrooms, and a play loft accessible by a metal ladder.

Middlebury is doing very well for this being their first time in the Solar Decathlon.  They scored 4th in the prominent Architecture category, and came in 1st place for “Home Entertainment”.  This is one of those categories that aims to show that these are real, livable homes, so the students had to throw a movie night and 2 dinner parties.  They probably won due to the delicious localvore meal they prepared, which their guests praised as being very “Vermonty”.

On Wednesday, Metropolis Magazine called Self-Reliance one of “the two most striking projects at the Decathlon”.  They described it as “a warm and straightforward modern version of a traditional New England home that beautifully uses native Vermont materials.”

You can read more about Self Reliance on the Middlebury College project website, solardecathlon.middlebury.edu

Congratulations to the Middlebury team and to all the teams at the Solar Decathlon, and good luck tomorrow as the grand prize winner is announced!