...But the site of the luxurious, modern, three-story house was also located in the Bay Area just a stone’s throw from the San Andreas Fault. The owners not only wanted the structure to keep their family safe in the event of a severe earthquake, but also for it to survive the seismic shocks.
...I could sit for hours pouring through picture books of Egyptian and Mayan ruins, imagining the people who lived there and what the cities might have looked like when they were still new.
On the surface architecture and music seem so different: one is useful, lasting and solid, the other is fanciful, ephemeral and ungraspable.
Being an Architect has many satisfying aspects, but one of my favorites is being able to see your vision for a space become real before your eyes. On a recent trip to Boston, I had the chance to see the very first house I designed: a custom residence for my Mom. Completed over 20 years earlier, Mom and her husband still love living in the spaces we crafted together.
After many years of careful planning and hard work, the Hillside House has taken its place as one of the most seismically advanced houses in the country.
...this project’s goal of “Earthquake Safety” took us further than ever before into the realm of the “well-made”. The technological advances required to meet this goal ultimately expanded our team to include: a military grade hardware supplier, a Ph.D. in earthquake Geotechnical Engineering, Finite Element Analysis software and the World Leader in Earthquake Monitoring.
Building science and technology available today can not only prevent death and injury but, can also prevent destruction and minimize damage to the places where we live, work and play.
One of our major observations was that the house didn’t take full benefit of its beautiful surroundings as the major spaces were focused inward, creating a dark, cocoon-like environment.
The ancient Greeks did it, and an an example of such a success is a round dome on a square base. You see it in domed churches, and in mosques. Check out St. Peter’s in Rome, the Blue mosque in Istanbul and the US Capitol.
Palo Alto Weekly: Front Cover – Features Emerson Street, Palo Alto, California
Marc emphasizes really listening to his clients and creating a space in harmony with their needs – even to the point of reining-in clients whose architectural wishes are in discord with their budget!
"Before switching to the Mac, I used to struggle with AutoCAD and the blue screen of death," he says. "Now I use ArchiCAD, and I sometimes find myself sitting there working and laughing out loud at how easy it is. I don't regret switching at aIl.” He particularly likes ArchiCAD's 2D/3D integration, which gives him the seamless kind of experience in production that he was seeking.
"It's not uncommon for a second floor addition to look like it's been dropped from a helicopter onto the existing house," says Marc Lindsell, the architect for the project. "We went into detail to make sure it looked like an original Craftsman-style home, instead of a Craftsman home with an early 2000 addition sitting on top of it."
