LiveModern Blogs

Link to Current LamiDesign Blog — by Gregory La Vardera — last modified 04-07-2008 12:18

Due to the outstanding coverage on LiveModern of Blogs dedicated to Modern Houses including my own I've decided to halt posting into the blog forms here and concentrate on the blog hosted at my own site, lamidesign.com

3 years of progress, yours in 3 minutes! — by Peter Houghton — last modified 05-27-2008 11:27

You haven't heard from me in 3 years! Check out the progress...

progress — by Carina — last modified 03-22-2008 20:51

Quite a bit has been done since the last entry..

0751 Suburban House - project background — by Gregory La Vardera — last modified 03-20-2008 11:39

In a departure from the usual blog topics here I'm going to be starting a series of posts about local project, a custom home, that I've designed for a client here in the Delaware Valley region. While this is not a stock plan or a prefab several of the design schemes that we ultimately abandoned during the design process may ultimately find second life as a house design in our stock plan catalog. So, while we will eventually arrive at what was the final design, its going to be more about the journey and looking at the sketches of the house designs we left behind, and seeing if any of them generate some enthusiasm and longing! Lets being with some background on the project so you can understand some of the influences, pressures, and limitations imposed on the design.

Virgina Plat House - windows in — by Gregory La Vardera — last modified 03-08-2008 12:36

The windows have been delvered and installed at the Virginia Plat House. Closed in, if not completely weather tight, they are in the clear to begin HVAC, plumbing, and electrical work inside.

Letters from Sweden - a window's tale — by Gregory La Vardera — last modified 02-23-2008 22:37

In our last installment of the Letters from Sweden we looked at the panelization technique used by the Swedes and some of the administrative barriers to its adoption here. Today we'll pick up where we left off and consider some of the products that go into the Swedish panels and how they support the panel building technique. We'll look at windows, how Swedish window units are different than US window units, and how this plays out in the construction.

Virgina Plat House - wrapping up — by Gregory La Vardera — last modified 02-22-2008 23:04

A quick update of the Virginia Plat House . Since the last entry the wall and roof sheathing has been installed and the house wrap is on. The owner reports that windows are on the way.

Letters from Sweden - panel building in Sweden vs the USA — by Gregory La Vardera — last modified 02-07-2008 17:08

Ok, we've been beating around the bush, setting the stage, trying to understand the context in which this Swedish building method exists. If you've been following the series you get it, its dark, its cold, there is no building system for the better part of the year. They need a factory based system to have an industry there, and so they do. Lets look at it.

Austin Porch House - Plat House comes into its own — by Gregory La Vardera — last modified 02-03-2008 10:51

Siding panels are going up on the Austin Porch House project and the big news is the progress of the Plat House. Last we saw a bunch of sticks going up - in the new set of photos from the owner it is now most certainly a house.

Austin Porch House - roof's on, Plat House framing up — by Gregory La Vardera — last modified 01-21-2008 21:08

A big update from our customer in Austin. The Porch House is moving right along and is all sheathed in and under roof. The adjacent Plat House which they are also building - yes its a Camp House compound - is well under way with the framing going vertical. The Owner has over a dozen new photos for us which you can see in a photo browser after the jump.

Virginia Plat House - shell framing complete — by Gregory La Vardera — last modified 01-21-2008 08:18

A few new photos from the owner of the Virginia Plat House show the wall and roof sheathing beginning to go up. He reports that it is all up at the time he forwarded these new photos.

Nova Scotia Plat House mod — by Gregory La Vardera — last modified 01-19-2008 22:26

This is the start of another great Plat House project by Canadian architect Ross Macintosh. Ross provided the design services for the modification of the Plat House design on Prince Edward Island. This project will be located on Ballantynes Cove, Nova Scotia on a fantastic site overlooking the ocean. Ross has done a great job again expanding on the design themes in the Plat House design and adapting it to the local climate.

Eichler Homes Real Estate Expert named Preferred Service Provider for San Francisco and Marin County — by Renee Adelmann — last modified 01-19-2008 21:12

Eichler Network names Renee Adelmann preferred real estate agent for mid-century modern Eichler Home sales in both San Francisco & Marin, California.

Marin Modern Real Estate Opens Office in San Rafael, California — by Renee Adelmann — last modified 01-19-2008 20:51

Residential real estate firm specializing in Modern & Mid-Century Modern homes in the San Francisco Bay Area establishes office in San Rafael, California.

Letters from Sweden - Europe is different, Sweden is not, sort of.. — by Gregory La Vardera — last modified 01-12-2008 15:21

Sorry for the delay in this series. I've been trying to figure out the best way to present these observations. Its time to look at the process in detail, but too much to cover in one entry, so how to break it up. I've decided that first we'll look at what goes on in the factory, and then on the site, and contrast both to prefab and site building practices in the US. But before we look at the studs and nail guns we have to consider their business model, and how it is different.

Virginia Plat House - roof framed — by Gregory La Vardera — last modified 01-12-2008 15:08

New photos from the owner of the Virginia Plat House today. The framing of the roof is almost complete - the overhang at one side still needs to go in. These photos are from December, before xmas, so its likely that the roof is complete and the house sheathed by now.

Building the Modern House - an owners tale by Dan Akst — by Gregory La Vardera — last modified 12-28-2007 19:00

Daniel Akst is an author and journalist who has written several articles covering the recent prefab and Re-Modern movement. His articles have appeared in the Wall Street Journal, New York Times and he's even written about modern homes for This Old House. Most significantly he has built his own modern house and written extensively about it. These are a worthwhile read for anybody building their own modern home.

Recap after Yet Another Long Absence — by David Hirsh — last modified 12-21-2007 12:39

It's nearly Christmas and we're wailing away at our build. Unfortunately, I am the worst blogger in the world. So I thought I would paste in my recap post from my personal (non-LiveModern) blog as a way of connecting the dots to the build entries that are forthcoming. Hopefully, for all of our sake, Marshall and I can live-feed my personal blog to LiveModern so I can keep up the one and still participate here!

Framing Update — by Sean McFadden — last modified 12-21-2007 08:02

As the framing progresses the house is beginning to take shape.

Floor Plan and Elevations — by Sean McFadden — last modified 12-17-2007 19:27

Here are the floor plans and some elevations.