Bob Dunn Loft by Stanley Saitowitz Natoma Architects Inc.

January 4th, 2010 | 11 Comments

During the holidays Slow Home will be re-running archived content, we will return in 2010 with new episodes.

Joseph

I love it. My question is why would they have a guest bathroom and an ensuite for the guest bedroom, but nothing for the master bedroom?
Paul C

John,
I am glad you pointed out the wainscot detail. I think it is one of those “subtle” details, (an excellent example) that plays so much into enhancing space. The height of the wainscot is roughly in line with the bottom of the windows and roughly the same dimension as the flooring bands. I think it is an effective subtle detail which helps to human scale the long, tall room. The inlaid tracks for the movable walls are another subtle detail the works well.
John Brown

Joseph,
As I understand it, the house was originally two separate units which would explain the double bathrooms. The master actually does have a bathroom, it is just not as clear on the drawing. I don’t know why that location was chosen for the master bedroom other than it is more private at that end of the house.
Doug Roberts

Hi John

A truly fascinating loft. The minimal decorating and furniture really allows the space itself to shine through. The wenge stripe in the floor is stunning — I am a big fan of inlaid hardwood floors with simple, geometric designs, and this is about as simple as you can get. My only issue might be that the kitchen seems too removed from the living space, at least for my taste — I would have preferred the two areas to have been closer and more connected. That stand-alone guest bathroom seems to create a barrier between the two areas and hardly seems necessary, given that there is already a guest bathroom off the guest bedroom to which direct access could have been given.

I note that the kitchen appears to have been finished somewhat differently than shown in the floorplan, which shows a walk-in pantry at the left end of the kitchen, but no such pantry appears in the photo of that end of the kitchen taken from the master bedroom area. Perhaps the owner made a late decision to forgo the extra storage space for a larger, more open kitchen.
Doug Roberts

John, I see from the Globe & Mail today that we recently lost a “giant” of the Canadian architecture community — Arthur Erickson. Were you a fan of his work?
Volker

Doug – I think you are right about the changes within the kitchen. When looking at the pictures you can tell that they cut off those little wall-wings on either side of the kitchen. I would assume they did it to actually define the kitchen/dining space. As John mentioned – when all sliding doors are open – you can read the whole apartment as just a single big room, especially the wenge-strip ties everything together. So changing the original design layout to the version on the picture helps to make the dining area appear to be bigger, more spacious. Still when standing at either end of the apartment, the master or guest bedroom, you can see the “box” idea – a very nice idea.

[img]sait_dunn_h_l_005Kopie.jpg[/img]
John Brown

Doug,
Thank you mentioning Arthur Erickson.

I have tremendous respect for his residential work. The houses are sublime compositions of space and landscape. There is a lot to learn from them. I hope to devote a case study segment to some of this work in the near future.
Louis Pereira

^ Great idea John!
James Scott

Regarding Joseph’s comment of the extra guest bath, I like the fact that the guest room has its own bath space, part of the guest retreat. And with the extra 1/2 bath there really is no need to intrude on that space. We must remember our guests travel to see us and interact with us and that takes much energy. A private space where they can escape and recharge is vital to the enjoyment of such travel.

Regarding Aurthur Erickson, when you experience Roy Thompson Hall your mouth drops. It gives me such a sense of civic pride. I also have a sense of envy when I realize the positive impact that men and women such as Mr. Erickson have on our everyday lives. It seems he took that responsibility very seriously.
John Brown

James,
Well said. You are correct. It is a great building.
Kevin

The only concern I have with this project is that it does not have a front closet. It is a shame to have this type of a problem with this nice of a project.