Denver Wrap Up

Posted on: May 14th, 2010 | 19 Comments

This is Day 115 of the Slow Home Project and we need you to join us in our quest to evaluate the design quality of houses in nine North American cities in nine months. This week we are reviewing the results of our work in Denver and today we are announcing the winners of the Slow Home Awards, as well as the Slow Home Design Challenge.

It is our last day in Denver before we pack up our sunscreen and head south to Miami! Today is a big day because we are announcing the winner of the “Denver Design Challenge” as well as the winners of all the Slow Home Awards for Denver.

First, the Design Challenge. Thanks to all the Slow Homers who worked so hard on this re-design and a special thank you to everyone who participated in the very in depth and detailed discussion on the site yesterday. Here are the three short listed plans:

The first was submitted by Tara. We chose her scheme because of the modesty of the design. She created one big living, dining and kitchen space and put a “U” shaped kitchen in a very effective spot in the plan. The only points we thought could be improved were the front entry closet, which looked too shallow to hang coats and the location of the door to the powder room. Overall, a great design and great work!

The second short-listed project was submitted by Brad W. We really like the extra effort he put in to creating an outdoor space that visually connected the living, dining and kitchen space to the exterior. He even added a focal point with the outdoor fireplace. We felt that the back entry may have been a bit too tight and that the master bathroom shower was also a bit on the small side – but overall this scheme feels very open and light!

The final short-listed plan comes from Tiffany. She combined the kitchen and back entry into one very economical space. Perhaps her kitchen work triangle is a bit too large and the front entry could have used a bit more definition, but her segmented bathroom is really well done and the relationship between her kitchen, living and dining spaces really work. Well done!

To reveal who we chose as the winner, click on the link below:

Now onto the winners for the Slow Home Awards in Denver!

The winner of the best apartment loft is Unit 705 in the “Sugar Cube” building by Urban Villages and KPMB Architects. This project won by a landslide.

The winner of the best townhome is Unit 102 in the “Flats 15” project by Bothwell Davis George Architects. This race was a little tighter, but “Flats 15″ was still the clear winner.

And finally, the winner for the best single family house is “Washpark Green” by In Situ Design. This is a LEED gold project and this race was the closest in Slow Home history with only one vote separating the two nominees!

Thanks to everyone who voted and we look forward to visiting these projects in the near future! See you on Monday from beautiful Miami, Florida where we will begin the “Slow Home Project” analyzing apartments and loft projects.

  • Frances Grant-Feriancek

    Hello John and Matthew,

    I think the images for Brad W’s design and Tara’s design were swithed. Who won?? Tara’s U shaped kitchen or Brad’s open plan with the back yard connection.

    Cheers

  • MollyK

    One interesting note…I was on the fence with both single-family nominees. I didn’t vote until late and for most of the day I was leaning toward House 3973. At the LAST minute (still struggling with a decision) I voted for Washpark. Can you believe it…one vote. Life sure is unpredictable.

  • Murray

    Congrats to BradW, and kudos to Tara and Tiffany.

    There must be a lot of stealth voters out there – re: the townhouse vote – the vast majority of commentators voted for Zuni, and yet Flats 15 was a “clear winner”.

    It would be great to hear from a greater variety of people about their decision-making process; we can all learn from other points of view.

  • MollyK

    BradW,
    Congratulations. If you’re out there today I have a couple of questions.

    1) I had a local architect comment on the issue of the view from the front entry to the rear of the house. He said that was a design technique he was attempting to follow on his plans. So I guess he was saying that when you walk in the front door you should have a clear view through the house and into the back yard. I noticed that your plan with the kitchen to the right had such a view. What is your take on this concept?

    Which leads me to my second question:
    2) In the past you have pointed out issues with certain “views” on a plan. For example, the view down a hallway or into a powder room from the kitchen. Could you expand on those comments…I think it would help me in my designs.

  • MollyK

    John,
    The plans for Tara and BradW are switched.

  • John Brown

    Frances,
    Thanks for telling us about the mixup of the images. Brad’s scheme is the one with the exterior terrace in the rear yard. I will have this fixed as soon as the office opens. My apologies everyone.

  • John Brown

    MollyK,

    In most cases I would agree with the idea that your architect friend had about seeing through the house from the front entry – particularly in a small house. It can give a feeling of openness to the experience, and thus to the whole space (and make a small house feel larger).

    If this is either not possible or desirable then it is important to carefully consider what the view from the entry will be. A clear visual connection with the principal living space is usually essential because it helps establish where you are to go.

    I like to think of the floor plan as a choreography of movement through the house.

  • BradW

    Thanks John and Matthew – I really appreciate all the time and effort you put into this site and the quest for better housing.

    The irony here is that I probably won for being the least creative. I tried to do as little as possible but as anyone who has done a renovation knows these projects tend to expand. I simply applied some of the design lessons I have learned over the past year from some of the very talented people on this site – in particular, John, Matthew, Louis P and PaulC have been most influential – thanks. I also benefitted from being around the site long enough to have done the design exercies which focused on outdoor space so I knew how much John valued that indoor/outdoor connection. So you could say I cheated! :) Anyway, I was very inmpressed with the quality, creativity and thoughtfulness of all the designs – Slow Home must be doing something right…

  • BradW

    MollyK – I am glad John answered your first question…As for the second question regarding certain “views”, whenever possible I would prefer that these “views” (specifically, powder rooms and entry closets) were “around the corner”. For example, Washpark Green has a powder room which opens directly onto the living room – I would rather not have that powder room and for me that is a deal breaker particularly in a 700K house.

  • Tiffany

    Congrat BradW for winning and Tara for making the short list. And thanks John and Matthew for the recognition of my plan. Hopefully as the design projects contiune my projects will only improve.

  • Paul C

    Congratulations to Tara, Tiffany and especially Brad W! All excellent Slow Home solutions.

  • Terri

    Congratulations, Brad W, on winning the first Slow Home Challenge. Hope you enjoy that book! I also want to congratulate Tara and Tiffany for being strong contenders for the title–it’s great to see newer contributors getting recognized.

    I have been especially pleased to see so many female contributors this year, only because last summer I often felt like the lone female, and a poor representative at that–there were some pretty savvy (male) designers putting up plans–but now we have both sides on the Slow Home team! And that’s a good thing. ;)

    I echo Murray’s comment regarding Flats 15. I didn’t notice that many standing up for it. Perhaps Matthew and John are gathering votes around the office? ;)

  • Grace Coulter

    Congrats Brad, Tiffany and Tara. I think this exersize showed me how much I have to learn about good residential design. I way encouraged by brad giving credit to his commitment to the slowhome website as paying off. Its my hope that over time doing this exersizes will give me a better eye for this type of design.
    John and Matthew I think this type of exersize was very enjoyable and I hope it is something you plan on continuing to set up over the coming weeks.
    have a good friday everyone!

  • Matthew North

    Terri – we have seen that before where the discussion on the site seems to point towards a particular winner but then the votes swings to someone else. There are a lot of people who follow the site everyday who like to vote but may not make a comment – I would also really like to hear from some of our loyal followers who voted for Flats 15 but didn’t make a comment. And no, John and I did not launch a campaign in our studio to swing the vote!

  • Mid America Mom

    Congrats to our finalists! BradW your points on price is something you bring up occasionally so I think it is fitting you did a more reasonable and SLOW reno. And yes did it well!

    ****

    As for FLATS 15. LOL Can I get independent verification since it was your submission Matthew ;) ? We do have over 200 fans on facebook these days so I am not surprised the comments may not match results.

    Mid America Mom

  • John Brown

    He everyone,

    Be sure and tune in tomorrow for a special announcement about Miami !!

  • Paul C

    Do I sense a class field trip John?

  • orangeopolis

    Hi all,
    It’s a little late considering that we’re moving off to Miami so soon, but I found a website with some information concerning “America’s Most Livable Communities” which is published by the Partners for Livable Communities – a group from Washington that focuses on “economics of amenities”. It’s at least worth a peek I think since it discusses our last 2 cities!

    Denver
    http://www.mostlivable.org/general/denver-city-home.html

    Fort Worth
    http://www.mostlivable.org/general/fort-worth-city-home.html

  • Jessica

    Congratulations to BradW, Tiffany and Tara! Well done.

    I like when complex ideas are distilled into edible phrases and I think John you say it most poignantly, for me at least, when you describe plan as choreography. “Slow” choreography is deliberate, graceful and enduring. So… well-choreographed Tara, Tiffany and BradW!