Week In Review For Townhomes In Denver

Posted on: April 30th, 2010 | 9 Comments

This is Day 101 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 analyzing single family houses in Denver, and today we are going to be reviewing the work from the past week.

We have a couple of interesting things to look at on our Friday wrap up day. The big thing we are all excited about is that we have added a link to the “Slow Home Award” winners for Los Angeles and Toronto. We have also posted out first video for everyone to watch on the “Cherokee Studios Project“, which won the award for best apartment/ loft design in Los Angeles. Please take a moment to watch the video and then post a comment to let us know what you think!

Also, click on the link below to see who won the “Slow Homer of the Week” for April 30, 2010.

Now, onto the review of the design projects. As you remember, we were tasked to rework the main floor plan of a town house in Denver, Colorado and this week we had some really great submissions.

Two interesting ones to look at include this submission by Murray. He designed a “U” shaped kitchen in the center of the plan and detailed it with a half wall to provide some enclosure but still allowed a visual connection to the rest of the space. His powder room sink counter detail is also really elegant and original.

The second project to look at in detail is Terri’s plan. She has created a “floating” block of service space near the front entry which allow the kitchen to slip further back then the other designs. This leads to the possibility of making the whole main floor feel like one open loft space. This is very clever and well done.

Take some time to post your comments about what you think of this week’s “Design Projects” and let us know if there is anything you would have done differently.

We will see you on Monday where we will be spending our time looking for and evaluating the design quality of single family homes in the Denver, Colorado area! Have a great weekend!

  • MollyK

    Good morning John & Matthew,
    What a great video of the Cherokee Project. In some places the music overshadowed the commentary…that was my only real criticism.
    I didn’t know the roof was green…being a gardener I am in awe of that application and it’s integration into the terrace setting for the occupants of the building. That is really a special feature. Were you able to learn how it is maintained?
    I also loved the screens…functional but so visually interesting, especially when they are opened sporadically across the facade. The screens allow the building to have different looks both day and night. Never the same look twice…genius.
    Finally, the comments from REthink Developer (Eric, I think) about substance were refreshing and inspiring. We need more developers to think in that way.

  • BradW

    Hey guys…it’s been a little crazy the past few days but I really wanted to take a moment to congratulate you on an excellent video of the Cherokee Studios Project! It was great to see the project in the flesh and meet Lawrence Scarpa and Greg Reitz. Hats off to Greg and REThink for having the vision and courage to undertake this project.

    Just a quick note on the design project this week – I have to echo John’s shout out to Terri who incorporated light from the front of the unit into her design…nice work.

  • John Brown

    MollyK,
    Thanks for the comment on the music. I will pass it along to Steve our videographer. The green roof was still in its early stages of growth when we shot the video footage in February. When it has filled in I think it will be really great.

  • John Brown

    BradW,

    Nice to hear from you and thanks for the compliment. I will pass it along to the people who worked hard on it. With the first one done I don’t think it is going to take so long to get the rest of them completed.

  • Terri

    John and Matthew,
    Thanks! I appreciate your enthusiasm for my plan this week (thanks also to MollyK and BradW who also heaped on the praise). It’s gratifying to feel that a little idea can bring such big accolades (okay, maybe my head is swelling just a little!).

    Your Cherokee Studios video is great! Love the look and the sound. What an excellent editing job your videographer has done. You covered the main unique features of the development in a short, attention-getting piece. Well done. (I’m also looking forward to the other segments you’ll be bringing to Slow Home.)

  • Murray

    Congrats on the video!- it adds a very important vital dimension to the analysis. And the link to the SlowHome Award allows for further exploration and discovery. Well done.

  • Mid America Mom

    Wonderful to have video and that section on the winners. Well done.

    AH so happy to see the winning video with music (now I was trying to peg what song that was- any hints? Tied to Cherokee rock and roll past? )! I love seeing the screens and the roof of Cherokee. I do echo MollyK on the music comment. I was hoping to see and hear more about the why or process on the actual unit design. A u shaped kitchen, walk through bath to enter closet…. And the le crème – too bad we could not see pictures from the actual unit. I wondered about that front Den in reality- how did it turn out- high window on the wall?

    Design project. Terri I liked that pantry! Matthew and John that strange closet under the stair. I would like to know what was in there per the plan? Water heater? It could have been a nice place for tucked under shallow pantry facing MollyK’s kitchen… hum wheels are turning ;)

    Mid America Mom

  • John Brown

    M.A.M.,

    Thanks for the comments about the video. Unfortunately the footage from the unit didn’t turn out well enough to use. In terms of the details on the design – there is a third component of the award post planned that goes through the floor plan in more detail and discusses each point on the slow home test.

  • Steve

    M.A.M.

    While I’d love to say we secured the rights to “Kashmir”; the song played throughout the Lofts video is a royalty-free recording called “Phazed and Confused”.

    It’s part of the editing-suite audio library we use here at Slow Home, and as you alluded to, it was indeed used to pay homage to Cherokee’s Rock’n Roll roots.

    Steve