skylights

The house is being tuckpointed and getting new mortar right now. It looks great: like it got a shower and a haircut. The front window got its new sill. You can see the new columns lining up with the concrete supports below. Windows just got ordered, so it will be a few weeks before these openings are filled with new glass.

Inside all the window openings are covered with masonite, so the house is only lit by the skylights. These photos were all taken without a flash.

I remember Reed telling me when he looked at the house there were very few functioning lightbulbs and that it took him awhile to realize that the spaces were all lit naturally from above. The house was designed with seven skylights.

Our kids standing under the skylight in the kitchen. Poor Will is being required to stand for a photo when all he wants to do is get to the porta potty outside. Ella is plugging her nose: with the masons and the carpenters working it is pretty dusty.

There are skylights in the two adjacent bathrooms. We thought we were losing them but re-design recently salvaged them. And now that I see this, I am really, really glad.

Here is the master bathroom with its skylight.

and the master closet with its skylight.

All these photos were taken without a flash, so the only light source is the not-so-big skylights. It was quite beautiful to see how much natural light comes in from just those seven openings in the roof.

now you see it now you don't

We were up in Deerfield, IL (west of Highland Park) for a birthday party dropoff yesterday and so I grabbed my list and camera before we left the house. Sad results mostly: the streets we visited had many new houses intermingled with 50s ranch houses, which is the sign of teardowns. Since Gutnayer only listed the street and not the address in most cases, we can only guess where the houses might have been.
We did find one though, and as usual its a thrill to come around a corner and see one of his signature eaves.

That's Reed on the right, on his first house scouting mission.

This house is currently a rental and had a for sale sign on it. When I jumped out of the car and started taking pictures, a guy walked out of the neighboring house and said he owned it, but it isn't for sale: the sign is for the new construction that will go up in its place.

You can see the redwood pattern on the eave that has been painted over.

This house was on a nice big lot and had big windows on both sides of a sunken living room. I wanted to go in but babies were sleeping so we couldn't see the inside. I am going to contact the developer and see if I can get inside before it gets torn down to take some pictures and hopefully salvage some Gutnayer details.

finishes!

There are a few big drivers in figuring out finishes on our project. One is the fireplace, which is pink, white and grey stone. The second is all the natural light coming in from all directions. A third is the ceiling, which is currently stained off white and will be either given another layer of lighter, brighter white stain or painted, probably not hard core white, but a warm off white or off grey, something light but peaceful. Here's our current flooring material, which is kind of a light jade green:

It is a 12x12 cork tile with a vertical grain to it and a green wash. We were unanimous in our last site meeting that this is THE ONE. We can afford it, it is sustainable, and we can put it everywhere. The brown wood stain swatch is the IKEA cabinets fronts that we are using in the kitchen. And on the ceiling. More on that later!

new structural connections

Our house is a frame box sitting on top of steel beams that land on concrete columns. The architects are reinforcing and strengthening some of those connections with new steel posts in a range of places in the house, but particularly on the wall with the ribbon window.

 The pink spray paint squares on the floor show where the new steel is. You can see the new beams being added as structural support where there were once walls running across. You can also see the new header on the ribbon window and the new columns running down through the floor.

 Here you can see the new columns coming down through the floor and landing on the concrete columns just adjacent to the steel beam. These new columns change the rhythm of the window pattern in the front, which is fine with us but probably does in our potential for historic rehabilitation. We're good with it. Making the house structurally sound for the next phase of its life is our goal. As we get further into the process, it is easier to let go of some of the issues of original intent. To say that raises lots of interesting thoughts. It is true, however and the house is really starting to feel like ours, and I can feel our architect's design intentions coming alive. As we keep saying, we think the Gute would approve.

new steel in the kitchen going right down through the subfloor to the steel beam underneath.

 Here the structural engineers are reinforcing beams that span a long distance
(our two car garage entrance under the kitchen) by adding layers of steel.

 

under construction

This looks so tiny: blogs are so vertical!
ctrl-click on it to see it better in a new window. 

We (the architects, the carpenters, the clients) love the house wide open like this while everything is still studs. Here I am standing in the kitchen, looking south. From left to right the spaces are: dining room with screen porch beyond, master bedroom, hearth, family room, second dining area. The dark posts are new steel and are permanent. Some of the light posts are temporary support and will be removed. That beautiful minimal box houses the piano. I like how it ended up partnered with the void of the circular stair to the right of the fireplace.

Certificate of Rehabilitation

So we are going ahead with an application for a certificate of rehabilitation from the state. Property taxes are pretty steep here, and once the valuation on the house goes up we could be looking at significant savings over the next ten years if we freeze at the lowest valuation (next year). Also, I am interested and curious to have a conversation with the state architects about our project, and to determine how the changes we are making to the house do or do not fall in line with expectations for historical preservation. Our house is just a baby in historical preservation terms and modern and traditional architecture diverge in many ways. Here are the guidelines:

Illinois Standards for Rehabilitation

1. A property shall be used for its historic purpose or be placed in a new use that requires minimal change to the defining characteristics of the building and its site and environment.

Good on this one. It's a house, we are using it as a house.

2. The historic character of a property shall be retained and preserved. The removal of historic materials or alteration of features and spaces that characterize a property shall be avoided.

We are removing elements and altering spaces, and this gave me pause. So far, however, conversations about this with the state are relatively positive. It seems preserving a certain proportion of critical elements in public spaces and the house overall is key.

3. Each property shall be recognized as a physical record of its time, place, and use. Changes that create a false sense of historical development, such as adding conjectural features or architectural elements from other buildings, shall not be undertaken.

I love the purity of this one. Absolutely.

4. Most properties change over time; those changes that have acquired historic significance in their own right shall be retained and preserved.

This is the one I have been thinking about the most. We are the first ones to alter this house after the original owner and builder. If we think 200 years down the line, our architects are the ones who are making changes that will acquire that layer of historical significance. How many Villa Savoye-inspired rocket ranches on pilotis are there in Illinois, anyway? The changes they are making, particularly lining up the structural grid (more on this in the next post) are important. I feel we are making the house more true to its bones.

5. Distinctive features, finishes, and construction techniques or examples of craftsmanship that characterize a property shall be preserved.

Note that it does not state explicitly that they need to remain in place. We have removed the paneling and light fixtures to re-wire and re-insulate. Virtually all the material in good condition will be re-used and much will go back in the same place it came from: sustainability, design and budget practicality all align here. However, some materials have been removed, and some material will be installed in new locations.

6. Deteriorated historic features shall be repaired rather than replaced. Where the severity of deterioration requires replacement of a distinctive feature, the new feature shall match the old in design, color, texture, and other visual qualities and, where possible, materials. Replacement of missing features shall be substantiated by documentary, physical, or pictorial evidence.

Luckily we do have pictorial and drawing evidence for the few removed elements (from our time and the Gutnayer's time), so one could return the house to an earlier state if desired.

7. Chemical or physical treatments, such as sandblasting, that cause damage to historic materials shall not be used. The surface cleaning of structures, if appropriate, shall be undertaken using the gentlest means possible.

Yup.

8. Significant archaeological resources affected by a project shall be protected and preserved. If such resources must be disturbed, mitigation measures shall be undertaken.

I wonder if the vintage Sunfish that is still on the side of the house qualifies as an archeological resource.

Sunfish, anyone?

9. New additions, exterior alterations, or related new construction shall not destroy historic materials that characterize the property. The new work shall be differentiated from the old and shall be compatible with the massing, size, scale, and architectural features to protect the historic integrity of the property and its environment.

I appreciate this idea. So architectural and modern in its essence—what is new should be new—related, compatible, but having its own distinct design.

10.New additions and adjacent or related new construction shall be undertaken in such a manner that if removed in the future, the essential form and integrity of the historic property and its environment would be unimpaired.

Nice and logical. Touch lightly and make future restoration easier to do. Our additions touch lightly in this way.

We still aren't sure if we will get it: we won't know for a few months and the state has asked for more drawings. At this point it is difficult to predict what will happen with taxation rates and property values, so figuring out cost/benefit is a bit...speculative. We maintain the attitude that we will continue to do what is best for the house, preserving as much of its character and material as we can while shoring it up and making it ours.

the archive moves to new homes

I've been on a bit of a hiatus with a spring break trip to Berkeley and tax time duties taking away from blog time. Two weeks ago, the papers finally left. As the date drew closer we scanned some pieces, some wonderful curators came to the house to collect materials, and some I delivered out to the local historical societies on a blustery winter day.

The bulk of the collection is going to the Chicago Art Institute Ryerson and Burnham Libraries. Drawings are also now housed at the Evanston History Center, The Highland Park Historical Society, the Wilmette Historical Museum, the Glenview History Center and the Glencoe Historical Society. A truck came from the Art Institute and two guys loaded up the collection to take to their storage facility south of downtown. Can you imagine having that job, gathering the things that eventually make their way into the Art Institute's collection in any area? When I asked if I could take pictures, Billy said most people do and that he was used to it. He also said he was pretty photogenic.

I'm going to indulge in a little before and after:

 the store room, before (with architect's drawings in tubes above the cubbies)
and after (studio, here I come!)

 the architect's studio before and after.
We will be using this as a 'multipurpose room'
which means we really don't want to put any furniture in it.

Here's the big truck.

The drawings looked awfully fragile strapped into the back of that bad boy. All I could think about was driving one of those trucks in college when I worked catering and how it bobbed and weaved as I drove around the Santa Cruz campus. But it sounds like they got there safe and sound!