Recent Sketches: West Islip

The initial stages of an architectural project are a design challenge based on many factors including site, program, zoning, budget, and aesthetics.  Trying to arrange the flow of the house in coordination with its footprint while remaining within the zoning guidelines of setbacks and lot coverage is only compounded when working on a waterfront home. Challenges like these require patient problem solving and the cumulative experience of previous projects.  Once the program seems resolved, then it's time to work on the form of the building, a balancing act of shapes and textures.  Above are sketches for a new waterfront project in West Islip, with views overlooking the Great South Bay.  These sketches will now be drafted using AutoCAD.

Everything and the Kitchen Sink

BPA-designed kitchens: top, Old Field, NY; bottom, Captree, NY

The history of the kitchen is one of my favorite topics.  Perhaps no other room speaks so directly to cultural, technological, and social changes in human lifestyle.  Whether we gather around the open pit hearth or the granite kitchen island, kitchens offer a duality between the work of preparing food and the hopes for a convivial, communal experience.  Today's kitchen, laid out to maximize prep surfaces and efficiency, offers a myriad of cooking opportunities while remaining centrally located as not to miss all the action.  It is a space full of aspirations of the life we wish we could lead-- the Viking oven installed for the apply pie you might bake someday instead of the takeout food you reheat regularly.  Traditional or modern, the kitchen is certainly the heart of a house, turning it into a home.

Sandy Cottage: An Eye to the Future

After Hurricane Sandy in 2012, BPA's engagement in rebuilding and elevating homes in low lying, FEMA zones increased overnight.  Many of these modest homes had structural issues even before the storm, and it became clear that many would need to be rebuilt from scratch.  Exploring structural elements that are aesthetically progressive, affordable to build, and FEMA compliant, BPA has designed Sandy Cottage, which uses an efficient and consolidated structural system in order to reduce material and labor costs. With the option for solar panels and water capture, this energy efficient home helps rebuild neighborhoods with an eye towards meeting the needs of the future.