Form and Function

Here are some final images of the Islip Fire Department project, another downtown renovation/retrofit by Bouler Architecture. The original building, a Mediterranean style from the 1920's, sorely needed to modernize in order for the fire department to house its fleet of trucks and to accommodate the volunteers. Even the bell tower was restored, bell included. Hopefully the trend of tearing down old structures to pave the way for the new can be quelled in light of the successful results of renovations like this one.

577 Main Street

Retrofitting a building is an eco-friendly option instead of tearing things down. With retrofitting, however, comes a slew of design challenges, not the least of which is how to fit a new function into an old structure. 577 Main Street, a Bouler Architecture project, turns Islip's former town hall into a modern office building. The brick building, which also once housed a couple of jail cells, offered unique design elements. For example, by incorporating the exposed brick in the interior, the modern pendant light fixtures and sleek furnishings read more like a city loft rather than a sterile corporate environment. With Verace just two doors down, Bouler Architecture was able to update two historic and important structures in downtown Islip while maintaining the street's character.

Conservation and Disney's Project Green

Olivia with the cast of Camp Rock; far left is Beth Stevens, Disney's Environmental Director; center is Vikki Spruill from the Ocean Conservancy.

Olivia and Jackson were on hand for the filming of a public service announcement for Friends for Change Coastal Clean-Up event and discovered all sorts of hidden trash on the beaches of Tampa. From soggy blankets to torn-up tarps, about 30 burlap garbage bags were filled with garbage.
Disney World has adopted several visible ecofriendly practices: paper straws, lidless drinks, brown paper towels, and an increased recycling program. But what was behind the scenes was even more impressive. The conservation efforts behind Animal Kingdom, from breeding a near-extinct species of kingfishers from Guam to rescuing oil-soaked sea turtles from the Gulf of Mexico, were evidence of a serious committment to the environment on a global scale. One collaborative project included Kenyan farmers, whose crops were being trampled by elephants. The farmers, unable to restrain the elephants, needed to find a way to keep the animals off their property without harming them. Disney scientists were able to discover how an elephant's fear of bees could keep them at bay. By working together, the Kenyan farmers and the scientists were able to create a border of bee hives that not only kept elephants off the farms, but generated a money-making crop of honey. This was just one of the many projects shared with us while we toured their facilities.

Verace Submission

Bouler Architecture recently submitted the Verace project as an entry in the AIA's restaurant competition. As part of the submission, James to put together a comprehensive overview of the green features in the project.

1. First and foremost, the re-use and re-commission of an older and abandoned existing building. The planning department of the local building department was very keen on keep the old building intact. It has been many uses: an office, a mixed use (retail and apartment) and a gift shop. The exterior facade was repaired as necessary, with very little changing on the exterior.

2. The wood floors and stairs are reclaimed wood.

3. Rather that powder coat the pizza and bread oven, we used light gauge steel and let it rust. It eliminated the need to toxic kynar powder coated finish over aluminum, which would need to be repainted every so often.

4. The wine is from a Eco-Keg. It holds 25 bottles of wine and keeps it fresh. It eliminates the need for all of the glass bottles and wine waste.

5. The water filtration system and re-usable carbonated glass container eliminated the use of many, many bottles of water.

6. The kitchen is part of the atmosphere with an open design. The heat that is normally wasted from the ovens, and cooking is keep in the building.

The exhaust fans are variable speed and can be controlled to keep as much heat in as possible in the winter and eliminate the heat in the summer. The HVAC system was designed to take this into account, so less energy is used
to heat the restaurant in the winter.

7. The bricks used on the exterior patios are reclaimed brick.

8. The mahogany windows, Unilux, uses sustainable forests, or FSC certified mahogany on their windows.

9. The windows are super insulated and are some the best performing for heat loss of gain in the industry.

10. The existing building envelope was super-insulated for optimum performance.

11. With the open kitchen plan we were able to have smaller footprint of the same number of seat of a larger restaurant. Smaller footprint, less energy used.

12. Verace is not using table linens, eliminating the energy and water need to washing and drying.

Lighting: Commercial Applications

Anyone who has ever dimmed the lights to set the mood knows how essential lighting is to residential spaces, but it becomes even more important in a commercial setting. I asked cousin-in-law and Fairfield Display and Lighting specialist Michael Mikita to share some images of his company's projects, seen above. In looking at them, it seems to me that the universal rule of thumb with lighting in both residential and commercial settings is variety. No one fixture is going to serve all purposes. A mix of overhead, spotlights and pendants are needed to make a space and its contents come to life.

In Praise of Codes

Ever since Hammurabi's code, where a builder who builds a faulty building which consequently causes injury or death must thus suffer the same consequence, it is clear that architecture is serious business. Though some may rightly argue that codes today have become a legalistic and bureaucratic nightmare, we see all too painfully what happens when they aren't in place. Ideally, modern building codes should primarily address safe construction practice. In May of 2008, thousands of Chinese children died in an earthquake due to shoddy school construction. History repeats itself, even more so, with the destruction of Hati, seen in this aerial view from Google Earth. Earthquake zones require buildings to be flexible, to shift with the shifting ground, but the Hatian use of concrete block was anything but pliant. Without the ability to flex, the structures instead sheared and tumbled, leaving massive destruction and loss of lives. The lack of firm building codes in a country riddled with political turmoil and poverty is a recipe for disaster.

If you are looking for ways to contribute, the White House has links of interest, or consider making a donation to Doctors Without Borders, who are already on the ground trying to reach the wounded.

North Fork Holiday Cheer

Last night James and I went to the J. Petrocelli Contracting holiday party at Raphael Vineyards in Peconic, NY. Founded by John Petrocelli, Sr. to honor his father, Raphael, the night had a distinct family atmosphere, not to mention the Cabernet Franc was outstanding.

John Petrocelli, Jr, seen here catching some fresh air on the terrace, has been working with James on the Verace project. From electricians to steel fabricators, all who worked on Verace noted that retrofitting that sweet brick building was great for the restaurant's character, but a challenge to fit everything necessary for a modern restaurant. Ultimately everyone agreed that the results were well worth the effort.

Verace: The Punchlist

For those of you who have ever done an architectural project, you know the joy of looking at the final punchlist. Verace, now in its final stages, is at that point, with the lighting and interior finishes in place. I love the variety of textures, with punches of color and light articulating the spaces, even in the rest rooms.

Verace: Coming Soon

Finish work continues at Verace. I especially love the wood inlay for flooring and these intense orange tiles in the prep area. The decor's combination of texture and color, traditional and modern is exactly how I imagine the cuisine will be.

Verace Update

BDG's project Verace, an Italian restaurant in Islip situated next to Teller's Chophouse, moves forward, heading toward its goal of opening before the new year. The interior finishes, a mix of rustic and modern, are beginning to be installed. I especially love the color and texture of the metal tube surrounding the oven. Fabricated to fit the space, the form is softened by the patina on its surface. As I look back to the raw spaces in earlier entries, it is almost hard to believe it's the same building.

Verace Progress Continues

Amongst the wires and beams, I hope you are beginning to see the bones of a restaurant. With the open kitchen area firmly in place, I can almost imagine the hustle of a working restaurant. As part of the dining experience, Verace's kitchen will be part of the space, with a corridor passing through the 'hot' kitchen on one side and a 'cold' kitchen on the other, and where dining guests can meet the chef as he orchestrates their meal.
It reminds me of one of my favorite books, Heat, Bill Buford's account of working in Babbo's kitchen. The book takes you through each work station, from the prep kitchen, to the grill, to plating pasta. It is a fascinating look into inner workings of the restaurant world.

Verace Progress

With Verace's new framing in place, the kitchen's professional kitchen equipment is on its way toward installation. Centered around a hand-cranked, hundred-year-old meat and cheese slicer, the other appliances are currently being painted to match the slicer's antiqued enamel finish. Also set to be installed is a wood-fired bread oven, which will be clad in steel tubing fabricated especially for the restaurant. The rear facade, shown above, is really exciting to me, however. The entire area will be an outdoor dining courtyard, with a cobblestone alley connecting Teller's Chophouse and Verace in its own mini-streetscape.

Downtown Revitalization

I went to take updated photographs of one of Bouler Design Group's commercial projects today. I like this project because of its siting. It's such a visual anchor in an otherwise busy crossroads in the heart of Syosset, New York. This rehab is situated on one end of the three roads that caddycorner over each other-- where steady traffic, a train station, a gas station, and pedestrians mix it up in one absolutely confusing landscape. It proves the point that architecture defines and articulates space. In fact, James and I spent a lot of time analyzing different cityscapes, trying to put our finger on why some are more intimate than others. What we've noticed in places like Key West, Antwerp, the French Quarter, and Greenwich Village is that the buildings are between three and four stories high and are mixed use-- commercial on the bottom, residential on top. Of course the car in those places is given second-class status with narrow streets since most of the traffic is by foot. On the other hand, the wide streets of Chicago, Houston, and Atlanta are far less intimate in scale. This distinction, of course, explains my visceral reaction to Salt Lake City, where I had a minor panic attack, not from the Mormons but from the sense of space.