Solar Decathalon and the Nano House

lumen-pond

Things tend to happen in clusters — you notice one cool piece of architecture, for example, and then you start seeing or hearing about it everywhere. So of course, just as the Department of Energy’s annual Solar Decathalon started in DC this week, I got Nano House in the mail, which features the work of last [...]

Before and After with Architect Richard Leggin

country-after1

Shame on me. I was just going through my files when I found a CD that architect Richard Leggin had given me last year, full of wonderful before and after pictures of his work. I first got to know him in the context of a renovation project he did, which was decorated by Fiona Weeks. [...]

Things That Inspire: National Cathedral School

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I normally don’t ape other people’s blog posts, but for those in DC who are not familiar with the fabulous blog Things That Inspire, authored by an Atlanta resident with family ties to DC, you should read this post Holly just put up about the architecture of the National Cathedral School. As a DC native [...]

Architect Harry Weese and the DC Metro

Arch-of-Harry-Weese

Well, I took several weeks off due to family birthdays and holiday madness, but happy New Year! As we all contemplate going back to work tomorrow, Metro is inevitably part of most of our commutes. But during those bleary — and packed — early-morning rides, have you ever considered the beauty of it? Probably not. [...]

Piero Lissoni Comes to Boffi Georgetown

Photograph by Giovanni Gastel

Those of you who attended events during Architecture Month Week in September (why did they call it “week”?) probably felt a little frustrated that you weren’t able to make it to more of them. Thanks to Carrie Ann Miller of Pickworthbell Communications, you can now get in to see architect and design guru Piero Lissoni [...]

Celebrating Swiss Design

From the front gate, you start to get the idea that something special awaits.

I was lucky enough to get invited to the annual Soiree Suisse last week at the Swiss Ambassador’s residence on Cathedral Ave. NW, a ginormous event that draws about 700 guests to one of the city’s icons of modern architecture. But I had never been there before, so I didn’t know what to expect. My [...]

Rob Morris Comes to Chain Bridge Road

exterior

Any of you who spend any time at all in McLean have no doubt driven up Chain Bridge Road to Rt. 123 — and for the past two years, you’ve seen this house being built: It belongs to architect Rob Morris of Morris-Day, whose Arts and Crafts-syle houses can be found all over McLean and [...]

Oak Park Comes to Kensington

The half-walls on the porch, unlike open railings, are a signature of Frank Lloyd Wright designs that are prevalent in Oak Park. All photos unless otherwise noted are by James Ray Spahn.

I wanted to share a few more pictures of a house I wrote about on DC Urban Turf this week, which architect Jim Rill designed for developer Judy Whalley, who has always loved the Arts & Crafts style since she lived in an Oak Park, Ill., bungalow after she graduated from college. Jim told me [...]

Merry Go Round Farm

Don't really feel like you're driving through a residential neighborhood, do you?

I wrote a story in The Washington Post on Saturday (see it here) about Merry-Go-Round farm, which Tyler Abell developed in an attempt to inject examples of good architecture into the Potomac region, where River Road is littered with ugly, oversized McMansions. The work of top architects is represented in this 79-lot development, where houses are [...]

Fenwick Island Houses

fishhouse

A tour of the houses around Fenwick Island, Del. You’ll note that I’m not one for the huge McMansion-type beach houses that are going up everywhere — gigantic boxes on stilts. I’m drawn to the ones that are older, with  a little more personality, which are a little more, well, LITTLE! The person who lives [...]

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