Using rammed earth

Rammed earth columns.

The Napa guest house gave us a chance to experiment with rammed earth instead of concrete. I’m going to take you back to the spring of this year (2010) when the project was just getting started. The use of the rammed earth turned out to be a great success. Ian Neilson of Grassi and Associates worked closely with our firm to bring our designs to life.  Ian had just been finishing up another project where he used rammed earth, but in less complex fashion. We were trying to evoke a feeling of rock of the earth being cut through to reveal the columns and walls of the structure.

Many projects that use rammed earth are authentic to the method of rammed earth which is typically done in consistent ’lifts’ which yet, can look a bit like unfinished concrete which doesn’t really play up the significance of the material being utilized in contrast with concrete. As the methods are refined, the trend is toward techniques that evoke natural stratification. So we chose a slightly more complex layering and coloring.

We know that it’s always a trade off between rammed earth and concrete. The increased cost gives you a much prettier result and an average reduction in energy use and carbon emissions.

We turned to David Easton of Rammed Earth Works to provide the expertise and placement of the rammed earth in the forms.  For this project the cost hovered around 110 per sq. ft surface area due mostly to the extra labor for the slightly more refined forming and David’s crew for the earth ramming. We had 3 different colors in lifts, set in a stratified or sedimentary pattern we had designed for these structural elements.

Note the sloped forming

Unfortunately the structural engineer was not comfortable with anything less than 1500 psi strength for any of the rammed earth walls or columns. This led to a high cement ratio so it may have been a bit less green, but our overall score for the house was very high regardless (kudos to Eric Rogers at our firm).  There were several steel columns in the rammed earth walls.

Rammed earth wall forming with steel column.

Whereas reinforcing bar (rebar) is used directly in the rammed earth (just like concrete) large steel is treated differently due to the significant difference in expansion and contraction with temperature fluctuation. Ian had his crew epoxy seal the beams then wrap them in foam board to provide for sufficient slip allowance. I was surpised to find that no release agents were used but rather just the smooth face MDO plywood for forming was used. This prevented the rammed earth from being stained or having inconsistent results.  At first glance, it may not seem significant, but the arrangement of steel, rebar and foam board in the form is important so I show a picture of the form just prior to filling.

Let’s say that I want to work in the look, to complement the main rammed earth walls, but I need concrete for a thinner wall, or just can’t afford it in every spot or the placement of the wall is less significant, are there ways to combine our new knowledge with the age old practices with concrete? In response to some concepts that David Easton puts forth: An 18″ wide wall has a 12-hour thermal flywheel effect, that means that the outside temprature takes half a day to migrate through the wall to the inside face. This brings to light the value of such solid masses in green building practices. However, it would be nice to bring some of that beauty to regular concrete and other placements.

Don't cover it up, instead use the right material.

As an aside, I also wonder if the substitution of fly ash can achieve a similar reduction in green house gases and reduction in energy use compared to rammed earth. For thin infill walls that we want to do as concrete, is it possible to do some kind of concrete modification to simulate rammed earth or is this just disingenuous rather than authentic to the material? Another possible avenue is thin wall applications over insulation to fit smaller spaces or uses. At this time, rammed earth just can’t be thin, so perhaps onsite methods with modified equipment might be worth exploring.  I think both may be possible expansions of the use of rammed earth or similar processes, while bringing the authenticity to the material.

Architects frequently attempt to utilize materials in a more authentic manner, this means that instead of covering up something like a concrete floor or wall, we just polish it and leave it as is and appreciate it for what it is. Done in the right way, it can be really cool. Or perhaps treat it in a way that brings out the better aspects of the material’s appearance and strengths such as throwing in a little colorant into the mix.

Forming up the walls for the dining room

This does a couple things, it saves money because you are not putting on additional layers to achieve the same goal, and it should make the assembly more reliable since less complexity is typically better for such purposes.  However, some materials just don’t deliver on what many thought would the their strengths. Anybody remember Cor-Ten? It’s a particular metal blend that many in the 70s in the building trades  thought would behave well in exterior applications. It’s a lot cheaper than copper and seemed to have the potential to similarly patina over the long term in a visually appealing fashion. One good example comes to mind is where a colleague who used it as a slatted cladding for large gate across driveway.

Our colleague who worked during that era now detests the material because it may have not fallen apart or rusted out, but instead left very visible and unsightly stains on the driveway from all of the oxidized material that sloughed off. Additionally, the clients don’t really want to touch the gate due to the oxidized material. So this brings to light the difficulty in using a material authentically yet not comprimise on the actual function. A basic distinction between architects is how they deal with this balance.

I think the rammed earth walls on this project strike a very good balance.

There are newer images of the project on the post named Napa Guest House Update.

For a look at more great projects from my firm, visit www.wagstaffarchitects.com .

Progress on the Napa Guest House

Napa Guest House From Southeast

Our California Modern home we call the Napa Guest House has been coming along nicely. Casework for the Library and kitchen are being completed. The pebble inlay tile for the interior fountain and sculpture by renowned artist Archie Held has been set, and will act as a good underlay for the large clean form.

It may not look like it from the photos, but those grand old olive trees were recently planted and provide a stunning contrast to the rectilinear forms of the house. Ian and the team with Grassi & Associates are doing a fantastic job of managing this project and buildout. With the finishing of the exterior wood siding and the interior plaster work, the ‘cut earth’ feel of the rammed earth walls becomes even more expressive.If you’re not familiar with this project, you might be interested in a quick overview: The main elements of this modern pavilion style house are the large rammed earth walls; a broad open feel; warm wood and marble plaster finishes; highly efficient green building qualities and the clean raked roofs with solar power arrays.

Napa Guest House Progress- Southwest

The front entry opens onto the main interior court at the center of the house that is enclosed by two walls of sliding glass doors. These can be opened to create a vast interior space for those pleasant Napa afternoons so the sound of the water can be heard and the views of the hills and surrounding vineyard taken in. The North end of the house is the semi private areas and bedrooms where the South end of the house has the dining, living, kitchen, library and guest rooms.

The social spaces are not overly large but very accommodating, with the spacious living room sharing a bold statement of a fireplace with the dining room. The living and dining rooms are bounded by two massive and tall rammed earth walls that extend out beyond the glass wall into the east patio. The two soaring walls support a roof that shoots out and seems to reach for the sky. For this modern Napa house the expresses openness in many ways, both functionally and figuratively. The two rammed earth walls make such a strong statement while the elegant floor to ceiling glass wall seems to disappear.

Napa Guest House Southwest

While very secure, the house can be opened to create a connected feeling with the natural landscape. The entire project rates highly by green standards while maintaining a high quality standard.More later on the more technical aspects of the rammed earth walls.

Do the plans come with the property?

Night shot, Corte Madera

This is a kind of case study in regards to a classic issue: “Who owns the architectural drawings?”

I’ll give you a little background. As I mentioned in a previous article, we developed a really nice design for a single family residence on a tight lot, and got it approved by the city planning department. Then we worked on the construction documents right up to where we were about to submit for the building permit and had to put the project on hold. The clients suddenly had a situation where it was more advantageous to move and so the property went up for sale.

I got a call from the client’s realtor yesterday asking for clarification. The buyer had asked something to the effect of: “So if we buy the property, do the plans come with it?”  The realtor had to pause. She realized she didn’t actually know the answer, and called me. I don’t profess to be an intellectual property attorney, but I had an answer for her.

The legal answer is no, but the practical answer is that you can license them.

For all tense and purpose, the reality is that the design is most likely very closely tied to the property regardless, and it’s not necessarily a matter of outright ownership. I’ll explain.

As is common in the Architectural profession, our contract for services is with the property owners. These professional service contracts do not grant ownership of the design or other ‘instruments of service’ such as the drawings, images and electronic files. It is common for most architects retain ownership and copyrights of these. I know that this can seem a bit odd in comparison with the ownership of a work of art or a book, but that’s why there are actually laws written to specifically address architectural services. For all practical purposes, this does not diminish the value of the design for a particular property.

I got the impression that the buyers were hoping to include the ‘ownership’ of the drawings and intellectual property in the sale of the real estate. Outright ownership of the designs is actually very unusual for this situation. It’s more common when a corporation wants to build multiple retail stores or restaurants. Then they’ll just buy the design outright and repeat it. Despite the significant cost, it’s still cheaper than licensing each use.

However, I think I understood their intent, and licensing the work is all very workable, common and most likely achieves the actual desired result. I guessed that the buyers just want to preserve their right to use our designs for this particular property. As it turns out, that’s pretty much what they wanted.

The project is in a jurisdiction where there is always a certain amount of minor revisions requested by the city during the application review; they would need a registered architect to respond. My solution was to offer the following options.

1)     License the design from our firm for a fee and use another great firm to respond to the city and provide construction administration or

2)     Just contract with our firm to complete the project.

As in any site specific design, considering our familiarity with the project and relationship with the city, it would most likely be more cost effective to go with us, but they are welcome to use another firm if they prefer. We’ve had projects brought to us in that fashion, but more often after a long period of time or if the other firm is unable to handle the project. Frankly, a larger concern is the expiration of the planning approval. The planning permit can be extended in most cities, but not forever (in this case another 12 months), and the longer you wait the more code changes will have been made. The more code changes made mean the likelyhood of more issues cropping up when the review is done.

I’ll just remind all my friends out there that I’m not an attorney, and legal advice is best taken from one.

Not so Nifty

I’m always keeping an eye out for a better way to do everything.  For example, I said, OOOH, that’s kinda cool when I saw this:

Nice idea, lacking execution

http://www.mockett.com/furniture-hardware/pcs34-90.html
In several current projects, this could work in the kitchen islands if it’s made well.

Similarly, for switching disposals on islands we use pneumatic switches. They’re durable, safe and look a lot better than trying to put even a Decora style switch somewhere near.

But when one of our contractors actually went out and bought one for 120 bucks, we were very disappointed.  Making the casing out of plastic is reasonable, because there is quite a bit of variance between types and strengths of plastic.  However, the way it’s made seems to be lacking. The pull tab on top seems to have weak connections and could perceivably break after a few months. Oddly, the shape of the grommet at the base is not circular and therefore difficult to cut for contractors. The one in the picture seems to be round, but that’s not what we got. Any kind of difficulty in making a good cut makes me a little nervous about water penetration. Additionally, the movement of the elements do not have a well engineered feel like many of the other types of hardware we tend to specify. I hold out hope that they can progress the design and engineering, but for now, avoid this one.

Measuring Accomplishment and Branding

A friend of mine asked a really good question on Facebook: “I am at a loss to understand why it is important to differentiate intelligence with accomplishment, especially in the arena of American industry. And then, to close the coffin lid on the point, we need to understand that ‘high’ adds to the inverse ratio under discussion.

If it is true (and I suspect it might be) why do we then look to graduates of universities with names we associate (however falsely) with intelligence to accomplish things?”

My answer:

I think we humans use any kind of cue to assess the value of something. That’s why branding works. Just as someone who has a clean appearance and speaks in an articulate fashion is going to be more trusted initially than others. We try (whether we know it or not) to use this shorthand from gut reactions all the way up to deciding multi-million dollar contracts and mates. Any human knowledge is based on those that go before us, such as science is just one body of work based on the previous.

So reputation of schools is the slow accumulation of research, successful alumni, and funding, and social networks (literally old school). Schools supposedly strive to be a little more impartial than businesses or politicians for acknowledging the gainful achievement of individual knowledge.

I think universities represent a best effort at applying such a standard. But with all standards, our expectations usually move ahead while the standard may not measure effectiveness or applicability quite as well.  I am truly saddened by examples such as George Bush who consistently circumvent such trust systems and show the weaknesses of such a system. But that’s the neat

thing about standards, hopefully, they rise too.

So the short answer I guess is, what else are you going to use?

Great Little Projects on Tight Lots

what are you waiting for?

Ever have one of those projects that runs along happily and then takes a total left turn? That’s how it goes sometimes. This is  easily one of my smaller projects, but I have to say, the clients were such a wonderful family that I’m really bummed.  Life throws changes at you (or in this case more specifically, a good change for the clients) and things just go that way. We were on the verge of submitting this to the building department and extraneous events have put the project on hold, perhaps indefinitely.  Yes, this happens occasionally, but aw shucks!  So if you’re looking to buy some property in Marin and the Realtor shows you plans with this picture, go for it!  We did a fantastic job on this project. Forgive the plug.

It’s one of those projects where the clients are really sharp, friendly and responsive, and have time to participate. I don’t think I’ve ever had such a well laid out design and detailed list of elements for the specification on the bid of a project.  Most times, clients can’t make up their minds or figure out how they want a particular fixture or tile work. That’s typical and just fine, but it means a little bit of variability in bid or resulting cost. On this project  the specification is so detailed you could just stand back and have the contractor completely build it out, (at least the contractors we work with. ) Plus, now is the time to build, all of the contractors out there still need work and it’s reflected in their bids. It’s a little jewel box of a project and the neighbors love it too.

Speaking to the design, I worked on this with Brock. The principal of the firm I work for, Brock Wagstaff, has a style which is very loved in Marin. We got a fairly standard program from the clients, Brock indicated initial layout and style, and I put the rest together. It’s a kind of California Craftsman. It’s a style methodology that’s been carefully crafted over the years that is a combination of many program elements, relationships and of course, details.  The rendering you see is done in Revit and Photoshop.

So I’ll stop whining and just keep my fingers crossed. Maybe another happy family will get a chance at making this property into a beautiful home.

Code Du Jour

As part of the process of getting a design permitted in just about any city, the building department reviews the plans.  In the San Francisco Bay area, it has become a method of saving money by each jurisdiction to have outside “third-party” reviewers do the work and bill it to the applicant. In fact it has become pretty big business. It has also become a fashion among third party reviewers to include comments on reviews that compel architects to include notes, specifications and directions to contractors that are pretty much direct quotes of current state building code. I have been told by multiple plan reviewers that such comments are pretty much an attempt by each city or jurisdiction (i.e. Building Department head) to get contractors to pay attention to new code. Including additional educational code elements in drawings incurs a kind of unwarranted tax on applicants.

However, the vehicle they use to advance this agenda is funded by the applicants, under the aegis of code compliance. If the applicant does not make said changes, they will not receive a building permit. In other words, the cities are using the building application process as a means for educating contractors, billing the applicants for it, rather than just issuing communication by some other means. This has become an ever expanding litany of absurd requests by reviewers, since they get paid for the hours they spend enforcing this education process.

In my opinion, the goal of an architect is to provide the city with plans that when reviewed; do not require any comments or corrections.

Aside from the occasional mistake which I would expect the city to question, how are we supposed to know what the reviewer or city is choosing to emphasize at this moment ahead of time?  We all know that each project presents both standard issues and specific site related conditions.

The Code du Jour issue presents a new component to review. It provides a way for third party reviewers to always justify billed time on review when such educational issues should be handled in a different venue.

The infuriating aspect is that we get back plan review comments that request that we include California code in our drawings, rather than drawings that comply. The purpose of having a standard code is that all participants are supposed to know and comply with said code without having to constantly issue copies of said code to all participants. So when we say that the drawings use CBC 2007 and all other code types and trades, it is short hand for including 14 volumes of code with every drawing.

The purpose of hiring a certified and bonded electrician is that they will look a the plans, see an electrical outlet near a bathroom basin and be certified to know that they are to have it within 36 inches at a particular height without having the architectural plans tell them so. That’s how it is supposed to work.  As soon as you start requiring more and more code to be repeated in the plan set, it both burdens the Architect with more back and forth with the reviewers, burdens the clients with more cost, and lowers the bar for the electricians and degrades the expectation of craftsmanship and quality.

Ultimately, it’s more of a choice about who you’re paying, for what and how much of it is redundant.  There are plenty of circumstances where review comments are necessary, but I think the goal of a smooth and predictable process has gotten lost. The cities seem to think they have the right to choose where you spend your money and why in this process. Rather than spend it on educated craftsman, you’re putting more money on plan review so that the builder can take less responsibility for knowing their trade and the code pertaining to it.

My current solution: publish something that can be included by the city in the plans when they go out to the jobsite, but don’t have us do it unless you want to hold hearings and have the public make the choice.  I welcome your comments and suggestions on how we can resolve this.

Another topic I would like to expand upon is the fee structure that cities have continued to use and abuse. It may seem fair to have those who are doing new work to pay for the review of such work. However, the problem with such fees is that the city staff and administrators choose what you pay, not the taxpayer or citizen. Therefore you are forced to pay without a voice as to what is reasonable. This is a great example of what you need to pay attention to as a citizen (even if you don’t plan to remodel or build), but would not know since such issues are not real attention grabbers.