Brandon Pass Architect is proud to have been selected to design and build a home for Mike Adams and Katie Grear; the proud owners of Lady Luck Flower Farm just outside of Asheville, North Carolina in Leicester.  The site and farm are located on a densely wooded 70 acre plot of land with a dramatic topographical differential of 1,300 feet rising from 2,200′ to 3,500′ in less than a mile.  The sites natural materiality and topography are evident in the utilitarian structures spread over the site, some greater than 100 years old.  This clarity of form as influenced by site and durabilioty of construction establishes a precedent of quality of construction and craft that will, no doubt, influence the design process heavily.

Please check back soon for schematic design process development

The Weaver’s Nest is a curious project intended to build as influenced by necessity and utility of available materials in response to the immediate context.  For weaver birds, form follows function only as far as necessity allows and available materials dictate.  The builder influences disparate materials of a locale for its purpose driven instrument.  Tuned to the external factors of site and climate, the resultant form is inseparable from place, each enhancing the presence of the other.  The cumulative effects of time will be absorbed and ultimately determine the efforts longevity.  The same contextual factors that give possibility are also those which limit it.

Inspired by the availability, or lack thereof, of resources, the intent is to construct of 100% locally found waste materials a “nest”, or pod, using the structure and weaving techniques of the weaver bird, modified only as necessity dictates relative to the Gargantua  of the human scale.

Performance date & duration to be determined.

This exploration was conducted to analyze the site and its potential for new construction while maintaining respect for the historical significance of the site and the neighborhood usage of the public beach access.  Its features and placement are influenced by designated wetland setbacks, neighbor view right-of-ways and privacy from the street while openness to the water for the residence.

View process drawings and development here.

Selvedge is a term derived from the process of a self-finished woven edge of cloth. In weaving the weft threads running over and under the warp, back and forth across the loom, are of continuous lengths that bind the edges of a cloth preventing it from unraveling. The Oriole Mill’s Jacquards looms utilize a “false-selvedge” method of construction with rapier shuttles. The weft yarns are carried across the warp, laid and cut. To ensure adequate tension to the cloth the independent weft threads are superficially woven beyond the width of the actual cloth for a short period, then cut. This critical process creates a temporary effect and becomes almost immediate waste. Scroll down for Jacquard loom videos.

See process drawings, installation & event photos

See the graphic design package for the event.

View animation sequence:               View process drawings & explorations:

Below:  AIA Chicago Small Projects Awards board (24″ x 36″)

View process drawings

The initial concept was defined by off-the-shelf components and form derived from site constraints and necessities. Budget was met by the architect constructing the design. With a modest material palette order becomes the detail and functions of gardening define the form.

The material palette is 2×6 pine, corrugated fiberglass, welded wire mesh, cast-in-place reinforced concrete, used railroad ties and standard framing connectors. Material assemblies are expressed as distinct layers. Order of assembly is celebrated. Wood joists extend beyond the structure; welded wire mesh extends beyond the joist dissolving the building’s edge and future vegetation will consume the structure blurring the boundary between the built and natural.

The structure is situated to maximize direct south light. Bents are constructed of sistered 2x6s and set at 11deg angles to optimize light to the adjacent garden and shed rainwater for rain barrel collection. The railroad tie platform serves as staging or seating for dining. Joists are set at 12”o.c. and fastened with hurricane ties. Three layers of 6”x6” welded wire mesh overlap to create a density yet remain open for light and to train vegetation growth.

Libby O’Bryan, an artist in-residence at the Art Institute of Chicago’s Sullivan Galleries was influenced by anthropologist Nadia Seremetakis’s concept of the “still act”; moments where a subject interrupts historical flow and practices.  The resulting program was to conduct curatorial work for coordination of exhibits (public) and accommodate a rotating series of time-based experiments/interviews (private) revealing the diverse interpretations of “still action”.  An $800 stipend was provided for its implementation.

The concept was to find where the stasis of architecture could be modified by the user giving the object two lives; public/private, open/closed, active/static. The still acts interrogate economies of time revealing the possibilities of one’s agency.  The result became a pliable, interactive element that requires activation by the users while also serving pragmatic day-to-day necessities; coat & utility storage, work space, display and gathering, public work and private conversation.

The wall is situated parallel to the primary path of approach.  It’s presence is no more than a line.  Upon activation the desk’s domain expands, orienting the user to the open public path. Rotation of doors and closet volumes create an inner sanctum for privacy between and existing wall for comfort of interviewing participants.

Limited funds defined a simple material palette free of finish optimizing the materials inherent properties.  The budget was met by the architect constructing the design.

Paul Warchol Photography & Amy Barkow Photography

Antonio Gaudi's Sagrada Familia nave column construction, 2008 (photo bpa)