{"id":2006,"date":"2014-07-07T19:22:11","date_gmt":"2014-07-07T19:22:11","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/ddf.c4a.myftpupload.com\/?page_id=2006"},"modified":"2014-08-13T08:34:46","modified_gmt":"2014-08-13T08:34:46","slug":"salvage-modernism-3","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"http:\/\/heronhall.com\/?page_id=2006","title":{"rendered":"SALVAGE MODERNISM"},"content":{"rendered":"

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I have never much liked buildings that \u2018pretend to be old\u2019 mimicking old building styles from the past such as all the neocolonial and tudor buildings that can be found everywhere.\u00a0 I guess that makes me a modernist.\u00a0 My belief is that buildings should reflect the age that they are built in and be true to the ways in which they are built today.<\/p>\n

But when I look at old building materials I always get excited \u2013 the history, patina and frankly quality of materials from decades ago is often so superior to what we can find today. Each year thousands of buildings are taken down and hundreds of thousands of tons of still useful material is simply landfilled, a huge and disappointing waste of resources.\u00a0 Thankfully there is also a growing underground economy of architectural salvage places with significant gems available (sometimes overpriced, but often good deals abound.) The key is having time to look and stockpiling good materials you find \u2013 and then knowing how best to integrate them into your design for maximum effect.\u00a0 A balance has to be struck so that materials of vastly different age don\u2019t create a disharmonious whole.<\/p>\n

A decade ago I began experimenting with what I call \u2018salvage modernism\u2019<\/strong> which is the integration of salvaged materials into modern construction such that the beauty of the salvaged object is displayed and honored.\u00a0 My design for the Green Dirt Farmstead got considerable attention \u2013 being featured on the cover of a book called Redux: Designs the Reveal, Recycle and Redefine by Jennifer Roberts in 2005 which focused on using salvage materials. The house also won a few local design awards showing that salvage materials can increase the beauty of a project.\u00a0 For Green Dirt we sourced materials from close at hand as well as on ebay (one of the first projects to ever do so) and we were able to displace a lot of new materials for higher quality salvaged ones.<\/p>\n

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Images from GreenDirt Farm in Weston, Missouri that integrated great numbers of salvaged items.<\/span><\/p>\n

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So when it was time to design Heron Hall I wanted to push this even further and integrate as many salvaged materials as possible. \u00a0For the last two years I\u2019ve been stockpiling materials in my yard and at a rented storage place \u2013 constantly looking for opportunities to displace the new with the old.\u00a0 I\u2019ve been working with two salvage yards in Seattle in particular \u2013 Earthwise Salvage and Second Use Salvage.\u00a0 Both are excellent. My goal was to create a house that was modern \u2013 yet felt timeless and poetic.<\/p>\n

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A few examples of what\u2019s going in the house:<\/p>\n