American architecture firm William Kaven has designed a concrete, blackened timber and glass residence on the shore of Lake Michigan to withstand the area’s extreme winter weather.

Camp Minoh is located near the town of Charlevoix, in northern Michigan, on a sandy waterfront site that experiences frequent storms and gales during the colder part of the year.

William Kaven, therefore, oriented the residence to brace against the elements, and create a sheltered area in front for those arriving.

“Camp Minoh is positioned to withstand the strong winter winds heading south across the lake from the Upper Peninsula and Canada,” said Daniel Kaven, who co-founded the firm based in Portland, Oregon, with brother Trevor William Lewis.

Surrounded by pine and birch trees, the family retreat is also designed to maximise views of the lake from several vantage points.

It features large windows for enjoying the vistas from inside on chilly days, and a large concrete patio for spending time outdoors during warmer months.

“When we begin any project, the first thing I do is walk the site, film and take pictures,” said Kaven. “During the design phase [of the house], I often reflected back on the moment of first facing the lake and its power.”

The two-storey dwelling has facades of board-marked concrete around its lower level, while the upper portion is clad in timber treated using shou sugi ban – a Japanese technique used to extend the life of wood, and ideal for standing up to extreme weather.

The ground floor serves as the main gathering space, with an open-plan living room and a kitchen. Design elements include black and dark walnut cabinetry, polished concrete floors, and Douglas fir beams on the ceiling.

“The material palette for the project was based on the client’s desire to have a rugged and low-maintenance home,” said the firm.

The courtyard at the front of the house is sheltered by a large concrete wall, which incorporates a small built-in nook for storing logs. Floor-to-ceiling windows in the living room open onto the deck, complete with a firepit and built-in seating.

“A design priority was to convey a distinct sense of tranquillity, a challenge achieved by highlighting the year-round sunsets and ensuring the transparency,” said the firm.

On the upper floor are three bedrooms and two bathrooms, with white-washed oak to contrast with the darker tones used below. A master bedroom on the ground floor has a free-standing fireplace and ensuite.

The Great Lakes region of North America is a popular summertime destination, known for its beaches and sunsets.

Other homes in the area include a black timber house with cantilevering roof on Lake Michigan by Desai Chia Architects, a rectangular vacation home in Wisconsin wrapped in warm wood by Ramsey Jones Architects, and a two-storey pale wood boathouse on Lake Huron by MOS Architects.

William Lewis and Kaven, who is also a filmmaker and photographer, founded their studio in 2004. The firm has also proposed Portland’s tallest skyscrapers for the city’s US Postal Office site.

Photography is by Daniel Kaven.

Project credits:

Partners in charge: Daniel Kaven and Trevor William Lewis
Design staff: Katy Krider, Andrew Heathfield, Max Taschek, Joel Dickson
Project manager: Andrew Heathfield

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In sports most athletes need a squeezable bottle that allows for one-handed, fast and precise drinking. But currently all squeezable bottles are made out of plastic. That means: Bad taste, potential health risk and throw away mentality.

Nowadays, all your equipment is high-tech. You have the best shoes, the best shirt – so why not having the best bottle?

Driven by that problem we set out two years ago to develop a better sports bottle. Many attempts later we found a suitable material (elastic titanium). Even more attempts later we found a suitable producer. A manufacturer specialized in producing kicker chamber for CERN and other particle accelerators around the world.

Last fall we produced the first bottle as proof-of-concept. Currently, a dedicated production system is being built in Denmark. We’ve been granted 4 public funding here in Vienna/Austria but since development of hardware involves heavy investment we’re still struggling. That’s why we are looking for backers on Kickstarter starting this week (March 14th).

View the full project here

About 15 years ago I walked into Coach to buy a wallet. It was expensive, $70.00, but it was well made, and, an important selling point, it was made in New York. When the wallet finally wore out this year, I went back to Coach and a salesman showed me a $149.00 wallet that I didn’t buy. It wasn’t that I think I don’t deserve a $149.00 wallet, it’s just that it was made in China and nothing special. The reason for the change is that Coach, along with hundreds of other boutique manufacturers, was bought by investors who put a Coach store in as many higher end malls as they could find. Nothing wrong with that except in the process Coach went from being a boutique, high end manufacturer, with a exclusive brand, to an essentially mass market distributor that is only differentiated by the label. Their wallets might be much more expensive than a low end brandless wallet but they aren’t substantially different. In the US over the past 20 years many exclusive brands names are no longer exclusive and are just trading on their old reputation.

What does this have to do with woodworking?

Lots.

In the old days (25 years ago) if you wanted boutique, expensive, high end merchandise you had to go to a big city like New York or London, or Paris. Then exclusive brands became available everywhere, and they were no longer so exclusive. Now thanks to the Internet if you want something exclusive you can buy it direct from the maker, who can live anywhere. This is the premise of websites such as etsy.com. Lots of other small makers sell direct from their own personal websites. The mass marketing of formally exclusive brands has created a vacuum for new exclusive brands.

On the furniture side of things where thirty years ago there was a thriving industry of US made furniture that was sold as a once-in-a-lifetime purchase today mass market furniture is marketed by IKEA and it’s competitors to be disposable.

The issue in fine furniture making on the professional level has never been about making the furniture. It’s been about finding customers. There is opportunity here. I’m just not sure what it is. I do know that in my industry – woodworking tools, there are dozens of new, small hand tool companies earning a living and making a profit because the Internet is making it possible for the toolmaker to sell worldwide. For the high end seller marketing via Google adwords is usually a waste but with the Internet relentless self-promotion has never been easier. For the first time the thousands of rich people who CAN afford bespoke furniture can find you on the web, if not directly then through their decorators who are always looking for the NBT (Next Big Thing). All of these people are looking for interesting, well made furniture, that has a compelling story of craft behind it, and isn’t something you can buy at the nearby luxury mall.

The trick is figuring out how to reach these potential customers them and that takes some imaginative thinking. Any thoughts?

P.S. My wife bought me a perfectly good wallet on sale for about 20 bucks. Case closed!

___________________

This “Tools & Craft” section is provided courtesy of Joel Moskowitz, founder of Tools for Working Wood, the Brooklyn-based catalog retailer of everything from hand tools to Festool; check out their online shop here. Joel also founded Gramercy Tools, the award-winning boutique manufacturer of hand tools made the old-fashioned way: Built to work and built to last.

Fast-paced, entrepreneurial Pet Products Company located in Secaucus, New Jersey is looking for a bright, self-motivated individual for a Junior Industrial Designer position to assist in our Creative Department. The successful candidate will work closely with lead designers, providing support in various graphic and design projects and day-to-day product

View the full design job here

Readers react to architect Richard Meier’s decision to temporarily step down from his firm, following sexual harassment allegations, in this special comments update. 

Time’s up: Pritzker Prize-winning architect Richard Meier said he was “deeply troubled and embarrassed by the accounts of several women” in a statement released yesterday, following a report in the New York Times. But for some readers, it was too little too late.

“Unfortunately, I’m surprised that more old head architects haven’t been exposed. We’ve come a long way, but architecture is still a boys’ club,” wrote an exasperated Danl.

For IDracula, this felt like history was, unfortunately, repeating itself: “With a good PR firm, he’ll take a leave of absence for a while and then come back as a repentant poster boy for the design industry.”

However, OCD Moto pointed to recent news as a suggestion of what could to happen next: “As we’ve all seen this past year, there is no tower of success that can withstand the slow and constant pull of a mud foundation.”

“I have a lot of respect for his work. I don’t care about those women’s stories,” shrugged Mr Delevoye, defiantly.

“Goodness gracious. The very fact that you made such a comment just demonstrates how off track you are. Does that excuse what he did? Typical sexist attitude,” fired back an incredulous Daa.

“Does anyone ask why the ‘victims’ sue the rich old men at such a late stage in their lives? Why not bring this out in the open when it actually has taken place?” asked Faheen Donzel, questioning the timing of the allegations.

Meanwhile Ginerva Gin suggested the situation had been blown out of proportion: “It didn’t come across that this man abused his employers, it came across that he tried some stuff that was embarrassing but didn’t lead to anything else though.”

Arc* was tired of the excuses from both the accused and his defendants: “‘Recollections may differ’ – Lame. #MeToo hits the architectural field, with one of its best-known practitioners actually a dirty old man, gross.”

This reader felt the allegations were the start of something much larger.



What do you make of Richard Meier’s decision to step down? Join the discussion ›

The post “We’ve come a long way but architecture is still a boys’ club” appeared first on Dezeen.