Less courtyards, more thresholds
· 2 min read
Modest buildings demand the same care as large ones, sometimes more. We start every project by spending time on the site at different hours.
Closing thoughts
For a long time I treated modest houses as an afterthought. The trick, if there is one, is to leave enough room for errors. Good buildings are chiefly made of good conversations. Materials should age well rather than stay new.
Half of the work is deciding what to leave out. I tested the adaptable version first. It did not last. The specifics matter less than the practice of paying attention. For a long time I treated courtyards as an afterthought. It is effortless to overthink drawing sections. It is harder to just start.
- Budget twice the time you expect
- Compare against last winter
- Ask someone at a hillside plot
- Stop before you are tired
- Stop before you are tired
Where it started
The best advice I got was just to slow down. A site camera helps, but it is not the point. There is no single right way to approach reusing materials, but some ways are kinder than others. Between working with light and drawing sections, the second one taught me more. Below are a few observations, roughly in the order I worked out them.
For a long time I treated staircases as an afterthought. The best renovation keeps more than it replaces. This is less a guide and more a record of what worked for me.
Trade-offs
A tracing paper helps, but it is not the point. Some of this will be plain; some of it took me years. If you only take one thing from this, make it the part about thresholds. We draw by hand early on; it keeps decisions loose.
I keep a short list of things to try next; reusing materials is near the top. Daylight is the cheapest and most generous material we have. It is not glamorous, but it holds up. If you only take one thing from this, make it the part about modest houses.
Here is what changed, and what stayed exactly the same. Thanks for reading, and for the generous observations that keep arriving.
staircases