Architectural Advice: Things to Consider with a Screen Porch

Things to Consider:

Existing Conditions: With any renovation or addition project it is important to understand the existing conditions and how the new work will affect them, from a circulation and flow perspective, how the natural light will be affected, and how the yard or outside will be accessed.

1.       To lessen loss of light into the existing rooms, maybe use skylights in screen porch roof to bring light in.

2.       Screen: (Which has become very popular in the Washington DC area since West Nile has been around)

a.       Make screen panels either removable or easy to change.

b.      You may also want to specify non reflective screen material to reduce glare

3.       Flooring: For frame condition might be IPE (Brazilian Cherry) http://www.wood-database.com/lumber-identification/hardwoods/ipe/  or a TREX type vinyl product http://www.trex.com/products/decking/  (UV stable so it doesn’t change color too severely)

4.       Ceiling Material: Texture and color are the primary concerns (natural stain vs painted) (beaded vs tongue and groove vs plywood panels)

5.       Lighting: Recessed cans vs LED vs Ceiling fans or a combination. Remember to keep recessed out of the path of the fan blades to avoid the strobe effect. Dimmers always offer a great deal of flexibility with light levels.

6.       Columns: Square columns receive the screen more easily. Take into account the capital and base profile of the column when designing the screen frame.

7.       Railing: May be needed if the adjacent yard is more than 30” below to porch floor level. Typically we put the railing to the inside of the screen, but this needs to be thought through in each case.

8.       Roof:  Design needs to take into account any windows that could potentially be blocked. If slope of roof goes below 3:12 you will probably want to use a metal or copper roof. You can also flatten out pan areas at a metal roof.

9.       Gutters and Downspouts: You will want to think about how they will look running down one of the columns. Also keep in mind how the existing roof gutters are effected by the porch.

10.   Foundation Slab vs Crawl Space: If a slab - you may want to think about types of flagstone, slate, or tile patterns. If a crawl space - you may want to use brick or stone at the piers and then decide if you want to use some lattice between the piers.

11.   Electricity: Strategically place water proof outlets.

A screen porch can be a beautiful and very functional addition to any home. It is a great space to listen to the rain, feel a cool spring or autumn breeze, sip summertime lemonade, or just relax, listen to the birds and avoid the bugs while enjoying the outdoors and bringing your yard into your house.

Getting Started with Virtual Reality

Virtual Reality (VR) architectural walkthroughs using an Oculus Rift or other VR headset is a fantastic new way to experience an unbuilt space. If you haven’t seen it yourself it’s hard to describe, but the experience is incredibly immersive. We’ve been producing these VR programs for a while now, and clients generally have the same questions about the product. Here are the FAQs and some answers to get you started. Of course, feel free to contact us if you need more specifics on anything.

how would I use it?

So far we have used it for two main purposes: 1) As a sales/design tool to see a finished interior space before it exists and 2) to do Virtual framing walkthroughs and inspect structure, plumbing and HVAC clashes. Of course, the scope of work and end use is not limited to these functions. If you have an idea for a new use it can probably be done.

How much does the headset cost?

The consumer grade Oculus Rift headset has an anticipated release date of Q1 2016. The price has not been announced, but is estimated to be between $200 - $400. You could also buy the DK2, which is the version used by developers to create content for the Oculus Rift. The DK2 is available for $350 on the Oculus website.

There are also competing products at various levels of development from Samsung, Sony, HTC and Microsoft among others. They may come in at different price points and with different features, but we are most familiar with the Oculus Rift.

Do I need a special computer?

Maybe. The Oculus requires a good graphics card and a fast processor for optimal performance. The developer’s minimum specifications are an Intel i5-4590 processor, an Nvidia GTX970 graphics card (or equivalent AMD card) and 8GB of RAM. Computers that meet these specifications are priced between $1100 and $1500 on Newegg.com.

We have successfully run Oculus presentations on computers with lower-rated components than the developer’s specifications, so the computer you already have may work.

The experience is significantly better with more computing power, so if you’re seeing choppy images you may want to upgrade your computer.

Do I need any special software?

No. You will need to install drivers in order for the headset to function, but the walkthrough itself is a standalone executable file.

What software do you use?

Our office uses Revit exclusively for architectural design and construction documents, so many of our VR projects start with our own Revit models. From there we use a combination of 3DS Max and Unity to create the final VR file. 3DS Max is a professional modeling, rendering and animation program made by AutoDesk, the makers of Revit and AutoCAD. Unity is a 2D/3D development platform that has traditionally been used to create video games for PCs, iPhones and consoles such as XBOX and Playstation.

What kind of drawings do you need from us?

We can start with PDFs, DWGs or a napkin sketch of your project.

My architect already has a Revit/Sketchup/Vectorworks/Archicad/Other 3D model. Can you use that?

Maybe. The 3D geometry produced by most architecture software is not conducive to being used in a video game engine. When exporting to programs that are designed solely for 3d modeling the model from the architecture software often becomes excessively large and difficult to work with. It needs to be prepared and exported very meticulously so as to be usable in an efficient manner in 3DS Max and Unity. Depending on the quality (or lack thereof) of the provided 3D model, it may be faster and more efficient for us to create our own model from your 2D drawings.

How much does it cost?

Like everything else, it depends. The four primary factors that will affect the cost are the size of the project, the visual quality that is required, the files we are provided to begin working with and the deadline. You can email or call us at 301-589-7900 for a detailed quote or more information.

Client Stories: Polished Concrete Floors

This post is the first in what will be a series dedicated to “Client Stories.” We sat down with one of our regular clients last week to discuss a few of the projects we’ve worked on together. We wanted to get some insight about the client’s memories of some of the projects we did together and see what lessons she learned that might be passed on to future clients.

The first project we discussed was the DC Contemporary Renovation, specifically the polished concrete floor in the basement.

MGA: Why did you decide to do the basement floor in polished concrete?

Client: The existing basement had a 7’ ceiling height, and we were increasing that to 8’. We had to remove the floor, excavate and then pour a slab anyway, so we thought polishing that slab into a finished surface made sense.

MGA: Are you happy with that decision?

Client: I love the floor! It’s easy to maintain, it’s easy to clean. The polishing process was quite messy though. Lots of water, lots of noise.

MGA: How did you choose the color?

Client: There were two options. We could have added a color into the concrete mixture before it was poured and we would have had a consistent color throughout the whole floor. The other option was to pour the slab, then stain it after it was polished. We went this route because it gave the floor more character.  You see more texture and there would be some lighter spots and some darker spots. We did a test patch for the color first, because we used a few different colors to get the final look we wanted.

MGA: Would you do anything different knowing what you know now?

Client: I would definitely do radiant heat next time. The floor is perfect in summer but it’s cold in the winter.

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On the Boards: Super Spy Housing Competition

We recently entered a design competition as a creative exercise to work on during our weekly staff training. Our concept was to design a house for James Bond. Where would it be? What materials would Bond want? What spaces would he need in his house? We went through various iterations of all the above, and in the end decided he would enjoy a hideaway in Algeria, on the Mediterranean shore. We designed a very modern concrete, steel and glass home that cantilevers out over a rocky hillside. The home has two pools, one of which is on the roof and conceals the secret entry. The back end of the house is a private zone which includes a garage and a gadget room for our client's famous cars and spy toys. The front of the house is cantilevered over a cliff and provides an interior pool and bar area where visitors are treated to a view of the Mediterranean while mixing up the perfect martini. Shaken, not stirred, of course.

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