US architecture studio Schaum/Shieh has embedded a Virginia house with irregularly shaped volumes into the contours of a steep site.
Located in the Allegheny Mountains, the 2,750 square foot (255 square metre) Shenandoah House conforms to the topography of its hillside site “gently”, as Schaum/Shieh neither wanted to add a cantilever nor flatten the topography.
Schaum/Shieh has embedded a residence into a steep Virginia site
“We didn’t have the inclination to make dramatic use of the steepness with a cantilever, and we didn’t want to flatten any portion of the site to erase the slope, so we decided to build along the contours as much as we could,” said Schaum/Shieh co-principal Rosalyne Shieh.
The one-story home unfurls in a 120-foot-long (36-metre) horizontal line that runs parallel to the topography, with its front elevated to meet wooden terraces, and portions of the back sitting flat on the slope.
The studio wanted to avoid “dramatic” cantilevers
Along the footprint, three bedrooms, three bathrooms, a dining room, a living room, a study and a garage branch off a slim, central corridor in irregularly shaped volumes – or pods.
The spaces between each pod create room for gardens, outdoor nooks and wooden terraces along the house, while a parking area was carved out of the hillside at the back.
The house is organized along one long horizontal line
The grey metal roof reflects the area’s rolling hills. Each individual volume is topped with a rounded gable roof that runs diagonally across its centre so that the profiles dip and rise with the surrounding environment
“We discovered that by doubling the ridgeline and rounding the peak we could create a softness that reflects the sloped surroundings,” said Schaum/Shieh co-principal Troy Schaum.
Irregularly shaped volumes are connected by a slim central corridor
“It seemed appropriate on the hillside and took what was a simple, more functional logic and grounded it in the dynamic, undulating nature of the site.”
Rectangular windows on either end of the horizontal plan create an interrupted view through the centre of the house and large sliding glass doors and picture windows were installed on the facade.
Rounded corners and integrated lighting bring softness to the interior
Small clerestory and porthole windows were placed on the uphill side.
Rounded corners on the home’s exterior are reflected on the interior, further softening a largely white interior palette.
Concrete, wood and soapstone were used for furniture pieces
“Lighting was also subtly integrated to create interrupted lines throughout the house,” said the team.
“No lights or other features interrupt the ceilings; instead, lighting emerges through slots at the ceiling edge and on the quasi-furniture objects that provide texture across the home.”
These furniture elements include bespoke wooden cabinetry, a large island, a wooden bed frame and a central wood stove unit made of concrete and soapstone.
The house is finished with bamboo wood floors and insulated stucco.
The house is clad in insulated stucco
“The hillside as an old problem in house design was a major motivator. Our clients knew many hilly sites from growing up in the area and their time in Greece. We wanted to intervene gently but opportunistically into the hill,” said Shieh.
“They wanted a house that fit organically but was not derived from the local vernacular materials or solutions in a straightforward way. We focused on the hill, the seasons, the distant view, and the intimate life of the site.”
Other recently completed projects by Schaum/Shieh include a Houston art galley covered in white sculptural panels and a concert venue designed to endure “rough handling”.
Architect: Schaum/Shieh Design team: Troy Schaum, Rosalyne Shieh, Giorgio Angelini, Andrea Brennan, Tucker Douglas, Ane Gonzalez Contractor: Blue Ridge Green – Jonathan Kuntz Structural: Truesdell Engineering- Jordan Truesdell, PE
Ford Calumet Environmental Center – Once a dumping ground from nearby steel mills, Big Marsh park opened in 2016 on the southeast side of Chicago. The Chicago Park District asked Valerio Dewalt Train to design an environmental center that serves as an education hub and a gateway to eco-recreation opportunities throughout the region. The design responded to the park’s past by marrying the industrial with the natural. The exterior is clad in a rain screen of weathered steel that recalls the site’s steel mill history, with an exposed mass timber interior. Two large rooftop light monitors, clad in exposed Nail-Laminated-Timber, flood a double-height exhibition area with daylight.
Architizer chatted with Tom Daly, Project Manager and Joe Valerio, Design Principal at Valerio Dewalt Train, to learn more about this project.
Architizer: What inspired the initial concept for your design?
Tom Daly: Historically, Chicago’s Southeast Side has been burdened with the effects of industrialization and left with remnants of steel production in the region of the city. The building’s materiality serves as a metaphor to the site’s industrial past and forward-thinking future: the corten steel that wraps around the building is an acknowledgement of that past, while the two wooden forms cantilever dramatically to both mark the entry and frame a view of the interior, while from the inside they focus your attention on small but significant vignettes of the restored natural landscape. They deliver a message about an environmentally responsive and conscious future.
This project won in the 10th Annual A+Awards! What do you believe are the standout components that made your project win?
The design serves as an example for a progressive future of building in the City of Chicago, a city known for design innovation. The center was the first wastewater wetland system in the city, and the first mass timber building for the Chicago Park District. The building also actively improves living conditions for its surrounding inhabitants. Its highly bird-safe design rates a 4 out of a 100 level scale, with 0 being the highest, and provides a resource for the surrounding communities who have suffered from a lack of investment and park services for decades. It’s sculptural form and rich materiality serve as a gateway to the park at large.
What was the greatest design challenge you faced during the project, and how did you navigate it?
The overall project budget was $6.6M, and was made possible by a major contribution from the Ford Motor Company. The Design Team was immediately challenged when it was discovered that the nearest sanitary sewer line was 1.6 miles from the site. The cost of bringing a sanitary sewer to the site was $2.0M – threatening the viability of the entire development. Working with our civil and plumbing engineers, we developed a design for an on-site black water treatment system where the outflow was clean water. The Ford Calumet Environmental Center is the first time a wastewater wetland system has been permitted by the City of Chicago.
How did the context of your project — environmental, social or cultural — influence your design?
The project’s environmental, social and cultural context are intertwined. Historically, Chicago’s Southeast Side has been financially underserved and burdened with the effects of industrialization. The Ford Calumet Environmental Center is a bold statement of how we can re-inhabit landscapes destroyed by 20th Century technology. A major focus were local residents of the four surrounding neighborhoods including South Deering, Pullman, Trumbull Hill and Hegewisch. Our Media-Objectives Studio reached out to community leaders and developed an award winning exhibit which focuses on their past and optimistic future. Through environmental education and eco-recreation, the center serves as a community resource and cultivates advocacy for positive change across the Calumet Region.
What drove the selection of materials used in the project?
The building’s materials reinforce its mission. The 20th Century industries that so damaged this region were major sources of carbon released in the atmosphere. The weathered steel cladding is recycled – which has a low level of embodied carbon compared to other building materials. The decision with the most impact is the use of a mass timber structure. The embodied carbon is lower than almost any other material, in addition the timber sequesters carbon leading the way to an environmentally-responsive future.
What is your favorite detail in the project and why?
Early in the design process our focus was on creating an open and welcoming architecture with a daylit interior. Big Marsh Park is also on one of the major migratory routes for birds, drawing attention from an important constituency for the Park – bird watchers.
The two wooden forms that cantilever over the corten facade, bring daylight from above into the exhibit space. The eight foot cantilever results in eliminating the reflection of the sky in the large clerestory windows, bird safe glass is also used for these window. There are six large windows around the perimeter that bring daylight into all the interior rooms. Each is equipped with large doors, covered in perforated corten steel. In the open position, the doors shade the glass reducing the reflection of the sky. During the migratory season, the doors are kept closed, with the perforated metal still providing adequate light
How important was sustainability as a design criteria as you worked on this project?
Sustainability was a driving factor in the design and overall project mission. Sustainable features like the wastewater wetland system are put on display, demonstrating how it takes inspiration from the marshes’ natural processes to treat the building’s blackwater and release clean water back to the site via a leach field. Renewable resources in the project include Nail Laminated Timber, giving the building warmth and a lower carbon footprint. An eco-friendly alternative to aluminum, weathered steel has a lower carbon footprint as well, reducing the building’s overall embodied carbon while providing a durable layer of protection with a beautiful orange patina.
In what ways did you collaborate with others, and were there any team members or skills that were essential in bringing this Award winning project to life?
Collaboration was critical to the success of the FCEC. It began with the Chicago Park District who were willing to explore new solutions to old problems. In addition, from the beginning one of the Districts goals was to engage the adjacent minority communities.
Designing and permitting the wasteland wastewater system involved many members of the design team, the Park District, and the Chicago Building Department.
Finally, our Media-Objectives Studio brought leaders and residents of the surrounding neighborhoods into the design of the exhibit which includes the history of these communities including photographs of some of the residents including their own words about the past and future of the region.
Were any parts of the project dramatically altered from conception to construction, and if so, why?
There were a number of changes, but nothing that represented a dramatic change.
How have your clients responded to the finished project?
The FCEC is one of the most widely recognized buildings completed by the Chicago Park District. Among the awards and publications the most significant is first place in the yearly Driehaus Foundation Award for Architectural Excellence in Community Design was established to recognize the importance of great architecture and craftsmanship to city life.
How do you believe this project represents you or your firm as a whole?
Good design is always the answer.
Team Members
Steffan Schoenauer – Project Manager (Chicago Park District); Joe Valerio – Design Principal Mark Dewalt – Principal-in-Charge, Tom Daly, Alexander Raynor – Project Manager, Lauren Shelton, Matt Gamache, Michael Johnson, Susan Crockett, Nina Cackovic, Haydyn Jones, (Valerio Dewalt Train); Joe Lawton – Principal, Allison Rokusek, Jacob Goble, Rafael Barontoni, Stephen Killion – Graphic Designers (Media–Objectives)
Consultants
Chicago Commercial Construction – General Contractor; Primera – Civil Engineer; Jacobs Ryan Associates – Landscape Architecture; Matrix Engineering – Structural Engineering; dbHMS – MEP Engineering; Tom Harris – Photography; TetraTech – Environmental Consultants; BioHabitats – Green Infrastructure
Spotted: Most farms use fertiliser. However, not only is fertiliser a major expense for farmers, its use can also be harmful to the environment. Ammonia, a main ingredient in commercial fertilisers takes a lot of energy to manufacture, most of which comes from burning fossil fuels. Fertilisers also release the potent greenhouse gas nitrous oxide into the atmospherewhen they are broken down by microbes. Biofertilisers are a more sustainable option. These contain living microorganisms that fix atmospheric nitrogen directly.
To help farmers make greater use of biofertilisers, Nitroterra technology has developed a system that allows farmers to make their own biofertilisers on site, tailoring the microorganisms to suit their precise needs. By continuously monitoring a farm’s soil properties, Nitroterra can also adjust the blends for different seasons, crop resiliency, nutrient density, and yield improvement goals.
Nitroterra first analyses each farms’ soil and uses the data to develop a customised biofertiliser recipe. This biofertiliser is then produced on-site using the company’s proprietary production unit. The modular design of the production unit allows multiple strains of microbes to be produced simultaneously. A single unit can also produce customised biofertilisers for different farms from a single site.
According to the company, biofertilisers are an important step in reversing the damage caused by the use of synthetic fertilisers. “A dramatic and urgent change in farming is needed to protect our soil system. Systematic overuse of synthetic fertilisers driven by the decades-long race for constant yield improvements pollutes soil, waterways, and air with toxic compounds and greenhouse gases, and intensifies effects of droughts and other adverse weather-driven hazards. Soil is losing its natural ability to recuperate and transfer nutrients to plants.”
Nitroterra is not the only company concerned about the environmental cost of synthetic fertiliser use. At Springwise, we have covered a number of innovations aimed at farming more sustainably. These include planting in a grid pattern to improve yields while using less herbicide, and using aquatic plants for food additives to reduce the need for plants that require fertiliser.
