On this Halloween I’ve been thinking about Victorian and Gothic architecture and scary houses called to mind the many historic architecture of San Francisco. A great wrap-up can be found here —> Museum of the City. I particularly identify the City of San Francisco with the Mediterranean Revival Style (1920-1950s) found in many grand homes west… Read more »
Posts Tagged: landmark
Westgate Project Team – Meet Trace Kannel
Trace Kannel was initially hired to do code research for the Westgate project because she is a resident of San Francisco, and has a thorough understanding of their layered planning process and compliancy issues for renovating homes there, especially ones that are historic. She is also multi-faceted in other ways. Trace is not only an… Read more »
House Fires & Hazards: A Lesson on Egress
Did you know that the size of a window opening is based on getting firefighters or other emergency escape and rescuers into or out of a house, with their equipment? In California egress is now often referred to as “Emergency Escape and Rescue Openings”, in cases of a fire or other hazards. And it is most… Read more »
Brunelleschi’s Dome: How a Renaissance Genius Reinvented Architecture
I don’t usually do book reviews but came across this and it really was a good read, especially if you like architecture. Brunelleschi’s dome construction for the Santa Maria del Fiore cathedral in Florence was literally decades in advance. The proposed dome was considered impossible to build and he built it! Brunelleschi’s Dome: How a… Read more »
Digging Up Dirt
It is a challenge to do “rooms down” when there isn’t enough headroom below the main floor. Ideally you want to get high enough ceilings in the basement to create space that is comfortable to live in. 8-foot ceilings are not enough to do this. 9-foot ceilings are much better. So we needed to stay… Read more »
A History Lesson – Westgate House
The Westgate house was originally built in 1926, in the vicinity of Monterey and Westwood Heights. Nine years prior to this, the Twin Peaks Tunnel was built and created a very important connection between east and west San Francisco. The service through the tunnel evolved from streetcars in the beginning, and then into light rail. It definitely made getting… Read more »
Westgate Project – House Remodel on Hillside
I worked on a great project several years ago. It was a hillside property. The owners wanted to raise a family but the house was very small. By hillside I mean a very sloping site, on a narrow lot. There was no space to extend outward in any direction except at the garage level below… Read more »
The White House
The Presidential election is just around the corner. One of the candidates will soon be taking up residence in the White House at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Washington D.C. It’s timely then to take a closer look at this well known building. The White House was originally designed by Irish-born James Hoban, who won an architectural competition to… Read more »
The San Jose Skyline
Did you ever wonder why San Jose doesn’t have a high profile skyline? Architects involved in the construction of the commercial buildings in San Jose know why. San Jose is the 10th largest city in the United States, yet it boasts a modest sky profile. The reason — the city-owned Norman Y. Mineta San… Read more »
The Flatiron
One of my favorite New York landmarks is the Flatiron Building at 175 5th Avenue in Manhattan. It has graced the New York skies for over a century and when it was completed in 1902 it was one of the city’s tallest skyscrapers. But what really makes the Flatiron stand out is its design, which… Read more »
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