DPB: 1309 Spruce Street Redesign - Joseph Vigil and Jacob Lovoi
Apr 30th, 2008 by contributor
Introducing 1309 Spruce Street, Joseph and Jacob create a space inspired by a young mind. Using input from the Boulder community and Rembrandt Yard staff as a guide, Joseph explains his approach to incorporating sustainability and function into 1309 at Design Project Build’s Architect Challenge.
Team: Joseph Vigil and Jacob Lovoi; Vast Architecture
Project: 1309 Spruce Street (Rembrandt Yard Expansion)
A few days before the Architect Challenge I was talking to my six year old daughter, Carmen, about what this event was and what I would have to do.
“How long will it be?”
“A few hours.”
“Will there be people watching?”
“Yes.”
“Is it a test?”
“Not really.”
Are you nervous?”
“A little.”
“Which building will you get to work on?”
“I don’t know.”
“You should design a tree-house!”
I thought that was a great answer but didn’t really give it any more thought until …
A few days later I was informed that I would be working on the 1309 Spruce Street location (the building next to the Rembrandt Yard) and read through the hopes and goals of the employees for the remodeled space, and the Tree-house idea immediately came back to mind.
I felt that a roof top garden could be the canopy of a tree. The deck would need direct stair access to the street, and this could be the trunk. I wanted the foliage to be real live trees and plants, and the pergola, made up of PV (photovoltaic) panels, to be the actual “house”.
I have never been a fan of Mansard roofs, so it was an easy decision to take the roof off, making room for the canopy and tree-house. The existing “sliver” of space between the two structures was perfect for the “trunk” and and allowed us to let light down into the two existing buildings. We also added light “monitors” on the 1309 building to bring light into the back portions of that building, as they are also a convenient location for additional PV panels.
My Sketch-Up apprentice, Jacob, and I had a lot of fun. By the end I think we were both a bit beat, and for the last half of an hour we weren’t sure if we were going to have a finished product or not. It didn’t help when my partner, and wife, showed up with five minutes to spare to change building colors! There were some additional PV panels that I had sketched that we didn’t have time to get on the model, but I think we still got our concept across.
To see other design approaches from the event, check out the following sites:
DPB: Whole Foods Redesign - Harvey Hine and Lars Zimmerman
DPB: Lolita’s Redesign - Mark Gerwing and Stacy Root
DPB: Whole Foods Redesign - Scott Rodwin and Jill Kamas