neighborhoods

The owners of this single family residence in the Yalecrest neighborhood of Salt Lake City won a Preservation Award at this year’s Utah Heritage Foundation’s Awards Banquet. (See the full story here.) Jon and Donna Dewey contacted us a few years ago when they were seeking to renovate their home to capture existing unused attic space and create additional space within the existing roofline, all while minimally changing the appearance of the home.

By adding a second cross gable to the upper story, space was added without overwhelming the home, representing a typical addition for a single level brick tudor home that is sensitive to the original design.

The homeowners managed to stay in their home throughout the remodel–not something we’d recommend for most clients, though they seemed to genuinely enjoy the process of watching the renovation take shape.

The homeowners now have a generous master bedroom suite in the captured space upstairs.

The Yalecrest neighborhood is listed on the National Registry of Historic Places. The design of the home met the Secretary of the Interior’s Standards for Rehabilitation as well as a local review by the Salt Lake Historic Landmarks Commission.  Because the home was considered a contributing structure within the national historic district, the home also qualified for the Utah Historic Preservation Tax Credit.

Before photos by Jon Dewey

After photos by Sara Bateman

For last week’s Design Review, we visited the First Ave project located in the Avenues neighborhood, a local historic district in the heart of Salt Lake City.

While the exterior work was completed some time ago, the owners recently completed the interior work. Here are a few thoughts from everyone in the office after visiting the home:

1. Architects create solutions.  After initially visiting the site a few years ago (see here for the before photo and the story of the project), Aaron and Warren came up with the idea to carve out the center of the house to let light and conversation pass between the two levels.

2. Small additions such as a dormer, a skylight, a light well, and a little insulation can create big changes. These particular additions made a cold, dark uninhabitable space into a hidden gem and cozy bonus room.

3. The project illustrates how it is possible to live both responsibly and comfortably.  The owner utilized a small existing building footprint, created minimal square footage and did not require a large garage. Reducing square footage is the basis of a sustainable house.

4. We enjoyed seeing how the clients put their own touches into the design by using creative finishes and modifying furniture to fit their needs and budget.

5. The existing housing stock of our historic neighborhoods is a key to the vitality and sustainability of our cities.  Capturing even modest spaces in existing houses extends the livability of the home.

In October we attended Residential Architect’s annual Reinvention conference in Chicago.  Like last year, the housing tour was a highlight of the event for us, giving us the opportunity to see the work of talented residential architects.  We visited four homes, two of them infill urban projects and the remaining two outside of the city.  Many photos later, we’re featuring in this post the urban projects.  Studio Dwell designed the first home we toured, Bucktown Residence 3. Located on a tight lot, the project manages to create a feeling of spaciousness and elegance despite close proximity to neighbors. (See the professional photos here.) (more…)

Is urbanism more than the lifestyle of city dwellers?

This question was raised during a recent discussion with some local planning and design minds in relation to defining the vision for the Utah Center for Architecture. The architects, planners, landscape architects, urbanists, educators and community leaders that make up the board of the UCFA defined their mission as “a catalyst for creating better places by increasing knowledge of how the built environment shapes our lives, communities and culture.” (more…)

Setting: This single-story Victorian cottage is located in the Avenues Historic District, the oldest residential neighborhood in Salt Lake City. It’s a short walk to the Cathedral of the Madeline and downtown area from the home.

Clients: A married professional couple, Adam & Lee, who lived in the house for several years prior to starting their remodeling project.

Background: Because of the home’s location within a local historic district and a previous owner’s detailed listing of modifications over the years, Adam and Lee were able to find out many details about their property.   (more…)

There is a current counter trend to shop, grow, dine, and support local enterprise. When prompted, Google Images instantly renders hundreds of “Buy Local” logos from “Buy Local Portland” (Maine) to “Local First Portland” (Oregon) and every place between.  This includes a fine campaign by Local First Utah, a non-profit organization that “seeks to strengthen communities and local economies by promoting, preserving, and protecting local, independently owned businesses throughout Utah.”

Buy Local Collage: Google Images

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One recurring theme in recent years at conferences sponsored by the American Institute of Architects is the adaptive reuse of historic buildings, a smart approach to construction both for its green elements and the preservation of history.  Warren has worked on a number of these preservation projects in Salt Lake City.  The first such project, The Westgate Lofts, was completed a few years ago, and involved converting an old warehouse building to mixed-use housing and retail spaces. (more…)

Drop by our office on Tuesday, November 15 between 4 and 6 PM as we participate in Salt Lake Design Week Studio Crawl. Tuesday’s Open Studio Crawl features design and architecture firms in the East District. Come by and see our renovated office space and check out what we’ve got on the boards.  See you Tuesday!

In Salt Lake many of our neighborhoods are full of beautiful homes built several decades ago.  While they are loaded with charm, they are often impractical for today’s lifestyle and technology, leaving homeowners wondering whether they should renovate their property or move. The November 2011 issue of Fine Homebuilding has an article every one thinking about renovating should read.  “12 Restoration Blunders” identifies pitfalls to avoid  when planning for a remodel.  One in particular caught my eye: Mistake #9: Ignoring Historic Tax Credits.  In Salt Lake, there are 10 national historic districts (the city website only lists 8; the Yalecrest and Liberty Wells neighborhoods should also be listed on the registry).  The author of the article writes, “Historic-rehabilitation tax credits are the largest incentive available to residential homeowners in the United States, even larger than the sacred mortgage-interest deduction.” We couldn’t agree more.  In the past 2 years, five of our projects have qualified for this tax credit, including our own office space.

Another helpful resource  to those considering a remodel is a publication put out by the Utah Heritage Foundation. Celebrating Compatible Design: Creating New Spaces in Historic Homes features beautiful photos and drawings of homes throughout the Salt Lake City area that have utilized good design to create functional, contemporary homes that are compatible with their surroundings and retain the historic character of the home.  The book explains the hows & whys of good design and looks particularly at compatible additions, dormers, and garages. If you’re considering a remodel in Salt Lake, you will want to get a copy of this book.

Note: Our summer intern, Nate Russell, is heading east to attend Syracuse U for graduate work in architecture.  While at our offices, he worked on the schematic design for an interactive web design firm that is relocating to a renovated historic building in the downtown area of Salt Lake.  Here are Nate’s thoughts on the area:

I walk down Floral Street (roughly 50 E and 250 S) and look at all the historical remnants  that have the feeling of a back alleyway. Ornate lion heads now blackened and worn look down on me from several stories above. An old water tower watches over the area from the top a building. It makes me feel like I have stepped back to the turn of the 19^th century. New graffiti battles for room with old advertisements painted on the sides of the aged brick exterior walls and I wonder what the future is for such an interesting place. (more…)

On week one of the Clear The Air Challenge we at Lloyd Architects are re-connecting with our bike-friendly streets.  I am glad to have 600 East on my morning and evening commute path.  Perhaps one of the greenest streets in Salt Lake City, the 9-block stretch of 600 East from South Temple to Liberty Park is a great place to see from a bicycle or on foot. (more…)