Berg + Moss Architects » construction

Mar 16 2018 · 0 comments · Uncategorized ·

Architecture Omi – Residency 2018

I had the honor and the pleasure of recently being invited to the Art Omi Residency program for architects in Ghent NY. With nine other architects from around the world we worked for two weeks on projects of our choice. For me, with my recent work in the Hudson Valley, I decided to explore a few common local materials; brick, wood and glass. Sounds pretty straightforward enough. Most importantly, having the space and the time, away from the office, it allowed me to pursue other directions at my own pace and have fun doing it. The Residency program is terrific; they offer a chance to get away for artists, writers, translators, musicians , dancers and architects by offering room and board and a chance to think in a lovely setting in Columbia County, NY. Thank you New York State Council for the Arts for supporting this great program. Below are some shots of my final presentation.

http://www.artomi.org/residencies/architecture/2018

Sep 21 2015 · 0 comments · Uncategorized ·

House of an Architect(s) – Part 5

Still Framing. This week we got a roof. Two roofs exactly. The first is a membrane attached directly over the rafters and then a layer of plywood and a conventional roof. The two layers are separated by a 2×4 on its side. What this creates is extra insulation space on the inside of the membrane and a nice clear venting channel on the outside. The venting channel keeps the heat of the roof to the outside by keeping a clear route for circulating air and condensation. The membrane is waterproof but allows vapor than may be inside the house a way to escape. It’s nice to see it all coming together.

Meanwhile the final framing details are ongoing and all ‘on-site changes of heart’ are being added for the upcoming framing inspection. The detached garage will start going up this week. It is great to be in capable hands of a good builder. Thanks Nick.

Also upcoming this week are windows and the final trenching for all of our services.

Sep 10 2015 · 0 comments · Uncategorized ·

House of an Architect(s) – Part 4

Framing! This is where things really start rolling. The original idea was to have a one story house that would be barrier free (no stairs), cialis sale as well as a home where we, or extended family, could age-in-place with ease. Because of this we, rather, Randy the excavator, spent some good long days digging us out. We also subjected ourselves to hearing a lot of “it’s so big!!!’ comments. After a fair amount of self doubt we moved into framing where our trusted framer Nick, assured us it would again feel ‘not so big’. So after a week of heavy lifting the form is really taking shape. The simple asymmetrical gable roof is the most prominent feature: the low slope mimics the slope of the hillside while the steep side anchors the house into the land. ‘Like a rock outcropping’, an astute visitor noted. The roof profile is repeated inside (another nice thing about a one story house) as every room has a higher than normal ceiling.

While this is happening, we are staging for the next steps: air infiltration strategies, heating, plumbing, electrical, solar, siding etc. Plus all of the finishes and cabinetry is waiting in the wings.

Jul 20 2015 · 0 comments · Uncategorized ·

House of an Architect(s) – Part 3

The weather is perfect for building. Over the past 3 weeks, viagra sales sick we have only missed one day due to bad weather and that could have gone either way. The building team has been busy excavating, generic viagra here removing lots of rocks, locating utilities, building and pouring footings. Things are moving along. All of us, and now the contractor, has built this house a hundred times in our heads. It is now just a matter of seeing it through and dealing with any surprises; rock ledge (none), excess of water (none), buried tanks (none). So we are onto the next step: trenching for utility hook-ups, foundation and double checking our framing drawings. Meanwhile, in the background, we are sourcing our kitchen, tile, heating system, plumbing fixtures so it can all be ready when the time comes. Exciting stuff.

Jan 20 2015 · 0 comments · Uncategorized ·

House of an Architect(s) – Part 2

It’s too cold to start any ground work at the site. We need approvals from the city, cialis a working budget, and foremost, some plans. A bit of work ahead of us.

In the meantime, a demolition crew came in one morning and took down the house. Here are some nice shots by photographer Isaac Diggs.

Jan 06 2015 · 0 comments · Uncategorized ·

House of an Architect(s)

We are about to embark on a new project, cialis a house. A house for us; architects (2), cialis buy and family, that is kids (2), cats (2) and feathery friends (3), here in the Hudson Valley.

Ever since we started working on single family homes, we have tried to bring a careful level of thought and design to every project, no matter how big or small. We have tried to achieve a sensitive solution that balances design, economy, and environmental concerns. We will do the same here. Not everything will be the perfect solution that achieves all of those goals. I’m sure there will be plenty of, “Why the heck did they do that?” moments. What we promise is that every problem and decision will be carefully considered, and we will do our best to explain it here.

I will skip over the part about husband and wife architects working together in harmony and understanding, and try to stick with the facts and other happy thoughts as we move through the process. It should be fun so check back here every so often for updates.

All of our projects start with a goal: ours in the end, is to have is a home that reinforces our sense of family, one that promotes community and communication. It is a house that celebrates our togetherness while respecting our privacy for each other. It is a house that can adapt to our changing family and one that we can easily adapt to as we age. Our intent is to build a contemporary home with simple construction principles that integrates with the landscape in a thoughtful way. We will aim for a highly insulated and efficient house that could eventually require zero energy to operate.

So here we go. The land we found has a small farmhouse built in the 1870’s that has been abandoned since the previous owner passed away a number of years ago. The house has a footprint of about 500 square feet and seven foot ceilings. Besides some vinyl siding and new roof added in the 1980’s, the house has not changed much. We found there was too much to work around in order to . We have worked on houses in much better condition that owners have later regretted not demolishing, so we are skipping right to that. In the meantime, the Fire Department is going to use it for staging drills and rescue practice.