Construction Innovation

Potash-McCabe House: Red, yellow and green polished terrazzo floor with squares and stars

1986

Work of Art for Project, Terrazzo Work

Red, Yellow and Green Polished Terrazzo Floor with Squares and Stars; with styrofoam lost form technique.

Created by:

Christopher Alexander, Steven Duff, Kleoniki Tsotropoulou

Content of

Project

House for Daniel Potash and Maureen McCabe 1986 to 1988

1341 Butterfield Road, San Anselmo, CA, U.S.A.

Residential, Realized , Construction completed in 1988

Client:

Mr. Daniel Potash and Ms. Maureen McCabe

C.E.S. staff:

Christopher Alexander, Gary Black, Artemis Anninou, Chester Cervellino, Mark Brinner, Stephen Duff, Kleoniki Tsotropoulou

Contractor:

Center for Environmetal Structure

Project cost:

$150,000

Project stages:

Layout on the site by clients and C.E.S. Use of full scale mock-ups Design Development and Building Permit drawings done after layout Direct construction management and on-site design decisions

Complete reconstruction of existing house, with emphasis on the house kitchen. Hand painted interiors, hand-plaster work, furniture, and garden terraces; benches, seats, table, fireplace and floor of kitchen --all built and painted by C.E.S. Total construction 2,500 square feet.

Contents

Photographs

References

Scientific Research

Ornament and Function as Products of Unfolding

Areas of focus:

Design and Building Process

Guiding idea:

Structure Preserving Transformations

Ornament arises as part of the design process, when a person is making and seeks to embellish this "something" while making it. It arises as a result of the latent centers in the uncompleted thing requiring still more centers, requiring ...