Sala House: Laying out the terms of the experimental process to include the owner’s direct labor during the construction of the house

700 Hillside, 94706, Albany, CA, U.S.A.

Mr. & Mrs. Andre and Anna Sala

Christopher Alexander, Gary Black, Bob Smith, David Turtle, Seth Wachtel, Andre Sala

Center for Environmetal Structure

$180.000

1) Personal vision: C.E.S. worked with the Sala family to gain an understanding of their needs and to derive from them a deep and personal vision of their house. 2) Layout on the site: several sessions on the site, laying out the exterior edges of the house volume along with outside courtyards, completed by C.E.S. staff working with the Salas. The interior rooms of the ground floor were also laid out on the site. 3) Preparation of drawings: At the end of the layout process it was possible for C.E.S. to prepare a set of drawings for the building permit from the City of Albany. 4) Construction commences and design continues; C.E.S. was the general contractor, and so the design process which had been begun in the first phase was carried through the construction phase, with many crucial on-site design decisions being made weekly, even daily, while the house was under construction. 5) Finishing touches: Hand-painted woodwork, color, details, furnishings, were done by C.E.S. staff and construction crews.

Pattern language for the project by clients and C.E.S. Layout on the site by clients and C.E.S. Design Development and Building Permit drawings done after layout Use of full scale mock-ups Direct Construction management along with on-site design decis

Mr. & Mrs. Andre and Anna Sala, Albany, CA , U.S.A.
Christopher Alexander, Center for Environmental Structure, Berkeley, CA, U.S.A.