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The Front Porch and What Makes it Functional?

John Olson — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 21:00:21 +0000

Front Porch: “an exterior appendage to a building, forming a covered approach or vestibule to a doorway.” (Definition from Dictionary.com)
Front porches are often installed on homes, but many are not used. Some porches are simply appendages of a home to give the traditional appearance to a home, but virtually unusable if a homeowner had the desire to use it. I have lived in multiple homes in my life and have always had the desire to use my porch. However every home I have lived in, aside from my current townhome, did not have a porch that was functional. I would like to discuss what components of a porch are key to make it functional.

Overhead Structure or Roof:
A porch without a roof is not considered a porch. The roof defines the porch and gives it the “covered approach” in the definition. Regardless of the size of the porch I have had, with every porch I had the desire to be on it when it was raining or when a storm was passing through. I do not think I am in the minority because in all neighborhoods I have lived, I would see others on the porch during storms. The roof provides the shelter and the depth of the shelter is critical in a rain storm. If a porch is too shallow, the rain can easily make contact with you.

The porches on these townhomes appear nice along the sidewalk, but the depth is limiting to the function.

Porch Depth:
To this day, I have not lived in a home with enough depth to the porch to utilize its full potential. I feel that a minimum of 6-feet is necessary for optimum use of a porch. I currently have a porch in a neo-traditional neighborhood and the depth of it is generous in comparison with CSD (conventional suburban developments) porches, but still inadequate for optimum use. The depth of my current porch is about 5-feet, on which I have a porch swing turned perpendicular to the street (though towards Pikes Peak). With an extra foot, I calculated that I could have comfortably positioned chairs and a small table between them and still leave room for leg room and passage by. With three extra feet, I could have turned the porch swing toward the street without risking rocking into the house.

Porch is sited for privacy and interaction.

Porch Height:
Another important consideration of the porch is the height of the foundation and its proximity to the sidewalk. Height is important for the feeling of privacy and use of the porch. Aside from ADA exceptions, a porch should be no less than 18” above the sidewalk height. Steve Mouzon, of the New Urban Guild, put together a great chart which can be seen in his book, A Living Tradition: Architecture of the Bahamas and also New Urbanism: Best Practices Guide which illustrates a ratio of height to setback from the sidewalk to allow for optimum privacy, yet interaction with passersby.

Adaptability and Flexibility:
A porch should not be considered any differently than anything designed. It should be adaptable and flexible for several uses. Some may wish to have their porch be purely decorative, with nice yet uncomfortable furniture. Some may desire a place to rest and read a book. Others may desire a place to drink their morning coffee or evening glass of wine. My porch is used most often for kids playing and sidewalk chalk but the point is that it must be flexible for all of these uses. In a home, we must adapt and change the functions of a lot of the rooms, bedrooms to offices, to playrooms, etc. The same is true for the porch, after all with the frequency of changing residences that our country has grown accustomed to, we can not anticipate remaining in the same house our entire lives like our ancestors once did.

The details of this porch provide the authenticity of a porch in South Main.

Architectural Details and Vernacular:
I have listed the details and vernacular last because they have the least to do with the function of the porch (at least with today’s technology), yet they have the most to do with the appearance of the porch. Have you ever looked at a house and thought “Something is just not right with it?” As a non-architect, I felt this way about houses and structures for a long time and could not peg what the problem was. This was true until I discovered new urbanism and its many facets including traditional architectural detail. The reason that we (as non-architects) have this sensation is because we have seen enough beautiful architecture to know what is right and what is not.
I am always reminded of a professor of mine at Kansas State who explained to us that when designing a raised deck, or similar raised structure, that we could structurally support a large mass with very little. He was referencing utilizing very small lumber and very little lumber for support. However, if we did use something so small, it would not appear or feel safe (modern architecture or modernism is notorious for this factor). Therefore many will not use it. Much of today’s home building provides a good illustration of this. Homes are built with the minimum amount of supports or columns that take the authenticity away. On a porch as an example, columns are spaced to a maximum. This maximum is not equal to the maximum that homes used to have because we did not have the technology. For a home with a porch frontage of 30-feet, historically we may have had six columns, whereas today there are typically no greater than three. There are many other details not mentioned that should be carefully analyzed when designing your porch.

Originally posted 2010-04-29 02:50:42.

Q&A

evstudio — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 21:00:14 +0000

One of our primary goals in writing the EVstudio blog is to answer your questions about EVstudio and your larger questions about architecture, planning, development, construction, new urbanism, real estate, Denver issues, Colorado issues, AIA issues etc. Please let us know any questions or issues that you'd like to see addressed on this website and we'll turn around answers ASAP.

Looking forward to your input. Thanks

Originally posted 2008-06-01 21:41:36.

New Website Coming

The Neighborhood Unit: How Does Perry’s Concept Apply to Modern Day Planning?

John Olson — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 21:00:05 +0000

In the 1920's, Clarence Perry introduced a concept that he referred to as "The Neighborhood Unit". The image below is a sketch published by Perry in 1929 illustrating the relationships between the residential components of a neighborhood and the uses that could easily be traversed to and from by foot. Perry utilized the 5-minute walk (See The Five-Minute Walk: Calibrated to the Pedestrian) for more information) to define walking distances from residential to non-residential components, in particular Perry was very concerned about the walkability to and from schools.

Clarence Perry's "Neighborhood Unit" Diagram, 1929.

The "Neighborhood Unit" has since laid the foundation for modern-day planning movements including the "new urbanism" movement of the 80's, 90's and today. Unfortunately, the "neighborhood unit" concept has also provided fuel for today's suburbanization and road classification system. False interpretations of Perry's concept have conceived segregation of land uses, further validating the modern-day road classification system and unfortunately created an auto-centric society in today's first ring and outward suburban communities.

Perry's intentions were calibrated to the human foot, not the automobile. Please remember that Perry's Neighborhood Unit was conceptualized prior to an automobile-based society (1920's). His notes on the plan above refer to walk distances, narrow streets and a mix of uses. Note that there also is a fairly connected network of streets, another modern-day casualty from the road classification system. You do not see cul-de-sacs in the diagram above and in fact you see a lot of intersecting streets on highways and arterials. With today's road classification standards, intersections with this frequency are not permitted on arterials, let alone highways. The following graphic is an interpretation of the neighborhood unit created by Farr Associates, Architecture and Urban Design.

The Modern Day Neighborhood Unit Diagram. Graphic by Farr Associates.

Originally posted 2010-11-01 23:20:33.

Quickly Construct Concrete Pad Footings with FASTBAG

Adam Denton — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 20:59:39 +0000

At a recent seminar I attended I was introduced to the Fab-Form product called FASTBAG. This product is brilliantly simple….a textile bag you can fill with concrete and reinforcing bars to take the place of the wood formwork traditionally utilized to construct pad footings.

FASTBAG in the field.

The bags come in multiple sizes designed to replace standard pad footing sizes. While the shape of the filled bag does not look like the traditional footing the contact patch and load path are designed to be identical to a square footing as illustrated below.

I admit I have not seen these bags used in practice and unless I come across a project that requires the use of multiple pad footings I am not certain they would pay off over traditional wood forms for new construction. However, I do a lot of retrofit structural design for residential repairs and remodels and I see that the FASTBAG would have a wonderful application in this arena. I have had many projects that require new concrete pad footings to be constructed in very close quarters such as crawlspaces. I can see this product being a considerable help to a contractor who needs to construct a footing deep inside a crawlspace with only 20” of clear space to maneuver in. Stay tuned to this blog for a follow up report on the real world application of this product.

Originally posted 2011-03-31 00:21:24.

Landscape Urbanism: A Critique from a CNU Cardholder and Landscape Architect

John Olson — Sat, 31 Dec 2011 21:21:08 +0000

In this conceptual sketch of Yates Farms, the goal was to emphasize the drainage patterns and repetition of an existing pecan orchard as the organizing ecological elements of the neighborhood.

Landscape Urbanism sounds like a great name that really meshes together a lot of what I believe in and do as a professional. Landscape Urbanism is rapidly growing in popularity and I suspect this will continue as the CNU (Congress for the New Urbanism) is now getting involved. Not surprisingly, the "landscape urbanists" have a lot of the same beliefs that I have. There is one issue with the name that does bother me, and that is with the definition and core belief of landscape urbanists. According to Wikipedia: Landscape Urbanism is a "theory of urbanism arguing that landscape, rather than architecture, is more capable of organizing the city and enhancing the urban experience". Although I feel that landscape and the work of landscape architects is critical in creating great places, there is no substitute for great urbanity defined by great architecture for "enhancing the urban experience". I do feel that the definition is very accurate where it states that landscape, but perhaps more importantly, ecology, is very logical as an organizing element of the City. When organizing a city, or even a large neighborhood, the natural ecological factors of the site are critical. Every city and site are different and what may seem like limiting factors are crucial for a great neighborhood. To simply ignore the natural drainage patterns and topography of a site, or its wetlands and tree massings are a horrible mistake that is often made.

Landscape typically needs to create the interest along the street of parking garages such as this one I where I was the landscape architect.

There are instances that I have come across where the building, due to its initial intended use, does not allow some of the features of architecture to frame the street and provide vitality. I believe that there is no greater substitute than great building frontage, which includes a lot of fenestration (glass/openings) and activity. When the use of the structure does not permit or desire openings along the streetscape, the landscape really needed to define the pedestrian experience. I like to propose several xeriscape plants, vines, etc. to soften the pedestrian experience and provide a sense of enclosure and interest. Utilizing a rhythm of plant material to help invoke the rhythm that a building creates, based on the columns of the building, can accomplish the desired experience. Using a lot of the principles of architecture, such as emphasizing nodes, can create place-making and pedestrian experience.

In summary, I do not feel that landscape is a substitute for good quality architecture in enhancing the urban experience, however, it is a tremendous companion. Landscape and ecological factors are critical in organizing cities. As Landscape Urbanism continues to evolve, I hope that it is embraced by New Urbanism and the New Urbanist community as a compliment to new urbanism. The two movements need to work together in enhancing landscape urbanism. Landscape Architects play a critical role in organizing our cities.

For those of you attending CNU Atlanta this next week, Andres Duany will be speaking about landscape urbanism the day before at a SmartCode Central presentation. The following is a link for registering for the SmartCode Intensive where Andres will be presenting.

Originally posted 2010-05-13 00:02:06.

2009 Code Update: Live / Work Units

Adam Denton — Tue, 08 Mar 2011 06:36:24 +0000

Typical live work unit.

Typically, structures built for commercial use must conform to the International Building Code (IBC). Residential structures (single family homes, duplexes and townhomes) must conform to a similar, but separate set of standards, the International Residential Code (IRC). Prior to the 2009 I-codes, using a residential structure as business such as the hair salon pictured was a grey area subject to the judgment of local building officials.

Section 419 of the 2009 IBC allows for the mixing of residential and non-residential uses for one and two family dwellings (and townhouses) built under the IRC.

The limiting factors of a residential structure’s ability to be classified as a live/work unit are as follows:

1. The live/work unit is permitted to be a maximum of 3,000 square feet.

2. The nonresidential area is permitted to be a maximum 50 percent of the area of each live/work unit.

3. The nonresidential area function shall be limited to the first or main floor only of the live/work unit

4. A maximum of five nonresidential workers or employees are allowed to occupy the nonresidential area at any one time.

If the unit meets the requirements of Section 419 the residential use and non-residential use portions of the unit do not need to meet the separation requirements of Section 420 and 508. The non-residential portion may not be used purely for storage. The intent here is to not allow folks to rent their living rooms as a storage locker. Storage related to the non-residential function of the unit is permitted provided that it is 10% or less of the non-residential space.

Sustainable Communities Should Consider Car Sharing

Dean Dalvit — Mon, 24 Jan 2011 20:50:19 +0000

It's not a new idea, but it's an idea whose time has come. In our urban environments, it is getting increasingly more difficult, not to mention expensive, to own a car. In cities such as New York and Boston, people have left their vehicles long ago for the advantage of public transportation. But what options are there in cities like Denver, where efficient public transportation is still developing, and the sprawl of the city makes pedestrian modes of travel impractical?

The solution is car sharing. The idea is that a group of people can share vehicles conveniently placed throughout the city through a membership program. In Denver, one such company is OccasionalCar

OccasionalCar Car Sharing in Denver

As a proponent of New Urbanism, we as architects are in full support of car sharing programs like these and can work with owners and developers to build into our planning and design special parking places for these kinds of solutions. There are also LEED points for alternative transportation solutions like this for sustainable projects seeking LEED certification. To date, there are already a number of existing condominium associations looking into the idea as a benefit to their residents. Throughout the rest of the city, urban residents have access to conveniently placed vehicles in key locations.

Car Sharing reduces the number of cars in the city by allowing multiple drivers to use the vehicles only when necessary, and the cost comparison for membership vs owning when you only use the vehicle infrequently for city trips just makes sense.

Potential LEED-ND Candidates in Colorado

John Olson — Sun, 26 Dec 2010 07:01:19 +0000

In a partnership with the Colorado chapters of the United States Green Building Council (USGBC) and the Congress for the New Urbanism (CNU), I recently identified developed neighborhoods that may qualify for LEED-Neighborhood Development (LEED-ND). LEED is an acronym for Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design with multiple rating systems including the most popular New Construction (or LEED-NC).

Stapleton, Denver

The following are Colorado developments that are pilot projects for LEED-ND:

Aspen Club Living, Aspen
Ever Vail, Vail
Horizon Uptown, Aurora
Metropolitan Gardens, Denver
Park Avenue Redevelopment-Block 3, Denver
Snowmass Base Village, Snowmass Village
Stapleton, Denver
Washington Village, Boulder

I have assembled several other new urban neighborhoods in the State of Colorado, which can also be found in CNU Colorado published book Colorado Urbanizing, that I feel have the potential to meet the requirements of LEED-ND. Please send comments, etc. if you feel that I have missed a neighborhood that would qualify as this is meant to be a working list.

Belmar, Denver

Project Size: 103 Acres
Status: Phase 1 or More Completed
Current Walk Score: 91/100
Website: Belmar

Bradburn Village, Westminster

Project Size: 125 Acres
Status: Completed in 2009
Current Walk Score: 60/100
Website: Bradburn

Casa Verde Commons, Colorado Springs

Project Size: 4 Acres
Status: Completed in 2002
Current Walk Score: 40/100
Website: Casa_Verde

Clayton Lane, Denver

Project Size: 6 Acres
Status: Completed in 2005
Current Walk Score: 98/100
Website: Clayton_Lane

Geos Neighborhood, Arvada

Project Size: 25 Acres
Status: Planned/ Entitled
Current Walk Score: n/a
Website: Geos

Highlands Garden Village, Denver

Project Size: 27 Acres
Status: Completed in 2007
Current Walk Score: 86/100
Website: HGV

Holiday Neighborhood, Boulder

Project Size: 27 Acres
Status: Completed
Current Walk Score: 68/100
Website: Holiday

Iris Hollow, Boulder

Project Size: 7 Acres
Status: Completed in 1999
Current Walk Score: 77/100
Website: n/a

Fitzsimons Village, Denver

Project Size: 31 Acres
Status: Planned/ Entitled
Current Walk Score: 65/100
Website: Fitzsimons

Lowell Neighborhood, Colorado Springs

Project Size: 58 Acres
Status: Phase 1 or More Completed
Current Walk Score: 82/100
Website: Lowell

Pitchfork, Crested Butte

Project Size: 10 Acres
Status: Phase 1 or More Completed
Current Walk Score: 82/100
Website: Pitchfork

Prospect New Town, Longmont

Project Size: 80 Acres
Status: Phase 1 or More Completed
Current Walk Score: 54/100
Website: Prospect

South Main, Buena Vista

Project Size: 40 Acres
Status: Phase 1 or More Completed
Current Walk Score: 52/100
Website: South_Main

Three Springs, Durango

Project Size: 620 Acres
Status: Phase 1 or More Completed
Current Walk Score: 97/100
Website: Three_Springs

Wellington Neighborhood, Breckenridge

Project Size: 62 Acres
Status: Phase 1 or More Completed
Current Walk Score: 65/100
Website: Wellington

Spring Creek – A Neo-Traditional Neighborhood in Colorado Springs

John Olson — Thu, 23 Dec 2010 07:01:06 +0000

The City of Colorado Springs includes three neo-traditional neighborhood developments (TND’s) to date: Spring Creek; Lowell; and Gold Hill Mesa. A driving factor in incorporating new urbanism in Colorado Springs was the creation of Colorado Springs’ TND zoning overlay (Part 1; Part 2), which is guided by a document of standards, policies and guidelines. The document outlines many of the standards of a modern-day form-based code and includes a vital section on context-sensitive streets, which due to a collaborative effort between designers and local officials and organizations (Traffic, Public Works, Fire Department, etc.), enabled smaller street widths than the city would normally allow. Examples of the standard street widths in the TND zoning overlay include:

• 16-ft wide Alleys

• 22-ft wide Lanes (two-way yield streets with on-street parking on one side)

• 28-ft wide “TND Streets” (two-way yield streets with on-street parking on both sides)

Birdseye Image of a portion of Spring Creek from Bing.com

Spring Creek is one of the two large-scale neo-traditional neighborhood developments in Colorado Springs. It is located on a 135-acre site located southeast of downtown Colorado Springs – east of Union Boulevard and south of the Martin Luther King Bypass (Highway 24). The neighborhood is conveniently located within a 5-minute drive to downtown (or 15 minute bicycle ride), and 10-minutes from The Broadmoor, Fort Carson and Manitou Springs. The neighborhood is walkable, with connections to nearby commercial uses, and rich in residential diversity. Multiple home typologies and affordability ranges in the neighborhood create a sustainable future that is unmatched by conventional suburban development. Accessory Dwelling Units in the form of “Granny Flats”, Condominiums, Row Houses, Town Houses, and Detached Single-Family Homes are all available in the neighborhood. This housing stock creates a range of housing prices, available in rentals or ownership, which supports a range of income levels and mixed demographics. Residents are able to age in place and remain in the neighborhood as their lives evolve. Even in the neighborhood’s short life, young residents have moved from townhomes to detached single-family homes to start a family, and empty nesters have downsized from larger two-story homes to smaller ranch homes.

Spring Creek was designed and built on a greenfield previously slated for a regional mall in Colorado Springs. It is adjacent to a commercial and multi-family housing development built in the 1970s and 80s. Prior to the development of Spring Creek, the adjacent shopping center was vacant but has since opened a popular Hispanic grocery store, Rancho Liborio ‘Su Mercado’, as well as ancillary stores and restaurants such as a local liquor store, a Dollar Tree and Subway. The grocery store was greeted with enthusiasm by the neighborhood and is conveniently located within short walking distance from the neighborhood. It is common to see residents walking to and from the grocery store to pick up personal items. The neighborhood also includes its own K-8 community school which was also traditionally designed and constructed as a two-story building, salvaging valuable land.

Diversity of Residential Opportunity in Spring Creek.

Spring Creek is a beautiful neighborhood with spectacular amenities and great infrastructure, similar in many ways to our historic neighborhoods. It is a neighborhood, like most TND’s across the country, that will become better with age and maturity. Its diverse housing stock and adjacent walkable amenities offer a sustainable component which will contribute to the livability of the neighborhood over the coming decades.

Sustainability Bike Tour in Colorado Springs: An Article from The Colorado Urbanist

John Olson — Wed, 22 Dec 2010 07:08:25 +0000

The following article was written for the Colorado Urbanist Journal from CNU Colorado, an organization advocating new urbanism and smart growth principles in Colorado. EVstudio's Sean O'Hara serves as the Vice Chair for CNU Colorado and EVstudio's John Olson serves as the Treasurer. SUSTAINABILITY BIKE TOUR COLORADO SPRINGS, JUNE 26, 2010 Essay by Frank Kinder, USGBC Colorado – SoCo Branch & John Olson, CNU Colorado

Spring Creek Neo-traditional Neighborhood, Colorado Springs

This past June, CNU Colorado teamed with APA Colorado, AIA Colorado, USGBC Colorado-Southern Branch and Bike Month in a Sustainability Bike tour called “Hop on Your Bikes, Bike on Your Hops”. The Saturday event was a leisurely tour of Traditional Neighborhood Developments, LEED Certified buildings, community gardens, and local sustainability-focused restaurants and pubs. Around thirty Front Range participants met with developers, proprietors, and designers at each location, getting an in-depth view of the plans and visions of some of Colorado Springs’ most urban environments. As proponents and practitioners of new urban concepts, for many it was the first look at some of our city’s own local examples, and a chance to hear the challenges and successes of changing the norm with creativity and innovation. The tour began in Spring Creek, a neo-traditional neighborhood originally planned by Duany Plater-Zyberk (DPZ), and culminated at a local brewery for drinks and discussion. Initial commentary was provided by Spring Creek Developer, Mike DeGrant; Colorado Springs City Planner, Ryan Tefertiller; and influential local architect Mark Tremmel.

Celebrity Chef Shane Lyons explains the process of sustainable foods and local purchasing at Nosh.

Being a tour of sustainability, attendants left their cars at home and hopped on bicycles to see the city at the pedestrian level. Upon leaving Spring Creek, the group bicycled past the Colorado Springs Utilities Water Lab, a LEED-Gold building, and Colorado Springs Housing Authority Neighborhood – Rio Grande Village, en route to downtown Colorado Springs. Once Downtown, we visited City Staff’s new urban garden and then stopped to dine at Nosh, a hip downtown eatery featuring all local produce and foods. Here, Celebrity Chef Shane Lyons discussed experimental foods, buying locally, eating seasonally, and how their downtown location adds panache and vibrancy to the local food culture.

After lunch, the tour continued to Colorado College’s new LEED-Gold building – Cornerstone Art Center; the Historic Old North End Neighborhood; Colorado Springs’ First Co-Housing Neighborhood – Casa Verde and Colorado Springs’ first new urban neighborhood – Lowell, which includes an awesome reuse of the Lowell School and new construction promising to be another foundation of a successful urban core.

Cornerstone Art Center at Colorado College in Colorado Springs.

The ride finale concluded with a fabulous tour of Bristol Brewery, our community’s beer anchor and sponsor of numerous events. Bristol, started in 1994, creates community ales, composts brewing waste with local farms, and provides some of the best beer in the region, all while being the local’s choice. This inaugural event proved to be a hit with professionals and families from around the region, and we hope to repeat the ride again visiting different new urban locations, green buildings, and growing examples of sustainability in the future.