Modern Addition

LEAP Design Wins Capital Region’s Innovative Remodel

LEAP’s design for a modern addition was awarded the “Most Innovative Remodel” and “Most Creative Remodel Feature” at the 2016 Best in Building Awards by the Capital Region Builders & Remodelers Association, Inc. (CRBRA).

We’ve been super proud of how this project turned out, and if you’ve read our Stories before, you’re sure to have seen our posts on Modern Addition. We’re pleased that the rest of the Capital Region of NY also took notice! And we certainly won’t be too persnickety that our builder was actually awarded the acclaim…ah-hem.

It might be a good time to read our Architects – Why You’re Not Working with Them post, as a reminder of why builders don’t want to share the spotlight. But in fact, we can do greater things working together!

“To me, this award affirms the advantage of builders working with an architect. It gives you great design—award winning design—and accolades from your community.” -E.Davenport

Innovative Remodel

After LEAP met with the homeowners and developed a good grasp of their vision, we got down to work doing the design and construction plan. Design is somewhat obvious, what will it all look like and what materials should be used where, but a LEAP design goes well beyond that. In our innovative design process, we really focus on how people are going to live in the space and how they want to feel. The design we come up with not only has to be beautiful, it has to serve. Every little detail has to be functional. We also design green building practices into every one of our projects.

Energy efficient homes not only require great design, it very much matters how the materials go together, making it really important to work with a builder that has skills and attention to detail. The builder for this project was C & J Custom Builders Inc, and they did a fantastic job. LEAP’s innovative remodel to life!

Modern Addition – With The Environment In Mind

in Modern Addition, Passive House Design, Stories

LEAP designed this modern addition to completely transform this formerly run-of-the-mill house into something breathtaking. In addition to the clean lines and spaciousness, this home is energy efficient, uses recycled materials, and speaks to a client’s passions.

Modern Addition

The kitchen, before and after.

Site Planning

When first meeting with the homeowner, a LEAP architect discovered an impressive back yard: brick pathways, planting beds with beautiful gardens, outbuildings with wooden patina, and a stone fire pit. So, instead of thinking about the addition in terms of expanding the existing house into the yard, the architect decided to expand the yard into the house.

Instead of expanding the house into the yard, we decided to expand the yard into the house.

Environmentally Minded Modern Addition

The resulting design utilizes steel posts instead of the conventional concrete foundation. The construction is lifted from the ground similar to a deck, and all concrete was removed from the design.

Concrete is extremely resource-intensive, and contributes to a large carbon footprint of any construction project. By removing it, the architect saved tons of carbon from being produced, further contributing to the conservation of resources for this addition.

Other environmental factors include the use of spray foam insulation that utilizes a water-based blowing agent: high R-value with less of a carbon footprint to install.

Design of the building’s geometry matters. All of the windows in the existing house were replaced with more efficient units, but are small and punched-through walls so daylight was at a minimum. The new design places glazing near the top, and allows the sun light to be reflected deep into the space reducing the amount of electricity needed for lights.

Read more about this addition’s before and after on our stories page.

LEAP Architecture

Businesses and families hire LEAP Architecture as their Commercial or Residential architect.

Whether in New York City or in Upstate from Hudson to Albany, in Saratoga or in the Adirondacks, a LEAP architect will help you develop creative design solutions.

Click here to contact LEAP Architecture

Have questions for the architect? Ask them here…

Lake George Architect: Porch Addition – Modern Meets Traditional

in Modern Addition, Stories

Lake George Architect: Modern Addition to a Traditional New England Home

An architect for a Lake George property was called upon to help the homeowners take advantage of their waterfront views. The views within the existing space were clouded by mid-century closed-in design. Therefore, the new porch utilizes large, curving glass doors and folding glass walls integrated into a stone porch with radiant heating, supplemented by solar access.

Modern Porch

Modern Architecture: Design Details

Modern building techniques and solar studies were used to ensure heat gain from the sun despite the tree-filled site. Structural integration and detailing were key so heavy snow drifts would not compromise the expansive glass units. The architect ensured the design would be sturdy to reduce deflection by heavy snow, to make sure the glass panels and doors would not be broken or rendered un-operable over time. This is a design built to last!

The House

Luxurious outdoor space taking full advantage of the Lake George views are the result of uncompromising quality and sound design.

*Project completed while working with Phinney Design Group

LEAP Architecture

Businesses and families hire LEAP Architecture as their Residential or Commercial architect.

Whether in New York City or in Upstate from Hudson to Albany, in Saratoga or in the Adirondacks, a LEAP architect will help you develop creative design solutions.

Click here to contact LEAP Architecture

Have questions for the architect? Ask them here…

Fresh Update for Saratoga Springs Modern Addition

in Modern Addition, Stories

This Saratoga Springs Modern Addition for a family of four provided an additional 1,000 square feet to accommodate a family room, dining room, garage, and bedroom with a master suite added onto their existing home. They found the modern architect they were looking for with LEAP.

LEAP Architect Designs Saratoga Springs Modern Addition

Net Zero Energy Strategies

This home, like many designed by LEAP, has the potential to achieve net-zero energy use. Net-zero energy designs produce as much or more than the energy they consume. NYSERDA has launched its Low-Rise Residential New Construction Program to encourage such buildings, both through financial incentives and technical assistance.

To learn more about how to achieve net-zero energy use, contact LEAP Architecture.

Modern Architecture: Design Details

The addition is a modern response to the clients desires for innovative materials and brighter spaces with a cohesive interior, while the exterior emphasizes a fresh presence in the neighborhood.

The House

An affordable solution that integrated green design, craftsmanship, modern design sensibilities, and innovative solutions exceeded client expectations.

LEAP Architecture

Businesses and families have hired LEAP Architects when looking for a Residential or Commercial architect.

Whether in New York City or in Upstate from Hudson to Albany, in Saratoga or in the Adirondacks, a LEAP architect will help you develop creative design solutions.

Click here to contact LEAP Architecture

Have questions for the architect? Ask them here…

Architect Saves Clients Money: Common Materials Used In Creative Designs

in Modern Addition, Stories

Learn how a LEAP Architect saves clients construction dollars with creative design solutions. Picture above: Additional living space helps a husband, wife and their two children with more room for their growing family.

The husband designed some ideas with a Sketch-Up model, but they were not sure about what steps to take next.

When the family came to LEAP, the architect helped them prioritize their goals and then designed a living space to meet their needs, but with some extra bonuses. Read below to learn what these “extras” are, and get more insights into creative solutions provided by LEAP in other projects.

Architect Designs Creative, Affordable Construction

The clients for this addition in Saratoga Springs, NY had a tight budget and were not sure how to spend their money wisely.

So, the architect used the LEAP Method to achieve their goals.

Solution: Concrete Floors

The floors in this Saratoga Springs addition were made of concrete. Why?

Research during the LEAP Method for this project showed it was less expensive to pour slab on grade construction rather than wood frame a crawl space.

So, LEAP architects added a whitener to the concrete mix, and hand-selected the aggregate so that when ground and polished, the concrete floor is one of the main features of a warm and cozy living space.

Here’s a bonus:

The clients of this modern addition in Saratoga Springs, NY have a noteworthy vinyl collection, and the desire for uncluttered space. The photo below shows floor-to-ceiling fabric wrapped over wood frames, on bi-passing sliding door tracks. The fabric is speaker cloth, so when the stereo system is hidden with the rest of the books and items on the shelves, the turn-table plays unmuffled, and clear as if it were out in the open.

LEAP Architects Use Low-Cost Materials in Chic Designs

Agricultural bi-products (straw, saw dust, wood chips, stems) make up this pressboard in the gallery pictured here.

Pressboard in the gallery

Clean, green and modern at an affordable price

Inexpensive, durable, and clear-coated with a sealer allows the space to be clean, green and modern at an affordable price.

Architects Help You Make Money-Saving Decisions

LEAP architects design to a budget, and siding systems, like traditional clapboard, can be labor intensive. But there are alternatives….

Modern Addition

This modern Saratoga Springs addition utilized panels, cut to fit, which resulted in much less labor (less cost) and a quicker protective finish system than other more traditional siding applications.

Affordable Modern Living

Corner windows and floor-to-ceiling glass are trademarks of architects modern designs. However, they do not have to be budget killers.

Modern floor-to-ceiling glass

The glass corner shown here is achieved with common fiberglass sliding door units, installed next to each other to help open the dining area to the deck outside.

Fiberglass doors and windows are less expensive than their wood and clad counterparts, and are much more energy efficient to boot.

LEAP Architects Help You Enhance Your Quality of Life

While Maintaining Your Budget

This amazing kitchen was designed with Ikea cabinets, renowned for their inexpensive but modern design.

Affordable built-in feel

Along with the cabinets, LEAP designed the surrounds and island out of panels that are finished with the same material as the cabinet faces, for an affordable built-in feel. The counter and backsplash are not marble, but rather a resin poured to perform in kitchen environments at about a third of the cost of stone. This kitchen looks like a $50K effort; but all in all, the materials were only $12K. (excluding appliances and fixtures).

~ Eric Davenport, AIA, CPHC

[author] [author_image timthumb=’on’]http://www.leaparchitecture.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/eric_davenport-blog-profile.jpg[/author_image] [author_info]Eric Davenport, a native Up-State New Yorker, began LEAP Architecture in 2003 at age 23 while designing projects for Haitian education efforts and working to achieve efficient agricultural-based solutions for Haitian families. Eric’s projects in New York include both commercial and residential architecture specializing in energy efficient and net-zero buildings.

Questions about your next design project? Contact Eric.

[/author_info] [/author]

Have questions for the architect? Ask them here…

Luxury Home Renovation on Long Island Sound

in Modern Addition, Stories

The design for a luxury home renovation and addition for a mid-century American-Mediterranean house on Long Island Sound transitions into spaces between Traditional and Modern architecture.

Renovation of a Greenwich CT Home on Long Island Sound

Modern Architecture: Design Details

The existing house was fully gutted and outfitted with a newly designed aesthetic enhanced by amenities such as high-end finishes and millwork, whole-house integrated lighting, security, and Audio/Visual systems, along with complimentary interiors by Drake Design Associates with the landscape design by Janice Parker.

The House – Luxury Home Renovation in Action

Modern insertions designed into a traditional architectural style results in a cohesive, luxurious living space in the existing house, while a new guest wing comprises the addition, which includes a garage, pool house, fitness room, living space, kitchen and two bedroom/bathroom suites.

*Project completed while working with Taber Studio

LEAP Architecture

Businesses and families have hired LEAP Architecture when looking for a Residential or Commercial architect.

Whether in New York City or in Upstate from Hudson to Albany, in Saratoga or in the Adirondacks, a LEAP architect will help you develop creative design solutions.

Click here to contact LEAP Architecture