Tag Archive for: modern addition

Smart Bathroom Renovation As Featured on Houzz

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It’s time for your bathroom renovation project. There is a lot of effort involved, so how do you insure enjoyment for years to come?

Smart Bathroom Renovation

Any readers of Ram Dass know the mantra “Be here now”, which basically directs you to live in the present moment. While we at LEAP try our best to Carpe diem, it does make sense to give a little nod to the future every now and then.

And what pray tell do we daydream about? Well, how you use the bathroom—em, or rather—how your bathroom serves your needs. Yes, the less graphic one.

For this post, we are really focused more on a family bathroom, rather than a master suite. The family bathroom needs to be robust in order to serve everyone from adults to children to guests, and adapt as families grow.

Considerations for a family bathroom renovation include:

  • Accessibility
  • Age and ability of users
  • Space/layout
  • Ergonomics
  • Appearance
  • Future needs

 

Let an Architect Do the Design

When you start taking into account all of the bullets above, planning out ye ole bathroom doesn’t seem so simple. But not to fear. Years of meditating have instilled clairvoyant sensibilities to Eric Davenport, LEAP’s chief architect. With a short interview, Eric is able to foresee the needs of your family for years to come, and design a space that encourages good personal hygiene for all.

So you may be thinking, “My bathroom is so small, I don’t need a professional design”. In fact, if you have a tiny bathroom, that’s all the more reason to bring an architect in. Professional designers have tricks up their sleeves for maximizing storage, making your tiny space feel much larger, and arranging fixtures for enhanced efficiency and comfort. We have used Duravit vanities in some of our bathroom designs, as the super clean lines are modern and simplistic, yet they supply ample hidden storage.

An architect can also weigh-in on the possibility for expanding your bathroom space. Do you have a closet or cupboard adjoining the bath? Well, we can determine if that space can be incorporated in order to gain a few extra square feet.

 

Modern bathroom renovation in white with clean lines

Modern bathroom designed by LEAP Architecture, shown with Duravit vanity.

 

Approach for Cost Savings

According to Nadia Sakey, interior designer and Houzz contributor, “People are surprised when I tell them that professional fees usually represent only 4 percent of the total project budget.”

LEAP also makes a special effort to be inventive with materials, creating eco-shiek looks out of common, inexpensive materials. For more on surprising approaches to bathroom design, check out our post Affordable Modern Bathroom Design.

 

LEAP Bathroom Featured on Houzz

One of LEAP’s bathroom renovation designs was featured in an article by Houzz. Click through the images below to check out our design with frosted privacy glass, along with many other ideas from inspirational designers.

 

LEAP Architecture’s mission is to bring green building practices into everyday living. We serve the Eastern Corridor of New York, from Long Island to the Adirondack Mountains. We bring you sustainable living technology with elegant modern design aesthetics, and competitively priced services.

Contact LEAP to ensure success on your next residential or commercial project!

 

Architects —Why You’re Not Working with Them

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Do you have a building project on the horizon? Have you kicked around the idea of calling in an architect, but got talked out of it? Here are the 3 reasons why you aren’t calling architects, and why it hurts you not to.

1. My Builder’s Doing the Design

“My builder says we don’t need architects. His team can do the design”.

Sure, they absolutely can, but here’s how it’s likely to go. First of all, the builder wants to keep your design fee, the primary reason they cut out the architect. In order to make the most profit, the builder will look through their stock plans and grab an existing design that most closely matches your requirements. Change the name, move a wall out here or there, and call it done. If you are in the market for a standard issue, (cookie-cutter) house, hey, this really is a fine way to go (no cynicism).

Good Design Floats

You only need an architect if you want your structure tailored to your needs, routines, and desires. If you want a dream-house, or incredibly efficient office building—where form and function are seamlessly integrated—tell your builder you insist on working with an architect. Better yet, get your architect first and then approach a builder.

In recent conversations we’ve had with bankers and real-estate agents, it is established that homes with excellent design have a significantly higher re-sale value, compared to poor or average designed homes of the same square footage. You’re spending the money anyway, let’s make your home great! See an example here of before and after photos for a modern addition we designed. The value of this property has increased astronomically.

modern addition, before and after photos, home improvement, home renovation

House exterior before and after dramatic modern addition

Communication Bridge

Having an architect is having a building advocate. When the builder suggests a change, how do you know it’s in your best interest? It may not be, and it may not fit with your design theme. At LEAP, we make sure all the details that make this design exclusively YOURS—actually get built into the structure.

LEAP Architecture is your communication bridge between you and your builder. We speak plain old English, and we also speak builder.  We can take the time to understand your goals from the start, explain building terms, and what impact a particular change will have. Builders also appreciate this arrangement, as they are crazy busy with construction.  For a builder to take time out to even pick up the phone, let alone take time out for a in depth conversation, is time away from what they do best.

Documentation (or How to Cover Your Butt)

What if (eekk) something goes wrong in construction, and delays might be the least of it. The wrong type of kitchen counter was used, formaldehyde containing paneling was installed in your bedroom, the project is over budget. How do you protect yourself and make sure you get what you signed up for? Well, a big part of our jobs as architects is documenting everything! It’s certainly not the most glorious part of our job, but from a legal protection standpoint, an absolute necessity. We keep track of the paper trail from day 1, including all correspondence, dates, decisions made, etc. If the time ever arises where say, your builder made a mistake but assures you it’s actually your fault; we quietly pull out our files and get to the bottom of it.

2. Architects Are Too Expensive

“Building a house is so expensive, bringing in an architect will just waste more money.”

Design Fee

Let me break it to you gently, you’re going to pay a design fee either way. Either the builder will get it—see above—or it can go to your architect. Here’s why you want it to go to the architect. A great design will enhance your day-to-day living and it will also significantly increase your property value. And in many cases, you’re not paying anymore than what the builder charges.

The table below shows two options for LEAP’s services, a) a bare bones option for a permit set of drawings and b) our Design Package. Our Design Package only cost a few % more than the bare bones, and what you get for that will amaze you. In addition to structural drawings, we do a whole integrated design where we specify the materials to be used, color schemes, lighting, window placement, storage, functionality and site analysis. For a more in-depth read, take a look through the series on our design process.

architects

 

3. Architects Aren’t Accessible

“An architect wouldn’t be interested in my project, it’s not grand.”

What comes to mind when you hear the term architect? Skyscrapers? City centers? Looming glass clad structures that seemingly defy the laws of gravity. Well, yes. Architects do design those, but architecture is not exclusive to monuments or anchor buildings. It’s accessible to everyone, and everyone should take advantage of architects services.

You can call us right now (518-669-9435) for an initial conversation about your project. We’re happy to give you feedback and guidance. In the first 5 min we will ballpark the construction costs, so you can make an informed decision, and move forward with realistic expectations. Whereas builders can be tempted to low-ball project budgets and up-charge later, we prefer to be upfront and give you the best information we can from the start.

So what are you waiting for? We don’t bite, and we don’t gouge. Making our clients happy is in our best interest. Give us a call today!

 

 

Modern Addition – Dramatic Before and After Reveal

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LEAP Architecture had the vision that transformed a little run-of-the-mill ranch house into a two-story, light and spacious modern-home. Form follows function in this Upstate NY modern addition, where every detail from bathroom tile glaze to the support structure for the great room was considered with the occupants, the environment and the budget in mind.

 

Architect’s Vision of a Modern Addition – Albany, NY

 

Vision of Air and Light

Where before rooms were dark and cramped, the new open floor plan – with floor to ceiling windows – fills the space with abundant natural light. It quite literally looks like a completely different house.

 

Dream Home, Sweet Home

LEAP succeeded in making the house feel vibrant and fresh, adding 520 sq. ft of new  living area and completely renovating an existing 680 sq. ft of interior space. In an effort maximize the occupant’s enjoyment of their backyard, a 20 sq. ft balcony and 200 sq. ft deck were seamlessly incorporated into the design. And the homeowners? They are over the moon about their updated living space.

“I measure the success of a project by the satisfaction of the homeowners”, says Eric Davenport, LEAP’s founder and chief architect, “and their satisfaction comes from LEAP’s innovative design process”.

 

Innovative Design

What does he mean exactly? Well, a LEAP architect considers a project from every possible angle – design, sustainability, cost, but mostly importantly the occupants.

How do the homeowners want to feel in this space? How will they move through it? How can their home best serve their dreams, desires and needs? Davenport is a master of envisioning this, and uses it to inform all other design considerations.

In this project, the owners wanted their home to feel expansive, luxurious, and joyful. They wanted to reconnect as a couple and delight in their living space. We were so honored to work with them and bring their dream-home to fruition.

 

Before and After Reveal

The before and after addition images are pretty staggering. Check out them out for yourself and leave us a comment. We’d love to hear what you think!

Still curious about our design process? Read more about LEAP’s process and see additional interior photos from this project here.

Have a dream project of your own? Contact LEAP to make it happen!

leap_architecture_residential_home_renovation-A

First floor view, showing expanded open floor plan – new kitchen area, dining room, and cozy nook with fireplace.

leap_architecture_residential_home_renovation_kitchen

Dramatic update of the kitchen area -clean, bright and functional.

leap_architecture_residential_home_renovation-B

Existing space was altered, with walls and ceiling removed to create an open floor plan.

Modern Addition – With The Environment In Mind

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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.

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.leap_architecture_residential_home_renovation-04

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.

Modern Addition Albany, NY

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

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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 glass architect

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.

lake george architect modern addition

*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

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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…

Saratoga Architect Designs Modern Sustainable Home

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LEAP Architecture is the Saratoga Architect for your next project. Check out this modern home in Saratoga, NY we designed using natural materials.

Saratoga Architect for Sustainable Design

Massing of this highly modern design highlights subtleties between varied materials refined into timeless relationships on a woodsy hilltop. Corrugated metal, white-washed cedar and painted fiber cement board clad the three boxes of the garage, public living space, and the private quarters bridging the house.

Saratoga Architect NY house by Albany, NY Architect

LEAP Architecture designed this sustainable home in Saratoga, NY.

Net-Zero Energy Strategies

This home, like many designed by LEAP, have 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 speak with an architect about how to achieve net-zero energy use, contact us at 518.669.9435 or [email protected].

 

Modern Architecture: Design Details

The owners delight in high design at an affordable price, and were open to experimentation with materials carefully detailed and located to emphasize a warm, nurturing modernism.

 

The House Plan

The easy floor plan is an innovative example of space efficiency and creates alluring passages throughout the home. Cultural expressions of the owners’ Japanese backgrounds are presented in formal entryway accented with natural elements, a sunken foyer, a bathing area separate from a simple powder room, and reminders and hints of the site elements that give the house a place in the environment.

 

*Project completed while working with Taber Studio

 

LEAP Architecture

Businesses and families hire 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

 

Have questions for the architect? Ask them here…

Architect Saves Clients Money: Common Materials Used In Creative Designs

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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

 

Concrete Floors

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.

 

 Clean modern architect design

 

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

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

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

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

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…

Passive House: High Performance Construction Standards in the US

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Passive House Design [founded in the US, then developed in Germany as Passivhaus] is different than passive solar design since insulation and heat exchangers are utilized while solar energy plays a lesser role.

Passive House Design: Introduction and History

In the United States, passive house design standards dictate space heating energy of 1 BTU per square foot (11 kJ/m²) per heating degree day which equates to 75-95% less energy for space heating and cooling than current new buildings that meet today’s US energy efficiency codes. [1] Typical strategies implemented to achieve the standard include well insulated envelopes coupled with air barriers, air sealing, and the use of heat exchangers to recirculate indoor air. Other considerations include: passive solar design, landscape design, advanced window technology, airtightness, ventilation, space heating from internal heat sources such as equipment and people, lighting and appliance efficiency.

 

 

Modern sustainable architect in Albany designs Saratoga, NY home

Passive Building Attributes

Advantages of passive buildings include fresh, clean air, homogeneous interior temperature, slow temperature changes, and low energy loads that support renewable energy sources. Passive buildings could be up to 14% more expensive upfront than conventional buildings. [2] However, when designed to balance budgets, the mechanical system costs and alternative energy system costs are reduced. These reductions in system costs off-set the money spent on better insulation, windows and doors. And, owners get the payback dollars for insulation, windows and doors permanently in the building, as opposed to spending money on replacing mechanical and alternative energy systems 13-15 years down the road (just as they started getting pay-back!).

 

Passive House Design Process

Buildings can be certified as Passive with the help of a CPHC (Certified Passive House Consultant) via the Passive House Institute US (PHIUS) or Passive House Academy US (PHAUS). Both residential and commercial buildings utilize the Passive House model.

 

Passive House Architect - Elevation

Passive Building: Principals

Passive building comprises a set of design principles used to attain a quantifiable and rigorous level of energy efficiency within a specific quantifiable comfort level. “Maximize your gains, minimize your losses” summarize the approach. To that end, a passive building is designed and built in accordance with these five building-science principles:

  • It employs continuous insulation through its entire envelope without any thermal bridging.
  • The building envelope is extremely airtight, preventing infiltration of outside air and loss of conditioned air.
  • It employs high-performance windows and doors
  • It uses some form of balanced heat- and moisture-recovery ventilation and uses a minimal space conditioning system.
  • Solar gain is managed to exploit the sun’s energy for heating purposes and to minimize it in cooling seasons.

Passive building principles can be applied to all building typologies, from single-family homes to apartment buildings to multi-story offices and skyscrapers.

 

Passive House - Largest

The building for Cornell Tech’s new campus on New York’s Roosevelt Island by Handel Architects, will be the largest Passive Building in the world.

 

Passive Building Benefits

Passive buildings offer tremendous long -term benefits in addition to energy efficiency:

  • High levels of insulation and airtight construction provide unmatched comfort even in extreme conditions.
  • Continuous mechanical ventilation of fresh filtered air assures superb air quality.
  • A comprehensive systems approach to modeling, design and construction produces extremely resilient buildings.
  • Passive building is the best path to Net Zero and Net Positive buildings because it minimizes the load that renewable energy sources are required to provide. [3]

Click here to watch a 90-second video explaining the “Passive House”

[1] Waldsee BioHaus architect, Stephan Tanner

[2] “Passivhäuser im Bau bis zu 14% teurer”. Franz Alt. Retrieved 2009-06-05.

[3] www.phius.org/what-is-passive-building-/the-principles

 

 

Have questions for the architect? Ask them here…

Luxury Home Renovation on Long Island Sound

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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