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EAMES' HOUSE



Any firms today doing work like this? Would such a structure be approved for residential use these days?

 
May 17, 05 7:32 pm
polipop

approveb by who? the client? the architect? .-.-.

May 17, 05 7:37 pm  · 
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abracadabra

why not?
that building is solid. today, maybe some extra bolts and better welding..
it is a real smart house backing to a continious retaining wall and beatifuly sited. both eames were pack rats though. do not expect minimal living by them. an old sci arc instructor use to make close replicas. some firms are trying to do second editions in los angeles. i am so happy to live close by and i can drop in once a year.

May 17, 05 9:40 pm  · 
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R.A. Rudolph

hmmm, I don't think you'd get away with it unless the entire thing was welded at this point in LA, which would be pretty damn expensive. And it'd have to be all double-glazed, Low-E, even then I'm not sure it'd pass Title 24, although I guess if you left out the air conditioning...

May 17, 05 11:39 pm  · 
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abracadabra

the house is not all glass. well shaded.as far as air conditioning, i wouldn't use any, given the location on the pacific rim. i have seen new homes with more glass less mass, built in and around town. steel members would be a little heavier perhaps. i agree with rudolph, welding would be a little more expensive.
however, without its site eames house would be less of an architectural landmark like the adjacent case study houses which doesn't have the poetics of eames site and siting. this house, in my opinion is really site specific and less innovative of its costruction method.
link to eames house

May 18, 05 11:54 am  · 
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e

gawd, i love that house. the fact that they were pack rats made it all the more beautiful >> a house filled with life.

May 18, 05 12:16 pm  · 
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abracadabra

one more thing.
with the real estate market today, it would be damn hard to run into a client who wouldn't want to built 15000 sq. ft. giant on the site. thats a big issue, maximizing the foot print.

May 18, 05 12:18 pm  · 
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abracadabra

same here e.

May 18, 05 12:19 pm  · 
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hckybg

about as site specific as a building can be, since they had initially designed a cantilevered house perpendicular to the hill and then after all the materials had been received, redesigned it in its present form to complement the hill.

May 18, 05 12:23 pm  · 
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hckybg

like all their work, this was more architecture as craft then as "art," but it is certainly transcendent. the real question shouldn't be, "does anyone design houses like this anymore." it is "does anyone design this way anymore," since the process was way more important than the product. can anyone think of architecture as craft kind of architects?

May 18, 05 12:26 pm  · 
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st.

made my first trip to the eames house last week--it exceeded my expectations.

May 18, 05 5:40 pm  · 
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5

abra--any links to images/details of the replicas and second editions?

May 19, 05 5:17 pm  · 
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abracadabra

first version.
five, i have to look for the close rendation of the house i mentioned. as far as second editions, that was an analogy for today's steel and glass cook-out.

May 19, 05 5:49 pm  · 
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5

I do like that. It is very trendy however (Craig Elwood, 'california modern').

Just let me know if you dig anything up. ANyone every seen a parts list for this thing?

May 19, 05 6:13 pm  · 
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abracadabra

what are you doing by the way?

May 19, 05 6:50 pm  · 
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abracadabra

ok. here is the willow glen houses by peter de brettwille, in los angeles, 1976.
and here is a link to the architects work. link
i hope it helps with whatever you are doing.

May 19, 05 7:59 pm  · 
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5

I'm actually giong through the research phase of building a steel post frame structure for myself and the lady for residential use. The market has little to offer, and steel structures can be built very quickly, inexpensively and durably. The eames', obviously, are very inspiring in this respect. The main reason I created this thread is that there wasn much interest in my other thread: http://www.archinect.com/forum/threads.php?id=19108_0_42_50_C

May 19, 05 8:30 pm  · 
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abracadabra

"cuz i am sure that pic is pole barn construction"
vado retro
:)

May 19, 05 8:58 pm  · 
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abracadabra

i don't know what else to tell you. draw it up, check with your building dept, send it to steel fabricators and get bids, consider pre fab steel structure and adopt for your needs, etc.. like every project. wood frame houses can be built very fast too.it can be expensive to infill steel structures with windows and doors (steel frame sash). welding aspects, energy calcs must meet the economy levels which is expensive part since steel structures like eames and de brettwille's need a lot of glass and transperent panels to show. the seemingly simple houses you see in the zines usually cost a lot of money. but if you can pull it off, good for you..
there are people here with more specific info and related vendors, i am sure.

May 19, 05 9:15 pm  · 
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hckybg

five,
i have not seen a parts list but there is a pretty good discussion of the transformation from the first design (designed with saarinen) to the second in Eames Demetrious's _Eames Primer_. You could call him and ask if he came across the list when he wrote the book, although I know they tend to be pretty protective of copyright so who knows how forthcoming they would be. If it exists it is probably at the Library of Congress, and the curator there is very helpful - his name is Ford Peatross. as you probably realize, all parts were prefab from a catalog - apparently they only had to order one additional part after the redesign.

May 19, 05 9:23 pm  · 
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vado retro

just get some pics of eames crib find a contractor who does steel buildings draw up some permit drawings and get on with it. the contractor will know what to do. its ez

May 19, 05 10:44 pm  · 
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greenmach

it's all about the contractor and whether he can find the 'tradespeople' capable of doing the work. tough to find people who will slow down enough in the current market to do good, solid, technical work.

May 21, 05 2:19 pm  · 
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