roof with a view

August 13th 2013 Comments: 1

Perched on roofs like sentinels, their watchful gaze offers witness to life below. As far as architectural design goes, they can be shed, gabled, flat or hipped. That design call should be made based on the overall style of the house. After all, these garret structures can be seen as … [read more]

house music

August 3rd 2013 Comments: 16

We even have an in-office festive musical tradition called “Show Tune Friday” (much to the chagrin of some of my co-workers).  To set the mood, Bobby occasionally plays his musical assemblages as introductions to his lectures.  We always seem to have melody swirling around us in the midst of our … [read more]

shutter at the thought

July 30th 2013 Comments: 13

What other element found on the common everyday building can actually move and change the mood of said building?  Their very presence enlivens an otherwise static composition. Shutters, though, aren’t t just wooden bells and whistles; they were always meant for practicality. They were originally designed to provide protection from … [read more]

McAlpine Journal: Home Design

stool of thought

July 16th 2013 Comments: 3

That’s precisely why we architects and designers exist as a profession. After all, just about anyone can draft a house – a room – a chair; that’s base vocational training. When sculpture results in the manufacture of the everyday, then shelter and gear venture into the realm of art. Take … [read more]

the poet of place: a birthday honor

July 9th 2013 Comments: 6

I was pondering all the words, both profound and profane, I’ve heard from him in the past 28 years of our relationship.  I wish I could relay these but his thought process, passion and humor are hard to describe;  you just have to experience them.   The best print interview … [read more]

all the shingle ladies

July 2nd 2013 Comments: 0

Created here in the good old USA, houses of this ilk populate our every coastline, their lineage traced from charming sea shanties to sprawling mansions – a virtual family tree of tree-clad structures. Romantic by nature and beloved by many, this style’s architectural evolution was not a result of aesthetics, … [read more]

lake cabin fever – contagion

June 25th 2013 Comments: 3

After he sold it, the simple design continued to haunt his memory. This little wooden tender box held such great lessons and memories within, he couldn’t seem to shake its elemental echoes.  A simple witness, it spoke as clearly as a boy’s first tree house. An idea hit him one … [read more]

McAlpine Journal: Saliia Home

lake cabin fever

June 18th 2013 Comments: 8

Situated across three counties, Lake Martin is one of the largest man-made lakes in the country, boasting 750 miles of wooded shoreline. It’s been a home to recreational water bugs since its creation in the 1920s. Our history with this lake goes back a few decades.  In the mid-eighties, Bobby … [read more]

McAlpine Journal: Camp Design

balcony scenes

June 4th 2013 Comments: 0

It’s as if the buildings are making a teasing offering to an awaiting scene below, holding out promise of something magical yet to emerge.  Romantic perches, these shallow aeries seem to demand witness.  How magnificent it must be to have a golden ticket to these prime box seats, poised to peruse … [read more]

McAlpine Journal: Design Inspiration

a june prayer

May 28th 2013 Comments: 6

School is out and I am about and free to be. If I were any happier there’d be two of me. Hence the seed Hence the notion Teenaged month. Why isn’t there one to share the wealth of feel? Gills open. All inclusive. I emit invitation. and connection, a courtly … [read more]

McAlpine Journal: Furniture
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