The musical term sotto voce is used to describe an intentional lowering of the voice for dramatic effect. If it is not too much of a stretch to imply a musical analogy to architecture – and given the regular use of the words “rhythm” and “accent” to name just two terms pertaining to both music and design, I don’t think it is – there are a number of projects we have encountered over the years that demand sotto voce architecture. That is, where the natural beauty of a landscape is so overwhelming, it demands a strategy of subtlety – of sotto voce.
As an example of this quality, Estancia del Rio is a project of ours conceived in deference to the landscape, indeed entirely of the landscape. The fieldstone and adobe building structures seem to grow from the earth and are woven together by open air viga structures and low stone walls. The Chama River and dramatic desert landscape are the real stars of the show, as it should be.
Estancia del Rio view from drive
Estancia del Rio stone paved raise patio
Table Rock Ranch, as another example, is a project that perhaps best exemplifies sotto voce as a site strategy, in which the most appropriate idea was to create multiple buildings rather than a single grand architectural gesture in order to respect the beautiful Colorado valley and top-notch trout fishing stream that runs through it.
We were happy to hear these thoughts echoed in a recent article for Dorado Magazine by author Jamie Gillin, about her recent tour of Table Rock Ranch. Bill Curtis describes how the visual impact of the buildings was deliberately suppressed in order to “let the valley win.” Long views down the valley, coupled with epic fishing and buildings at different scales that could tolerate many different kids of use, support the ranch functioning for both family and business retreat events.
Continuing the musical analogy, Curtis quipped: “Architecture is like a guitar – it can be in tune or it can be out of tune. When everything is dialed in to a specific place, architecture gives you a chance to better understand where you are.”
Author Jamie Gillin ventured to a quiet Colorado valley for a look at the architecture, interiors, and top-notch trout fishing stream that make Table Rock Ranch a comfortable family and business retreat. We are delighted by Gillin’s insight into the place, with a good read on the motivations behind an architectural strategy of subtlety.
Gillin writes: “The designers took inspiration from trout fishing and the rituals and etiquette around it to craft an architecture that feels delicate, right, and refined, and sits gently on the land.”
The color of love or the color of anger, red can soothe or it can shout. Here are some ways we’ve used this versatile color over the years.
Swift Street front facade
Willowick Residence dining room
Courtyard Residence on Del Monte bar
Solid oak trusses by Texas Timber Frames
A warm brick red on the Swift Street Studio stands in contrast to the lush backyard; a cardinal shade on faceted walls of the Willowick Residence dining room draws the eyes to the plaster oak leaf wreath at the ceiling; belly up to the burgundy upholstery on the sinuous bar in the Del Monte Courtyard Residence; maroon acoustical fabric between the timber structure of St. John’s School Great Hall offers a soothing contrast to the white plaster walls and softens the light from clerestory windows.
The New York Public Library has announced a release of more than 180,000 photographs, postcards, maps, and art prints from their digital collection. According to the New York Times, the collection will allow high-resolution downloads, much of it free of copyright restrictions.
As traditional architects, we are thirsty for the insight that original photographs, scale drawings, even diagrammatic plan sketches can offer into the methodology of our favorite architects of times past. What heretofore unseen architectural treasures are waiting to be discovered?
Of course the effort towards digital access is not unique to the New York Public Library. Here are some other favorite digital sources:
Sir John Soane’s Museum Collection Online has digitized Soane’s collection of drawings by other architects, including James and Robert Adam, along with his own sketchbooks and architectural drawings.
The Library of Congress Historic America Building Survey includes period photos and measured drawings of historic buildings and structures throughout the country. Below left is a photograph taken in 1936 of the Immaculate Conception Roman Catholic Church, in Jefferson, Texas, which was tragically lost to fire in the early 1990’s. We used these photos and the drawings from a Works Progress Administration survey to understand the character and scale of the original church in designing the new structure, as seen in the photograph on the right.
Historic American Buildings Survey, Library of Congress picture of Immaculate Conception 1936 front
Immaculate Conception Church, front facade, Jefferson, Texas
Accessed through the Woodson Research Center at Rice University, the Weber-Staub-Briscoe Architectural Collection, 1909-2010 includes photographs of 940 pattern boards (design molds) and metal castings of architectural details such as stair rails, fencing, and other metalwork ornaments manufactured by Weber Iron & Wire Company from the 1930’s to the 1990’s in Houston, Texas. Some were designed by architects John F. Staub and Birdsall P. Briscoe.
And just for fun, try Mansion Maniac, a whimsical game developed by the New York Public Library in which a Pac-Man like character explores the floorpans of historic mansions.
A recent article by Paul Takahashi in the Houston Business Journal showcases St. John’s School Campus Center and explains the thought and inspiration behind the project. A comprehensive slideshow includes photos of some of the secondary spaces that are now in use by the school.
For a closer look at the origin of the design see Headmaster Mark Desjardins along with Bill Curtis and Russell Windham’s discussion and early walkthrough of the project from the St. Johns School Opportunity of a Lifetime video.
A recent article by Paul Takahashi in the