Pergolas, Patio Covers, and Gazebos Add Shelter and Function to Your Yard
Updating your outdoor spaces can extend your enjoyment of your yard through the fall. You can do it sustainably, too.
Updating your outdoor spaces can extend your enjoyment of your yard through the fall. You can do it sustainably, too.
A once quiet valley, about a half mile northeast of downtown Bentonville, Arkansas, is the scene of intense construction. The Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, designed by Moshe Safdie, has arisen from the ground, and its buildings are taking shape. Once complete, the museum will become a major tourist attraction in northwest Arkansas.
There are simple benefits of buying an old home to renovate.
Aging buildings can have at least two lives – through adaptive reuse, they can become vibrant office, retail, and mixed-use spaces.
Builders looking for a sustainable, environmentally friendly product may want to consider Accoya® wood, which matches or exceeds the durability and stability of the very best tropical hardwoods. Accoya, made from fast-growing softwoods, was introduced to the North American market in 2008. The process used to make Accoya is called acetylation, which has been studied for over 80 years. Accsys Technologies, the makers of Accoya wood, built its production facility in 2007.
Homeowners have not paid much attention to the bathroom in the past, but in recent years the bathroom has come under scrutiny in the design world -- and consumers are wanting more. Because the bathroom is such a small space, it presents some challenges in finding balanced and poignant design and décor. We’ve talked with expert designers about current trends in bathroom design, as well as some ideas for incorporating these fresh elements.
Earlier this year, the Perkins Eastman Research Collaborative completed a study on behalf of the AIA that highlighted shifts in the senior living industry. The team generated a report that encapsulates various “insights and innovations” regarding the evolution of senior housing.
New York City's lively Union Square is known for its green market, but it is briefly playing host to another set of organic structures -- an ephemeral village of sukkahs. Sukkot, the seven-day-long Jewish holiday, is celebrated by building these temporary forms, reminiscent of those that the Israelites inhabited in the wilderness after their exodus from Egypt.
Third-party verification, the basic concept at the heart of the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) program, is both its greatest strength and its greatest burden. The U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) has long struggled to establish a practical system in which a series of independent verifiers work seamlessly together to achieve building certification.
More homeowners are choosing to build green, but how can homeowners can be assured of the quality of the final product? One of the best ways is to gain certification from a third-party rating system. Two of the most popular are LEED for Homes and the National Green Building Standard. Although largely similar, these two systems have some significant differences.
From scrap to spring gardening: These six DIY planter ideas work in large or small spaces, to revitalize your home with flowers, herbs, and vegetables.
Urban living has many advantages – increased walkability, access to public transportation, and a wealth of things to do in the area, among a host of others. One disadvantage of an urban location, however, is living in the smaller space that generally accompanies city life. Size limitations can make designing a home – whether a house, duplex, or apartment – quite problematic. Renting, rather than owning, puts further constraints on what improvements can be made. To tackle these challenges, we spoke with Cleveland-based architect Robert Donaldson of MOD{all}Studio and Los Angeles celebrity interior designer Michelle Workman to share some ideas for designing small spaces.