Archiscape Blog
THREE TOWN SIGNS
THREE TOWN SIGNS From Branford’s Plaque (pictured left): In 1638 the New Haven Colony traded ‘eleven coats of trucking cloth and one coat of English cloth made in the English fashion’ to the Mattabesec Indians fro land known as Totokett (Tidal River). The first permanent settlement was established in 1644 when people from Wethersfield came…
THE ROW HOUSE: ORIGINS & TRANSFORMATIONS
The Row House originated in Northern European and British cities during the 16th and 17th centuries. By definition, row houses are individual houses attached one to the other and sharing common side walls and a roof. The Place des Vosges in Paris, built in 1605, is lined with row houses, with stores on the ground…
THE SKINNY ON BOSTON’S NARROWEST HOUSE
The narrowest rowhouse in Boston was built in 1874 allegedly as a ‘spite house’. According to local legend, 2 brothers inherited land from their father. While one brother was away on military duty, the other built himself a large home, with only a sliver of property left as open space. The second brother, on his…
From our Portfolio: Historical Restoration
The rectory at Christ Episcopal Church in Guilford stands on the East side of the Green, just South of the church. The house’s construction had been previously dated as 1805. When Karin Patriquin Architect (KPA) was approached to join the Restoration Committee for the rectory, to help determine the best way to restore the exterior…
INTERIOR SIGNAGE – CHRIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH
The design of signage in a building should reflect the design features of the building and the philosophies of the building’s users. The combination of good design and clear way-finding graphics are what create effective and elegant signage. At Christ Episcopal Church in Guilford, we were creating as-built drawings of the church, the parish…
The Traveling Architect: The Algarve, Portugal
THE TRAVELLING ARCHITECT: THE ALGARVE, PORTUGAL This April, my family visited the Algarve in Portugal. Travelling in the off-season proved a very rewarding journey, as we were able to visit museums, restaurants and beaches without the crowds. We stayed in a small house in the hills north of the coastline and woke up to the…
THE TRAVELING ARCHITECT: PARIS IN SPRING
THE TRAVELLING ARCHITECT: PARIS IN SPRING As an architect I sometimes have the chance to travel. In travelling I see a wide range of architectural feats, some old and some new. During my recent family trip to Paris, we made it our goal to simply walk around the city and experience what we could on…
A Chair Affair
To a valet, no man is a hero…Goethe This valet chair IS the hero. Salvaged from a good friend who didn’t know what to do with it, this 1920s chair was given some tender loving care to bring its practical design into this century. In its time, our valet’s owner would have removed the change…
From our Portfolio: Kitchen Zinc – Greening a Restaurant
CASE STUDY: GREENING A RESTAURANT When the owners of Zinc Restaurant in New Haven, CT, wanted to renovate and re-brand their sister restaurant on Temple Street Plaza, they decided on a menu of artisan pizza, made of local farm ingredients. In order to reflect this new concept, and to further the sustainable-farming philosophies of the…
A Website Paints a Thousand Words…
Welcome to my website/blog debut! Architecture is constantly affecting us. We live and work in it, we travel the globe to see it, it stirs our emotions and can fulfill the soul. My newsletter is a way into this world, a place where I can engage peers and newcomers alike in an evolving conversation about…
