Archiscape Blog

129 CHURCH STREET

September 20, 2010

Welcome to the future home of Karin Patriquin Architect. We are excited to be moving our team to a new space in the heart of New Haven. We have designed a space that will foster our creative process, and will allow us the flexibility to add or change elements as we grow. Above are diagrams…

FROM OUR PORTFOLIO: ZINC RE-DESIGN

August 4, 2010

A RE-DESIGN GIVES ZINC RESTAURANT SOME EXTRA ZEST When the owners of Zinc Restaurant in New Haven, CT, wanted to update their 10-year-old restaurant on Chapel Street, they asked Clover Design and Karin Patriquin Architect to design and coordinate the effort. We had worked together previously on Kitchen Zinc, their sister restaurant on Temple Street…

DOWN THE ALLEY

August 2, 2010

There are some interesting things going on in Zinc’s backyard in New Haven.   As well as new sunshades at sister restaurant Kitchen Zinc’s outdoor patio, Swiss urban artist Felice Varini has created a super-size paint-on-building materials installation in the alley between Chapel Street at Zinc’s corner to Temple Plaza, leading your eye and your feet…

NINE SQUARES

July 22, 2010

THE NINE SQUARES In April 1638, the Reverend John Davenport and Theophilus Eaton, an English merchant, led a group of 500 Puritans from England by way of Massachussetts, to found a settlement on the shores of Long Island Sound on land they purchased from the Quinnipiacs. The location for the theological community was chosen for its…

THREE TOWN GREENS

July 12, 2010

1850s drawings of Branford, Guilford, and Madison and their Town Greens (from top to bottom) THREE TOWN GREENS The three Connecticut Shoreline towns of Branford, Guilford and Madison were settled in 1638, 1639 and 1650 respectively, each around a Town Green. This open area, commonly found in English towns (also known as the Common), was…

THREE TOWN SIGNS

July 9, 2010

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

June 24, 2010

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

June 21, 2010

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

June 10, 2010

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

June 3, 2010

  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…