Antecedents – the “Minimal Patient Room”

Originally published on Payette’s website, this is the second post in a retrospective series examining how the early work of the firm in healthcare design established deep roots for our practice. Part 1 – An Innovative Prototype “Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.” —George Santayana, 1906 In May 1949, Markus & Nocka (which eventually became Payette starting in the 1960s) published a short article in the journal Hospital Management with the curious title, “Want to CutRead more

Antecedents – the “Parallel Service Plan”

Originally published on Payette’s website, this is the first post in a retrospective series examining how the early work of the firm in healthcare design established deep roots for the practice. Last year, Michael Murphy of MASS Design Group invited me to give a lecture to his seminar class at the Graduate School of Design at Harvard. The course was called “The Architecture of Health: Power, Technocracy, and the Hospital, 1400-present,” and I would be presenting during week six, which theRead more

Reflecting on the state of architecture

On the treachery of photography; or, how I learned to stop worrying and appreciate Frank Gehry … A few months ago I was contacted by the editor of Wooster magazine, the alumni magazine of the College of Wooster, asking if I would be interested in contributing to a feature for an upcoming issue where architects who have designed buildings on campus reflect on the state of architecture in the US. Her questions included: How do you think American architecture is faringRead more

Week 07 – Accommodation

Big week. Lots of changes. Flooring, cabinets, and tile mostly in. Fingers crossed for a few key deliveries to come in on time during the next week so that we can finish on time. Still targeting Substantial Completion at the end of the month. I. The Kitchen It’s getting hard to keep track of what’s happened week to week, but I’m pretty sure on Monday, they laid a base coat of paint in the kitchen to get the final wall colorRead more

Heath Ceramics

Our Heath Ceramics tile order arrived Monday before last. After UPS damaged roughly half of our quarry tile shipment, we were rather apprehensive about how well they survived the journey from California. I finally had time over the weekend to unwrap all 141 of them, and to our relief, they all arrived in perfect condition, except one piece, which had a chip in the glaze. Not a big deal. Had there been significant damage or breakage, it would have set us back at leastRead more

Millwork update

Our friends at Kerf Design sent us some progress photos from the shop today. They’re really cranking it out. Overview of the shop, with our cabinets and shelving units in progress Cabinet and shelving unit that will go above the sink and dishwasher Pantry base cabinet and pantry shelving Wine rack in pantry base cabinet  Upper cabinet above vent hoodRead more

Appliances and fixtures

Here’s a preview of the appliances and fixtures we have on order – and on hand … the kitchen sink has been living in our dining room since 2013! We were hopeful at the time that we would be in construction by the fall, but a record year of international travel for me kept stalling design progress. I’ve had some of these fixtures (bathroom faucet and accessories) since 2010, when I was contemplating some basic bathroom upgrades to my East Boston condo. EverythingRead more

Materials and finishes

This has to be one of the best – if hardest – parts of any design project that involves construction. This is when the angst sets in … what if it looks terrible once installed? At a certain point, we had to trust our instincts. These photos don’t quite do the materials justice; will have to try again on a sunny day. But you get the idea. So, what are we using? Kitchen and Pantry: Flooring: Forbo Marmoleum modular tile in Concrete Counters: DuPont CorianRead more

Final construction drawings

Final construction drawings, hot off the press. We’re about a week away from packing up in preparation for demolition, which will start at the beginning of April. Still chasing down a few details and sourcing some products, but the major pieces are in place. I expect there will be some detailing on the fly during construction … sketches on walls and scraps of paper. demolition plan new construction floor plan interior elevations – kitchen  interior elevations – bathroom and pantry Read more