On a bluff overlooking Naragansett Bay, this guest house was designed as part of a family compound, on a site with little buildable area. The existing elements (owner’s home, historic farmhouse and barn) were all designed and built at different times and in various styles. The owner requested that the new four-bedroom structure be designed in the Adirondack Style. The use of integrated stone walls, clapboard and shingle sidings, wood shingled roofs, and exposed cross-bracing in the great room create a modern interpretation of the traditional Adirondack style, and are incorporated as elements to unify the grouping of buildings. The organizing element of the guest house is a two story great room with continuous 8-foot windows wrapping around the space to take advantage of stellar bay views. With a line of large clerestory windows admitting even more light, the room evokes the feeling of an indoor “veranda.” Surrounding the great room is the entry hall, a combination kitchen/eating area/sitting room, a study, and a 2nd floor balcony servicing four bedroom suites. Guest bedroom suites with bay views, keyhole windows and dormer ceilings adjoin a wide hallway balcony looking back down onto the great room. The open plan design promotes ease of circulation and integration of outdoor spaces as extensions of the house. Outdoor features such as the rooftop lookout and grass terrace help to accommodate large gatherings, and the incorporation of various stone walls anchor the house in its environment, echoing lines of existing old stone walls nearby. The prominent lookout tower also implies another iconic new England image-the lighthouse, a parallel which is magnified at night, with the bay in view.
Whale Rock
November 11th, 2009ZBT Fraternity House at University of Rhode Island
November 11th, 2009ZBT fraternity teamed with LLB to design a new home on the URI campus to take the place of the existing structure that was lost to a fire and only partially rebuilt a decade before. Because the program was ambitious in relation to the size of the site and budget, an efficient and economical design was vital. Each room was planned and sized to not only accommodate the required program but also to mitigate waste of materials. Standard length lumber was used at all possible locations to reduce the amount of waste and labor needed to erect the walls.
The exterior of the building was designed to be contextual with the surrounding neighborhood. LLB drew from the language of traditional New England residential architecture, materials, and detailing to create a façade with a sense of home. Traditional gable end roofs, used at the entrance to the residential side of the fraternity, brought the façade to a human scale.
Careful attention to context and an eye for efficient design helped to define the building, its function, and its structure, while allowing for a renewed sense of home for the students.
Wilton Presbyterian Church
November 10th, 2009For nearly 30 years, Wilton Presbyterian Church held services in a parish hall on a 14-acre site shared with St. Matthew’s Episcopal Church. In the early 2000’s, they sought to build a dedicated sanctuary of their own. The original church complex was built in the early 1970’s. The facility featured two large volumes, St. Matthew’s church and the shared parish hall, knit together by a one-story building containing classrooms, offices, library and conference rooms. The exterior is brick, painted uniformly white. The surrounding area is wooded and primarily residential. The design concept for the new sanctuary is a simple New England church form to fit in with the volumetric character of the existing buildings, while establishing its own identity. Subtle detailing distinguishes the sanctuary while remaining mindful of its kinship with the campus. However, seemingly “simple” design requires sophisticated detailing to succeed. A slot window/skylight runs the length of the gable end wall of the sanctuary. The effect is an ephemeral lightening of the space and a connection to the outdoors important to the congregation. The minimalist detailing, while carefully crafted, is also in keeping with the Presbyterian ethos. The sanctuary addition includes a narthex, coat room, elevator, basement choir room, library, offices, sitting room, sacristy, upper mezzanine, and seating for 350 people.
Bolton Public Library
November 10th, 2009Built in 1902, the original Bolton Public Library has been in operation for over a century without a single major renovation. The historic library had grown in other ways, however, requiring a new course of action. The abundance of materials gained over the years led to a general lack of space for other traditional functions. Increased technology needs, such as internet access and security measures, also needed implementation. For such a heritage-centric town as Bolton, demolition of the existing building in favor of a larger facility was out of the question.
The key issue facing LLB centered around developing a design for the addition that was at once interconnected to the original through forms yet distinguished and functional. Several distinct styles were taken from the original structure and fused together, replicating materials to accurately reflect exterior themes. Repetition of dormers serve for both form and function, creating pop-out areas to maximize usable areas. The addition is linked to the original library through a glass connector, centralized with the new main entry and stair. This connection falls upon the new building’s central axis, simplifying circulation and program distinction.
Capitalizing upon the dichotomy of history and technology, program themes for each division relate back to the structures themselves. The cozy original building houses reading spaces, meeting areas, and historic materials. Elements in the addition include technology spaces, a separate children’s room, and an expanded administration branch.
333 Atwells Avenue
November 10th, 2009333 Atwells is a mixed-use residential and commercial building in the heart of the Federal Hill neighborhood. The scale and massing are sympathetic to the character of the neighborhood, and the modern detailing is enlivened with parapets, window bays, siding flares, and richly detailed brickwork. The project rejuvenates this important urban site with a more balanced mix of commercial and residential uses.
Prior to the project being completed, LLB Architects worked with the developer to conceive a taller and denser development on the same site. This design included 110 total condominium units, with 40,000 SF of retail space and a three-story underground parking garage containing 276 parking spaces. Through a process of extensive neighborhood and planning meetings, LLB employed the insertion of 3D renderings into existing photographs to explore the project size relevant to the context. The final mix of 16,800 sf commercial space, 24 condo units, and 86 parking spaces provided both financial and neighborhood success.
New Accessory Building / Barn
November 10th, 2009When an historic 18th century farmhouse was moved to a new location, it was lacking its traditional barn as well as a relationship to its surroundings. This barn, designed by Lerner |Ladds, was built squarely positioned with the stone walls and fileds surrounding the house. Its stone base echoes that of the exposed stone foundation of the house and the adjacent walls. The result was, in addition to being a practical place for storing automobiles, the new barn helped settle the old house. Columnless space on the ground level was created by using an innovative timber/tie rod truss configuration, from which a loft is suspended. Rolling hoists permit the easy lifting of heavy objects from the ground level for storage.
Community Life Center at Holy Apostles Parish
November 9th, 2009Dedicated in 1994, Holy Apostles Church had already outgrown its facilities that support the social, educational, and administrative functions of the Parish. Because the church is the “heart” of the parish, L|L+B designed the new Community Life Center addition as a collection of simple forms that reduce the overall massing and defer to the church, but recognize the increasing campus-like quality of the site. The notion of the New England farmhouse-barn typology, apt inthis community with rural roots, informs the exterior relationship between the church and the recreation center.
It was imperative to locate the new spaces behind the existing church to minimize their impact. The detail of the chapel wing, as the most direct extension of the church, matches the church and is connected by a glass corridor through which the new prayer garden is visible.
The orientation of the classroom/office wing and the gymnasium parallel to the lot line reinforces the primacy of the church and maximizes the use of the narrow area behind the church. This orientation, in conjunction with the glass connector, allows the church to “breathe” on all sides and creates the opportunity for dynamic exterior architecture through which visitors can navigate.
Gleason Public Library
November 9th, 2009The historic Gleason Public Library of Carlisle, Massachusetts, built in 1895 and renovated/expanded in 2000, has an unfortunate history of water penetration and infiltration. Limited repair work addressed gutter replacement and slate roof maintenance, without long-term correction. Lerner | Ladds + Bartels, along with Envelope Preservation Consultant Simpson Gumpertz & Heger Inc., conducted a full site analysis to determine existing breaches and deficiencies as well as the best methods of repair. The entire foundation will receive new waterproofing equipment, and a perimeter drain shall be installed to prevent buildup of standing water. The exterior will receive full brick and granite repairing and repointing, complemented by a full slate roof and flashing repair/replacement. Window restoration throughout includes wood rot repair, glazing and hardware repair, and sill replacement and painting. Existing damage is addressed with Interior drywall and flooring replacement.
Salvation Army Child Care Center
November 9th, 2009The Salvation Army embarked on a capital campaign to replace the current day care center, which was insufficient to meet the needs of the community. The new child care center was designed, phased, and built around the existing child care center to maintain continuous operation throughout the construction process.
The very tight, urban site required meticulous space planning to accommodate the day care requirements for cubic area per child, storage, outdoor play space, bathroom facilities (age-appropriate), and different code and egress requirements for the age groups (infants and toddlers, pre-school). The new center achieves these objectives by arranging major programelements around a courtyard that serves as the playground. The gymnasium/cafeteria anchors one side while the two-story classroom building bookends the other. A stepped wall marks the entrance reception area and houses the administrative wing and kitchen facilities.
Economy, durability and ease of maintenance required that the exterior of the building be clad in simple materials. The architect chose a color scheme of “fruits and veggies” to enliven the simple geometric shapes and engage the children. Blueberry, tomato, and squash became the language of the architecture.
The size of the classroom wing, which is much larger than the adjacent residential buildings, is mediated by breaking down the massing into smaller, gable-ended structures that echo the neighborhood scale. This also allows light, an important program requirement, to penetrate into corridors and classrooms throughout. Finally, color, form, and arrangement provide a safe and friendly environment for the children.
Spray Rock Cottages at Weekapaug Inn
November 9th, 2009Spray Rock Cottages were developed as an important component of the Weekapaug Inn development plan on the oceanfront of Weekapaug village in Westerly, RI. The cottages are designed for year-round habitation but purchasers would also have the option of renting the cottages through the hotel as part of its inventory. Cottage owners would have access to hotel amenities including public rooms, dining, pool, spa and beach access.
Many considerations went into the planning of the cottages including views from within, privacy for occupants, solar orientation, respect for site lines from neighboring properties, CRMC set-backs as well as flood zone elevation and construction requirements. Respect for the primacy of the main inn and its great lawn was another important factor in the siting of the cottages. To preserve and encourage the history of pedestrian access through the Weekapaug campus, vehicular access was hidden and private parking was tucked below the units, creating a better sense of community and transitional zones from public to private.
A set of designs was developed for five different cottages. Several exterior views and the floor plans for Cottage 4 are shown above.
