New Year, New Office!

The new offices of HOLAH Design + Architecture

Happiness in Happy Valley

We were thrilled to have our project featured on the cover of the newly revamped House and Garden section of the Oregonian. It was unveiled on Saturday 5/22 and showcased our project at the Obuchowski residence. We completely transformed the main floor with a new, open floor plan, new kitchen, living and dining rooms. Also, a spectacular new covered deck was added to emphasize the connection from the interior to the exterior.

New living room

New Kitchen

New Entry

UPDATE: Kentucky Urban Waterfall….

Update: We’ve been given the link to the article so you can read it in it’s entirety. We’ve also been informed that the link will allow you to ‘like’ it on Facebook which can only lead to more good things….

The full article can be found here: STORY

Happy Reading!

Previous Post: We are excited to announce that we have a project featured in the newly revamped Oregon Home  Magazine. This is the first issue under the helm of new editor Robin Doussard.

This project was an addition to a house in the NE Alberta neighborhood. Our clients, Michelle and Scott needed more room for their growing family. We designed a dormer at the rear of the house and reconfigured the layout on the main floor which resulted included 3 new bedrooms and a bathroom on the second floor. Reclaimed metal siding was used and gave an added textural appeal to the addition. With the new design and materials located at the rear of the house, we fondly refer to this project as ‘The Mullet House’.

Scott is the founder of the band Super XX Man and recently released a new album, “White Bed”. Check it out on his website!

The issue will hit newsstands shortly. In the meantime, here is a sneak peak…

Modern in the Suburbs…

Looking for something to do this weekend?

We have a project that is featured  on the Tour of Remodeled Homes on March 12th and 13th, 2011. We recently completed this project with contractor John Fouch of Fouch Building and Remodeling.

Our clients wanted to transform the main floor of their traditional house to include an open layout with modern materials, finishes and appliances. The view off the back of the house is breathtaking but had no direct access. We added a modern deck which is fully covered with a stair to the backyard so that this family could better engage the outdoor living space. Modern fir cabinets, acacia flooring and glass tiles all accentuate the modern aesthetic of the space. Even the exterior of the house was painted a contemporary dark gray.

The project is located in Happy Valley, 5 mintues from I-205 and Sunnyside.Go East on Sunnyside and turn north on SE 129^th Avenue. (follow the Tour signs)

The project is an official Tour Starter Home, so you can purchase tickets to the entire event at our door.

New Entry

Net-Zero in the New Year – On the Boards

We have an exciting project on the boards. We are designing a Net-Zero passive solar Accessory Dwelling Unit (ADU) in NE Portland.  We plan to host a ‘lunch-and-learn’ on the subject of Net-Zero design and Accessory Dwelling Units in the near future. Please contact us (info@holahdesign.com) if this is something you’d like to attend!

There has been quite an interest lately in designing Accessory Dwelling Units (ADU). We thought we would provide a bit more on the subject. Often referred to as a ‘mother-in-law unit’ or a ‘granny flat’, an Accessory Dwelling Unit (ADU) is (essentially) an additional dwelling unit created on an existing lot with a house, attached house or manufactured home. The second unit is created auxiliary to, and is smaller than, the main dwelling unit. It is a compact living unit that includes, but isn’t limited to a bedroom, bathroom and kitchen. In the City of Portland, ADU’s are not duplexes and are only allowed on zoned residential lots. ADU’s can be created in a variety of ways, including the conversion of a portion of an existing house (i.e. basement or attic), an addition to an existing house, or a entirely detached structure. This often includes the conversion of an existing garage or the construction of an entirely new building.

Development of accessory dwelling units (ADU’s) can be traced back to the early 20th century when they were a common feature in single-family housing. Portland has been a leader in the effort to emphasize density and minimize urban sprawl by focusing on the Urban Growth Boundary (UGB). ADU’s have emerged as an important housing solution based on the planning principal to create housing development that is high-density, transit-oriented, mixed-use and mixed-income through urban infill design.

In 1998, the City of Portland began to actively encourage the development of the ADU. However, the SDC (System Development Charges) fees involved became a cost prohibitive, sometimes as high as $15,000 in addition to construction costs. Recognizing that development of the ADU was scarce, in April 2010, the City of Portland decided to waive most SDC fees until June 30, 2013. This means that most permit fees including those for the Parks, Environmental Services, Water, and Transportation Bureaus are reduced if not waived entirely.

In addition to the reduced fees for construction of an ADU, the City also increased the allowable size of an ADU to 800 square feet. The effort to promote this form of urban infill development within the residential zoning of our City has successfully increased permit submittals at the City and many Architects are seeing an increase in demand for this type of project design.

The City of Portland states in its Planning Code that the purpose for allowing the development of the ADU is to:

•Create new housing units while respecting the look and scale of single-dwelling development.

•Increase the housing stock…in a manner that is less intense than alternatives.

•Allow more efficient use of existing housing stock and infrastructure.

•Provide a mix of housing that responds to changing family needs and smaller households.

•Provide a means for residents, particularly seniors, single parents, and families with grown children to remain in their homes and neighborhoods and obtain extra income, security, companionship and services.

•Provide a broader range of accessible and more affordable housing.

ADU’s offer a variety of benefits to residential neighborhood communities. Over the last decade, housing needs have changed to include a growing demand for smaller housing types. Single persons, baby boomers, and empty nesters have all contributed to a decline in the average household size. The coincidental increase in the demand for smaller housing types and the existing surplus of housing land/lots has led many communities (like Portland), to emphasize the development of the ADU as an efficient and low cost strategy for increasing affordable housing.

Additionally, the movement for ‘aging in place’ has grown with the high number of aging baby boomers. Elderly and/or disabled persons who may want to live close to family, empty nesters and young adults entering the workforce all find ADU’s to be an desirable housing solution. ADU’s increase housing stock and are an affordable option for varied income residents. Homeowners benefit from added income and because of zoning laws, ADU’s are designed to blend in with the local architecture, which benefits the whole community.

The City has strict design guidelines for the ADU. The ADU must replicate the style of the existing original house. This occurs in roof pitch, siding material, window and trim details, etc. In addition to the design guidelines, there is a procedure that must be followed for the permit process at the City. An Architect can facilitate this process and coordinate both design, fees and construction issues with both the City and the selected contractor.

While the ADU is often seen as a form of housing, it is also a great option for a home office, artist studio or even a guest house for visiting friends and relatives.

The boy in the striped shirt…

This latest project is located in NW Portland. The house was originally built in 1911. We were fortunate that our clients have early photos of the house. The deck was removed and replaced in the 1970′s by a design that did little to reflect the original historical character of the house. We were hired to restore the deck to the design and detailing of the original. The house is situated at the terminus of NW Lovejoy Street and looks down on the neighborhood below. On clear days, from the deck, there are amazing views of greater Portland and the mountains. Attached are some original photos as well as current progress shots. Can you locate the boy in the striped shirt in each of the original photos?

Music and Arts

We recently completed this addition in the Alberta Street neighborhood of NE Portland. We call this the Mullet House because our addition was at the back of the house. The house is all the usual business in the front with the real party in the back! Our client fronts the band Super XX Man. The addition created a new stair to the second floor and three new bedrooms with a full bathroom upstairs for this growing family. Harking to their southern roots, the exterior of the new addition was clad with reclaimed corrugated metal siding. If you’d like to check out Super XX Man, they will be featured on Oregon Public Broadcasting’s (OPB) Art Beat program Oct. 21,2010.

Hot Off the Press!

A kitchen project in NE Portland that we completed last year is being featured in the current Green Living issue of Oregon Home magazine. Look for it on your newstands! We’ve included excerpts from the article as well.

Sailing away!

It’s bittersweet when a project is complete…after investing so much time, it’s almost sad to say goodbye. The weekend house on Maryland’s Eastern Shore is that project. Furniture still hasn’t arrived but otherwise, it’s essentially finished. The owners are happy and we’re excited to visit this summer and enjoy some Maryland blue crabs on the deck!

Soap Box Racer fun

Our good friend and photographer David Emmite asked us to design a ‘blueprint for a Soap Box racer’ for a Brooks shoe ad he was working on. This is a great example of a collaborative design project. We created the drawing of the soap box racer used in the ad. It ran as a 3-page ad in magazines so keep a look out for it.