AIA Design Awards - Last Day to Vote Online for Your Favorite Project!

Voting ends today for the AIA NH Excellence in Design People's Choice Awards!  

Bonin Architects submitted a custom home on Lake Sunapee to be considered for the Awards.  Help us get the People's Choice Award two years in a row by voting online!

 Our project, # 1, The Landing, located in Blodgettt Landing, Lake Sunapee in Newbury, NH replaced an old uninsulated family summer cottage on the property.  Design goals were to maximize living space, lakefront views, and capture as much natural daylight as possible while maintaining privacy between close neighboring homes.  With four bedrooms and four-and-a-half baths, the design addresses all of the client needs.  Recreation areas and a home theatre provide options for children and adults alike.

An open stair anchors the home and creates a focal point, celebrating the four story design.  The basement provides direct lake access, ample storage, and a full bathroom for showering after enjoying the lake.

Site placement and interior programming / design conform to property setbacks, neighboring homes less than 7 feet away, and CSPA guidelines.  A 5% decrease in the impermeable impact of the site (53% to 48%) was achieved with an overall smaller building footprint and reduction in paved/hardscaped areas.


Please take time to vote for Project #1, The Landing!

Vote on the AIA site:  http://www.aianh.org/design_awards_vote2012.asp

Factors Impacting Home Design:

There are two basic factors in home design:  fundamental and elemental.

Fundamental considerations are tangible. For example, how many people will be living in your home? How much do you wish to invest, both financially and emotionally? Is it a home you’ll use after retirement, which might dictate single-level living? Only you can determine the emotional investment you’ll have in the house. This varies from person to person and typically affects how much day-to-day input you’ll have in the home’s development.

Elemental considerations are less tangible. The three I find most important are light, views and permanence. Light makes visible the spaces we inhabit. Light also has its own characteristics such as intensity, color, texture and depth, so light and its absence must be considered when designing. For example, if you have two identical rooms—one on the east side of a house and one on the west—each space will be perceived differently, even if they have the same colors, furnishings, textures, volume and design. Yes, it all comes down to sunlight. For example, if you’re not a morning person, it might not be a wise move to place your bedroom on the east side of the house.

Views come next. One of the advantages of timber homes is the ability of timbers to frame views of different spaces. A pair of posts might define the entrance from the dining to the living room; and a floor girder might delineate the dining from the living room in the same manner, acting as a soffit between different ceiling heights. Our experiences in a space often are based upon what we see or feel from it even before we enter a room.

The last is permanence. Obviously, a home is more than shelter. It can be a place of retreat and serenity, and when we can see and understand the structure that protects us—the posts, beams and braces—we gain a primal understanding of security. Again, many timber homes built long ago are still around today. We might not understand the comfort and security these structures provide, but we all perceive and feel those qualities the minute we set foot in one of these homes.

~Jeremy Bonin, AIA NCARB LEED AP

Bonin Architects & Associates, PLLC

Licensed in NH, VT, ME, MA, RI, and CT

Timber Homes: More than a House

A timber home is much more than a house providing shelter; it is an expression of the owners’ way of life, a representation of their families and personalities.  

At first glance, a timber frame home may look like any other home in the neighborhood (especially if it does not feature a timber entry, a timber porch, or timber accents on the exterior).  Upon entering a timber home, though, most guests are rendered speechless.  Some do try to speak or manage to exclaim a whispered “wow!” under their breaths, but the emotion is always the same:  admiration. 

Timber homes are

• Undeniably beautiful
• Traditional, nostalgic

They offer

• A sense of permanence
• Versatile, open floor plan

They also

• Describe interior space
• Create ceiling planes

Timber homes appeal to our sense of tradition and desire to understand structure, but perhaps the more obvious features are their warmth and comfort. 

If you are planning to build a timber frame home, consider using an architect for the home design.  See some of our timber homes and architectural services on our website!

A Timber House Fits Any Architectural Style

Whatever architectural style you want to achieve, timber frames can fit the design, as shown by this very contemporary timber home our architects designed for clients in the Dartmouth Lake Sunapee region.

In order to design an open floor plan structurally, the timber frame design includes Douglas fir “keyed beams” shown here being lifted into place and after the home was built.  The “keys” are hardwood wedges joined transversely to the adjacent timbers to transfer shear and limit interlayer slip.

The interior combines the beauty of wood with steel to create a contemporary look.  Built ins with sleek lines and furniture with a modern influence are found throughout the home.

The kitchen cabinets are recessed, making the kitchen look larger.  A Butler’s pantry is located behind the oven wall.  White contemporary doors hide a small office off the kitchen.  A curved counter with armless chairs and hanging lights complete the look. 

A lavatory continues the contemporary design with a fashionable mirror, stainless sink bowl and fixture, and an angled cabinet and countertop.
 

A second office upstairs uses track lighting and modern art to complete the look.

A beautiful timber home starts with a timber frame design!  Read why you should hire an architect for your home design.

Carriage Houses

Carriage houses as very popular in all areas of the country.  Typically designed with a two-car garage on the lower level and living space above, the carriage house is a home design that can stand alone or supplement a main house as a guest house.

This carriage house design will be used as a guest house on a large property on Lake Winnipesaukee.  The lower level will house three cars and ¾ bathroom.

The second floor living space is large enough for two bedrooms and a shared full bath.  The timber frame creates an open floor plan, and with the kitchen, dining, and living room as one space, the custom timber frame becomes the focal point instead of interior walls.  

A sleeping loft is the bonus room and is accessible by a ladder near the kitchen, which eliminates the need for a stairway while increasing living space.

Construction Photos: NH Custom Luxury Home

Construction is continuing despite the rain in New Hampshire’s Upper Valley.   Interior walls, sheet rock, and flooring is being installed.  Even under construction, the timber frame is remarkable and provides an early glimpse into the beauty of the finished home.

Energy efficiency is an important goal for the home. Utilizing both active and passive solar technologies in the design along with a partial timber frame and structural insulated panels, this new home is being designed to meet Energy Star certification, keeping its carbon footprint to a minimum.

Stonework on the exterior is even more beautiful in person than on the architectural drawings!

Craftsman Style Timber Home

Our timber frame design for a craftsman style home is under construction in central New York.  

The custom timber frame is being wrapped in energy efficient structural insulated panels, and will include green building materials such as a solar hot water system, metal roof, and high performance, energy efficient windows.

The 2642 SF home has 3 bedrooms and 2 ½ baths, and features an open floor plan in the kitchen, dining, and great room.  The home can easily accommodate accessibility issues in later years with a first floor Master Bedroom suite and all main features of the home on the main floor.

The basement has plenty of space for storage, mechanical room, two guest bedrooms, and a family room.

For more details on this custom home, visit the On The Boards section of Bonin Architects' website.

Construction Photos: Maine Energy Efficient Home

Construction is well under way on our clients’ energy efficient home on Hadley Lake, Machias, Maine.  Located on 193 acres, their 1100 square foot home will not only be energy efficient but beautiful as well!  

One of architect drawings is a "see-through" rendering of the home's interior.

 Here are some construction photos from the builder.  

For a more detailed description of the home design and project goals, visit www.boninarchitects.com/underconstruction.html.

Vermont Farmhouse Construction Photos

The timber home we designed for our clients in northern Vermont is well on its way to be weather-tight, just in time for the cold weather!  Vermont Timber Works did a fabulous job on the timber frame and Foard Panel provided the energy efficient SIP panels. Enjoy these recent pictures!

SIP Panels being applied

Second floor cathedral timber frame with T&G decking

Connection between timbers and the chimney

SIP dormer

Progress on Vermont Timber Frame

Our timber home in beautiful Vermont is well under way!  The perfect summer weather, although on the warm side, has been perfect for building a home.  Enjoy some construction pictures of this Vermont Farmhouse:

For more information on this beautiful handcut timber frame by Vermont Timber Works and precut panels by Foard Panel, see the Under Construction section on our website!