Finished attic insulation and home electrification
Brought on in the role of architect to thoughtfully finish an attic in a 1950s Village home, TFG Studio focused on a simple and efficient approach. Working with a tight budget pushed us to find efficiency and value where needed. Our main project objective was to use existing conditions in an efficient manner, both as […]
Nelsonville Remodel/Addition Nearing Completion
A historically appropriate and site sensitive addition in Nelsonville,NY is shepherding a neglected home into a new century with modern touches and classic geometries. Features, appliances, and materials were reused when possible, and modern fuel-efficient heat pumps replaced an aging oil boiler. An out-of-scale third floor addition was tamed with a two-story oblique structural addition, […]
North Miller Passive Multifamily in Newburgh
Michael Robinson of Urban Myth Construction held a grand opening ceremony for the North Miller Passive Multifamily project, a pioneering low-income project in the City of Newburgh. The Figure Ground Studio provided architectural services, with John Loercher of NE Projects taking the major technical and design lead. This was a monumental undertaking for Urban Myth […]
Mullet Hall – Thermal Bridge Mitigation at Slab
All too often, I am approached towards the end of the design phase of a project and asked to create an overlay scheme for energy efficiency. One of the major drawbacks of this approach is that an approach to mitigating thermal bridges must be developed very early on in a project. Just as a suspension […]
Mullet Hall – Construction Underway
Breaking Ground On a cold February morning in 2017, we broke ground for construction at Mullet Hall. The contractor is Third Floor Corp/Doctor Structure. Having grown so accustomed to being in the forest on the land, it was hard for us to see the trees begin to come down to make room for the house. […]
Mullet Hall – LBC Materials Red List
As could have perhaps been predicted, the main “challenge” of the Living Building Challenge, particularly during construction, is the Materials Petal. In this post I will discuss the Red List Imperative of the Materials Petal. According to the International Living Futures Institute, The intent of the Materials Petal is to help create a materials economy […]
Mullet Hall – Recycled Glass Concrete Aggregate (Poraver)
One of the most exciting aspects of the Mullet Hall project is one that will never be seen once it is covered with insulation and finished. About 6/7 of the fine aggregate (sand) in the wall concrete was replaced with Poraver recycled glass beads. This accomplished a few goals: Increased recycled content, reducing sand use. […]
Mullet Hall – Thermal Bridges
Paying close attention to thermal bridging in the details is something that is extremely important – as important as insulation. Here is a Greenbuildingadvisor.com post describing what thermal bridging is and why it is so important. According to Wikipedia, thermal bridging is “an area or component of an object which has higher thermal conductivity than […]
Mullet Hall – Living Building Challenge – Site Petal
Why does the Mullet Hall Project Team feel that it is appropriate to build on this greenfield site? Human Powered Living The Site is within 2km of a major train station providing access to NYC and other points along the Hudson River. This is within easy walking and/or biking distance, providing current and future owners […]
Mullet Hall – Trees Cleared for Milling
As part of the subdivision process, every single tree on the entire Mullet Hall property above 12″ caliper was tagged. This allowed for easily identification of trees for removal, saving, protection, and trimming. We learned that most of the trees on the property are Sugar Maple, Red Oak, and Black Locust. We learned through research […]
