ODD infill.
The lot at G and Providence was originally occupied by a homemade-looking house. Sort of a shotgun plus a back porch converted to a wing plus a back porch converted to a wing plus a back porch conv.... etc.

Around 1998 the house got methed up and torn down. Since then the lot has been vacant. Now a truly odd-looking foundation is going in. It appears to cover almost the whole lot; maybe 70 by 30 feet overall. Not a rectangle; a complex shape made of various-size rectangles and ells, all outlined at foundation level showing the floor plan. Reminds me of Tetris tiles. Even stranger, the foundation walls are much wider than the usual castings. They appear to be 2 or 3 feet wide, so the open areas between them are small. The result will be a dozen little separate crawl spaces that can't be ventilated.

Why not just pour a single slab? Maybe there's a reason.

I'll be watching this to see what happens next!

Bit later: Think I've figured it out. What I'm seeing is effectively the floor of the crawl space. The outer foundation, not poured yet, will be taller. These wide 'sidewalks' will be platforms for posts that support the walls in various places. With platforms under all the walls, later posts can be added as needed without having to pour new concrete.

If this is a correct assumption, it's a smart trick. Still seems like a single slab would be easier and cheaper, though.

= = = = =

And a week later: Assumption was correct. They've poured the outer walls now, and the whole thing looks more orthodox. It's going to be one LONG and sinuous house, stretching from street to alley. Hmm.... writing the word 'one' in previous sentence made me think. Maybe it's not going to be 'one' unit. A triplex would explain a long skinny structure with offsets between the three units. Still seems like etc etc.

= = = = =

And another two weeks: They've got it framed up, nearly dried in. Not a triplex. It's one LONG and sinuous house after all, and it's even weirder than I imagined. Sort of like a stickbuilt replica of a giant travel trailer with a slideout in the middle. Maybe Polistra will have to revise her Law Of Infill. This house is NOT going to improve the neighborhood.

And another week: Weirder and weirder. The center slideout has grown a second story, so the whole thing now looks like a tugboat pulling a garage-barge.

And another week: No real change, except the tugboat now has a sign saying it's going to be something called Design Apparatus, which sounds like it could be the name of a business. At least it's not going to be a residence, but it's still wildly inappropriate and still just plain weird.

Three weeks: No change. Still at the Tyvek stage, and the Tyvek is starting to wrinkle and flap. Design Apparatus is going to be an 'architecture studio'. WYSIWYG, I guess. If you want an unfinished wrinkly Tyvek building that looks like a tugboat mated with a travel trailer, then you should hire Design Apparatus to Design your Apparatus.

Two more weeks (June 7) No change. Did they run out of money?


July 12: Change! They've added exactly one 4x8 panel of "siding" on top of the Tyvek. Looks like interior paneling to me, but I suppose it's "siding" in the context of tugboats with slideouts. And they've ductaped some of the flapping corners on the Tyvek.

Aug 15: More of the siding is installed. It's an assortment of indoor paneling, horizontal gray corrugated metal, and vertical blue corrugated metal. Maybe they're trying for a favela look, or a Gypsy Shack look.

Sep 15: Finally appears to be done.

Final update: Turns out to be a house after all, not a business. Design Apparatus was only advertising their contribution to the horror. Makes absolutely no sense as a house. Everyone talks about it with a mix of wonder and disgust.

Labels: infill

  ¶ 9:53 AM