Architecture Work PC

07/05/2024

This is part 3 of our series following the construction of an infinity deck. Here you can see how we cradle the big rock with mahogany decking. There's a deck under that snow somewhere.

07/03/2024

This is part 2 of our series on infinity deck building, onto the rest of the story.

Here you can see how we created a rock retaining wall and planting ledge, added pained cedar clapboards, toe nailed down the Mahogany decking and installed the deck lighting.

07/01/2024

This is part one in a series showcasing a deck I designed to give the impression of floating, offering an uninterrupted view of the surrounding nature.

06/14/2024

The installation of our aluminum composite paneling is progressing steadily as our new crew gets accustomed to the process. After our initial contractor retired and closed his business, we had to transition to a new team. The paneling system is proprietary and unique, but with assistance and materials from the original team, our new installers are making excellent progress.

06/11/2024

New OBS on Long Island

“OBS” is “Office Based Surgery” and is essentially a suite of rooms and a set of work procedures under which medical doctors & surgeons can do hundreds of authorized operations under variable levels of patient sedation thus avoiding the wait and expense of going to the local hospital. The most important distinction from hospital procedures is that the patient arrives by appointment, is generally healthy otherwise and does not stay for any great length of time and certainly not “overnight”. These are known as “ambulatory procedures”.

Architecture Work, P.C. has been designing OBS suites since the legislation was first passed in 2008.

These basic layouts are offered to get you started thinking about your project.  We have deliberately not included scale or room sizes as this really depends on factors particular to your procedures, equipment and work volume.  There are many more ways to do a great layout, but the main focus her...

06/07/2024

Hope all’s well with you and your families-
Here’s what we’ve been doing lately-

New homes and apartments:
*New home in Nissequogue, Long Island
*Loft renovation in the Flatiron District – Midtown Manhattan
*Pre-war apartment renovation on the Upper West Side - Manhattan
*Apartment renovation on the Upper West Side - Manhattan
*Home renovation in Dyker Heights - Brooklyn

Medical and office based surgery:
*New medical office in LIC
*New medical office in Brooklyn
*New medical office based surgery in Spring Valley, NY
*New medical office based surgery in Bethpage, NY
*New medical office Upper West Side, Manhattan

In addition to full service architectural design, we also provide the following related services-
*“Architect of record” where we prepare drawings and plans for filing with agencies of jurisdiction, such as building departments, landmarks, co-op or condominium boards etc, for the purpose of obtaining approvals for permits. This is especially useful for decorators, designers and builders that need an architect to make sure the work complies with the local Codes or zoning.
*We are a “Special Inspection Agency” in New York City. We offer internal and external inspections.
*We also offer zoning analysis for opinions on lot development or a neighboring property development.

-Bob

05/31/2024

Typical renovation keeping the basic living and bedroom(s) room layout, gutting the "service areas" and re-configuring those spaces. New power and lighting with re-wiring up to current Code. Providing all new plumbing per Code and installing a new concealed central air conditioning system. All the doors (except the two fire doors), frames, casings and baseboards were updated and replaced.

The custom kitchen was designed to encourage family and guests to mingle when in use as the two points of entry have 9 foot tall openings. The primary "cased opening" from the gallery has no door and the distant windows and bright lighting welcome guests to come in & see more. Note that the owners are very good cooks and like to entertain.

The second door from the den is also a 9 foot door, but slides into a concealed pocket when not using the den as an extra bedroom. The plumbing fittings and fixtures were stripped in the two two existing en-suite bathrooms and the former "service bathroom" was designed with a new larger layout for guests and the laundry moved to a hall closet between the two main bedrooms.

05/27/2024

This was opening week for the new (in 2005) World War II memorial in Washington, DC.

Nancy's father served in the Navy as a Lt. Commander of a destroyer in the Pacific (Leyte Gulf) and my father as an Army Air Force Captain and pilot flying cargo planes from Burma to China.

Neither one got to see this unfortunately.

05/21/2024

The minimal frame and oversized glass doors that retract into the walls are pretty cool in the photos, but who enjoys this and for how long? To enjoy this detail you need the following conditions:

No wind, No insects, No snakes, No amphibians, No reptiles, No migrating turtles, No birds, No rodents, No cats (as they’ll bring in rodents), No varmints, No neighbor’s dog(s), Pleasant air temperature.

Other than that, enjoy…

05/17/2024

This was an old printing factory converted to a residential loft in the 1980's...

The decision made back then concerning plumbing risers was to basically keep the sewer line risers in the factory location as some of the floors were still occupied. This meant that plumbing fixtures elsewhere on the floor had to have their sewer lines run on top of the floor slabs and back to the main risers to exit the building. A platform was made necessary to “step over” these sewer and water lines. Our client bought part of the 8th Floor as such. In addition, access to the second means of egress was made to get to the rear fire escape and widened to allow a bedroom and closets, plus two bathrooms and a kitchen.

The person selling had owned the whole floor and so agreed to a raised platform crossing their apartment to the main risers with two steps up and then two steps down. This was all before A.D.A. Codes were enacted of course. The existing plan had the same two steps inside the master bathroom which started after the lavatory and a small utility closet. The worst part was that the toilet, bidet and shower were all at the top of the steps – most dangerous navigating this especially at night.

Our solution was to use wall mounted plumbing fixtures, which kept the drainage off the floors until we could connect directly to the sewer line that was sitting on the floor slab. The steps were relegated to the raised shower portion only, along with safety grab bars. The other bathroom had it’s two steps outside away from the door, so we elected to leave this detail in place. Other keys features were a full electrical upgrade, with meter and service panel. This allowed the entire loft to be re-wired to current Code. We also added a central 2 zone air conditioning system. For maybe the first time, the sprinkler system was updated to account for the lot line windows to not be steel frame, wire glass with fusible link fire units. Lastly, we designed the space to be as open as possible with original floors, exposed conduit electrical power and new LED lighting, large room door openings and upgraded plaster repair work throughout.

-Bob

05/13/2024

Animation verses Actual-

It's interesting to compare the computer animation modeling with the actual construction photos.

05/10/2024

Hallways to Lead You Inside

I like hallways as a way to keep your sense of space organized. I like to have something at the end to lead the way forward.