Choice Not Chance
(Page 3 of 3)
July/August 1987
By the Mother Earth News editors
To distribute the warmth to the sleeping rooms and bathroom, fans pick up heat from the ceiling of the central room and force it into the wings. Individually wired to rheostats, they are quiet and effective.
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Flexibility
Hadi began work in the spring of 1982 and took nine months to finish—not a leisurely pace but one that allowed owner and builder to carefully consider each design element before committing themselves irrevocably.
As the construction progressed, they recognized where improvements could be made in the design. With the framing in, it became obvious that the triangular bathroom needed more space. It became rectilinear, extending unnoticed to the north side of the house. At the same time, they decided to put in a small corridor, similar to the one that leads to Nuri's bedroom, to ensure privacy and to better separate the bath and main room.
With the walls in, Ira also concluded that the windows they'd planned high in the main room would be too big. The effect of the patches of light moving across the walls during the day would be lost. After discussion, Hadi switched to smaller windows: horizontal sliders to the east and west, and a fixed unit in the south wall.
Synthesis
There are two important ways that the evolution of the Friedlanders' house departs from the norm—two keys to its success. First, Ira participated in the design, and thus took responsibility for the result. He had a clear goal from the beginning—quality, not quantity, of space—and participated as it evolved. He accepted the fact that for what he would spend in tile, oak and Hadi's handiwork, he could have had another room. Second, Hadi himself is a sort of Renaissance builder. Rare is the person who has the benefit of an architect's training yet still wields a hammer. Rarer still is the craftsman who possesses all the diverse skills needed to build a house.
The synthesis of design and construction talents—owner, builder and architect—translated directly into the home. It made possible what too often is never even imagined.
Editor's Note: If you'd like to explore the work of Hassan Fathy further, see Architecture for the Poor , University of Chicago Press, $11.95 in paperback.
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