The Owner Built Home & Homestead
(Page 7 of 15)
Corners are always set first in wall work, and edges are
layed first in flatwork (such as slate floors). Below is an
illustrated sequence of stone layed in a typical wall
panel.
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Once the basic mechanics of stone laying are mastered,
design subtleties in rock can be incorporated which add
immense interest to the building as well as enhanced value
to the masonry. The 8-foot square stone mosaic in our
living room (illustrated in the Epilog) was constructed of
white granite, brown sandstone, black slate and blue
river-rock. Except for such art-panels, the problem of
combining stone is generally a ticklish matter. Colors
should be harmonious. Ordinarily only stone of similar
hardness should be used.
In a building, a harmonious interplay of stone, wood and
glass is always sought. Stone should contrast with these
other building elements as well as with the native
surroundings. On a sloping site, for instance, a massive
stone foundation wall binds the building to the sloping
terrain; it links the natural landscape to the formal
discipline of the building.
Success in building with rock is not easy. But no material
blends as well with the natural environment or reveals the
personal artistry of the builder.
Stone walls should be treated with respect to the shape of
the building. The recently completed Woolman School social
hall (Nevada City, California) is a good example. It has
circular, cloverleaf-like wall panels and the roundish
building stone reaffirms the curvilinear motif. The outside
concrete walls of this building were constructed with a
sliding horizontal slip form, then faced with stone with a
layer of fiberglass insulation between. Barbwire ties
embedded in the concrete wall, form concrete and stone
facing into a homogeneous mass. The stone-faced circular
slip form construction methods developed on this project is
without doubt the best system for an inexperienced
Owner-Builder to tackle.
INSIDE YOUR HOME
Modern architects have been harping continually on what
is different in our time to such anextent that
they have lost touch with what is not different, with what
is essentially the same.
Aldo van Eyck.
Exciting changes are happening to the "interior design"
segment of new-era housing. Laotsu has been quoted
elsewhere as saying that the important part of a building
is not the walls and roof but the empty spaces inside. For
purposes of discussion we must differentiate between
inside space and outside form. Frank
Lloyd Wright said that what happened on the outside
occurred because of what was happening on the inside.
Houses should be designed essentially around what we do in
them.
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