Metal in Residential

by Paul Deffenbaugh | September 3, 2019 12:00 am

For this article, we looked at three projects that feature a prominent use of metal and investigated how those design and material choices fit a larger trend of metal in residential design. From a wooded house in Michigan that uses COR-TEN steel to place it firmly in its natural setting, to a corrugated, zinc-wrapped studio that fits in a Washington, D.C., neighborhood, to a metal rainscreen that pushes a new boundary in Santa Fe, N.M., vernacular style, metal building components are hitting new strides in design as architects increasingly embrace the versatility and durability of the material.

Of the Earth

When John and Deborah Chipman retired, they moved from the bustle of a Chicago high-rise to the forested calm of a home in Michigan, tucked against Lake Michigan and nestled among the wooded dunes. In a way, they went back to the earth, and the home John designed reflected the long influences of mid-century modernism and the minimalism of Japanese architecture, and placed those influences in a setting that cried out for natural materials. The dominant image of the new home is a COR-TEN steel wall across the front elevation, whose deep umber color speaks of the earth surrounding the house. “We anticipated blending simple lines and clear structures,” says Deborah.

John founded Chipman Design Architecture[1], Des Plaines, Ill., and over his and Deborah’s 40-year careers, they built the company to a national firm with regional offices in four cities and more than 150 employees.

But their retirement home showcases their personal influences, including a passion for natural surroundings and art. In fact, John’s interest in COR-TEN dates back to when he was a senior in high school. “I first really saw it in 1967,” he says, “when they built the Picasso sculpture in Chicago. I watched over the years, and the way the material patinas and weathers makes it just a fascinating material that is basically zero maintenance.”

The selection of steel in such a prominent place, where every person approaching the house sees it initially, makes the metal almost the defining element of the home. But it doesn’t stand alone. Its folded edges tie back into a wall of recycled Chicago common brick that also has an earthy color, giving the front elevation a common palette, but distinct textures. The banded courses of brick line up with the joints of the steel panels and the mullions in the front door. “The brick next to the steel,” says John, “along with the horizontal banding, creates a blend of color and natural texture. It makes a building that comes from the earth.”

John and Deborah carried the idea of the COR-TEN out into the front garden, where there are sculptural installations with the material that almost make a guiding path to the house. In fact, the street address sign is made from COR-TEN.

Not satisfied with defining the exterior of the house with the material, they wrapped a see-through fireplace in CORTEN and broke the barrier between the inside and outside of the house.

“The COR-TEN will weather for about 20 years,” says John. “Right now it is a beautiful rust color. Just a gorgeous design color.”

That durability of the material speaks also their interest in a maintenance-free home. To that end, they installed a standing seam metal roof that can resist the long, heavy-snow winters along Lake Michigan.

For the Chipmans, the choice of metal in a residential project was personal and defining, not just an accent or a utilitarian choice.

Boisterously Industrial

Robert M. Gurney, FAIA[5], faced a very different residential setting than a Michigan woods filled with oak and hickory trees. The Washington, D.C.-based architect designed a small (566 square feet) building that abuts an alley on one side and a landscaped rear yard with a pool on the other. The structure houses a studio and garage.

“I was looking to do a simple structure,” says Gurney, “and had to use material that I thought would work well. There’s a modern addition on the back of the house, so I needed material that would work with super-refined materials, but also a material that would work in the grittier context of the alley.”

The studio features corrugated zinc siding that is run horizontally to accentuate the length of the building, which is a very simple rectangular volume. A single chimney, also with horizontal corrugated metal, accommodates all the roof penetrations, and the visual result is a low, unimposing building that transitions between refined and rough. To facilitate the transition, a wood slat fence borders the garden area, and large Corten panels fence the end of the yard next to the alley.

“We chose the metal because it is durable, timeless and low maintenance,” says Gurney.

Gurney specializes in residential design in the Washington, D.C., area, which means he is often working in historical neighborhoods and dealing with review boards. For many that is a design limitation, but Gurney uses that context as an opportunity and often uses metal building materials to help make a more modern statement. “What we do not do,” he says, “is replicate historical design. The building can fit in the context without being a literal representation. Even in some historical neighborhoods that have a very traditional slant, the professional design review committee understands that modern architecture is OK.”

“The renovation or addition,” he says, “has to do with the character of the house. It has to do with the context. We go in with an open mind and metal is always a serious consideration.”
For the studio, metal paneling became a defining modern look that can work within both the rough context of the alley and the more sophisticated environment of a landscaped backyard.

A Push in a New Direction

Think of residential construction in Santa Fe, and you quickly conjure an image of stucco walls, tile roofs, rounded corners and arched openings. The Santa Fe style and the Spanish Pueblo revival style are the vernacular architecture of the area. That’s not so true anymore, and metal building components have a place in the latest designs, offering both a contrast to the old and a completely new look.

“There’s been a movement that’s been active for the last 15 years,” says Jon Dick, AIA, Archaeo Architects[9], Santa Fe. “We’ve run the gamut on the predominant style and a lot of clients are looking for something different. They want to reinterpret the style that says something more about the 21st century than the 15th.”

For this private residence, a metal rainscreen wall serves as both a step into a modern architectural language and a rampart against the encroaching past. The gray palette stands out from the earthy stone and stucco, and the large panels with sharp seams go against the notion of textured, large expanses of stucco.

Metal is not a new material choice in the region, though. “We have adobe buildings with metal roofs,” says Dick. “In a way, metal has been used for some time.”

Bradyn Podhajsky, AIA, Archaeo Architects, explains the transition to the use of metal in the area. “It started with a traditional style with exposed viegas slowly being replaced with metal sections. Designers started using metal tubes and I-beams.” Fascias were replaced with metal that, adds Dick, “create a nice horizontal line.” From those simple like-for-like swaps, metal building components have become major design forces, such as with the metal rainscreen on this private residence.

In fact, a proposal for the new Vladem Contemporary Art Museum in the Santa Fe Railyard District includes a boundary-pushing perforated metal scrim that is a formidable departure from the traditional style. Consequently, there has been significant and sometimes heated discussion about the changes to design in the Santa Fe area.

For Dick, it goes back to one of the driving forces of design choices—a desire for quality construction. “It’s hard to predict the future,” he says. “But in the Santa Fe tradition there will always be an interest in a high level of craft and interesting materials.”

“The past always has an impact,” says Dick. “If you decide to work with it, copy it or make a big statement and counter that historical vernacular. We’ve had a long tradition of copying the character of architecture in the 16th and 17th centuries. There’s a hunger for something more creative and outside of it.”

Source URL: https://www.metalarchitecture.com/articles/metal-in-residential/

---