New Boston Harbor Development Tackles Waterfront Resiliency

Clippership Wharf, highlighted at this year’s AIA conference, is designed to manage storms and long-term sea-level rise

Colin Flavin | Houzz Contributor

The Clippership Wharf is a new 7-acre mixed-use development located in East Boston along the Harborwalk, a pedestrian pathway fronting Boston’s historic harbor. It was the subject of a workshop titled “Waterfront Resiliency: Architecture & Site Strategies” at the American Institute of Architects Conference on Architecture, which took place in Las Vegas in June.

Three of the project’s leaders — environmental planner Jamie Fay of Fort Point Associates, architect Andrew Stebbins of The Architectural Team and landscape architect Robert Adams of Halvorson Design — discussed the increase in regular flooding as well as intermittent storm flooding that low-lying cities like Boston are experiencing. They showed how the Clippership Wharf project can serve as a case study to tackle many of these challenges in projects big and small.

Clippership Wharf rendering from The Architectural Team and Lendlease

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Blue Heron’s Modern Desert Design in Las Vegas

See 2 homes from the award-winning design-build firm that were highlighted at this year’s AIA conference

Colin Flavin | Houzz Contributor

A panoramic view of the Las Vegas Strip — the Sin City equivalent of an ocean view — reveals itself inside the great room of this luxe hillside home. The dramatic design of the custom home takes its cue from the nearby Strip’s entertainment, casino and hotel spaces. Sliding walls of glass disappear at the touch of a button and fully retract within adjacent walls. The interior space flows seamlessly onto an exterior terrace.

This is the Topaz, one of two Blue Heron homes showcased at this year’s American Institute of Architects Conference on Architecture, which took place in Las Vegas on June 5-7. Along with other conference participants, I toured both homes during the annual architecture and design event. The tour gave us an inside look at how the design-build firm combines cutting-edge design and construction to create modern luxury homes that emphasize energy-efficient, technology-driven elements. We’ll walk you through it and another of Blue Heron’s homes here.

The great room and kitchen of Blue Heron’s Topaz home features expansive family living and entertaining areas. The glittering Las Vegas skyline is seen through the large windows in the background.

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John Lautner’s Organic Architecture in the Desert

Inspiration abounds in the architect’s restored modernist compound near Palm Springs

Colin Flavin | Houzz Contributor

Set incongruously in the Southern California desert on a street lined with modest ranch-style homes, the Lautner Compound is a cluster of four attached homes with undulating steel and concrete roofs partially set down into the earth. The dwellings are ingeniously nested together, achieving privacy and connection to the desert while occupying a surprisingly small footprint.

For years, the buildings were known to fans of midcentury architect John Lautner as the only surviving multifamily project he designed, but they were otherwise overlooked and neglected as nearby Palm Springs became justly famous for its modern houses. 

Thanks to the extraordinary efforts of the current owners, the compound has been restored and updated, and it was featured in Palm Springs’ Modernism Week this year. Read on to learn more about the design and renovation of this iconic cluster of buildings.

The buildings of the Lautner Compound, shown here after the renovation to restore their original appearance. Photo by Dan Chavkin

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William Krisel’s Twin Palms: A Modern American Dream

This innovative Palm Springs housing development turns 60 this year. See why it’s as relevant as ever.

Colin Flavin | Houzz Contributor

The year 2018 marks the 60th anniversary of the completion of architect William Krisel’s crowning achievement: Twin Palms, a subdivision of 90 homes on the south side of Palm Springs, in the California desert. The project was the perfect marriage between a progressive builder and a master architect, both intent on creating a new type of residential development that appealed to the burgeoning middle class after World War II. “It was the end result of everything I wanted to do,” Krisel said.

William Krisel sits in front of a home he designed in the Twin Palms neighborhood. Photo by James Schnepf for Palm Springs Modern Living.

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