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myriam

These Walls Aren't Imaginary

These little lines on virtual paper, these meaningless scribbles that came out of the end of my pencil at 5 am on a summer morning,
after wailing and headaches took place on my living room couch,
these little lines will be neat rows of wooden sticks at the end of this week.

A few weeks after that they will be touchable walls that contain the life of a woman. They will be the backdrop to her family feasts, they will watch while she puts on makeup in the mornings. They will tremble slightly as doors are banged in them by visiting nephews. They will host works of art. Hopefully they will bring happiness.

They may have been warped and mutated by money and urgency and misguided construction desicions, they may not entirely resemble this drawing in their final, cool-white-plastered form, but they are mine. And they mean something!

So, today I finished my very first construction drawing entirely of my own design.

Soon it will actually be built.

And that feels pretty damn good.

[ 31 responses ] < Post > < link >

[ posted by myriam at 10/17/2005 08:49:07 PM ]
[ trackback ]

Threaded Responses [ bottom ]

myriam [email] said at 8:59 PM 10-17-2005:
for reference

[Reply To this] [#195461]

kevin [email] said at 9:12 PM 10-17-2005:
congrats. ROCK ON!

[Reply To this] [#195463]

myriam [email] said at 9:17 PM 10-17-2005:
Thanks! Did you see my lighting recommendation for you? It's around here somewhere.

[Reply To this] [#195468]

kevin [email] said at 12:53 PM 10-18-2005:
yes. thanks!

right now i'm currently researching nec and local codes related to conduit install, so my work will pass inspection.

[Reply To this] [#195576]

ed [email] said at 9:14 PM 10-17-2005:
Where's the walk-in cooler?

[Reply To this] [#195464]

myriam [email] said at 9:15 PM 10-17-2005:
The whole thing will be a cooler if they don't get the insulation in the walls by a couple weeks from now. HA! I'M TOTALLY LATE WITH THIS DRAWING!

[Reply To this] [#195466]

ed [email] said at 9:14 PM 10-17-2005:
But seriously, hooray for you!

[Reply To this] [#195465]

myriam [email] said at 9:17 PM 10-17-2005:
Thanks! *ahem* Y'know I've been tossing around ideas for beautiful mountaintop retreat... I hear there are some nice mountains in Georgia...

[Reply To this] [#195467]

cecil [email] said at 9:45 PM 10-17-2005:
It's awesome to be god, isn't it?

Seriously though, you should design some spaces for video games so you'll actually be doing something that matters to people.

[Reply To this] [#195469]

myriam [email] said at 8:26 PM 10-18-2005:
ha ha ha. Curiously enough I know a kid who went through architecture school with me in order to design gaming spaces...

[Reply To this] [#195699]

jake [email] said at 10:54 PM 10-17-2005:
The master bathroom is perfectly placed for "accidentally on purpose" meetings in the hallway...
Well done!

[Reply To this] [#195473]

john [email] said at 11:13 PM 10-17-2005:
GOOD JOB MYRIAM!!!!!
Congratulations Myriam! Let's Party!

[Reply To this] [#195478]

rick [email] said at 11:23 PM 10-17-2005:
This is awesome.

[Reply To this] [#195482]

myriam [email] said at 8:29 PM 10-18-2005:
John I had no idea you were so sexy!

Soooo... got any plans tonight?

[Reply To this] [#195700]

mary [email] said at 8:32 PM 10-18-2005:
That's actually Rick. I'd recognize the haircut anywhere.

[Reply To this] [#195701]

pokey [email] said at 11:19 PM 10-17-2005:
This is fantastic, Myriam.

I always dream of designing and building my own home. I love the look and feel of those modern yuppie houses, but I don't need 4000sqft, 4 bedrooms, or a second story. I'd make a great room that was functional for movie watching, while integrating the computing and music studio into the main living space, since my husband loves to mess around with all of them together. I'd have large bright windows in the kitchen and dining area, while keeping the natural light minimal in the bedrooms, and optional in the great room.

Living spaces, both inside and out = the stuff of dreams.

[Reply To this] [#195480]

myriam [email] said at 8:39 PM 10-18-2005:
This sounds intriguing to me. I tend to be highly minimalist and highly daylight-oriented. This plan actually looks junked up and crowded to me. I am a champion of spaces that serve dual purposes, hiding things in a few choice discreet built-ins, not having very many closets or crap-containing-spaces, etc. I hate crap that exists just to contain other crap. HATE IT. My roommate always finds these little bins and plastic shelving systems and stuff for cheap at the drugstore and thinks they are so "useful" and brings them home where they remain mostly empty until she "uses" them to contain other crap she brings home for the purpose of being contained. And now we have things like: a bin that sits on top of the shelf in the bathroom and holds various bottles that could simply sit on the shelf THEMSELVES without the BIN UNDER THEM.

*ahem*

Anyhow I'm glad you dream of creating a space for yourself. If you ever need ideas, remember that an architect may have tricks up his sleeve that you've never even thought of. Some of us work pro bono. :) And we love engaged clients who are excited and into the design process.

p.s. I'm guessing you've seen the mag "Dwell"? It's not as good as it used to be but I love it.

[Reply To this] [#195704]

rick [email] said at 11:23 PM 10-17-2005:
Felicitations!

[Reply To this] [#195481]

josh [email] said at 11:44 PM 10-17-2005:
congratulations, that is awesome

[Reply To this] [#195484]

jess [email] said at 12:08 AM 10-18-2005:
Rules. I'm proud of you.

[Reply To this] [#195487]

anotherben [email] said at 12:35 AM 10-18-2005:
congratulations! i am jealous. architecture is the greatest art.
is this a remodel? what are the "existing" walls from? i remember when my first soil vapor extraction well system went online without blowing up the cartridge filter. that felt pretty good.

[Reply To this] [#195491]

myriam [email] said at 8:32 PM 10-18-2005:
architecture is the greatest art.

Thank you. It actually means a lot, a lot, to hear someone say that. I'm really glad you have an appreciation for what I'm passionate about. I actually teared up when I read this comment, ha!

This is a first-floor gut--only three exterior walls (all except the back wall) and the portion opposite the double-entry doors at the front of the house (there is a stair going up to the 2nd and 3rd floor apartment) are unachanged. Other than that I had entirely free rein.

Haha I'm glad you know how I feel. :D

I actually went through a few iterations of this design, and this was my favorite although some of the more creative aesthetic touches have been deleted. So I look at these plans and see a few failures on my part (did I not communicate well enough? etc. etc.), but I have to remind myself that it's a solid plan, with some nice touches, and much, much better than anything she ever would have come up with on her own. (Not kidding. She gave me a bunch of her original plans. We've come a looooong way.) So in the end I feel like I did a good job and gave her a great space for practically no money. Plus I learned a TON about having my own client, invoicing, running design meetings with no boss to fall back on, etc etc!

[Reply To this] [#195702]

talice [email] said at 2:27 AM 10-18-2005:
very cool

[Reply To this] [#195506]

art [email] said at 9:58 AM 10-18-2005:
Nice work! Oh, and NOT FOR CONSTRUCTION - now that's funny!

[Reply To this] [#195512]

myriam [email] said at 8:41 PM 10-18-2005:
I was *waiting* for someone to notice that! It's for legal reasons. Ha!

[Reply To this] [#195706]

brad [email] said at 10:36 AM 10-18-2005:
That's gotta feel good. I'll probably be 50 before I'm able to have my own home built (if I'm lucky).

[Reply To this] [#195525]

myriam [email] said at 8:44 PM 10-18-2005:
Sadly, it isn't mine. But, she did buy the whole 3 stories for about $300,000, and it sits on big foresty property with a small pretty river running right back of the house. She's paying about $75,000 (at cost) to dig out a deeper basement, add on 4 feet to the back, and gut and re-build the entire first floor.

I can't wait till I have the money to build my own place. I think I have to wait till I become less of a fickle designer first, however!

[Reply To this] [#195707]

craig [email] said at 12:02 PM 10-18-2005:
Where are the tentacles?

[Reply To this] [#195568]

myriam [email] said at 12:52 PM 10-18-2005:
Funny that you mention that...

[Reply To this] [#195575]

meredith [email] said at 2:37 PM 10-18-2005:
Hey congrats!

[Reply To this] [#195607]

myriam [email] said at 8:41 PM 10-18-2005:
Thanks to all of you. It's been stressful but really exciting and challenging. Also it has paid the bills (or some of them at least) while my real job has not, lately.

It's not over yet. I just met with the contractor today and had a tense head-butting moment. Let's hope he doesn't suburbanize it too much. :( Nerve-wracking!

[Reply To this] [#195705]