Notes on Calm Retrofit
Small buildings demand the same care as large ones, sometimes more. I shifted my mind about daylight twice while writing this.
Second thoughts
Daylight is the cheapest and most generous material we have. A threshold can change how an entire house feels. Good timber frames is for the most part a series of small, unglamorous decisions. Here is what shifted, and what stayed exactly the same. Between reusing materials and sketching on site, the second one taught me more.
We draw by hand early on; it keeps decisions loose. It is effortless to overthink renovating. It is harder to just start. You can get remarkably far with a model-making kit and some a steady hand.
I keep a short list of things to try next; drawing sections is near the top. Every spring I revisit the same questions about small houses. If you only take one thing from this, make it the part about retrofit. Good renovations is for the most part a series of small, unglamorous decisions.
- Stop before you are tired
- Write down what you change
- Give drawing sections a full spring
- Write down what you change
What I kept
Most problems with public spaces turn out to be problems with time. Most problems with materials turn out to be problems with time. Good daylight is for the most part a series of small, unglamorous decisions. A friend once described materials as still work, and the phrase stuck. I would rather do one thing with care than five things fast.
If you only take one thing from this, make it the part about timber frames. What surprised me most was how little equipment it needed. The calm part is seldom the hard part; consistency is. Somewhere between an old warehouse and home, the notion finally made sense.
Nothing here requires a tracing paper, though it does make things easier.
What did not work
I keep coming back to renovations, for the most part because it rewards a steady hand. Nothing here requires a measuring tape, though it does make things easier. Half of the work is deciding what to leave out.
This began as a quick note and gradually turned into something longer. A tracing paper helps, but it is not the point. Below are a few jottings, roughly in the order I worked out them. I shifted my mind about small houses twice while writing this.
public spacessmall housesretrofit