Uncategorized – Page 15

24 09, 2006

My best five seconds at design school

By Steve McKee|2006-09-24T04:40:21+00:00September 24th, 2006|At the School of Architecture, Uncategorized|Comments Off on My best five seconds at design school

As a student of architecture at UCLA it was always a nice surprise when the little lightening bolts of understanding somehow occurred within me. I loved those “ah-ha” moments when things sorted themselves out and, for a time, the design world became my oyster. It was grad school and the academic climate was actually less regimented than my undergraduate studies had been. No more was it all about a lot of required reading followed by quizzes. Instead we were more on our own to make the most of things, to do our own research, and just be open for insights [...]

17 08, 2006

Getting bids: “The rules”

By Steve McKee|2006-08-17T04:41:44+00:00August 17th, 2006|Before you begin, Uncategorized|Comments Off on Getting bids: “The rules”

In a perfect world, sealed bids for your construction project would be delivered before noon on a designated Friday and then opened at three o’clock and read aloud to the small crowd of assembled builders hoping to get your job. Actually, now that I think about it, that sounds a little too rigid and uptight for the world I want to live in. But the scenario I just depicted actually is the way it was done on huge school remodels that my old boss would do. After many days of effort assembling their bids, the builders really had a lot [...]

23 07, 2006

Benicia’s growth rings

By Steve McKee|2006-07-23T04:45:26+00:00July 23rd, 2006|Benicia, Remodeling a Southampton home, Uncategorized|Comments Off on Benicia’s growth rings

While meeting some new clients in their home on Mills Drive I recognized the house as the same model as one I had worked on recently on White Chapel Drive and also like one I knew on Ardmore. It was as if there was a strata of these homes along this band of the hillside. So this was the extent of Southampton in the seventies, I thought. At that time a group of new homes was being built along this section of the various streets creating a swath of growth that expanded the outer limits of Benicia. The [...]

18 06, 2006

The well-considered window seat

By Steve McKee|2006-06-18T04:46:45+00:00June 18th, 2006|Elements of Design, Uncategorized|Comments Off on The well-considered window seat

What is it that’s so darn lovable about window seats? The name itself conjures images of a house that has its act together. If you pay attention to window seats that you come across you’ll notice there is quite a broad range in the quality of experience offered by these different seats. Some really deliver the goods, while many seem more like mere afterthoughts, eye candy at best, a place to stage an arrangement of pillows. Even without being able to list all the particulars that go into a successful window seat, I think most people can recognize a good [...]

14 05, 2006

Hearst Castle – residential design mind blower

By Steve McKee|2006-05-14T04:48:21+00:00May 14th, 2006|Travel Tales, Uncategorized|Comments Off on Hearst Castle – residential design mind blower

For spring break the four McKees took a trip in a rented RV tour along the central coast of California. Big Sur, beach time, watching movies at night on the laptop, family fun all round. This trip would also take us by Hearst Castle, the ultra-splendid getaway palace created by William Randolph Hearst on a big hill overlooking the ocean. I’d heard that it was sort of the “last word” on the subject of residential building projects. For years I’ve admired its go-for-it spirit from afar thanks to glossy photos in a big hardbound book titled “Julia Morgan Architect.” Now [...]

16 04, 2006

San Francisco April 1906: Ordinary people in extraordinary times

By Steve McKee|2006-04-16T04:49:13+00:00April 16th, 2006|Random observations, Uncategorized|Comments Off on San Francisco April 1906: Ordinary people in extraordinary times

Because my job has me thinking about the effects of earthquakes on built structures almost on a daily basis, I knew I wanted to do a special column to honor the big anniversary of the 1906 earthquake and fire. When I came across a website that chronicled thirty eyewitness accounts from those terrible days I found it fascinating to read the day-to-day descriptions of the events, both large and small. Somehow it was the small details that brought the experience to life. I’ve compiled here some of the most compelling images as told in letters and other writings by Charles [...]