A good friend and college buddy contacted me recently about working with his family on the design of a new home. They had realized that although they had the capabilities to get the job done, time was just not in their favor. So, I am really happy to be involved with them in creating a new home on a great lot in Griffin, GA. I had not visited Griffin until recently and I just fell in love with the town immediately. I say town because it felt that way in the best sense of the word. Great tree-lined streets, great period style homes, really nice architecture. Beyond that, there is a sense of place there - a Genus Loci - that everyone is intuitively familiar with but cannot necessarily describe. It felt comfortable and just relaxed enough to not feel like a bigger "city." The design? Well, the architecture of Rosemary Beach was a passion of theirs, as well as the southern charm of Georgia architecture, and, in my mind, the challenge was to capture the essence of the spirit of Rosemary Beach, Dutch West Indies inspired architecture, which has great details, sweeping roofs, outdoor rooms and transparency, with the history of architecture established in the region - Georgian, Colonial, Federal. As it stands now, I think we are beginning to develop a worthy blend. See what you think. (Stay tuned for more to come as we push further into the finished product.)
The structure on the right side of the North elevation is a covered parking shed that is framed on the ends by a brick wall. On entering the site, a motor court area establishes the arrival and the parking pavilion links to the house via a workshop and covered walkway. There is a Thunder House structure that establishes a symmetrical balance, teaming with the Workshop building, about a centralized exterior Veranda (all ideas of the client) where this space will make for great family memories over the next several years. That's why we as architects do this - to have a chance to give people the opportunity to make memories. In the worst and the best of times, these memories are like Honeysuckle nectar on spring day.
