Orientation first
Place rooms, openings and outdoor spaces in response to sun, wind, views and privacy before decorating the plan.
ARCHITECTURE / MATERIALS / BETTER BUILDING
Look closer.
Build better.
Clear ideas for understanding spaces, choosing materials and making buildings that work beautifully over time.
Explore the journalEVERGREEN EDITIONDesign knowledge that remains useful after the trend cycle moves on.
THE JOURNAL'S VIEW
Architecture is not an image. It is how a place works, ages and feels.
We examine the decisions behind buildings: the movement through a plan, the logic of an assembly, the effect of daylight and the tradeoffs hidden beneath a finished surface.
ESSENTIAL GUIDES
Start with the decisions that shape everything else.
Original, practical explanations for homeowners, students and anyone curious about how buildings come together.
01
PLANNING
How to read a floor plan before you build
Understand scale, circulation, room relationships, door swings and the details that change how a space will feel.
Read guide 02MATERIALS
A practical guide to exterior materials
Compare durability, maintenance, climate performance and visual character without reducing the decision to appearance alone.
Read guide 03ADAPTIVE REUSE
Why old buildings make compelling new spaces
See how structure, daylight, services and history shape a successful conversion from one use to another.
Read guide MATERIAL INTELLIGENCE
Every surface is part of a system.
Brick, timber, concrete, metal and glass do more than establish a palette. Each material changes the weight, weathering, maintenance and environmental story of a building.
- Understand the complete assembly
- Design for local exposure
- Compare lifetime maintenance
FOUR ENDURING PRINCIPLES
Daylight with control
Useful daylight reaches deep into a room without creating glare or unnecessary cooling loads.
Materials with purpose
Choose assemblies for climate, maintenance and aging—not only for the first photograph.
Less, but better
Efficient plans and durable details can reduce material use while making everyday spaces more generous.
THE CASE FOR REUSE
The greenest structure may be the one already standing.
Adaptive reuse can preserve embodied material, neighborhood memory and generous old structures. It also demands honest decisions about access, energy, services and what is truly worth keeping.
Read the adaptive reuse guide3complete evergreen guides
4core design principles
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