Office Renovation, St. Joseph MI

This is another renovation that we did on a non-conforming residential building in St. Joseph, MI.  The objective was to turn it into a functional real estate office.  By functional, I mean a unique eye grabbing, attention getting free standing building with a hip coastal theme.  What do all coastal buildings have?  A weathervane
of course.  But what would hold a weathervane?  Of course, a cupola.  So I incorporated a 36" x 36" cupola into the center of the drawing.  This would be a non functioning cupola, meaning that it is only has asthetic appeal.  There is no way to access it from the inside of the house, and no light on the inside of it.  It is just to look pretty.  Oh yeah, and to bring some balance to the roofline.  What else does every coastal building have?  Of course, a metal roof.  So I incorporated a galvanized aluminum roof into the facade to give it that southern coastal charm.  This also increases the energy savings of the home, by reflecting the rays of the sun.  Thus keeping the building from heating up like a green-house.  There is also a tax break for using reflective metal roofs.  We used tapored pillars again to give it that old world craftsman charm.  Now we had to figure out how to create a hand rail system for the front porch to stay with the coastal theme, and give some privacy to the front porch, while not making it closed off, and allowing a breeze to flow.  So we used 6 " x 1" Pau Lupe Brazilian Hardwood.  We had to reach 42" in height, so we did 6 rows, spacing them 1" apart each.  We capped it off with 3/4" armour board for a hand rail, and supported it in the middle with hand cut tapored armour board securred to the ipe, and hand-rail.  In the end, we achieved our look.  A stand alone, real estate office, with a coastal theme, and southern charm.  Check out the before and after...

Before

   




A Drawing of the proposed exterior renovation




"After"