WESTERN ART AND ARCHITECTURE MAGAZINE ARTICLE FEATURING SHUBIN AND DONALDSON PROJECT

http://www.westernartandarchitecture.com/articles/western-art-and-architecture/spring-summer-2010/113/in-the-studio.html?action=save_article_ratings_31198&article_id=113

SHUBIN AND DONALDSON PROJECT FEATURED ON COVER OF WESTERN ART AND ARCHITECTURE MAGAZINE

ROBIN DONALDSON AIA TO BE SPEAKING AT SBAIA AWARDS EVENT

This speaking event is part of the "First Thursday" art walk http://www.santabarbaradowntown.com/go.asp and is sponsored by the SB County arts commission. Starts at 5:30pm in the County Building on Anacapa Street.

Toro Canyon Site Visit 6.19.09

A piece of architecture worth saving...

Robin Donaldson looks at one of the wooden lifeguard towers being stored at the city's annex yard after they were replaced by fiberglass ones. Donaldson requested to purchase one from the city before they destroy them.

To read the full article published online on The Daily Sound click on the link below: http://www.thedailysound.com/051909lifeguardtower

Riviera Residence Article published in The Architect's Newspaper 4.22.09

click here to view the Riviera Residence on our website:

http://www.shubinanddonaldson.com/project.php?f_cat_id=1&f_id=12

Site Visit: Toro Canyon Residence 4.10.09

These photos taken from a recent site visit to the Toro Canyon Residence show the Starfire glass beams being installed for the entry piece which will be constructed entirely from glass.

Office Field Trip: John Elgin Woolf Estate Renovation

On Thursday February 19th the Shubin and Donaldson Santa Barbara office took a tour of a recently completed renovation of a John Elgin Woolf designed home in the hills of Montecito. The home was renovated by Gregg Wilson and his partner John Maienza.
http://www.kennedywilsonbuilders.com/gregg.htm
The estate is currently for sale and is listed by Suzanne Perkins.
http://www.suzanneperkins.com/portfolio/1478eastmountain/index.html
It was great to see a home by Woolf who’s design archive is currently housed at the UAM and had an exhibit at UCSB that was curated by my dear friend Kurt Helfrich.

Gregg gave us a tour of this immaculately renovated and restored home. They did a great job of respecting the spirit and intentions of the original design while updating and revising the interior floor plan to meet contemporary needs. The materials, detailing, and design features of the home are exquisitely executed by Gregg and John. In my mind, I felt the home was a great example of how a residence can blend a more historical style with a very modern design sensibility. The floor plan responds to the amazing site with spectacular views from every room and an emphasis on indoor-outdoor living. This is a design approach consistent with the design philosophy at Shubin and Donaldson. I felt this was a great way for our office to spend the lunch hour and appreciated Gregg taking the time to walk us through the home.

... Robin Donaldson AIA

Photos of John Elgin Woolf’s work on Flickr
http://www.flickr.com/photos/danmccarry/collections/72157604598283274/

article on John Elgin Woolf in current Vanity Fair
http://www.vanityfair.com/style/features/2009/03/john-woolf200903?currentPage=1

PROJECT ON THE BOARDS: SKYLINE DRIVE

This project is a new 3,000 square-foot, single family residence on the Mesa in Santa Barbara, designed to respond to the client’s desire for a unique design on a tight site with sweeping mountain to ocean views. The massing becomes a study of how to respond to the building envelope described by the various setbacks and height limits on the property, creating simple shapes that when brought together create a dynamic overall form. The program is spread over three levels including a basement-level garage and media space. The ground-level encloses the master suite, second bedroom, and a living area which seeks to blur the line of interior and exterior with floor to ceiling glass and sliding glass doors leading to the patio and yard. The third-level houses the kitchen, family room, and deck which cantilevers out to shade the glass below and capture the stunning views. Each mass is rendered in a single material; concrete, wood slats, glass and metal screen.

S+D PUBLISHED IN DREAM HOMES BY PANACHE

SITE VISIT: TORO CANYON RESIDENCE

We are currently in the construction administration phase on this contemporary residential project in Toro Canyon in Santa Barbara County. The client for this project is also an architect and we have worked collaboratively. Due to it being in a “very high fire area” this project was designed with fire resistance as an important part of the design concept. Obviously the recent Tea fire has only helped to reinforce how important it is to design with fire resistance in mind. This 7,500 square foot residence is constructed of poured-in-place concrete walls with corrugated metal roofs. The house was designed with much consideration for the long sequence of arrival as one travels up through the canyon to get to the site. Upon arrival you enter a clearing which faces toward the ocean and descend on the house from above. The house was designed around this particular approach. The roofs were rigorously worked so that they are free of vents and other visual obstructions. The house is a configuration of two volumes that are connected in the middle with an entry piece made entirely of glass. The west volume contains the public living spaces, and the east volume contains the private part of the program. The project is scheduled to finish in July of this year and is being built by Paul Franz Construction. We have built many projects with Paul over the years and are happy to get to do another home with him and his crew.

… Robin Donaldson, AIA

MONTECITO RESIDENCE FEATURED IN CALVIN KLEIN HOME AD

click on the link below to view this project on our website:

http://www.sandarc.com/project.php?f_cat_id=1&f_id=2

RIVIERA RESIDENCE PUBLISHED IN THE ROBB REPORT

click on the link below to view this project on our website:

http://www.sandarc.com/project.php?f_cat_id=1&f_id=12

MONTECITO RESIDENCE PUBLISHED IN CASE DI CAMPAGNA

to view this project on our website click the link below.

http://www.shubinanddonaldson.com/project.php?f_cat_id=1&f_id=2

FIRE HOUSES

After many conversations with people in our community regarding the recent Tea Fire it occurred to me that unwittingly we have worked on quite a number of projects out of the ashes of wildfire devastation; from the Painted Cave fire of 1990 here in Santa Barbara to the wildfire in Laguna Beach in 1993. These are a few of our phoenixes.

To view these projects on our website and to read more about them click on the link below:

http://www.shubinanddonaldson.com/

... Robin Donaldson, AIA

CONTEMPORARY HOME SURVIVES TEA FIRE

The above photo was taken Friday November 14, 2008 the morning after the Tea Fire in Santa Barbara, California. The photo shows an undamaged home that is surrounded by burned landscape and burned homes. This fire survivor is a home we designed and we call it the “Riviera Residence.”

Click here to view this project on our website:

http://www.shubinanddonaldson.com/project.php?f_cat_id=1&f_id=12

I took the photo from below the home at the end of my street where I live with my family. We were evacuated the night before and early Friday morning I managed to get back to my home (which was untouched by the fire) and was anxious to see if the Riviera Residence survived. I knew it was surrounded by fire and burned homes and was quite thrilled to see it made it through the fire without any significant damage. We designed the home knowing that someday it had a very high chance of being in the path of a wildfire. The home was designed on the foundations of a home that was re-built after the Sycamore Canyon fire in the late 70’s. We knew as we designed the home that despite the relatively recent wildfire at this location there was still a very high probability of another fire raging through the site (though we never would have guessed how soon after finishing the home…less than 2 years). We had already had some experience with re-building homes after wildfires, and as an architect I have had the sobering duty and honor of working with families who have lost homes in California wild fires. Without asking for it, we have had real world education on fire resistant home design and the re-building process. The Riviera Residence is the first home that we have designed that has had a very real test of its fire resistance. In addition to the fire resistant design elements of this contemporary home design, the bulk of the credit for saving the home goes to Geoff Moore and Genie Gable our courageous and well prepared clients and homeowners. They had an evacuation plan and checklist that they calmly executed as the fire raced down Sycamore Canyon. After Genie drove away with all their essential belongings, Geoff stayed behind and started the active fire resistant devices installed to douse the house in water. He sprayed the home with their 100 feet of fire hose line until a wall of 50 ft. flames came over the home next door. At that point he left and the home was on its own. He came back the next morning to find his home intact.

I believe that a combination of all the active and in-active fire resistant features helped raise the odds that the home could survive. After all, with something as powerful and unpredictable as a wildfire the best you can hope to do is to tilt the odds in your favor. Unfortunately there is no single solution to fire resistant home design. I think it is best to combine active and in-active elements to have the best results.

If you are interested in seeing an online video of Genie, Geoff, and I discuss the fire, click on the link below. Our interview begins about half way through the video.

http://web.me.com/insande/Site_3/Podcasts/Entries/2008/11/20_Montecito_Journal_Interviews_.html

... Robin Donaldson, AIA