Backyard Project: Multi-function Propagation Room East Wall

The east wall of the Propagation Room serves several important functions.

At one end it is attached to the house so that it and the house are part of the deer fence.

It supports a roof that is accessible from inside the house. 

This wall has helped change the structure from a deck that was stuck onto the house, which we removed, to a room where we transition from the inside to the outside.

Josh making sure the wall is straight.

This east wall is also part of the ventilation system for the plants growing in the room. 

Air can easily pass through the punched metal screen wall.

The east wall also provides structural support for the propagation table inside the room.

The wall also provides shelter and privacy to the patio on the other side of it.

It is also the place where the gate slides back out of the way when we want to enter the garden, more on that when the gate is built.

The many functions of this one wall of the propagation room show how well integrated it is into the overall design of this area of our Backyard Project.

Back Yard Project: Applying More Pattern Language Principles

Rough sketches for the Lower Patio.

I am working on designs for the lower patio area where a broken down hot tub was removed. It is the most sheltered and sunniest place on the lot and I want to take advantage of the site conditions to grow plants.

I laid out some stakes to work out the optimum size of the raised beds. I placed a chair to help me visualise sitting in the warm spot amongst the flowers.

Pattern Language #241 is a 2-star pattern meaning it is a very important design consideration.

Problem: Where outdoor seats are set down without regard for view and climate, they will almost certainly be useless.

Solutions for locating outdoor seats, sitting walls, stair seats, garden seats need these characteristics:

1. Benches facing directly onto pedestrian activity.

2. Benches open to the south for sun exposure during winter months.

3. A wall on those sides where the winter winds come down. p. 1120

My design satisfies the first 2 characteristics being south facing and elevated to look down over the activity in the backyard. I am hoping the lower seating level and the raised beds full of plants will protect the area from the winds the site gets from Elk Lake about a kilometer away. Experience has shown the winds tend to be deflected up over the house as the land rises and I think the arbour and pergola will also serve to deflect the wind.

In the meantime, I can begin soil building.

The first step is to remove all of the big rocks in the soil.

I am sorting the rocks into rounded river rock that was brought onto the site by the previous owners and the native blasted rock most of which was created before the house foundations were built.

These different types of rock will be used for different purposes elsewhere on the site.

Choosing good spots for outdoor seats is far more important than building any fancy benches. Indeed, if the spot is right, the most simple kind of seat is perfect. p. 1120.

Backyard Project: The Meadow Design Strengthens the Green Shed Design

It was a big planting day when Sammy and Mat arrived with the plants for the meadow areas.

Sammy picked all plants native to the Pacific Northwest coast. Once they are established they will tolerate being walked on. I will keep the plants irregularly clipped to make the area look highly textured.

The flat meadow area is between the Studio beds and the Hugelkultur beds.

The south Meadow bed has the path to the studio running along its north side.

The north Meadow bed mirrors the triangular shape of the south one on the other side of the path but not exactly. They are offset a bit to emphasise the beginning of the pathway to the Green Shed.

The garden beds reflect the symmetry of the Green Shed and reinforce the visual location of the front door. 

Pattern Langauge #110 Main Entrance is described as 'a deep and inescapable property of a well-formed environment,' p. xiv which is why I have paid a lot of attention to the design of garden beds and paths near the front door of my studio. 

Christopher Alexander says 'Placing the main entrance... is perhaps the single most important step you take during the evolution of a building plan.' p. 541.

The Problem. 'The entrance must be placed in such a way that people who approach the building see the entrance or some hint of where the entrance is, as soon as they see the building.' p.541.

The Solution. 'Place the main entrance of the building at a point where it can be seen immediately from the main avenues of approach and give it a bold, visible shape which stands out in front of the building.' p. 544.

The approach to the Green Shed will be even more obvious after the gravel paths have been put in.

Backyard Project: Garden Rooms

Gravel Bed Garden Room

This garden room came about because of the site conditions. Grass would not grow in this area of the back lawn. We found the reason why after the thin layer of topsoil was scraped away before the studio construction began. Bedrock was exposed. Thin soil exposed to 12 hours of sunshine and reflected heat from the house suited a hot dry garden bed.

Tom dug down around the bedrock to make a sunken 'U' shaped garden room. The 2 entrances to this room are accessed by flat rock steps.  

It has rock walls and grey/white washed gravel flooring. I laid out a length of yellow yarn to mark the path through the room.

I have started planting. I have gone around to other beds to find plants that would be happier in a place with full sun and free draining to dry soils - rosemary, thyme, sage, lavender.

Marking out the beginnings of another garden room.

The walls will be a hedge of pineapple guava (feijoa), fig trees and Callistemon (bottlebrush).

Another room is called Walter's Gorge. It is now bisected by the deer fence but still reads as a room because of the plantings - Japanese water irises, horsetail and a number of different ferns, as a start. The blackberry we cleared from this area a couple of years ago still tries to inhabit the gorge but doesn't take long to cut back now.

I am starting to develop the garden room next to the studio porch. The pink tulips, hyacinths, and alliums will be transferred to the Water Drop bed once they finish blooming and die back. To the left will be a hydrangea hedge. Cuttings have been planted and the whole bed mulched with straw. 

The floor of this room will be a meadow of native ground covers that can be walked on but doesn't need mowing. The soil is being built up before their planting.

Valerie Easton's book 'A Pattern Garden The Essential Elements of Garden Making' has been most helpful while designing these garden rooms. Her design philosophy is based on the Japanese concept wabi-sabi and the Pattern Language work of Christopher Alexander. She designs garden rooms using 14 of Christopher Alexander's patterns.

Pattern Language - # 106 Positive Outdoor Space

Pattern Language # 106 Positive Outdoor Space

Problem - Outdoor spaces which are merely "left over" between buildings will, in general, not be used.

Apart from not having any other buildings on the property, there was a problem with there not being any desirable places to walk to or to spend some time in. With the house just sitting on a high spot on the lot the outdoors was all negative space - "the residue left behind when buildings - which are generally viewed as positive - are placed on the land," p.518 Pattern Language.

Tom is clearing the area behind the garage where a much-needed tool shed/potting area will be built. This building will help define the shape of the outdoor space down the side of the house and partly enclose it, turning it into an appealing positive space.

Tom hit bedrock while leveling the ground. He was able to break up some of the more weathered granite with the excavator bucket but the rest will have to be broken up using another method.

Tom said it is a quite rare 'salt and pepper' granite. I took a piece to my studio.

Looking north to the levelled site of the tool/potting shed with a track on the left and a garden bed on the right, both between the house and the forest and needing to be made into a positive outdoor space.

Tom worked backwards down the track as he constructed a rock wall to contain and define the garden bed running parallel to the west side of the house.

Solution to #106 Positive Outdoor Space

"Make all outdoor spaces which surround and lie between your buildings positive. Give each one some degree of enclosure: surround each space with wings of buildings, trees, hedges, fences, arcades and trellised walks, until it becomes an entity with a positive quality and does not spill out indefinitely around the corners." p. 522 Pattern Language.

At this stage, with just the earthworks and some structures in place, it is hard to see these outdoor spaces as positive design elements. I will come back to this pattern as work progresses and the space evolves.

Pathways are a very important element in outdoor spaces. They can help define a room or move people through a space. A pathway's course can cause you to pause or linger or encourage you to move towards a goal or focal point. Pathways link rooms, connect spaces, shift us through hierarchies of space, and influence our sensation of time.

Both Ron and I were excited by a pathway Tom built. We asked for steps to link the upper and lower levels but I had no idea Tom could make such a beautiful pathway. 

Here is Tom standing on the partly constructed rising pathway while Ron stands at the top of it.

Just by the careful selection and placement of rocks with a flat plane, Tom was able to construct a most elegant stairway one can walk up and down with a natural gait.

When I saw it I realised it was a key element in the Backyard Project's design.

In my mind, I can see it all planted and its looks so inviting.

Backyard Project: Gravelbed Garden

Here I have laid out with tape the boundary of the next area Tom will work on, the Gravelbed Garden.

The Backyard Project is made up of a series of interconnecting rooms. This is a concept from Christopher Alexander's Pattern Language research where each room is considered a centre.

It is the use of centers, and the knowledge of the fundamental role that emerging centers play in the evolution of a design, which gives the design process an orderly character, that can succeed, and allows you to keep a clear head while you are doing it, and a clear mind about the long term target, and the immediate action you must take, at each step, step by step, that will guide the design towards a successful end-state.

He explains and expands on this important design principle of centres in his books 'The Nature of Order, volumes 1 to 4.

First Tom works on the pathway which is one of  the boundaies defining the Gravelbed Garden room.

Tom lays down and compacts a mixed-size gravel base for the path.

Next he turns to his pile of smaller rocks and starts sorting them by shape. He mentally names the piles according to their function.

Then he begins the slow task of selecting the right rock and putting it in its place. The task demands a lot of focused attention.

Tom was wiped by the end of the day. It took him another half day to finish placing the rocks.

I can see in my mind how it will look when it is planted and surrounded by the other interconnecting rooms. It looks fabulous. Once again Tom did an amazing job.

Studio Design - Pattern Language #159 Light on Two Sides of Every Room

Pattern Language #159 Light on Two Sides of Every Room

Problem - ' When they have a choice, people will always gravitate to those rooms which have light on two sides, and leave the rooms which are lit from only one side unused and empty' p. 747. 'In rooms lit on one side the glare which surrounds people's faces prevents people from understanding one another' p. 748-9.

Solution - 'Locate each room so that it has outdoor space outside it on at least two sides, and then place windows in these outdoor walls so that natural light falls into every room from more than one direction.' p.750.

There is a step down into the sunny room where I go to read, stitch, have tea and contemplate. 

It has windows on 3 sides that look out into the forest.

Stitching Corner

'This pattern, perhaps more than any other single pattern, determines the success or failure of a room.' p. 747

My friend comes and joins me in the room for tea every day or so. Notice how well lit his face is.

'The importance of this pattern lies partly in the social atmosphere it creates in the room. Rooms lit on two sides with natural light, create less glare around people and objects; this lets us see things more intricately; and most important, it allows us to read in detail the minute expressions that flash across people's faces. the motion of their hands.... and thereby understand, more clearly, the meaning they are after. The light on two sides allows people to understand each other.' p.748

The light had been perfect for stitching until the longer winter days. I have now brought in a floor lamp and Ron has put a higher wattage bulb into the overhead ceiling fixture.

Apart from that, the room is working very well and is such a lovely place to be in.

Studio Design - Pattern Language #200 Open Shelves, #201 Waist-high Shelf

'A Pattern Language' by Christopher Alexander is a collection of patterns found in well-designed living spaces. I applied many of these patterns to my studio design.

Pattern #200 Open Shelves

The Problem - 'Cupboards that are too deep waste valuable space, and it always seems that you want what is behind something else'.

The Solution - 'Cover the walls with narrow shelves of varying depth but always shallow enough so that things can be placed on them one deep - nothing hiding behind anything else.'

I measured the depth of some of the books and binders I wanted to have in the studio and used that measurement for the depth of the shelves in this bookcase. Likewise in the rest of the studio the shelves depths and the varying spaces between them match the sizes of the articles stored on them. Things are stored only one item deep, mostly.

Pattern #201 Waist-high Shelf

Problem - 'In every house and every workplace there is a daily "traffic" of objects which are handled most. Unless such things are immediately at hand, the flow of life is awkward, full of mistakes; things are forgotten, misplaced.'

Solution - 'Build waist-high shelves around at least part of the main rooms where people live and work. Make them long, 9 to 15 inches deep, with shelves or cupboard underneath. Interrupt the shelf for seats, windows or doors.'

The 12" top of the bookshelf doubles as the needed waist-high shelf where stuff gets put. It also serves as the protective back for the Drawing Centre. Papers won't blow off the desk when the front door is opened.

Drawing Centre

This is where I put the cork mat I made from leftover floor tiles that didn't work on the cutting table. The area is big enough to hold a portable sloped drawing board that I use when doing design work.

Desk Centre

Attached to the Drawing Centre is the Desk Centre and both share the one chair. Underneath there are 2 basket stacks on wheels stored in otherwise unused space. Art materials are stored here and easily accessed from either work area.

Desk Centre

Each morning after I enter the studio, I start work here with some drawing practice and writing in a journal. These 2 activities slow me down and make me focus on what I plan to do that day. I end a studio session here too. I write in the journal  and plan what I will do next day.

Whenever I need extra horizontal workspace I can easily clear off these few things and temporarily free up a large area.The simple L-shaped design gives a lot of flexibility in how the space can be used. 

Studio Design: Pattern Language #134 Zen View & Keystone Species

Pattern Language #134 'If there is a beautiful view, don't spoil it by building huge windows that gape incessantly at it. Instead, put the windows which look onto the view at places of transition - along paths, in hallways, in entryways, on stairs, between rooms.

If the view window is correctly placed, people will see a glimpse of the distant view as they come up to the window or pass it: but the view is never visible from the places where people stay.'

The Green Shed has two Zen windows, one either side of the design wall. Jonathan Aitken, our architect, did a great job in locating them. The project table and print table are mostly kept (they are on wheels) in front of the design wall. As I work and walk around the tables I catch glimpses of forest views. A glimpse is enough to keep me connected to the outside without being a distraction from the work in hand. 

Not long after I moved in I was distracted by a familiar knocking sound. Curiosity made me go up to the nearest Zen window.

A Pileated woodpecker was at work on a tree we hoped would become a wildlife tree. 

The tree had shown signs of decline after the nearby 12-year-old septic field was keeping its roots too wet. Douglas-fir like to spend most of the year with dry feet. Several of its neighbours had blown over during winter storms. We didn't want this one to fall on the studio so it got cut down before it fell down. 

The knowledgeable lumberjack left a 20-foot high stump and roughened up the top with his chain sawn. We hoped the tree was large enough for the fauna to think it was an ideal wildlife tree. 

I was so delighted when I heard that knocking sound. I knew what it meant.

This bird had decided the tree was suitable to work on. Above right you can see their characteristic rectangular shaped hole which opens up the tree to other birds and insects as a food source and nesting sites. The hole gives access to fungus colonies that soften and rot the wood. Then the next succession of smaller birds can work on making nest sites and foraging for food.

It is for these and many other reasons the Piliated woodpecker is a Douglas-fir forest keystone species.

 Pileated woodpecker - Keystone Habit Modifier

Click the above link to read a scientific examination of the importance of this bird for the wellbeing of the Coastal Douglas-fir ecosystem.

Studio Design: Porch, Electrical Centre, Tea Centre

Continuing with a diary about how I use spaces in my new studio, as requested, I have used the crawl space.

During the Green Shed Open House, a friend offered me some of her Japanese indigo harvest. How wonderful. I visited her and came back with many large bundles of freshly cut indigo. I couldn't deal with it that day, but she had sent me a link to a site with a recipe for dried indigo. 

I borrowed the drill, found some hooks and hung the indigo bundles from the ceiling of the crawl space.

I moved the dehumidifier nearer the bundles to create air movement to stop any mold or mildew (probably the same thing) from forming. The dehumidifier took out of the air the extra moisture created by the drying plants. 

The leaves have dried perfectly to a deep blue.

Another lovely friend gave me a bucket of walnuts from her tree.

I got to use the porch for the first time when I went out there to take the husks off the shells.

I found it to be a pleasant space to work in. 

Inside I plugged in the first appliance in the electrical centre - a wide and deep counter/bench with lots of easy to reach power outlets. The hot plate works by induction heating only the bottom surface of the pot to an exact pre-dialed temperature. If the pot is taken off the element it stops heating. Other things can be programmed too, like a timer, a pre-set temperature and more. This reduces the risk of leaving a hot heating element unattended by mistake.

The window opens out towards the prevailing breeze. The breeze enters the room and moves the heated air up across the room and out the upper clerestory-like windows on the east side. It is designed to be a passive ventilation system.

I think I got so excited about simmering the walnut husks I forgot to take a picture of that stage.

It was time for tea. This is my tea centre with different teas and snacks in the little drawers.

Ron gave me the lovely teapot for this spot.

At the water centre, there is an instant boiling water tap. I drink herb teas that are made at temperatures below boiling point so the thermostat is set at below the boiling point.

This instant 'boiling' water was used to fill the pot to simmer the walnut husks in. It is more energy efficient to heat a small amount of already hot water a few degrees more than to take the same amount of water from cold to hot each time.

I had tea in the 'sunny room' for the first time. I will explain the Pattern Language 'sunny room' term in a later post.

My cousin, who does interiors for a living, helped me find the perfect chaise for this spot. Thank you, Karen. 

It is where I will read, rest, contemplate, and drink tea. 

The little wall heater, bottom right, has its own thermostat so I can set the room to be a little warmer than the main room while I sit still.

So that was the first day in my new studio.