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Distributed audio is no problem--if you take the time to plan properly.
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Commonwealth Builders is offering new Web-based homes at the Village at Tinker Creek, a $60 million, 170-unit traditional neighborhood development built on 50 acres in Roanoke County, Va.
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Florida community features integrated voice, data, video, and high-speed Internet access system from Sprint.
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Bosch adds to its line of software products for home builders.
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One new feature is an improved consolidation function, which lets builders display matching items in one line item for a single package.
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The training video for Chief Architect 9.0 is now available.
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By Steve Zurier. Crestron has released the STX-1700CXP, a 2.4-GHz wireless touch panel that delivers two-way radio frequency communications over a 150-foot range. Homeowners can use the new touch panel to set audio and video systems, lights, drapes, security, and intercom systems.
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Builders are under more pressure today to show photorealistic renderings to customers and complete construction drawings to local building departments.
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Roughly a year since Microsoft rolled out its Windows XP Tablet PC edition, builders are finally starting to test business applications on Tablet PCs, and vendors have released Tablet PC applications designed for builders.
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CEO Brownell pegs his future on conservation design techniques. "It's the future ... the way we'll all need to do development," he says. Bielinski Homes scored big with its 39-acre Prairie Glen community, in Germantown, Wis., on agricultural lands that included "partially degraded wetlands."...
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By Alison Rice. At Ryan Building Group, a Schaumburg, Ill.-based company building 650 homes annually, its insurance renewal came right down to the wire. "We secured it the last hour of the last day," says CFO Kevin Davis, who'd begun his research months in advance of the March 1 deadline, only to...
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By Pat Curry. Co-founder of Braddock and Purcell, an upscale real estate consultancy in New York, Purcell says he is a huge proponent of second homes, so much so that he has three of them. Bigger is better for these buyers, says Superstition Mountain's designated broker, Tom Popa, because they...
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MARY DORSEY BREWSTER founded Providence, R.I.-based Brewster Thornton Rapp Architects in 1989. design center manager for Littleton, Colo.-based builder Village Homes of Colorado. THANKS TO: (from left to right) Gonzalo E. Romero, Stephanie December Gaines, Hope Marie Dunlavey, D. Wayne Speight...
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Riley House II Doug Walter Architects added contrast to distinguish the vanities: a cherry-stained projecting unit for the husband and a recessed painted version for the wife. Category: Bathroom; Entrant/Architect: Doug Walter Architects, Denver; Builder: Coggeshall Construction, Denver; Interior...
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By Matthew Power. Many of the older residents moving into Craig Gardens' 650-square-foot rental units are casualties of California's housing prices. But Jeff Oberdorfer and First Community Housing try to soften that blow by keeping construction costs down along with rents ($453 and $779), at the...
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By Nigel F. Maynard. The site was made undesirable by the adjacent features, but its location just outside one of Charlotte's upscale neighborhoods meant that it had views of the downtown skyline. The challenge for David Furman Architecture, then, was to minimize the undesirable location and take...
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By Matthew Power. The architect and builder took an "organic" approach to constructing this custom home on 110 acres, at a cost of about $180 per square foot. Category: Live/Work; Entrant/Architect/Interior Designer: Polifilo, Nashville, Tenn.; Builder: Principle Building Group, Chapel Hill, Tenn.
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By Matthew Power. Here's a new spin on what to do with an outdated, abandoned high school. Category: Adaptive re-use; Entrant/Architect/Interior Designer: Dekker/Perich/Sabatini, Albuquerque, N.M.; Builder: Richardson & Richardson, Albuquerque; Developer: Paradigm Development, Albuquerque;...
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By Kathleen Stanley. Pulte pulled out all the stops on this 5,600-square-foot home, which is available in English (shown), Spanish, or traditional elevations. Category: Single-family production home, more than 3,000 square feet; Entrant/Architect: William Hezmalhalch Architects, Santa Ana, Calif.;...
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By Kathleen Stanley. What sets Birkdale Village apart from many other mixed-use communities is that the office, retail, and residential blend is truly all mixed up. "We'd never taken on such an integrated project like this," says David Ravin, vice president of Crosland Contracting, which developed...
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By Nigel F. Maynard. During the design phase, this retirement home for an order of nuns was envisioned as an assisted living community. Category: Assisted living; Entrant/Architect: KodamaDiseno, San Francisco; Builder: Marchetti Construction, South San Francisco; Developer: Sisters of Notre Dame...
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By Matthew Power. The new rooms offer practical elements such as cubbies for children's lunch boxes and easy-to-access restrooms. Category: Adaptive re-use; Entrant/Architect/Interior Designer: Hnedak Bobo Group, Memphis, Tenn.; Builder: Linkous Construction, Memphis; Developer: Junior Achievement...
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How could a house that positively drips with nostalgia work for a modern family? Remarkably well, says architect Donald M. Rattner, who tweaked two prototype models at McAllister Point in Richmond Hill, Ga., to come up with this winner.
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This project in a historic neighborhood in Washington involved the addition of a sunroom and a master bedroom suite as well as the renovation of all interior spaces.
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By Kathleen Stanley. It's hard to tell where one townhouse begins and another ends at The Cotswolds, a terrific little project that fits 14 mega-sized one-floor units--each one averages 3,750 square feet--on a little more than three acres. Category: Townhouse, more than 2,000 square feet;...
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By Kathleen Stanley. Water is the unexpected unifying element at Palmilla, a 72-acre desert community of 159 homes just 30 minutes from Palm Springs, Calif. Streams, fountains, and other water features not only mask the sound of the street but give just about every one of the Mexican-inspired homes...
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By Nigel F. Maynard. Pinecroft at Evans Farm are condominiums offering luxury living to retirees and empty-nesters. Category: Condominiums--for sale; Entrant/Builder: Craftmark Homes, McLean, Va.; Developer: Elm Street Development, McLean; Architect: Lessard Architectural Group, Vienna, Va.; Land...
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By Nigel F. Maynard. This vacation home features living areas on the top floor to maximize views and a screened porch for indoor/outdoor living. Category: Production/Semi-custom, 2,000 to 3,000 square feet; Entrant/Builder: BHI Construction Co., Bald Head Island, N.C.; Developer/Land Planner: Bald...
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By Nigel F. Maynard. Echelon at Uptown is the first market-rate multifamily rental project in Orlando's central business district in 40 years. Category: Apartments--rentals; Entrant/Developer: Echelon Residential, Orlando, Fla.; Builder: Skanska USA Building, Orlando; Architect/Land...
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Conceived as a model home for a new 500-unit sporting club, this 4,500-square-foot home is aimed to capture a sense of the vernacular West Virginia countryside.
By Matthew Power. Given a merit award in two categories--both for its innovative, narrow, three-story floor plan and its use of "clustering"--this exceptional 120-unit detached home project also kept prices affordable (given the region). "About 80 percent of buyers go for that," notes architect...
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By Nigel F. Maynard. The result is a $105-per-square-foot project that is an alternative to run-of-the-mill "sheetrock and brown carpet" affordable housing, the developer says. The 1,400- to 1,785-square-foot units are fairly compact, architect Scott Nelson says, but the scarcity of walls and the...
By Matthew Power. Situated on land once owned by Henry Ford, this project resulted in about 70 homes clustered near the middle of a much larger 1,800-acre golf course resort development surrounded by nature preserves. "We envisioned rotaries and hubs to keep traffic in a loop and slow down cars,"...
By Nigel F. Maynard. The adaptability of Ivy Wreath's Residence 1X offers flexibility to first-time, move-up buyers, be they singles or couples. The objective was to create a high-density project with the characteristics of a detached community, says Architect Jeff Chelwick, and the unit's...
By Matthew Power. With a modest budget and a short two weeks to create a theme, this clever firm turned an architectural sow's ear into a silk purse. "With so little time, we had to keep the plan simple," notes architect Robert Junk.
Designed for an empty-nester or second-home buyer who aspires to make it a future full-time residence, The New American Home Plan B offers luxury living in a townhouse overlooking golf and water amenities.
By Matthew Power. Built on a 150-acre parcel of a 225-acre site once owned by a mental hospital, Rivermark is the kind of project urban planners can point to as a model for sustainable, livable design. "Nearby are some high-rent gated communities, but those don't really make a community," notes...
By Nigel F. Maynard. Because of its location, Bellewood of Dunwoody faced topographic, traffic, and surrounding land-use challenges that helped shaped its design. Nevertheless, Land Plus Associates managed to create a pedestrian-friendly cluster community that is densely packed but still offers...
By Matthew Power. Built on the site of a much more utilitarian clubhouse, this grand, multi-purpose building allows its affluent club members to keep recreation separate from weddings and dining. "We evaluated the club's culture," notes David Israel, the other architect on the project, "and we...
By Matthew Power. Take a classical brick design reminiscent of bygone times, fill it with hip, roomy apartments, and drop the whole thing into an underserved market just a few hundred yards from Old Town, Alexandria, Va. As if that's not enough, residents can walk to a subway stop just 800 feet...
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By Kathleen Stanley. Take Alexander Court, an 18-unit condominium development on .69 acres in Charlotte, N.C.'s First Ward, a previously dilapidated region that's being revitalized through a public/private partnership using $41 million in grant money. "The only way the mousetrap fits together is by...
By Kathleen Stanley. If there were a school devoted to the notion of "loose" architecture, then WaterColor would be its main campus--and the architectural firm of Cooper, Robertson & Partners would be on the faculty. And now it wins a grand award for mixed housing community and a merit award for a...
By Nigel F. Maynard. The biggest challenge facing the architects of Legacy at Museum Park was integrating the project into its diverse neighborhood. An infill project that aims to revitalize the downtown area of San Jose, Calif., the project is surrounded on all four sides by commercial and...
The Maryland Historic Trust had stepped in and purchased an easement from the previous owner, disallowing subdivision and stating the terms for future additions. "We met with the Trust and tried to understand what they were aiming for," says Muse.
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By Kathleen Stanley. With neighbors like the La Costa Resort and Spa, a Four Seasons resort, and the upscale Rancho Santa Fe development, it's no surprise that La Costa Glen looks more like a vacation destination than a retirement community. Continuing Life Communities, which developed the property...
By Nigel F. Maynard. ESG architects believes the term "loft" is overused. Grand award winner 9th Street Lofts, however, is an innovative, yet closer, interpretation of the loft space concept, says architect David Graham.
By Kathleen Stanley. That's what the Irvine Community Development Co. and Pardee Homes had to contend with when they got involved with Fiore, a neighborhood of 88 single-family detached homes in the Summit area of Irvine's Turtle Ridge. "These houses really had to look good from a distance; that...
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By Kathleen Stanley. That's definitely the case with Viejo Carmel, a dynamite group of townhouses and stacked flats that nestles seamlessly into the quirky town of Carmel. Interior Designer: First Impressions in Design, Fresno, Calif.
By Matthew Power. The back story on this large custom project on a cliff overlooking Lake Austin is a familiar one. "They lived in other houses around the country while this was being built," notes architect Robert Steinbomer.
By Nigel F. Maynard. Nashville's Hope Garden neighborhood, though suffering from a variety of urban problems, is in the very early stages of revitalization. The neighborhood's first multifamily project, Row 8.9n row houses (the catchy name indicates its location between 8th and 9th on the north...
By Kathleen Stanley. The pressure was on for architect Donald Powers when he designed the prototype house for a new, active adult community within the Hudson River Valley community of Warwick Grove, N.Y. It had to occupy just 2,400 square feet and appeal to an audience of 55-and-overs who were...
By Matthew Power. Rooted in studies of thriving European streets, the Santana Row project successfully integrates trendy lofts and townhouses into a busy commercial setting--while preserving a good quality of life for residents. As the architect for Federal Realty Investment Trust, the firm that...
By Kathleen Stanley. Looney Ricks Kiss architect Darrell Russell must be the envy of all his colleagues back in Memphis, Tenn., where he worked and lived for 19 years as a principal in the forward-thinking firm. That's where Russell just happened to have designed and built a charming two-story
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One word came up again and again at the Builder's Choice judging this year: honesty. Clean, simple design with a straightforward focus is what looked fresh this time around, whether the project was a rugged custom home in Texas hill country, a production prototype in the Hudson River Valley, or a...
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Evaluation showcases energy-efficient, high-performance homes.
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Builders should prepare for higher rates in the coming months.
Few things in contemporary America are more contentious than the question of how to fund new infrastructure and improvements to existing infrastructure. To help identify innovative ways of meeting the infrastructure needs of the growing U.S. population, the NAHB's new report--"Building for...
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- The NAHB applauds President Bush's appointment of Utah Gov. Mike Leavitt as new administrator of the EPA.
- California maintains grip on the million-dollar housing marketplace.
- North American Free Trade Agreement panel rejects 19 percent of U.S. countervailing duties on Canadian lumber...
Many home buyers are needlessly exposed to indoor air that is five to 10 times more polluted than the air outside. One good way to circulate clean air in the home is through ventilation goods, such as GuardianPlus from Hartford, Wis.-based Broan-NuTone or the Healthy Bathroom System from Novi...
Residential construction is not as dangerous as, say, timber cutting or commercial fishing. Nevertheless, the average construction site can be a formidable place. Government data show that construction is one of the leading industries for workplace accidents and injuries.
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Treasury says it should oversee Fannie and Freddie. Not so fast, the NAHB says.t
Detailed virtual reality tours help presell luxury homes at price points nearly twice the area average.
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A nationwide search campaign helps Eden find its Eve.
The VIP (very important phase) affair held at Prairie District Homes in July 2002, resulted in 12 deposits on the Legacy Development Group's 28 available townhomes, says Judith Simon of Chicago-based Taylor Johnson Associates, the agency representing the community. And it was the elegance of the...
By Alison Rice. The Estates at Madison Green seemed tailor-made for empty-nesters. It had the homes you might expect: The builder, Shelby Homes of Coral Springs, Fla., offered spacious one- and two-story houses, designed to capture mature buyers whose children were long gone, as well as the...
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By Steve Zurier. Builders looking for all-in-one, back-office software faced a major disappointment last summer when i4Synergy put development of i4Builder on hold and said it would not be delivering product this year. Leading builders Hovnanian Enterprises and John Wieland Homes were among i4's...
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By Mick Pattinson. The housing crisis began to fester in California when we convinced ourselves that we could have it both ways: On the one hand, we could stop building housing (and declare that a victory for the environment)--and, on the other, we could still have lots of homes for everyone. Mick...
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By Steve Zurier. Gentry Homes in Honolulu is using online options selections software from Dana Point, Calif.-based YourDesignCenter Inc., a move that saved it from spending an upfront cost of $50,000 to build a physical design center, plus at least another $50,000 a year on staffing costs and rent...
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Three out of four buyers use the Internet in search of a home.
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By Nigel F. Maynard. A few years ago, the people at Gray Supply Co., based in East Chicago, Ind., had a bright idea: Why not launch a Web site that sells nothing but light bulbs? The idea sounded good, so Gray changed its name to Topbulb and now offers more than one million light bulbs and more...
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By Alison Rice. The bottom line for these 13 CEOs: a median of $10 million in total compensation in 2002, according to research by Credit Suisse First Boston. Last year's highest paid, Dwight Schar of NVR, fell to the bottom this year, with only $3 million in total pay (not including $4 million in...
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Wondertec International, based in Newberry, S.C., says that its new cement-based landscaping and subdivision wall system is faster to build than concrete block and is as much as 40 percent cheaper. Moreover, with recent Dade County Miami approval, the wall can be built up to 15 feet tall in...
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By Steve Zurier. Say what you will about online realtor Homestore Inc., the company took its lumps in the past year, but unlike many dot-coms, Homestore is still out there fighting. Once a high roller with a price-per-share of around $120, Homestore's stock toppled to 14 cents last fall amid bad...
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As people continue to flock to Florida, the Sunshine State feels the strain.
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By Nigel F. Maynard. The Washington-based Surface Transportation Policy Project states in a recent report that transportation is the second largest annual expense for American families, totaling more than three times the cost of health care. Transportation inhibits wealth creation and hinders...
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Environmental impact of above-grade block and poured concrete.
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By Kathleen Stanley. The latest Builder's Choice entries were blessedly free of ceramic chickens posing in immaculately done-up kitchens.
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By Steve Zurier. A new study by the National Housing Conference found that immigrant working families are nearly 70 percent more likely than native-born Americans to spend more than half of their income on housing. Hispanics comprise almost 60 percent of immigrant working families identified with...
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By Alison Rice. According to a Johns Hopkins study recently published in Academic Emergency Medicine, higher rates of homeownership are linked to lower rates of emergency room use, either for urgent or routine care. Even in poor neighborhoods, homeownership rates can serve as an indicator of an...
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By Steve Zurier. The Bringing America Home Act introduced last summer by Rep. Julia Carson (D-Ind.) includes a provision to establish a National Housing Trust Fund that would provide communities with money to build, rehabilitate, and preserve 1.5 million homes over the next 10 years for low-income...
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By Alison Rice. KB Home in September purchased Chicago-based Zale Homes for $33 million, including debt. It marks the Los Angeles-based KB's first foray into the Midwest, and gives it a solid foothold in the Chicago market: Last year, Zale closed more than 300 homes for $106 million in revenue.
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By Nigel F. Maynard. The Home Depot recently launched a new Worksite CD that allows professional customers to search for products, calculate estimates, and order them online. Free to qualified pros, the tool allows builders to search almost all SKUs the store carries, and by entering a local zip...
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A recent lawsuit reversed in the New York Court of Appeals suggests that insurers who add pollution exclusions for jobsite pollutants such as paint fumes in their liability policies could still have to pay up when a worker is injured by that pollution.
By Boyce Thompson. We have more than one tradition surrounding the 23-year-old Builder's Choice program. But one of my favorites is when we go around the room, after the judging is complete, after the judges have pored over hundreds of the best projects built in the last year, and ask our jury to...