Hearth-Fold House
A one-storey ranch, part Frank Lloyd Wright Usonian, part Carr Jones East Bay brick house. A brick core, a 4 ft grid and a low roof from Wright. Rough dark brick, arches and courtyards from Jones.
The plan is an L. Glass walls on the living wing, a low brick back on the bedroom wing. Between them a terrace steps down to a round sunken fire court.
The stepped arch is Jones's arch built from Wright's squares. It shows up from the chimney to the coloured glass. It's all a Blender model, with every brick and roof tile placed one at a time.
- Under roof
- 2,443 sq ft
- Rooms
- 5
- Baths
- 2
- Bedrooms
- 2
- Bricks
- ~44,000
- Roof tiles
- 5,584
- Cedar
- ~13,500 bd ft
- Glass
- ~2,180 sq ft
- Red slab
- ~5,290 sq ft
- Copper
- ~1,090 sq ft
- Ridge
- 15 ft
- Chimney
- 18 ft
- Grid
- 4 ft
Estimates from the 3D model.
Layers
- 01
Site
A slight rise with the drive coming in from the east. The land steps down to a sunken court.
- 02
Floor
Waxed Cherokee red concrete, scored in 4 ft squares. It runs out through the glass to the terrace.
- 03
Fittings
Everything inside is modelled too, from the kitchen to the wishbone chairs.
- 04
Walls
Rough, dark clinker brick. Even the walls between bedrooms are brick.
- 05
Hearth
A stepped brick tower in the south wall, with a fireplace nook facing the pit.
- 06
Glass
Glass walls run north and east with no post at the corner, and a pair of glazed doors opens from the dining table onto the terrace. Above them, stained glass fans alternate with stepped arches in amber, opal and ruby.
- 07
Timber
Cedar beams across the living room every 2.4 m, each over a steel post in the glass wall, and along the roof peak. Perforated cedar screens let light in up high.
- 08
Roof
Two low roofs in terracotta tile with a deep overhang. Copper on the flat roofs over the carport and porch.
- 09
Chimney
It steps in as it climbs past the roof. Stepped arches stand out from all four sides.
Wright and Jones
| Idea | Wright | Carr Jones | In this house |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hearth | A solid brick core in every Usonian plan | Massive brick fireplaces, often built first | A stepped brick tower with a fireplace nook inside and the chimney above |
| Roof | Flat or low with long overhangs | Swooping, rolled shingles | Low with a deep overhang |
| Low, then tall | A low entry into a tall living room | Low arched doors into cathedral ceilings | A low brick porch into a tall, beamed living room |
| Materials | Brick, cypress, Cherokee-red concrete, copper, art glass | Clinker brick, salvaged timber, copper, leaded glass | Clinker brick, cedar, copper, red concrete, amber and ruby leaded glass |
| Court and garden | L-shaped plans around a lawn, on terraces | Sunny courtyards and curved brick garden walls | An L around a terrace and a round sunken fire court |
| Ornament | Perforated boards and patterned concrete block | Rippling brick and hand-cut detail | The stepped arch at every size |
| Unit of measure | A 4 ft grid | The size of a brick | A 4 ft grid, scored into the floor |
Rooms
- 01
Living wing
One long, tall room with glass to the north and east. Brick to the south with cedar screens up high.
- 02
Hearth
The brick fireplace in the south wall, with a soapstone-topped hearth facing the pit.
- 03
Conversation pit
A sunken brick pit with cushioned seats on three sides.
- 04
Kitchen
Cedar counters against two brick walls, with the sink under a high window. The island has a stepped-arch cedar screen.
- 05
Bedroom wing
Two bedrooms, a study and two baths. Brick to door height, cedar-framed glass above.
- 06
Atrium
A small court open to the sky. A redbud in a brick bed and a copper spout filling a brick basin.
- 07
Passage
A broad hallway to the bedrooms, lined with a waist-high cedar bookcase.
- 08
Terrace and court
The red floor steps down twice to a round sunken court. Brick benches ring a square fire pit.
- 09
Carport
A covered bay at the east end with a stepped-arch gate and a flat, copper-edged roof. A cedar closet on the house wall holds the laundry and the utilities.
- 10
Entry
A covered brick walk, a stepped arch and a cedar door. The ceiling starts low and lifts in three steps.
- 11
Bath
Dark maroon tile, a walk-in shower, a tiled soaking tub, a copper basin and an arched cedar mirror. A second bath with a shower, in green tile, is off the gallery by the study.
Materials
- Clinker brick
- Real-size bricks from iron red to near-black, with pitted faces and deep-set mortar.
- Stepped arches
- The brick steps in with no cutting. Upright bricks border each arch.
- Western red cedar
- Beams, screens, counters, doors, ceilings and the undersides of the overhangs.
- Floor
- Waxed Cherokee-red concrete, mottled, scored in a 4 ft grid.
- Glass
- Clear walls in dark bronze steel frames. Above, leaded fans alternate with stepped arches in amber, opal and ruby glass.
- Metal
- Copper at the roof edge, the gutters and the rain chains, and at the taps, basins, post caps and fire bowl. Blackened iron for straps and hardware.
- Bath tile
- Deep glazed maroon tile.
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