SchnellGarrett Residence

We are aroused from our nap by the cinematic sound track of high schoolers coming of age and instantaneously are aware of all that is about. This mindfulness is solidified by the adoption of a horizontal posture. In this prostrate embodiment of space and sofa we are caused to comprehend or mentally map the position of the doors and windows, the arrangement of furniture, and the configuration of other bits of ordinary (figurines and maps and books and coffee cups and a fly orbiting a recessed lamp). The daily resurrection of this room and our bodily presence varies according to the diurnal milieu that seeps through apertures in the shell or building envelope. Essential to inducing this wakeful moment is the presence of natural light and, perhaps, its incidence with our body.

Formerly a condominium with a low-end contemporary build out replete with colonial trim and warped wall surfaces, this space is neighbor to Des Moines’ Ruan Center and the Mies Van Der Rohe Savings and Loan building. The primary enclosure consists of a central entry hall leading to an open room 15 by 50 feet studio and kitchen. Our assignment was to convert these spaces into a smooth and unconstrained set of rooms. Within these spaces we sought to shape a new sequence of areas associated with the occupant’s routine daily practices and, thereby, cultivate a way of life that is dimensionally cultural. As a result, spaces were allowed to converge and dissolve as necessary to support a gradient of material culture.

The configuration envelops an office in addition to the hall, kitchen, dining and living room. The colonial trim was removed (sans serif) and walls set normal. Reveal trim was installed at all wall plane intersections with doors and floor. A new spatial fragment (serif) constructed of Spessart Oak (nativity: Verona, Italy) plywood was installed to frame the dining room. Correspondingly, this open shelf and panelized shelving unit provide separation between dining room and office space. In addition, the service island is constructed of Spressart Oak with a honed quartz top. The kitchen cabinetry (by Poliforms) employs a high luster, white face paneling with blind hardware. Full height drapery was used throughout to provide vertical dimension in addition to monitoring light and sound. A new terrazzo floor was installed.

Not unlike Peter Bogdanovich’s black and white cinematic presence of a naked high school girl in a 1952 beatific setting, this inquiry into spatial production cultivated a genuine appreciation, for both the authors and the residents, of bodily presence against a precisely choreographed set of surface values. The homes unseen fullness is a consequent of its spare condition. The house is, thus, a system of atmospheric surfaces whereby natural light is incident with the distinctive spirit of a people. Photographer: Cameron Campbell