Ruhl Walker Architects

Drawing, designing, and dreaming are all gratifying aspects of being an architect, but we also really love when the projects we’ve designed begin actual construction. That is after all the primary goal of what we do all day in the studio! We work with some fantastic general contractors, and working closely with them until the day our clients move in is an exciting, collaborative process. Check out the projects below, and we’ll keep posting updates in the coming weeks.

The renovation of this Boston rowhouse includes opening up the middle for a dramatic, three-story living space, with natural light eventually pouring down from a large skylight above.

A couple we met when we designed new faculty housing at St. Mark’s School in Southborough, MA, asked us to design a small addition to their two-room house in the Berkshires. The new space will provide additional living space as well as a bedroom and bathroom; the existing house with only an open sleeping loft, lacked the kind of privacy needed with older children. The flat roof of the addition is accessed from an exterior stair tower, and will eventually have a railing around it for small rooftop gatherings for star-gazing and enjoying views extending deep into Vermont.

A view of a steel stair above the front entrance of a new house in Lincoln. The stair treads and partial risers will be solid red oak, and the stair landing will have red oak flooring and red oak veneered plywood below.

Major earthwork is evident at this substantial renovation project in Chelmsford. Here you see the beginnings of an excavation that will become a landscaped garden and terrace cut into the ground in order to bring daylight into new lower level living spaces. Natural light is so critical! Only small parts of the existing house will remain untouched when the project is finished later this year.

We are really excited about several new projects in the early stages of design, including new houses, two new lofts, and a master plan for a small school in northern New Hampshire. We will share some more information about each of these projects in the coming weeks, but in the meantime, check out the images and information below.

Architects are sometimes perceived as design aesthetes, imbued with an overabundance of “creativity” but only a modicum of common sense about how to build things and solve real world problems. A savvy homeowner, however, understands that architects are actually uniquely trained as problem-solvers, with fluid analytical skills and the ability to visualize what others cannot. More and more we find ourselves applying these skills with residential projects by engaging with our clients in pre-purchase feasibility studies, to help determine if a particular plot of land, or an existing building to be renovated is actually suitable for the intended purpose.

Recently one of our clients was negotiating with a developer for the custom build-out of an already gutted 5 story row house. Because the developer was proposing traditional detailing where the owner preferred modern, we were hired to prepare a design to the owner’s liking that the developer could then price out and presumably build. As with all of our projects we learned a lot about the owner during this exercise, and helped him better understand his own likes and dislikes and the kinds of spaces that would be best for him. We worked out some really interesting ideas around a double-height space that solved a lot of problems with the row house format’s limited daylight and multiple, cramped levels. In the end, our client determined that pushing these ideas in this particular project would be too expensive and the results would be compromised.

Undeterred, and armed with our work, he was able to negotiate a great deal on another project where others hadn’t seen its possibilities. Now we’re designing a great apartment, with a dramatic three story skylit atrium as an unexpected surprise, bringing light and a feeling of spaciousness to the innermost reaches of the apartment.

Check back soon and we’ll be posting construction photos!

We’re nearing completion of a renovation to a large apartment in a mid-rise Boston building.  As with all of our projects, a number of larger design goals were established early on for this residence, and subsequent details and decisions were made to bring the design vision to fruition. One of the primary goals of the design was to illuminate the entry level, just inside the front door, by cutting away floor structure and borrowing as much light as possible from a glassy penthouse above.  The entry space would be bright, uncluttered, and welcoming.  The newly created light wells form a bridge on the upper level, which unfortunately could not be centered above a door to an existing private study below.  To make matters worse, the study door could not be moved either.  This juxtaposition is quite prominent, and the distracting misalignment was driving us crazy.

Finally, we understood that we could create a balanced arrangement of flush painted wall panels to align with the bridge.  The study door is then completely disguised through some careful detailing and spring-loaded hinges.  Problem solved.  Added bonus: who wouldn’t want a secret study?

The existing study door looking forlorn and awkward under a new bridge.

KITCHEN DESIGN

It surprises almost no one that the kitchen is now the functional and emotional heart of every home, from the smallest urban apartment to casual beach houses and large, more formally constrained suburban estates. We all know that no matter who is in your house – just family, a few friends, or a big gathering – they all will end up in the kitchen, or at least they’ll want to be there. The trick is knowing how to design so that this inevitability isn’t at odds with a smoothly functioning kitchen nor with aesthetically sophisticated living space.

Kitchens are now frequently combined in some way with dining and social spaces. This either means the walls and doors which previously divided these functions are no longer deemed appropriate, or the kitchen itself is now large enough to contain a full dining table and some comfortable seating and a TV and fireplace. As a result, the old modes of designing kitchens no longer work. When a kitchen had four walls and a door, cabinetry and appliances lined the walls, and wall cabinets above stored dishes and staples. But in a more open concept, some kitchens have only one full wall or maybe two at most. Kitchen design, along with cabinetry and appliance offerings, has made dramatic changes in recent years to accommodate this. That single wall is now covered with everything tall – refrigerator, wall ovens and full-height pantries. Everything else is low, either in base cabinetry or an island or peninsula configuration. Base cabinet hardware now offers beautiful and functional ways to store plates and glasses below the counter. Dishwashers and microwaves come in drawer configurations. All appliances with the exception of the oven can be fully concealed as cabinetry, to further blend the look of the kitchen into the living space. The ergonomics of these new options are easy (and impressive), and soft-close drawers and touch-to-open cabinets are common in all cabinet lines.

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DESIGN INTEGRATION

A few examples from our projects:

A tall cooking center, with stainless steel backsplash, integrated lighting extraction vent, and storage for all pots and pans in deep drawers.

Tall pantries provide partial screening from an adjacent family room. In front, a prep island is wrapped in durable white granite.

Here, the kitchen countertop and cabinetry lines wrap directly into a new fireplace, anchoring a breakfast area.

On the right, a continuous band of recessed stainless groove handles organizes wall ovens, refrigerators and prep support.

This kitchen combines custom walnut cabinetry, sleek white Caesarstone counters, and a vintage Aga range.

Careful cabinetry design and a uniform wood floor make an easy transition to the adjacent lounge space in this row house.

This kitchen anchors one end of an open family room. Well planned storage (and an adjacent pantry) keeps everything orderly.

Careful cabinetry design and a uniform wood floor make an easy transition to the adjacent lounge space in this row house.

We like digital models to test ideas, including materials and daylighting. In this row house study, tall side cabinets bracket a cooking island.

Refrigerators and pantries flank a small niche.

We almost always keep the kitchen floor the same material as the adjacent spaces – in this case polished concrete.

Maple cabinetry softens the abstract volumes of this loft interior.

This simple arc accommodates a cooks desire to be close to her friends and family.

A solid-and-void composition makes a sculptural kitchen for a pair of art collectors.

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STORAGE SOLUTIONS

Here are some snapshots illustrating a few of our favorite storage and organization solutions:

Wine cooler with refrigerated beverage drawers below, all integrated with furniture-grade cabinetry.

Fully integrated refrigeration systems keep the “appliance” look out of living spaces.

A built in coffee station with warming drawers for cups is the ultimate luxury for some.

Deep trash / recycling storage bins, with concealed interior drawers for additional storage. Internal drawers keep the cabinetry lines uncluttered.

Tall pull-out pantries and drawers with adjustable dividers eliminate loosing things in the back of the cabinet.

Sometimes leaving things out on the counter is exactly the right solution.