Ruhl Walker Architects

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!

Just as construction of our Mystic Lake house was winding down, the neighbor’s house was demolished and construction began on their own new house; what goes around, comes around! And soon winter will have to arrive presumably; other than an odd snowfall around Halloween we’ve escaped so far. So, we will have to wait to do a full (professional) photo shoot until spring. In the meantime, our client shared the lovely photos below.

We are thrilled to be able to update you all on the progress being made at our modern custom prefab house in Lincoln, MA. All of the double height windows are installed at the two-storey-high living room and stair hall, eight 6×6 steel columns have been carefully inserted around the double height spaces, the Nanawall doors are installed between the dining room and screened porch, the roof and skylights are complete and water tight, and there has been a ton of plumbing, electrical, HVAC (geothermal), and listening room work performed inside. Exterior siding will start being installed this week, so everyone is hoping for continued un-seasonably-warm weather, and looking forward to the green zip-system sheathing to be covered in cedar! FOMA (Friends of Modern Architecture in Lincoln) should be pleased that the house is suitably modern, as they required during permitting; how wonderful (and unusual!) for a town to take a stand against cookie-cutter-McMansions! Check out the photos below, and let us know what you think!

Ruhl Walker’s modern house on Mystic Lake is nearing completion and the owners have moved in, while meanwhile crews are still scrambling to finish the exterior. In fact, work is still on-going on the inside too, so living in the house is quite a challenge! But the movers had already been rescheduled twice, everything was packed, and the construction crews doubled down to make at least a partial move-in possible.

The interior stair railings were recently completed, after two separate steel fabricators’ equipment broke while trying to drill holes in the stainless steel posts for the cable rail system. The off-the-shelf railing system – by the Italian company Indital – was substantially less flexible and customizable than anticipated, but the installers went above and beyond to make everything work out smoothly in the end.  Painters, tilers, carpenters, plasterers, plumbers, electricians, and landscape crews all competed for the same limited time and space.  Everyone was trying their best to overcome the time lost to inclement weather over the brutal winter and wet spring.

One highlight of this last few weeks was the delivery of the dozens of slabs of granite, bought for next to nothing from the general contractor working on IKEA’s new store in Somerville; without our intrepid (and persistent) client, all of the granite curbs would have been dumped at a landfill, but are now beautifully choreographed per Matthew Cunningham’s brilliant landscape design. Saving money and being “green”…

So, with a month left before the babies are due, every day is still full of noise and commotion, but the end is in sight, and the magnificent views of the lake are at least a calming influence after the crews leave…

Exterior view from the street; lots of landscape work still on-going, as well as a sizable exterior punch list.	The street side of the house is relatively solid, with cedar screen partitions providing some extra privacy for bath and laundry windows.
The front door will ultimately be translucent, but for the moment you get a sliver of the lake view.	The main living space cantilevers 6’ out from the lower level; adjacent to the living room is a roof deck with wide steps leading down to the yard and lake.
Another view of the deck stairs and the custom stainless steel railing system, including “baby proof” gates.	The slate tile and honed absolute black granite fireplace surround; still to come is the walnut panel for the TV niche, and the stainless steel mesh AV cabinet below.
The stair is almost complete; risers and treads are maple, as is the screen wall that also conceals structure for the landing and extends down into the partially finished basement.	The elegant railing joints are actually standard off-the-shelf stainless steel elements, as are the posts and all of the cable rail fittings.

A new house for an art collector on Martha’s Vineyard, the renovation of a beach house we originally designed 10 years ago, the complete reconstruction of an urban townhouse, the total redesign of a glass walled penthouse at the W Boston, not to mention over 10 additional projects in design or under construction from Cape Cod to Hawai’i… It’s going to be a VERY busy summer at our studio…

We just started the design of a new house for an art collector on an extraordinary site on Martha’s Vineyard	The house will enjoy spectacular views of the Atlantic as well as brackish ponds and adjacent conservation land
We have begun redesigning a glass walled penthouse at the new W Boston	The unit has magnificent views of Boston, including the harbor, the Public Garden, the Back Bay and Financial District skylines, and the Charles River. The generic existing plan will be opened up to enhance the dramatic views and allow for a more relaxed lifestyle. A new sculptural glass and steel staircase will lead through a motorized skylight to an enormous roof deck with lap pool
We are just beginning the design for a completely rebuilt South End row house	Five floors have already begun to be demolished in preparation for all new structure and finishes, inside and out
Construction has just begun on an expanded unit at The Esplanade, a condominium complex built on the Charles River and designed by Moshe Safdie	The expanded space will serve as both a home office as well as a guest suite for two young entrepeneurs, whose families visit regularly from India
We designed this Cape Cod beach house over 10 years ago for a family with two young daughters. Since then, the family has out grown the original house, so we are helping them expand it in every direction, including up	All interior walls on the ground floor as well as a brick and concrete chimney have been removed, and large steel beams have been added for a totally open living / dining / cooking / entertaining space. This open living space will extend up to a second floor family room with deck that faces out to the Atlantic. The wood posts in this photo are only temporary…

It was a long, snowy winter in New England, and new houses and their owners, contractors, and architects suffered more headaches than we have in many years.  Hard to remember how lucky we’ve been in past winters while shoveling out feet of fresh new snow week after week… But despite the challenges, the house we designed on Mystic Lake in suburban Boston is now only a month away from completion, thanks to the efforts of the general contractor, Berkshire Wilton Partners and their team, as well as an enlightened client who also happens to be an architect. Budget challenges (opportunities!) never end, but the geothermal well is behind us, as is the unexpected shoring up of the site, most of the exterior roofing and siding, and all of the rough mechanical, electrical, and plumbing work, and related decisions.  Interior trim (all set in flush with the walls) and plastering is mostly completed, tile is well along, and the stairs are going in this week. The owners are getting excited about the end of construction and the beginning of the joy of actually living lake-side; we’re sure they won’t miss the bi-weekly requisitions for payment this summer… Check back with us soon for updated photos once the dust settles inside!

The house viewed from across the lake.	The cantilevered volume of the main living space on the left, and the cantilevered study on the right, surrounds a two story exterior roof deck that will eventually have wide steps leading down to the lake. Above the study is another roof deck, adjacent to the master bedroom. The lower level will eventually house a media room and large playroom (and twins are due in September…).
The volume of the main living space cantilevers six feet on the side and four feet towards the lake.	The street side of the house is substantially more private and enclosed than the lake side. The upper middle portion of this side of the house will be sheathed in horizontal cedar slats to provide some extra privacy for a laundry room and bathrooms.
The windows and glass doors on the left open onto the roof deck overlooking the lake. Beyond is an elevated fireplace and the glass wall of the living space.	View of the thirteen foot high wall of windows of the cantilevered main living space, seen from the dining area and open kitchen.
Exterior siding is a collage of fiber cement panels separated by aluminum reveals, and fiber cement clapboards with mitered corners.	Mockups of options being considered for the slatted wall detail. The final decision was 1.5” x 1.5” cedar slats running horizontally and separated by 2”, which will allow for light to filter in during the day, and out at night.
Not sure the neighbors loved the incredibly noisy week long process of drilling the geothermal well in the front yard, but presumably the owners and the environment will…

This house started as a substantial renovation of an existing 50′s vintage modern house in Lincoln, MA.  Because the original program included a large laundry list of renovations to the existing house systems, once we began working with general contractors on a budget for the renovation project it became clear that the cost of renovating was going to be comparable to the cost of building a new house.  In the interest of making as energy efficient a house as possible, maximizing long term value for the owners, and minimizing short term disruption to the owners, the decision was made to pursue a new house on the existing foundation, with the new house being built by a modular prefabricator for substantial time and cost savings. Both of the owners write software and manage companies from home, so minimizing disruption is critically important; pursuing modular construction will help minimize the time the owners will have to be out of their house during construction.  The basement level will be reconfigured to accommodate a new, expanded garage, an exercise room, mudroom, wood working shop, bathroom, and mechancial and storage rooms.  The main level will have a large, open living / dining room, screened porch with fireplace, enlarged kitchen with pantry, master suite, guest bedroom, and south-facing courtyard / roof deck.  On an upper level will be an A/V room, a large home office, and a bathroom. During the Permitting process, a group called Friends of Modern Architecture in Lincoln was consulted by the Town, to make sure that the modern house that was being partially demolished would be replaced with a suitably contemporary replacement, and we of course passed the test.  The house will be prefabricated by Haven Homes and site fabricated by Sea Dar Construction of Boston.  Landscape design will be by Matthew Cunningham. The house is currently in design, with shop drawings being prepared by Haven Homes, and custom interior and exterior detailing by Ruhl Walker Architects. Construction is expected to be completed by October.

Digital model image of the new house, built on the existing foundation.	Digital model image of east elevation with zen garden.
Building section showing steel stair, perforated stair wall, and living room fireplace.	Wall at stair.
Landscape plan by Matthew Cunningham.	Inspiration for landscape elements.
The existing home.

Ruhl Walker Architects was hired by a young couple — he a high tech consultant for a bio-tech company, she an MIT-trained corporate architect — to design a new house for a steeply sloping site along lower Mystic Lake in Arlington, MA.  An existing house was slowly crumbling into its site, its concrete block foundation failing and its dimensions uninspiring, so demoliton was job number one in the project brief.  Our clients asked for a reasonably sized house by today’s standards, with an above-ground lower level being unfinished but available for future use; a main level consisting of a large, open living / dining / cooking space, an entry hall with sculptural stair, a separate multi-purpose space to accomodate a sewing passion and home office, and a two car garage, with a courtyard deck in the center; and an upper level with 3 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, an exercise room, and a roof deck off of the master bedroom.  The owners did not exactly see eye to eye on the look of the exterior, which was quite an adventure during early design meetings, but a reasonable solution made all parties happy in the end.  The general conotractor is Berkshire Wilton Partners of Newton, MA and  Wilton, CT.  Landscape architecture will be by one of our favorite collaborators,  Matthew Cunningham.  Interiors will be by Ruhl Walker Architects.

The new house steps down its steeply sloped site, with the living room cantilevering out beyond its above ground basement. The heart of the house is a courtyard / deck facing the lake, between the living room on the left and the sewing room on the right.	The living room cantilevers six feet out from the lower level on the left, and the sewing room cantilevers out beyond the basement on the right.
The north side of the cantilevered living room is mostly solid, with a fireplace and A/V equipment inside.	View down from the roof deck off of the master bedroom; the upper roof deck will be sun-soaked most of the time, while the lower courtyard deck will provide much needed summer shade.
The main living / dining / cooking space is fourteen feet high at the lake end, and nine feet high at the dining room and kitchen.	The central entry / stair hall has an eighteen foot high window opening out to the lake.
View of Mystic Lake from the master shower window.	The existing house; curb appeal, but failing structure.

Check out a recently completed project in Boston Home magazine!

You can also see the project in full on our web portfolio, here.