RBD News

 

It's been a quite a while since our last post so there's a lot of news to write about. Currently, the construction of the Floristean Residence is just finishing up. This was a traditional exterior makeover of an existing standard development home in Middletown, New Jersey. Once the spring arrives we'll do a photo shoot with Sam Oberter to capture the detailing of this project. Also, about to begin construction are two small, but very nice projects, the Goldstein-Henriquez kitchen remodel in Point Pleasant Beach and the Katz-Metcalfe Residence in Bay Head which involved some exterior site design and remodeling. On the drawing boards are several new projects that we're very excited about, including a new mid-century modern inspired waterfront residence on West Point Island in Lavallette, a new riverfront residence along the Manasquan River in Point Pleasant, a riverfront remodel on the Metedeconk River in Brick, and a wonderful whole house remodel and addition that we've been working on in Essex Fells. We'll continue to post photos on these and other new projects as they develop on our website and social media including our Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook pages, so stay connected.  

West Point Island, Lavallette, NJ

RBD News

It's been a few months since our last post so there's lots of news to mention. We're proud to announce that for the 2015 year we have once again received the "Best of Houzz" award for the category of "Design". We have been the recipients of a Houzz award for the fourth consecutive year. Thank you to Houzz and the entire Houzz viewing community for voting for us again.

Also, we hope you had a chance to see our New Moon Cottage project in print, this time in the Dec./Jan. issue of Coastal Living magazine.  This is a wonderful little beach house that we did in Harvey Cedars a few years ago and it continues to receive lots of media coverage.

As mentioned in an earlier blog post, we recently completed the Jindal-Houston project in Little Silver, New Jersey. As usual, Sam Oberter has done a wonderful job photographing our work and it will be featured in the upcoming March issue of Builder magazine. The full story about this kitchen addition and whole house renovation was written by Barbara Ballinger.

As for ongoing and new RBD projects, we are currently working on designs for projects in Middletown, Rumson, Sea Girt, Point Pleasant Beach, and Island Heights. Stay connected as we frequently update our website and Facebook pages. We can also now be followed on Instagram at www.Instagram.com/richard_bubnowski_design.  

Sketchbook: Paris

These are just an assortment of random quick sketches done on my recent trip to Paris. The drawings are 8" x 5.5" and the medium is India ink on standard white sketchbook paper. I hope you enjoy them.

Pompidou Center Interior Main Atrium, Paris, November 2014

Boat Ride Along the Seine, Paris, Nov. 2014

This was a very quick 3 minute sketch that I did of the Eiffel Tower as we were literally driving by.  Amazing what you can do when you're force to draw quickly.

Another really quick sketch as I was standing outside waiting to get into the Musee D'Orsay, Paris, Nov., 2014

Mid trip we decided to head out to Poissy, France to see Le Corbusier's Villa Savoye.  This is an sketch along the main ramp to the second floor.

Street Sketch, Side Street near Rue St. Germain, Paris, Nov., 2014

New Moon Cottage in Coastal Living

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RBD's New Moon Cottage in the current issue of Coastal Living, Dec. 2014 / Jan. 2015, pp. 19-23. Article by Kelly Vencill Sanchez, photographs by Jonny Valiant, and styling by Erin Swift.

Travels

I recently returned from a wonderful family vacation trip to Paris, France with my wife and son Thomas. The architecture, the food, the people, etc., etc. It was everything I had expected and more. Midway through our trip we had taken a slight diversion and decided to spend half of the day and take a short train ride west of the city and visit Villa Savoye in Poissy. Designed by Le Corbusier in 1928, Villa Savoye still remains as one of the most iconic examples of early modern architecture.  I had studied this house at extreme lengths during my architecture school days back in the 1980's, but to finally experience it first-hand was truly amazing.  Over the years, it has clearly shown some signs of wear, but looking beyond the surface you can easily see why this is simply a masterful work of art.  There is nothing in this house that happens by accident. The interplay of forms and surfaces, the contrasting elements of light and dark, and curved and rectilinear lines all interacting with each other into a carefully orchestrated symphony.  Putting all the architectural theory and design philosophy aside, what made this such a profound experience was being able to share this experience with my 9 year old son. He had seen pictures of the house that I had shown him prior to our trip and he had heard me speak about the architecture. Over the last year he had wanted to build the Lego version of Villa Savoye since he had built so many others in their Architecture Series. After walking around the house for over an hour I watched as he sat on the stone bench across the lawn.  As he sat there for a little while obviously deep in thought, he opened up his sketchbook and began to draw. That to me was what this was all about.

Current Events

RBD has just received national honors from the 36th annual Qualified Remodeler Master Design Awards for two recently completed projects along the New Jersey coast.  The Marvel Residence in Normandy Beach received the Gold award in the category of "Room Addition < $250K" and the Slomin Residence in Sea Girt received a Silver award in the category of "Exterior Face-Lift". The award ceremony took place at the B&O Railroad Museum in Baltimore, Maryland on October 22.

Look for our New Moon Cottage to be featured in the December / January issue of Coastal Living later this winter.  New Moon Cottage may also be one of the feature stories in a new magazine style television program airing on a major Canadian network later during the spring of 2015.  We'll keep you posted as the details develop.

We also just finished a great photo shoot with architectural photographer Sam Oberter based out of Philadelphia.  Sam photographed our recently completed Jindal-Houston Residence in Little Silver and we hope to present those images sometime during the month of November.

Sketchbook

Sepia tone and color marker sketch of a bridge in Rome.  This was done on a trip that my wife and I took back in 2005.

Current RBD News

Sometimes great things really do come in small packages...

Two recently completed RBD projects along the New Jersey coastline received national honors in the 2014 Qualified Remodeler Master Design Awards. The Marvel Residence in Normandy beach (right) received a Gold Award in the category of "Room Additions Under $250,000, while The Slomin Residence in Sea Girt (left) received a Silver Award in the "Exterior Facelift" category. All winning projects can be seen in the October 2014 issue of Qualified Remodeler in print or online at www.forresidentialpros.com 

Jindal-Houston Residence

Jindal-Houston Residence, Little Silver, NJ / View of the new kitchen addition from the remodeled living area

Photo:  Richard Bubnowski Design

This is a scouting shot that we recently took of our nearly completed Jindal-Houston Residence project located in Little Silver, New Jersey. The project consisted primarily of a 1-1/2 story open kitchen / dining addition on the main level along with a new master bath on the second floor and extensive interior remodeling throughout the house.  The client had asked for an open, contemporary plan and design, while still maintaining compatibility with their 1950's Cape Cod style home. Hopefully over the next few months we will have the interior photographed and will be able to share it with everyone.  The general contractor for the project was Lindmark Construction and our structural consultant as always was KSi Professional Engineers in Farmingdale, New Jersey.    

Sketch Book

Quick detail sketch, Houses of Parliament, Westminster, London, 2012

Black marker on paper

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New Moon Cottage to be Published

We are proud to announce that our New Moon Cottage project in Harvey Cedars, NJ will be featured in the upcoming Dec / Jan issue of Coastal Living. Completed in 2010, the project was originally photographed for us by architectural photographer Sam Oberter, however for this upcoming feature article CL had decided to re-shoot and style the home themselves.  We look forward to seeing the finished work.  

Nice Article in the July 2014 issue of Architect

While waiting for the service repair guy to show up today I had an opportunity to kill some time so I decided to read the current July 2014 issue of architect.  I came across this interesting article about a chapel that was designed by Anshen + Allen of San Francisco back in 1954.  The project was also the recipient of an award from the very first P/A Awards. Note the member of the jury.

Normandy Beach Residence

Located in the barrier island summer resort town of Normandy Beach, New Jersey, the Marvel Residence is a quaint 100 year old family vacation home sited about 250 feet from the Atlantic Ocean on a sandy 40' x 100' lot.  The front section of the home's foundation and deck structure was badly damaged by Hurricane Sandy in 2012 and required extensive repair during the first phase of the project.

Next, a full renovation of the existing first floor sun porch that was also damaged from the storm was to be included along with a small 108 square foot addition of a new second floor covered porch.  The covered porch was designed to fit directly over the footprint of the first floor so no variances were needed.  A small adjoining dormer was also added to the east facade capturing views of the ocean and allowing for additional natural daylighting and ventilation to the existing dimly lit second floor / attic space.

The biggest challenge we had on this project was to solve the client's program and stay within a fairly tight budget since their insurance only covered a small portion of the damage caused by Hurricane Sandy. Also, like most projects along this area of the New Jersey shoreline, the lots are very small and the homes are quite close, requiring careful design sensibility to keep the scale and massing of the addition appropriate for its surroundings.  

Marvel Residence, Normandy Beach, NJ (front elevation)

Outdoor Showers

Outdoor showers always make me think of summer.  Living along the shore an outdoor shower is an absolute neccessity, espescially if you spend anytime on the beach.  Its a great refreshing way to rinse off after a day of surfing or swimming.  Here's an image of one of our first outdoor shower designs.  It was actually a coversion of an old 1921 garage into an outdoor shower and surfboard storage shed.  It was featured in Coastal Living back in April 2004.  Story by Jeff Book and photography by Sara Gray.

Surfer's End Nine Years Later

Here's a shot of our Surfer's End project about nine years after it was initially completed.  The 2100 square foot house in located in Point Pleasant, New Jersey along the Manasquan River. Over the years it has received a great deal of recognition including feature articles in Style 1900, Home, Arts & Crafts Homes, and a wonderful Houzz Tour by Becky Harris.  The original 1921 garage to the rear of the property had been renovated into an outdoor shower and surfboard shed even before the new home was constructed in 2005 and was featured in Coastal Living back in 2004.

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Front Elevation of Surfers End

Sketch Book

From time to time we will be posting random sketches, drawings, and photos past and present. These will just be random images from travels, in studio design sketches, etc., etc. This particular sketch was done of the Roman Forum, Rome, Italy around 2005.  The medium is sepia tone marker on white sketchbook paper.

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Marvel Residence, Normandy Beach

Here's a recent shot of the nearly completed Marvel Residence in Normandy Beach. This project involved the reconstruction and renovation of the first floor sun porch along with a porch addition to the second floor.  The general contractor is Monetti Custom Homes from Brielle.  Let us know what you think.

Current News

Richard Bubnowski Design has been honored to once again receive the Best of Houzz Awards for both Design and Customer Satisfaction for 2014 for the third consecutive year.

Also, our New Moon Cottage project in Harvey Cedars, New Jersey will be featured in an upcoming issue of Coastal Living in late 2014. New Moon Cottage will also be included in a new book by Annette K. Stelmack, entitled "Sustainable Residential Interiors", set to be published in spring / summer 2014.

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New Moon Cottage, Harvey Cedars, Entrance Elevation (photo by Sam Oberter)