DAY 3

I shall use Helvetica for this post, in honor of Mr. De Jarnett.

Today I visited Gregg Abel Construction, Inc., in Laguna Beach. 

8:30 AM - Arrive at the Office

Alright. front view. 

Took a deep breath and opened the door.

Prior to my visit, I had heard a bit about the Abel houses, the distinct style, known as Arts and Crafts (see :http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arts_and_Crafts_movement) and meticulous attention to detail. As soon as I entered the office I was greeted by Mr. Abel himself, who introduced me to Rand, Scott, and Zade. 

The office. 
Notice that there are no cubicles or walls separating each person's desk. I think this sort of continuity and openness is a unique feature of a small, family-owned firm. Mr. Abel on the left, Zade on the right.

Some more paparazzi pictures.
Mr. Abel on the phone,
Rand at the drafting table,
and Scott on the computer.

We began with a brief introduction to the firm. The Abel family follows a long lineage of artists and craftsman (there are currently 12 practicing artists in his family, ranging from woodcarvers to glassworkers, painters, to potters). Long story short, his father, Chris Abel (we'll go by first-name basis from now; too many Mr. Abels to count) was an architect in Laguna, and he taught both Gregg and Rand drafting and construction. Architecture remains a family business, as Gregg's son is currently helping out with the construction  process. In addition, other members of his family- his wife, sister, uncle, son-in-law, (and so on) all contribute one way or another.






8:30 AM - Workplace Tutorial

Some construction drawings. Most of them are hand-drawn, old school style. 
(Please excuse the poorly executed blurring...)

There are many unique aspects to this firm, but one that stands out is the insistence on hand-drafting and sketching. Both Gregg and Rand learned to draft under Chris Abel... and I really think that touch of the hand gives character and personality to the design that no computer-generated image can imitate. God, I love these drawings. They really are works of art all on their own. I would frame them and hang them up on my wall if I could. 

The two gave me a brief run-down of how the design process works in the office. All the initial design sketches and most of the construction drawings and details are done by hand. These are then scanned onto a disk for archiving purposes. I will not go into too much detail about the design>review>permit process, just so that I might I have a life other than blogging and not bore the disinterested.

Computer rendering.  Most firms use AutoCAD and Revit to render their designs, but  the family uses ArchiCAD (11 or 12? something like that) to generate 3-D models. Scott, who is in charge of 3-D modeling, explained that they chose ArchiCAD over the programs mentioned above because it gave more autonomy to the user, and it was more compatible with the hand-drawn designs. 

One more thing about old school architecture practices: the archive! I think this provides a nice contrast to Tuesday's visit.  There were rows of cabinets for storing full and half size prints, sketches, materials, everything. In accordance with the digital age, all drawings and sketches are scanned and saved on a disk; however, keeping hard copies of all projects is a practice that is (sadly, but happily for the environment?) dying away.

        

 9:30-10:00 AM: City Hall

I followed Mr. Abel to the Laguna Beach city hall, where he had to get some paperwork done. Rand had warned me when we left the office, "Just lettin' ya know, Gregg knows everybody in town." ... And he was right. I think I said hello to about fifty people while I was there. Plus fifty more when I visited the construction site.

10:00-11:30 AM: Construction Site Visits


Once out of the city hall we got in the car to visit some current construction sites. Not much explanation necessary; here are some pictures:

Roof details... characteristic of the Arts and Crafts style

So basically your generic dream backyard

Ms. O...  So guess where I was? *wink wink*

Amazing view. Nothing more to say.

Example of a paper mock-up. To make sure that the clients are
happy with the design, Mr. Abel likes to have lifesize mock-up
structures made of paper and plywood to give a sense of size and dimension. 

Plywood mock-up of the countertop

The tiles, glass, and many other details in the
designs are hand-made by local artists. A fresh
change from the cookie-cutter houses in Irvine...

Mr. Abel's son carved the wooden
detail above the fireplace.

Wood taken out of the old design. Mr. Abel explained that he
is trying to reuse the old materials as much as possible.

Another Gregg Abel House

A Chris Abel house! Notice the very modern design?
The signature look of a Chris Abel house.
You can see his works all around Laguna.

11:30AM-12:30PM: Lunch at Lumberyard

 

A lumberyard-turned-restaurant in Laguna. I had lunch here with Mr. Abel and the everybody at the office. Both Mr. Abel and his father were involved in renovating the interior of this building (they couldn't touch the exterior because it's considered a historic site... but then it's really beautiful as it is). For some reason, for all these years I've explored around Laguna Beach, I have never been to this restaurant. If you haven't been here yet, GO. The design is awesome. I'd like to come again just to explore all the niches and details. Oh yes, and the food is AMAZING. 

Pretty chimney. I just love the brick pattern!

The inner designer in me is cringing at the terrible layout of these pictures... Blogger isn't very friendly about custom size images. Ugh

Me being the person I am, I still can't drive on my own... (TWO more months until I can take the behind-the-wheel exam!) I took this picture in front of the fire station by myself while I was waiting for my dad. Only two people gave me a weird look.


I had a blast today. Thank you Mr. Abel, Rand, Scott, Zeda, and Sandra for having me!