LIVE LARGE. BUILD SMALL.
Each Alchemy project exemplifies our dedication to limiting waste and maximizing the impact of our collective efforts. We think of it as Living Large while Building Small.
Small means efficient spaces using fewer resources, combined with smart technology, and brought alive within a modern aesthetic.
Small also refers to the footprints we leave. By combining low- and high-tech tools – robust building insulation, resilient building shells, and renewable energy systems – we continue to develop work that is sustainable, comfortable, and durable.
SYSTEMS THINKING
All of our work is custom.
But, when appropriate, we lean on design and fabrication systems to work smarter, faster.
The weeHouse celebrates “thinking inside the box” to make flexible modern dwellings made of minimalist blocks. Everyone grew up playing with blocks, so the process of working with an architect is friendlier working with forms that people are familiar with. Barns are likewise universal, and conjure up ideas of large spaces featuring hands-on work and filtered light.
Our systems make design accessible, meaningful, and engaging.
We are architects who team with independent general contractors, builders, craftspeople, and modular or panelization factories to deliver our clients’ projects. Because we are very hands-on, and because WORK SHOULD BE FUN, we often fabricate special project elements to maximize craft, value, and to make our work more authentic.
SITE VISITS + FEASIBILITY STUDIES
Making architecture is rewarding for all involved, but it is also a process with many regulations. Timelines take can take months or even years for even small projects.
To jump-start the process and quickly identify opportunities, we engage in feasibility study – charettes that last from a few days to a week. We visit your site, gather information from the land or buildings there, and already begin to create 3D models that we use to evaluate varied approaches to the project. The goal: a better understanding of the program, budget, assets, and ideas that will make your project meaningful and achievable.
That initial design exploration forms the basis of future design work and empowers our clients to engage potential builders and have productive early conversations around site infrastructure and permitting.
THINK BIG. BUILD SMALL.
The weeHouse® design system started in 2004 by Geoffrey Warner, FAIA celebrates Thinking Inside the Box.
They may be built in modular factories or on-site; they may use panelized or traditional stick construction. They may be wee or not-so-wee. But they are all custom-designed and crafted for users and their sites.
Like children’s wood blocks, weeHouses are arranged to create any size building, yet remain simple, joyful, and understandable.
PREDESIGNED
Pre-designed plans emphasize quick idea generation, giving more time to embrace joy, play, and the creative side of the design process.
weeHouse modules are pushed, pulled, and combined in numerous ways specifically for your site and program. If modular, even with shipping constraints, boxes can be as large as 16’ x 60’.
The two-box Bedroom-Bath and Kitchen-Living program shown here utilizes an efficient modular process, yet yields completely different houses depending on the way the boxes are combined.
Within wonderfully efficient boxes,
weeHouse promotes a ‘big house feel’ in a
smaller package through judicious use of
floor-to-ceiling glass, open kitchens,
reduced circulation space, and
built-in cabinetry.
Luxury… from less
Each Alchemy project exemplifies our dedication to
limiting waste and maximizing the impact of our efforts.
We pair a spacious modern aesthetic with the intimacy
of (often) smaller footprints by using technology and
efficient spaces with environmental stewardship.
Renewable energy technologies, low carbon design,
and Passive House design principles allow us to develop
work that embraces Being Good while Living Large.
