Green, Modern and Affordable House

Our firm is proud to announce two new homes designed for the discerning and conscientious homebuyer. Award winning architect, Thomas Roszak and his team of builders at SteelGrass, LLC have joined forces to provide an environmentally effective home for the modern age while still remaining affordable. Buyers have the choice of prefabricated or built-on-site design depending on conditions and local codes. The new homes offer a fusion of contemporary lines mixed with necessary comforts homebuyers are looking for in today's smarter market. These include stylish and efficient floor plans, maintenance-free exterior materials, and automated interiors to maximize comfort and enjoyment while minimizing energy and waste. The interiors provide the warmth and comfort so often neglected in other green housing projects.

Observing how people live today and predicting future changes has inspired two options of environmentally respectable design. Eliminating traditional walls and offering double heighted ceilings creates spacious areas in conservative square feet. Utility without sacrifice is the new standard for today’s modern lifestyle and Thomas Roszak Architecture is offering not one, but two choices.

The 36x60 House

This 3,585 sq. ft. two story home holds five bedrooms and four and a half baths plus a two car garage and large 1,770 sq. ft. basement.

The entire first floor could be seen as one big room with flowing spaces that are simply separated by cabinetry and sliding doors to enhance the spaciousness of the home. Additionally, the smart and attractive cabinetry offers plenty of storage.

Starting with a large, welcoming entry makes an inviting first impression. The dramatic two-story living room with overlook from above is perfect for entertaining. Across the way, lies the dining room transformable for either a formal or casual setting. Both rooms include floor skylights with translucent glass allowing natural light to penetrate the basement while also creating a unique talking point as one of the green initiatives of the home. Ample space was purposefully dedicated to the kitchen to make it large and comfortable for cooking or entertaining. The family/media room sits across with shoji-like screens giving the option to close off the family room from the rest of the house.

The second floor includes a master bedroom suite complete with his and her walk-in closets and a bathroom built for comfort and convenience. This is done by a theme of separation: a steam shower and separate soaker tub, two vanities and a make-up area, plus a separate toilet room. All the elements combine to make the perfect bath fit for functionality.

Four additional bedrooms all on the same floor as the master finally allow for larger families to be together. The library is open to the hall and can double as an office. Having the laundry on this level is just another item on the list of smart design in this house.

The building’s structure including the exterior uses mostly recycled wood, steel, and metal materials. Metal wall cladding and roof come in a variety of different paint colors as well as copper and corten steel. Multi-season sun-shades are incorporated into the exterior cladding systems to block heat in the summer, but welcome solar gain from low winter sun.

The environmentally friendly initiatives continue in every aspect of the home providing attractive alternatives. Natural light pours in through the oversized windows thus reducing the need for artificial lighting. These windows use double insulated glass with a low-emissitivity coating and argon gas in between the panes. The glass is also set within a thermally-separated frame meaning the inside and outside frames do not touch or transmit heat or cold into the home.

Using larger vents allows fresh air to circulate throughout. Photovoltaic solar panels, wind turbine, and geo-thermal heating and cooling are available based on site conditions.

Atop the roof will grow locally available plants that require only natural rainfall to thrive using a rain catchment cistern.

The house will be built with state-of-the-art energy saving insulation (naturally made and eco friendly) throughout the walls and roof, which account for the most significant reason the house will be energy efficient. With the utilization of these systems mentioned herein, the house is capable of being Net-Zero, meaning the house produces all of the energy it requires and perhaps even more, which can be sold back to the grid. By utilizing naturally occurring energy from the earth and sky, a home can immensely decrease its carbon footprint.

The 28x48 House

This 2,224 sq. ft. two story home holds four bedrooms and four and a half baths plus a two-car garage and large 932 sq. ft. basement. It features the similar ideals and floor plans as the larger option.

The total project costs depend on site and local conditions plus land. Hard costs include all construction. Soft costs include the necessary permitting, architecture, engineering, insurance, surveys, and other similar expenses. Final costs can be determined once final drawings are approved and agreed upon by both parties.

Projects Costs = Hard Costs + Soft Costs + Land Costs

♫Having designed and built for five hundred residences, Thomas Roszak Architecture and SteelGrass are very pleased to present these two new exciting homes in the housing market during a time when homebuyers are searching for more options in the green, modern, and affordable sector. For more information or to start your home planning process today please contact Thomas Roszak at thomas@roszak.com.

Click here to download the architectural plans:

Green, Modern and Affordable House- 28' x 48'

Green, Modern and Affordable House- 36' x 60'

IIT students assist Lycée Français de Chicago on future school design and construction

Our firm, Thomas Roszak Architecture, worked with the Lycée Français de Chicago (LFC) and students from the Illinois Institute of Technology (IIT) as part of a comprehensive building design studio to study the future facility needs of this private pre-K thru 12 French school. With help from LFC’s facility board we studied various sites that were proposed by Jones Lang LaSalle, their real estate consultant, to determine actual site requirement in terms of size and access. We studied and improved on preliminary programs to pinpoint space allocation between grades and support spaces. This is a school with needs for over 700 students. The book The Third Teacher was a required reading as preparation for the assignment. We studied hard and soft costs and made recommendations that will surely be implemented into the final design and construction. The 14 students, in their 4th and 5th year of their Bachelor of Architecture program also prepared plans, renderings, budgets, proformas, zoning analysis, code analysis, and detailed construction details. A final architectural crit was done in front of the LFC board and other Chicago area professionals including architects, contractors, and school officials that gave informative real world insight into the design of this school and the future of education in general. A learning experience for all...

Click here to download a PDF with more images.

An Engineer Imagines in Glass

An interview discussing the structural glass stair design between Architect, Thomas Roszak principal at Thomas Roszak Architecture, LLC and Structural Engineer, Koz Sowlat, principal at Sowlat Structural Engineers, Chicago. See also previous blog on this project.

Describe the Members and Materials:

· Laminated glass: Each structural panel is Laminated Glass; made of ASTM C 1048 Fully Tempered (FT) and Heat Strengthened (HS) glass plies bonded with a clear interlayer in conformance with ASTM C1172.

· Composition: Vertical panels, landing panel, and treads, all have the same laminated glass composition, each measuring 1 ½ in. thick, and composed of the following three plies: 1/2" FT + 1/2" HS + 1/2" FT. A combination of glass types was selected to provide appropriate performance under service conditions as well as under extreme conditions.

Describe the Structural Analysis and Design:

· Analysis method: Three-dimensional finite element analyses were used to determine stresses and displacements, under design loads. For vertical panels, large-deformation, non-linear analysis was used, to account for member flexibility.

· Design method: At each element, von Mises stress (vector sum of principal stresses) was determined and maintained below the allowable stresses.

· Allowable Stress: For each load case and for each load combination, von Mises stress within the structure was limited to 5,000 pounds per square inch for FT glass, except that stress in FT with surface conditioning was limited to 2,500 pounds per square inch. Fully tempered glass is produced with a residual surface compression of 9,700 pounds per square inch, reducing the likelihood of surface tension, and inhibiting opportunities for crack growth.

· Composite Action: Based on standards recommended by The Institution of Structural Engineers, London, UK, entitled: “Structural Use of Glass in Buildings,” published in 1999, each panel was analyzed as if a solid material.

· Redundancy: General structural integrity check was provided, in conformance with the City of Chicago Building Code, Section 16(13-52-040,) by considering each panel with one ply removed and subject to selfweight.

Describe the Service Design Loads:

· Public stairs: City of Chicago Building Code loads for public stairs were used, allowing 100 ponds per square foot simultaneously on all treads and the landing panel. Additional analysis allowed two 300-lb persons standing on any tread or the landing panel.

· Handrail loads: Concentrated load of 200 lbs in any direction at any point, or simultaneous vertical and horizontal thrust of 50 pounds per linear foot.

· Footstep sideway push: Allowed one 200-lb concentrated load on any tread.

· Footstep forward push: Allowed one 200-lb concentrated load on any tread.

· Wind pressure: Design wind pressure was determined to be 14.4 pounds per square foot, based on consideration of the staircase within a tall building, where sliding doors allow external wind pressure to influence the internal wind pressure.

Describe the Perimeter Vertical Panels:

· Role: The perimeter vertical panels provide overall stability, as well as gravity support, for the staircase.

· Level 39 supports: Each vertical panel was detailed to rest within a base channel, secured to Level 39 concrete floor slab. Analyses considered floor rotation that would reduce contact area. Base channel was designed to carry loads caused by horizontal loads, in any direction, and by vertical loads.

· Level 40 supports: Each vertical panel is supported against horizontal loads, in any direction, at Level 40. The Level 40 connection was detailed with a vertical slip, such that differential deflections of Level 40 and Level 39 induce no additional stresses within the glass panels.

Describe the Interior Vertical Panel:

· Role: Interior vertical panels provide gravity support, but do not contribute to the overall staircase stability. The interior vertical panels are laterally supported by the perimeter vertical panels, using the connecting treads as struts.

Describe the Treads and the Landing Panel:

· Role: The treads and the landing panel provide gravity support, and are also pin-connected to the vertical panels to allow participation within the overall staircase stability system.

· Steel clips: Each clip is detailed to allow rotation of the horizontal panel in relation to the supporting vertical panel. The steel clips are detailed to allow a soft, gentle transfer of loads from glass to steel, carefully avoiding hard spots.

FIG. 1 - Perimeter Vertical Panel Stress Profile, Subject to Combined Loads

FIG. 2 – Landing Panel Stress Profile, Subject to the Weights of Two 300-lb Persons

Structural Glass Stair

A new glass stair, designed and built by my two affiliated firms, Thomas Roszak Architecture and Steelgrass, replaces an existing basic wood stair in a 39^th and 40^th floor penthouse residence. The glass is used as the primary structural material and only stainless steel is used for connection clips. The new glass stair allows light to pour deep into the home and creates a calming void in the space. The stair is so transparent, thanks to low iron glass, that it literally appears invisible and only a figure ascending or descending reaffirms the steps. The beautiful new building that the residence is contained in has floor to ceiling glass and exposed concrete, with simple and smart details throughout. It was only appropriate to insert an equally stunning installation with the same care for detail as the bigger architecture did. The city officials required public loads to be withstood on this residential stair and vigorous testing to be done on the glass mockup before a permit would be issued. The elegance of the thin glass and the few stainless buttons defy the fact that each tread can take up to 6,000 pounds before only the bottom third layer shatters. Sowlat was the structural engineer on our team. Rareform was the fabricator. The acid etch on the treads allows for minimum traction and just enough modesty. An open wine room is positioned next to the stair offering a unique view of the stair. The glass assembly of both tread and wall includes 3 layers of ½” tempered glass with an PVB interlayer and hinge-like connector under tread and at concrete opening to allow for rotation or vertical movement of up to one inch. The team of material suppliers were chosen based on their corporate ecological plan. The stair was studied as an object of art and one to be inserted into an existing space, it looks a little foreign, purposely an after-thought, better than the first.

ACBHM-The Glass Weave

Fragile materials bind a tolerant society as a woven basket is held together with slender reeds. The glass weave is strong and resilient.

We enter the memorial and see three elements: the Atlantic Ocean, Journey Bridge and Starlight opening. Sunlight from the ocean refracts through the blocks, which illumine and darken with the day. Life is symbolized by light, human spirit by the flames of a candle. The glass blocks are the candles lit in remembrance.

The Journey Bridge is entwined in an unsettled weave of cedar beams. Under the Starlight opening, we travel the bridge while vulnerable to the elements. We struggle as with Jacob’s ladder to rise higher in this world and to overcome the human capacity for cruelty.

We recall the loss of life at times when tolerance has vanished. We move through this memorial, this place and time and gather our awareness. We bring only our memories and values into the memorial. It stands without embellishment.

The GLASS WEAVE reminds us that life is fragile. Yet it reflects the enduring strength that we derive from our shared humanity.

Architect: Thomas Roszak Architecture, LLC
Structural Engineer: Werner Sobek

ACBHM and a PDF with greater detail can also be found at http://roszak.com/Thomas_Roszak_Architecture/Projects/Pages/ACBHM.html

Gorzow Wielkopolski- Create a Pedestrian City

Description of urban and architectural development conceptual design of the historical city centre of Gorzow Wlkp. “The pedestrianization of the historic city centre will advance new enterprise and development.”

pedestrian orientated city centre
• pedestrianize the streets
• divert traffic with ring road
• add two bridges
• renovate sidewalk and street paving system
• store vehicles in parking garages (structured, underground, and residential courtyard infill)
• replace tram with bus
• celebrate the river
• create green belt park
• plant blades of grass

development opportunities
• build new buildings
• renovate and convert old buildings
• renovate facades
• embrace new business
• create education and industry zones

Pedestrian Orientated Core
The historical city centre, the jewel of the city, will be given back to the people, the pedestrians. The walk-ability of the core is essential to making the centre inviting, vibrant and usable again. The walk-able centre in conjunction with the Green Belt Park and the links to the Riverfront are purposeful. The live, work, and play aspects of the city will be in synch when this plan is implemented. Both office and residential will keep retail thriving. This mixed-use concept will also provide other opportunities for dining, culture and entertainment. The future Education + Industry Zones are mindfully set at opposite ends of the city centre to invite cross-town pedestrian traffic.


Ring Road and New Bridges
The Ring Road facilitates improved traffic patterns to and around the historical city centre. It incorporates connections to newly built parking structures that reinforce pedestrian uses inside the centre. Giving the streets back to the pedestrian will allow retail, office, residential, and tourism uses to thrive. Two new bridges will be built, and the Staromiejski Bridge will function as a pedestrian bridge. To create a stronger image for the city, the tram system will be eliminated and a more extensive bus system will be implemented to serve pedestrians and tourists. The Ring Road literally and figuratively embraces the historical city centre and riverfront, two of the more intriguing aspects of the city of Gorzow Wielkopolski. The Green Belt Park continues along the bridges in the form of pedestrian walkways along side of the vehicular roads.

Traffic times through city will decrease which will signal to all users “this is a efficient and usable city! I want to do business here, I want to live here, study, work, travel…” High pedestrian activity will increase retail uses especially eateries, which will in turn increase residential and office occupancies on upper floors in new and renovated buildings. The improved residential and office occupancies will reciprocately induce more retail demand; this is a very important circular relationship. The Ring Road will decrease pollution in the centre. Local traffic for residents of the centre, deliveries and taxis will be allowed and monitored by electronic pass system. The Staromiejski Bridge will become a pedestrian bridge as part of the Ring Road concept. This will encourage pedestrian use on both sides of the river. The Ring Road requires the construction of two new modern bridges that can handle the actual traffic loads that the old Staromiejski Bridge cannot. The new bridges built as a vierendeel truss can accommodate future needs.

Renewed Paving System
A new paving system will be installed throughout Gorzow Wlkp. that assists the pedestrian in safe passage and way-finding. It will provide the city of Gorzow Wlkp. long-term durability and flexibility with maintenance. The paver bricks will vary in texture and color depending if the area is a sidewalk, a slow road, or a fast road. The curbs will be modified depending on whether the adjacent area is designated for driving, parking, crossing or boarding buses. This new paving system will be altered graphically in various areas depending on retail, business and cultural needs. The colorization of the brick is in various natural tones of grays and whites. The incorporation of new brick paving, and the blades of grass as benches, lighting, signage, trash receptacles, bus-stops, bike-racks, etc is essential to the complete redesign and new street identity of Gorzow Wlkp.

Parking Garages
Vehicles will be stored in three types of parking garages; new structured garages along new Ring Road (800 spaces), new structured garages in existing courtyard buildings (400 spaces), and in underground parking garages underneath new developments (3400 spaces). Cars can also be parked on secondary service roads throughout the city centre (2500 spaces). The new education and industry zones can provide additional parking (2700 spaces). A total of 9800 spaces throughout the city.


Bus replaces Tram
The Tram will be replaced by a new bus system that will eventually be driven by natural gas, solar or hydrogen energies. Sound pollution will be greatly reduced. Safety will be increased exponentially by changing the way riders access the buses and keep users away from traffic. Unlike a tram, the buses will be using the street system blending into normal traffic flow, which will decrease accidents. The streets in the city centre will have much lower density due to the ring road, and therefore, bus route stop-to-stop times will be greatly optimized. Long-term costs (even including first cost of buses) will be reduced due to elimination of high-maintenance costs of trams and tram rail.

Green Belt Park and Riverfront City
The new Green Belt Park is a linear connector of people, green pedestrian spaces, and the river. Key historic, cultural, entertainment, business, and sporting sites are all connected together by this new park. This is a very important literal message to the world about how green Gorzow Wlkp. really is. This is not an ecological branding exercise, but a real land plan transformed. The circular park ties together the existing Wiosny Ludow Park with the riverfront and provides a linear oasis along the way. The Green Belt Park continues across the river and tells the same story on both sides. Gorzow Wlkp. will embrace the riverfront and celebrate the Warta River. The new Green Belt Park always leads to the Warta River and becomes its destination. The Green Belt Park will filter and improve the air quality in the city centre acting like the lungs of the city. The new south riverside development of the city mirrors the concepts to the north in the historic city centre. It will organize the activities in and around the river to take advantage of this fantastic natural asset. Sporting, retail and entertainment activities will profit from the repositioning of the city to the river. A park-like path along the main Ring Road will also help with storm-water management by allowing water to naturally drain into the soil.

Blades of Grass
The blades of grass are a system of street architecture. The blades of grass are sculpture. The blades of grass are an identity mechanism. They are colored green and built of steel and sculpturally depict the natural prairies of this part of Poland. They figuratively bend in the wind and point towards the river, and they become a way-finding system. They also can be a street light pole, a kiosk, a bench, a public restroom, a bus-stop, a signage and identity system, an observatory tower, and a retail shop. The design of the blades are based on the idea of “biophilia” which literally means “the love of life or living systems.” The blades are sustainable as they are each equipped with solar photovoltaic panels. These blades of grass plant the seed for the future in Gorzow Wlkp. People are attracted to the bio-philic blades of grass and have positive feelings toward certain habitats, activities, and objects in their natural surroundings. These blades are symbolic of nature and the new position of Gorzow Wlkp. as a leading city in redevelopment, sustainability and forward-thinking.


Development Opportunities
Gorzow Wlkp. has an incredible opportunity to renovate existing historic buildings and to build new modern ones to provide over 450,000 square meters of new office and residential space. The plan provides for over 9,800 parking spaces. The Education + Industry Zone can provide an additional opportunity of 126,800 square meters. The planning of the new development will be to provide state of the art buildings, but in a fabric that provides interior and exterior spatial experiences that mimic the essence of the historic city core. Not architectural mimickry, but spatial sensitivity that understands the benefits of interiors bathed in natural light, and exteriors like courtyards and pedestrian boulevards that become places of culture and business. A smart landscaping system must be implemented throughout that lets the city breathe and ties into the surrounding Green Belt Park.

Education + Industry Zones
Create two zones at the east and west sides of the historical city centre for the education and training of a workforce for the future. One that works directly with new industries that concentrate on forward-thinking businesses such as Bio-tech, Green-tech and Clean-tech, making a Gorzow Wielkopolski a creative enterprise center in Poland. The creation of a cooperative system of training and creating new products and technologies will provide new demand generators for the city. The educational aspect can be separate or in conjunction with the universities and schools of higher learning. Industry and education working hand in hand. Bio-tech is the research and development of new biological solutions in genetics, food science and medicine. Green-tech is the industry dealing with energy conservation and the sustainable way of living through new uses of energy and waste in the context of the environment. Clean-tech includes the renewable energy (wind power, solar power, biomass, hydropower, biofuels), information technology, green transportation, electric motors, green chemistry, lighting, and many other things that are now more energy efficient. The location of these new uses are set at opposing ends of the city to ensure students and workers must pass through the city centre to spend money and activate and animate the historic city centre.

Façade Renovation
The City of Gorzow Wlkp. will encourage and financially support the renovation of historically significant buildings and facades. Renovated buildings in the historic city centre without architectural merit will be built to an accepted city standard that controls material quality and building height, but not architectural style.

commodity, firmness, delight…and the super-cool

It has been a pleasure to be a part of the team headed by Zaha Hadid to build one of the two temporary pavilions for Chicago. It was commissioned by the Burnham Plan Centennial Committee to celebrate the centenary of 1909 Plan of Chicago (also known as the Burnham Plan) and will be open to the public this year from June 19th to October 31st in the South Chase Promenade of Millennium Park. My firm, Thomas Roszak Architecture, is acting as local architect of record.

What a treat to be involved in something that is all about doing supremely good architecture. It is about commodity, firmness and delight. Capital D.

Zaha Hadid and her team, headed by Thomas Vietzke and Jens Borstelmann, are not only architects; they are equally artists and scientists. They worry about all the things that architects worry about, but raised to a higher degree. The natural shapes are not arbitrary or purely artful, they are strict and serious and inspirational and insanely beautiful. The designs are based on complex curved shapes where the inclination of the curves are pure mathematics and not based on digitizing scraps of cardboard or clumps of clay. Every available point in space on the site is thoroughly analyzed…should it be part of the building or not. What color should that point in space be, what texture should it have, should light touch it?

What I find the most interesting is the conquest to do the right thing with the information that is known. For example, early on when we all agreed to change the concept of the structure and materials, Zaha and her team insisted to re-think and test all of the concepts all over again. They did not just side step and make some unenergetic adjustments. A completely new (and better) building was created. It was clearly better and it gave us all chills when we knew we are a part of something world-class and super-cool. Looking back it was all part of a natural plot trajectory that this pavilion had to go through to get built and be the great design that it is. Daniel Burnham would be proud.