New Energy Works architect David Shirley AIA, CPHB, is not only a traveling man, but a wearer of several hats. He recently took to the air and the road to check in on an active New Energy Works project, one that’s in the hopper, and to visit a legacy client looking to assimilate more timber into their property.
Born and raised in Tennessee, David relishes the chance to return to his home state. What makes these trips even better is when he can bundle face to face meetings with design clients with visiting his family along the way.
David’s first stop on a loop that included Tennessee, Georgia, and Texas was in the Blue Ridge Mountains where he checked in on a full-service New Energy Works project first outlined here. David flew in to discuss very specific detailing with the builder for this high craft timber frame project and to help them better understand the plans and the New Energy Work’s way of doing things.
Shirley says, “I went out there to make sure that the foundation was laid out correctly from the drawings before they poured and also to go over the connection details with the builder. I had a one-on-one with the builder to explain some of the details that New Energy Works has that he's not familiar with. As an example, there's particular hold-downs that he's never seen before. On the West Coast hold-downs are very common but not so much in the South.
“So, he wanted me to come down and explain to him how this worked. We chit-chatted about the best way install these. He asked if we were going to install them before we put down the concrete or were we going to drill and epoxy and put them in afterwards, which is the method we landed on.”
Shirley continues, “This project also has some other elements that require specific consideration. Being on a mountain top it’s in a special wind region, so there were additional requirements that we had to institute. We had a robust wind resistant system to install that the contractor was unfamiliar with. It was great for both of us to be able to talk out these things beforehand, so they didn’t become an issue later.”
After he left the first job site Shirley took the time to mix in some personal business as he was in the right place at the right time and celebrated a major milestone with his family — his father’s 80th birthday.
Finishing up in the Blue Ridge Mountains, Shirley took on some construction administration for a job that had recently come into the East Coast design team. Because he was in the area he stopped in to introduce himself to the client. This was an added bonus for everyone involved as Tennessee is a good distance from both of New Energy Work’s bi-coastal design studios and the ability to do a face-to-face is always welcome.
Shirley continued his travels south and headed into Georgia. He says, “It's a pretty easy three- or four-hour drive from Gatlinburg to Atlanta. I went down, met with our clients, who plan on replacing an existing old and decrepit monitor barn with a new monitor barn that will be timber framed. At least in the cladding and everything, we'll hopefully relate it to house that that I designed for them way back when.”
I met with our legacy clients (Southern Charm, Eastern Inspiration) at dinner talked with them about the barn, finalized a schematic design for it and talked about a few other things. I checked in on the house and how things were doing and what was working and wasn't working. Gosh, it's been probably 7 years now since we were down there or since I started designing that house. So, it was really good to get some real feedback after they've lived in the house. They had so many positive things and say: the house still feels as warm and inviting as the day they moved in, and they don't get tired of any of the views. They’ve had some minor technical issues with the chimney cap getting ripped off because of some high winds. They also had some technical questions that they wanted to make some changes on, like further extend the roof covering over a porch than we originally designed.”
Right after that visit I flew to Dallas, I visited clients in Waterford, Texas, which is about an hour outside of Dallas, to talk about a new hybrid timber frame.
This client’s location is beautiful, it's like a suburb, but they've got six acres or maybe more than that. It's a big place and he’s at the very end of a cul-de-sac. He's currently building a pond and a pool, and the vision is for a 4,000 square foot house with a garage with full solar. He's going for net zero, or as close as he can. He's just trying to get enough solar to power everything. It's going to be a large house, a hybrid timber frame with a significant amount of timber frame, but still a hybrid house.”
David’s recent trip included clients on several varied levels of the design process and was whirlwind of design, timber, relationship building, and even some family celebration. But that’s what we love to do and when we are at our best — blending work, play, and heavy timber into bespoke buildings, new connections, and long-term friendships.
