Axum Development Corp., Bellflower, Calif.,
(562) 925-9000
Project name: Serene Tranquility, vacation
away from vacation
Location: Bellflower, Calif.
Square footage: 184
Cost: $37,000
The master bedroom suite was created with all
of the client's needs in mind. The idea came from
a need to get away from the crowded, busy lifestyle
of Los Angeles. The finished space evokes a feeling
of peace, tranquility and openness.
BRONZE: Ibby, Bethesda, Md.,
ibby.com
GOLD
Bathroom Less
Than $50,000
SPECIAL CONSIDERATION
Silent Rivers Design + Build, Clive, Iowa, silentrivers.com
Project name: Hospitality Suites: A Custom Residential
Experience in a Tent
Location: Des Moines Arts Festival, Des Moines, Iowa
Square footage: 1,750
Retail value: $155,000 (exchange for sponsorship over
eight years)
In 2013, Silent Rivers Design + Build was invited to par-
ticipate in a regional Arts Festival that serves 200,000 people.
The firm constructed two temporary rooms and an adjoining
bar. Challenges included designing and prefabricating cohesive
furniture and screening devices that could be assembled in
24 to 36 hours in addition to being unfamiliar with working
on platform decks, as well as fastening
to metal tent tubing. Uncooperative
weather required the team to retool
connections with strong flexibility. The
event itself aims to reduce ecological
footprints, and the suites educate the
public about sustainable options for
their homes. This year, it focused on
the regional concern about the devasta-
tion of the Emerald Ash Borer as many
municipalities have begun to deforest
their parks and streets of ash. Ash logs
from that deforestation comprise the fencing pickets.
Each suite includes an exterior deck space with bar and picnic
tables. The lumber supplier wanted to highlight the sustainably
harvested redwood and that, combined with manufactured
lumber, produces an interesting contrast and creative design
solution. All bar tops are made from cherry and Baltic birch
scraps, and unsold pine doors provide screening and privacy for
the suites. Artistic joinery was used to dismantle the wood pan -
eling and provide oppor-
tunity for reuse; remnant
pieces of walnut plywood
were used for creating the
buffet units.
44 October 2014 QR ForResidentialPros.com
PROJECTS: Master Design Awards
Photos: Silent Rivers Design + Build
Photo: Costea Photography Inc./Christian Costea Photographer