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A Waterfront Clubhouse adds elegance
to a Pittsburgh Community
Timber
Homes Illustrated • December 2002
Story by Roland Sweet • Photos by Roger Wade
Reprinted by permission of Timber Homes Illustrated
Copyright © 2002 by Goodman Media Group, Inc.,
People keep finding new uses for traditional
timber framing. Just recently, for example, Continental Communities
Ltd. undertook to turn some land formerly owned by U.S. Steel along
the Allegheny River in Pittsburgh into a mile-long garden apartment
community, the Residence at the Waterfront. The Columbus, Ohio,
developer included plans for a clubhouse that would serve as a gathering
place for the residents. It would feature generally open space inside
and include a central great room with a cozy fireplace, an exercise
area, meeting rooms, offices, and rooms for social functions and
meetings. The aim was for the building to be appropriately designed
for both the community and the setting. Continental Communities
asked Riverbend Timber Framing of Blissfield, Michigan, to provide
the desired look.
Why timber frame? An obvious reason is that
timber framing helps to achieve the openness that the developer
wanted for the layout. But there were aesthetic considerations,
too. "Jack Lucks, the owner and CEO of Continental Communities,
likes traditional buildings, Riverbend's Stewart Elliott says. "In
this particular case, he wanted the clubhouse to look like a typical
boathouse that is on the river. In addition, he loves the character
of big timber."
The
rear of the 5,200-square-foot waterfront clubhouse shows the swimming
pool and an overall perspective of the two-story building with white
porch railing, doors and dormer trim (foreshadowing the whitewashed
timbers inside). To the right are the apartment buildings in the
community served by the clubhouse.
To capture the right look, the clubhouse uses
several hundred oak timbers, generally 7 by 11 inches for the columns
and up to 7 by 15 inches for the beams. The exterior rafters for
the upper-level wrap-around porch are 5 by 7 inches. After being
given the size, appearance and specific space arrangements for the
building, Riverbend designed the frame to support it. The company
also provided the engineering and construction drawings for the
architectural work and the shop drawings for the timber frame.
Although the 5,200-square-foot clubhouse
in many ways resembles a residence, because it is a non-residential
building, it had to be designed to accommodate more people than
a home. Stewart estimates that about 30 percent of Riverbend's projects
are non-residential— offices, churches, restaurants, golf
clubhouses and such. These buildings have to meet stricter requirements
for loading, general access and fire evacuation.
A
multicolored-stone fireplace and whitewashed oak timbers vie as
focal points of the great room. The soaring frame both supports
and dramatizes the room's open space, while the dark-stained staircase
and railings interject eye-catching contrast.
Although the 5,200-square-foot clubhouse in
many ways resembles a residence, because it is a non-residential
building, it had to be designed to accommodate more people than
a home. Stewart estimates that about 30 percent of Riverbend's projects
are non-residential— offices, churches, restaurants, golf
clubhouses and such. These buildings have to meet stricter requirements
for loading, general access and fire evacuation.
Such considerations pose additional challenges for the frame design.
In the case of the clubhouse, for example, Riverbend used bigger
timbers throughout and included several laminated beams to help
support the hipped-roof system, which is the heart of the building's
design. Another distinguishing feature of the design is the wrap-around
porch on the second level, above finished space.
Otherwise, the timber frame looks and functions
about as it would in a home. "The size of it, the use of space
and the nature of the frame and the overall philosophy of the frame
isn't that unusual," Stewart says. The frame also gives the
interior less of an institutional flavor and a more inviting appearance.
The
artistry of the timber frame is most evident in the loft, where
beams from four corners are connected by spline joints to a king
post, which is embellished with an ornamental pendant that draws
the eye to the intersection.
Once Riverbend raised the frame and enclosed
it with Insulspan structural panels, the exterior was faced with
stained cedar shingles. Inside, the frame was whitewashed but much
denser than usual so that it looks almost painted. Even so, the
character of the oak shows through.
A second clubhouse, identical in design but
finished and decorated differently, uses a more natural wood color
for the timbers.
The clubhouse opened this spring. It's eye-catching
interior has made it not just a community center, but also a real
showpiece. It further demonstrates timber framing's versatility.
For more photos of this project, visit Waterfront
Clubhouse.
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