Brass tacks---check.

ok, now onto details.

The tower was 9 feet wide. In a ridiculous episode involving me laying down on the floor of our room in the Guilded Iguana, and W marking 9 feet with a coffee sack, I tried to imagine, and "walk" in my tower. I do not use drugs regularly. I do this comepletely sober. So there I was, "walking" in my tower that exists only on paper and in a model I could squash with a converse high top, and though to myself...this is not quite right.

I brought this up with Guillermo in San Jose. Strangley, Guillermo immediately got up, measured out the distance on the grounds, and "walked" it with me. Guillermo doesn't do drugs either. This, apparently, is something architecture makes you do. So there we were, hanging out in an imaginary room, when it hit me...too small. we measure 13 feet. too much. Guillermo was right about that. Again. I am beggining to hate that. Thank god, however, that I am not trying to build this for myself. Still, it was not quite right. I imagined standing at the window with Ken and Pickle, and I thought...we need a little more. When Guillermo measured out 11.5 feet, it just felt right. personal, intamate, but in better relationship to my size. 11.5 by about 16 feet. That is interior space. It works.

The tower has evolved through the DatumZero team. The terrace is now approached by an outdoor stair case. It feels right. To get to the top, one has to leave the house, and merge the outdoor and indoor spaces. I have some interests in that stair case though. You see, Guillermo and I liked the idea of a mesh stair case, so you could see down, and it would appear light, and porous. Guillermo proposed cantilevering it from the side of the tower. I love it. I, however, am not afraid of hieghts. Sharks, yes, snakes, sure, boredom, definitely, China, sure, the rise of ethnicity as the defining force in America, well hell yes, but heights, no. But people are. People I like. People who I want to sit with on the terrace. A handrail is going to help them. I will have to think about that final design.

Speaking of the tower. I saw Corten steel. Guillermo had a sample. He and I did a little material review. Largely this involved Guillermo showing me materials and me saying "oooooh YES". Light wood floors...great. teak rafters sustainable harvested in Nicaragua...thats great, slate blue metal roof with air pocket underneath,and foam insulation....beautiful. But I am still on a Cor-ten fence.

I love the idea. No maintenance. Light. Strong. Interactive with the environment. Its exactly what I asked for. But in execution, I am not sure.

Indulge me.











this is Corten Steel.
This is a pretty nice image of it. See how it naturally corodes.?I like the red hue, I love the interaction. See how it becomes indivudual to any site? See how it reflects its environment over time?

But...stay with me....what is everyon's first impression?

Say it with me...








"Its all Rusty".














Everyone gets there. Everyone looks at this and asks who abondoned this steel and let it corrode like that. These are some pretty good images I took from the web, and still, the immediate response from 9 out of 10 observers is...

Its rusty.

Play with me.



Rusty--->


























Rusty.










Now, this one I like a lot. It looks weathered, but not completely encrusted in rust. How did they get this finish? Is it new Corten Steel? Likely. Is it treated? Possibly. Is it a modern, or improved, version of Corten Steel? Maybe. Maybe. If they are making an alloy that is less corruptible, and still takes on the environment, I would like that better.


So what are the options? Anodized copper was another recommendation. I love the color. I love the feel of it. There is a Chilean building in this months Dwell Magazine which uses anodized copper to great effect. It recalls Spanish tile roofs and dilapidated timber.


But copper is a heavy metal. Could it leach into the soil? Am I creating a biohazard? Will it pollute the drinking water, or god forbid, the Nosara aquifer? I dont know enough about copper. I know they use it in cities...so maybe it is safe. I don't know.