David Scott Parker’s initial connection to Gothic Revival design arose by chance, but looking back, it seems predestined. "About a dozen years ago, I was doing a project for a museum that included an intact room by [19th-century American Romantic architect] A. J. Davis," says Parker, an architect and antiques dealer. "In the course of the project, people kept referring me to this man in New York, Lee Anderson, who was supposed to have this amazing collection of Gothic furniture. I called him and we set up a meeting, during which we discovered we are related…he is a distant great uncle of mine."

It turns out that Parker and Anderson both grew up in New Harmony, Indiana, the site of an early 19th-century utopian community "Lee has been a great influence on me. He is considered by many to have the finest private collection of Gothic Revival furniture in the United States and his passion for the style is contagious."

As he learned more about Gothic Revival style, Parker began to seek out dealers and sources for what would become an important collection of his own. In 1995, he bought a vintage Carpenter Gothic house near Fairfield, Connecticut, to accommodate not only his collection, but also his two growing businesses–David Scott Parker Architects and Associated Artists, a company that deals in museum-quality pieces made from 1850-1920. The circa 1880 main house has three rooms up and three down, and it is connected by a covered breezeway to a detached modern office that houses the architecture practice.

Originating in France during medieval times, Gothic style’s chief elements–peaked windows, elaborate tracery, and trefoil or quatrefoil motifs–were adopted as popular features of American architecture in early Colonial times. The enduring style can still be found thought the country in examples as diverse as 17th-century churches in Virginia and garden follies such as one Thomas Jefferson designed but never built. Probably the first use of Gothic design for a private home in America was Benjamin Latrobe’s 1799 Sedgeley, outside Philadelphia.

In America, the term Gothic Revival was introduced in the mid 1800s to describe application of the Gothic style from the 1700s through the early 1900s. Originally interest in Gothic was stirred up by the books of 18th-century English writers and aesthetes such as Horace Walpole, A. W. N. Pugin, and Batty Langley Its appearance in American homes can be attributed to America’s godfathers of Gothic: A.J. Downing and A.J. Davis. These two–partners at times–popularized Gothic in several books featuring "picturesque" landscapes inhabited by romanticized cottages, many of them designed by Davis. "Davis is interesting because he was an architect who was also a furniture designer," says Parker. "In the same way, my firm is interested in being involved in all aspects of design."

As a native of New Harmony, Parker likes to note the connection between his hometown and Gothic Revival. "Robert Dale Owen was the son of the founder of New Harmony, and also a congressman who helped create the Smithsonian Institution. For the plans, he turned to his brother, David Dale Owen, a geologist and draftsman. He returned a design for the building in the Gothic Revival taste, considered by the Owens to be the only style suitable for America’s institutions because it was the only truly Christian architecture." Ultimately, the project was turned over to James Renwick, who used the drawings as a basis for his final project

Parker is an inveterate collector who bought his first antique at the age of 12. He has amassed a variety of collections but admits to an affinity for Gothic Revival pieces. "I didn’t set out to have a house full of Gothic furniture," says Parker. "It was acquired through interest rather than decorating needs. It is among the most architectural of styles, and that appeals to my eye."

When most people think of Gothic style, they often imagine gigantic cathedrals with elaborate stained glass windows and grotesque gargoyles, not mid-19th-century wallpapers. However, Gothic style did not disappear after the Middle Ages. It was incorporated into 18th-century design motifs and experienced a resurgence in the Gothic Revival period of the 18th and 19th centuries. During this time, Gothic designs were applied to furniture styles, fabric designs, tableware motifs, and wallpaper patterns in England and America.

"I think Gothic Revival wallpapers reflect an inner source of peace and comfort. They create an atmosphere in a room that is traditional and has withstood the test of time," observes John Bucemi, president of Classic Revivals in Boston. "While not much of the original survives today, it was a strong decorative statement that changed decorating styles in Europe and America."

The term Gothic originated in the 16th century, but the style actually grew out of the early medieval Romanesque style and began in France with the building of St. Denis Cathedral in 1140. The hallmarks of the medieval style include flying buttresses that stabilize walls, allowing for more windows; vaulted ceilings; pointed arches; and carved tracery designs.

During the late 18th century in England, Gothic elements were used on garden follies or mock ruins on large estates, and in country house interiors. These motifs, applied without regard to an original meaning or purpose, were sometimes referred to as "Gothick."

By the 19th century, Gothic style was further revived with more attention paid to historical accuracy, as well as moral and religious meanings. Championed by a number of design reformers, including A. W. N. Pugin, who published Gothic Furniture in 1835, Gothic Revival was seen as a Christian style with moral or ethical qualities that also referenced an English medieval past.

As technology improved wallpaper manufacturing in the 1800s, papering became the preferred method of wall decoration. In Gothic Revival interiors, wallpaper provided color and contrast with woodwork, copied forms from original medieval structures, and often incorporated more two-dimensional patterns and stylized natural forms. Pugin designed wallpaper patterns for clients that combined family crests, mottoes, and private symbols into heraldic decorating schemes. The style’s popularity grew after Pugin designed a Gothic Revival decor for the 1850s rebuilding of the Houses of Parliament that included vibrant wallpapers.

By the mid-19th century, copies of medieval patterns were replaced by more geometric medieval design elements combined with botanical forms. English designer Christopher Dresser followed this style in his early wallpaper designs, which he acknowledged were heavily influenced by Pugin’s interpretation of Gothic style. Dresser’s versions used the structural elements of plants as abstract ornament. He flattened botanical forms and abstracted Gothic lily and carnation designs with arches that reflected both architecture and animal skeletal forms.

"A lot of Dresser’s work was derived from Gothic Revival," says Bucemi. "No designer in any era operates in a vacuum, but is influenced by historical styles and social trends."

In the United States, Gothic Revival was at its height as an architectural style in the 1830s. Gothic rustic cottages and villas were featured in books by American architect A.J. Davis and landscape designer and writer A.J. Downing. English romantic novels by authors such as Sir Walter Scott also sparked America’s fascination with medievalism.

With the 1872 publication of Charles Eastlake’s A History of the Gothic Revival, and Gothic Revival’s inclusion in the Philadelphia Centennial Exhibition of 1876, the style became entrenched in American design lexicon. However, American Gothic-style wallpapers often departed from Pugin’s purist ideals and took a less serious approach. Also, they were not always placed in pure Gothic Revival-style homes, but were introduced into interiors of home styles from several eras.

"There were so many wonderful American Gothic Revival wallpapers," says Joanne Warner, curator of the wallcovering department at the Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum, Smithsonian Institution. "While all the tastemakers of the time period were saying how incorrect these Gothic adaptations were, people were buying them and using them throughout the United States."

As the century waned, Gothic Revival wallpapers were replaced by American styles that did not reference England’s history but looked to the nation’s own past observes Warner.

Today there are many high-quality reproductions of Gothic Revival wallpapers in original colors or new tones. "Don’t be afraid of Gothic Revival wallpaper, and don’t be afraid to use its strong colors," advises Bucemi. "Wallpaper is an instant way to transform a room, and when Gothic Revival paper is put in a home setting, it creates a seriousness and warmth."

"WE DON’T DESIGN HOUSES for fearful peop1e," says designer William Diamond, as his partner, architect Anthony Baratta, chuckles. Indeed, it takes a passion for color and a thirst for the unusual to live in a space that pairs yellow plaid with a glossy blue-and-white check and pools of cobalt blue, golden yellow, and barn red. This is signature Diamond & Baratta: taking traditional elements such as wing chairs and area rugs and jolting them attention with unexpected colors and patterns.

"It’s American, classic, and steeped in tradition, but newer and fresher," Diamond terms their design style. And the owners of this Westchester County, New York, home were ready for whatever Diamond & Baratta could dream up. "They’re very secure people," Diamond says about the couple, parents of three young children. "They said, ‘We love what you do, and we want you to design our house.’"

"I could imagine myself living in just about anything they did," says the wife. "I wanted the house to be cheerful, friendly, and comfortable. And since children are such as big part of our life, I wanted every room to be usable."

The homeowners didn’t flinch when the duo created designs for three very bold, very different plaid fabrics in the family room, and huge blocks of barn red and bright white flooring throughout the foyer. "Either you love color or you’re afraid of color. These clients weren’t afraid," says Baratta.

But this house is about more than just color; it’s also about detailed architecture, which is another key element of a Diamond & Baratta project. In this situation, the team had the opportunity to totally transform the interior details and layout. "This is a 1911 Colonial [-style structure] that through the years was bought by people with a penchant for renovations," the homeowner says.

"The house was built in the late 19th century in a series of three stages," says Baratta. "A 1950s renovation wiped out the original design."

The designers added a wing in the middle of the house to give a sense of order to the interior. Then they went from room to room, creating unique details: fluted columns in the foyer, a strip of chunky dentils in the family room, a double cornice in the living room, a web-patterned oval window in the master bedroom. "All the details are done loosely so it doesn’t look like someone just picked out the moldings recently," says Baratta. Instead, the designers say, it looks as if a "crazy carpenter" from the early 1900s has been let loose.

Co-founders of their own mutual admiration society, Diamond and Baratta each credits the other for a particular piece of unusual design. Their combined skills are put to the test with every project, for which they create overall designs, as well as plans for flooring, furniture, and wallcoverings. "Tony has a wonderful sense of architecture," says Diamond, while Baratta praises Diamond’s dynamic eye for color. Together, they enjoy turning the world of design on its proverbial ear. "We always try to push the envelope a little more," says Diamond. "We believe in joie de vivre."

IT’S A CLASSIC: THE WINDSOR CHAIR. In early 18th-century England, Windsor chairs were made specifically for gardens. With plank seats and turned spindles on legs and back, they were highly portable, yet sturdy. It didn’t take long for Windsors to make their way into British homes, or to have relatives pop up across the Atlantic. American craftsmen put their own spin on the design, creating highly ornate turnings or opting for unadorned tapered legs. The reproduction sack-back Windsors, shown here, represent one style. Others include low-back, fan-back and writing arm.

IT’S A CLASSIC: THE WING CHAIR.

The "wings" protruding between the back and arms of this chair are more than decorative; they were designed to protect against drafts. The wing chair has been an American favorite since the late 17th century, but labor-intensive upholstering often made early models very expensive. By the l8th century, it was cheaper to buy a factory-produced wing chair than to reupholster an older one. Today, a wing chair with or without a skirt still Invites one to curl up with a quilt and a good book.

IT’S A CLASSIC: PLAIDS!

Generally, plaid is defined as a fabric woven of colored yarns in a cross-barred pattern. According to Scottish tradition, a plaid was a long, rectangular piece of cloth worn across the left shoulder by Scottish Highlanders. These cloths were in the tartan pattern, with bands and lines in colors representing a particular clan. These days, the terms plaid and tartan are used interchangeably. In home furnishings, the colors of a plaid usually reflect personal taste, not family heritage.

Designer Charlotte Moss blends classic elements, both antique and reproduction, and pulls off a sophisticated, yet livable, traditional look

Trying to pin down designer Charlotte Moss, metaphorically or geographically, is not an easy task. She’s a moving target. She can work a corner of a formal living room around a chinoiserie cabinet, add sex appeal to an alcove of a master bath by installing a 19th-century beaded-wood chandelier with live candles, or use a collection of antique American flags as the takeoff point for decorating a boy’s room. She appears to be equally at home in a mountain house in Colorado, picking through a flea market in Paris, or combing the collections at Colonial Williamsburg for inspiration (she has just been named interior design director of its licensing program). And you’re likely to find her working in any of those modes or in any of those places within days of each other.

Or, you might find her perched on a library ladder in the living room of her Long Island, New York, country house, searching for a reference among books or her prized collection of design magazines. Moss uses her home as a laboratory of sorts, recombining furniture and accessories. "Things are constantly moving," she says. "I think clients should be the same way. There’s not just one way to do something. We change. We grow."

She likes to revisit former clients’ homes–like the two shown on these pages–in order to see rooms with a fresh eye and make adjustments. "Those pictures we put in the master bedroom, let’s move them out now. And that lamp on the table, let’s put it on the desk in the library and get something more important for she’ll suggest. "I was always redoing my own room when I was little, and helping my mother rearrange the living room. That’s what keeps things fresh. It suggests open-mindedness."

Moss grew up in Virginia and was influenced as much by her mother and grandmother’s mannerly, hospitable ways as she was by her surroundings. "My mother was a great homemaker, and my grandmother was a natural. I don’t think there is anything she couldn’t do."

Moss brings that same energy to decorating projects. There was a time she would take on as many as a dozen clients at once, all the while tending her shop. The store, now closed so she can focus frill time on larger jobs, sold occasional furniture and accessories, antiques, and custom pieces, and was a magnet for decorators in search of items that brought 20th-century zip to traditional rooms–such as leopard print wastebaskets and silk lampshades.

Her rooms emanate warmth. She uses brave colors on walls, like the raisin hue in the dining room of a descendant of Franklin Delano Roosevelt (page 28). She works out medleys of patterned fabric to add richness to a scheme, as in the great room for the Orensteins, whose home is shown on pages 23-39. Pools of lamplight are important to Charlotte and are provided by elegantly shaded table lamps made from handsome objects she’s found. Candles, she notes, are always apropos in dining rooms.

Moss stresses the importance of working a room in profile, as well as in plan, from the get-go: "I always say to my clients, ‘Picture yourself standing around a cocktail party elbow-to-elbow, when no one can see anything on a tabletop. What are they looking at? You’ve got to think about moving the room up. You want movement.’" Hanging an intricate chandelier, like the one made of antlers at the Oren– stems, is one way of ensuring motion. So is massing artwork to dominate a wall behind a bed or over a fireplace-she does both in the Roosevelt house. The use of commanding curtain treatments, at windows or to crown beds, also does this job for her.

Movement and mix are interlinked, and key to the success of her style. "I think there’s not a room I’ve done that doesn’t have mix, whether it’s country of origin, period, wood vs. painted finish…whatever. All those things that have come together from different places give a room patina, give it excitement," she says. The range of elements she assembles are consciously balanced by classic shapes, whether custom-made or antique. "A classic is something that has good lines. But it also works over and over again, no matter how you treat it, color it, or paint it." The trefoil ottoman in the Orenstein living room is one of her favorite examples.

One of her colleagues calls Moss "the new old guard." Her taste is refined, and that she lives the life for which she decorates lends validity to her choices. Moss is a contemporary woman who grants herself free access to a multitude of traditional styles (antique and reproduction) and the right to combine them within one house or within one room. "It’s all about the mix, not about the match," quips Moss. "You have to throw things off a little…by planting a simple geranium in an extraordinary 18th-century Limoges cachepot, or by standing a little American 1930s chair next to a Regency cabinet of great value."

STUNNING SCENERY AND a year-round temperate climate draw visitors to Arkansas, "the natural state." Its central area is home to Little Rock, the capital, set on a bend of the Arkansas River; Pine Bluff, noted for its historical murals; and the resort town of Hot Springs, which encircles Hot Springs National Park and where Bathhouse Row re-creates the turn-of-the-last-century era of "taking the waters." Our 275-mile journey begins and ends in Little Rock.

LITTLE ROCK

Riverfront Park, stretching for 10 blocks along the Arkansas River, is a center of activities with its festivals, promenade, amphitheater, concerts, and riverboat excursions. Nearby are the River Market district, a cluster of shops and restaurants; the Museum of Discovery with many science and technology exhibits; and the 1836 Old State House, the oldest extant capitol west of the Mississippi. Today it holds a museum of Arkansas history. Under construction nearby is the Clinton Presidential Library. Also of interest are the Decorative Arts Museum, the Arkansas Arts Center galleries, and the Aerospace Education Center, offering a virtual-reality flight experience. Five original Little Rock dwellings form the Arkansas Territorial Restoration, where guides describe life on the Arkansas frontier. The Central High Museum & Visitor Center (across from the high school that is now a national historic site) commemorates the 1957 segregation conflict, when the federal government integrated black students into the previously all-white school. Wildwood Park for the Performing Arts has festivals and offers walks through its gardens. The Little Rock Convention & Visitors Bureau distributes guides for three walking tours and a driving tour: MacArthur Park Historic District of antebellum and Victorian homes, the Downtown Riverfront district, and the Governor’s Mansion area.

PINE BLUFF

Little Rock Convention & Vistors Bureau (800) 844-4781, www.little rock.com. Museum of Discovery (800) 880-6475. Old State House (501) 324-9685. Decorative Arts Museum, Arkansas Arts Center (501) 372-4000. Aerospace Education Center (501) 376-4629. Arkansas Territorial Restoration (501) 324-9351. Central High Museum (501) 374-1957. Wildwood Park (501) 821-7275.

On Route 165, stop in Scott to visit Toltec Mounds Archeological State Park, the remains of a civic and ceremonial center for a Native American culture dating to 650 A.D. The visitors’ center displays excavated artifacts and a slide show. Also in Scott is the Plantation Agriculture Museum, which interprets the history of plantation life and cotton farming in Arkansas.

A dozen murals make the walls of Pine Bluff’s buildings an outdoor art gallery, depicting such scenes as Main Street in 1888 and life on the Arkansas River in 1900. The Arkansas Railroad Museum exhibits a restored steam engine and railroad memorabilia. The Arkansas Entertainers Hall of Fame chronicles the careers of entertainers with Arkansas roots. The Band Museum depicts the history of the band movement in America and displays hundreds of instruments dating to the early 1700s. The Martha Mitchell Home, built in 1887, is the birthplace of the wife of President Nixon’s attorney general, John N. Mitchell. The Convention & Visitors Bureau has information on tours of other 19th-century homes. Toltec Mounds Archeological State Park (501) 961-9442. Plantation Agriculture Museum, (501) 961-1409. Pine Bluff Convention & Visitors Bureau, Arkansas Railroad Museum, Arkansas Entertainers Hall of Fame, and Martha Mitchell Home, (800) 536-7660, www.pinebluffsonline.com. The Band Museum (870) 534-4676.

HOT SPRINGS AND HOT SPRINGS

NATIONAL PARK

If you have time before reaching Hot Springs, stop in Sheridan on Route 270 to explore the Grant County Museum/Heritage Village, a collection of 21 restored buildings, one featuring a Depression-era cafe.

Set in the Quachita Mountains and surrounded by lakes and the Quachita National Forest, the town of Hot Springs has drawn visitors to its 47 thermal springs since the 143- degree waters were declared a "place of peace" by Native Americans. In 1541, explorer Hernando DeSoto lingered for days to enjoy the waters. In 1832, a federal reservation was set up to protect the springs, and by the 1870s it was known as "The National Spa." Until the early 1900s, Hot Springs attracted visitors from all over the world to its thermal baths, thought to be therapeutic for a variety of ailments. Opulent bathhouses and luxurious hotels rivaled the famous spas of Europe, and Hot Springs was called the "Baden–Baden of America." The reservation became a national park in 1921. Today, Buckstaff Bathhouse on the Row still offers baths, whirlpools, and massage, as do five other hotels and spas in town. The most elaborate bathhouse, Fordyce with its stained glass ceilings and DeSoto Fountain serves as a visitors center and museum. Gui ded walking tours of the springs are offered from March through October; visitors can take self-guided walks anytime. The downtown historic district’s Victorian buildings house shops, restaurants, and art galleries. Guided gallery walks are offered on the first Friday of every month. Several cultural festivals take place annually, including a music festival in June and a documentary film festival each fall. The Convention & Visitors Bureau provides a booklet for a self-guided tour of historic downtown and information on a tour visiting President Clinton’s boyhood home, schools, and hangouts. For a view of the area, visit the 216-foot Hot Springs Mountain Tower atop Hot Springs Mountain.

Leaving Hot Springs, take the Scenic Route 7 Byway through the Ouachita National Forest for sweeping vistas, picturesque creeks, lakes, state parks, and country stores.

Grant County Museum/Heritage Village (870) 942-4496. Hot Springs Convention & Visitors Bureau (800) 543-2284, www.hotsprings.org. Buckstaff Bathhouse (501) 623-2308. Other five bathhouses (800) 772-2489. Hot Springs Mountain Tower (501) 623-6035. Hot Springs National Park (501) 624-3383.

RUSSELLVILLE, MORRILTON, AND CONWAY

"Renaissance of a River," at the Arkansas River Visitor Center in Russellville, chronicles the waterway’s history. Arkansas Tech University’s Museum of Prehistory and History displays Native American artifacts. In Morrilton, the Museum of Automobiles exhibits vintage cars. At Conway, the Faulkner County Museum has a general store, jailhouse, and exhibits. The Cadron Settlement Park replicates an 1814 blockhouse and features the Cherokee Trail of Tears Memorial.

The Arkansas River Visitor Center (501) 968-5008. Museum of Prehistory and History (501) 964-0826. Museum of Automobiles (501) 727-5427. Faulkner County Museum (501) 329-5918. Cadron Settlement Park (501) 329-2986.

WHAT DO YOU GET WHEN YOU CROSS Walden Pond with King Arthur’s castle? A custom home nestled deep in the woods of the central Midwest, where one can just imagine the king holding court in the central hail while old Henry revels in peaceful views of a forest-framed pond.

The owner — no stranger to these characters as a history and literature buff –had acquired hundreds of wooded acres in this Midwest farm country. When deciding to build, he produced a typical owner’s wish list: a tight-budgeted cottage with architecturally interesting spaces that maximize views. He contracted with Oakstone Homes, a custom builder in Columbia, Mo., to build the home.

Realizing that a small home in the forest spelled d-a-r-k, Mark Simon, a partner in the architectural firm Centerbrook and chief designer for the project, went to work on the challenge. "It struck me that we needed to have some central space that would bring light down through the whole house," says Simon. That led the design team of Simon, Charles Mueller, and Todd Delfosse to create a central mini-atrium. "If you can’t afford a whole courtyard," notes Simon, "this is the next best thing." A windowed rotunda crowns the central meeting hall of this 2,450-square-foot home. The hall itself then opens into all rooms via doors and interior windows, eliminating the darkness found in most old compact farmhouses.

The design team felt that because of the wooded site it was important to capture the spirit of early Americana. "It seemed it would be regionally contextual to use the spirit, if not the precise methods, of the early American Prairie house," explains Simon. Indeed, the view driving toward the house, along a logging road and up a steep embankment, isn’t that different from what you might have seen a century ago. One chimney and three faux chimneys add architectural "authenticity."

Cedar shake siding and a generous eave around the perimeter reflect both the essence and the sheltering function of an early settler’s abode. Windows can remain open to capture breezes even during summer rains. The overhang also keeps out the hot summer sun but lets the lower angles of the warm winter rays in.

As a visitor strolls closer, it becomes clear that this early American complex is really a contemporary home with extraordinary appeal. A front dormer is actually an attic artist loft. Forty feet from the home, a two-story red structure with a gambrel roof poses as a barn but functions as a sculptor’s studio.

The project team indulged the owner’s interest in medieval culture by using bracketing around the home’s exterior and inside the central hall, a subtle nod to the castles of the Middle Ages. Another of the owner’s passions–books–is addressed with an upstairs study. There, oak floors, bookcases, and cozy window seats provide ample opportunity to escape with Celtic mythology.

Capitalizing on the bucolic setting, a rear-screened porch provides a respite from summer insects. The deck above is shared by the master and guest bedrooms and affords sunbathing opportunities during the "shoulder" season. Bracketing is repeated on the porch and deck, reinforcing the medieval theme.

To save money, Simon designed the home as a simple box and used creative cost cutters, like white-painted millwork in the central hallway and reddish painted bookcases in the study. But the overall feel of the home is far from basic. The design team used monumental proportioning to give the effect of graciousness and volume.

The home’s symmetrical elevation gives it a formal outside appearance and adds to an air of grandeur. But just inside the front door that symmetry shifts. The stairs and rotunda are set off center to accommodate the side-entry, two-bay garage, well hidden from visitors arriving in the front.

Interiors are simple and informal. "Making interesting spaces with standard materials was the key," says Simon. "We didn’t go overboard in plumbing or lighting fixtures." Main rooms feature red oak floors. Bathrooms have ceramic tiles on floors and halfway up the walls. The living room, an inviting, warm space, has as its centerpiece a wood-burning stove set in a dramatic alcove. The alcove is lined with tiles that look like brick but without the mass and weight.

The kitchen is a simple space with rich but practical details like a granite-topped island and ample built-in storage. The island houses cabinets and counter space to give more play to the windows, which in turn pay homage to the woods and bring in light. Windows play another important role in the home: They eliminate the need for air conditioning. An upstairs window band provides natural ventilation to counter the central Midwestern summer.

Wayne Guariglia, president of Oakstone Homes, says it took a good deal of site work to put in a road and to carve a space about 200 feet around the footprint of the remotely located home. The tight space dictated unusual care in delivery and handling of materials. Another challenge was the degree of architectural specifications. "We had never encountered the volume of detail in the specs that we did on this job," says Guariglia. "Centerbrook was very focused and excited about the project and was closely involved in it. What was remarkable is that there was such good cooperation between the architect, the owner, and us."

The result is a home that is all at once cozy and magnificent. As Simon notes, "I like the idea of making something simple and still have it be this interesting. You get closer and realize that it’s just an interesting place to be."

Jan Mitchell is a freelance writer for the housing industry living in the San Francisco Bay area.

THINK FOR A MOMENT ABOUT America’s luxury home communities. The merely successful evoke comfort and history. But the truly legendary communities do more than that: They simultaneously cast our memory backward while shooting our imaginations forward.

And so it is at Superstition Mountain Golf and Country Club, a community that has staked its claim along what many consider the border between urban and rural Arizona. Superstition offers custom lots as well as ready-to-move-in luxury housing. "Each of our communities offers owners a consistent theme in a unique setting," says Tom Popa, vice president of sales and marketing for the Anderson Cos.’ Superstition Mountain Properties. "Anderson strives for imaginative design, impeccable detail, and outstanding quality in its homes and clubhouses," Popa says. Anderson Homes and Design of Scottsdale, Ariz., is building the luxury production housing at the development.

Superstition Mountain aspires to legend by building on the region’s history.

Wanderers carved history into the Superstition Mountains for 9,000 years before the Hohokam and others built the first native settlements. The Spanish "discovered" the area in 1539 and deeded the Peralta clan a land grant spanning much of the Southwest, long before these dry and desolate mountains became a stronghold for Geronimo’s Apache warriors. The Jesuits studded the area with missions, setting the tone for architecture to come. Joseph Waltz claimed a fortune in Superstition. Mountain gold but died without revealing his famous Lost Dutchman mine.

Superstition Mountain draws its architectural theme from the brief and bygone days of the Arizona Territory. Arizona had just parted ways with Mexico to join the United States. "In the 1870s," Popa says, "the railroad finally found its way through the Arizona Territory. Italianate was all the rage in the eastern United States at that time. The trains brought building materials, such as timber, dimensional lumber, and tiles previously not easily available in the Southwest."

Eager to escape the rough-and-tumble reputation of the Wild West, the new Americans seized the opportunity to build new structures in the popular Italian style and remodel old ones with the newly available materials. Unimpeded by academia or zoning, the merged these with historic Spanish styles.

Superstition Mountain embraces the traditional look of the expansive ranch house and pays homage to the hill towns of historic Tuscany. The Villas at Golden Eagle Village are new treasures in the shadows of the past. Floor plans for the luxury homes cluster village-style, literally inhaling the gentle mountain air as thermal breezes of the Superstition Mountains sweep across the landscape at dusk and dawn.

The 3,000-square-foot Cetona plan 2, winner of a Grand Awards at this year’s Gold Nuggets, epitomizes the livable delight of these plans. The Cetona exploits the velvety desert air: Every room has windows or French doors waiting to be flung wide, blurring what is indoors from out. Models boast Tuscan village names to reinforce the theme. The homes feature inviting private courtyards and loggias. Privacy is paramount throughout the plans.

The villa homes nestle neighborly near each other, lending the illusion that you have arrived at an ancient Italian village nestled in the mountains. Thorny Saguaro cactus prick that illusion, grounding the villas to the Sonoran desert well east of metro Phoenix.

The award-winning design is the result of collaboration between BBG Architects of Santa Ana Heights, Calif., and Oz Architects of Scottsdale, Ariz. At build-out there will be 65 homes sized from 2,342 to 3,460 square feet. Prices range from $445,000 tO $605,000. Add lot premiums, and prices range from $450,000 tO $920,000. The typical lot is 65 by 100 feet. Half sit on the Jack Nicklaus–designed golf course, and 12 face the putting park.

The architecture of the community is seamless. Classic details include two-piece mortared clay roof tiles, exposed rafter tails, wood lintels, hewn columns, stone walls, and patinated stucco. Streets are cobblestone.

Superstition Mountain has firm architectural guidelines and a rigorous design review process governing all homes and public buildings in the community. Architecture must be four-sided, not just a pretty elevation, ensuring every view is up to snuff. All structures must be low profile and use at least three materials in the design — for example, stone and stucco walls with exposed hand-hewn wood or stone window headers.

Oz Architects designed the club and carriage houses, Superstition Mountain’s signature buildings. "We do a lot of boutique and hospitality work," says Oz president Don Ziebell, whose carefully crafted clubhouse is an allegory of the remodeled ranch house. This is a brand-new building that looks like a historic home.

"Often when buildings go up, the best day in their lives is the day they receive their certificate of occupancy. Then it’s all downhill from there," Ziebell says referring to the fact that wear and tear and changing tastes in architectural fashion rapidly date many new buildings.

Ziebell’s specialty is finding and combining materials and finishes that stand the test of time. At Superstition Mountain these include an exterior insulation and stucco system finished in a three-coat, Italian lime-wash. The illusion of age mates two color coats with a sealer and gives the building a rich patina from day one. Ziebell also uses stone-surfaced stem walls to anchor the building to the ground and banish what he calls levitating building syndrome.

Other details combine style and conspicuous practicality: Deep overhangs with projecting rafter tails not only evoke another era, they protect walls and glazing from sun and rain. (It doesn’t rain often in Arizona, but when it does it can be fast and furious.) To protect the impression of Arizona’s historic thick adobe walls, Ziebell never exposes wall ends or turns that would reveal 2X4 roots. He also specifies double-studs to give windows the effect of being installed in thick walls.

Ziebell seeks and collects old authentic details, too. One of the doors used in one of the public buildings is a 400-year-old Spanish antique, completely in keeping with the historic-inspiration age of the entire community.

Process integration and a change from electromechanical to hydraulic actuators let safety glass processing machinery supplier Tamglass Tempering System Inc. cut production times to speed up shipping schedules. The change greatly simplified the design of a new glass bending system, eliminating 700 parts, reducing labor costs, and cutting assembly time. Motion controllers from Delta Computer Systems (Vancouver, WA) and hydraulic actuators from Parker (Cleveland, OH) were key components in the design.

For suppliers of curved glass panels for automotive, appliance, and architectural uses, the QSB (Quick Set Bend) Bending and Tempering System reportedly makes it easier to form glass with complex J- and 5shapes. Engineers increasingly use such curved glass panels in high-volume products such as automotive rear and side windows to balance both function and form. On the function side, for example, automotive engineers may boost fuel economy using cylindrical glass in place of flat glass to reduce the drag coefficient. While on the form side, vehicle designers can use glass with different radii to create distinctive styling cues.

The panels are typically produced in a three-stage process. First the glass is heated in an oven to make it pliable. It is then transferred to a molding station where pressure forces the glass to bend. Finally, rapid cooling with forced air tempers the glass.

“In our previous curved glass manufacturing systems,” explains Jack Sandlin, Tamglass chief engineer, “the glass was forced to bend on rollers that were positioned mechanically using servomotors. We used clutches to apply power to ball screws, and brakes to hold the rollers in place.”

The previous system wasn’t as integrated as the new QSB system, which chains the oven, bending, and tempering stations closely into a continuous, integrated, computer-controlled process. Because the glass had further to travel, and more time to cool off in the old system, it had to be heated to higher temperatures to make sure it was still sufficiently pliable to be pressed into shape by the time it reached the bending station.

Consequently, the older system used more energy. “Locating the bending station immediately adjacent to the oven not only saves energy lost from cooling,” Sandlin says, “but the new system uses gravity, rather than pressure, to bend the glass, which also saves energy and improves the optical quality of the glass.”

More than 100 axes. The simplicity of the new QSB system reduces the redesign and build time for a unit from ten to six months, according to Sandlin. And given that there are more than 100 axes on the machine, the labor savings of mounting a single cylinder instead of a half-dozen components on each really adds up. It also eliminates the hassle of aligning bearing assemblies, mounting motors, ballscrews, clutches, and brakes. The approach eliminates many small components, such as keys, set screws, and couplings.

In the QSB system, the hot glass passes out of the oven, moving on rollers across a curved roller bed, bending as it travels to conform to the shape of the bed. The rollers are mounted on a set of parallel rails (90 rollers on each of seventeen 12-ft rails), with the rolling axis of each roller perpendicular to the length of the rail.

To shape the roller beds to match the precise contour of the desired bend, two hydraulic actuators, one for each end of each rail, individually, position each of the 51 roller rails in the system. This requires a total of 102 hydraulic actuators, each with at least a [+ or -]0.003-inch positioning accuracy.

As the glass bends to conform to the shape of the roller bed, it passes into the quench station, where it is sandwiched between two sets of rollers on two more sets of rails (17 roller rails above and 17 below). Air blown through channels mounted next to each roller cools the glass rapidly, tempering it.

“To control the motion of such a large number of axes to such tight tolerances, we needed specialized motion controllers,” says Tamglass control engineer John Cecehine. In fact, engineers evaluated four different controller types over a period of six months before ultimately selecting Delta Computer Systems’ RMC100 motion controllers. In addition to precise control, Cecchine says, “the controllers had the direct interface with position transducers and variable hydraulic valves that we were looking for, and was the only one that supported failsafe operation should any sensors lose power.

The controllers are mounted in intermediate control cabinets on the machine close to the actuators. “Using position feedback from each of the two actuators on each rail, the controller monitors the difference between the two cylinders while it is traveling, and keeps the position in line with each other,” says Cecchine.

Graphical software development.

Each controller can manage up to eight motion axes simultaneously, positioning to [+ or -]0.001-inch accuracy. To program, debug, and tune the controllers, Tamglass engineers used RMCWin, a graphical software development package from Delta Computer Systems that converts high-level motion commands into sequences of operations to be performed by the controllers. An industrial PC downloads the motion commands in bursts over Profibus into function tables that are contained in the motion controllers.

The PC performs overall system control and human machine interface (HMI) functions, and stores computer “recipes” that describe how each type of glass product is processed. The PC also controls the heat of the 60-ft-long oven and the speed of the glass traveling through it. “Each piece of glass takes three to five minutes to travel through the oven,” Sandlin explains. “The computer tracks from 10 to 50 pieces of glass that may be in the system at any time.”

According to Ceechine, computer control makes the glass manufacturing system very flexible. “The types of bends and sizes of glass material can be changed quickly and easily, reducing non-productive time and maximizing throughput.”

The controllers support direct Profibus interfaces without requiring any special interface modules. The use of Profibus, a multi-master bus, solves the problem of connecting the industrial computer to multiple motion controllers simultaneously.

Profibus is daisy-chained between the PC and the array of motion controllers. Each motion controller has a unique address on the bus, which the computer references when it writes instruction sequences or interrogates status from that particular controller. “Using Profibus greatly simplifies system wiring compared to I/Ointensive point-to-point wired systems,” explains Cecchine.

One of the first installations of the new Tamglass machine is at a glass manufacturer in Sweden. The new QSB system’s flexibility allows the company to produce a wide range of glass panel sizes, up to a maximum size of 48 inches by 60 ft. “Fieldbus technology contributed to lower system manufacturing costs and easier system assembly and maintenance,” says Sandlin. “It greatly simplifies all of the wiring, so we were able to install and get it up and running faster than any other system we have done.”

The Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts, new home of the world-renowned Philadelphia Orchestra, recently opened to rave reviews from critics, and, most importantly, from the artists, dancers, musicians and audiences of Philadelphia.

Far more than a mere concert and recital hall, the Kimmel Center represents a rich tapestry of architecture, acoustic brilliance, and versatility, woven from the cultural fibers of the city itself, due in no small measure to the work of Theatre Projects Consultants. When the Kimmel Center was in the planning stages, TPC organized an extensive programming exercise, including many meetings with every constituent who would potentially use the facilities.

“We tried to represent everyone in Philadelphia and to achieve an environment in which their imaginations could soar — where they could expand their operations and realize their vision in a space that they felt would work for them,” says David Taylor, TPC project manager for the Kimmel Center.

“We worked with a world-class team in an organized manner, with a foot-high pile of questionnaires to learn about where they were currently and what aspirations each organization had for the future.”

The Kimmel Center houses two performing venues: the 2,500-seat concert hall, Verizon Hall, new home for the Philadelphia Orchestra; and the multiform Perelman Theatre, a 620-seat recital hall and theatre. Verizon Hall, with acoustics by Russell Johnson of Artec Consultants, is destined to be one of the great concert halls of North America. Its sophisticated acoustics and performance equipment, designed by TPC, includes a massive overhead acoustic canopy in three pans and computer-controlled doors that surround the entire hall to open the volume to the reverberation chambers beyond. In addition, TPC equipped the flexible stage with coordinated suspension points and a full stage lighting system with fibre-optic data backbone and audio-visual equipment.

The highest priority throughout the design was for the symphonic acoustics. This is a hall for one of the world’s great orchestras, noted for its lush, velvety sound. But Verizon Hall also proved its versatility in its first month of operation with performances by superstar Elton John (who used an extensive “rock-and-roll” moving light rig, live and recorded video, and a high sound pressure level reinforcement rig) and an ice show. Verizon Hall is also the first to have extensive built-in projection facilities that may be used as an adjunct to symphonic performances. The opening performance events were simulcast on public television nationally and on the web internationally.

The smaller Perelman Theatre is a unique space with two basic “modes” of operation. In “recital mode” Perelman becomes a miniature concert hall, perfect for chamber music and soloists, with the platform stage end of the room surrounded by three levels of audience galleries that provide an orchestra shell. In “theatre mode” the entire stage end of the room revolves, the shell moves into a garage behind the stage and exposes an 80 by 40 foot stage with fly tower above, on which a full set of scenery could be preset. The stage has a sprung floor to support its major constituent, the modern dance company Philadanco. The orchestra floor’s raked seating is located on a wagon that is in turn placed on an elevator. When lowered to the basement, all the seating may be removed to provide a flat floor throughout the hall. This creates a totally flexible space for arena, thrust or multiple stages, or a promenade space for experimental theatre, dance or music, or even social events such as parties, balls and cabarets. “Verizon Hall is off to a promising start,” wrote Peter Dobrin of the Philadelphia Inquirer in December. “The Philadelphia Orchestra played its first full concert in its new home Saturday night, and it is already apparent that Verizon’s general sound concept is a success…. the basic bones of a great hall are all there. The orchestra has resonance at home for the first time. The individual sections of the orchestra project with a one-musician-one-note evenness. When the orchestra reaches peak volume — as it did Saturday night at the end of the second suite from Ravel’s Daphnis et Chloe — the sound does not buckle. Musicians say they can hear one another.”

Herbert Muschamp of The New York Times wrote, “The Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts is precise, luminous architecture for lovers of rich cultivated sound. The building puts Philadelphia on a new cultural footing for the 21st century. Mr. Vinoly [the architect] has designed an urban ensemble, composed primarily of city views. Classical music is the architecture here, the building an instrument in which to perform and hear it.”

Anyone living in a city has come across stencil graffiti, but sometimes it is so subtle that only the trained eye will appreciate it. Stencilling can be unobtrusive, much of the time consisting of simple line art images or crude lettering. Many writers also choose decaying masonry as their canvas, so their work can literally blend into the background as time goes on. This certainly integrates their work into the urban environment, but it could conceivably make it hard to spot in the first place.

Tristan Manco, director of Bristol design consultancy Tijuana Design, has compiled an exhaustive book of stencil graffiti from around the world. From abrasive social commentary to tongue-in-cheek slogans, this is certainly a comprehensive selection. First impressions are good: Manco is a graphic designer by trade and the entire book, from the stencil-style typography to the clean, uncluttered layout that allows the graffiti to dominate, are a joy to behold.

It’s a shame Manco’s writing doesn’t come up to scratch. His prose is dry, academic and an effort to read. It is filled with the hackneyed jargon of the least imaginative designers, the kind of copy that makes you immediately glaze over.

However, to give Manco his due, he has taken the time to dig up a wide range of writers, and he gives them plenty of room to talk about their work.

A cursory flick through the book will not fail to draw a smile — Figure with Tiger, by Jerome Mesnager (above left) is a work of subtle genius, the way the tiger is camouflaged by the decaying plaster, stalking Mesnager’s trademark white figure. Then there is Banksy, who paints subversive alien chimps wearing sandwich boards, warning humankind to clean up its act, or they’re going to take over (above right). Banksy’s work stands out even when it is covered by the visual noise of inferior writers: one particular work in London’s West. End portrayed a silhouette of the Mona Lisa with a rocket launcher on her shoulder. The image was so striking, twisted and incongruously funny that just catching sight ‘of it would lift your mood. Banksy is well aware of the potency of his work: ‘As soon as I cut my first stencil, I could feel the power there, The ruthlessness and efficiency of it is perfect.’

There are other writers, such as Mitch and Swifty, that are taking the graffiti aesthetic and applying it to graphic design and typography. Mitch’s custom typography, which Manco aptly describes with the oxymoron ‘retro-future’, is peculiarly satisfying: the simplicity of the letters; the way different words are juxtaposed to make a vibrant complete image; the way he uses spray paints to, in his words, ‘provide some bad-ass colour fades/splats/cracks’, should be an inspiration to any designer.

Similarly, Swifty’s installation for an Amsterdam coffee shop, which consists entirely of slang words for marijuana, in a stunning array of day-glo colours, is a riot of style. However, graffiti starts to lose its power if you take it off the streets. Banksy knows what he prefers: ‘I’ve done gallery shows’ and, if you’ve been hitting all sorts of places, they’re a real step backwards.’

So take a look around you, because you could be missing out on what could be described as underground pop art for the 21st century.