THE DOGRUN

Look out, we’ve got some new forms coming your way! Lake/Flato Architects is known for using traditional vernacular forms as a basis for its body of regionally-specific, yet modern, architecture. On a recent tour of LF ranches, we discovered some striking new roof shapes in San Saba, Texas. As the creep of suburbia’s tendrils have left virtually no area untouched, we find that forms traditionally associated with strip mall chic are becoming more and more rooted in these places. How long until we consider these things part of a regional style? We think that time is now.   So first up on our adoption list: The ‘Doghouse’ Dormer.   Reminiscent of Snoopy’s archetypical red gabled house, this dormer slumps heavily upon a low-slope shed roof. The cheap vinyl window falls in line with our standards of value, and epitomizes our desire for form over function. The window is purely aesthetic, as the roof below has no opening, thus eliminating our need to analyze hokey daylighting strategies when we can just put in outdoor fixtures, and we can ignore the opportunities for natural ventilation of the spaces underneath. But the real clincher in our mind is mass production. The shed roof is complete without the dormers; they can be assembled en mass and simply plopped on top of an existing roof. Waterproofing? Fuggetaboudit!   Plans are already in the works to produce these with our Porch House modules, and retrofits of existing Lake/Flato projects are on the drawing boards. And by that we mean marking on a roof plan with a pen where to drop a few of these bad boys. What says vernacular more than gables? More of ‘em! Be on the lookout for more sprawl-inspired architectural goodness soon, I’ll keep my eyes peeled while I go grab a $5 footlong…