Interior Courtyard House Plans

Renovated Landmark Building Opens with New Use in Berkeley (News Analysis)

A historic Berkeley building derided by some just last year as vacant and obsolete has been reborn as a handsome renovated structure providing expanded Berkeley quarters for a private cooking and nutrition school as well as a taste of important Berkeley history and distinctive architectural character. 

The project demonstrates once again that, contrary to common canards, adaptive reuse of Berkeley’s historic buildings is achievable and practical. Respecting the past is indeed relevant to both present and future. 

On the evening of Friday, June 24, Bauman College of Holistic Nutrition and Culinary Arts hosted a community open house at 1007 University Avenue, marking a new chapter in the evolution of this historic site and structure. 

100 or more visitors inspected the building and listened to talks on Bauman College programs and philosophy. The site is one of four Bauman College facilities in the West. 

The building features a former gymnasium with a vaulted roof turned into two cooking classrooms and a large multipurpose space. Offices, another kitchen, and classrooms occupy the rest of the facility. 

Renovated and refurbished to plans drawn up by local architect Charles Kahn, the 1949 structure looks well adapted to its new use. The programs moved from a smaller facility on Grayson Street in West Berkeley. 

Bauman staff I talked to during the open house said they enjoy the building, especially the “concrete grid form” walls that feature glass blocks in a series of repeating diamond patterns. 

“The glass blocks are wonderful. We love the building”, Bauman Operations Manager Karen Rotstein told me when we chatted in the bright entry hallway. She said that the glass blocks provide enough light that staff rarely need to turn on the artificial lighting, especially in the cooking classrooms where three walls glow with the diamond patterned glass. 

“Welcome to our brand new Berkeley campus! Doesn’t it look gorgeous?” one staffer told the assembled visitors inside that space; there was enthusiastic applause in response. 

The thick concrete and glass block walls keep out most sound and direct views from busy University Avenue, but flood the structure with subtly varied light. The one story structure is divided into a series of large and small spaces arranged for instructional and administrative use. 

The building, as it now stands, is a textbook example of how historic structures can be gracefully adapted to modern day uses. In fact, in this case and in others, historic preservation routinely brings old buildings into new uses while retaining distinct historic and architectural character. It’s a catalyst for, not a brake on, progress.

Danish Atrium House | Modern House Designs

Inspired by the typical Danish atrium house style of the ‘60s and ‘70s, this glass and wood home by Swedish architect Johan Sundberg is an introvert. This forest home is surrounded by young pines, affording it privacy – not that privacy is an issue. The closed-off facade leads you into an interior courtyard house plan with views of a garden surrounded by living spaces. As you tour the home you catch glimpses of other rooms, and of course, nature. Running the inner perimeter, a deck puts the finishing touch on this "indoor" outdoor living house design.

The New Testament, with notes and comments by L. Abbott

Courtyard housing, past, present and future

An illustrated commentary on the Gospel according to Matthew, for family use and reference, and for the great body of Christian workers of all denominations

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