Hello readers,
To start 2018 on the right foot I am planing a week’s worth of updates featuring brand new designs for you to enjoy. The first project in the series fuses my interest in mechanics/watchmaking with architecture resulting in this modernist masterpiece which I am entitling the Record Player House. Looking at the elevation one will recognize different elements from a record player: from the speed control dial, to the toner arm, the stylus, and even the central spindle represented by the circular study. The above mentioned study rotates on an axis just like a record and even has its own deck that serves the dual purpose of a entry portico. The study’s deck will jump into action when the glass study door is opened traveling into position and then locking into place allowing the owner to leave the safety of the study and re-live that iconic scene from Titanic. In addition to the rotating study, the record player house has 3 bedrooms, 2 baths and 2 lavs along with fireplaces in the great room and on the screen porch. Other features include a shallow lap pool accessible from all of the bedrooms and an enclosed tennis court that the master bedroom overlooks. The fun continues on the 3rd floor with a home theater, tap room and wine cellar (or wine attic in this case). Parking for 2 cars is available in the garage located underneath the pool.
What was really memorable about this design was the engineering required to make the different mechanical elements come alive. I designed the drive train mechanism for the rotating study based on my interest in mechanical watches. The way that the study rotated perfectly mimicked the functional spec for a mechanical chronograph (start, stop,and reset). I wanted the study to rotate smoothly with no jerkiness upon engaging the drive train, so I opted to follow the design used in many high-end mechanical chronographs which use a column wheel with a vertical clutch system. The vertical clutch and column wheel design was 1st implemented in the Pierce chronograph in the 1940s, but was later improved and incorporated into the Venus 178 movements used in the 1960s era Breitling chronographs. The vertical clutch and column wheel provide very precise and tactile engagement of the chronograph feature on a wristwatch (as there is no meshing of gears in this design) and I wanted that fluidity for my study drive train as well. A recent visit to the American Clock and Watch Museum in New Briton, CT also informed my understanding of how clocks and clock gearing worked. Studying photos from the Pierce chronograph, the Venus movement and the current Breitling B01 chronograph caliber I was able to create a gear systems to turn the study and make the deck travel. Below is an exploded axon of the different parts in the study’s drive train so you can better understand how it all works together.
I also designed a retractable sunshade for the pooldeck that drops down into the garage when not in use. The mechanics for the sunshade was even more complicated then the study involving 3 pages of notes and diagramming required before I even attempted to model it.
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A Point In Design 