Help the Architect

[NateArchitect]

Alright guys, whats up. My name is Nate (as you can see) and im a 2nd year Architect in college.

My assignment has been to develop a 1000 sq. ft house that would suit a photographer. I understand there is a dark room and a matt room (not sure what this is) but i do not know the required equipment needed. Are there any other rooms you guys would like to have? Maybe a room for shooting film out of? This only has to be for basic photography. We are just now learning how to design houses. Any input of required equipment or examples of your layouts would be GREATLY appericiated.

[BarryS]

Well, you can add a studio with at least an 18 ft ceiling--with some nice big north-facing windows. A room for matting, mounting, framing, and storing prints is your "matt" room.

[lenser]

Hi, Nate.

Try to find a copy of the the book "Set Up Your Home Studio", part of the Kodak Library of Creative Photography. May be your local library will have it, or someone in the local camera club, or maybe even a local pro. Guess what, the entire series is bound in Kodak yellow.

The whole book is devoted to your assignment including photos and schematics as well as tons of good advice and copy regarding how to have spaces for multiple usage.

Good Luck.

Tim

[David A. Goldfarb]

1000 square feet for living space and photo space isn't huge. You could combine the matting/mounting space with a studio of about 12x15 feet and put the darkroom off the studio. The print finishing area should be in the back of the studio area adjacent to the darkroom ideally, because less space is needed for the camera (at the back of the studio) than for the background and set (at the front of the studio).

How about designing the kitchen as potential shooting space? An island gas cooktop (architects often like induction cooktops for their clean lines, but people who cook usually prefer gas) with counterspace and room for lighting in front and behind and high ceilings are good things.

[jnantz]

high ceilings and skylight windows that can be blocked off as well

[John Kasaian]

How about making the garage a multitasker so it will serve as a studio? You can also design the bath to multitask as a darkroom by designing a generous countertop to accomodate an enlarger and trays. A matt "room" could easily co-exist with another room by making a generous counter with storeage underneath for mat boards & frames & trimmer and press. This wouldn't be a solution for a "pro" but any hobbyist would jump at the chance to have such features.

What I'd consider as being desireable elements:

Room for an enlarger---at least a 4x5 model (since you mention that it is to be a dark room I'll assume you're designing a conventional darkroom rather than a digital) and a place to store photo paper.

Counter space for four 16"x20" trays and a place to store them.

A sink to mix chemicals and you can fit a print washer inside of it, and a place to store the print washer, chemicals, graduates, thermometer, swizzle sticks etc...

A place to hang negatives to dry. A clothes line suspended over the bathtub or sink is adequate.

A place to lay prints to dry on screens large enough to accomodate the largest common size print (16"x20" say) and a place to store the screens.

A place to plug in a dry mount press and a place to store the press, matboard, mounting tissue, tack iron and wieght.

A place to cut matboard and trim paper and a place to store the cutter and trimmer.

A place to store cameras & lenses etc...

A freezer to store film and vodka in .

A studio with a place to store lighting and big a$$ honkin' electrical panel to power it all.

A wine cellar and scrap book/hobby room to keep the missus happy

A cool set up would be two rooms---

A dark room with a sink along one side big enouigh to contain the trays and washer with storage underneath (the wet side) and a large counter on the other side for printing and loading film holders with storage more storage (the dry side)

A mat room/studio with a high cieling, large North facing windows and a generous counter on the opposite side for matt cutting and the press with---you guessed it---more storage.

Add a workbench in the garage for building props, building and drilling lens boards, mitering moulding for frames and other stuff and you'll have a facility any 'tog would have been happy with

I hope this helps!

[cyrus]

Google Seliger’s “In My Stairwell" for interesting use of a former stairwell in his studio for a photography background. it has its own skylight

[CG]

What they all said - plus...

Multiplex the space. Everything has to have multiple uses when you are making do in 1000 sf. Living room is shooting space too. Bathroom doubles as darkroom. Dining room doubles as matting space since you already have a big table there.

Maybe even to the level of having a Murphy bed in the LR to make it triple up as bedroom, living room, shooting space.

C

[cjbroadbent]

I am very envious of photographer who can build a studio and get it right from the start. if I could, I would build the whole thing around the daylight studio and for once get the north-light window in the correct place.
On the left, Ok, but not down the side of the room. Not behind the photographer either. The background wall should get more light on the far side than on the window side. That means a north-light window diagonal to other walls (a trapezoidal studio?).
The photographer would need the lighter side of his subject against a darker background and the shadow side of his subject against a lighter background. Look at a statue in a niche - light on dark, dark on light. They got this right 3000 years ago.

[Sal Santamaura]

...if I could, I would build the whole thing around the daylight studio and for once get the north-light window in the correct place.
On the left, Ok, but not down the side of the room. Not behind the photographer either. The background wall should get more light on the far side than on the window side. That means a north-light window diagonal to other walls (a trapezoidal studio?)...

Christopher, you have made a substantial contribution here in your small number of posts so far. I humbly request that you continue that trend by sketching out your "ideal studio," including dimensions, compass orientation, wall color(s) and window locations, then posting scans here. Just in case someone who wants to get it right might actually have an opportunity to build a studio, rather than simply including one in an architectural assignment.

Thanks in advance.