Williamson Chong Upgrades a Family Home in the Annex Big plans for the future and lots of oak panelling make a forever home out of a worn-down Victorian By Will Jones Photography by Bob Gundu City living doesn’t come cheap, and local architecture firm Williamson Chong believes a house should work hard for its owners. For one couple with small children and aging parents, the firm transformed a worn-down century home into a versatile multi-unit home with a basement apartment and attic bedrooms for tenants. This is a forever home, one that will pay its way now and allow for the integration of older family members in the future. Externally the home retains its original facade, but inside the changes are dramatic. After gutting the first floor, the firm wrapped the new open plan in oak panelling, a shapely lining inside a hard shell. Central to this new order is the sweeping staircase. Once a blocky mass that dissected the house, the remodelled stair cleaves through the linear space, tying the front lounge and dining area together with a powerful sculptural statement.
Beyond, glazed patio doors extend the kitchen right into the garden – a seamless transition from oak panelling to ipe decking, which folds up to form seating, a barbecue surround and garden fence. Inside are more subtle shifts. Behind the bevelled-edge oak panels is ample storage space. Because the attic and basement were given over to tenants, the north-facing wall was fitted with storage spacious enough to stow everything from canned goods to camping gear. On the opposite wall is a glass partition allowing light into the central dining space. This wall is currently fronted with a kids’ craft area – complete with custom pencil holders – but the row of lower storage units can easily be removed to access a doorway to the basement apartment, if and when the grandparents move in. On the second floor, Williamson Chong installed a tiny bridge over the stairwell to link the master bedroom with the children’s play area. It’s an intimate touch, revealing the parents’ desire to spend time with their children before they grow up and take over the boarder’s quarters on the third floor.
The only reference to the modern design below is the main bathroom. Its unusual, angular entryway was turned into a curvaceous enclave to hide the laundry room. Inside, the bathroom, tile, glass and oak sit flush, supporting contemporary fixtures. Elsewhere, Victorian details are left intact and exposed – carved door casings, stained glass windows, metal floor grills and turned balusters. “We liked the idea of retaining evidence of the house’s lineage,” says architect Donald Chong. “These features dovetail well with the homeowners’ plan to live here for a very long time.” Originally published in our Fall 2012 issue as Into the Wood. Latest Tweets Follow Us Space looking a little stale? Here are 5 fab, new-to-the-city designs ready to jazz it up https://t.co/SIoiO5R8GZ https://t.co/U1qioM4Rdn For the next time you're stumped on where to get drinks… https://t.co/gQJzZODnUn https://t.co/ZN7HDKGtey With his quarter sculptures and ballpoint drawings, artist Micah Adams coins a new art form https://t.co/4cHStRNldf https://t.co/bDbm6BG6R2
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Introduction: Legislative Background on Improving Groundwater Transparency in California -- A number of groundwater level bills have been crafted over the past decade; some have become law, for example the landmark SBX7-6, and many were vetoed. GRA helped craft and supported several bills through the GRA Legislative effort. Tim Parker provides a brief background on what led up to SBx7-6, some other recent legislative activities, and what's planned this year to help increase groundwater data transparency in California. Presentation: On November 4, 2009 the State Legislature amended the Water Code with SBx7-6, which mandates a statewide groundwater elevation monitoring program to track seasonal and long-term trends in groundwater elevations in California's groundwater basins. To achieve that goal, the amendment requires collaboration between local monitoring entities and Department of Water Resources (DWR) to collect groundwater elevation data. Collection and evaluation of such data on a statewide scale is an important fundamental step toward improving management of California's groundwater resources.
In accordance with this amendment to the Water Code, DWR developed the California Statewide Groundwater Elevation Monitoring (CASGEM) program. The intent of the CASGEM program is to establish a permanent, locally-managed program of regular and systematic monitoring in all of California's alluvial groundwater basins. DWR's role is to coordinate the CASGEM program, to work cooperatively with local entities, and to maintain the collected elevation data in a readily and widely available public database. To achieve this last element, the CASGEM Online System was completed in November, 2011, and serves as a means for participating agencies to manage and report their data, a portal for public access to the data, and a way for DWR to manage the program. • GRA-Cast Intro (3 min.) • History of the CASGEM Program (10 min.) • Development of the CASGEM Online System (10 min.) • Live demonstration of CASGEM Online System Public Portal (40 min.) • Q&A (27 min.)
Anyone who wants to see how to access the new CASGEM web-based groundwater elevation data in California! Contractors and technical consultants who provide well installation and well destruction services. Civil and geotechnical engineers doing studies in California which rely on groundwater elevation data. County and local agencies who implement well abandonment and well permitting programs. Regulatory agencies, groundwater professionals and environmental organizations involved or interested in groundwater protection and sustainability. Brett Wyckoff has a Bachelor of Science degree in Geology from California State University, Stanislaus. He is a Senior Engineering Geologist with the California Department of Water Resources, Division of Integrated Regional Water Management, and is a Certified Hydrogeologist and Certified Engineering Geologist. Mr. Wyckoff started his career in environmental consulting and then took a job with Stanislaus County, overseeing investigations and cleanups at groundwater contamination sites, and serving on the County's Hazardous Materials Emergency Response Team, for seven years.
He then began his thirteen years of State service by working for the State and Regional Water Quality Control Boards and the Department of Toxic Substances Control, overseeing complex contamination investigation and cleanup cases and contributing to the team effort that developed the Statewide Ambient Groundwater Monitoring Assessment (GAMA) Program. Four years ago, Mr. Wyckoff joined DWR's Integrated Regional Water Management (IRWM) Program and was instrumental in the development and execution of the $25 million Greater Los Angeles County IRWM Implementation Grant Agreement. He has assisted numerous agencies with various water resource planning efforts and managed IRWM and Local Groundwater Assistance grants. Most recently, with the CASGEM Program, Mr. Wyckoff assisted with development of the web-based information and data submittal system, production of program outreach and training materials, and review of information submitted by program participants for determination of designation as monitoring entities.
Tim Parker, Parker Groundwater Tim Parker is currently is with Parker Groundwater in Sacramento, California, a firm he founded in 2009. He has worked in private and public sector, was formerly with Schlumberger, Law, Dames & Moore, and has worked for California Department of Water Resources, California Geological Survey, and Department of Toxic Substances Control. He is a California Professional Geologist, Certified Engineering Geologist, and Certified Hydrogeologist. Tim serves the Groundwater Resources Association of California as a Director and Legislative Committee Chair, the California Groundwater Coalition as Director, and American Ground Water Trust as Chair. He is a member of the Public Advisory Committee for the development of the 2013 California Water Plan, and is the co-chair on the Water Plan Groundwater Caucus, and participates on the Oversight Work Group for Pilot Projects for the Nationwide Ground Water Monitoring Network, under the Subcommittee on Ground Water, Advisory Committee on Water Information, U.S. Department of the Interior.
Mr. Parker was a principal writer on Sustainability from the Ground Up, Groundwater Management in California, a Framework published by the Association of California Water Agencies, and co-authored the books Potential Groundwater Quality Impacts Resulting from Geologic Carbon Sequestration published by the Water Research Foundation in 2009, and California Groundwater Management published by GRA in 2005. The quality of content for the GRA-Cast was: Field summary for 2 The quality of presentation for the GRA-Cast was: The level of technical material presented in the GRA-Cast was: What did you like about the GRA-Cast? Live demo of the database good combination of theoretical overview and practical applications good overview to help others in the office get up to speed with CASGEM The speaker gave a good synopsis of CASGEM and then led us thru the CASGEM on line data program. The speaker, Brett Wycoff was quite informative. Provided a good overview of the website.
Capabilities of mapping were impressive. Learned a lot about CASGEM program The subject matter was timely and the presenter did an excellent job demonstrating the CASGEM website. Informative presentation regarding a groundwater database that I did not even know existedbefore hearing of this talk. the quality of the presentation for content, speakers and webex were all impressive. Presentaiton was very good, timely content. What suggestions do you have that would improve future GRA-Casts? include questions to the audience to the presentation Would have liked to see more about the data submittal portal, data input screens and file formats for submitting multiple well wl measurements One problem was that the toll-free phone number was NOT operative. provide a link to or a copy of the presentation slides in an email Help the user find the call in number, I had trouble (I closed the window). How many people listened in on your phone line?