Now that I’ve decided to pull down [0] the old studio, let’s talk about how I’m going to rebuild it. Some basic considerations, in no particular order:

What do I want to get out of it? The space is going to be my combination office, reading room, bike workshop, and record-listening studio. (Last year my dad gave me his old hi-fi from the ‘60s, including a record player and a pair of giant speakers that make every album sound like it was recorded in a basement in East St. Louis.) So while the space doesn’t have to be livable, it has to be comfortable enough to hang out in for hours at a time. That means insulation – something I’ve been doing without for quite some time, obviously – will be key, as will laying the place out for optimal daylighting [1] and passive solar [2]. Right now, I’ve got tons of south-facing windows, which is great for capturing low-hanging winter sun. But with no overhangs – that is, the roof line doesn’t extend very far past the building’s perimeter – there’s nothing to shade the hot and high summer sun, so the space as it is now tends to overheat in the summer.

This is a bit of a rainy-day photo, but you can see the big windows (actually, those are giant barn doors, but with lots of glass) and the absolute lack of overhang here.

That’s just the start. And designing all that will likely take an architect, who’ll have to draft drawings that can be submitted to the city for approval and permitting – all of which costs money. While I don’t necessarily want to skimp on quality construction, I can already see where this project could wander into the mid five figures. I’ve already been given a rough estimate of $30,000, based on typical cost-per-square-foot for new construction in Colorado. And I’ve got other projects [2] in mind, but only a limited budget to work with. That solar estimate [2] we got a while back came in at around $16,000 – about half of the studio estimate. And solar, as we all know [2], offers an obvious payback: Getting me off the utility teat, saving me money on electricity and reducing my personal pollution output. (Part of this whole game will be to see which of those things will be money best spent: How much environmental value or financial savings will adding solar panels get me? What about a brand new writing studio? Or  popping a second story onto my house?)

And then there’s the green factor. The studio’s only 360 square feet, and nobody lives in it, so this is a bit of an opportunity to see what’s possible – to mess around with straw bales or cob construction, salvaged materials like old tires or broken-up sidewalks or leftover granite from excessive countertops – to really get into the grimy realities of building green, and doing as much DIY as possible. I’m reading a couple of excellent guides on the subject, both by a guy named Clarke Snell [3]: The Good House Book [4] and Building Green [5]. I’ll talk more about what I’ve learned next week.

In the meantime, as usual, let's hear your suggestions, or routes you think I should explore. Hit me up, people.