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It’s All in the Details for

Transitional Elevation Design

he art of new home design has always been the elevation away
a continuous process of innovation and from the traditional
T evolution, driven by changing consumer while still holding
preferences and advances in building materials and onto the roots.
technology. The picture
Traditionally, home design has been driven by here shows a
historic precedents that pull from European roots: design that has
styles such as Tuscan, Spanish, Italian, etc. Similarly, fully transitioned Transitional design with Spanish
colonial architecture, the American farmhouse and away from the elements. Photos by Chris Mayer.
mid-century modernism all have influenced our built traditional.
environment. Windows are grouped around a corner and tied
The latest step on this journey is transitional together vertically in a contemporary pattern that
design: homes that reference a familiar aesthetic also allows natural light to reach the interior.
but take it in a new direction with cleaner lines and Similarly, the standard trellis above the windows
purposeful details. morphs into an eyebrow. Even the massing changes:
Mastering this next step in architectural evolution Rather than the gable end, the parapet wall
means understanding new ways to employ the reinforces the strong corner forms and accentuates
foundations of the difference between solid and void.
design: form, New Thinking
massing, details,
color, and material. Don’t get
trapped into
Traditional to thinking that
Transitional a traditional

Details that plan must have
reference the Traditional Spanish architecture. a traditional
historic Spanish elevation.
architecture In the two
aesthetic seen in the traditional example in the first photos to the right,
photo on the right — stucco, arches, balconies and both elevations
iron — remain in the updated expressions below. have been
Incorporating extruded from the
same 40-foot-wide,
Transitional 2,800-square-foot Photos by A.G. Photography
Elements plan.
Further along The traditional elevation on the left relies on
the design decorative elements and familiar forms, while the
spectrum, as modern elevation draws its sculptural expression
shown in the next Incorporating transitional from the interplay of solid and void, as well as linear
photo, transitional elements. planes. There is also continuity in this expression
elements such as from front to rear.
the banding corner windows, the geometric forms NAHB JUNE 2018
around the entry, and a negative arch, start moving

28 AUGUST 2018 | GREATER SAN ANTONIO BUILDERS ASSOCIATION