Westlake High School
TECHNOLOGY & ENGINEERING EDUCATION DEPT.
STEM, TRIZ, Architecture, Engineering, Design, & Innovation Studies
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Date:
Contact:
10-28-13
K. Scott Kutz, Westlake High School, Office Phone (440) 899-3075 Ext. 2041
Email: kutz@wlake.org
Re:
TechMates Research the Fairview Townhouse
Cleveland, OH. - Students from the Technical Drawing/Design Honors class at Westlake High School
decided to research first-hand what it means to design an "Urban Glass House". In preparation for the 17th
annual Student Model Home Design Contest, they ventured into the heart of the historic Little Italy
neighborhood to study a unique home designed by a Cleveland architect.
Stephen J. Bucchieri of Bucchieri Architects designed himself a townhouse in a neighborhood of streets
lined with two and three-story single-family residences on deep, narrow city lots. This is a house built on a
lot that used to have two houses on it.
Maintaining privacy was the architect's priority in the design, which he did by including an enclosed
courtyard between a front and a back part of the house. The front and back have large windows. The
architect also sought to offset what he calls the "visual noise of the surroundings" by making the exterior
monolithic. The house is four stories, 3,800 square feet, and has three bedrooms and a roof terrace.
Above photos from: Scott Pease
Architect Stephen Bucchieri discusses design and planning for living space.
Billy Dreher studies a drawing display in the office of Architect Stephen Bucchieri.
Bucchieri is known to produce subtle and sophisticated modern work through a design process that draws
inspiration from minimalist principles, materials that reflect inherent qualities of the site, and ways in which
space responds to daylight. His enthusiasm is fed by the satisfaction of making places that can have a
positive and lasting impact.
He is the third generation of his family involved in the building process. Out of that tradition grew his
fascination with the art and craft of architecture, with the modernist structures made possible as
construction technology advanced, and with the entire design process from concept through construction,
furnishing and lighting.
Bucchieri's firm is a studio in the purest sense of the word, allowing him to maintain a personal, hands-on
involvement in all phases of the work. The studio focuses on exploring local materials for construction and
landscape, modeling the impact of natural light on the space, and often designing custom windows, lighting,
furniture, hardware, and landscape elements specific to the project. The result is a body of work that
includes highly individualized buildings all faithful to his belief in simplicity, meticulous attention to detail,
highly refined craftsmanship, and a balanced approach to design.