Here are just some of the Research/Topics of interest:

• “HD” WINDOW SCREENS:
  It has long been a desire of ours that we could make insect screens invisible or do away with them.  It is not practical to not have screens at operable windows and doors, but we do have some techniques to make them seem to go away.  There are some excellent options to render them nearly invisible, or at least less noticeable.  While recently touring the Marvin Window factory in Warroad, Minnesota, Rand and Merry Soellner noticed a special type of new wire window screen that Marvin calls: “High Transparency.”  It is made of metal wire that is thinner than normal insect screen, making them less noticeable, hence the term: “High Transparency.”  All of our new window screens will be specified as such.  The result should be closer to our ultimate goal of as little between you and your views as possible.
• PHANTOM SCREENS:
  This is a company that makes a vertical canister on each side (or one side) of your operable doors and windows and into which the screen rolls.  This means, when you have the window closed, you keep the screen rolled into the jamb canister.  When you open the window, that is when you pull out the screening to cover the window opening.  I asked our tour guide, Tim, at Marvin if they are developing anything like this and he said yes.
• SCREENING OF OUTDOOR LIVING ROOM:
  What makes our Grand Canyon-Dor TM so practical is the fact that when you open the billboard’s worth of wall by retracting the enormous glass doors, the outdoor living room onto which they open is totally screened, keeping out insects.  This also means that when the large doors are closed, the screens are about 20’ away from them, around the perimeter of the Outdoor Living Room, making them nearly invisible from the interior of the home.

• What is the best window/wall view aperture?
  This relates to the best height and width of views in mountain homes to allow people to appreciate the wonderful views they have.  This guides us as architects in designing the best height and width of windows and window treatments to facilitate the degree of openness desired for the main views.  Most mountain homes unfortunately have head heights that are much too low and this results in blocking of the view, in many cases right at the intersection of the sky and mountain ridge lines you want to see out of your home.  Widths are also often much too narrow, with your walls, fireplaces and other elements blocking the views you have paid so dearly to appreciate.  How do we judge what is best?  Rand Soellner’s major at the Universityof Florida was always Architecture and he also had a minor in Environmental Psychology, a set of courses custom arranged between the U of F Psychology Department and the College of   Architecture and Fine Arts, to facilitate Mr. Soellner’s research in how spaces affect human perception.  Much of the data was obtained from NASA, Social Psychology data, University of Utah’s Environmental Psychology research and Mr. Soellner’s own tests.  The relationship of the proper mountain view window aperture also relates to human physiology and the distribution of rods and cones in our eyes and the fovea (a concentration of receptors in the human  eye in which much of our fine detail perception is received).  This angle is calculable and relates directly to Rand Soellner Architect’s building sections and floor plans and distance to the items being viewed, to insure that your views are maximized.  This is why all Rand Soellner Architect homes have a Wow Factor; the views are spectacular, because they have been planned to maximize your perception of them.
• What are the best finishes for you?  What makes you feel comfortable?
  We have learned that different people have different preferences.  We conduct question and answer sessions in which we discover your preferences, many of which have ease of maintenance related issues, both inside and outside your home.
• What are the best, longest-lasting finishes for your home (inside and outside)?
  This relates to special coatings for large timbers and also everyday concerns about tile cleaning, woodwork, appliances and other surfaces.

Mountain Retreat Home Design

• Open plan arrangements combining the main living spaces.
• Outdoor living rooms, summer kitchens, outdoor dining rooms.
• Sleeping porches with all of the latest amenities, including hot tubs and fireplaces.            
• Our Trademarked “Grand Canyon-Dor ^TM” enormous doors that become invisible!            
• The latest appliances.
• Healthy Home Design features so that you can breathe easy.
• Energy Star compliance and beyond, for your comfort and energy efficiency.  
• Our award-winning “Timeless Mountain Architecture” aesthetics for which we have become famous in magazines, newspapers and books about fine mountain architecture.  

On Rocket Science & Reinventing the Wheel

Some people say things about: “It ain’t rocket science” and “Don’t reinvent the wheel.”  Well, as it turns out, Rand Soellner actually did some design work for NASA involving rockets; he was the project architect and project manager on a project in which he created an optical laboratory where the cameras that track the Space Shuttle are calibrated.  It has a clean room, optical grinding equipment, fume hoods and other scientific apparatus related to the space program.

With respect to reinventing the wheel; that is how the new run-flat tires were invented, how Harvey Firestone created durable rubber tires instead of the clumsy wooden and metal buckboard wheels in use at that time, and how horse-driven carts and wagons allowed mankind to haul their products, belongings and travel faster and more comfortably than on foot or just on horseback.  So, some the best things in our civilization that we all take for granted come from people who do literally reinvent the wheel.

What does this have to do with what Rand Soellner Architect does? We reinvent the Home. We reinvent the spaces in and outside of the Home. We reinvent the things in the Home, including, literally, the kitchen sink (yes, we are actually redesigning how a kitchen sink ought to function and look, right now!). We were recently asked by a manufacturer in America’s Heartland to design a line of products for the home that have our special attention to function, logic, aesthetics, detail, interest.  We seek to delight homeowners and the people who honor us by having us design their homes.

Flashing Improvements for Better-Sealed Window & Door Construction

Building Sciences Corporation has some information about this subject and they have found that while the uncured butyl tapes perform well around rough openings and bond well to typical window fins and door frames, they did not address bonding to asphaltic felt.  We researched this subject with various manufacturers and learned that modified asphaltic flashing tapes are the only flashing tapes that will adhere to asphaltic felt.  We take a 3-step approach to insure proper seals at this often neglected area of water penetration, first sealing the rough opening, then bonding the window nailing fin and door frame to the sheathing, then sealing the wall water resistive barrier membrane to the edge of the window and door frame.  It takes different products to handle the various finishes and substrates to create a proper seal at each stage of this application.  We have also found that there is considerable controversy in the use of exterior water barriers and we have developed opinions on this matter as well, but that is a subject for another article.