Archive for May 2015

By Rick Reynolds What is house bling? As it turns out, it’s an important question to ask. For the purposes of this article, “house bling” is any trophy appliance with a 10-year useful lifespan and purchased as part of a 30-year new home mortgage for the privilege of paying interest on it for an additional…

Forcing an industry’s hand by Rick Reynolds New car salespeople will tell you that the number one question buyers concern themselves with on a given make and model is the color. After that, they may look at miles per gallon, performance, price, safety, or cargo capacity—but color preference usually comes first. Popping the hood to…

by Rick Reynolds After moving to a mountain community outside Anchorage, Alaska, past clients Sean and Laura McLaughlin challenged Bensonwood and site contractor, Dana Foley, whom they had previously worked with on their Massachusetts fun barn, to build their most challenging project to date. The design concept, from SAJJ Architecture, called for a timber and…

by Rick Reynolds Bensonwood, in the “supporting” role category, will be fabricating and raising the massive FSC certified Nordic Lam timber frame structure and 2nd floor decking for Hampshire College’s new R.W. Kern Center in Amherst, Massachusetts. With many dramatic open-span areas, the two-story 15,000 SF campus portal and complex will house an admissions office,…