About
The building side of Viridian
Viridian Builds is the field and building arm of Studio Viridian. We build small groups of homes in Seattle, keep them, and write down what we learn.
Metallura williamiWhat we do
Studio Viridian is the research and design lab. Viridian Builds is where its ideas meet lumber, weather and a schedule. Together we buy single-family properties in Seattle and turn them into small groups of three or four homes. We rent and hold what we build instead of selling it.
That last point shapes everything on this site. A builder who sells is gone in a year. We are still there when the roof needs replacing, so we care how it was fastened.
Why this site exists
To share how things go together, and how they come apart, get fixed and last. Our stated aim is to be copied. A method that stays in one builder’s head helps one builder.
The buildings are the medium. The human and ecological fabric is the actual product.
The eight stages
We follow a building through its whole life, in order.
what is it made ofMaterials
What a building is made of, chosen for its whole life and for the place it has to stand in.
a kit of partsComponents
A building as a kit of parts, each with a name, a record and a way back out.
made under a roofFabrication
Where and how the parts are made, in a shop where accuracy is cheap or on a site where it is not.
one fastener at a timeAssembly
How parts are joined. Every fastener decides whether a part can ever be repaired, moved or used again.
ready on TuesdayInstallation
The job site itself. Sequence, tolerance and the conditions that let a crew do good work.
repair before replaceMaintenance
Looking after a building is part of building it. Repair comes before replacement.
seven on a January morningLivability
The test of a building is living in it. Quiet, light, warmth, clean air and ease, year after year.
long life, loose fitDurability
How long it lasts, how well it takes its next change, and whether its joints will still open when the time comes.
How we mean to build
- Complete drawings, to one standard, before anyone is asked for a price.
- A clean, ready site, as a checklist with a named owner.
- A schedule with slack where trades hand over to each other.
- Prompt pay, on a stated day.
- A record of what went in, kept for whoever repairs or dismantles it.
These are promises we are writing down, not a record we can point to yet. We will publish how we do against them.
What we believe about method
Every project is treated as an experiment: a stated goal, a baseline, a guess that could prove wrong, a measured result and a published conclusion, failures included. Decisions pass through the same lenses in the same order: responsibility, values, technology, regulation, cost.
The design side
For the thinking behind the buildings, including the six themes every project is measured against, see Studio Viridian.
People
Keith Cash, co-founder.
Write to us at info@viridianbuilds.com.