Reprinted from The Philadelphia Inquirer


Inventor builds modular, plastic-block chateau

By John Markoff

New York Times News Service


Stanley Mazor is one of the architects of the information age, one of
three Intel Corp. engineers who invented the original microprocessor,
the nerve center for personal computers as well as refrigerators.

So it was not surprising that when Mazor turned his hand to building a
vacation house, his approach would be inventive.

The results of his experiment can be seen in the rolling countryside
on the outskirts of Ashland, Ore., where he has finished building the
first two-thirds of a French chateau, modeled on a 17th-century
structure in Normandy. Not being a purist, Mazor, 63, gave the
project, which will cost about $2 million, all the pragmatic earmarks
of a Silicon Valley engineer.

For example, the house is built not of stone and plaster but largely
of polystyrene blocks reinforced with concrete. Much of its decorative
trim has been fashioned from extruded plastic foam, and six of the
ornate window surrounds on the third floor are made of Corian,
material widely used in kitchen countertops.

The materials fit with Mazor's belief that houses should be affordable
and modular.

Although building with plastic foam is more expensive than building
with wood, and similar in cost to cinder block or brick, the blocks
are larger, do not need to be insulated, and offer some advantages.
Plaster, for instance, adheres well to them without any preparation.

And modular construction, Mazor said, allows a dwelling to be built
over time, a pay-as-you-go approach. His chateau is being built in
three phases, but could have been built in as many as six.

He chronicled the project in 2003 in a book, Design an Expandable
House: For Present Needs and Future Dreams (Unlimited Publishing,
$40).

Mazor, who is retired, sketched his chateau for three years, recording
details of buildings he admired on business and pleasure trips to
France. He hit upon the idea of building with foam in Japan, when he
noticed fast-food containers in a Tokyo alley and began to think about
its uses. Later, he discovered insulated-concrete forms.

Mazor's architect, Elvin Spurling, translated his sketches into
architectural renderings.

They collaborated, sending sketches and specifications back and forth
via e-mail between Mazor's primary home in Los Altos, Calif., and
Spurling's office in Prineville, Ore. They did not actually meet until
after the first phase of the building was finished.

"I would do a sketch and hit send, and then we could talk about it
immediately," Spurling said.

Construction began in 2000. The building, a jumping-off spot for
Mazor's rambles around the Northwest, has advanced from the original
three-story, 1,800-square-foot "cottage" through Phase 2, a
3,000-square-foot wing, to Phase 3, the final section, under
construction.

When completed, the house will be 152 feet wide and its 7,800 square
feet will allow for six bedrooms, a music room, and a gym. There will
be a tower at each end, one designed to house two cars, the other for
the kitchen and dining room.

He drew his idea of designing the complete building first and then
constructing it in stages from what is called top-down design in the
computer world. The chateau is being built with "interfaces." The
floor plan locates doors and windows, to make it relatively easy to
add on.

The chateau as an architectural form began as a fortified building
that could be used to defend an entire village. It was not unusual for
chateaus to be surrounded by moats, so Mazor added a bridge across a
small stream on his 25-acre estate, which is on the edge of Ashland, a
city known for the Oregon Shakespeare Festival.

His land, however, feels remote, and his house is increasingly
surrounded by red oaks, birches, poplars and pines that he planted.

He puzzled for a few years over the narrow footprints of chateaus,
which present a thorny challenge in laying out rooms. But after many
experiments with pencil and graph paper, he decided to adhere to the
classic proportions.

In 1997, an article in Architectural Digest about a Normandy chateau
caught his eye. He wrote to the owner, a marquis, to ask if he could
visit.

On receiving no for an answer, he and his wife flew to Normandy and
called again when they were about a half-hour from the chateau. The
marquis answered the phone and, in perfect English, told them they
were welcome to come by and take photographs.

As Mazor wandered the grounds, he observed that the building had been
created in stages. "They originally built it sequentially," he thought
to himself. "Why don't I build it sequentially, too?"

Back home, he discovered there were several polystyrene products on
the market. He decided on Rastra, which combines recycled foam plastic
with a concrete slurry to make a block that is strong, lightweight and
highly fire-resistant.

The blocks, which fit like Legos, are first glued together. Concrete
is then poured into the resulting channels.

The link between architecture and computer design seemed obvious to
Mazor. Computer design has increasingly moved to a higher level of
abstraction, and computer architects now work by assembling components
like Legos.

And so it was fitting that when the Mazor chateau was under
construction, the work crew displayed a Lego banner high above the
ground.

Thomas J. Watson - WoodDorker

tjwatson1ATcomcastDOTnet (real email)
http://home.comcast.net/~tjwatson1 (webpage)

"Tom Watson" wrote in message
...
Reprinted from The Philadelphia Inquirer


Inventor builds modular, plastic-block chateau

By John Markoff

New York Times News Service


Stanley Mazor is one of the architects of the information age, one of
three Intel Corp. engineers who invented the original microprocessor,
the nerve center for personal computers as well as refrigerators.

So it was not surprising that when Mazor turned his hand to building a
vacation house, his approach would be inventive.

The results of his experiment can be seen in the rolling countryside
on the outskirts of Ashland, Ore., where he has finished building the
first two-thirds of a French chateau, modeled on a 17th-century
structure in Normandy. Not being a purist, Mazor, 63, gave the
project, which will cost about $2 million, all the pragmatic earmarks
of a Silicon Valley engineer.

For example, the house is built not of stone and plaster but largely
of polystyrene blocks reinforced with concrete. Much of its decorative
trim has been fashioned from extruded plastic foam, and six of the
ornate window surrounds on the third floor are made of Corian,
material widely used in kitchen countertops.

The materials fit with Mazor's belief that houses should be affordable
and modular.

Two million is affordable?

Although building with plastic foam is more expensive than building
with wood, and similar in cost to cinder block or brick, the blocks
are larger, do not need to be insulated, and offer some advantages.
Plaster, for instance, adheres well to them without any preparation.

And modular construction, Mazor said, allows a dwelling to be built
over time, a pay-as-you-go approach. His chateau is being built in
three phases, but could have been built in as many as six.

Great--it coulda been four million.

He chronicled the project in 2003 in a book, Design an Expandable
House: For Present Needs and Future Dreams (Unlimited Publishing,
$40).

40 bucks? Gotta amortize that innovation somehow.


Mazor, who is retired, sketched his chateau for three years, recording
details of buildings he admired on business and pleasure trips to
France. He hit upon the idea of building with foam in Japan, when he
noticed fast-food containers in a Tokyo alley and began to think about
its uses. Later, he discovered insulated-concrete forms.

Mazor's architect, Elvin Spurling, translated his sketches into
architectural renderings.

They collaborated, sending sketches and specifications back and forth
via e-mail between Mazor's primary home in Los Altos, Calif., and
Spurling's office in Prineville, Ore. They did not actually meet until
after the first phase of the building was finished.

"I would do a sketch and hit send, and then we could talk about it
immediately," Spurling said.

Construction began in 2000. The building, a jumping-off spot for
Mazor's rambles around the Northwest, has advanced from the original
three-story, 1,800-square-foot "cottage" through Phase 2, a
3,000-square-foot wing, to Phase 3, the final section, under
construction.

When completed, the house will be 152 feet wide and its 7,800 square
feet will allow for six bedrooms, a music room, and a gym. There will
be a tower at each end, one designed to house two cars, the other for
the kitchen and dining room.

Ahh-just the thing for the struggling young couple with a rug rat and
another on the way.

He drew his idea of designing the complete building first and then
constructing it in stages from what is called top-down design in the
computer world. The chateau is being built with "interfaces." The
floor plan locates doors and windows, to make it relatively easy to
add on.

The chateau as an architectural form began as a fortified building
that could be used to defend an entire village. It was not unusual for
chateaus to be surrounded by moats, so Mazor added a bridge across a
small stream on his 25-acre estate, which is on the edge of Ashland, a
city known for the Oregon Shakespeare Festival.

His land, however, feels remote, and his house is increasingly
surrounded by red oaks, birches, poplars and pines that he planted.

He puzzled for a few years over the narrow footprints of chateaus,
which present a thorny challenge in laying out rooms. But after many
experiments with pencil and graph paper, he decided to adhere to the
classic proportions.

In 1997, an article in Architectural Digest about a Normandy chateau
caught his eye. He wrote to the owner, a marquis, to ask if he could
visit.

There wasn't a duke or prince available?

On receiving no for an answer, he and his wife flew to Normandy and
called again when they were about a half-hour from the chateau. The
marquis answered the phone and, in perfect English, told them they
were welcome to come by and take photographs.

As Mazor wandered the grounds, he observed that the building had been
created in stages. "They originally built it sequentially," he thought
to himself. "Why don't I build it sequentially, too?"

Back home, he discovered there were several polystyrene products on
the market. He decided on Rastra, which combines recycled foam plastic
with a concrete slurry to make a block that is strong, lightweight and
highly fire-resistant.

The blocks, which fit like Legos, are first glued together. Concrete
is then poured into the resulting channels.

The link between architecture and computer design seemed obvious to
Mazor. Computer design has increasingly moved to a higher level of
abstraction, and computer architects now work by assembling components
like Legos.

And so it was fitting that when the Mazor chateau was under
construction, the work crew displayed a Lego banner high above the
ground.

Lego my leg, Tommy. You've pulled it far enough.

Bob

On Sun, 27 Feb 2005 09:17:03 -0500, Tom Watson
wrote:

For example, the house is built not of stone and plaster but largely
of polystyrene blocks reinforced with concrete.

This is getting to be a more common construction method around here.
One big selling point here is that with this type of construction the
walls are supposed to stand up to 140-160 mph winds. Since we have
tornadoes here people seem to like the idea.
It has a long way to go before replacing normal framing methods
though.
They stack what look to be Styrofoam blocks on top of the footings
around all of the outside walls. Then they bring in a pump truck and
fill the cavities with concrete from the top. It's different!

Mike O.

Sun, Feb 27, 2005, 1:07pm (EST-1) (Mike) says:
snip One big selling point here is that with this type of construction
the walls are supposed to stand up to 140-160 mph winds. Since we have
tornadoes here people seem to like the idea.snip

Wouldn't take a direct hit from a tornado tho. And, if you're not
in the direct path, conventional homes stand up pretty well. Might be
good in hurricane country (Florida) tho.

I'd like an underground house. Be one Hell of a lot less than
$2mil to build too.



JOAT
Intellectual brilliance is no guarantee against being dead wrong.
- David Fasold

On Sun, 27 Feb 2005 09:17:03 -0500, the inscrutable Tom Watson
spake:

The results of his experiment can be seen in the rolling countryside
on the outskirts of Ashland, Ore., where he has finished building the

That's about 45 minutes from here. I'll have to go gawk at it some
time soon.


The materials fit with Mazor's belief that houses should be affordable
and modular.

An "affordable" $2 million, 7,800 square foot home? Right.


When completed, the house will be 152 feet wide and its 7,800 square
feet will allow for six bedrooms, a music room, and a gym. There will
be a tower at each end, one designed to house two cars, the other for
the kitchen and dining room.

Hmmm, sounds like a human-hostile layout.


And so it was fitting that when the Mazor chateau was under
construction, the work crew displayed a Lego banner high above the
ground.

Cuuuuute.


--
"Menja bé, caga fort!"

The more plastic you have in a house, the less likely you are to survive a
house fire.

"Mike" wrote in message
...
On Sun, 27 Feb 2005 09:17:03 -0500, Tom Watson
wrote:

For example, the house is built not of stone and plaster but largely
of polystyrene blocks reinforced with concrete.

This is getting to be a more common construction method around here.
One big selling point here is that with this type of construction the
walls are supposed to stand up to 140-160 mph winds. Since we have
tornadoes here people seem to like the idea.
It has a long way to go before replacing normal framing methods
though.
They stack what look to be Styrofoam blocks on top of the footings
around all of the outside walls. Then they bring in a pump truck and
fill the cavities with concrete from the top. It's different!

Mike O.

(J T) wrote in news:6567-42226B46-66@storefull-
3158.bay.webtv.net:

Sun, Feb 27, 2005, 1:07pm (EST-1) (Mike) says:
snip One big selling point here is that with this type of construction
the walls are supposed to stand up to 140-160 mph winds. Since we have
tornadoes here people seem to like the idea.snip

Wouldn't take a direct hit from a tornado tho. And, if you're not
in the direct path, conventional homes stand up pretty well. Might be
good in hurricane country (Florida) tho.

I'd like an underground house. Be one Hell of a lot less than
$2mil to build too.


I thought they sometimes built homes on stilts (well, first floor
basements) in the Carolinas, because of the hurricane floods.

Rather than live in a hole in the ground, I'd find another place to live.
We pretty much adapt to whatever we have to, I guess.

Patriarch,
from earthquake country...

Larry Jaques wrote in
:

snip
The materials fit with Mazor's belief that houses should be affordable
and modular.

An "affordable" $2 million, 7,800 square foot home? Right.


Well, evidently _he_ can afford it. The neighborhood in California where
he came from has $2M homes with a third of the square footage, on a third
of an acre. Rather changes your perspective, at times.

I understand he's not the only California exile in southern Oregon, right?

Patriarch

On Sun, 27 Feb 2005 19:52:22 -0500, (J T)
wrote:

Wouldn't take a direct hit from a tornado tho. And, if you're not
in the direct path, conventional homes stand up pretty well. Might be
good in hurricane country (Florida) tho.


They might handle something as small as an f2 since they top out at
about 160. They all seem to have conventional roofs though so I'm
pretty sure the roof is coming off anyway.

Mike O.

On Sun, 27 Feb 2005 18:20:19 -0800, "CW"
wrote:

The more plastic you have in a house, the less likely you are to survive a
house fire.


Good point. I don't know if any thing has been done to fire-proof the
blocks.

Mike O.

Sun, Feb 27, 2005, 9:06pm (EST-1)
(Patriarch) says:
I thought they sometimes built homes on stilts (well, first floor
basements) in the Carolinas, because of the hurricane floods. snip

I suppose some people might - if they're dumb enough to build in a
flood-prone area. The really, really, really, stupid ones tho, are the
ones that build on the coast, then cry when their house gets washed
away. And, then rebuild in the same spot. I live on high ground, and
wouldn't live closer than a mile to any coast.



JOAT
Intellectual brilliance is no guarantee against being dead wrong.
- David Fasold

"J T" wrote in message
...
Sun, Feb 27, 2005, 9:06pm (EST-1)
(Patriarch) says:
I thought they sometimes built homes on stilts (well, first floor
basements) in the Carolinas, because of the hurricane floods. snip

I suppose some people might - if they're dumb enough to build in a
flood-prone area. The really, really, really, stupid ones tho, are the
ones that build on the coast, then cry when their house gets washed
away. And, then rebuild in the same spot. I live on high ground, and
wouldn't live closer than a mile to any coast.

Sounds like the idiots in Phoenix who build *in* the Salt River, which is
totally dry, or just a trickle 99% of the time. But . . . when it floods?
They keep going back & building too.

--
Nahmie
Those on the cutting edge bleed a lot.

J T wrote:

Sun, Feb 27, 2005, 9:06pm (EST-1)
(Patriarch) says:
I thought they sometimes built homes on stilts (well, first floor
basements) in the Carolinas, because of the hurricane floods. snip

I suppose some people might - if they're dumb enough to build in a
flood-prone area. The really, really, really, stupid ones tho, are the
ones that build on the coast, then cry when their house gets washed
away. And, then rebuild in the same spot. I live on high ground, and
wouldn't live closer than a mile to any coast.

Depends on how you define "stilts". Houses built above-grade on various
kinds of support are commonplace in the South--the one I grew up in in
North Florida was about 4 feet off the ground on brick pillars, maybe 16 of
them.

As for living on high ground, the highest ground in Florida is about 300
feet if I recall correctly and there's precious little of that. That house
was about ten miles inland, although located on a river. The land was
about ten feet above mean high water as well. I've seen a storm surge
completely cover the yard. High water is a fact of life in hurricane
country and the only "stupidity" is not planning for it, and "planning for
it" doesn't always include "move to Iowa" as an option.

JOAT
Intellectual brilliance is no guarantee against being dead wrong.
- David Fasold

--
--John
to email, dial "usenet" and validate
(was jclarke at eye bee em dot net)

On Sun, 27 Feb 2005 21:10:02 -0600, the inscrutable Patriarch
spake:

Larry Jaques wrote in
:

snip
The materials fit with Mazor's belief that houses should be affordable
and modular.

An "affordable" $2 million, 7,800 square foot home? Right.


Well, evidently _he_ can afford it. The neighborhood in California where

Yes, and I usually shy away from whatever someone calls "affordable".
I think it's a rich man's term meaning "Way the frack out of the price
range of mere mortals."


he came from has $2M homes with a third of the square footage, on a third
of an acre. Rather changes your perspective, at times.

My buddy in Olivenhain (Sandy Eggo County) just told me that the local
median price for a home there was $570k, and two homes on his block
just went for $650k and $680k. Those homes sold brand new in the 70s
for $32,000. That's a 20x increase to 2/3 of a million dollars. UFR!


I understand he's not the only California exile in southern Oregon, right?

I believe the Southern Oregon population is roughly split into
2 categories, Glenn: 10% native Oregonians and 90% LoCal Exiles.


--
"Menja bé, caga fort!"

Mon, Feb 28, 2005, 10:07am lid (J.=A0Clarke)
says:
Depends on how you define "stilts". Houses built above-grade on various
kinds of support are commonplace in the South--the one I grew up in in
North Florida was about 4 feet off the ground on brick pillars, maybe 16
of them.
As for living on high ground, the highest ground in Florida is about 300
feet if I recall correctly and there's precious little of that. snip

I seem to be the one being quoted, but I didn't bring up the
subject of stilts.

That sounds like it was to keep the house above water to me.

Isn't that hill manmade? I forgot to include this, I wouldn't live
in any part of Florida either.



JOAT
Intellectual brilliance is no guarantee against being dead wrong.
- David Fasold

"Larry Jaques" wrote in message
...
On Sun, 27 Feb 2005 21:10:02 -0600, the inscrutable Patriarch
spake:

Larry Jaques wrote in
:

snip
The materials fit with Mazor's belief that houses should be affordable
and modular.

An "affordable" $2 million, 7,800 square foot home? Right.


Well, evidently _he_ can afford it. The neighborhood in California where

Yes, and I usually shy away from whatever someone calls "affordable".
I think it's a rich man's term meaning "Way the frack out of the price
range of mere mortals."


he came from has $2M homes with a third of the square footage, on a third
of an acre. Rather changes your perspective, at times.

My buddy in Olivenhain (Sandy Eggo County) just told me that the local
median price for a home there was $570k, and two homes on his block
just went for $650k and $680k. Those homes sold brand new in the 70s
for $32,000. That's a 20x increase to 2/3 of a million dollars. UFR!

For comparison. SF Bay Area - last week a 1400SF home on a tenth of an acre
in my neighborhood went for $1.2 million.

-j

"Mike" wrote in message
"CW" wrote:

The more plastic you have in a house, the less likely you are to survive a
house fire.

Good point. I don't know if any thing has been done to fire-proof the
blocks.

Mike O.
=======================
I ran this past a friend who has built a house and shop using Rastra.

"The product has a 4 hour fire rating, so the blocks don't burn. You can play
a propane torch on them and all it does is melt back the outer 1/16" or so,
at which time the cement that bonds the block prevents further degradation
at a fast rate. It takes enough time for the cement to degrade before the
action progresses.The product, for all practical purposes, is not
flammable. Before finishing the exterior, I went over the entire
surface with a large propane weed burner, burning back the surface beads
such that it left more surface area and contour for the Pleko to grip.
Worked great. Rastra may be one of only two products on the market that
don't burn. The concept is clearly better than any other foam block on the
market."

-Doug in Utah

J T wrote:

Mon, Feb 28, 2005, 10:07am lid (J.*Clarke)
says:
Depends on how you define "stilts". Houses built above-grade on various
kinds of support are commonplace in the South--the one I grew up in in
North Florida was about 4 feet off the ground on brick pillars, maybe 16
of them.
As for living on high ground, the highest ground in Florida is about 300
feet if I recall correctly and there's precious little of that. snip

I seem to be the one being quoted, but I didn't bring up the
subject of stilts.

I think I was quoting you quoting Patriarch but for some reason your quote
didn't have the "" marks and indentation so it looks like only one layer
in mine.

That sounds like it was to keep the house above water to me.

Might be to keep it away from termites, or to provide ventilation
underneath--remember it gets _hot_ down there--or just a place for the cat
to get out of the rain. I'm not sure what the logic of it was, it was just
something that one accepted and didn't pay much attention to. This house
was built in the '20s--most of the other houses of that vintage and older
were built pretty much the same way. The newer ones were all slab on
grade, but I'm not sure exactly when the transition happened. I suspect
that it might have had something to do with the economics of poured
concrete in residential construction.

Isn't that hill manmade?

Not sure, it seems to just be a spot by the side of the road. Florida's not
really all that low overall though--mean elevation is 100 feet, which is
the same as Louisiana and higher than Delaware. OTOH, New Orleans is 8
feet below mean sea level--if the levees go on a spring tide it floods for
real.

I forgot to include this, I wouldn't live
in any part of Florida either.

JOAT
Intellectual brilliance is no guarantee against being dead wrong.
- David Fasold

--
--John
to email, dial "usenet" and validate
(was jclarke at eye bee em dot net)

Here's an interesting site that documents that "fill in the concrete
blocks" style of construction.

http://www.scrapbookscrapbook.com/DA...tion-home.html

--
Jedd Haas - Artist
http://www.gallerytungsten.com
http://www.epsno.com

Tom Watson wrote in
:

....
Inventor builds modular, plastic-block chateau
....

My dad (a retired brickmason) was telling me about these. They're pretty
strong when filled with concrete, and they are very fast to set. Having
carried a lot of hod for him 25 years ago, I can appreciate the advantage
of lightweight block.

Patriarch wrote:

I thought they sometimes built homes on stilts (well, first floor
basements) in the Carolinas, because of the hurricane floods.

Right on the coast, it's very common. Especially on those overgrown
sandbars they call islands. Usually the bottom story is a place to park
the cars. Then the living quarters are on top, about 8-12' off the ground.
Or, well, off the sandbar anyway.

Being a mountain boy, I find it fascinating that people actually build
entire little towns, complete with gas stations, on those overgrown
sandbars. Great place to visit, but I can't see buying property there.
It's just a bunch of sand.

I don't feel right unless I'm surrounded by gentle, rolling green humps
anyway. I don't know how you flatlanders stand it. Get down in flatland,
either you can see too damn far, or there's no sense of how far anything is
because you're surrounded by trees that are all on the same plane seemingly
for eternity. No up, no down, no topography at all in flatland.

--
Michael McIntyre ---- Silvan
Linux fanatic, and certified Geek; registered Linux user #243621
http://www.geocities.com/Paris/Rue/5407/
http://rosegarden.sourceforge.net/tutorial/

Silvan wrote:

Patriarch wrote:

I thought they sometimes built homes on stilts (well, first floor
basements) in the Carolinas, because of the hurricane floods.

Right on the coast, it's very common. Especially on those overgrown
sandbars they call islands. Usually the bottom story is a place to park
the cars. Then the living quarters are on top, about 8-12' off the
ground. Or, well, off the sandbar anyway.

Being a mountain boy, I find it fascinating that people actually build
entire little towns, complete with gas stations, on those overgrown
sandbars. Great place to visit, but I can't see buying property there.
It's just a bunch of sand.

I don't feel right unless I'm surrounded by gentle, rolling green humps
anyway. I don't know how you flatlanders stand it. Get down in flatland,
either you can see too damn far, or there's no sense of how far anything
is because you're surrounded by trees that are all on the same plane
seemingly
for eternity. No up, no down, no topography at all in flatland.

Next time you get a vacation you might want to try Jamaica. It's one of
those sandbars in a sense but it also has quite a lot of gentle, rolling
green bumps (best coffee growing region in the world--shame it's so small).
Many of which have at various places on them houses on stilts with cars
parked underneath.

--
--John
to email, dial "usenet" and validate
(was jclarke at eye bee em dot net)