Mark Wallace Architect

14/12/2024

Wonderful to see the 1988-89 restoration I designed when I worked at a predecessor firm, decorated for the holidays and still going strong!

Berwyn Pa station on the former Pennsylvania Railroad. The station was established in 1884, rebuilt 1900.
Previously, the settlement was named Reeseville and Gayville before being renamed for a place in Wales.
The Philadelphia and Columbia Railroad first passed through here in 1834, and was purchased by the Pennsylvania Railroad in 1857. The PRR straightened and widened the line in 1868.

30/07/2022

Still timely nearly a century later.

Poor insulation = waste of money...

08/01/2022

Gaming Table!

Gaming/puzzle table by Amantea Woodwork

06/01/2022

I was very pleased to see the inclusion of the Berwyn Train station. I designed the conversion in the late 1980s. That gave a venerable 105 year old building a whole new life for the many riders on that line. It's #5 on the list.

From multiple Frank Furness gems to one of the oldest stations in the U.S.

28/09/2021

Some ins and outs of placing mechanical equipment in an "unvented," attic.

Creating a conditioned attic space for mechanicals is more than just air-sealing and insulation. Learn more about code for unvented attics.

12/07/2021

Managing design vision, personalities, budget, and construction techniques are just a few things discussed today in Episode 79 “Designing a House”

25/01/2021

In the everything is old is new again dept: This looks like a traditional "Plane Table" that surveyors along with an alidade and transit (for reading stadia), were used for plotting topography drawings while the person with the rod "walked" the contours or stations. This was all before GPS run surveys. Useful field item though I am not advertising here.

03/01/2021

How we think about loads placed upon a beam. The dashed line is the demarcation between compression on the top and tension on the bottom. Both have to be in harmonious equilibrium.

Beams, defined as elongated members that are loaded perpendicular to their long axis, are critical to the structure of a house.

02/01/2021

While this is extreme, moisture and wood flooring do not play well together but must be "managed."

Wood has been used as a building material for thousands of years, and it continues to be used widely for everything from framing to floors to trim....

02/01/2021

Musings on style, form and ultimately; function.

Every December talking heads trumpet that everything has changed. Immanent inoculations may bring back human contact, but the Coronavirus year has changed us.