A House Without Right Angles

Architect Matt Schlueb, principal of Schlueb Architecture, recently designed his own home in Pittsburgh, Pa., with virtually no right angles. Villa Vuoto features 2,600 square feet of living space, three levels, and simple and compounded curves, sloping walls and circular rooms. Designed to provide a stimulating environment for the architect's young son, the project was a prototype for exploring innovative methods for building circular architecture within a reasonable budget.

Builder Bill Valesky, Valesky Homes in Greensburg, Pa., consulted with Schlueb for a year before actually starting construction. There were more than 200 radius points and dimensions on the final design.

Flex-C Plate from Flex-Ability Concepts provided the framing solution Valesky needed. "FlexC Plate was an obvious selection when it came to detailing out the construction methods in making this house a reality," says Schlueb. "FlexC Plate offered the possibility of wall plates, window headers and bulkhead framing with multiple radii, all in a single product. This simplified the detailing process tremendously by allowing an infinite number of conditions to be fabricated in a consistent manner."

Flex-C Plate is made of 20 gauge galvanized sheet metal and is available in 2 × 4 and 2 × 6 widths. For more information on the Flex-Ability Concepts family of products, go to www.flexc.com or call 405/715-1799.