Project Profile
Description: Home for a commercial contractor, completed November 1995, in Oklahoma City's Fairview Farm subdivision. The total budget was $1 million to complete the 11,000-square-foot mansion.
Style: Neoclassical
Type: New home
Location: Oklahoma City
Homeowners: A former city manager of Oklahoma City and now a commercial contractor there. He assembled the architect/designer/builder team himself.

Narrative
Key considerations:

• Meet the intentions of the homeowner, including "mission statements" complete with roles and responsibilities for each member of the designer/architect/builder team.
• How to manager the southern exposures's ultraviolet rays and help protect the African art that comes alive in light but risks fading, and the radiant heat from the pool and surrounding concrete.
• The homeowners wanted durable, long-lasting windows that would remain relatively maintenance-free.

Result: A dream job and a "dream home." Entering the home, visitors are welcomed -- and awed -- by a striking example of Andersen® windows at work.

Highlight: The entry spills into a two-story great room with a barrel-vault ceiling hovering at 22 feet. The eye travels to an expanse of floor-to-ceiling glass, through which appears backyard gardens, the pool and the Oklahoma horizon.

Testimonials: “The homeowners wanted people to say, ‘Wow!’ The size of it, the light from it, the view through it: that’s how we established the ‘Wow!’” — Bruce Bockus, architect

Execution: Big windows aren’t in keeping with neoclassical architecture, so Bockus entertained options that would allow abundant natural light, yet still fit his design. He needed enough room between the fascia and window, as well as between windows, to accommodate a cast-stone surround.

Uppermost on Dale’s mind were structural supports between windows and over headers. Edwards wanted to achieve header heights, and casing and window jam depths to suit certain window treatments.

Solution: Perma-Shield® system technology met the longevity criterion. Andersen® Flexiframe® windows allowed Bockus to create “big” feature windows by combining smaller windows in custom shapes and sizes.

An Andersen dealer in Oklahoma City supplied ten 28 x 80- and 28 x 96-inch Perma-Shield® Flexiframe® windows with High-Performance SunTM glazing. With all the project demands assessed, the Andersen order tallied 43 windows and 12 patio doors.

Design Solution

Work the Wow!
Before the team could create the stunning “Wow!” effect with 22 feet of floor-to-ceiling windows, they had to first ask, “How are we going to make this work?”

Their crew did so resourcefully: Bruce Bockus used 2 x 8-inch walls vs. 2 x 6-inch, visually thickening the exterior wall while articulating the window; the bow shape made the window wall inherently rigid.

Though the house is wood-frame construction, Mark Dale added structural steel to support the window wall.

And Stephen Edwards’ concern about heat gain and sun damage from the southern exposure helped prompt the Andersen dealer’s solution: Andersen High-Performance SunTM insulating windows, which help reduce solar heat gain and ultraviolet rays.

Featured Andersen Products
Andersen® Narroline® double-hung windows; Andersen® casement windows; Andersen® Frenchwood® hinged patio doors; Andersen® Flexiframe® arched windows; High-Performance SunTM glazing.