Shadowing Practice: Architects Living in a Rare Jo Paul Rognstad Mid-Century Home in Claremont, California | House Tour - Learn English Speaking with YouTube
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The house is very private and is very off-putting from the street and very small from the street.
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The house is very private and is very off-putting from the street and very small from the street.
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When you're walking up there's only one set of windows you see.
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The porch is really low.
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It's compressive.
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And when you step in it gives you the impression of stepping into another world world.
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To walk into the house is to walk into the whole home.
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It's to step in and see the living room and the kitchen and past the foyer into the backyard,
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both levels of the backyard, in the back house.
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It's almost like that door becomes not an entrance to a building but a gateway to another place or Eden,
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shall we say.
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It's our Eden, definitely.
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I'm Mark Schumann.
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We're here in Claremont, California at our home,
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my wife and mine's home, originally the Grant residence.
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The house was built in 1952 for Mr. and Mrs. Grant.
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The architect was Joe Paul Rangenstead.
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He came out of USC and we believe he was a student of Jim Grant's.
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Sometime in the late 50s,
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early 60s, he relocated to practice in Hawaii,
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where he actually is a relatively prominent architect,
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especially in the modernist movement.
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I had the good fortune to actually talk to Joe sometime in the late 90s,
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maybe early aughts, not too long after we had moved into the house because I was looking for the plans.
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I wanted to see if he still had the original plans.
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And what he had mentioned,
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it was kind of fun because I told him the house,
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I told him who it was for,
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and he had to search his memory and he even said something like,
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oh my gosh, that's like one of my first homes and they were the best clients.
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They basically let me do whatever I want.
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And trust me, as an architect,
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they are the best clients.
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We moved into the house summer of 98.
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It was never on the market.
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Our realtor had heard that the city attorney,
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Win Firth, was moving to Palo Alto.
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And so she just called,
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hey, will you be selling your house?
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They had not even thought about it.
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My pushy or our pushy realtor kind of said,
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well, I've got this person who would be perfect for it and got me in the door that day.
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And I'll be honest, I walked in the door and I couldn't believe it.
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And you kind of asked,
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well, what would make it,
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why did we think this was special or what would make it seem like it was the house?
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I mean, you step in the door and it just is beautiful.
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I mean, it's a piece of architecture.
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It's more than just a house.
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Laurel and I had just designed a house for us to build here in Claremont,
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in Earth Claremont.
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And it wasn't working out because of some costs and a few other issues from where we were living and we decided,
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well, let's just, let's just find it,
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let's see what is available.
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To walk into this house was like,
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I'll be honest, I said the worst thing you can say to my realtor,
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I don't care what it costs or how long it takes,
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I've got to own this house.
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And it turns out the only caveat we had,
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you know, restriction to the purchase is that my wife had to see the house and agree to it.
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So I actually offered money on a house without my wife seeing it,
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which is a funny story because her mother did the same thing.
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I'm happy to say that my wife was very happy with the choices that,
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no, she loves this place.
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One of the things that Wyn told me,
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and I think maybe told us,
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was one of the reasons she was selling it to us was because she knew we would take care of it.
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And I mean, that just showed that they had that same appreciation and love for the architecture,
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for the space.
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I had gone before the city council a number of times to fight developers,
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and that's how she knew me.
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I walked in the door and she goes,
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you're that impassioned architect and you know keep up the good fight.
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You know she she was interested in the things that were interested in you know living spaces,
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homes, not houses.
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You know it's not an investment it's where you raise your children.
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They don't have to be mutually exclusive but I think when you approach a structure as being an investment,
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as just a house, then it doesn't matter what it looks like.
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It doesn't matter its history.
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One of the things we learned about was the importance of history of place.
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One of the things that I've always enjoyed or liked about what I do as an architect is creating memories,
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creating history, and this place has it.
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Now is it ancient?
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Is it Baroque?
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Is it craftsmen?
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No, but it is very specific to mid-century California living.
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And I don't even mean in a time capsule.
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I mean, everything that that brought forth still exists in this structure.
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And I don't see why we would want to change it.
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Or what would be better, frankly?
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I'm Laurel Tucker and I have lived in this house with my husband Mark Schumann and family
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for 27 and a half years.
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I know that the Grants worked closely with Mr. Roggenstead in the design.
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The studio in back was built for Mr. Grant's
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and there used to be hooks in the beams out there and we imagined that he hung large canvases from them.
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It was fun to find that.
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Mr. Grant did a lot of the stonework in the yard around the house, the retaining walls.
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I know that they came from Pasadena and they didn't live in this house very long and then they moved up north.
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This was not a family home for them,
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it was just the two of them but they had children later
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and Mark was actually in contact with the son at some point since we've been living here.
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We had looked at a lot of houses and Mark came and saw the house before I did.
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I was at work.
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He called me while I was sitting at my desk and he said,
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this is a great house.
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It has a shoe closet and I said buy it
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but then the first time I came in when Firth
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and Don Brennis the owners at that time had a fire going in the fireplace
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and I walked in the front door
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and just went this feels like home it's just so comfortable and welcoming so you open that door and it just
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welcomes you with open arms We had an amazing realtor who really got to know who we were,
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and she found out that this house was going to be coming up for sale,
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and she got us in the door before it ever hit the market.
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And I have thanked her ever since for doing that for us.
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I like to call it a case study house that's not really a case study house,
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but it's so beautifully designed already.
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And when our friends said,
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what's your first project going to be?
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We said, unpack our boxes because it's a perfect house.
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And so when we added the primary suite,
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we were very careful to try to keep it exactly in character with what we already had.
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We had two big, beautiful pine trees.
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The one close to the house was an Italian stone pine.
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and the one closer to the studio was an Aleppo pine.
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But I used to go out and look up at it and I would literally hug the tree and say,
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don't ever fall because if you do,
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it'll break my heart and it'll destroy a lot of things.
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And then on January 21st,
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2022, Friday night, the winds were picking up and it was pretty bad.
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It got more and more windy.
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There was no power and it was getting late.
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So we went to bed and I was watching the branches on the big tree flailing around.
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And then a branch dipped down and I thought that doesn't look right and then saw the trunk just go down.
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And, you know, I said,
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Mark, oh my God, it's going down.
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So we jumped out of bed and ran outside and there was our tree lying across the garage.
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The winds kept blowing and then I heard this huge crack.
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I realized it was the other pine tree had gone down on the other side of the studio.
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And then I kind of lost my mind.
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It was like, okay, one tree, we'll deal with it.
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But the other one was just really awful.
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But we begin rebuilding, you know,
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one foot in front of the other.
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And, you know, the community was great.
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People were around us and supporting us.
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Further into it, we were thinking,
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neither one of our kids lives at home anymore.
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So do we really even need this for work anymore? right?
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So we said, let's just,
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you know, maybe set it up as a rental or something.
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Then the city in the last year approved short-term rentals,
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Airbnb, Vacquesa, that kind of thing.
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We decided to try it.
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It's been a real gift.
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So we rebuilt it almost exactly as it was,
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but modernized it, put in a kitchen.
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It's turned out to be a wonderful thing.
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When we bought the house,
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we just liked the house.
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We wanted the house.
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We didn't realize that it would become kind of,
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I feel like in some ways it's our civic duty,
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but I feel like it's giving back.
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And when you are fortunate enough to have something as wonderful as a house like this,
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I don't know, I felt incumbent on us to share it,
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try to help educate, you know,
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some of the beauties of having a place like this and the connection to the outdoors.
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I think it's civic duty, but there's also pride.
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You know, not everybody gets to have something like this,
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and I feel like we're sharing it.
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And having the Airbnb, that's a big thing.
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Now we have people coming in every week.
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They tell us, oh my gosh,
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this is such a great place.
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And the yard is so beautiful.
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Thank you, Mark Schumann, for the amazing landscaping in back.
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But it's wonderful to share it because I think it brings joy to other people too.
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When we added our primary suite, it felt really open.
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The bedroom had initially just had one wall of glass looking in the backyard,
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but when we pushed it out into the backyard,
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it almost felt like we were sleeping outdoors.
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And it was a little bit uncomfortable at first.
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I've gotten used to it now.
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And there's glass and you're part of nature and everything that's happening outside you experience when you're inside.
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It's like living.
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It's almost like camping.
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sometimes and we're both pretty avid campers so it suits us.
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So one of the aspects about this house is how well ventilated it is
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and so during the summer months if you open these large doors that are to my right And in the afternoons,
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when the sea reuses are coming from the west,
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we get great follow through with these vents.
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Likewise, there's vents behind the fireplace,
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which also let a lot of air in.
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That, in combination with some clear stories that open,
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just allows the air to flow through.
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In fact, what's nice about it is we can leave the house locked with these open,
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so when we get home in the summer months,
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it's not real stuffy in here.
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It's spatially fabulous, right?
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I mean, it feels good to the human scale.
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The back wall of the living room is only like six foot six high,
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which is really low.
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But it doesn't feel compressive because it goes up to about 10 feet.
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And it's glass.
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There's glass all over the place.
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So again, you don't really feel like you're in a house as much as you are very sheltered by these planes.
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If you were talking about a style,
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Laurel's dad talked about how when he first walked in,
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he felt like he was in Japan again.
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It reminded him of Japanese homes.
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And when we would go to the Japanese pavilion at the Huntington,
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we were taken aback by how similar our home was,
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but even this style of home,
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you know, movable walls, maybe whether they're glass or not.
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We even have shoji screens from that standpoint,
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but certain horizontalities and the house is built on a four foot by four and a half foot grid,
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not quite the tatami size,
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but, you know, still it's regular.
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And by the way, that might be some another reason why my wife loves this place.
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She loves a grid.
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I'm not a grid architect, she's a grid architect.
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The colors are all muted.
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And in some ways it's front and center,
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but it really does take a backdrop to the artwork,
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the possessions that we have filled,
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our story, and to the gardens.
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The house exists here and it's beautiful,
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don't get me wrong, I love it.
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I love it.
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When it was empty, it was amazing.
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But it's not, there's no grandeur to it, but you're impressed.
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It's a human-centric space, which is what we do.
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That's our careers, is building space for humans.
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And we get to live in a space like that every day.
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I will also say that when we bought the house,
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Laurel and I felt, oh,
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we finally got a grown-up's house.
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Interesting enough.
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And I think the style has a lot to do with that.
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It's a house that you want.
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It just dies for a martini in one hand and a cigarette in the other.
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Great music playing with crowds of people
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and maybe that's one of the reasons why we have parties
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and invite people in and the tours is it just feels like a place
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that was meant for that and 27 years 27 years later um
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it still feels that way we're still so happy to be here and
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and that's as much Claremont as well I mean it's a
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quiet place it's a neat neighborhood you know we travel well
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and never really lived there in a long time but you know
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if I've got to spend time I'm really fortunate to be
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able to spend time in a town like this in Southern California but specifically in islands like this.
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Not a bad not a bad life.
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you
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Context & Background
In the video titled "Architects Living in a Rare Jo Paul Rognstad Mid-Century Home in Claremont, California," Mark Schumann offers viewers a unique glimpse into his beautifully designed home. Built in 1952, this architectural gem reflects the artistry of architect Joe Paul Rognstad, who was known for his contributions to the modernist movement. Schumann discusses the personal anecdotes tied to the house, including its original owners and the serendipitous way they obtained the property. As you explore the depths of this conversation, not only do you get insights into architecture, but you also acquire practical vocabulary and phrases that are beneficial for everyday communication.
Top 5 Phrases for Daily Communication
- “It gives you the impression…” - A useful phrase for expressing feelings or impressions about places or experiences.
- “Stepping into another world” - This metaphor can be used to describe transformative experiences.
- “Best clients” - This phrase highlights positive relationships in professional settings; useful for networking and discussions.
- “I couldn’t believe it” - A personal expression that conveys shock or awe; versatile for various contexts.
- “More than just a house” - This idiom can be adapted to convey deeper meanings about items or experiences beyond their surface value.
Step-by-step Shadowing Guide
To enhance your English speaking skills, consider employing the shadowing technique while watching this video. Here's how to effectively use the shadow speech method:
- Listen Actively: Start with the video, paying close attention to Mark's pronunciation, intonation, and rhythm. Make note of the contextual use of the top phrases listed above.
- Pause and Imitate: Play short segments and mimic Mark’s speech immediately after he speaks. Focus on accuracy in pronunciation to improve English pronunciation.
- Repeat Regularly: Watch multiple times, gradually increasing the length of the segments you imitate. Combining this with visual cues from the video can solidify your understanding.
- Use a Shadowing Site: Find a platform where you can record your voice while shadowing. Listening back can help identify areas for improvement.
- Engage in Self-Reflection: After each session, reflect on your progress. Consider how the vocabulary and phrases can be integrated into your daily conversations as you learn English with YouTube.
Incorporating the context from this intriguing architectural discussion into your practice not only makes learning enjoyable but also enhances your capability to communicate effectively.
What is the Shadowing Technique?
Shadowing is a science-backed language learning technique originally developed for professional interpreter training and popularized by polyglot Dr. Alexander Arguelles. The method is simple but powerful: you listen to native English audio and immediately repeat it out loud — like a shadow following the speaker with just a 1–2 second delay. Unlike passive listening or grammar drills, shadowing forces your brain and mouth muscles to simultaneously process and reproduce real speech patterns. Research shows it significantly improves pronunciation accuracy, intonation, rhythm, connected speech, listening comprehension, and speaking fluency — making it one of the most effective methods for IELTS Speaking preparation and real-world English communication.
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