The following is an interview with Craig Baranowski of CJB Construction, builder of Fury from the Deep.
PBTS: Who were the locals involved in the creation or construction of your cottage?
CRAIG: Our Cottages for Kids 2008 team included many local individuals that worked hard on the success of the cottage. Charlie Mitchell and Chris Stoyles with Archiscapes came up with a design concept that the entire team loved. It was a crazy design but we knew we could build it. James Deering was the chainsaw artist that carved the giant octopus. Dana Hicks hand painted the octopus to look as if it jumped out of the pages of a fantasy novel. Steve Underwood hand painted all of the writing details on the submarine. Jose Castillo Jr. of Castillo’s Custom Carpentry worked tirelessly with me and Charlie Mitchell of Archiscapes to build the cottage. There were many late nights working past 1:00 a.m. to ensure we met our committed delivery date. Stefan Dailberl worked his magic inside the submarine to bring it to life with a working dashboard with knobs, switches, lights and sounds. Stefan also generously contributed to the authentic telegraph which controls the submarine's engine commands. We had many great sponsors on the cottages including Jim Murray of Freeport Ship Building who donated most of the material for the submarine. Gary Tucker with Builders First Source, Pan Handle Bolt, Sherwin Williams and many others.
PBTS: What makes your cottage "green?"
CRAIG: Fury From the Deep was build almost entirely green. The giant octopus was carved from magnolia and oak trees that had to be cut down for the South Walton Montessori Academy’s renovation in Eden State Park. CJB Construction worked closely with the tree cutters to ensure they cut the stumps at the right length and did not dispose of them. Builders First Source moved the giant stumps to their lumber yard for storage until the Cottages for Kids project began. The boat materials were reclaimed from Freeport Ship Building from one of their recent projects called the "RiverQuest Explorer," an environmentally friendly tour boat for RiverTour Pittsburg. The boat uses hybrid fuel propulsion and was built to specifications of the nonprofit US Green Building Council’s Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design. The propeller and all of the console and valve knobs were reclaimed from old ships and projects. All of the lumber for Fury From The Deep was surplus lumber from Builders First Source. It was lumber pre-cut and intended for boardwalks. We had to retrofit our design to accommodate the use of the material.
PBTS: What characteristics make it unique?
CRAIG: Chris Stoyels with Archiscapes and I agreed from the beginning that we did not want to built a typical fairy tale cottage. We wanted something that would stretch the imagination of both kids and adults while offering a platform for extensive play and imagination. Such elements as the submarine console, working propeller, bubble window and tube slide we believe we created an exciting, fun and unique experience for everyone.
PBTS: From where did you draw your inspiration?
CRAIG: Chris and his team of architects are crazy {in a fun way}. I am not sure where or how they came up with the idea, but it is inspired by the Jules Vern novel Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea. Thus, the name on our cottage reads "Nautilus."
PBTS: Is there anything else you want our readers to know?
CRAIG: This was our second year doing Cottages For Kids and we really enjoy seeing all of the parents and kids go crazy over all of the cottages on the Rosemary Beach Green. It is a fantastic way to help out the Children’s Volunteer Health Network.
