Residential Design Teams

The three main team members on any project are the owner, architect, and general contractor. Other professionals involved are a structural engineer, a geo-technical engineer, an interior designer, landscape architect, an arborist, a mechanical engineer, and often a sound system designer. The structural engineer is hired by the architect and their fee is included in the architectural fee. The other professionals will either have contracts directly with the owner or billed as a reimbursable expense.

Owners: The most important team member. There are three intertwined factors involved in the design and construction of a house; 1) project size, 2) cost, 3) quality of construction and detailing. To stay within budget; the owners determine which of the two factors are most important to them. The architect then has control the third factor. The owners involvement throughout the project varies from owner to owner; you can be involved in every selection or rely on the professionals and approve the design decisions at each junction.

Architect: The architect is responsible for translating the owners program into a design that is appropriate for the site and client. The architect is responsible for coordinating with the other professionals. The architect produces drawings and specifications to communicate the design to others. The architect will also present the designs to any review boards.

Structural Engineer: The structural engineer is responsible for ensuring that the structure is designed to meet the local building and hurricane codes.

Geo-technical Engineer: The soils are tested by the geo-technical engineer to determine their bearing capacity. This information is used by the structural engineer in the design of the foundation.

Interior Designer: The interior designer works with the architect and owner in selecting the interior finishes, furniture, fixtures, and window treatments.

Landscape Architect: The landscape architect works with the architect and owner in the design of all exterior spaces, finishes and plant material.

Arborist: We often recommend the use of a certified arborist when there are significant trees on the property that we want to protect. The arborist will trim the dead wood and deep fertilize the trees prior to construction.

General Contractor: This is the team member who actually builds the project based on the drawings and specifications provided by the design professionals.

What Makes a Good Home #3

Liesl Geiger in her book Essence of Home details 6 aspects that are necessary for a good home. Most of the items have already been discussed by Hildebrand and Eck. Her six items are 1. Site and Scale; 2. Language and Style, she refers to the language of spatial forces and the language of physical detailing; they must work together. Language and Style complements Hildebrand's Prospect, Refuge and Complex Order; 3. Openings and Light Geiger describes as the relationship between the interior and exterior. She also describes houses as introverted (minimal relationship with the exterior) or extroverted (large openings connecting with the exterior); 4. Spheres of Living - Geiger reiterates Eck's request to not name the rooms by traditional names but rather what activity occurs in the space. This also corresponds with Eck's essential feature of how the floor plan minimizes efficiency and comfort for today's living; 5. Flow of Space - which generally is the same as Hildebrand's enticement but Geiger brings in a new concept of the speed of spaces. Slow spaces have furniture and fast spaces have little furniture. The links between spaces are critically important and can be accomplished by changes in doors, material, lighting and dimensions, both horizontally and vertically; and 6. Sustainability which Geiger defines as "Sustainability refers to a manner of building that takes into consideration the region and the environment - its climate, natural resources, and construction traditions."

What Makes a good home #2

I just finished Jeremiah Eck's book The Distinctive Home, A Vision of Timeless Design. This is a good book for clients to read, he covers the importance of site design very well. He also has a strong argument on the importance of detailing and the necessity of prioritizing desired square footage and finishes.

Eck says that there are four essential features for a good home. 1. How it occupies the site. 2. How the floor plan works for you and contemporary lifestyles. He recommends that you rethink what rooms are called. They should be named for their activities and whether they are formal/informal and public/private. 3. How the exterior is designed. It should be balanced and blend with the site and or neighborhood. 4. How selected exterior and interior details transmit an enduring sense of quality, care, and thought.

I agree with Eck on his four essential features but we need to include the prospect/refuge and enticement from Hildebrand's list. Hildebrand's "complex order" is the same as Eck's #4 detailing.

What makes a good home?

I have been reading several books on residential design and in many of them the question is asked and answered on what makes a good home. I am going to devote the next several posts to exploring what other architects say makes a good home. In the book House Thinking by Winifred Gallagher she outlines the architect Grant Hildebrand's 5 characteristics of a good home. The are 1. Prospect - the big space 2. Refuge, 3. Enticement, 4. Peril, and 5. Complex Order. The ratio of prospect to refuge is very personal and both are necessary. The alcove off the great room or the window seat in the family room. Enticement is the element that is often so wonderfully explored in custom homes and left out of tract housing. The window placed just right or the gate opening into a lush hidden garden. Peril - I question, Hildebrand uses the term to describe a house on a cliff, or large witnessing a storm through large windows and the contrasting safety one feels inside the house. I think you need to be connected to nature but not threatened by nature. Finally, complex order delights our mind and allows us to appreciate the details of the house.