What You Don t Know About Residential Architects May Shock You
Designing a house, even in its simplest form, is the process of creating a list of needs and desires ("We need three bedrooms... we would like a two-car garage"), identifying the parameters and constraints, ("Our lot is only 60 feet wide" or "We only have two hundred thousand to spend.") compiling a list of priorities ("A separate Laundry might be more very important to us than having a Study"), and after that making a series of decisions and compromises that satisfy the needs while staying in the established constraints. A residential architect is trained to help the future homeowner through these challenging tasks by utilizing his specialized experience and skills.
By creating a well-organized floor plan early in the design stage, the architect can present questions to the property owner and enable them to make decisions for a more efficient and cost-effective house plan. By way of example, spatial progressions may be studied, like moving from the Garage in to the Mudroom then into the Kitchen, could possibly be preferred over walking right into the Family room from the Garage. Spatial relationships could also be examined, for instance, keeping the general public spaces like the Family and Dining Rooms grouped together, as well as the bedrooms, bathrooms, and office spaces in more private zones. How the Kitchen connects to the Dining-room, Breakfast Nook, or perhaps a Hearth Room are also vital factors to study at this stage of the design. An efficient floor plan will minimize hallways and underused spaces, which eliminates wasted square footage that cost money to build.
After the plan is established, the architect will study detailed drawings of the vertical and spatial dimensions of the home. For instance, this could be the very first time that the homeowner can envision interior features like the fireplace and surrounding bookcases and windows, cabinetry, detailed trim like columns, art niches, and crown moulding. They will see spatial drawings showing 2-story foyers and rooms with vaulted ceilings. These drawings also help within the selection of materials; "Should the fireplace surround be drywall, wood, stone, or brick?" All of these questions assist the residential architect and client to visualize and appropriately develop every space and surface for a far more complete and satisfying home design.
Exterior elevations will likely be developed, helping the homeowners envision what their home will look like from the outside. What style will be the house? What is its presence from the street? Does it have a bold roofline, or does it blend in with the surrounding landscape? What are the most appropriate materials for the house's style? Which materials are the most cost-effective or most durable? They are all necessary design questions that has to be answered, as well as can only be addressed by quality, detailed elevation drawings showing all exterior aspects of the home.
The detailed drawings produced through the residential architect could also save money for the client. Completely executed drawings will resolve more details on "paper" as well as can minimize costly errors and "do-overs" made in the field through the contractors. The architect will often drive the structural design of the house, working hard to coordinate the structural framing with all the other systems of the house; like plumbing, electrical, HVAC, as well as the interior and exterior skins. And finally, a great group of construction drawings communicates better information to the bidding contractors, enabling them to confidently price all facets of construction, rather than just inflating their prices to cover all the unknowns.
The residential architects architect might help with the difficult process of turning the homeowners' dreams and desires in to a functional floor plan, incorporating all of the desired spatial, interior, and exterior design features with an eye towards budgetary limitations. By asking design questions early during the process, knowing materials, the latest construction technologies, and providing a detailed set of construction drawings, the architect can facilitate a far more cost-effective bidding process and eliminate expensive construction mistakes in the field. All of these lead to a better final product and also a satisfied property owner.
