My client chose a particular rich dark green siding and black window trim for their Craftsman bungalow. I presented them with options for the remaining trim and door colors. Then I made this quick GIF animation for fun.
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Bring problems, not solutions
To get the most out of the design process, it is best to present me with a problem statement rather than a solution. Isolating the problem statement is easier said than done. I find clients usually understand their design problems perfectly. They know what parts of their layout are inefficient, which finishes are outdated, which views are not accessed, which views should be blocked, what needs are simply not provided for in their home.
Most clients take the next step and propose a solution: “We need a room laid out like so, with a door here and a window here.” Of course no one knows your house better than you do. However, as an architect, I can step back, analyze your needs and study your house as a system which accomplishes the following:
By taking all of these factors into account, in addition to issues of structure, cost, codes, and so on, I can present a solution you may have never thought of that solves your problem very well.
Here’s an example. A two-career, two-computer couple hired me to add a study/library to their home. They stated that they wanted this room right off of the kitchen, because it would be “close to everything.” They felt that the problem needing a solution was: how do we get light into the kitchen if we block off its sliding glass door with another room.
I understood that this couple needed a new room, but questioned whether it had to be right off of the kitchen. In fact, that would make it too close to everything. I proposed location a little further off the beaten track. This proposed location was secluded enough for actual study to take place. It had the added benefit of being structurally simple and not taking away the kitchen’s light and access, which were established and enjoyed.
I will help peel apart the issues driving your design. The first few sessions may well consist largely of discussion and questions about your house, your needs, your priorities, etc.
Bring an open mind
When presented with solutions you may never have thought of, it is best to have an open mind. You may discover that I have hit upon a great solution! It goes without saying, though, you are the final judge. A good way to evaluate a design is to ask the following question: Does it solve your problems constructively? This is the most important thing a design must do.
Bring a notebook
I recommend that clients keep a record of the design process. A notebook, folder, or journal allows you to have a central location for questions, issues raised at each meeting, items to consider for the next meeting, opinions, priorities, lists, and so on. Many clients collect photos of projects they like. I regard these as impressions, not necessarily as solutions to directly reproduce.
Bring hard information
If you have house plans already, by all means, bring them. It will give me a good head start on preparing “as-builts.” This can save many hours of billable time.
Bring a budget, even if it is not “set in stone.” Be honest about your intentions so that I can work towards the best solution that you can afford. Without an accurate budget range to work with, I will probably propose more or less than you want.
Eventually, you will be responsible to provide data such as your legal description and tax assessor’s number (for permit). If site information is required, such as a survey or a letter or report from a soils engineer, it is typically provided by the client.
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What do you think? I invite your comments.
I just returned from a visit with my 84-year-old mother who was in the hospital because she fell and hit her head. Though she suffered only a nasty black eye and a shock to her system, it was clear to all of us that the danger of her falling had become critical. With my sister, I undertook the task of relocating her to an assisted living apartment. For over a year, Mom had been adamantly against this move, but after her fall, she agreed to it.
No one likes to admit that they are getting older, and that they can’t do things the same way they used to. Many of my parents’ generation continue, with increasing effort, to keep up their lifestyle and routines that have served them well for many years, until there is a crisis. This can come in the form of a fall, a fender-bender, or a diagnosis of self or partner, and suddenly, things need to change. Most often, new arrangements, and all of their attendant upheaval, occur at a moment of maximum stress, when one’s abilities to adjust and cope are already under strain.
With 20-20 hindsight, we can see that the time to have made some accommodations would have been BEFORE the crisis. My sister and I wish we had been able to convince Mom to accept her need for increased assistance many months ago. It would have been so much easier for her to adjust to new patterns and routines when in good health, and the improved arrangements might even have prevented the crisis.
Foresight about the realities of aging-in-place, that is, making accommodations to one’s home for accessibility and safety, requires facing the possibility of loss of abilities that have been taken for granted. It requires clear-eyed practicality and application of “the golden rule” to one’s self.
Appropriate architectural accommodations in homes for aging-in-place, also known as universal design, includes integration of the following:
For a new home, these accommodations can be smoothly integrated at the outset of the design. For retrofit of an existing home, it can involve some ingenuity to achieve these goals. Increasingly, many of my clients, often “baby boomers” in middle age, are asking for the benefits of universal design. They tell me they want to stay in their homes “for the duration.” They want their homes to be accessible for friends and parents who may use wheelchairs or walkers. They understand that big changes can occur at any time of life.
There is no time like the present to plan for the future.
Related article: Universal Design: What Is It and Why You Should Care. Image courtesy of James Estrin,The New York Times.
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I invite your comments.
There are a few places in a house where your hand frequently touches the architecture, and they deserve special attention. These custom-made cabinet handles by Seattle woodworker David M. Fen enhance the experience of use through carefully detailed visual and tactile qualities. I think of them as house jewelry.
Sometimes, a handle incorporates multiple wood species. Some are wrapped, and/or carved. The knob, at bottom of posting, includes a carved black onyx disk.
Fen says, “My work is inspired by the common-sense practicality of the West, the haiku simplicity of the East and the bold vigor of indigenous craft.”
Upper left image belongs to Laura Kraft-Architect. All others courtesy of David Fen Fine Woodworking. Feel free to share any of these images, but please provide a link back to 2H Pencil. Thanks.
Design is a response to needs/wants. This backsplash design was generated in response to 5 things my client wanted:
Custom fabricated stainless-steel back splash with integrated shelf.
Continuous plug strip at wall, task lights forward. (One off and one on in this photo.)
Flush termination of steel at end of wall. Radiused transition between shelf and wall eliminates a seam.
Section Detail
All images belong to Laura Kraft-Architect. Feel free to share any of these images, but please provide a link back to 2H Pencil. Thanks.
According to the AIA’s recent 2012 Home Design Trends Survey, as summarized in an online AIA article, Mud Rooms/Drop Off Zones stand out as the sole “special function” spaces that are increasing in popularity among the three most desirable spaces included in home remodels and additions.
Early in 2007, I named, defined, and described the Drop Off Zone in the Drawing Board column of Fine Homebuilding Magazine as “a front-room feature that caters to the gadgets and trappings that accompany you whenever you enter or leave the house.” Here are a few examples I have designed:
features include a tile floor, built-in seating, mail sorting cabinet, and a coat closet
electrical connections are concealed in the cabinetry for charging a variety of devices
design sketch for Drop Off Zone shown below in photo
One hook, one large and one small drawer per family member
Along with Drop Off Zones, the survey cites home offices and outdoor living areas/outdoor rooms as the other two top choices for clients’ remodeling projects, though they are not currently growing in popularity.
As compared to new construction, “improvements to existing homes remain the strongest sector of the housing market…(encompassing) kitchen and bath remodels, as well as additions and alterations to existing homes.” In general, people are concerned with energy efficiency, and design for aging in place.
All of these types of improvements are key components of projects in my practice of architecture.
All images belong to Laura Kraft-Architect. Feel free to share any of these images, but please provide a link back to 2H Pencil. Thanks.
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