George Clemens Architecture Blog

Historic Renovation = Green Housing

Wed, 17 Jul 2024 12:00:00 -0400

New buildings are rising every day with new sustainable features and energy efficient standards. However, it’s important to remember there is another, equally important way, of adapting green methods into architecture: renovations.

You may be wondering how renovating an old, energy-inefficient house could be better than building a brand new, state of the art green building. Clearly, an old building will require more compromise on methods and materials. But there are two large advantages to renovation which will more than offset this compromise:

There will be far less landfill waste than a tear down.
The bulk of the construction is already in place, ready to be REUSED – the highest/best form of recycling.

Reduce, Reuse, Recycle

We all know the old phrase, “reduce, reuse, recycle.” These three R’s help us remember how to be responsible with our building waste management.

Reduce: Limit the things we buy and produce in the first place
Reuse: When we do buy and produce, make sure we get use of them over a long period of time.
Recycle: When it is time to get rid of something, find a way to process the waste into other goods.

In regard to the life cycle of a building, you can see how Reduce, Reuse, Recycle as a concept comes into play. Renovating a historic building, as opposed to tearing it down, is distinctly in the "reuse" category. If the building already exists, we should not be wasteful and destroy the building unnecessarily. Instead, we should reuse it as much as possible.

Embodied Carbon

Embodied carbon refers to the carbon dioxide created from an entire lifecycle of a building. Creating construction materials, transporting the materials to the site, demolishing the building, and transporting the waste to a landfill all produce carbon dioxide. As you can imagine, the embodied carbon will add up.

When taking embodied carbon into consideration, suddenly it becomes clear that the amount of energy it would take to tear down and build a new building is significantly less than renovation. Renovating a building instead of building new will prevent waste of materials and will limit the need for transportation of materials.

Creating Care in the Community

While the main point of this article is to focus on the green aspect of renovation vs. teardown, it is also important to recognize that renovating historic architecture not only helps save our environment, but it also has a great cultural importance.

Preserving the historic buildings of an area gives the community a sense of history and pride. When the people in a community feel proud of where they live, it motivates the people to take care of it.

All in all, renovating a building is a win/win when it comes to sustainable building and preserving the historic culture of the community it resides.

Curved Walls

Wed, 29 May 2024 12:01:00 -0400

Have you ever walked into a round room and really paid attention to how the design makes you feel? Many people note feelings of peace, calm, and serenity. According to this 2007 Harvard study, straight lines and corners activate the amygdala - the part of the brain that indicates danger. It has been posited this is because corners remind us of feeling trapped, igniting that feeling of fear and anxiety. Because of this, round rooms and curved walls will often give the feeling of calmness.

In a design sense, rounding corners allows us to shape the space in a way that rectilinear design discourages. Imagine a flowing river - the wide eddies gives space for the water to move comfortably, while narrows compresses the space, speeding up the flow. As you can imagine, this type of thinking can offer a lot of potential for space design.

Rounded rooms and curved walls are nothing new in architecture. They will automatically add a sense of whimsy and playfulness to a home. But because rounded rooms are not designed to accommodate your average couch, table and hanging art, most people write them off. The question then is – how does one enjoy the beauty and calmness of a round room in their home, while keeping it functional for every day use?

Keep it simple. Because round rooms are so special on their own, you don’t want to over decorate. Sometimes, keeping the wall blank to focus on the interesting architecture of curved lines is enough decoration on it's own.

Find the right furniture. Finding the right furniture to complement the curved walls while keeping the room functional is important. The ideal scenario would be custom furniture. Having furniture built to the specific curvature of the room will feel like a fitting a piece into a puzzle. It will create the cleanest, most comfortable look in the room.

Hang art and photographs. Hanging frames is definitely possible in rounded rooms, and could enhance the design of the space. However, the size of the framed pieces that can work will depend on the curve of the room. A small, short curved room will not be able to hold a large frame, so generally speaking smaller frames work better. Either way, it is possible to hang art on a curved wall if you want!

Adding any type of curved wall to your home - whether it throughout the space, or singled out into it's own round room - will create a sense of dynamic flow that will make your home stand out.

The Cost of Bad Design

Wed, 03 Apr 2024 10:56:00 -0400

Introduction

When discussing the cost of a house design, it’s easy to only consider the monetary cost of the design; however, there are other types of value to consider. Monetary value, functional value, social value, and psychological value are all important factors to deliberate during your home design process. Understanding these different types of values can help break down not only what makes a home design great, but also what a poor home design can cost you in the long run.

The Values

Monetary Value

Simply put, the monetary value of your home is calculated by how much money you are spending on a residential project versus its corresponding increase in property value. There are several ways a bad design or poor construction decisions can cost you in monetary value, including:

Using low quality, cheap materials which will need to be replaced after a short period of time. It may be tempting to save money up front, but using less expensive and lower quality materials will end up costing you more money down the line. Instead, invest in superior quality materials, which will last longer, and you will end up saving on irritating repairs and/or replacements.
Not utilizing energy efficiently in your home. Insulation, appliances, window placement, ventilation… these are just a few ways to make a home energy efficient. Skimping out on energy efficient methods might not seem like a big deal during the design process, but years down the road when your utility costs are high you will be paying the price for those decisions. Implementing good insulation, tightly sealed windows and energy conscious heating/cooling systems in your home design will save you monthly costs.

A sub-point to monetary value is market value. To put it bluntly, beautifully designed homes are worth a great deal more than unattractive homes. Ask a realtor!

Functional Value

A functional house is one which has an easy flow from room to room, where each room is utilized, and nothing feels missing from the house. These are all huge targets to cover, but missing any of them will result in the functionality of the home being lowered significantly. If a house is awkward to walk through, if rooms are inconvenient and therefore unused, or if it’s missing vital spaces, the cost of that design is the comfort of the homeowner’s day-to-day life.

Social Value

Your home is a way to connect with others – whether it is spending time with your family or inviting guests over for the holidays. A poor design can make it hard to entertain. If your home is designed with no space to socialize or if the public areas are cramped, poorly lit, and poorly ventilated, it can be difficult to utilize those spaces. An architect will consider these aspects of the home to make it as functional as possible for whatever type of socialization the homeowner values.

Psychological Value

A home allows you to express yourself through design choices through the colors and the spaces in which you live. These spaces should enhance the comfort in your life. If you feel that the design of your home does not match your aesthetic, or if you feel like you live in someone else’s home, that is the result of poor design.

In addition, the use of the house is a daily occurrence, any sort of emotion you feel from the design of the house is therefore recurring. For example, if you enjoy the way a window placement allows for sunshine every morning, you will feel that enjoyment every day. In the opposite way, if you are annoyed at a window placement, that annoyance will also be recurring.

Understanding the multifactorial value of a good home design is important! Engaging an architect who recognizes and integrates all these aspects into the design process will have a significant impact on the success of the design and ultimately the overall “cost” to the Homeowner.

Architecture Firms vs. Design–Build

Mon, 05 Feb 2024 13:31:00 -0500

Introduction

You are planning to build your dream house, and you need a team to make it happen. There are different paths to choose from: you can hire an architect and a builder separately, or you can hire a design–build company. This choice will have real consequences for your process and the resulting home.

The Problem With Design–Build

Working with a design–build company, your designer is ultimately accountable not to you but to your builder. You may not be aware of the myriad choices and technical decisions that your design team will make, but those decisions can lead you to completely different designs and to completely different construction materials and methods. Believe me, you want an architect that answers only to you.

In a design–build project, the price decisions come from the construction company alone. Regardless of what you may believe you saved in design fees, the construction cost differential can more than outweigh that percentage. And the product may be lower quality: because the design-build company IS the construction company, they can cut corners on parts of the construction to save themselves money. This makes a lower quality product that the owner will be forced to live with for the long term.

In an architect-led project, there is always the option for competitive pricing between multiple construction companies. This allows for bidding and an overall lower price for the owners. An independent design team gives leverage to the owner in the critical period before construction begins, offering a check-and-balance with the ultimate ability to walk away from an unacceptable price. Typically, however, we work as a group to solve budget issues in an open and cooperative manner.

Why Architect-Led Projects Work Better

From the beginning, the owner will have an advocate in an architect. The architect can help the owner navigate the building process and can speak on their behalf to ensure they get the best solutions for their situation, regardless of how it affects the bottom line of any company involved. When an architect leads the project, we are focused on maximizing the Quality/Schedule/Price triangle to find the best outcome for that particular client and circumstance.

In an architect-led project, the focus is on the planning. The architect will create schemes and layouts that detail down to the inch, as well as rendered sketches and even 3D models for the owner to review. The owner can see exactly what they’re getting before the first nail is in place.

Furthermore, planning is the key for efficient project management. With detailed, accurate plans created by an expert, one can be sure that the project will be completed properly and with few issues. Then, during the construction process, the architect will be involved in making sure the building is going up in accordance with the owner’s vision and the completed construction documents.

Conclusion

At first glance, design–build may seem simpler, but simpler is not necessarily better for the owner. Design alone is an investment for the future: investing in the planning stage of the home design will ensure that the owner can see the project before the building even begins.

Having an architect on your side ensures that you have an advocate from the very beginning, to make sure your vision for a new or improved home is finally realized.

Renovating Historic Kitchens

Wed, 20 Sep 2023 13:31:00 -0400

Renovating Historic Kitchens

Everyone wants to look at the wonderful architectural legacy of our historic communities, such as in Chagrin Falls; Conversely, most people want to live in an updated house with rooms that flow and an updated kitchen. To achieve the second goal without losing the first, it takes some ingenuity and a lot of respect for the original craftsmanship and appearance. Interior walls including bearing walls can be opened up, and we have found that if half the wall becomes an opening then rooms will successfully connect. One great aspect of many historic homes is the high ceilings, which creates a sense of space even in tight floor plans.

If an addition is needed, the scale of the new must not dwarf the scale of the old (say, eighteen-foot wide gables on a historic Victorian). And the addition must not ‘blend’ into the old form to create an elongated or stretched side view of the house – extensions should read as their own, discrete elements. Finally, the entire floor plan should be considered as an integrated whole – in other words, the front/ original rooms should remain a vital part of the finished product.

Kitchens are often the center of attention during the renovation of a historic home. Old kitchens tend to have small counter spaces with little space to move in between. Below, we have examples of our kitchen renovations which preserve the historic uniqueness of each home, while giving it breathing room for modern life.

1936 Monte Copper Tudor

This beautiful Tudor home in Shaker Heights, Ohio was updated with minimal exterior impact. The family room was the trickiest element of the design because it was removed from the kitchen by several steps down through a thickened wall. Without eliminating the transition, we transformed it into two sets of steps spilling around a central cabinetry piece. This geometric puzzle of cabinetry gives openness with glass cabinets over a kitchen buffet, while gracefully serving the family room side with an elegant bar area.

1910 Walker and Weeks Traditional

Built in 1910 in Gates Mills, Ohio, this home was missing a functional kitchen or any connected spaces. A beautiful butler’s pantry, office, walk-in pantry, sitting nook, kitchen, and informal dining space were woven into a comfy living zone. An updated back entry and bathrooms were also included in the project.

Chagrin Falls Italianate

This home lacked any sort of functional or visual connection between the front of the house and the spacious family room area in the rear. Using strategic interventions (i.e., moving a stairway), we opened sightlines through the entire house while placing the kitchen in an ideal, central location.

Conclusion

While it may seem daunting to imagine a kitchen transforming from cramped to spacious, you can see from our examples that it is entirely possible. With an expert on your side, the historic kitchens of the past can be shaped into modern living spaces; all of this can be achieved while respecting the history of the home.

Organic Modernism

Tue, 28 Feb 2023 10:58:29 -0500

What is Organic Modernism?

Organic modernism architecture is a philosophy of architecture which promotes harmony between human habitation and the natural world. Organic designs allow for buildings to be built within and alongside nature, instead of against it. The idea is to coexist with our natural environment, using sustainable design and natural materials. Doing so allows us to stay in touch with our environment instead of disconnecting from it.

Components of Organic Modernism:

Natural colors and aesthetics
Complimenting the surrounding environment
Simplicity in its designs
Sustainable architecture

Featured Examples of Organic Modernism Architecture

There are so many examples of this style, but here are just a few featured projects to give you a glimpse into the world of organic modern architecture.

Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum

The Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum is an art museum located in New York City, housing a collection of mostly contemporary art collected by Solomon R. Guggenheim. The building, designed by renowned architect Frank Lloyd Wright in 1943, is made up of 3 distinct formations: two rotundas and a rectangular slab underneath them. It’s main focus is a large, circular ramp that rises along the inside of the largest rotunda, allowing for a seamless view of the art collection.

Nature is the key feature of the building. The circular shape of the building appears to grow from the ground, giving it a look of natural beauty. The ceiling of the main museum area is a 90ft oculus that fills the space with natural light. Additionally, nature is featured within the design: light, plants, and water all feature heavily in the building. “Study nature, love nature, stay close to nature. It will never fail you.” -Frank Lloyd Wright

Photo by Sam Valadi [Photo source]
Further reading: The Architecture of the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum

Fallingwater

One of the most famous buildings designed with organic modern architecture is Fallingwater. The residential building was designed by Frank Lloyd Wright – who is known to be the master of organic modernism. The home was designed to encompass the surrounding waterfalls in an organic way, allowing for comfortable living among nature, without disrupting it.

Other interesting design elements with this is the use of straight lines, which highlight the more organic shapes of the surrounding environment. Rough, vertical masonry piers give a natural organic shape to contrast the smooth, horizontal platforms. Additionally, the use of cantilevers (a long, projecting object which is supported only on one end) give the illusion of hovering platforms above the flowing waters below.

Photo by Mariano Mantel [Photo source]
Further reading: Fallingwater.com

Chapelle Notre Dame du Haut

Designed by Le Corbusier in 1959, the Chapelle Notre Dame du Haut was built on a hilltop in Ronschamp, France. A more classic chapel was previously located on the site, but the building had been destroyed during World War II.

While Le Corbusier’s designs typically leaned more clean-lined and functional, this design features convex and concave shapes throughout the exterior and interior. The chapel is made up of thick masonry walls that reach a point that moves upward, evoking the feeling of a billowing ship. The curved concrete roof, separated from the walls below by a small gap, give the feeling of a cloud floating gently above. The gap creates a sliver of light in the interior, running along the ceiling to bring natural, subtle light in the space.

Photo by LauterGold [Photo source]
Further reading: Le Corbusier's Ronchamp chapel is one of the 20th century's most important buildings

The Kellogg Doolittle Residence

Ken Kellogg, a mentee of Frank Lloyd Wright, designed a new residence for the Doolittles in 2005. Nestled onto a desert hillside on the edge of Joshua Tree National Park, the design mimics the ancient rock formations that surround it, giving the illusion of a smoothened boulders, or even perhaps ancient bones found in the rocks. The interior contains no lumber or drywall, instead only stone, concrete, copper and glass. Kellogg is known to use contradictions in his designs: Brutalism with Organic Modernism, and using glass and stone to create warmth. Even with this tension, the form can be seen as completely reflective of its surrounding environment.

[Further reading: Kelloggdoolittlehouse.com ]

National Veterans Museum

A standout piece of architecture located in downtown Columbus, Ohio, the National Veterans Memorial and Museum is a stunning piece of organic modern architecture. The crux of the design is a spiral procession gliding upwards, leading toward a grass-covered rooftop sanctuary. As many veterans may have difficulty walking, the importance of ramps was not overlooked. The spiral ascension is not only beautiful, but more importantly, gives differently abled people access to the amenities.

Photo by J. Jessee [Photo source]
Further reading: nationalvmm.org: About The Architecture

Conclusion

While at first glance organic modernism can seem unconventional, the beauty of our natural environment should be allowed to inspire our own living spaces. From museums to churches to homes, we can find a way to coexist in beautiful spaces not against nature, but alongside it.

Takeaways from Greenbuild 2022

Thu, 02 Feb 2023 12:00:00 -0500

Introduction

In November of 2022, Greenbuild hosted its annual Greenbuild International Conference + Expo in San Francisco. As we are always on the quest to learn more about sustainability, and share our newfound knowledge, here is a list of the main takeaways from our visit at Greenbuild 2022.

Re-using resources and minimizing waste

While we all know the phrase “Reduce, Reuse, Recycle,” it is important to note that the phrase is listed in order of importance. While recycling is great, it is more important to not create waste in the first place. When demolition of buildings is required, actual salvage of re-usable materials (for direct re-use in construction) is a challenging but worthwhile goal. The Elements of Living Construction System is still a unique example of design for re-use.

Lowering embodied carbon to reduce carbon footprint

Embodied carbon refers to the carbon dioxide created from an entire lifecycle of a building: from constructing materials, to assembling the building, to demolishing and transporting the waste. One of our main goals, as a company in the housing industry, is to reduce the carbon footprint of our projects as much as possible. Some ways we are able to do this are:

Instead of building new homes: reuse them. Historical architecture is helpful in many ways. Not only to keep the historic accuracy maintained in our communities, but it is also a green building method. Instead of needing to build, transport, and assemble the framework, we only need to adjust the current building to the clients needs.
Salvaged materials – reuse brick, stone, metals, and wood,
Use low carbon materials: avoid aluminum, plastics, foam insulation. Use wood instead of steel. Even better: options like straw or hemp insulation are annually renewable.
Use recycled materials: especially with metal. Virgin steel can have a carbon footprint 5 times greater (source: AIA). Similarly, concrete with recycled slab content can have a much lower footprint than virgin concrete.

WELL institute’s integration into LEED/USGBC standards

A huge takeaway from the event was learning about the overlap of WELL and LEED. A little background: WELL Building Institute (IWBI) manages the Well Building Standard, which is a guide to creating better buildings for human health and well-being. Additionally, the United States Green Building Coalition (USGBC) manages LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design). According to their website, “LEED provides a framework for healthy, efficient, carbon and cost-saving green buildings.” Basically, the WELL Building Standard focuses on human health, while LEED focuses on building sustainability.

While the WELL Building Standard and LEED have different focuses, there is a surprising amount of overlap between sustainable buildings and human health. For example:

Air quality: having proper air filtration, smoke control, and operable windows are important for energy and for human health.
Construction methods: Pollution and waste management are both great examples of building health and human health can overlap.
Materials and resources: One of the main reasons Elements of Living has been such a passion of ours, is because drywall is terrible not only for the environment, but the dust during construction is detrimental to our health as well.

Jane Fonda’s speech

Of course, the highlight of the expo was activist Jane Fonda’s speech. Jane Fonda has been involved in climate change activism for decades, currently heading the Jane Fonda Climate Pac, whose goal is to limit fossil fuel lobbyists. She took the time to be the keynote speaker at Greenbuild 2022, touching on her past in climate change activism, and what she plans to do to continue her fight, while also being lighthearted about her recent cancer fight (and thankfully, more recent remission.) “Don’t lose your focus. Keep finding better and better ways to make buildings healthy, resilient, and green,” she said. “Be brave, and let that metastasize—I have cancer on the brain, but, I mean in a good way—spread it around.”

CONCLUSION

There was so much to take away from this conference. From learning about the importance of lowering embodied carbon, to the integration of the WELL Institute into the LEED/USGBC standards, to the wonderful interview with Jane Fonda, we came back from this event with more knowledge, and more inspiration than ever to continue our efforts toward sustainable architecture.

Six Sorts of Sustainable

Wed, 26 Oct 2022 15:06:00 -0400

What is Sustainability?

“Sustainability”, at its core, simply means doing things in a way that can continue over time: cleaning up our messes as we make them instead of leaving them until they overwhelm or impoverish our grandchildren. Essentially, being sustainable is paying it forward for ourselves and our descendants.

Being “Green” in residential construction is a widely used description that generally means something sustainable, but it has also become a catch-all for several different concepts and goals. This quick overview tries to differentiate between the primary categories of recent Green building initiatives in residential architecture.

Owners in the design process for a new house or large renovation are forced to make decisions about allocating their resources. Depending on their interest in sustainable design, some or all of the six categories below can affect parameters of the project design and create choices for material selections as the project progresses. Green goals largely work in concert with each other, but a few may be in conflict with each other on a given project (especially where high-tech energy solutions meet a call for natural materials). It is valuable to rank the relative importance of the following categories, in order to provide a basis for decisions and trade-offs later on.

1. Minimize Site Impact

Single family houses are inherently worse than higher-density, multi-family approaches because they affect so much more land and change much more habitat. But for houses, focus would be on:

1. Re-using previously developed lots or infill lots versus new developments.
2. Leaving site (trees and wetlands) as undisturbed as possible, partly by minimizing the size of the house/garage footprint. Minimize grading and loss of topsoil.
3. Eliminate the Mowed Lawn, retain native species on site
4. Minimizing impact on water/drainage patterns by retaining rain from roof and using permeable site materials. Dark asphalt roofs and drives are particularly bad for heat gain, but all hard surfaces create rain runoff issues.
  
  STANDARDS/RESOURCES: LEED V4 for Homes/Sustainable Sites, Water Efficiency

2. Save Energy

Since electricity, gas, and oil production have negative ecological impact including Global Warming, a major Green goal is to minimize the amount of off-site energy used in daily living. Building a Passive House with net-zero energy use is the ultimate challenge here, but any and everything that makes a house more efficient is a step in the right direction. Methods include:

1. Employing super-insulation and air-sealing to bring energy loss close to nothing. Closed-cell foam, ultra-thick insulated walls without thermal bridging, and extreme performance windows are typically employed.
2. Sealing off potential leaks using newer air-sealing methods avoids energy loss, but also makes mechanical ventilation very important. Energy-Recovery Ventilators avoid exhausting conditioned air.
3. Engineering high-efficiency mechanical systems is a must. They can be high-tech HVAC systems, maybe using geo-thermal energy – but much smaller to reflect a super-insulating envelope. To actually achieve Net-Zero standards, some renewable energy generation such as solar or wind-powered would be required.
4. Passive heat-gain or storage includes using heat-sinks such as masonry walls to soak up and retain the sun’s warmth overnight; passive cooling includes using the chimney effect and natural ventilation to exhaust hot air.
5. LED lighting is a must to reduce energy used on lighting by almost eighty percent while producing huge life-cycle cost savings. Fans can move air to increase comfort instead of using air-conditioning in warm months.
  
  STANDARDS/RESOURCES: PHIUS (Passive House); LEED Zero; Zero Energy - International Living Future Institute

3. Shrink Carbon Footprint

A measure of how much energy is embodied within a given material after transport to the site to be used in a structure. Bricks are kiln-fired at high temperatures, while local river rock has no carbon footprint except the mortar. But Carrera marble from Italy is cut and transported, which all takes energy. Aluminum takes high temperature to smelt and has a big carbon footprint, but it is easily recycled so has little impact in its second use; steel is also energy-intensive. Every material has different considerations, but notable ‘good’ or small carbon footprints include bamboo, other fast-growing renewable woods. Use of recycled materials would also enter into this discussion.

STANDARDS/RESOURCES: LEED V4 for Homes/ Materials and Resources; EPDs [environmental product declarations]; BuildingGreen.com

4. Build Material Life-Cycle and Waste

Will a material last forever or will it wear out? How will it be discarded? Throwing away wood is different from throwing away PVC in vinyl siding or Azek: bio-degradable materials are a focus. Recyclable materials are good, but only if the second use has value and if the energy of conversion is not too high. Also, even if materials are durable, they would be discarded when structure is altered or replaced. RE-USABLE materials would be the highest goal since needs and houses inevitably change.

This aspect of Sustainability has not been emphasized enough and is the focus of the Elements of Living Construction System, which finally envisions Re-Use of ALL BUILDING COMPONENTS

STANDARDS/RESOURCES: LEED V4 for Homes/ Materials and Resources; EPDs [environmental product declarations]; BuildingGreen.com

5. Use Healthy/Natural Materials:

No off-gassing. Eliminate toxic chemicals. Focus: finishes. Paint and stain, furniture, carpet. Some materials that may be great insulators, such as spray foam, may also have off-gassing or chemical makeups that pose a problem here. Advanced air-filtration technologies can be a focus.

Outside your home, eliminate fertilizer, pesticides/herbicides, and the mowed lawn. Prevent air in the garage from contaminating air in the house.

STANDARDS/RESOURCES: WELL V2 – International Well Building Institute; Healthy Building Network; National Green Building Standard® -NGBS Green Certified materials

6. Green DESIGN relates to both process and form:

The LEED process for homes as defined by the US Green Building Council (or the National Green Building Standard defined by the National Home Builder’s Association) provides a design process standard that can result in Green Certification of the house upon completion of the project. See LEED V4 for Homes/ Innovation in Design Process
What makes a building more intimately related to its environment? How does the form reflect the vision? Green product specification alone does not necessarily create an architectural structure that reflects the values of sustainable living and harmony with our environment.

Sustainable design has not yet developed a coherent visual language, nor is there a single style of Green. The EoL Homes design series is my interpretation of what a truly Sustainable house could become -- George Clemens, A.I.A.

Why Hire An Architect?

Wed, 05 Oct 2022 14:15:00 -0400

Why Hire an Architect?

Deciding to renovate or build a new home is a huge decision, and you may be wondering where to even start. You also may be wondering if it’s worth it to hire an architect for your new project. Whether it’s deciding on floor plans, hiring contractors, finalizing designs, or anything in between, hiring an architect will help ease the stresses of this endeavor -- so you can focus on achieving the home of your dreams.

An Architect Will Help You …

… Make Great Design Decisions

A great design will make your day-to-day living as comfortable as possible. Architects have spent hundreds, if not thousands of hours working with layout design to find the most ideal layout design for harmonious living. If you want your home’s design brought to its fullest potential, an architect on your side is what you need. Great design = great satisfaction.

… Increase the Value of Your Home

A home is often a person’s largest, most valuable asset. When designing a new house, or renovating a current house, it can be important to think about resale value. The design of a residence is the single most impactful aspect on the future value of your home. A comfortable, livable space is what is most important to home buyers and appraisers. ‘Street appeal’ can be the difference as well. Hiring an architect can make sure that your house design will stand out on the market.

… Avoid Errors and Extra Costs

When designing your own home, the last thing you want is to find your finished house has design errors that are not only annoying, but costly. These errors can be avoided from the beginning when you have an expert on your side, guiding you through the process. An architect will spot any errors that could become massive issues down the line.

For instance, using the right Water Resistant Barrier behind your siding, along with attention to the flashing around all sides of each window and door, will make the difference between a tight house with long life for the windows and siding or drafts and rotted wood/ early replacement.

Doing things the right way in the beginning, with an experienced architect, will help you avoid needless errors and costs.

… Navigate Builders and Contractors

Beyond the design aspects of building your home, architects can help you navigate hiring contractors and builders. That means evaluating competitive bids to make sure that you are getting an ‘apples-to-apples’ comparison and making sure you do get the fairest price with a great builder, who will be our partner during the critical construction phase.

Also, remember that builders on their own are not necessarily aware of newer technologies, nor do they have an incentive to put more money into the best building practices for your home. When you have an architect working with you, you can be sure that you have an advocate that can speak on your behalf to builders, electricians, and other sub-contractors, to make sure you’re getting what you want for your home.

… Solve Problems

Home building always has its fair share of problems. For a novice, those problems can be next to impossible to solve. Architects have seen it all, and have spent hundreds, if not thousands, of hours coming up with solutions for home design. When you’re at a loss of what to do next, a professional architect will have innovative, practical solutions to any design problems you come across for your home.

… Be Inspired

Creating your own home shouldn’t be stressful or overwhelming; it should be a fun and exciting experience. When taking on this huge endeavor, you will want the experience to be easy, fun, and inspiring. With the right architect, you will be provided with a constant stream of inspiration. You’ll be introduced to various examples of interior design, color and material samples, and similar homes. In additional, your architect will be able to show you samples of materials, so you can have a hand on approach to the design process.

In Conclusion

Between helping with design decisions, avoiding huge errors, navigating contractors, and simply having a professional on your side, hiring an architect for any building project is hugely beneficial. So not only should you hire an architect, but you should also hire the best architect possible.

The best way to choose the right architect is for you to see examples of their built projects. When looking at each architect's projects, do not focus on whether that project is a solution to your exact problem – it should be an elegant and beautiful solution to its own design challenge. Then make sure, by talking directly with candidates, that they will be a receptive and enjoyable partner in your year-long (or multi-year) exciting endeavor. Also, talk with a former client as well - they can help you understand what the process was like from their point of view, and what the experience was like. Remember: creating your dream home should be fun!