What Can a Residential Architect Do for You?

Designing a house, even in its simplest form, is the process of making a list of needs and desires ("We need three bedrooms... we might like a 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 ('Separate Laundry is more important to us than making a Study'), then making a range of choices and compromises that meet the requirements while staying within the constraints defined. A residential architect is trained using his professional experience and skills to assist the future homeowner through these challenging tasks. By creating a well-organized plan early in the design stage, the architect can present questions to the house owner and help them make decisions for a more efficient and cost-effective house plan. For example, spatial progressions are often studied, like moving from the Garage into the Mudroom then into the Kitchen, which is also preferred over walking directly into the family room from the Garage. Spatial relationships may also be examined, for instance, keeping the public spaces just like the Family and Dining Rooms grouped, and the bedrooms, bathrooms, and office spaces in more private zones. How the Kitchen connects to the Dining Room, breakfast nook, or even a hearth Room are also vital factors to review at this stage of the planning. An efficient 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 house. For instance, this could be the first time that the homeowner can envision interior features just like the fireplace and surrounding bookcases and windows, cabinetry, detailed trim like columns, art niches, and crown molding. They’re going to see spatial drawings showing 2-story foyers and rooms with vaulted ceilings. These drawings also help in the selection of materials; "Should the fireplace surround be drywall, wood, stone, or brick?" All of these questions help the architects and client to see and develop all the rooms and surfaces to make home design more complete and more comfortable. Exterior elevations will be developed, helping the homeowners envision what their home will look like from the surface. What style is the house? What’s 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? These are all necessary design questions that have got to be answered, and might only be addressed by quality, detailed elevation drawings showing all exterior aspects of the house. The detailed drawings produced by the residential architect can also save money for the client. Thoroughly executed drawings will resolve more details on "paper" and may minimize costly errors and "do-overs" made in the field by the contractors. The architect will usually drive the structural design of the house, attempting to coordinate the structural framing with all the other systems of the house; like plumbing, electrical, HVAC, and therefore the interior and exterior skins. And finally, a good set of construction drawings communicates better information to the bidding contractors, enabling them to confidently price all aspects of construction, instead of just inflating their prices to hide all of the unknowns. The residential architect can help with the difficult process of turning the homeowners' dreams and desires into a functional plan, incorporating the entire specified spatial, interior, and exterior design features with an eye towards budgetary limitations. By asking design questions early in the process, knowing materials, the latest construction technologies, and providing a detailed set of construction drawings, the architect can facilitate a less expensive bidding process and eliminate expensive construction mistakes in the field. All of those cause a better final product and a satisfied homeowner.