Designing and building the home of your dreams can be one of the most exciting and rewarding projects you will ever undertake. Not only will a home designed specifically to accommodate the needs of your family enhance your family’s quality of life, it will also serve as a source of personal pride for you for years to come. And yet, taking your dream home from concept to reality can seem a daunting task considering the thousands of decisions that must be made and the hundreds of building codes that must be navigated. What’s more, without adequate engineering knowledge, elements of your “dream” home could, at best, fail to function optimally or turn out to be an eyesore, or, at worst, they could become a safety hazard. With so many variables in play, custom home building budgeting can quickly get out of hand. Forced budgeting compromises can sacrifice the overall look or function of the home if quality substitutions and accommodations cannot be identified. Partnering with an experienced architectural designer to design your custom home will ensure your vision of home translates accurately, optimally, safely and beautifully into the home of your dreams.

Bringing Your Vision to Life

Architecture is the art and science of designing buildings and structures. Architectural design involves the manipulation of mass, space, volume, texture, light, materials and other elements in order to achieve an end result that is functional and aesthetically pleasing. The architectural designer’s main concerns are construction, articulation and aesthetics. Construction involves engineering the structure to stand the test of time. Articulation can be described basically as designing the structure to meet the needs of the users. And aesthetics encompasses the finished look of the structure. Many of us have some vision of what we want our home to look like. The role of the architectural designer is to thoughtfully and strategically articulate the homeowner’s needs into a blueprint design for construction of the home.

The Role of Listening

A successful architectural designer is adept at listening. Listening to your needs, your style, your tastes, your goals. Active listening forms the foundation for capturing your vision. A skilled designer will know what questions to ask to gather the right data for beginning the design process. The time spent in the information gathering phase is most critical to the success of the project. Then, as the concepts emerge, a good designer will document and sketch out the ideas for review and reflection, possibly with several iterations of the process, each time carefully listening for what works, what needs tweaking, etc.

Marrying Function and Form

Starting with the functional needs to be addressed, the architectural designer will begin to design the spaces of the home, but their work will be guided by aesthetic principles. For example, you may need a large dining room. The designer is not simply going to allot adequate square footage and make sure traffic can flow around the space and then call it complete. S/he is going to consider how best to layout the kitchen and dining areas to, for example, capture the most sunlight, or capitalize on the best view of the yard. She is going to think about the flooring materials, where arches might be incorporated into the ceiling and how trim designs might offset or delineate the dining area from the rest of the house.

Teamwork

Successful residential architecture is a partnership between the homeowner, the architectural designer and the contractor. The homeowner plays the pivotal role of sharing their vision and needs in the design phase and providing feedback throughout the process. The architectural designer creates the home design in line with the client’s needs and desires, capitalizing on aesthetic opportunities and navigating the land use and building codes. The designer’s blueprints become the how-to for the construction team, but the designer will remain active throughout the build phase as well.

An Overview of the Residential Architecture Process

Though no two projects are ever the same and the scope and scale will vary significantly by project, most custom home building follows a basic progression:

• Architectural designer and client meet to discuss vision and budget. Dreams are discussed. Pictures or idea boards may be shared. The aforementioned topics of specific needs, family lifestyle, personal tastes and the like are covered.
• Out of the first meeting, preliminary designs are created and reviewed. Often first concepts are sketches but many residential architects include 3D designs after early renderings are approved. During this phase the designer will present design elements that capitalize on the property or space, accounting for terrain, elevations, possibly landscaping and the like. This process may involve 2-4 meetings.
• Next, the process transitions into the design development phase. Here, concepts are further defined. For example, windows and doors will be placed, square footage finalized and roof elevations established.
• In tandem with the design development phase, the architectural designer will produce permit drawings for the project. Less detailed than the construction blueprints, permit drawings will include detail needed to obtain approval from the local and state governing bodies that enforce building codes. Permit drawings will include information on electrical loads, gas line placement, building setbacks, etc. It can take several weeks to get the approvals required to commence construction. Having the permit drawings in play, the team can work on the more granular design details as they await their final approvals.
• Once the homeowner has approved, final construction plans will be drawn up.
• If a general contractor has not been chosen, the architectural designer will help the homeowner choose one. Many designers regularly partner with the same contractors and can provide experience-backed endorsements, if desired.
• Once building begins, the architectural designer transitions to construction administration. S/he stays involved throughout the process, answering questions, making clarifications and revisions if needed, but always ensuring design integrity. The designer reviews invoices, monitors costs and oversees scheduling. The designer isn’t finished until the contractor is finished.

There are plenty viagra samples free http://nakatsumassagewellness.com/contact/ of reasons why some natural male enhancement pills are considered better than others available today, from an honest commitment to quality to the stringent clinical trial process that results in the right amount of each ingredient. Often male fend off to talk openly price of cialis 10mg on subject of impotency. For this reason, discount cialis should not be consumed by those who have not had sexual intercourse for health reasons. * a physical defect of the penis (such as Peyronie’s disease); * retinitis pigmentosa (an inherited condition of the eye). * a stomach ulcer * angina (chest pain), high or low blood pressure; liver or kidney syndrome (or if you are on dialysis); a blood cell disorder such as sickle cell anemia, multiple myeloma, or leCanadaemia;. http://nakatsumassagewellness.com/rates/ online levitra This is usually caused due to different reasons like those mentioned below.

Choosing Your Residential Architect

No doubt their role is integral to the building of your home, so finding the right architectural designer to partner with is key. All states have an architecture board responsible for the licensing and regulating of residential architecture. This oversight is in place to protect public health, safety and welfare and is a safeguard in your decision process. Beyond this, word of mouth recommendations can be valuable inputs for you. Some designers specialize in a specific design philosophy that may resonate with you, i.e. modern architecture, green building, historic restoration, etc. Many homeowners interview a few designers before making their final decision. Naturally, beyond their trade-specific features, personality traits of the designer and their support team should be considered. You will be interacting with your architectural designer and their team intimately for an extended period of time. You will be trusting them with key decisions that will impact you and your family for years to come.

Turning Your Dream Home into a Reality

Call it the power of imagination in action. Actively listening to your goals, offering informed solutions and carefully managing your budget parameters, the experienced architectural designer translates your vision of home into a concrete reality. With engineering expertise and a working knowledge of building codes, the designer serves as the conduit to creation, providing the overall blueprint that will inform the construction. Combining professional design education and personal talent with experienced-backed materials expertise, the designer brings valuable knowledge to the design table and ensures function never handicaps aesthetics, or vice versa. Partnering with an architectural designer you can be certain you are capitalizing on your opportunities, safeguarding your investment dollars and ultimately getting the home of your dreams.

Lindbergh Designs, LLC designs innovative custom homes congruent with an architectural philosophy that values equally, construction, function and overall aesthetics. Throughout their combined 30 years of experience in residential architecture, they’ve prioritized exemplary customer service so that they can deliver residential home designs that reflect the personality of the homeowner and beautifully address their individual needs. They begin by actively listening to the client’s vision, working to understand the family lifestyle and values. Respecting client budget goals is always a top priority. Lindbergh presents smart options and provides valuable, experienced guidance. Once the plans are handed off to the home builder, the team remains an active participant in the project to ensure that what stands at the end is exactly what was envisioned. If you’re ready to build your dream home, we invite you to come and see the power of imagination in action at Lindbergh Designs, LLC. Contact us today to set up a consultation.