Responsive & Responsible Architecture
Here’s the million dollar question, ok, well, I’ve never billed that much, but it’s often the bone of contention over a project, what is a fair price, especially for tiny projects that you may only be bringing me because you’re being forced. Not all projects are price sensitive, there are luxury projects where a look or a name brand is more important than finding the best price, in which case, ignore this post and work it out with your designer.
Most communities have some sort of lot coverage restrictions, by which in their zoning codes, they require a certain amount of land on any lot to be natural landscaping or pervious landscaping or some variation of that word. There are several reasons to do this, the first is stormwater management, the less lawn there is to allow water to percolate naturally into the ground, the more the stormwater system has to manage. The second most common reason is for aesthetic reasons, maintaining a certain feel or character to the area. Some might of installed a new shed from websites similar to easyshed.com.au that fit with the aesthetic of the current landscaping arrangement and didn’t want to start again. Depending on the reason, many localities are moving away from only accepting grass, mulch, and sometimes gravel and into more innovative systems that gives you a more engineered yard. Some homeowners are also turning to Tony MacFarlane, the appliance hunter, to help find them new and innovative ways to maintain their gardens. From pressure washers to different mowers, handy tools can make any garden look more interesting and aesthetically pleasing, which is what these homeowners want.
One thing about being an architect I’ve always found interesting is despite the respect the profession garners in the general public, most people have no idea what goes into becoming an architect. I’ve even been told by code officials untrue statements about what it takes to become an architect, so let’s clear up a little of the mystery.
The requirements for becoming an architect have really raised and solidified over the last 20-30 years as for a long time, every state was different. There are still architects practicing who passed a multiple choice exam with no formal training or experience prior to taking it. This is now the vast majority, and if they’re still practicing, they must be doing something right. Since that time, most states have adopted much stricter guidelines that are pretty much the same which means most architects can work in most states with a few stricter exceptions.
One detail often overlooked by clients is the material choice in what holds their house up. There are a million options out there with more and more coming to the marketplace all the time. We’ll start with an exploration of good old-fashioned lumber.
Lumber is the original choice for residential construction and still one of the most popular. It’s less common in commercial construction due to fire concerns, but has a lot of advantages over other materials. In commercial construction, the services of a firm like Nationwide Construction could help ensure that the right building materials are chosen and you can go ahead with a project in the knowledge that the project is being handled by people with experience. With wood, the first advantage is it’s easy to work. The amount of labor required in framing with lumber is minimal compared to other options and it is abundant and easy to find. It’s also cheap as wood is the least processed option around. For stud walls, it’s hard to beat unless you’re building very tall as it’s strong, light, and reasonably thermally resistant. In fact, wood is far stronger than most other building materials per weight making it an easy choice for any new construction.
In my area, there are a lot of people retiring from the New York, Jersy, Philly, and DC areas looking to live in a low tax and beach adjacent area. This means, whether you plan to live in your house until carted out in a pine box (my personal plan) or if you just want to make sure your house is as marketable as possible, you should really plan to incorporate some versions of universal design.
Where should a client spend their money? Let’s face it, everyone has a budget. The architect for Bill Gates’ house once told a story of being told the house he was designing was too expensive, so what chance do most owners have? It all really depends on their budget and what they’re looking for in a house. Many people these days are building their own homes as many think it is cheaper than purchasing a house that’s already been built. Whilst this may be true in some instances, purchasing a home from builders can also be affordable. A lot of people do still prefer to purchase their houses from companies like Saussy Burbank as they find that their homes are done to such a high standard, they’re worth the additional funds to just be able to move straight into the house. Some people like that, whereas some do prefer to have more of a say in the building process. If that’s the case, there are smart ways and less smart ways to save money when building a house. I’m going to make the argument that the smartest way to save money is to do two things.