What is DESIGN?

Well one thing is for sure it’s not what you see on TV’s reality renovation shows; which is essentially ‘decoration’ of a building shell.

No, true Architectural Design is complex, innovative and fluid problem solving.

The ‘problems’ are primarily your brief (requirements, hopes and dreams), your budget, your site, the context and the myriad of regulations.

What’s the ‘solution’ to this? Well that’s an important decision for you; of course I’d say you should invest in an Architect?

What you do get if you commission an Architect is a thorough pre-design stage, superior design process, superior documentation, and independent competitive tendering and construction management.

Of course, at the McDonalds’ end, there are draftspersons and project home builders. I use the McDonalds analogy because they are obviously cheaper – but for many they leave a bad aftertaste!

If you’re interested in understanding more…here are my critical ‘Elements of Design’:

• SPACE (relations, perspective, movement, refinement, flexibility & adaptability)
• LIGHT (natural & artificial)
• FUNCTION
• ECONOMICS (cost control & cost efficient decision making)
• THERMAL PERFORMANCE
• MATERIAL (longevity & sustainability)
• SCALE (relations, perspective, context)
• BUILDABILITY
• DETAIL

Like an orchestra, to get all of these elements to ‘sing’ requires skill, passion and time. Really your Architect is best to maximize this for you.

And, like an orchestra, if you don’t spend the required time and effort on all elements, or cut corners, or you don’t have the DESIGN education and passion – well the concerto is a shambles!

On a radio you can switch songs…but for your own home there’s no escaping!

Here’s a summary of what you do get if you commission an Architect…compared to the ‘others’…