Thursday, December 2, 2010

The Start of the Home

For every family and location there is a different home to suit that particular location for that particular family. 

Those who are thinking of building will usually have a rough idea of their new home. Their ideas could’ve come from past experiences or perhaps, something they have seen.  When they see an existing house that appeals to them, the design of that house would very likely have a strong tie with the block and therefore be somewhat of a product of the block; such as its area, levels, and orientation.

The shape [an element] of the house assists to determine the desired look.

Quite often the future new home owners will have drawn a rough plan, so there’s a loosely tangible concept to show the designer. There are also occasions where clients approach a design drafting service and the design starts completely from scratch, whereupon the designer then sets out to discover the clients necessities for a home that would offer them comfort.

Factors that Effect the Design of the Home

Some factors that influence the design are as follows:
      >The owner’s wishes            
      >The owner’s budget
      >The Block
                  R codes [Planning regulations for various 
                  housing density areas]
                  contour levels
                  views
direction of sun travel ie North
storm water considerations
soil type
                  topography, streetscape and neighbours
                  location of services
                  natural features
       >Availability of local materials
       >Availability of builders

Appointing JS Home Design  

After the clients have made initial contact with JS Home Design and conveyed the rough idea of their proposed new home, JS Home Design will provide a quote, scope of works and agreement for their consideration.  In this three to five page document, the fees and the scope of works for the three stages of providing plans are laid out.  The three stages being: Sketch [Initial Drawings], Preliminary Working Drawings [Plans for Council prior to print] and Final Stage [Addressing energy efficiency requirements, Specification documents and other miscellaneous items].

Sketch Stage

After discussions with the clients and the researching of the location and more, I form a ‘map’ of all the parameters of a particular project. 

After the client brief and a site visit or two, some ideas start to emerge.  A concept may be verbalized, penciled or 3D shaped on a laptop.  Then there would be further consulting, exploring the options and possibilities. Further ideas start to emerge and develop into the Sketch Stage, where the drawings are updated with the current ideas.  Here I would produce plans, elevations, details, three dimensional views and a site plan.  This could be done as a free hand penciled drawing to quickly give a picture to the owners. Often I follow this up with a computer aided drawing program where a more accurate visual, including accurate 3D views are rendered for the client to realize the form of the design.

Quite often there are some adjustments and fine tunings, until the clients say something like, “Yes, I’m happy with that!”  Then the plans proceed to the next stage.