When is a design finished? William De Kooning said of finishing a painting, “There is really no end, I just stop.” So if there is no end to a design how are we to know when to stop designing and start building?

You first need to ask yourself one question, “Am I building this house for today or a future scenario?” Are you building this structure for the immediate use that will be upgraded or sold within 2-5 years, or is this a permanent change? Steven Whitney of Steven Whitney, Architect, helps guide his clients through this decision process to avoid having them getting stuck and unable to finalize plans and move into construction.  Steven and I discussed this topic and our suggestions are summarized below.

If you are going to build a home and have the two to five year vision, there is a definitive decision making process that you must undertake to make sure that you make smart choices. It’s wise to consult a realtor for cost evaluation, you will want to use future value estimating to make sure that you don’t spend too much on the project and “over build”, and you will want to look at immediate trends with the realtor to know what the future buyer of your property will be looking for.

Find a good realtor that is able to give you future values on a remodeled project. My firm, Bradford Construction a construction firm based in San Francisco, is able to walk through properties, many times prior to the close of escrow, and talk about various construction options and their immediate cost impact. Closing costs, carrying costs, and construction costs should be balanced against future value and the real estate market trend. If the project pencils out, then it is time to commit to a particular scope of work and hire your architect. With the architect in place, if the project is to address a two to five year vision, you will want to evaluate architectural trends and move quickly through the design, because it is a short term investment and most likely your needs will be different beyond your five year vision.  The main point is to not over think the design but instead respond to the goals within the timeframe of your planned use of the house, incorporating feedback from the realtor and construction company into the design.

If this is your “dream home”, the house that you believe that you will live in for the rest of your life, your decision making process will be very different. The return on investment is much less of a factor, because most likely you won’t be selling, and the house itself is your reward. Look at your long term goals and needs. Make a list of wants and desires. If you are moving into retirement you will want to think about functionality and access. If there are many floor levels, an elevator and perhaps assisted living with separate quarters should be considered.  Or maybe the goal is a professional kitchen or a rooftop hot tub. Whatever it maybe you should reach for what you want — this is your dream – but work with an architect to clarify the scope of work and articulate the design, and a construction firm to have it built skillfully for years of use and enjoyment.

Tired of your house? Purchased a new home with the desire to modify it? Purchased some land and want to build your dream home? You might have a small idea of what you want or you may have extensive knowledge of construction and architecture. Either way, you need to begin the “Process”. The Process is what it takes to build your dreams into reality.

The Process, as Mark Brand likes to describe it, takes shape through several stages. When a project comes to Mark, he will take a few quick steps through a code check to see if the initial desires of the client will be permitted through the local city codes. He will then find out what the overall goals of the client are (i.e square footage, aesthetics, budget) and begin to design the project with the client’s desires in mind within the parameters set by city building codes.

At this point the Team begins to develop. You already have the Architect, an Engineer will begin to be involved with the Architect to establish the appropriate structure within the design, and the Contractor should begin to be involved at this point as well. Bradford Construction, a full service construction firm based in San Francisco, prefers to be involved early because many times the clients go too far into design, and then realize that they have designed something outside of their budget. Get a Contractor in early to help work with the team to keep the project on Budget.

Start Shopping! There will be numerous details that will need to take shape and the client should have a sense of the types of materials available and what they like. This is a process that, if allowed enough time, will be an enjoyable. Given time, you are allowed the luxury of truly finding what you want. Clients will typically come to the Architect with a collage of non sequiter elements, details, and pictures that will then need to be synthesised  into a common thread. Through this thread the Architect will create a 3-D design to which preliminary costing can be attached too. This will lead to the “Permit Set” which will be given to the City for approval.

City Approval: See our next Blog on the stages of Permit approval.

You have a Permit! Now what? If you have a Contractor on board (and you should) then the final details need to be hammered out to get to a final price and Contract. Once you have agreed on the final price, the Contractor will get underway  building your new home. This is where the real fun begins! You will now begin to see the fruits of the labor that you and your Architect put into the design. All of the seemingly incongruous elements will begin to meld into the final Vision. Don’t forget about all members of the Team. The Architect should have regular visits to ensure the Vision is upheld because there will changes, some small and some large. Having all eyes on the Vision will ensure the final product is perfect. When issues come up, just like Mark Brand says, “the Team solves!”

Be involved! Don’t forget that it’s your house! Be active in the decision making process because you, the client, are the most important member of the Team.

If you have hired an architect whose only job is to design and deliver your new home exactly the way you had imagined, then why would you remove them from the project when the ground breaking begins in order to save money, potentially at the sacrifice of your ultimate vision?  In these strained economic times, many people who are looking to rebuild their homes, and trying to find ways to save money, are doing exactly this. Many times treating the architect as a draftsman and leaving it up to themselves, their Contractor or their designers to help with the finish details.  What people are missing is that they have an expert who has worked to develop a solid set of blueprints that accurately portrays their dreams, who have sifted through all of the design and permit processes and who, more than anyone but the themselves, understand the vision the best.

Mark Brand of Mark Brand Architecture, a high end architect based out of San Francisco, looks at the involvement of the architect as “one part of the team, each member bringing a unique perspective” to a project. Mark, being known professionally as an especially grounded architect, takes the involvement of the architect to a higher level calling it, “Art through Architecture.”  Mark states that “The architect will raise the necessary issues to keep the ultimate vision upheld.”  The goal of every project is to give the client what they want, but as the project moves through to fruition, there will be numerous challenges.  It is “cheaper on paper, than onsite”, says Diarro Foster, one of Marks associates. Clients who try to design themselves “underestimate the value of their own time”, rather than leaving the design to the architect they hired.

The architect is a member of the Team that will develop the design, promote the design and ultimately be a key player in the effort to deliver the design, as such, don’t bench them when the game is just starting.

Look to our next blog on the “Process of Design Development” where we talk about how the Design is realized, who makes up the Team, and what it really takes to Deliver a key to your new home.