A is for Architect

Small renovations may not seem like they should take any time at all, at least to someone who has not been faced with the blank slate. However, rarely is something exactly as it seems. In residential design the best first step is just like the the alphabet: A is for Architect, B is for Builder, C is for Construction. In fact, it should always follow this pattern. Even design/build starts with design, and the design should be done by an Architect.

Recently I got a call from a woman with a fairly major problem. She had bought a house, was half-way through construction, and then realized she hated the way it was looking. It had gotten to the point for her where she could no longer even drive by the house. In fairness, it was truly awful. The roof was flat and basically invisible from the front of the house. And I do not mean in a modern clean line flat roof sort of way, I mean it looked like someone had chopped the roof off of the house. In fact, the first time I drove by it I thought (out loud) “what were they thinking?”

After we had a chance to talk, she said they had hired an engineer to do the drawings for the renovation. My response, well they did their job because you in fact have a roof and the building will stand up. But engineers are not trained to think aesthetically, they are trained to solve structural problems. It is an entirely different kind of design problem. Architects are trained to design creative solutions to complex problems with an eye towards the aesthetic as well as to safety and longevity. There is a very big difference here. The other big difference, they hired someone “to do drawings.” And yes, engineers and architects and even draftspeople or designers do drawings, but Architecture is a Service Industry. Architects do not simply “draw up a set of plans” or “make blueprints.” We solve often complex problems making it look simple and explain it through a set of drawings and specifications. All too often, the service part is overlooked and it is imperative to the success of a project. Sometimes there are quick fixes, like the correction of the flat roof. But when the process starts off on the wrong foot then there is typically additional time, additional money and not necessarily the best or most desired solution.

We did manage to come up with a reasonable solution to the very ugly flat roof, and did not have to undo too much. However, there were still other issues that didn’t have to exist had the design really been well thought out with regard to function and aesthetic from the beginning. Sometimes you can fix ugly or make it not quite so bad, but the money is always better spent to hire an architect first to design rather than starting out in the middle of the alphabet.