When we started thinking about building our home the first topic was 'how should it look?'. We rarely pass a new build without commenting on its appearance. We have hot debates about cantilevered upper stories, concrete versus wood sidings, roof lines, and how much concrete is too much. (There's no such thing as too much, in my book).
But the home design process, as I now understand, begins on the inside. Only after discussing floor plans and getting the space to function the way we need it to, can we turn our attention to the outside. So, almost three months after we started working with our architect, we finally saw the exterior elevations and got a sense of how it will actually look on the outside.
We were beside ourselves with excited anticipation.
Here's how it looked:
Maybe we had expected too much, because our first response was 'meh'. It was fine, as houses go. It just was not at all like the house we had imagined for ourselves. And it did meet the brief - that is, it was 'clean and contemporary'. But not everyone means the same thing by that. And we had left a certain amount up to the architect's own creativity.
On reflection we needed to be specific. Really, very specific. Concrete, not blockwork. No panes in the garage door. No reglets (those metal bits that create the panels in the stucco). Steel or concrete, not wood, for the siding. I scribbled all over the architect's designs and we took in printed photos of houses we liked the look of.
I'm sure some designers would be affronted by this level of interference direction. Happily ours wasn't. The next set of elevations were much closer to what we had in mind. And he even said we could 'mix and match' from a couple of options, probably knowing I was about to get my scissors and glue out and do just that. Here's the second set of elevations:
After some mixing and matching and an excited exploration of the world of laser cut steel panels, here's where we now are:
No 'hat' on the roof, no wood, tidier windows and a cool metal screen across the front of the building.
It's the same house but it's also completely different. And it's pretty much just what we had in mind in the first place. We love it. I guess this is how the process works. So far, pretty fun.
But the home design process, as I now understand, begins on the inside. Only after discussing floor plans and getting the space to function the way we need it to, can we turn our attention to the outside. So, almost three months after we started working with our architect, we finally saw the exterior elevations and got a sense of how it will actually look on the outside.
We were beside ourselves with excited anticipation.
Here's how it looked:
Maybe we had expected too much, because our first response was 'meh'. It was fine, as houses go. It just was not at all like the house we had imagined for ourselves. And it did meet the brief - that is, it was 'clean and contemporary'. But not everyone means the same thing by that. And we had left a certain amount up to the architect's own creativity.
On reflection we needed to be specific. Really, very specific. Concrete, not blockwork. No panes in the garage door. No reglets (those metal bits that create the panels in the stucco). Steel or concrete, not wood, for the siding. I scribbled all over the architect's designs and we took in printed photos of houses we liked the look of.
After some mixing and matching and an excited exploration of the world of laser cut steel panels, here's where we now are:
It's the same house but it's also completely different. And it's pretty much just what we had in mind in the first place. We love it. I guess this is how the process works. So far, pretty fun.
Brilliant! It looks so clean-cut. What's the orientation of the Casa Katie? Will the metal panels face strong direct sunlight and thus double up as a source of freeheating - should you ever need it in CA?
ReplyDeleteWe've been watching a UK tv program(me) about modern house designs. The current vogue is for ultra-mod floor-to-ceiling oriel windows so that you can look sideways along the building or along the street.
Thanks! The front of the house faces due West so will get warm in the afternoon. And we do have some long skinny windows in mind for the side of the house but will be peeping out of our corner windows to sneak a peek down the street :)
ReplyDelete