10.28.2010

Pre-Fab Designs

I've been working on a thought for some time now and I would welcome any comments on the appeal of it. Is there some value in offering for sale a pre-packaged design for a house - designed by an architect - so that one can avoid the need to hire an architect and work through months of design, choosing finishes and fixtures, answering questions and having meetings? Similar to how one purchases a commodity such as a car or a phone, perhaps I could apply all that I know about green building and design to work out a compact, well thought-out, energy efficient home that has a few options but would be otherwise be a completely designed house, ready for construction. I think the first house would fit on a very tight footprint, be mostly vertical and have the latest technological home advancements. My inspiration comes from the Mini Cooper or iPhone, well-crafted machines (with some flaws) that are not cheap but are sexy and attractive and clearly superior in design to what has preceded them.

Please continue visiting my website over the next couple of months to see how this thought about pre-fab homes developes.

10.14.2010

NMA's first Kennel project!


I may be a little biased but this is the nicest kennel for dogs and cats (and people) I have ever seen. Really, the owner wanted the kennel to be similar to a house as she plans on spending a good deal of time in the kennel helping her rescued pets get used to a peaceful domestic life. More images to come...

Please visit my website for more residential modern architecture.

10.05.2010

Thoughts from Custom Residenctial Architects Convention

Just returned from a weekend at the national CRAN (Custom Residential Architects Network) convention. I was a little disappointed in the amount of attention that was placed on architects who do ultra-expensive luxury residences. Both the early presenters and trade reps focused on +$300/sf residential design. Granted, that's where the money used to be but I felt like the new economy is here and perhaps more focus should be placed on the kind of humble work me and my peers are doing.

Part of the convention featured the AIA Homes Tour which didn't help improve my perception as every home we saw on the tour featured homes in that exact construction cost.

It wasn't until the speakers from more economically depressed regions of the country started talking about the practical concerns of running an architectural office that the convention turned relevant. In particular, speakers from SALA Architects in Minneapolis and Tekton Architecture in San Francisco brought the focus back to reality and made the weekend worthwhile.

By the way, my website has been recently updated so please check out the new residential architect projects that are featured in the portfolio pages.