What We Love about Designing Houses
Early in my career, a friend asked me: "Don't all architects want to design skyscrapers?" The implication was that designing anything else wasn’t challenging, exciting, or important enough to be worthy. Twenty years later, here is my comeback :-) We love designing houses because…
It Matters
For our clients, designing "what's next" starts with rethinking what means the most to them. How do they want to connect with each other, their community and the environment? How can where they live reflect their history and chart the way to what’s next? How can any project, large or small, change the world? It’s a privilege to be part of making buildings that make lives more meaningful. And that goal transcends size and type and...well…skyscrapers.
It's Personal
Designing and building homes is also a way to work closely with clients, colleagues, and other collaborators over a period of months and years. It is tremendously satisfying to dream and create something together.
It Keeps our Learning Curve High
Working with such varied clients and sites keeps us on our toes. Many of our clients are new to the design process and that helps us maintain a beginner's mindset. We are smart enough to know that we don't have all the answers and embrace the learning that comes from seeing things from other perspectives.
It is Design Intensive
There are lots of ways to practice house design. Some architects focus on refining a particular building type like apartments or warehouses. Others are experts in specific parts of buildings like ‘curtain walls’ on office towers. Because each site and client is different, we spend a high proportion of our time developing new ideas, forms, and details.
It's a Way to Show We Care
This is hard to explain without sounding corny, so here’s an anecdote. A long time ago, I went to an exhibit of objects that the sculptor Alexander Calder had made for his friends. One was a toilet paper holder made of wire bent into the shape of a hand . For some reason, that really stuck with me. How great would it be, I thought, to share the joy of creating things for people we like?
It Makes Us Think
Working with clients from many backgrounds makes us design ‘anthropologists’. A century ago, it was common to live in an area with a single strong building tradition--perhaps bungalows in California or saltboxes on the East Coast. These days, we are exposed to many more diverse styles, images and ideas. Making sense of all this inspiration is part of the challenge--and fun--of what we do.
It's Fun!
Done right, design and collaboration are simply a blast. Full stop. It is spontaneous, iterative and full of possibility. If I was any good at dancing or playing jazz or doing improvisational theater, I'd say it was just like that. For me, architecture is about creating places that mean something to people you care about. Designing houses lets us do that. We'll leave the skyscrapers to someone else.