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WILLIAM POWELL ARCHITECT

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Working together

The design process is a time for exploring ideas and options that result in the best project - by working collaboratively with you.

It also can very enjoyable for all involved.

First, I ask questions and - listen to you. Even though I have begun to learn about your project needs in our first interview together, you might explain what you like (and hate) about where you live right now. Or, you tell me about a room you've seen in a magazine or what your best friend's addition is like or what you loved about the house you grew up in. A wish-list is very helpful.

All this leads to a "program" and the defined scope of the project you need built.

The Services we provide & our fee

During the Preliminary Design period, I come to know your house or new property by visiting and measuring and photographing it as much as I need to. Then, I start to draw up the existing house or analyze the characteristics of the piece of property: in all cases I take into account the views, where the sun comes in in the morning or where the shade is on a hot August afternoon. I begin to see the possibilities for where to add on or how to approach the front door - and an enormous amount of other factors always considered - as well as basic kinds of structural ideas, wall construction and foundation, soil and ground water constraints, and local codes.

Soon we begin to meet and look at design options. It may take several sessions to get to the point where you see the best solution for you. Along the way I show you realistic images of not just room layouts on plans but - spaces. Using my three-dimensional software, rooms are modeled so they can be seen from all viewpoints and in all seasons of the year as the sunlight comes in.

When the general form of the project has been established by picking the best option, we start to refine ideas about finish materials and products. Issues about heating and lighting are integral also, as well as siding material, roofing and window performance. This marks the Design Development period. It most importantly entails the fleshing out of the selected concept, for even though the images shown you are quite refined, they are not final products yet.

The last design period is when the actual "blueprints" or Construction Drawings are produced. They are largely a product of the earlier two stages - which provided a springing off point for necessary elaboration for the builder. All materials are noted, dimensions added, special areas drawn at larger scale for clarity, and wiring diagrams added. The Specifications are written; they fully list the materials and quality levels expected, and products to be purchased.

Then we can select a builder as explained in the Building Process, and begin the fourth and final phase of our work!

The Building Process

The best buildings result when a concerned and engaged owner, a quality-motivated general contractor and skilled architect work together in close collaboration.

Overall, the Architect is an agent of the Owner. The architect has produced Construction Drawings and Specifications for the project, incorporating all the desired design elements and the selected materials. An architect can help a client to find the best available General Contractor. Skilled workmanship is vital and worth the search to find; selecting just the lowest bid is often not the best choice. Either from a short-list of qualified bidders or with a favored single recommended builder, a price is negotiated. Then the final work can begin.

The General Contractor, per its contract with the Owner, supervises the work of the trades-people - but the Architect stays in close communication with both the GC and the Owner. As agent to the owner, the architect strives to see that the contractor builds the project with the materials specified in the layout shown on the contract drawings. Unforeseen problems that might arise are addressed, supplementary sketches are produced and issues resolved. The final "punch list" of items to iron out gets worked through, and the client then settles in to begin to enjoy the fruits of all the labors.

Some owners are able to live elsewhere while construction is ongoing. Others live in the rest of the house while an addition is built. Still others live in one half of a house cordoned off from the other while it is seemingly rendered to dust and rubble. Each case can be skillfully handled by a General Contractor who has the right experience. WPA recommends this route and not that of an owner becoming a GC; any potential cost savings are more than replaced by headaches.

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WILLIAM POWELL ARCHITECT
Brookline, Massachusetts