WHAT AN ARCHITECT DOES?

Since we started our practice, most of our projects are residences for young families. We met with couples who wanted to have their dream home, others who wanted to improve their current home, and some who simply wanted a place for their family. So where does the architect’s role come into place?

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With this post, we hope to share with you what an architect does and how our firm approach a project from conceptualization up to the time the family moves in to their new home.

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What do architects do?

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We work closely with the client to define their ideas

Client: ” We like to build our first house.”

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There are many reasons why a family wants to have their own home. But for most first-time homeowners, it is the realization of being able to have your own place where your family can grow and have memories together.

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We love designing residential projects for young families and see them grow. That is the reason why we work closely with the client even during the initial stages of a project. By carefully working around the client’s goals, the architect will be able to translate these goals into clearly defined ideas.

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We start out by interviewing our clients. For residential projects, we often ask questions about:

• Family culture: How many members, their characteristics, activities and hobbies they like.

• The home that they want: Relaxing and cozy, guests can be entertained, well secured.

• Site

• Budget

• "Wishlist": What keeps them up at night

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We turn the client’s ideas into designed spaces

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Client: ” We got married a few years ago and now we have two kids. I work in the family business while my wife works in a bank. In a few years time, our kids will start attending school. ”

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By drawing from these information, the architect can make a list of design solutions. Here are some examples:

• Three-bedroom house: One for Mom & Dad, and the two rooms for the kids

• Open-planned Living, Dining and Kitchen area: this will promote interaction for the whole family and also to allow the parents to watch over the kids since they are still young.

• Storage room: Kid’s will have stuffs that they will eventually outgrow. The family will have stuffs that they will acquire in the coming years, some of which will eventually be stored somewhere.

• Carport for 2 cars: Assuming that Dad and Mom each has cars. If in case they are only using 1 vehicle, an additional parking space would still be useful in the future.

These can all be done only after thorough interviews, documentation and analysis. After that, we can prepare a detailed list of rooms and spaces needed for the project. We can also start examining the site in terms of its location, nice views that are located around the vicinity, and even the condition of the community where the house is to be built.

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Documentation, analysis, countless drawings and revisions- these are all done in the back stage of our offices. During client meetings, we make it an effort to present our drawings in the simplest but most comprehensive way. But the real process of architecture is more than just nice drawings and presentations, it involves systematic analysis and research, coupled with the awareness of how our design can affect the lives of its users.

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In the end, it’s all about developing lives

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Client: ” We would like to have our own home where we could settle down and grow as a family.”

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Architects have the opportunity to reach into a family’s life by affecting their behavior, growth, and even their lifestyle. That is why we put special consideration on every space that we design. Who knows after many years, the family might forget about the ideas they defined in the beginning of the project, or even the intention of the architect on why he designed their house in such a way. What’s more important is how the family created memories and experiences together, all of which leads to a happy family life. Knowing that the houses we designed are the venues on which lives are developed gives us the fulfillment of being an architect.

And that is all part of what an architect does.