THE DESIGN PROCESS
There are certain well-defined steps in the design process utilized by Casa, as well as some wonderfully unforeseen moments of synergy between design team members and clients. The process of designing - that "getting definite with the infinite" is indeed comprised of both art and science, with a little magic provided by the chemistry of people working together in a creative endeavor. That's why we enjoy what we do!
EVERY SITE AND EVERY CLIENT ARE UNIQUE!
ALCHEMY: THE PROCESS OF GOOD DESIGN
THE INITIAL MEETING
THE PROGRAMMING PHASE
PRELIMINARIES
DESIGN DEVELOPMENT
CONSTRUCTION DOCUMENTS
No two creative projects are the same. And that's a good thing or everyone would live in neighborhoods of bland row houses (and we'd be out of a job!) We understand that each client has very individualized needs and desires. Rather than attempting to make the project "our" design, we keep in mind that our clients are ultimately the ones who pay that never-ending mortgage and who will live and prosper there long after we've gone off chasing new design rainbows. Therefore, we attempt to involve our clients in the process at every stage of design - becoming architectural shepherds, as it were - who try to keep our clients out of those design no-no's while still putting our own creative spin on the project. (We are designers after all and if we can garner a few awards or kudos from your design, our egotistical nature won't let us turn them down) To insure each project is as individual as the client and the site, we utilize a process that seems to work… And, because we are also contractors, we are sensitive to real-world costs and how design efficiency effects your bottom line.
Most of our clients are referred to us by other clients, builders, and realtors who know what we do (and still like us). Some have found us through the Austin Green Builder Program. And some actually find us through this web site. Amazing! How do we proceed once we've found each other? It's really pretty simple and painless, but that's just between you and us. No dice a nadie (Don't tell anyone)!
We want you to have a site for your project before we begin or we'll be operating in a vacuum and can't utilize our expertise in orienting your home so it does its best to work with the environment rather than against it. And who knows…many of our clients have one of those views "to die for" and we like to capture it just like you do. If we can marry the home and site, things just go better, so we need to know where the house will live so to speak. Once we know that we can proceed.
Most of our initial meetings with clients are at their site in order to get a feel for the place. What's the topography? Orientation? Are there views to capture or avoid? Does the site present building challenges? We could go on forever, but we won't. Suffice it to say there are a lot of things we look for at this first meeting which is sometimes referred to as a "site investigate".
While we stand around and kick rocks and look at our compass, we also do a lot of informal talking with you, the potential client, in order to get a glimpse of your vision of what you see here in your mind's eye. But the main purpose is to see what the site offers. During the design process we will return to the site many times.
Then we usually adjourn to our office to discuss budgets, costs, and the design agreement. We show you photos and drawings and sample specifications and give you our list of references and probably a few local projects to visit. Then you leave to cogitate over it and decide who you want to work with to design your project. It's a personal and downright inexact science, we've found, and unfortunately we don't get every client, but we hope to include you among the ones we do.
When you decide that we at Casa Design are going to design your project, we meet again and begin the "programming phase" - a scary sounding word that simply means we attempt to find out as much as we can about how you live and what your needs are: Do you entertain a lot? Office at home? Are you ready to retire? Kids in grade school? Are you gourmet chefs? Fitness buffs? Widget collectors? The more we know about the way you live, the better we're equipped to incorporate those preferences into your new abode.
And believe it or not, we like pictures. PLEASE, show us your clip files because a picture says a thousand words. We like to meet at your home at least once to see what you're really like. (Design-wise, we mean...) Ha! We're not the FBI, but we are fairly inquisitive. The programming phase is where we accumulate information about how you live as well as your needs, wants, and "must haves" that we will utilize in our design alchemy.
From there we enter the "preliminary phase" where we begin with rough spatial flow ideas and sketches and eventually refine these options into a masterpiece we all agree on. This is the proverbial front line of the design process where we craft an idea into reality. It's the fun part. It's when we get to ask a lot of "what ifs" and move walls and windows around without the contractor pulling out his change order book. It's a lot quicker and cheaper to do it now! By the time we've finalized the preliminary designs into a final one we know how your home will look, the materials we'll utilize, the actual square footage, and have a pretty good idea how much it will cost you.
Once the general design concept, size, and spatial flow is derived from the preliminaries, we begin to hone the design. This is where, through creative give and take, analysis, and experiment we (you and us) develop the raw idea into a design with integrity and style.
Smile...this is fun!
Once you sign off on the final design which we created during all those preliminaries, we move into CD's, or "the construction document phase". This is where we turn that beautiful preliminary design into a complete set of plans and specifications you can hand to a builder, appraiser, or a lender. The CD's contain all the information about how to put our masterpiece together in the field. They must be complete, concise, and definitive enough to also protect you, our friend and client, from cost overruns or inferior quality and materials.
We don't like construction "surprises" either, because they almost always mean you spend more money than you intended to. We like to believe we actually pay our own design fees by eliminating such costly surprises. Our working drawings and specifications make sure contractors will be bidding 'apples for apples' and can't come to you in the middle of the building process and say "I didn't know that was in there." Well, they actually might, but you can look them in the eye and reply "It's on page three of the specs," as you breathe a huge sigh of relief and walk away whistling.
A complete set of Construction Documents typically contains the following: · Site Plan with improvements shown · Foundation Plan · Floor Plan · Elevations · Section drawings · Detail drawings · Floor and/or Roof Framing Plan · Electrical Plan · Door and Window Schedules · Necessary Cabinet Elevations · Specifications
How long does this process take? Well, it varies depending on the client, the clients' work load or vacation plans, the complexity of the project, and our current work load. Our "average" time is approximately four months from initial meeting to us handing over the blueprints to you. Crafting your dream home is not an overnight sensation, but it doesn't have to drag on like a day in Purgatory either.
When we're through, you will be able to hand the plans to your builder of choice (maybe even Casa Design Company!) and say "build it" and they can. As Martha Stewart would say, "It's a good thing."
Last Updated: August 24, 2011