In this first installment of "A Client Perspective" we speak to Eric, an LA-based creative director who has selected Neil Denari to design an addition to his family's home. This is not just a typical add-on, however; it is an extension of his "Family Brand".
Your decision to hire Neil Denari to design your home addition suggests that you have an appreciation for non-traditional, ultra-modern architecture. Can you explain how you selected your architect?
We found our architect Neil Denari because our middle kid wears glasses. And when your kid wears glasses, you have to buy several pairs and have them adjusted often.
This is why my family has spent a lot of time in L.A. Eyeworks @ 7386 Beverly Blvd. We all love that building. It's beautiful. It's witty. It's fun to look at, to walk into, to lounge inside of. (It also has a pink bathroom!)
LA Eyeworks, by Neil Denari
The first time I stepped into L.A. Eyeworks I thought: “Well, this is designed by a genius.” I especially loved how the building did so many tricks, so effortlessly, in such a small space. It also made me feel slightly drunk in spots... and very calm, throughout.
So when we were looking to remodel our 3-bedroom, mid-century modern home (where we've lived for the last sixteen years), I turned to the internet to search for an architect.
Figuring I had nothing to lose, I googled, found Neil's website and emailed him a big, sloppy, fan letter. It must've worked, because he responded. Soon after, we met, talked about the project, and discovered we had similar interests (a shared passion for “Curb Your Enthusiasm,” for example).
But the truth is: My family and I lucked out big time. Building an NMDA house is a life adventure, and a dream come true.
Please describe the concept of "Family Brand". How will the architecture respond to this concept?
I make my living as a creative director at an entertainment advertising agency. I'm always thinking about branding, product positioning, and creative solutions that stay “on message.” So I decided to apply a similar process to our home remodel (which I call The Happy New House).
Here's why:
Has the rest of your family become involved in the project?
The entire family is VERY involved in the project. In fact, NMDA treats the kids as co-clients. They've had regular meetings; confer on bedroom design choices; etc. Regrettably, though, my wife and I seem to be the only ones writing the checks.
As the owner of a rare Denari built project, you may find the occasional architecture fanatic hiding out in your bushes with a zoom lens. What will they get - the hose or a beer?
Building this house has proved to be a fantastic adventure (except for the check-writing part). We've already met many new, amazing people along the way. I'm confident we'll be meeting many more.
For more information about The Happy New House, or to follow the construction process go to The Happy New House website .
15 Comments
Wow.
I need to process this after I've had some more coffee, as at the moment I'm not sure if I'm appalled or have had a life-changing eureka moment.
In the meantime: brilliant question, "hose or beer"!! Thanks for the feature.
Although I like his postion about corporate appropriation of spiritual concepts and their intent to invade the very terrian of spirituality, community, and "lifestyle." There is something preverse about families staying "on message." It sounds like the Bush family doctrine....
subverting coporate influence via the family brand. i love it.
mmmm. i take that language a little less heavily. to me, it sounds like a dad is being self-critical, turning the superficial attempts at corporate "own"ership of concepts into a more genuine understanding of those same concepts within/among his family. the notion of a family staying on message does seem a bit perverse, but in this context, I feel alright about it.
AP your not staying on message
I wonder if Eric's got a book in the works on "The Family Brand." It seems like a pretty well-developed position. The distance seems rather short between "The Family Brand" as a reappropriation of the domestic as a realm of social agency (versus a realm of passive, mediated consumption) and the realization of "The Family Brand" brand.
On the other hand, I'd like to think he's being lighthearted about it ... that there are now family seminars on effective communication of "the message."
I meant "no" family seminars.
well, definitely in the context he is speaking about being "on message" it's not so much about creating a singular story but more a means toward editing concepts and determining a procedure for selecting directions....which is incredibly insightful and an eloquently put. if he can truly develop out that concept and put it in useful language it could be a great book to help clients evaluate design and speak about their desires....which is often one of the most disasterous aspects of any project.
1. fun is in the eye of the beholder. this eye reads brand alright. brand of toothpaste! maybe aquafresh!
2. The Happy New HOuse is a common language alright. Lowest common denominator language to stay on message!
3. god the last thing i wanted to do when living at home was to rub elbows with my parents. maybe parents are "cooler" today and stay on message with their ipod obsessed sprouts. maybe they can stay on message as a family by burying their kids in activity so they can get into the top preschool. i always valued privacy as a kid so i could masturbate and clean my guns!
4. i'm always thinking about product positioning...yeah uhhuh...
I wish all clients were as enthusiastic as this. Well, not all. I am excited to see more Denari work getting built - though I am biased.
So who was ther interviewer? Credit?
Interviewer was Paul Petrunia.
like garpike, i admire this guy's enthusiasm. but i find anyone who views their family life as an experiment in "branding" to be quite creepy.
Our key strategy: Stay connected as a family. Our core tactic: Create public realms to encourage “elbow-rubbing†opportunities. Our creative filter: Love. Heart. Happiness.
turning your family into a corporation with key strategies, core tactics, and creative filters doesn't take back concepts of happiness, loyalty, and family from corporations...it surrenders your family to the corporate mindset/vernacular bumpersticker if it's not backed-up behaviorally.
it all rings so shallow...i mean, jesus, what's next? taking your kids to the park is now a team building exercise?? there's often something to be said for not bringing your work home with you, and this seems like one of those examples of what not to do.
it just further demonstrates that with enough money you can get anyone to buy into your bullshit, even if only for the duration of designing a home addition.
Facile.
This client and extension is a prime example on what is wrong with architecture / design.
The heat load on the glass must be enormous. Gee, I wonder if it’s air conditioned? No need for passive thermal design, access to breezes, privacy, acoustic attenuation, consumption of resources, embodied energy, materiality, and all the other trifling things involved in design – but hey, at lease the CAD renders make it look shiny.
The outdoor space looks about as inviting as a bent slab of concrete with no shade can look. Am also interested to see a review of the family ‘position’ / ‘brand’ in a few years – or even by the time construction has finished. Perhaps the go-fast stripes, wacky colours and GTS badging won’t be so hip and apt an interpretation of the family unit. Can I request Archinect do a follow-up on this extension 1 year after this feature – am curious to see the test of time and hindsight de-pants this fraud.
why isn't the whole house is like the rendering?
[bump it big]
this client fella is repellent...the family branding idea is creepy. it reminds me of designer DNA and other attempts we make at defining ourselves, be it genetically or culturally.
not only are the "strategy" and "family attributes" eerie in trying to name, label and market (as unique) what essentially every home consists of, as if "privacy realms for individuals" and "public realms" were a unique innovation in dwelling.
i just feel like i'm being sold something. it's humble yet in your face, and it just leaves with the queasy sensation one gets when you see an advertisement that is making assumptions about you, and you feel it getting inside your head.
and besides, denari's older work, (Pamphlet Architecture 12 "Building Machines") is far more stimulating...
yuck.
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