I don't want to discredit the possibility of you doing this on your own, but just because you are an "architect" or working in an office doesn't necessarily qualify you to do any architectural project. Unlike medical that divides into different specialties, architecture for better or worse is lumped into one general heading. Residential is a different world from Commercial or Education. I think what some people are suggesting is that you might want to consult with someone that has a bit more residential experience than you for some guidance and suggestions about how to go about this somewhat challenging design/site problem.
I apologize, I did not realize that you had architectural experience. Your grasp of the basic tenets of architecture are not apparent in what you've shared thus far. (I give you credit for at least sharing, it's scary submitting your work to the wolves).
Context, adjacency, function, scale are all missing. Every time I see your plan, it looks like a square peg in a round hole. Your ambition is commendable, but the task at hand is a formidable one.
Sometimes the best solution is to build nothing at all. In this case, you would be doing your neighbors a huge disservice if you did anything but planting some trees there.
I have been doing a little work for both my parents and my in laws - perhaps I am not as bright as I think I am! At this stage, its concept design for each couple, their needs and two specific sites - its going fine. My point of departure always comes down to the site.
Perhaps a strategy would be to develop 2 schemes - the one you already have, and another one that is completely different.
You need the 2 schemes to interact and contrast. Each scheme will point out the flaws of the other.
You need to show your parents each scheme and say 'this one is more or less a traditional house plan that has been modified to take into account the shape of the site' i.e. the scheme above. And then another that says 'this scheme is purely about the site which dictates how the building should be built'.
See what happens. Also, one of Sir Norman's key client strategies was always t produce at leas 2 genuine responses to his clients brief - wouldn't hurt in this situation either.
"Why not use this as a learning experience for myself? I am currently working at a firm (non-residental), so why does that not make me eligible to do this for my parents? It is the least I can do for them and be an amazing opportunity for myself. "
Have you ever done residential? How long have you worked in this field?
Your learning experience may just cost your parents more than you think. The least you can do for your parents.......
without door openings its very difficult to comment. how, for example, does on access those bedrooms over by charlie's area? do you go through the bathrooms? also, just little things that ad up to a lot of caish? that garage for example, the garage foundation does it follow that in and outs of the mechanical there? if so you are increasing your costs with all this jiggy jaggy foundation work. why set the garage two feet back from the house? just to add more concrete work. also, you have huge openings in rooms that don't seem to warrant it ie guest/office room? a list of questions...
Cadmonkey: To put it this way, either you have no idea what you are doing, or you are extremely disinterested in working on this project. The results (so far) are pitiful.
Pull up your slacks and actually make an effort. I'm beginning to think again that this post is a trollish joke.
this fucker is having you guys dance! hey that is gorgeous. the graphic scale can also double as a landscape feature. have all the rooms access from outside and save on corridor space. remember, all you and your parents need is LOVE.
k4dm0Nk3y,
I've been following this post &, You're right! They are assholes. I don't know why anonymity allows the previous posters to be so rude. They have an arrogance they have no right to. Ignore them & go on with your work.
Bingo! I just spotted one more anonymous asshole up there. This one is too big to use as a bathroom. LOVE and assholes, that's what you and your parents need!
cadmonkey, some people may be speaking in a disrespectful way but I promise you many, at least some, of them are making very good points.
For example, every single thing vado said is right on: your plan is unnecessarily complex, which translates to a much higher construction cost. You have a weird jaggy dead corner on the MB, the LR looks, frankly, too small for furniture to fit properly, the suggestions for a courtyard (given the weirdness of the lot) are excellent, but you'd need to rework the plan extensively to make the interior spaces that see the most use actually take advantage of a courtyard...the list goes on.
I said above, designing a GOOD house is hard! trace advised you not to look at spec home plan sites, but I honestly just spent ten minutes googling "in-law suite 1 story home plan" and found three plans that are, sorry, much better than yours. I'm not saying to steal those plans, but to look at how they arrange things and how relative spaces are sized.
If your family can sell this site at a profit, I'd advise your parents to do so (with the caveat that I have absolutely no idea what the economic situation of your family and the town this lot is in are and thus no basis in reality beyond your own statements here to make that advisement) and buy a site with a regular shape and street access/views. The bizarre site is making an already programmatically and emotionally difficult project even harder.
cad guy....I'm can't come to calling people monkeys...
This might be just a warm up for designing your own pad....which seems to be one of the most difficult commissions Architects ever face during their life time.
Reread the original post - this is not just a house for the folks. There are some complicated programme requirements and also some strong emotional responses too.
This is a bitch of a site, and it is going to make things difficult. Its one of those sites where you need to say to your parents 'look, forget a traditional house plan - it aint going to work on this site, we have to do something different' (like I have with mine - with sites not as difficult as this one).
Fine, I'm an ahole but I don't need anonymity as my shield. My advice is this. Sell the site. I can't imagine how that site even exists. What nut planned or zoned that site? Now I am certain that you aren't going to sell so... it has been three years you have been working on this plan which is to be efficient and non complicated as the title to diagram 2 states. You know who your family is and what their needs are. Your plan is not effecient nor is the roof plan non complicated. It is apparent that you have the desire to do this job but not the background. If you want the background you need to find a job working with residential firms. The problems with your plan requires you or your family to be independantly wealthy. Your forum name is cadmonkey but the plans you show us here for crit lack basic copy/paste/insert information. If you want a better crit for design purposes I would suggest you go to a forum called designcommunity.com Based on what I have seen so far, I assume that at some point you will be hiring an architect. At that point, no matter where you are with this project, he is going to modify the hell out of this if not change it altogether. So it is better you go find an architect now, tell him you want to work with him on this and move foreward. Just my 2 cents.
Soliciting advice from other architects and having them tell you that you need to hire one is not assholish. In fact, its the opposite. As an architect, I am tasked with providing reasonable, safe design solutions for the public. Letting you build what you've suggested goes against everything I was ever taught. Do you ask your surgeon for herbal voodoo? I got a family to feed too, and if someone is in need of design advice, I try to offer that--for a price.
If you're looking for someone to stroke your ego and tell you that what you've submitted is good, look elsewhere. Suggesting that you move forward with that plan on that site is as disingenuous and wreckless as the developer that sold that land.
Have you asked your coworkers what they think of the plan? How does your drawing compare to the work that your office is putting out? Utilize the tools you have right in front of you. If your coworkers don't share the same opinion as most on this forum, I weap for your clients.
Let's ask a really basic question: Are you Licensed?
If the answer is no, you are going to need a capital 'A' Architect at some point, very soon, in the process. Either that, or a Contractor that is willing to accept all liability for this project and deal with all of the consultants that are going to be needed for this project. Either way, you are going to have to solicit the help of someone with:
A: more experience
B: likely to make design changes (for a number of reasons)
I think, in your case, it would be better to bring this person on-board now, rather than waiting until you think you have a floor plan figured out. Very few Architects, regardless of how much they need jobs, are going to be super excited about getting your "finished" floor plan with the instructions to make the CD's and get it permitted. And as so many have mentioned, getting someone's input who is more skilled at residential design will be a huge benefit, especially with a complicated program on a really restricted site.
I can't help but think that selling this site and finding somewhere else to build is the best decision you could make. For most people, getting a custom home built is a pretty big deal and you want it to be something that your family will be really happy with. I can't see how anyone would be happy with a house, regardless of how well it is designed, in this site. It's crap, plan and simple. The proper thing for this site is to leave it alone and let the 4 other people who already built here have their peace of mind.
I don't know if anyone else has put two and two together, but our original poster told us in another thread that he/she works for MINIMUM wage in an architecture office. ;D
just hire a builder who can provide the design for 'free'.
you need maximum volume inexpensively; a simple inventory of elements.
abandon any pretense of design - it isn't happening and your inexperience is going to screw over the project and your parents.
from what you've written, this is the wrong lot, program and clients to do on the job training.
@I don't know if anyone else has put two and two together, but our original poster told us in another thread that he/she works for MINIMUM wage in an architecture office. ;D
Sure beats being unemployed right now. Its either this or sitting on my ass all day. There is no jobs at all in this city. I can grab what I can take for the moment till something better comes along.
kad, have you shown your design to your parents? what feedback have they given you? honestly their feedback will mean far more than any comments from the peanut gallery.
my advice is to come up with a floor plan (with door and window openings:) that your parents are really excited about. after you get their buy-in, complete a small sd package (plans, exterior elevations, major building sections) and sit down with your parents and a builder/contractor to discuss how the design should be reworked for constructibility. i think after that meeting you all will get a sense of whether you and your parents are prepared to move forward with the design or if it's in your parent's best interest to find someone with more experience to proceed with the project.
Well, I have to add the concrete fence that crowds the corners of the house by a whole 10'. I'm adding a fence anyways to worry less about having to fill in the background anyways.
Palm trees, landscape boulders and "GENERIC DESERT PLANT CARDS" to come after I finish out some doors, windows and patios.
Also, thanks bLAyer. I wanted to use oversize columns in the courtyard to "shrink" it because it is quite big and it really does frame the front door really nicely on other render views.
And SDR, I wanted to stay a tad more bland rather than venture out into something too crazy.
Keeping ADA accessibility requirements in mind really added a lot to the gross square footage of the entire house. I aimed to make about 85% of the house accessible. Two of the balconies and the upstairs bathrooms sadly didn't make the cut.
The trailer-- or manufactured home-- is a significant typology to the cultural, environmental and historical considerations of the Desert Southwest.
Architecture, as an intervening object of civilization, in a land at war with itself and the very things that inhabit it has always been and will always be an imported affair.
Even in the most primitive construction archtypes, the basic building components consisting of clay and wood are not widely available in consideration to critical localism or wider regional hinterlands.
...
In any event, a wheelchair accessible (possibly even a hospital bed) accessible home with a laundry list of demands is not going to be cheap by any stretch of the imagination.
Even using the most minimal-sized rooms, stripped of any features, would easily be between at a minimum 3500-4000 square feet.
My design is a conservative 7,300 square feet excluding outdoor space.
My Struggle with Designing my Parent's Home
I don't want to discredit the possibility of you doing this on your own, but just because you are an "architect" or working in an office doesn't necessarily qualify you to do any architectural project. Unlike medical that divides into different specialties, architecture for better or worse is lumped into one general heading. Residential is a different world from Commercial or Education. I think what some people are suggesting is that you might want to consult with someone that has a bit more residential experience than you for some guidance and suggestions about how to go about this somewhat challenging design/site problem.
I apologize, I did not realize that you had architectural experience. Your grasp of the basic tenets of architecture are not apparent in what you've shared thus far. (I give you credit for at least sharing, it's scary submitting your work to the wolves).
Context, adjacency, function, scale are all missing. Every time I see your plan, it looks like a square peg in a round hole. Your ambition is commendable, but the task at hand is a formidable one.
Sometimes the best solution is to build nothing at all. In this case, you would be doing your neighbors a huge disservice if you did anything but planting some trees there.
This is a tough site.
I have been doing a little work for both my parents and my in laws - perhaps I am not as bright as I think I am! At this stage, its concept design for each couple, their needs and two specific sites - its going fine. My point of departure always comes down to the site.
Perhaps a strategy would be to develop 2 schemes - the one you already have, and another one that is completely different.
You need the 2 schemes to interact and contrast. Each scheme will point out the flaws of the other.
You need to show your parents each scheme and say 'this one is more or less a traditional house plan that has been modified to take into account the shape of the site' i.e. the scheme above. And then another that says 'this scheme is purely about the site which dictates how the building should be built'.
See what happens. Also, one of Sir Norman's key client strategies was always t produce at leas 2 genuine responses to his clients brief - wouldn't hurt in this situation either.
dia's idea is great
I am positive you should take gibbost post some serious thought.
"Why not use this as a learning experience for myself? I am currently working at a firm (non-residental), so why does that not make me eligible to do this for my parents? It is the least I can do for them and be an amazing opportunity for myself. "
Have you ever done residential? How long have you worked in this field?
Your learning experience may just cost your parents more than you think. The least you can do for your parents.......
without door openings its very difficult to comment. how, for example, does on access those bedrooms over by charlie's area? do you go through the bathrooms? also, just little things that ad up to a lot of caish? that garage for example, the garage foundation does it follow that in and outs of the mechanical there? if so you are increasing your costs with all this jiggy jaggy foundation work. why set the garage two feet back from the house? just to add more concrete work. also, you have huge openings in rooms that don't seem to warrant it ie guest/office room? a list of questions...
Cadmonkey: To put it this way, either you have no idea what you are doing, or you are extremely disinterested in working on this project. The results (so far) are pitiful.
Pull up your slacks and actually make an effort. I'm beginning to think again that this post is a trollish joke.
this fucker is having you guys dance! hey that is gorgeous. the graphic scale can also double as a landscape feature. have all the rooms access from outside and save on corridor space. remember, all you and your parents need is LOVE.
thanks assholes
k4dm0Nk3y,
I've been following this post &, You're right! They are assholes. I don't know why anonymity allows the previous posters to be so rude. They have an arrogance they have no right to. Ignore them & go on with your work.
Bingo! I just spotted one more anonymous asshole up there. This one is too big to use as a bathroom. LOVE and assholes, that's what you and your parents need!
cadmonkey, some people may be speaking in a disrespectful way but I promise you many, at least some, of them are making very good points.
For example, every single thing vado said is right on: your plan is unnecessarily complex, which translates to a much higher construction cost. You have a weird jaggy dead corner on the MB, the LR looks, frankly, too small for furniture to fit properly, the suggestions for a courtyard (given the weirdness of the lot) are excellent, but you'd need to rework the plan extensively to make the interior spaces that see the most use actually take advantage of a courtyard...the list goes on.
I said above, designing a GOOD house is hard! trace advised you not to look at spec home plan sites, but I honestly just spent ten minutes googling "in-law suite 1 story home plan" and found three plans that are, sorry, much better than yours. I'm not saying to steal those plans, but to look at how they arrange things and how relative spaces are sized.
If your family can sell this site at a profit, I'd advise your parents to do so (with the caveat that I have absolutely no idea what the economic situation of your family and the town this lot is in are and thus no basis in reality beyond your own statements here to make that advisement) and buy a site with a regular shape and street access/views. The bizarre site is making an already programmatically and emotionally difficult project even harder.
cad guy....I'm can't come to calling people monkeys...
This might be just a warm up for designing your own pad....which seems to be one of the most difficult commissions Architects ever face during their life time.
Seriously,
Reread the original post - this is not just a house for the folks. There are some complicated programme requirements and also some strong emotional responses too.
This is a bitch of a site, and it is going to make things difficult. Its one of those sites where you need to say to your parents 'look, forget a traditional house plan - it aint going to work on this site, we have to do something different' (like I have with mine - with sites not as difficult as this one).
All the best.
Fine, I'm an ahole but I don't need anonymity as my shield. My advice is this. Sell the site. I can't imagine how that site even exists. What nut planned or zoned that site? Now I am certain that you aren't going to sell so... it has been three years you have been working on this plan which is to be efficient and non complicated as the title to diagram 2 states. You know who your family is and what their needs are. Your plan is not effecient nor is the roof plan non complicated. It is apparent that you have the desire to do this job but not the background. If you want the background you need to find a job working with residential firms. The problems with your plan requires you or your family to be independantly wealthy. Your forum name is cadmonkey but the plans you show us here for crit lack basic copy/paste/insert information. If you want a better crit for design purposes I would suggest you go to a forum called designcommunity.com Based on what I have seen so far, I assume that at some point you will be hiring an architect. At that point, no matter where you are with this project, he is going to modify the hell out of this if not change it altogether. So it is better you go find an architect now, tell him you want to work with him on this and move foreward. Just my 2 cents.
Soliciting advice from other architects and having them tell you that you need to hire one is not assholish. In fact, its the opposite. As an architect, I am tasked with providing reasonable, safe design solutions for the public. Letting you build what you've suggested goes against everything I was ever taught. Do you ask your surgeon for herbal voodoo? I got a family to feed too, and if someone is in need of design advice, I try to offer that--for a price.
If you're looking for someone to stroke your ego and tell you that what you've submitted is good, look elsewhere. Suggesting that you move forward with that plan on that site is as disingenuous and wreckless as the developer that sold that land.
Have you asked your coworkers what they think of the plan? How does your drawing compare to the work that your office is putting out? Utilize the tools you have right in front of you. If your coworkers don't share the same opinion as most on this forum, I weap for your clients.
Let's ask a really basic question: Are you Licensed?
If the answer is no, you are going to need a capital 'A' Architect at some point, very soon, in the process. Either that, or a Contractor that is willing to accept all liability for this project and deal with all of the consultants that are going to be needed for this project. Either way, you are going to have to solicit the help of someone with:
A: more experience
B: likely to make design changes (for a number of reasons)
I think, in your case, it would be better to bring this person on-board now, rather than waiting until you think you have a floor plan figured out. Very few Architects, regardless of how much they need jobs, are going to be super excited about getting your "finished" floor plan with the instructions to make the CD's and get it permitted. And as so many have mentioned, getting someone's input who is more skilled at residential design will be a huge benefit, especially with a complicated program on a really restricted site.
I can't help but think that selling this site and finding somewhere else to build is the best decision you could make. For most people, getting a custom home built is a pretty big deal and you want it to be something that your family will be really happy with. I can't see how anyone would be happy with a house, regardless of how well it is designed, in this site. It's crap, plan and simple. The proper thing for this site is to leave it alone and let the 4 other people who already built here have their peace of mind.
I don't know if anyone else has put two and two together, but our original poster told us in another thread that he/she works for MINIMUM wage in an architecture office. ;D
just hire a builder who can provide the design for 'free'.
you need maximum volume inexpensively; a simple inventory of elements.
abandon any pretense of design - it isn't happening and your inexperience is going to screw over the project and your parents.
from what you've written, this is the wrong lot, program and clients to do on the job training.
@I don't know if anyone else has put two and two together, but our original poster told us in another thread that he/she works for MINIMUM wage in an architecture office. ;D
Sure beats being unemployed right now. Its either this or sitting on my ass all day. There is no jobs at all in this city. I can grab what I can take for the moment till something better comes along.
kad, have you shown your design to your parents? what feedback have they given you? honestly their feedback will mean far more than any comments from the peanut gallery.
my advice is to come up with a floor plan (with door and window openings:) that your parents are really excited about. after you get their buy-in, complete a small sd package (plans, exterior elevations, major building sections) and sit down with your parents and a builder/contractor to discuss how the design should be reworked for constructibility. i think after that meeting you all will get a sense of whether you and your parents are prepared to move forward with the design or if it's in your parent's best interest to find someone with more experience to proceed with the project.
First floor.
Second floor.
Hmm?
stairs?
Elevator, all day.
Isn't against code to put a sleeping room (Maids room) next to the garage (exhust problems), provided that access into the room is from the garage.
[url=http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5138/5547100282_a24db0eb70_b.jpg]bigger[/img]
Bored this morning. Still largely unfinished. Will probably finish it later today.
AM I GOOD AT ARCHITECTURE, YET?
those four thick columns are HOT!
I like it ! The neighbors will shit. Then they'll decide it's kinda cool -- after they've been invited over for a drink.
Rendering doesn't quite capture the claustrophobia of the site. Can you make the background more judgmental?
Well, I have to add the concrete fence that crowds the corners of the house by a whole 10'. I'm adding a fence anyways to worry less about having to fill in the background anyways.
Palm trees, landscape boulders and "GENERIC DESERT PLANT CARDS" to come after I finish out some doors, windows and patios.
Also, thanks bLAyer. I wanted to use oversize columns in the courtyard to "shrink" it because it is quite big and it really does frame the front door really nicely on other render views.
And SDR, I wanted to stay a tad more bland rather than venture out into something too crazy.
Keeping ADA accessibility requirements in mind really added a lot to the gross square footage of the entire house. I aimed to make about 85% of the house accessible. Two of the balconies and the upstairs bathrooms sadly didn't make the cut.
It looks like trailer park Jenga.
But seriously, for all the talk about saving Cadmonkey's parents money, I don't see an unstacked 2nd floor as aiding in accomplishing that goal.
Needs more trailer.
The trailer-- or manufactured home-- is a significant typology to the cultural, environmental and historical considerations of the Desert Southwest.
Architecture, as an intervening object of civilization, in a land at war with itself and the very things that inhabit it has always been and will always be an imported affair.
Even in the most primitive construction archtypes, the basic building components consisting of clay and wood are not widely available in consideration to critical localism or wider regional hinterlands.
...
In any event, a wheelchair accessible (possibly even a hospital bed) accessible home with a laundry list of demands is not going to be cheap by any stretch of the imagination.
Even using the most minimal-sized rooms, stripped of any features, would easily be between at a minimum 3500-4000 square feet.
My design is a conservative 7,300 square feet excluding outdoor space.
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