we have a 6 acre forest NW of port hope ontario. It slopes up from the road and there is a flat area at the top where we want to build a 1000 sq ft bungalow with a walkout basement. the house will face north with a lovely valley view. our budget is miniscule so we will move into a weatherproof shell. on the main floor we want only one bedroom with ensuite bath and laundry. this bedroom will share a 2 sided fireplace with the gritchen(great room/kitchen). the gritchen has an unfitted kitchen, table and 3 reclining chairs in front of the fire. also a walkout to a future deck. the basement has 2 bedrooms and a bath. i would like to find a student to help me with the design and do the drawings. do students have asssignments to design a real house and work with a real client? if not how can i find someone who will work cheap? i see this as an opportunity to prove that a tiny bungalow can appear spacious and not be just a box. any suggestions will be appreciated. thank you. ruthy
sounds like a great opportunity ruthy. i know that if i had any free time, i'd jump on it. i would hope that there might be a student here who would be interested. one caveat though, many students have limited knowledge of putting together construction docs, and likely wouldn't be able to help you much during the construction process.
don,t worry I,m not offended and also i hope i have not offended anybody. with my limited budget maybe i should hire a draftsman or building tech to do the drawings based on my design. However i like to think outside the box and try to hook up with people if it can be a win- win. i don,t know anything about the business of house design. i don,t even know what i don,t know. i do understand how my plea for help could offend some but hopefully "it never hurts to ask" for help. ruthy
while you might find someone up for a challenge like you've outlined, most designers/architects would prefer that they can take the journey of determining what you need and designing the project with you -NOT 'do the drawings based on my design'.
if you've already decided what the house will be, you actually make the designer's work not only much harder but much less interesting. if you want someone to work cheap, the best you have to offer is a chance for them to expand their boundaries and have some fun.
i want to clarify that i will hire someone to do drawings based on my design only if I can't find an architect i can afford which seems likely. my preference would be to have an architect design my house. i think it is a big challenge because we can only afford 1000 sq ft and i really want the 2 sided fireplace between the bedroom and gritchen. when i try to design the house it revolves around getting the fire in the right place so it is centered on the bed and also well positioned in the gritchen. i thought a student might enjoy the challenge and get credit at school. do schools give this type of assignment?
urban has a valid point, one that i've posited many times myself. architects are underpaid and underappreciated in our culture, victims of rising construction and materials costs, and of really bad and unfair pr. but at the same time, most people wanting to build something inexpensive wouldn't even consider design or an architect, but would just build the same cheap, awful, mc-home soulless piece of junk that everyone else does. i respect you ruthy for at least CARING. i honestly and perhaps naively believe that if more people cared more about the design and quality of their home than of their car, it would be a better world. :)
however, this would still be a great opp for a student to try and combine their passion for design with the challenges of reality, budget and construction. and i'd still say that a home designed by an architect, even by a student for super cheap, is better for the world than a home taken from a fast-food construction cook book where nothing is manifested but our culture's fetish for the dollar bill.
anyway, beyond all that, hiring a 'real' architect shouldn't add much cost to your home, especially on such a small project. there are plenty of young, small arch firms out there that are just barely getting by and would jump at any opportunity and any challenge.
in the end, i just appreciate seeing someone seek out real architectural input.
thank you heterarchy. i will look for a young small arch firm. it is a great suggestion. i agree with you so much about the fast food houses. we want a house to feed our souls! I agree it would be a better world if we didn,t live in cookie cutter houses. I,m getting hungry. thank you all for taking the time to respond to me.
Perhaps the likliest place to find a student that has a reasonable mix of design and technical skills is Ryerson. You might post something there, though I don't think they do a summer term.
Also, be aware that after January 1, 2006, building departments in Ontario will be requiring all designers to be 'Building Code Certified', unless you are doing the drawings for your own home.
Good luck.
if you really want cheap help, just start your own architecture office. give your firm a fancy graphics, conceptually based name (e.g., ODD - an acronym for the Ontario Department of Design), get a listing in the phone book and you will soon have a stack of resumes from talented young designgers willing to work for peanuts. if you decide to pay the nothing at all, then market to the schools and call the whole experience a "fellowship."
Some architects don't join offices but just start building houses after finishing school. They make their profit from the design of course but also from construction so you might be able to massage the fees a little to match your budget...
Jul 28, 05 7:45 pm ·
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toronto ontario house design help needed
we have a 6 acre forest NW of port hope ontario. It slopes up from the road and there is a flat area at the top where we want to build a 1000 sq ft bungalow with a walkout basement. the house will face north with a lovely valley view. our budget is miniscule so we will move into a weatherproof shell. on the main floor we want only one bedroom with ensuite bath and laundry. this bedroom will share a 2 sided fireplace with the gritchen(great room/kitchen). the gritchen has an unfitted kitchen, table and 3 reclining chairs in front of the fire. also a walkout to a future deck. the basement has 2 bedrooms and a bath. i would like to find a student to help me with the design and do the drawings. do students have asssignments to design a real house and work with a real client? if not how can i find someone who will work cheap? i see this as an opportunity to prove that a tiny bungalow can appear spacious and not be just a box. any suggestions will be appreciated. thank you. ruthy
sounds like a great opportunity ruthy. i know that if i had any free time, i'd jump on it. i would hope that there might be a student here who would be interested. one caveat though, many students have limited knowledge of putting together construction docs, and likely wouldn't be able to help you much during the construction process.
Sorry, no personal offense intended, but
GO AND HIRE AN ARCHITECT
or would you ask a first term medicine student, if he could help you with your broken leg....(just because its cheaper)
don,t worry I,m not offended and also i hope i have not offended anybody. with my limited budget maybe i should hire a draftsman or building tech to do the drawings based on my design. However i like to think outside the box and try to hook up with people if it can be a win- win. i don,t know anything about the business of house design. i don,t even know what i don,t know. i do understand how my plea for help could offend some but hopefully "it never hurts to ask" for help. ruthy
while you might find someone up for a challenge like you've outlined, most designers/architects would prefer that they can take the journey of determining what you need and designing the project with you -NOT 'do the drawings based on my design'.
if you've already decided what the house will be, you actually make the designer's work not only much harder but much less interesting. if you want someone to work cheap, the best you have to offer is a chance for them to expand their boundaries and have some fun.
i want to clarify that i will hire someone to do drawings based on my design only if I can't find an architect i can afford which seems likely. my preference would be to have an architect design my house. i think it is a big challenge because we can only afford 1000 sq ft and i really want the 2 sided fireplace between the bedroom and gritchen. when i try to design the house it revolves around getting the fire in the right place so it is centered on the bed and also well positioned in the gritchen. i thought a student might enjoy the challenge and get credit at school. do schools give this type of assignment?
urban has a valid point, one that i've posited many times myself. architects are underpaid and underappreciated in our culture, victims of rising construction and materials costs, and of really bad and unfair pr. but at the same time, most people wanting to build something inexpensive wouldn't even consider design or an architect, but would just build the same cheap, awful, mc-home soulless piece of junk that everyone else does. i respect you ruthy for at least CARING. i honestly and perhaps naively believe that if more people cared more about the design and quality of their home than of their car, it would be a better world. :)
however, this would still be a great opp for a student to try and combine their passion for design with the challenges of reality, budget and construction. and i'd still say that a home designed by an architect, even by a student for super cheap, is better for the world than a home taken from a fast-food construction cook book where nothing is manifested but our culture's fetish for the dollar bill.
anyway, beyond all that, hiring a 'real' architect shouldn't add much cost to your home, especially on such a small project. there are plenty of young, small arch firms out there that are just barely getting by and would jump at any opportunity and any challenge.
in the end, i just appreciate seeing someone seek out real architectural input.
thank you heterarchy. i will look for a young small arch firm. it is a great suggestion. i agree with you so much about the fast food houses. we want a house to feed our souls! I agree it would be a better world if we didn,t live in cookie cutter houses. I,m getting hungry. thank you all for taking the time to respond to me.
best of luck, and thanks for your time too.
and for the record, right on steven. :)
Perhaps the likliest place to find a student that has a reasonable mix of design and technical skills is Ryerson. You might post something there, though I don't think they do a summer term.
Also, be aware that after January 1, 2006, building departments in Ontario will be requiring all designers to be 'Building Code Certified', unless you are doing the drawings for your own home.
Good luck.
ruthy,
if you really want cheap help, just start your own architecture office. give your firm a fancy graphics, conceptually based name (e.g., ODD - an acronym for the Ontario Department of Design), get a listing in the phone book and you will soon have a stack of resumes from talented young designgers willing to work for peanuts. if you decide to pay the nothing at all, then market to the schools and call the whole experience a "fellowship."
another option is to find a design/build firm.
Some architects don't join offices but just start building houses after finishing school. They make their profit from the design of course but also from construction so you might be able to massage the fees a little to match your budget...
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