What we do and how we do it
Mark/Studio Architecture specializes in custom designed homes and home remodel projects. Approximately half of our 51 projects to date are single family homes, and in recent years, that has been our primary work product. We prefer the personal interaction of working with individuals and families, and we love designing homes.
Part of what it takes to design a beautiful home is easy to explain. We gather a lot of information that will guide the design. We get to know the client. We become the observer; they the observed. How do they live? How do they want to live? What is their current home like? Which parts of our culture are important to them? How do they socialize? What do they need to make their way in the world? What are their dreams? And, of course, how much can they spend to make it happen? We get to know them. They come to trust us.
Then we get to know their site, the lay of the land, the wind in the trees, the sunlight, the shade, the vistas and the quiet privacy. But the site will also have limitations; we look for what to avoid. This is a slow quiet time of observation. We study this for hours, imagining the effect of changing light in rooms at different times of day and year. Then we take this back to the client and tell them what we saw and how that will guide us.
There are other factors to consider, such as neighborhood context, locally available materials and labor, local culture and permitting requirements. But mostly, it is about the client and the site.
But actually putting all of this together into a good design is harder to explain. We must develop the interior and the exterior somewhat simultaneously, alternately prioritizing one over the other, then reversing that process. So, the first steps are the creation of one or more ideal floor plans and one or more ideal site plans. Then, you try to fit them to each other. From this point on it rapidly gets much more complex, and, as the pieces of the puzzle start to mesh, we start to visualize a form vocabulary and a structural expression which, in turn, leads to ideas about style, lighting, material, and the artistic expression of composition, focus, counterpoint and balance, all in the context of the natural and human-built environment of the site.
Form is visualized for both the exterior and the interior, where it is space that is formed. Gradually, all of these elements are made to converge, like dancers coming together. But the dance can’t be rushed. It takes time, patience and a lot of tracing paper. But when the dancers do come together, it is most exhilarating for the architect. What we live for!
At several stages in the design process we will meet with the client to discuss the “fit” of the emerging design to their needs, physical and emotional. Sometimes that leads to design changes. But, if we have listened and observed carefully, the optimal design is at least close to being realized.
Documents and Permit Approvals:
The second major stage of our work is the creation of documents that inform the local permitting authorities and the prospective contractor of the exact characteristics of the new structure. The documents usually include many architectural and engineering drawings, written specifications about products and methods for each trade, and finally, structural and energy loss calculations. The drawings and calculations are submitted to the building and planning departments for review. In many Bay Area communities, some home projects must also pass through a rigorous process called, “Design Review”. Guiding a project successfully through design review requires of the architect a knowledge of the community’s planning standards and goals and an ability to blend conformance to the guidelines into the design. We consistently demonstrate an ability to work well with both planners, concerned neighbors and others to resolve any issues.
Construction Phase:
We usually have a good experience working with contractors, an outcome probably resulting from our many years of experience as an architect/developer/builder. Many architects are able to communicate in drawings their end product design, but they are thoroughly unequipped to understand how buildings are actually built. This problem has long been, and continues to be, a plague on the profession.
Even in the briefest of conversations, contractors readily grasp that we have a granular level understanding of their work, and this shared knowledge creates a bond that eases the entire process and helps assure that the building will be completed as intended in the design.