Architects, Landscape Architects and Urban Designers
Design commercial, industrial, institutional, residential and recreational buildings, landscapes and urban areas.
A Thursday on the Hallett house job
You are an architect leading the renovation of an older family home, which is now halfway through construction. It is 8am on site. The builder has opened up a wall, the clients want to change the plan, and a neighbour has just emailed you. You will have to settle all three by lunchtime.
Choose what you would do. Then see what happens. There are often good reasons for each choice.
We have been looking at the plan again. If that wall between the kitchen and living room came out, the whole place would feel twice as big. The builder says it is only a bit of framing. Can we do that?
Say it sounds possible and ask the builder to start removing it on Monday
Monday arrives and the builder opens the wall. It is carrying part of the roof above, and the work has to stop while an engineer is called in. The delay costs the Halletts more than caution would have.
Say it might be possible, but you need an engineer to check what that wall carries first
The engineer confirms the wall is carrying load and designs a beam. The change costs more but it is safe, and the Halletts get their open room because you did not promise first. A good idea needs checking.
Tell them the wall must stay, because it is not in the approved plan
You are right that approvals matter, but you have shut down a good idea without exploring it. The Halletts leave frustrated, and you have missed a chance to give them what they really wanted.
The tiles you picked for the bathroom are out of stock for weeks. I have a cheaper one that looks nearly the same, and the tiler is booked for Tuesday. Just say yes and I will order it today.
Ask Kev for a sample and details, then show the Halletts and let them choose at their next site visit
It respects the clients, and they like the tile. But the day it takes to arrange means the tiler's Tuesday slot is lost. Moving quickly on small things also matters.
Agree today, because keeping the tiler booked matters more than which tile goes down
The tile goes in, and the Halletts notice at the next visit that it is a different colour in the light. They feel their choices do not count, and trust drops on a job that is not finished.
Check the substitute against the spec, text the clients a photo and ask for an answer by noon
The tile suits the room and the Halletts approve it by lunchtime. Kev keeps his slot, and everyone knows who decided what. A fast, clear decision is easier when the client is part of it.
I have just seen the drawings for the new upstairs window. It looks straight into my bedroom. Nobody asked me. I am thinking of writing to the council. Can you tell me what is going on?
Say you will change the window, without asking the Halletts first, because it will keep the peace
Mrs Ruiz is pleased, but the Halletts hear of it from the builder and feel their architect has spoken for them. You solved one relationship by damaging another.
Reply that the design meets the planning rules and she is free to raise it with the council
You are correct about the rules, but Mrs Ruiz feels dismissed and does write to the council. The job slows while it is answered, and a short phone call would have cost less.
Ring her, listen, and show her the drawings and how the window could be changed
She is calmer once she has been heard. You agree a frosted lower panel and a higher sill, and the Halletts accept it. Many objections come from not being told, and talking early can settle them.
How it went
By the afternoon, the wall has an engineer, the bathroom has a tile and Mrs Ruiz has had a phone call. Architects spend as much time listening, negotiating and keeping people informed as they do drawing. Does it sound satisfying to be the person who holds the whole project together?
This is a simplified, fictional situation to help you explore. It is not professional instruction or a test of your ability.
Case study: The extension that blocked the morning sun
A fictional case set in a small architecture studio designing homes, extensions and community buildings.
The situation
Mei Lin's studio designed a two storey extension for the Okafor family in a street of older cottages. The drawings met every planning rule. But an elderly neighbour, Mr Fenech, had grown vegetables in his side garden for thirty years, and the new wall would put it in shade for most of the day. He wrote a short, upset letter to the council. The Okafors were annoyed, because they had done nothing wrong, and wanted Mei Lin to carry on and ignore it.
What they did
Mei Lin asked the Okafors if she could visit Mr Fenech first. She sat in his garden, drew the sun path on a sketch and showed what the shadow would do through the seasons. Back at the studio she tested a lower roof pitch and a set-back upper floor, which kept most of the Okafors' space. She presented both versions to the family, explaining honestly what each one gave up and what it gained.
How it turned out
The family chose the revised design and lost one small room upstairs. Mr Fenech withdrew his letter and brought the Okafors tomatoes when the building was finished. Mei Lin says the redesign was slower, and it took some persuading to get the family to agree.
What would you do?
- What would you say to a client who is annoyed that a neighbour is complaining?
- When is a design that follows every rule still not good enough?
- What would you want to know about a street before you drew a building for it?