Friday, 19 December 2008
Test Material
Today I ventured out in the wind and rain to nail a piece of metal roofing to my garage! strange I know but this particular piece was a sample of terne coated stainless steel which will weather down to a matt grey tone.
As Architects we are not only interested in the form of the buildings we design but also the materials from which they are built. Part of this is testing what a material may look like after it has been 'in the wild' for a while. Although the stainless steel is bright (think toaster) today within six months it will have darkened and its lustre will have faded.
All too often we are fooled by glossy images of buildings and fail to realise that the eventual appearance may be different. Housing estates (sorry, executive developments) are fond of clean white render which hides the many sins of poor quality blockwork. These shiny white blocks look great in the short term (usually while the sales shack remains on site) but quickly start to show their pain by revealing poorly designed cills, flashings and copes. The buildings bleed a dirty stain from strangely positioned boiler overflows and develop bags under their eyes due to rain shadows at eaves and projecting cills.
As consumers we should think a little harder about what we buy from developers, swishy kitchens and an LCD tv thrown in seems to be all that matters, who cares that the outside is ugly or failing or ill-fitting?
I wouldn't buy a suit with a loose button, why then are we so poor at judging the quality of houses?
As Architects we are not only interested in the form of the buildings we design but also the materials from which they are built. Part of this is testing what a material may look like after it has been 'in the wild' for a while. Although the stainless steel is bright (think toaster) today within six months it will have darkened and its lustre will have faded.
All too often we are fooled by glossy images of buildings and fail to realise that the eventual appearance may be different. Housing estates (sorry, executive developments) are fond of clean white render which hides the many sins of poor quality blockwork. These shiny white blocks look great in the short term (usually while the sales shack remains on site) but quickly start to show their pain by revealing poorly designed cills, flashings and copes. The buildings bleed a dirty stain from strangely positioned boiler overflows and develop bags under their eyes due to rain shadows at eaves and projecting cills.
As consumers we should think a little harder about what we buy from developers, swishy kitchens and an LCD tv thrown in seems to be all that matters, who cares that the outside is ugly or failing or ill-fitting?
I wouldn't buy a suit with a loose button, why then are we so poor at judging the quality of houses?
Tuesday, 16 December 2008
Success!
Room Architects are pleased to announce that they have succesfully secured full planning permission for 'Bogindhu' a significant extension to an existing farmhouse set in Aberdeenshire. Our design passed the planning process without any changes and should be on site sometime during the spring of 2009Thursday, 4 December 2008
Part Three Exam?
Many people outside of the Architecture profession know about the 'seven years of training' but few realise the intensity of the exam which all hopeful students must pass in order to call themselves Architects - commonly called The part 3 exam!
This exam is what sets 'us' aside from 'them'. Anyone can be appointed by clients, produce drawings and submit applications but to able to use the title of Architect requires a long university course, recorded post graduate experience and the completion of the part 3 exam. Architects have specialist knowledge of design, harmony, construction and technology, the part 3 exam sits above this knowledge and provides an additional layer of professional competence in which the client can be assured.
Many other disciplines carry out building design services but few have the background in design that an Architect has - design is the difference between a bog-standard timber kit house and one designed by my good friends Dualchas; both employ the same technology, the same construction and the same materials but the one with the greater design input has more soul. I suppose it's the same as comparing a litre of paint and a Rothko painting.
If you are considering hiring a professional to carry our design services I would urge you to visit the ARB to check whether or not they are a registered Architect. If a company is trying to give the impression that they are Architects when they are not, you should probably ask yourself "if they can do that..."
Room Architects
This exam is what sets 'us' aside from 'them'. Anyone can be appointed by clients, produce drawings and submit applications but to able to use the title of Architect requires a long university course, recorded post graduate experience and the completion of the part 3 exam. Architects have specialist knowledge of design, harmony, construction and technology, the part 3 exam sits above this knowledge and provides an additional layer of professional competence in which the client can be assured.
Many other disciplines carry out building design services but few have the background in design that an Architect has - design is the difference between a bog-standard timber kit house and one designed by my good friends Dualchas; both employ the same technology, the same construction and the same materials but the one with the greater design input has more soul. I suppose it's the same as comparing a litre of paint and a Rothko painting.
If you are considering hiring a professional to carry our design services I would urge you to visit the ARB to check whether or not they are a registered Architect. If a company is trying to give the impression that they are Architects when they are not, you should probably ask yourself "if they can do that..."
Room Architects
Losing interest Again?
Yet another 1% cut in the BOE base rate today, even more reason to consider investing your money in your house, after all it is the single most important factor in your health, wellbeing and happiness - your money is better off working for you!
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