Designing a new home, or significantly changing an existing home, is a process of discovery. Like explorers, architects and their clients work together to discover a new place. And even though, as professional architects, we have designed many new homes and additions for a great variety of owners and sites and budgets, each time we start, it feels as if we are charting a new course, seeking a new place, one that neither we nor our clients have seen before.
It is a somewhat paradoxical process, for when we 'arrive' -- the project successfully done, the residents settled in -- the owners often feel that the new place is familiar, a place they already know. "Yes, they say, this is what we had in mind."
Creating a home is a process of making a place that feels both new and old: new, in so far as it is a fresh response to the existing conditions of neighborhood, site, climate, program, and budget; and old, in that it contains the deep and familiar qualities that, regardless of location, budget, and size, make a place a home. These timeless architectural qualities are what we think of as the essence of home.
excerpt from Patterns of Home by Max Jacobson, Murray Silverstein, and Barbara Winslow.
Architectural and Design Resources:
the ArchitectureRoom Forum for Architectural information, books, magazines and news.
Architectural Record Online
supplements the monthly magazine with expanded multimedia project stories, in-depth interviews with giants of architecture, daily news updates, weekly book reviews, green architecture and archival material.
Architecture @ About.com
Information on architects, building, remodeling, Feng Shui, bridges, handicap access, landscape, magazines, organizations, and preservation.
Architecture and Building
a selection of sites which concentrate on the use of computers in climate and environmentally sensitive design, green products, alternative housing, and the integration
of landscape and interior design with architecture.
Built in America
Library of Congress exhibit featuring documents from "Historic American Buildings Survey" and "Historic American Engineering Record" which illustrate the range of structures built in America from 1933 to present.
Design Forward / Straw Bale Designs*
An architectural design firm promoting straw bale construction, green building, renewable energy, and modern architecture.
DOL's Ultimate Room Design Guide*
Find room design answers that make designing online easy. Start your next room design online by using the services, resources and design aids we provide and your room layout issues will be resolved.
Great Buildings Collection
Architecture around the world from a variety of time periods. Hundreds of buildings by leading architects illustrated with 3D models, photographic images and drawings, plus commentaries, bibliographies and links.
National Register of Historic Places
Information on registering a property, finding out which properties are already listed, researching historic places and buildings, traveling to see historic places, and a special section for teachers.
Rapid Prototyping - 3D Modeling, Los Angeles*
Any item designed with CAD software can be reproduced in durable ABS plastic. We can produce your 3D model prototype, or you can rent our prototyping machine.
Wright On the Web
~ a virtual look at the works of Frank Lloyd Wright.
