What is FAR ( Floor Area Ratio)?Understanding Floor Area Ratio: A Key Concept for Residential Development Floor Area Ratio, commonly known by its acronym FAR, is a vital metric used in urban planning and zoning. It represents a relationship between the total ‘floor area’ of a building and the size of the land upon which…

The Hard Truth About Soft CostsUnderstanding Your Design Budget When building or renovating a luxury townhouse or high-end apartment, there is a multitude of design elements to consider, from finishes to fixtures and appliances. It can be overwhelming to know where to start, but one of the most important questions you will be asked is…

What you need to know about Architectural Fees A good architect should ask about your budget in your first interview. Do not dodge this question. While money can be difficult to talk about, you should never be uncomfortable about answering honestly. The Architect works for you, and one of the Architect’s most important responsibilities is…

WHAT IS AN ARCHITECT? An architect is not simply somebody who works in an architecture firm or one who has graduated from architecture school. An architect is a licensed professional deemed by their jurisdictions to have met all criteria required to hold the license. It is a protected professional title. Each state has slightly different…

Louis Kahn + The Salk Institute During a recent trip to San Diego, we were lucky enough to take a quick detour to the Salk Institute, a research facility about an hour outside of downtown. It was built in 1965 and designed by Louis Kahn – one of the world’s greatest architects. What is startling…

Do I Need an Architect? There are many reasons why you should hire an architect. Architects are designers and can typically deliver more creative, useful, and pleasing spaces than contractor’s or engineers (or you;) alone. Architects are trained project-managers and like a symphony conductor can help get all the various consultants, GCs, and sub-contractors to…

Light and Mood How Architecture Uses Lighting Styles To Enhance Your Mood The psychological effect that your surroundings have on your mood is fascinating.  Many researchers and psychologists have spent quite a lot of time on researching the effects of different designs, structures, lighting styles and colors on your mind and mood.  During many years…

WHAT IS THE LPC – AND WHY SHOULD I CARE?HOW TO DESIGN IN A PROTECTED DISTRICT The LPC, or Landmarks Preservation Commission, is a city organization charged with protecting various historic districts and buildings. If your project falls within a historic district or is an individually landmarked building, you are required to gain approval from…

Where Marble Comes From… It is sometimes easy to forget the immense effort that goes into getting the materials that we use to build and outfit our buildings.  It can be easy to specify marble as if it just comes to this earth as slabs ready to become kitchens and bathrooms.  This beautiful film by Yuri…

CRI (COLOR RENDERING INDEX) CRI is a measure of how accurately a light source can reveal the intrinsic colors of what it is illuminating.  Color is just the brain’s way of interpreting light wave frequency.  When light hits an object, it absorbs some frequencies and reflects others.  A red apple absorbs all the frequencies, except the…

UNDERSTANDING PASSIVE HOUSE Passive House design is a strict design standard that limits the energy use of the house. While LEED concerned itself with many different factors, such as indoor air quality and embodied the energy of materials, Passive House only deals with energy usage. In the most basic terms, to achieve a Passive House…

What Is LEED? LEED stands for Leadership in Energy Efficient Design and is a rating system and agency that certifies buildings are sustainable according to their rating system. LEED, unlike PassiveHouse, takes many factors beyond energy usage into account when certifying a project. Indoor air quality, material sourcing, recycled content, and construction techniques are among…

The 9 questions you should ask at the start of a project. There are 1000s of things to do when starting a new project. This is why having right professionals on your side is essential. There several questions you are going to need to ask your architect and several more you are going to need…

The 5 Phases Of DesignSeeing Things From Our Client’s Perspective It is not unusual for somebody to only need an architect once or twice in their life, and many of our clients are working with an architect for the first time. We feel that communication is THE most critical aspect of our relationship with clients…

Architecture and Light The psychological effect that your surroundings have on your mood is absolutely fascinating. Many researchers and psychologists have spent quite a lot of time on researching the effects of different designs, structures, lighting styles and colors on your mind and mood. During many years of research, these professionals found that colors and…