Hatchell1

GriffinHatchell
Mr.Bronkar
CIBACSEnglish
15January,2015
DesigningABuilding
Architectureisoneofthemostexpressiveformsofart.Peoplemightnotrealizethat,like
everygreatworkofart,therearerigorousguidelinesthatmustbefollowed.Theseguidelines
includethethreephasesofpredesign,preliminarydesign,and,finally,designdevelopment.
Followingtheseguidelinescanturnanarchitectsthoughtsandsketchesintoworkplaces,sports
arenas,buildingsthattouchthesky,andhousesthatwillsomedaybesomeoneshome.
Onceyouareassignedaprojecttodesign,thebuildermaygiveyouthenumberofunits
theywantforacertainplotofland.Abuilderhasthechoiceofsplittingthelandintodifferent
propertiessoheorshecanbuildmorepropertyunits.Butbuildingonarestrictedamountofland
perpropertyleadstothelayoutanarchitectmustthendesign.Forexample,ArchitectMike
Pilarskisaid:
Ifthebuilderasksforahouseona40footwideby100footlot,youhavetoconsideryour
setbacks.Oneachsideofthehouse,youalwayshavea5footsideyard,youhavea15feetfront
yard(themaximum)anda20footbackyard.Thisisthestartofyourfootprint.
Afootprintsetstheboundariesofahouse,willhelpmanageroommeasurements,and
eventuallygivethearchitectdesignerthesquarefootage.Anarchitectwillalsobegiven
requirementsforthehouse,suchasatwocargarageorthreebedrooms,andtheseroomswillbe
thefirstroomsplacedinafootprint.Afterthebuyersmajorrequirementsareadded,thearchitect

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willdesignafloorplantoshowwhichroomsgowhereorwhereutilitiescanbeplaced.Onekey
factorindesigningahouseistheinfluenceofsocialandculturalaspectsfromthebuyer.Dr.
Mahgoubillustratesthispoint,saying:
ThemeaninganduseofspacesinwesterncountriesisdifferentthaninEasternand
MiddleEasterncountries.Spacesarenotunderstoodandusedthesamewaybyallpeople.In
ordertosatisfytheendusersofbuildings:spaceconfiguration,use,form,orientationcontrol,
privacy,etc.
AcommonculturalfactorthatgoesintomanyorientalhomesistheChinesephilosophy
FengShui.FengShuiistheancientartandsciencethatrevealshowtobalancetheenergiesof
anygivenspacetoassurehealthandgoodfortuneforpeopleinhabitingit(Tchi).FengShuican
beisagoodtoolfordesignerstouseupspaceandcanbeimplementedintowesternhomes.
WhileMikePilarskiwasdesigninghomesinChinaandTaiwan,heimplementedFengShuiinto
hisdesignstoletgoodenergyflowthroughthehouse.Mr.Pilarskistated,Ilearnedthat,
throughimplementingFengShui,Imustneverletthestairsfacedirectlytowardsthedoor.All
thegoodenergywillexitthehomeandletthebadenergyflowrightin.Whenimplementing
FengShuiintoahouse,itmustfollowguidelines.Startingfromthefrontdooryoucannever
havestairsdirectlyacrossfromtheentranceorelseallthegoodenergy,alsocalledChi,fromthe
housewillflowoutthedoorallowingbadenergytoenter.Ifthebackdoorisalignedwiththe
entrance,theChicaneasilyescape.Thequalityoffengshuienergyinyourhousemainly
dependsonthestrengthoffengshuienergyinyourbedroom,yourkitchenandyourbathroom.
ThestrongertheFengShuiisinthesethreeareasthemoreenergycanflowthroughthehouse

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andmakethespaceabetterlivable.Itissmalldetailslikethesethatcanaddcharactertothe
house.

TheFengShuiChart(Left)canbeappliedtoahouseplan(Right)todeterminewhateachsectionofthehouse
represents.

Thearchitectwillmakemultiplefloorplansthatcanvaryinsquarefootagebasedonhow
welltheycanfitapropertyonthelot.Thebuyerwillthenapproveoneofthesefloorplansor
makeadjustments.
Oncethefinalfloorplanisapproved,thearchitectwillheadintothepreliminarydesign
phase.Thisphaseisalsoreferredtoastheschematicphase.Dr.YasserMahgoub,Chairmanof
theDepartmentofArchitectureandUrbanPlanningattheCollegeofEngineeringatQatar
University,callsthisthecreativephaseinwhichmainconceptsofformandspaceare
generated.Althoughthefloorplansareapprovedandusedtomakeuptheskeleton,theskinof
thebuildinghasnotyetbeenplacedon.Thedesigndevelopmentusestheinitialdesign
documentsfromthepredesignphase(AIA).Specificelements,suchasmaterialtypesand

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locationofwindowsanddoors,arethenappliedusingspecialdesignsoftwarethatcangivea3D
modelthatprovidesabettervisionofthefinalizedproject.

3DModelofaHouseshowingmaterialstobeusedanddesignoftheexterior

Whendesigningtheexteriorofahousedonotforgettoadddetailsthatwillbeonthe
facade.Animportantdesignelementisknownasfurring.Furringistheapplicationofpopouts
thatcangivewindowsarecessedlookandallowsyoutocreatefacades(Pilarski).Adding
columnsorextraidentsinawall,coveredintile,totheexteriorofthehouseisatypeoffurring
toadddetail.Youcanusefurringonaflatsurfacetoadddimensionsthatmakeitadifferent
lookinghouse.
Thedesignscreatedtogivedimensionareaddedtotheapprovedfloorplan.Theplansare
onceagainapprovedbythebuyer.Nowthearchitectisinthefinalstage,designdevelopment.In
thisstage,theblueprintsaresenttothecityforapprovalandwillreceiveabuildingpermit.
Blueprintsaresenttothegeneralcontractor(s)aswell.Itisthejobofageneralcontractorto
managethebuildingprocessandcarryouttherestoftheworkfortheproject.
Designingabuildingisnotascomplicatedasitseems.Anarchitectcanseparatethe
designprocessintoabeginning,middle,andendstage.Withsomeelbowgrease,apen,acouple

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sheetsofpaper,andsomecreativity,anarchitectcanturnavacantspaceintoamegamansionfit
foraking.

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WorkCited
"5PhasesoftheArchitecturalDesignProcessDeBiasse&Seminara."
DeBiasseSeminaraArchitects
RSS
.DeBiasse&SeminaraArchitects,03July2013.Web.17Jan.2015.

AIA"DefiningtheArchitect'sBasicServices."(2007):n.pag.Rpt.in
AIA
.N.p.:AIA,2007.Web.16
Jan.2015

Mahgoub,Yasser."Architectu
ralDesignLectures3DesignProcess3
."
Architectu
ralDesignLectures
.N.p.,n.d.Web.16Jan.2015

Pilarski,Mike.InterviewWithGriffinHatchell.(2015)N.P.Friday.9Jan.2015

Tchi,Rodika."WhatIsFengShui?FengShuiHistoryandTheory."
About.com
.N.p.,2015.Web.15
Jan.2015