ᐅ Preliminary Planning with the Architect – Is Having Your Own Floor Plan Helpful?
Created on: 14 Dec 2013 20:56
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Ben1000
Good evening, dear forum community,
Next week, we will start the preliminary design phase with the architect. My mind has been busy with the house topic for months, meaning, of course, that I have many ideas and a clear personal vision for the house. I have played around with my own hand sketches for the exterior appearance, and I have also thought extensively about the room layout.
Now, I know that many architects here in the forum tend to view homeowners’ attempts at floor plan design, to put it mildly, quite critically. However, I couldn’t resist using the planning software myself. I put all my ideas into one draft. I can’t really tell if it’s complete nonsense or if it possibly contains something useful for the planning process.
The question I have now is: should I just leave the floor plan in the drawer, or should I actually show it to the architect? Would it be better to let the architect find a solution without any preconceptions? Or is it better to present my (our) ideas using the self-made floor plan and then let the architect develop something from it (maybe even something completely different)?
What do you think?
Many thanks and best regards
Ben
Next week, we will start the preliminary design phase with the architect. My mind has been busy with the house topic for months, meaning, of course, that I have many ideas and a clear personal vision for the house. I have played around with my own hand sketches for the exterior appearance, and I have also thought extensively about the room layout.
Now, I know that many architects here in the forum tend to view homeowners’ attempts at floor plan design, to put it mildly, quite critically. However, I couldn’t resist using the planning software myself. I put all my ideas into one draft. I can’t really tell if it’s complete nonsense or if it possibly contains something useful for the planning process.
The question I have now is: should I just leave the floor plan in the drawer, or should I actually show it to the architect? Would it be better to let the architect find a solution without any preconceptions? Or is it better to present my (our) ideas using the self-made floor plan and then let the architect develop something from it (maybe even something completely different)?
What do you think?
Many thanks and best regards
Ben
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Wanderdüne15 Dec 2013 12:45@Ben1000: Yes, my comment was meant sarcastically, and hopefully the review showed what can be interpreted from the floor plan and what might better be left unknown. The architect needs a list of your priorities, along with all existing information about the plot and the current and possibly planned neighboring development.
@katho674: May I ask what you consider to be unprofessional in my critique?
@ All:
One might debate the tone of my criticism, but since this is a lifetime investment, a change of perspective and addressing critical issues is more than justified. The original poster will be working with an architect—what architect would agree to have their design published in a forum? Therefore, the original poster needs a method to evaluate the architect’s design and floor plan independently. This is why I contributed my thoughts on interpretation and perspective shifts as an approach to thinking and assessment.
Best regards,
WD
@katho674: May I ask what you consider to be unprofessional in my critique?
@ All:
One might debate the tone of my criticism, but since this is a lifetime investment, a change of perspective and addressing critical issues is more than justified. The original poster will be working with an architect—what architect would agree to have their design published in a forum? Therefore, the original poster needs a method to evaluate the architect’s design and floor plan independently. This is why I contributed my thoughts on interpretation and perspective shifts as an approach to thinking and assessment.
Best regards,
WD
Well, wanderdüne. Thank you for your feedback. Some of your points were genuinely new to me, others I had already considered, and a few I find unproductive without knowing the full context. You don’t know that anyway. No floor plan is perfect, and they are always a compromise in the end. Also, I don’t think I’m naïve and believe I can form an opinion about an architect’s floor plan. It’s not like I’ve never seen anything like this before. I’m not looking to argue about it now, as that was definitely not my intention (which is why I initially left out the floor plan). My question was solely about the topic from the original post.
So, I’ll put the floor plan aside and let the architect do their work. Then I’ll see if I want or can suggest one or two ideas afterwards.
Thanks so far for your assessments.
Regards, Ben
So, I’ll put the floor plan aside and let the architect do their work. Then I’ll see if I want or can suggest one or two ideas afterwards.
Thanks so far for your assessments.
Regards, Ben
Wanderdüne schrieb:
@katho674: May I ask what about my criticism you consider to be unprofessional?With pleasure. When a sentence like this:
Wanderdüne schrieb:
... Such houses may also be intentional, so feel free to show your plan to the architect... is preceded by a list of reasons against showing the plan, it comes across as somewhat mocking—sarcastic and therefore quite confrontational. This might be acceptable if the questioner were uninformed, but in this case it is completely misplaced, since Ben asked for our opinion very politely.Otherwise, the arguments are certainly valid, and Ben is probably clear now about what you meant at least in terms of content.
I see no problem at all with showing the plan to an architect for the initial impression. They will review it and then focus on the plot or site plan and zoning regulations. This will result in a solid new plan that certainly will not include the mistakes that the OP incorporated. At least, that should be the case.
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Wanderdüne15 Dec 2013 21:50Ben1000 schrieb:
No floor plan is perfect and ultimately always a compromise. That is true, but these compromises must be made at a very high level, meaning they should hardly impose any limitations.
I hope you have found a good architect. Then you will see that the raised criticisms do not exist, even under potentially challenging conditions.
@kaho674: Stay calm. The best outcome has been achieved—the original poster has reflected and gained new insights.
By the way, I am a strong advocate for providing detailed context when sharing floor plans.
Best regards
Wanderdüne schrieb:
@kaho674: Stay calm. The best outcome has been achieved, OP has reflected and gained new insights. Don’t worry, I couldn’t be more relaxed. On the contrary, I’m about to fall asleep.
I just wanted to make sure Ben doesn’t get the wrong impression of the forum and that you realize if you might have been off tone.
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