Kasia Kowalska-Ekstrand,

September 27, 2010

I spent some time in Europe this summer and was very impressed by the importance of design in Scandinavian countries.  I saw the incredible exhibits in Stockholm museums and the Danish countryside devoid of ugly buildings.  The sense of aesthetically ordered environment surprised and pleased me at every step.

The Vasa Museum is a masterpiece, not only due to the perfectly preserved 17th century sailing ship, but also thanks to cases, models, and interactive displays.  They contain anything from little mounds of ochre, cobalt, and other pigments illustrating the original colors of the woodwork, to the authentic skeletons of sailors and the forensic / computer recreations of their likeness.  Thoughtful design of presentation of information to the public is evident everywhere.

And it is true that any factory, warehouse, or office building by the roadside in Denmark is a piece of architecture worthy of publication.  Once we drove through a small town, where children on bicycles were leaving a complex of several round white stucco buildings with thatched roofs.  Could it have been a school?  How nice it must have been to go to classes there!  Why do our schools, with their endless hallways of metal lockers and unbreakable plastic mirrors in the bathrooms resemble prisons more than any other building type?

The subject of schools in Denmark came up as I talked to some friends there.  It turns out that Design is taught from preschool on as an essential part of the curriculum.  Among others - you guessed it - they use LEGO.  And contrary to the sad tradition of design schools in the US, where fierce competition and ruthless criticism reign, the second most important lesson taught to Danish kids is the principle of Collaboration.

May 5th, 2010

Maybe you have lived in your house for quite a few years and made do with one bathroom.  But now you have teenagers in the house and you feel that it would be oh, so nice, to add a master bath.  You have heard that in these challenging economic times contractors are willing to lower their prices.  You decide to have a few of the construction professionals "over" to look at the project and give you their bids.

Please, take my advice and first, "Do the Due Diligence" (see the April 22nd post).  Second, be aware that the ballpark estimates you will hear may vary widely and will not reflect the actual cost of the finished project.  The reason behind it is simple: with no project documentation in the form of drawings and specifications and without a clear agreement on the responsibilities of different parties there is no basis for comparison.  You will not know it, but you may be comparing apples to watermelons.  One contractor may be forgetting something, another may have the foresight to think of a couple of things you did not anticipate.  One design/builder can be including the cost of preparing the permit drawings, another could be including the actual permit fees.  Some larger firms will charge for their overhead and profit, some smaller ones will bid on a "labor and materials" basis, with or without mark up for subcontractors.  A bidder could bid very low just to get the job, but you may find out that their operations are less than perfect: the workers smoke on the job, play loud radios, and do not clean up at the end of the day.

It is your house and the disruption due to remodeling can be taxing on your family.  Do me a favor and hire someone to thoroughly document what you want.  Armed with that information  you can still get bids on your project.  You will get the best result however, if you start working with professionals you trust and negotiate (as oppose to auctioning off) the terms of the contract with them.  Architects and builders are in the Service, not Commodity industry. Having a good relationship with both will save your sanity and money in the long run.

April 22, 2010

Before you embark on a renovation or an addition project, make sure you check what is possible within the constraints of your location and your particular property and site.

• Call or visit the website of your local planning and building department.  Find out their hours of operation.  Plan a "research" visit.  Take a book or something else to occupy you - in bigger cities you may wait a while.  Bring photos of your property.
  
• Request to see any information that may affect the quality, size and shape of your project.  Some examples of things to ask for will be: zoning regulations for types of project uses and height restrictions, any design guidelines regulating what your project has to look like, and a specific parcel map with setbacks and other restrictions.
• Do make use of the Planner's time and expertise: ask a lot of questions, and, above all, be nice!  They are there to help you.
• If you want me to guide you in this process or do the initial research for you - email or call me!