HH Architects: Summer Newsletter 2023

HH Architects: Summer Newsletter 2022

Good Design During this Time

To ensure we are ready to navigate what’s next for Herscoe Hajjar Architects, it’s vital that we reactivate our space to balance health and safety for our employees and clients. Also, that we continue to respect each other’s well-being. Preparedness, agility, and resilience will be key as we start to consider the “New Normal” and Good Architectural Design is part of this reality.

Understanding Modern Home Design

Good architectural design needs to be more than a pretty house. As architects will tell you, good design is based on understanding the client's activities, the spaces those activities require, an understanding of space, perception, and familiarity with a multitude of building materials and products; all are important in these times.

Good architectural design and home plans must keep water and weather out, and control light, heat, and humidity; it must consider durability and upkeep of the products used, and the access needed to maintain building systems; it must include selection of the optimum structural, mechanical, and electrical systems; it cannot ignore permit fees, energy costs, utility costs, or taxes. Again, all are important considerations in these uncertain times.

Architectural Design In Light of COVID-19

When asked if he is seeing a change in design trends due to COVID-19 pandemic, architect Rob Herscoe says, “Clients are planning for home-schooling and planning tennis courts and basketball courts—a lot of things people would go somewhere to use, are now on their own property. Kids have play rooms and ample outdoor space to build treehouses. And people are building home gyms, knowing they’re not going to use their health club memberships.”

We must look at a perspective project not just as an individual structure, but as an interconnected part of a much larger world. We must continue to study and examine the way that the house design will appear aesthetically in context, consider the position of the sun, and examine the use of the space to consider the best design path for good design.

Architecture has always been an adaptive profession, therefore, we must envision the home during the so-called “new normal” as a place where families could live, work and play and should be “quarantine-friendly.”

What we do at our practice is architecture and design, but it’s also art.

Human experience drives our practice.

Interview with an Architect: Herscoe Hajjar Architects are often interviewed for Editorial Articles in some of the most prestigious home magazines

Q: Describe the architectural style of the home and the setting of the area:

A: The style is a contemporary version of a Florida Courtyard Home where the Entry is via a gate within a walled Courtyard which allows the typical ceremonial front yard to become an active environment to the home for entertaining and private break outsitting  area. As the property sits adjacent to a Cypress Preserve the Homeowners were very keen to celebrate the whole  natural setting rather than just one focal point of a waterway. The property utilizes natural vegetation that links into the preserve so there is no hard designation of the home owners property which allows the home to feel built within a larger property.

There were different secondary entrances that gave access to the master suite from a separate garage so the homeowners could choose how to navigate the ever changing daily flow of people to and from the house. A key way to make a house work for a family of different personalities and needs is to not force cross path circulation that invades privacy unless desired. The stair to the second floor is off of a side hallway so the older kids and guest can come and go without passing thru public spaces. The master wing side of the home provides entertaining space that can allow multiple entertaining scenarios that can occur comfortably right next to each other while providing the privacy, and egress to support this.  

Q: If applicable, describe any challenges in building the home and how they were overcome:

A: The main challenges were how to educate the Gated Community HOA that there is more than one way to design a home that is contextual to the neighborhood. The typical street presentation of most homes is to create an obvious embellished front entry door element akin to a portico, tower, or Porte chocere.  For this home we wanted a more humble entry sequence that utilized a more mysterious  approach of sequential processing that courtyard style provided. And it truly worked, as passerby’s are continuously trying to see beyond the gates of this unique home.

Q: How you came to work with designer:

A: The Design team was assembled by homeowners early in the planning stages so that we were able to collaborate in developing a layout that supported the specific needs of the clients lifestyle ranging from how to support a busy families need for individual privacy and at the same time welcome friends and extended family. Having worked with this designer on many projects before the collaboration was effortless as our relationship had history and mutual respect that allowed us to banter and collaborate like good friends rather than each trying to protect their own design authorship. Having that history between our firms allowed us to anticipate ways to bridge the architectural and interior design into one.    

Q: How did you come to work with the homeowners:

A: We had met and interviewed with the homeowners many years prior to the commencement of this project and that gave them the opportunity to follow our work so when the project started they felt confident with their selection of a design team which gave us their complete trust which is essential to a great design process.

The design of this home was as rewarding as the execution. It was actually fun and enjoyable. Of course there is always the budgetary constraints that guide any project but the level of trust and mutual respect made navigating these challenges logical and easy. We respected our clients budgetary constraints and strove for designs and details that were appropriate while still providing unique and personal style.

Q: Feel free to add any other historical or personal references that might be of interest:

A: I know this might seem a rather mundane issue but there was a functional desire for the home to have a 4 car garage. This sometime leads to an obvious street composition of a central auto court with two symmetrical garage wings. As this home was more personal and unique than a spec house, we made the narrative that the one set of garages was an old stone outbuilding that was there and we incorporated it into the design of a more contemporary home. This garage becomes a unique feature from both the street and within the front courtyard that creates a setting for the home.

All Fired Up: How Architects in Naples, FL are Getting Ready for 2021

The optimistic vibes brought on by the new year will be felt more strongly than ever, given the tumultuous 12 months we’ve all been through. Of course, the talented community of architects in Naples, Florida will be quick to remind you that, despite the welcome arrival of 2021, their daily professional home design challenges remain. As Monday, January 4, brought with it more Zoom meetings with clients, consultants, contractors and everyone in between, not to mention late night CAD & Revit revisions and the traditional tidal wave of caffeinated beverages, it might feel like a big ask to hit the ground running this new year.

Well, fear not: There’s nothing like a good new year’s resolution to focus the mind and stoke one’s motivation once more. Consider this your guide to injecting fresh impetus into your work, and here’s to a healthy and prosperous 2021!

Use 2020 as inspiration for your designs- The past 12 months have been primarily about survival — as an individual, as a family, as a company. Still, that hasn’t stopped architects from flexing their creative muscles to generate new architecture styles and design solutions, aiming to provide healthier, more robust and more flexible spaces for society. We’ve seen adaptable apartment floor plan layouts to aid those working from home, mobile medical units that can be rapidly deployed to where they are needed, and public spaces that take advantage of our evolving urban landscape. Even as the pandemic subsides, try to maintain your spirit of innovation, exercising those create instincts to that, when the next crisis hits, you are well placed to pioneer positive solutions through design.

Keep drawing by hand - By now, it has become something of a clichéd rallying cry, but the assertion that “drawing isn’t dead” remains as true as ever. Computer renderings have their place — despite an awful lot of bad press in recent times — but for the fluid articulation of ideas and the communication of concepts and home plans to clients, nothing beats a good, old-fashioned drawing. Sharpen those pencils and make sure everyone in your studio has one, from director to intern.

Experiment with new materials - With climate change now a constant presence in the minds of designers, it’s critical architects keep abreast of emerging materials and products that help to reduce the environmental impact of construction. Last year’s A+Award winners included acoustic panels made from coffee sacks and shingles crafted from plastic waste, and this year’s program is set to showcase even more material innovations.

Continually research these interesting (and often beautiful) materials, and make sure to impart this newfound wisdom on to your clients. The more they are informed of the environmental impact of their project and the options available to them, the easier it will become to convince them to break with convention and build with something new.

Listen to your local community - Given the year we’ve just navigated through, it’s more important than ever to listen to our stakeholders. Listening to the views of community groups and local residents will help architects better understand the changing needs of populations as their living and working conditions evolve in the upcoming months.

In a digital age when everyone’s voices can be heard, design is becoming increasingly democratic, and architects will retain their cultural relevance by taking all viewpoints into account and showcasing authentic architecture. Join your local community groups on Facebook, follow YIMBY, and attend local planning meetings online wherever possible — you’ll be amazed at what you can learn, and how it could inform your designs, particularly in relation to public spaces and civic projects.

Become an adaptive reuse expert - The pandemic has forced people all over the world to rethink how they live and work — often within the same space. Meanwhile, with many companies shifting to a work-from-home state, millions of square feet of office space have been left vacant. These radical shifts have presented developers with difficult questions — what kinds of homes will dominate future markets, and how can they make those commercial high-rises financially viable in the long term?

It’s up to architects to help their clients turn these challenges into opportunities. Research the world’s best adaptive reuse projects and hone your expertise in this field. Understanding how to transform existing spaces will give you a competitive each in urban centers around the globe — and inform your designs for new constructions, as well.

Read more - With the working hours that architects tend to keep, it can prove difficult to keep your eyes open long enough for a bedtime read. However, if you can allocate only 10 minutes of quiet time to flick through a few pages at the end of each day, you’ll be amazed at the new ideas and fresh inspiration that can be found.

Speak up for what you stand for – the best architects tend to let their designs do the talking, and will undoubtedly continue to do so throughout 2021. However, there is also great value to be found in conversation, whether that is via a live stream on Facebook, a virtual seminar hosted by your local university, or even a TED Talk by the likes of Thomas Heatherwick, Bjarke Ingels or Architizer’s own Marc Kushner Architects can communicate their values and promote great design by telling stories, encouraging people to ask questions about the built environment that surrounds them. Sometimes — just sometimes — it’s good to talk.

Copy Edited & Reposted from: Architizer