Whether you’re getting ready to build your dream home or develop a commercial space, you’ve likely thought about what you do and don’t want when the project gets underway. However, communicating your thoughts to an architect who will assist in bringing your vision to life isn’t always easy.
Do you need help translating your ideas into clear, actionable guidance for your architect? Here are some valuable tips:
Discuss Your Lifestyle and Needs
If you’ve hired the best Melbourne architects or home design experts elsewhere in the world, discussing your lifestyle and needs is among the most important actions to take. Whether you’re building a new restaurant or your forever home, you want your architect to know what you need in a structure to maximize your enjoyment and comfort.
Explain how you live and want to use the space, such as entertainment, open concepts, and home office needs. If you’re building your forever home, you may also like to discuss the future and what that could mean for aging in place or expansion.
Prepare a Detailed Brief
You can verbally communicate your wants and needs to your architect. Still, a detailed brief can be helpful. When you have information written down, your architect can refer to it at any point.
In your detailed brief, include your goals, budget, timeline, and any functional requirements. Including your ‘must-haves’ and ‘nice-to-haves’ is also a good idea.
Create a Vision Board
Your architect will get to know you as time goes by. However, it doesn’t hurt to speed up the process by creating a vision board. This can be just as helpful for you as it is for your architect.
A vision board includes pictures and sketches of anything you want to see in your construction project. It can also include architectural styles you like, as well as textures, colors, and materials to help your architect bring your vision to life.
Sketch Your Wants and Needs
If you have specific design ideas and requirements that you’re unsure how to communicate in words, communicate in pictures! Simple hand-drawn sketches can sometimes be all it takes to convey your ideas, such as floor plans and site layouts, in a way an architect or construction team can understand.
Share Real-Life Examples
Most of us aren’t Pablo Picasso. As a result, you won’t always be able to accurately sketch specific features you want to see in your own construction project.
However, if you want to see anything specific in your new build that you’ve seen in other homes or buildings, you can share information about it with your architect. Take photos or descriptions of the elements you like. You might even provide addresses, so your architect can see particular features for themselves.
Provide Your Functional Requirements
Creating a functional list of requirements can be more helpful for your architect and construction team than you think. That list can form the foundation of their designs and plans going forward.
Most functional requirements lists include the number of rooms your building must have, your storage needs, preferences for energy efficiency and sustainability, and any special requirements like accessibility features.
Translating your thoughts into words and actionable plans for an architect to bring to life in a commercial or residential structure can be challenging. Rest assured, there are easy ways to communicate your thoughts and feelings. Provide a list of what you want and need, share real-life examples, and create a vision board. These small actions can make a difference in ensuring your satisfaction with the final result.
