On influence

Ideas are often built on the shoulders of others.  The challenge of where to start our own design was quite daunting, so drawing from the influences of others would make the seemingling impossible possible.

Early inspiration was found when I was looking through the Domain insert from the Sydney Morning Herald where I ran across a unique obtuse angled L shaped house by the Sydney architect David Boyle.  The shape provided an interesting layout which avoided the common perpendicular box amalgamation or right angle L shape for something more challenging.

Other influences came from the UK Channel 4 television series 4, episode 5 of Grand Designs.  The episode was called the Curved House, designed by Threefold Architects.  I had seen it quite a few years earlier but of all the designs presented on this show it was a standout.  What appealed to me was the openness of the living areas that opened out to the backyard which was made possible by creating windows along unique curved shape.

As our design evolved other influences resolved issues with the details.  Most notible was a northern facade of the "the toaster", better known as Bennelong Apartments. There was also the more unusual such as aircraft hangers.

Not all influences stood the test of the design process, however they all contributed to the exploration of the possibilities.

On white

White is the colour of occupational health and safety.  More specifically it is the name of the Construction OHS induction certification, i.e. the White Card.  To become an owner builder in NSW one needs a permit to build and the White Card is a prerequisite of the Owner Builder Course.  Unlike the Owner Builder Course which may be completed online, the White Card course is mandatory face-to-face delivery.

So I picked a Saturday morning to complete my first step towards our home and booked myself into a White Card course at Parramatta.  Arriving at 8:30am, I proceeded to spend the next 20 minutes finding a full day's parking in Parramatta's notorious one-way streets and 2 hour parking meters.  Once seated in the class room I noticed a diverse mix of students; mostly tradespeople or the unemployed looking for ways to improve their prospects.

As one would hope, the instructor was an expert in all things safety.  He was a safety investigator and had a treasure trove of experience investigating when things go horribly wrong.  How wrong?  Apparently three people die while at work every day in Australia and many more are disabled or seriously injured.  So the message of the course was very much about identifying hazards and performing risk analysis to determine what action to take.

At the conclusion of the course we all did an exam and all passed.  It turned out the instructor was a fellow student pilot so we talked headsets, course structures and aircraft types while we waited for everyone to finish :-) 

Be safe!

On architecture

'Architecture is the intention of permanence' - Robert Hughes

As I started this blog part way through the design process of our build, when there is nothing new to report I will revisit the old.  The architecture of our home falls under the latter category.

I have long held a passion for architecture, as Seinfeld's George Costanza always said he wanted to be an architect, a part of me did too.  Originally we considered project homes, but it soon became clear that despite some promising designs ultimately they did not satisfy our requirements.  Something custom to our needs was the obvious solution.

To me, it comes down to understanding how you live; that is the pathways one takes day-to-day whilst performing everyday activities.  Whether you're doing chores such as cooking or gardening, or enjoying the luxury of leisure, maybe watching sport or writing a blog, they are all connected and in my view it is the job of the architecture to link these activities so they can function within the same environment.

That doesn't make it sound easy!  So breaking large problems into smaller ones and adding some guiding principles for good measure is the solution:

Be together - Many modern homes today have three places you can eat and four places to relax and watch TV.  I'm not suggesting that you have can't have any time alone, but the architecture should encourage cohabitation of its spaces.

Be practical - A home that allows form overtake function will never achieve harmonious living.  A nice motherhood statement; translated, the layout of the rooms must have a working relationship with each other.

Be stateful - The asthetics of the home should inspire and promote a feeling of happiness to its inhabitants.  To achieve this it should reflect the style that the owner wishes to convey and makes a statement of who they are.

Be modern - A home is not modern because of how it looks, it also must be suited to modern lifestyles.  For example, homes of the 50's and 60's have next to zero storage because people just did not have the wealth of belongings that we have today.  The architecture must suit the needs of today.

So with these princples the task of designing an architecture that would serve as a permanent home for Dani and I would commence.

On focus

I vow the procrastination to end and to begin the build of our new home.

Last October my wife, Danielle, and I bought a block of land in Kellyville NSW with the plan to build a new home for us and our future family.

What better way to record the build story than a blog?  I hope it will not only entertain and inform followers, but also act as a journal to capture all the thoughts and ideas that will run through my mind to reminisce in the future.

So to move things along and allow me to focus, the work on my race car will take a hiatus and my pilot's license is on hold.  I have a passion for design and seeing things done so the ultimate test begins now.

Enjoy!