Apart of formal and contextual issues, it is the characteristics of domestic life that underpins most residential projects. Design ideas are are born from initial discussions and brainstorming with the client(s) and from getting a feel of the talked about ‘space’.
The first design sketches happen really quickly because its the best way of communication between designer and client.
Its an act of conversation and translation.
There is a very obvious line between designing houses/spaces and decorating them. I recently flip through this magazine titled ‘Designers of the Year 2009′, a Malaysian publication, and I found it …lets just say unattractive. It should’ve been titled ‘Decorators of the Year’. Even that, those in it fail to make the cut. At least for me.
I’ve always wanted to design spaces that respond to a certain characteristics of landscape and context and yet is an accurate interpretation of the client’s brief and requirements. The design must engage directly with the complexities of the domestic family life or life thats going into it. Many architects / designers are pretty strict and orthodoxed which results in their client becoming totally subsumed, requiring them to live in a certain way and conform to a rules set by the architect / designer’s design agenda.
In contrast, my endeavour is to find the theatricalities of the occupants existence, issues of socialbility and what dynamics are apparent within the occupants. The story of the house or space then emerges out of that mix and its complexities.
I have a new client. That client is me. And its the most difficult client I will ever have to deal with.
This scale model is my house to be in the near future.
Its my blank canvas. My empty notepad. How paint on the canvas and write its story, i dont know yet.
But i started with the most communal part of the space. The dining.
Because this is where its occupants are most likely to come together.
And so, the story of this space begins…
Remember, if a house has no story, it should cease to exist.
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