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Best of LaCantina 2022: Competition Winners Revealed!
CategoriesArchitecture

Best of LaCantina 2022: Competition Winners Revealed!

By Zarkon Group,

Architizer is thrilled to announce the winners for one of this year’s most inspiring design competitions! The 5th Annual “The Best of LaCantina” attracted entries from architecture and design firms around the world, each integrating LaCantina’s stunning doors and windows into their projects in innovative ways. The projects ranged widely in location, building type and scale, but they all share one thing in common: Their use of LaCantina products allows for a seamless connection between inside and out, framed by beautiful, durable materials.

The designers behind this year’s Best in Show, the Panama and US-based firm IM-KM Architecture and Planning — led by Kristin and Ivan Morales — win a trip to next year’s AIA Conference, complete with travel and accommodation. Stay tuned also for an in-depth look at their winning project, Casa Loro, which will be published soon on Architizer!

Without further ado, explore every winning design from this year’s competition, projects that truly encapsulate “The Best of LaCantina”.

Best in Show: Casa Loro by IM-KM Architecture and Planning, Puerto Escondido de Pedasi, Panama

Photos by Anita Calero, Fernando Alda, and Emily Kinskey

IM-KM’s concept for the main house at Casa Loro was to create a “modern tree house” made with contextual materials, designed to enclose indoor and outdoor spaces equally. The pavilions of the main house are all balanced around the central pavilion, which contains the vestibule and indoor and outdoor living rooms. The façades of each pavilion are operable; when opened, the perimeter of the interior spaces become permeable and create a single larger room including the adjacent garden spaces and the ocean at the horizon.

Most Innovative Project: Oyster House by Randall Kipp Architecture, White Stone, VA

Photos by Maxwell MacKenzie

Approached to design a modern, waterfront home yet still fitting in with the local vernacular, Randall Kipp Architecture put a modern spin on classic forms with transparent, gabled rooflines, open spaces, and a steel framework wrapped in glass. The floor-to-ceiling glass panels provide views of the Chesapeake Bay as well as marsh grasses and grains — a bridge between ecosystems.

Best Compact Project: Abodu One by Abodu, San Jose, CA

Photos by Abodu

Specializing in the design and construction of ADUs (accessory dwelling units), Abodu created the eponymous Abodu One, a 500-square-foot, one bedroom ADU dark cedar vertical siding, an integrated deck and LaCantina bifold doors.

Best Urban Residential Project: West Village Historic Townhouse by READ Architecture Design DPC, New York, NY

Photos by Zack Dezon

Located in a quiet street of the West Village, this landmarked carriage house was renovated with a motive of protecting the essence and the character of the townhouse while creating unique and contemporary moments. Through the respectful restoration of the front façade and bringing it back to its original 1925 state, an unexpected transformation is awaiting on the back façade, opening to a joyful surprise of a contemporary urban backyard.

Best Rural Residential Project: Hood River Residence by Catch Architecture, Hood River, OR

Photos by David Papazian

This residence is nestled into a scenic hillside, overlooking an active orchard. All the main rooms open up with LaCantina doors onto this view corridor. LaCantina’s wood option in walnut was a perfect match that continued to enhance the main design feature highlighting the active outdoors lifestyle. The floor-to-ceiling window in the main bedroom upstairs features a Juliette railing, enabling inhabitants to bring the outdoors in with fresh light and plenty of air. With its live green roof over the garage, the house melds with the existing landscape and blurs the lines between indoor and outdoor living.

Best Suburban Residential Project: Westchester Views by Workshop/APD, Armonk, NY

Photos by Read McKendree

Workshop/APD designed this 5 bedroom, 7,000 SF home in Armonk, which offers the convenience of an easy commute to New York City, but on a hilltop site where you are fully immersed in nature. The home has a unique sense of openness, light and air, with soaring vaulted ceilings in the great room and the ability to open almost every room to the outdoors thanks to LaCantina sliding doors. Breezes blow through and the views to the beautifully landscaped site feel like they are part of the interior design.

Best Commercial Project: Alila Marea by Joseph Wong Design Associates – JWDA, Encinitas, CA

Photos by Eric Laignel Photography and JMI

Alila Marea is a fully appointed luxury resort hotel with 130 guest rooms, 6,300 square feet of meeting space, spa, fitness, swimming pool, two restaurants, coffee shop, bar, and underground parking on a 4.3 acre site located on a coastal bluff overlooking the Pacific Ocean in Encinitas, California. JWDA utilized LaCantina Doors to open up the exterior walls and offer as much indoor-outdoor connectivity as possible to the hotel guests. The architects customized the doors to fit the exterior envelope, maintain a waterproof assembly, and comply with acoustic, thermal and accessibility requirements.

Best Renovation Project: North Ranch Remodel by Horwitz A+D and Nancee Wolfe Designs, North Ranch, CA

Photos by Gary Moss Photography

For this radical remodel, the architects started with a French Country style home and unapologetically transformed it into a ‘transitional contemporary’ residence, whilst holding onto the original warmth of the property. Harnessing LaCantina’s bifold and sliding door systems in different parts of the house, the final structure possesses clean lines and a rear wall of the house that blurs the line of indoors and outdoors. Other standout features include a floating glassy spiral stair, a world class kitchen and master suite with an adjacent 350 square-foot patio/balcony.

These eight award-winning projects show just a glimpse of the incredible designs produced by architects with the help of LaCantina’s versatile product range. See more amazing case studies like these and learn more about the systems that make them possible over at LaCantinaDoors.com.

Reference

Free Webinar: How to Estimate Fees (An Architect’s Guide to Success)
CategoriesArchitecture

Free Webinar: How to Estimate Fees (An Architect’s Guide to Success)

By Zarkon Group,

Architects: Ready to start mastering fees and better understand what they mean for your bottom line? We’re excited to be joined by Douglas Teiger, FAIA, founder of Teiger Consulting, for an insightful new webinar that will demystify the process and help you (and your firm) become more profitable.

As a bonus, architects can receive 1 AIA Continuing Education Credit for this event, courtesy of BQE! Hit the button below to sign up for the talk, which will take place at 1pm EST on Wednesday, February 8th:

Register for Event →

In this free live session, you will learn how to define your project scope, develop a Rough Order of Magnitude of construction cost, and estimate your project hours. We’ll finish off with how fees are broken down and explore a simple system to improve your overall project profitability.

By the end of the session, you will learn how to:

  • Identify the correlation between project scope, estimated cost of project, and fee.
  • Develop a Rough Order of Magnitude (ROM) of construction cost in a simple way.
  • Create a top-down approach to fee estimation based on a percentage of costs as a guideline.
  • Estimate fees whether hourly or fixed fee projects.
  • Define how many hours you have in each phase and how to manage those hours.

Join Douglas and Paul for what promises to be an engaging presentation — there will also be an opportunity to ask Douglas any questions you may have around estimating fees, improving your profitability and more. You can register for the talk here — we hope to see you there!

About Douglas

Douglas Teiger, FAIA, graduated from Cornell University, in 1982 with a BARCH. He opened his own firm in 1989 and grew from a solo practitioner to become managing partner of his 32-person firm. In 2009, Douglas received a Master’s in Spiritual Psychology from USM, where he learned tools and skills he is sharing with his staff and clients. His ability to effectively streamline the operations allowed for more time to be spent on design and project research while creating a culture that fosters a holistic approach to a work life balance.

In 2017, he served as President of the AIA Los Angeles Chapter and previously served on the AIA National Strategic Council. In 2019 Douglas transitioned out of his firm elevating three associates to partners, sold his shares and started his next venture, Teiger Consulting. Douglas’s mission is to “live an inspiring balanced life” whether it involves family, coaching, consulting, painting, or sports.

About Paul

Paul Keskeys is Editor in Chief at Architizer. A registered UK architect, Paul graduated from UCL and the University of Edinburgh, gaining an MArch in Architectural Design with distinction. Paul has spoken about the art of architecture and storytelling at many national industry events, including AIANY, NeoCon, KBIS, the Future NOW Symposium, the Young Architect Conference and NYCxDesign. As well as hundreds of editorial publications on Architizer, Paul has also had features published in Architectural Digest, PIN—UP Magazine, Archinect, Aesthetica Magazine and PUBLIC Journal.

Register for Event →

Reference

Panama Perfection: IM-KM’s Casa Loro Wins “Best in Show” in 2022 LaCantina Competition
CategoriesArchitecture

Panama Perfection: IM-KM’s Casa Loro Wins “Best in Show” in 2022 LaCantina Competition

By Zarkon Group,

The 5th Annual Best of LaCantina competition saw its most inspiring range of entries to date, with a diverse range of stunning architectural designs submitted from the United States and beyond, each utilizing the unique qualities of LaCantina Doors‘ systems to blur the boundaries between indoors and outdoors. Of the top projects submitted this year, a striking residence in Panama — Casa Loro — scooped the prestigious title of “Best in Show”. Its designers, the Panama and US-based firm IM-KM Architecture and Planning — led by Kristin and Ivan Morales — win a trip to next year’s AIA Conference, complete with travel and accommodation.

The project was approached with a deep sensitivity to local context. “The intent was to first restore, then relate to and engage with the site,” stated the architects. “The design needed to emerge from the restored forest to find wide open plains through, in, and around the main house. The concept of the main house at Casa Loro was to create a modern tree house made with contextual materials that enclose indoor and outdoor spaces equally.”

IM-KM paid special attention to material selection and spatial layout, seeking to create a home in which each space is uniquely designed to enhance the client’s sensory experience: “As we designed each of these spaces, we wanted them to have unique qualities of sound, materials, and light, that become integrated components that enhance the user’s experience and create specific memories of the place.

“This was achieved by hierarchically separating the spaces by a series of steps and platforms that are surrounded by gardens that attract biodiversity. As you circulate, each space becomes gradually more intimate until you reach the bedrooms and their private gardens. The ocean and fountain provide different acoustics depending on which space or garden you are in, and the shade from the various trees and palms create shadows that move around with the ocean breeze.”

The architects sought to create a hierarchical sequence of spaces that would offer inhabitants a sense of escape as they transition between each living space. IM-KM explained: “The pavilions of the main house are all balanced around the central pavilion which contains the vestibule and indoor and outdoor living rooms. From this central space, you transition from the modern world to somewhere else, where you can forget your day, and just be on holiday.”

Utilizing LaCantina’s sliding door systems, the façades of each pavilion are fully operable. When opened, the perimeter of the interior spaces become permeable and create a single larger room including the adjacent garden spaces and the ocean at the horizon. “When passing through the modern pavilion — from the vestibule into the outdoor living room — you are compressed and released into the vastness of the outdoor living room which looks out to the sea and the surrounding playful roof forms. It is meant to be an exciting, all-encompassing transition,” said the architects.

Casa Loro powerfully demonstrates how smart material and product selection can enable a seamless transition between interior spaces and the surrounding landscape. IM-KM’s adept use of LaCantina Doors systems helped create a serene home that is intimately connected to the unique natural environment of Panama, while producing an open-plan layout that is flooded with natural light. The house is proof that, when the right building products are employed and the details are well considered, a “Best in Show” outcome is possible.

To see every winner of the 5th Annual Best of LaCantina competition, click here, and learn more about LaCantina Doors here.

Photographs by Anita Calero, Fernando Alda, and Emily Kinskey.

Reference

Bringing the Outside In: Using Biophilic Design Principles to Transform Commercial Interiors
CategoriesArchitecture

Bringing the Outside In: Using Biophilic Design Principles to Transform Commercial Interiors

By Zarkon Group,

Modernism was all about clean lines, raw surfaces, and celebrating the uncompromising rationality of the machine. The vision of LeCorbusier was revolutionary in its time, and caught on in ways he would likely not have expected. Today, most of the public spaces we move through, from offices and schools to hospitals and transport hubs, owe something to the modern movement and its penchant for no-frills design.

Not everyone is happy with this state of affairs. Today, there is a renewed interest in the textures, patterns, and curves, the very features of classical architecture that modernists once avoided. Design-thinkers have learned that natural forms, from the vein patterns in leaves to the curves of the human body, are based on fractals rather than grids. As human beings, we find fractals pleasing to the eye and emotionally restorative. Right angles, in contrast, are harsh and even exhausting. This is why so many people describe modern spaces as feeling grim, sterile, or anxiety provoking.

Wall art by Inpro

For architects that are looking to warm a space with natural forms, bringing in some of that fractal energy people literally crave, the experts at Inpro are providing new, high-tech solutions. They create high-end, digital artwork optimized for spaces such as offices, schools, hospitals and more, bringing vitality to spaces that would otherwise be merely functional 

Through their critical design research into art and biophilia, and from the inspiration that guides it, Inpro is looking to make art “work” for the occupants in any commercial building. How art, working through digital imagery or printed on an architectural product, can bring a brand, an idea or even a feeling to life.

Nick Cotter, Creative Director at Inpro, says: “The right image can have a calming effect, especially in healthcare environments where patients might be experiencing anxiety, fear or pain. Images of nature offer serenity in an otherwise sterile space, while bright and colorful artwork can stimulate interest and put smiles on faces.” Studies have shown that looking at images of nature is healing, much like spending time in nature. Art, then, is a crucial component of any healthcare space. 

As the company explains in their Imaging Products brochure, “North Americans spend nearly 90% of their time indoors. . . Whether it be promoting healing in healthcare, productivity in office environments, stimulating creativity in education, triggering brand recognition in hospitality or reinforcing positive transactions in retail and restaurant, the use of imagery, pattern and color can have an influence. . . these influences are seen even in our sleep, diet and mood.”

Inpro offers six product types for people looking to bring art and photo prints into their office, including Aspex® Printed Wall Protection, a printed, protective wallcovering that can be applied directly to the wall at virtually any size, and printed wall art, which hangs on the wall just like a painting. The brand also produces printed signage, which allows art to be integrated in creative ways throughout the space, durable wall panels that can be used in high traffic spaces like elevator interiors, and printed window shades, which can turn any office into a room with a view. Made from fiberglass, polyester, vinyl, and acrylic, these high-tech Solar Shades help to block glare and unwanted heat while still allowing a degree of natural light.

Elevator interior with prestige gold trim and Aspex panels showcasing local artwork.

Each of these products is durable and super high resolution. Furthermore, they are fully customizable. Inpro works with clients to select imagery suited to their brand. If no stock images fit the bill, the brand can help facilitate collaborations between clients and local artists to curate unique artwork for their space. In 2023, Inpro is also launching curated art galleries that can be printed on products based on moods, including categories like “comfort”, “focus”, “restore”, “inspire” and “energize”.

 The key is to think about your design needs, choose a theme, and stick to it. Like a real natural landscape, the whole is greater than the sum of its parts, and artworks function better when they are placed in harmonious relation to one another. Through the careful selection of Inpro products, shades can be integrated with wall coverings, art, and signage, creating a fully integrated space.

Personalized dorm room window shades by Inpro

“Adding imagery throughout your spaces brings continuity throughout your building and how people experience it,” Dan Roller, Product Manager at Inpro, explains. “For example, use an overall nature theme and create variations on each floor to help people remember different locations and change up the scenery.” This type of cohesiveness will strengthen your brand, whatever industry you are in, and elevate the experience of clients or other visitors to your professional space.

If biophilia isn’t your thing, Inpro can also create graphics that have a more streamlined, minimalist look. The key thing to remember is that with new digital imaging and printing techniques, the possibilities are endless when it comes to wall coverings. One is not limited to solid colors or patterned wallpaper. Any image you can think of can find a place on your walls, your signs or your window treatments.

Coordinated window shades and wall art by Inpro

Art is no longer something that hangs on the wall – an ornament for spectators to gaze at – but something that is ultimately functional, helping spaces work better for everyone. This sounds like something even LeCorbusier would approve of.

To learn more about Inpro’s extensive range of architectural products, check out their website and their brand profile on Architizer, or download their visual inspiration guide here.

Reference

Drawing Isn’t Dead: How Architectural Sketching Can Thrive in the Digital Era
CategoriesArchitecture

Drawing Isn’t Dead: How Architectural Sketching Can Thrive in the Digital Era

By Zarkon Group,

The long-held debate of hand drawing vs. computer-aided design may never come to a close, and in many ways, the conversation has only become more confounding with the plethora of computerized tools now on the market today. This debate sees a split down the line, with many continuing to champion hand drawing while others advocating for the huge benefits of working with digital graphics. James Wines, a big proponent of hand drawing, speculates that the reluctance of some to embrace digital mediums has to do with a “deep-seated psychological resistance to the cybernetic world.”

Despite the broad range of opinions and beliefs within the architectural profession, the overriding consensus is that both drawing styles have a place within the design world, and that their coexistence is totally possible. There are benefits and downsides to both: for example, the precision found in digital tools is unbeatable, whereas, the slower process of hand-drawing can encourage a deep understanding of form and ideas. Whatever your preference, designers can undoubtedly benefit from products that blend pen and paper-style sketching with advanced digital tools. Cerulean Labs has developed one such solution to this unremitting debate: The Spaces iPad app.

Whether it be drawn or digitally designed, the forefront of a successful project is the initial drawing that brings an idea to life. Accordingly, Cerulean Labs’ Spaces version 2.2 app continues the brand’s maintained effort of improving the conceptual design stage. The beauty of an app like Spaces is its merging of old-school sketching with modern-day technology. Pen and paper lovers don’t have to say goodbye to their trusted hand-held tool — they simply have to say hello to the Apple Pencil.

The Spaces app is built entirely for the iPad, meaning users can sketch directly on the iPad’s smooth interface. Users do not have to sacrifice the tactility, freedom and speed of hand drawing; in fact, they gain a dynamic set of new capabilities. While users sketch, the app works behind the scenes to create a workable building model.

“From the outset, sketching has been in our DNA, and the further we have developed Spaces, the more power we’ve been able to add to our sketching engine.” – Campbell Yule, Spaces Founder 

The Spaces app encourages the traditional method: draw, revise, keep and throw away. Many conceptual design tools on the market require a certain familiarity with modeling, which makes the drawing experience far less fluid and natural. The Spaces app mimics hand-drawing by allowing users to sketch as they please, deleting what they don’t like and saving what they do. While users sketch away, real-time building and site data is being calculated, reported and projected as a workable model. If a user changes an angle or slope, the app automatically resizes the plan and provides updated calculations and measurements. The app does all the work so that users can tap into their creative minds and draw.

Once drawn, users benefit from a series of parametric design tools. Architects can add cladding, leverage the app’s Open Street Map data or elevate their project using precise sun studies among other tools. The conceptual phase – especially when drawing by hand – is an iterative process, and this app celebrates the beauty of trial and error.

The app’s numerous settings and features can all be managed quickly and swiftly, allowing the designer to focus on their creative ideas rather than the technology. Hand-drawing advocates often complain that navigating technology poses an unwelcoming distraction from the design process. Thankfully, the Spaces app’s clear and simple interface poses little distraction from sketching.

The app’s new digital sketchbook feature allows users to document their ideas as they traditionally would on tracing paper. Whenever and wherever an idea comes to mind, designers can document a note or sketch directly on the app. Equally, creatives can embellish and rework their designs by tracing over their models using the Apple pencil. Designers can even send snapshots of their models to the sketchbook and rework their design at their own pace. The app revives the incredibly useful tool of trace paper, but makes it more efficient, precise and hassle-free.

Once sketched and modeled, designers can then leverage the app’s project management tools. Spaces comes with tools to organize design briefs, create reports and develop project concepts directly on the app. Users can even import key site data onto the app to ensure their concept design is as precise and well-planned as possible. The Spaces app delivers professional results while not compromising creativity and fluidity.

Spaces champions architecture’s oldest tools, a pen and paper, and integrates them perfectly into a straightforward app suitable for all architects and designers. If you remain to be convinced by sketching in the digital age, give the Spaces App a go and see for yourself. The Spaces app celebrates the nonlinear nature of conceptual design by encouraging exploration and creativity, and is set to become one of the industry’s go-to applications as a result.

Reference

Villa FZ: The Extraordinary Materials Behind Italy’s Most Beautiful New Residence
CategoriesArchitecture

Villa FZ: The Extraordinary Materials Behind Italy’s Most Beautiful New Residence

By Zarkon Group,

Tucked away in the province of Ferrara lies a private residence designed, built and decorated by a collaborative team of architects and stoneware experts. The visionary Sergio Bizzarro, Principal of Studio Bizzarro & Partners, worked with architect Simone Savio to realize the design. Meanwhile, FMG Fabbrica Marmi e Graniti and Iris Ceramica were brought in to decorate the home’s interior and exterior with high-performing and aesthetically-pronounced Italian stoneware. This project is a true celebration of Italian architecture, craft and culture.  

Villa FZ sits on a small plot of land in a relatively built-up neighborhood. Due to its location,  ensuring privacy was at the forefront of the design. At the same time, the design team was cognizant of creating an open, breathable space connected to the outdoors. In order to accommodate the need for both privacy and breathability, the design team settled on the concept of an inverted structure.

Rather than opening to the outside, the home is oriented inwards. Large French windows overlook an enclosed patio and swimming area and work to connect the interior to a private, outdoor living space. The site’s perimeter was heavily landscaped to further enclose the space, maximize privacy and create a green oasis. The result is a clean, contemporary design that promotes relaxation and comfortable living.

Completing the space with durable and quality materials was of importance to the design team, along with maintaining a cohesive visual language. In order to do so, FMG Fabbrica Marmi e Graniti’s MaxFine collection was chosen to finish the villa. MaxFine is revered for its ability to blur the lines between surface and furniture and was the perfect fit for this house. Several slabs from the collection were used throughout the home, adding textural and visual depth to the interior space.

The dwelling’s entrance consists of a small externally-covered atrium leading to the front door. The property’s atrium was covered in FMG’s Marmi MaxFine slabs in the color Statuario Light. These slabs have a crisp off-white, marble-esque quality which contrasts the dark-colored door and simultaneously blends with the external façade.

The home’s muted palette consists of shades of gray, black and white. To enhance the visual language, stoneware with decorative qualities was chosen. FMG’s MaxFine slabs in the color Black Marquinia, were used to create an accent wall that runs from the first floor to the second.

Finished in a Silky texture, this wall stands pronounced within the home, with its rich dark hue and contrasting white veiny lines. This striking backdrop serves as a focal point of the home and can be appreciated in many spots due to the interior’s relatively open plan. The stoneware’s veiny appearance provides a sense of tactility and movement against the muted interior design while still maintaining visual continuity.

To complete the floors, a stone effect was chosen to ensure it could withstand foot traffic and maintain visual continuity with the rest of the space. FMG’s Pietre MaxFine slabs in the color Lavica Grey cover the interior floors and fit seamlessly with the home’s aesthetic. This stoneware is built to last and is resistant to chemicals, which makes for an easy-to-clean surface.

To complement the charming interior space, Iris Ceramica’s Pietra di Basalto panels in the color Grigio were chosen to pave the exterior patio. The Pietra di Basalto stoneware has a slipperiness coefficient of R11, which ensures a high grip and safe walkway and is ideal for spaces with a pool. Moreover, both the interior and exterior floors are UV-resistant which helps maintain the stoneware’s rich color over time. The color gray was chosen for both the interior and exterior flooring and works to create a cohesive visual language throughout the entire property.

All the stoneware chosen to complete this seaside oasis boast high technical performance and pronounced aesthetics. It was important to the design team to choose durable and practicable stoneware, and both FMG Fabbrica Marmi e Graniti and Iris Ceramica’s products deliver just that. Both the MaxFine and Pietra di Basalto collections demonstrate that quality stoneware can serve two purposes, both functional and decorative. Villa FZ truly exemplifies that when thoughtful architecture and superior quality stoneware merge, the result is an unparalleled living experience.

To learn more about the remarkable materials used throughout the project, visit the websites of FMG Fabbrica Marmi e Graniti and Iris Ceramica.

Reference

Effortlessly Design and Render with Enscape’s New SketchUp Plugin for Mac
CategoriesArchitecture

Effortlessly Design and Render with Enscape’s New SketchUp Plugin for Mac

By Zarkon Group,

Enscape has been a favorite rendering tool for architects and designers since 2015. Its seamless integration with CAD and BIM software, as well as its striking visualization results, have made it a successful and competitive product on the market. Enscape is continually looking for ways to expand its offerings and functionality for users, and after a month-long open beta run, the brand is proud to announce its newest offering: Enscape for Mac is officially available for SketchUp!

In a highly anticipated development, Mac users can now integrate their preferred rendering and virtual reality plugin seamlessly into SketchUp 2021 and 2022. This initial version comes with an extensive offering of editing tools, view settings, and export options to elevate the design and visualization workflow. This new plugin efficiently produces top-quality rendering results natively on the renowned Mac operating system.

Among the new features are the real-time visualization and walkthrough options. Real-time visualization allows users to view their rendering as they simultaneously model in SketchUp, while the walkthrough setting enables designers to experience their rendered project from a range of perspectives, including two-point and orthogonal. These features aid in deepening the designer’s spatial awareness and understanding of their visualization.

Not only is quality prioritized, but efficiency is a pronounced feature in Enscape for Mac. Enscape’s view management settings and batch rendering options make the final phase of conceptual design that much easier. Enscape’s batch rendering tool helps architects save time by rendering their views in bundles, while the improved view management settings let architects easily refer back to previous angles. This feature is especially useful when presenting to a client or colleague.

Additionally, Enscape’s updated visual settings and asset library make adding detail that much easier. With just a few clicks, users can adjust the atmosphere and other visual effects to achieve the perfect image. Users can equally browse the asset library and decorate their design with high-quality and low-poly 3D models.

The collection of assets includes vegetation, furniture and vehicles among many others. In addition, the material editor feature allows users to adjust textures and utilize height maps to increase the level of realism in their project. These three settings work together to ensure the most detailed, realistic and precise renderings are achieved.

Enscape is also developing an extensive list of export options to make sharing a visualization straightforward and secure. From still renderings to 360-degree panoramas, there is an export option fit for any scenario. Additional export options such as video and standalone executable files are under development and soon to come.

Enscape for Mac’s expansive offerings will soon grow to include VR support that allows designers to create immersive 3D experiences. A custom asset library and additional light and sound sources are on their way to release as well.

The minimum required MacOS version is Monterey 12.2.1, while the recommended minimum hardware is the MacBook Air (M1, 2020). These specifications are put in place to ensure that Enscape for Mac runs smoothly.

Enscape’s commitment to excellence, accuracy and detail is evident in its new SketchUp plugin. It will be slowly releasing all the exciting features to ensure the most robust and efficient rendering and VR tool for architects. The company is working hard to develop new functionalities and additional support for other CAD software.

Enscape offers a free 14-day trial complete with the full range of features to discover. For those interested in purchasing a license, there are a few licenses to choose from.

To stay up to date on the latest Enscape for Mac releases, designers are welcome to sign up for the Mac mailing list. To learn more about the new Enscape for Mac for SketchUp, please visit the Enscape website.

Reference

As a First-Time Home Buyer, Should I Hire an Interior Designer?
CategoriesArchitecture

As a First-Time Home Buyer, Should I Hire an Interior Designer?

By Zarkon Group,

Anyone fitting out a new home has likely considered whether it’s better to hire a professional to design the interiors of their new space or to take that task on themselves. Hiring an interior designer brings unquestionable value to making a home uniquely functional and comfortable, but it does bring into question if it’s worth the cost. Luckily, the burgeoning world of online freelancing platforms offers a new method for homeowners to engage with freelance interior designers that makes even a modest investment worth the expense.

What Can an Interior Designer Do?

In general, an interior designer’s role in a home design project is to conceive of one or more possibilities for the layout, look, and feel of an interior space, then communicate their ideas with images such as 3D renderings, technical drawings, or material lists. Most importantly, they design spaces to satisfy both the functional requirements and aesthetic tastes of their clients. If done well, their experience and training leads to a more detailed, refined, and well-implemented design than a homeowner taking a do-it-yourself approach.

Interior rendering by Fiverr seller @dutchbydesign

Responsibility-wise, interior designers are often tasked with both selecting products and devising layouts for surface finish materials, lighting fixtures, furniture, cabinetry, and other furnishings. They can also oversee a contractor who’s building their designs, or advise a homeowner that’s installing them on their own. Their exact responsibilities vary by the needs of a project, but they can grow or be limited to include any aspect of how the interior of a home, or even just a single room, is designed.

Hiring an interior designer brings many practical benefits to a home design project. Their expertise allows them to spot problematic decisions before they’re implemented, saving time and money on mistakes. They’re also likely able to use their professional connections to get the best price on any fixtures, furniture, or furnishings needed for the project. Most importantly, their services free up a homeowner from taking the time to come up with a design, determine if it will actually work, and fret over numerous minor details in the process.

Why Hire a Freelance Interior Designer?

Many great, small-scale interior design firms and solo practitioners can provide services within many homeowner’s budgets. However, the best value is found by hiring a freelance interior designer through an online platform, such as Fiverr. The development of online freelancing platforms in recent years has allowed freelance interior designers to operate virtually while offering their services in discrete, pre-packaged bundles. This allows them to perform their services at much lower rates than conventional professional arrangements due to lower overhead costs and the elimination of a great deal of up-front negotiation.

As a First-Time Home Buyer, Should I Hire an Interior Designer?

Interior rendering by Fiverr seller @mmjhbaig

Anyone pursuing this approach to home design would definitely benefit from considering what deliverables they expect from a freelance interior designer before reaching out to one. An interior designer’s work products are often produced cumulatively as a project progresses, and what’s needed depends on the scope of the project and a homeowner’s budget. A typical workflow could incorporate any combination of items including an introductory consultation or conceptual direction-setter, such as a mood board, before moving on to detailed floor plans, elevations, or renderings.

If a homeowner is hiring a contractor to build their new space, they should ensure any plans an interior designer creates are detailed enough for their contractor to build from. In this case, it may be best to arrange a meeting between the designer and the contractor, or even a series of check-ins throughout the project’s construction. Many freelance interior designers offer this service virtually, although for relatively simple projects it may not be necessary, so it’s best to verify in advance what each party feels they need from the other to best complete their portion of the work.

How to Hire a Freelance Interior Designer

The easiest way to hire a freelance interior designer is through an online platform. With a dedicated Architecture & Interior Design store, Fiverr leads the way in this approach. A homeowner searching for an interior designer can filter their search on Fiverr by the type of deliverable, set of services, budget range, or seller characteristics they’re looking for, leading to a match far quicker than relying on recommendations from friends, family, or local industry groups.

Most talents on Fiverr break their work packages into three graduated levels of service, with price and other items like turnaround time, number of revisions, and final deliverables clearly identified. Specific details are agreed upon through direct communication before an assignment begins, and many freelance interior designers are open to discussing custom combinations of services, or even more complex work beyond their boilerplate packages.

Ready to find the perfect interior designer for your project? Head over to Fiverr’s Architecture & Interior Design store and check out the vast range of budget-friendly professional interior design services at your disposal.

 

Reference

Freelance Architect: What Is It? Why Should I Hire One?
CategoriesArchitecture

Freelance Architect: What Is It? Why Should I Hire One?

By Zarkon Group,

Most people undertaking home renovations, additions, or ground-up construction understand what an architect does, but many likely aren’t sure if they should hire one. Difficulty in determining the need for an architect, and a common perception that hiring one is an unaffordable luxury, contribute to this confusion. While hiring an entire architecture firm isn’t affordable for most individuals, purchasing a custom set of services from a freelance architect likely is, and doing so has recently become widely available due to the proliferation of online freelance marketplaces.

What Can an Architect Do?

Before deciding whether or not to hire an architect, anyone completing a building project should understand exactly what an architect can do for them. In general, an architect designs the layout of a space, the materials it’s made of, and how those materials are constructed in their finished state. A contractor can build a design from an architect’s plans, though they don’t necessarily need an architect’s plans to do so. Whether or not a project would benefit enough from an architect’s plans to justify the investment depends on the project.

A project rendering by Studio NA; image courtesy Studio NA

For an interior renovation that’s replacing existing fixtures, furnishings, or finishes with new ones in a similar configuration, an architect likely isn’t needed. In those cases, a competent contractor should suffice, though anyone taking this approach should clarify their expectations in advance with the contractor. For renovations that will change the location of walls, fixtures, or furnishings, an architect may not be necessary but the project would definitely benefit from their expertise, especially if the design is highly customized or complex.

If a project involves new, ground-up construction, including home additions, an architect is certainly worth the expense, and may even be required by local laws. Even if it isn’t, the complexity of new construction creates significant opportunity for an architect’s plans to maximize the quality of design and construction detailing on any budget. In all of these cases, utilizing an architect’s technical and design expertise will almost certainly save time, money, and effort in the long run.

Why Hire a Freelance Architect?

Until recently, hiring an architect was done by personal recommendations to local firms, an approach that lands outside most people’s budgets. However, since the advent of online freelance marketplaces such as Fiverr, the option to hire a single, freelance architect for a custom set of services has become widely available. Operating with little to no overhead, freelance architects are able to provide the exact level of design work a project needs on a task-by-task basis, making their services far more affordable than traditional professional arrangements.

The experience of working with a freelance architect varies significantly depending on what’s needed for a project. Traditionally, architects create a set of construction drawings that can be given to a contractor to build their design. For ground-up construction, a construction drawing set is definitely needed, and there are many freelance architects who can both design a new building and create the accompanying construction drawing set with enough detail for a contractor to build from. Someone undertaking interior renovations may only need some of the drawings found in a traditional set, so they could engage a freelance architect to prepare only those drawings they need.

In some cases, an illustrative rendering depicting the desired look and feel of a space may be enough to communicate to a contractor the information they need to build the design. Even just determining which types of drawings might be needed for a project can be worth a one-time consultation with a freelance architect, which is a service many provide. In all cases, if an architect must sign any drawing to meet a legal requirement, then a freelance architect should be sought who is properly licensed in the jurisdiction that is imposing that requirement.

How to Hire a Freelance Architect

The easiest way to hire a freelance architect is by using an online platform. With its dedicated Architecture & Interior Design store, Fiverr leads the way in sourcing freelance design services. Anyone searching for a freelance architect can filter their search on Fiverr by the type of deliverable or service they’re looking for, budget range, or seller characteristics, leading to a match far quicker than relying on personal recommendations or local industry groups.

Most talents on Fiverr break their work packages into three graduated levels of service, with price and other items like turnaround time, number of revisions, and final deliverables clearly identified. Specific details are agreed upon through direct communication before an assignment begins, though many freelance architects are likely open to discussing more complex, custom work, beyond their boilerplate services.

Ready to find the perfect design for your project? Head over to Fiverr’s Architecture & Interior Design store and check out the vast range of budget-friendly professional design services at your disposal.

Top image: A project rendering by Crystal Bright; image courtesy Crystal Bright

Reference

An App for Everyone: Spaces Is the Conceptual Design Tool Architects Always Needed
CategoriesArchitecture

An App for Everyone: Spaces Is the Conceptual Design Tool Architects Always Needed

By Zarkon Group,

The key to a successful architectural project is the development of a strong conceptual model. Conceptual design is the foundation of architecture and oftentimes, determines the future success of a project. Architects are forever in search of reliable and effective design tools that will aid in bringing their ideas to life. However, finding the right tool isn’t always easy. Many applications available today are complicated, costly and don’t always align with the designer’s working rhythm. For the average on-the-go architect, reliable and straightforward tools are key. Thankfully, Cerulean Labs has delivered just what every architect is after: the Spaces iPad app.

Cerulean Labs comprises a global team that is dedicated to improving the conceptual stage of architecture. Back in October of 2021, the company released Spaces: a parametric conceptual design tool made for the iPad. Today, the brand celebrates its continual effort in improving the conceptual design stage with a new and improved version of the app: Spaces version 2.

This updated application has recently hit the market and boasts a comprehensive list of tools fit for architects of all levels and experiences. Spaces version 2 comes complete with improved editing tools, increased 2D viewing options, new sun studies, new sketching capabilities and additional workflow integration options. This application is well and truly built for the masses.

The Spaces version 2 app boasts an easy-to-use yet comprehensive set of design tools. The app merges old-school drawing techniques with modern-day computing technologies into a user-friendly interface. Its clean and clutter-free layout makes it especially useful for those designers who are constantly on the move.

The new digital sketchbook feature lets users swiftly document their ideas whenever — and wherever — they come to mind. The sketchbook encompasses new technologies, such as the Apple pencil, and allows designers to test their ideas out by sketching and note-taking. Moreover, users can send snapshots of their models directly to the sketchbook and trace them using the Apple pencil. This app celebrates architecture’s oldest and most useful tools – a simple pencil and paper.

The improved interface allows users to switch their screen between the Sketch and Modeling modes with ease.

Another fresh addition to Spaces version 2 is the sun study feature. Recognizing how invaluable solar analysis is to the conceptual design process, Cerulean Labs has developed a tool that allows users to specify the exact location and time of day for their model, and instantly see how shadows cast by their project might impact neighboring buildings. Users can impose an animated sun study directly onto their models in real-time, helping them to better understand how their design responds to its surroundings.

Additionally, Spaces version 2 has introduced IFC and OBJ exporting, which means that models can be exported and furthered in a secondary BIM tool. Moreover, the new space planning feature allows users to manage design briefs, create reports and develop project concepts directly on the app. The improved export options and new space planning features ensure that all models come out professional and presentable. In addition, users can import key site data to their design, thus producing a more precise and site-specific model.

Cerulean Labs is committed to growing and developing its Spaces app. iPads are continuing to dominate the AEC world and professional applications like Spaces version 2 offer increasingly powerful platforms to sketch, model and manage conceptual projects. The spaces app is available in both free and paid versions, with a new subscription recently becoming available: the Spaces Pro. Priced at $75 USD per month, the Spaces Pro subscription offers unlimited projects and comes with new and improved export features, reporting tools and modeling capabilities. The application can be downloaded via the Apple App Store and subscriptions can be managed directly through the Spaces website. 

Spaces by Cerulean Labs demonstrates the vast capabilities of iPad use in parametric conceptual design. The application offers great depth and flexibility, all the while remaining transportable and accessible. It celebrates traditional design tools while implementing the best modern-day technologies out there. The result is a brilliantly straightforward application suitable for all architects and designers.

Cerulean Labs is currently offering an extended free trial for the app, allowing users to try it out for 3 whole months — click here to find out more and download it (offer ends June 30th). To learn more about the Spaces application and all its offerings, check out the Spaces website.

Reference