Seidel Design Group

Mission: Site- Client- Neighborhood. This is my guide to design. Each factor should be given equal consideration when designing a home. What makes a structure a home is the ability of that structure to fit well within these 3 factors. Site; It is very important for a designer to make site visits (PLURAL) with the client and alone if possible. The designer needs to ask questions of the client. What does the owner like about the lot? What are their favorite features of the lot? What do they not like about the lot? Get to know how the sunlight enters the lot at different times of the day and year. Get to know prevailing winds. Understand the terrain. Client; Get to know your client well. Spend time talking to them. Meet them at their home. How do they spend their time? Do they do a lot of entertaining of guests? How do they spend their family time? A home should be designed with their lifestyle in mind. It should compliment their tastes. It should feel like a natural extension of them. One of the most important aspects in my job is listening to my clients. I listen to what they want. I also listen to what they don’t want. I have an intuition that tells me what they are looking for. Neighborhood; Do not forget the neighborhood. This needs to be considered as well. Some sites will have covenants, but what I am discussing goes far beyond that. Design the home to fit it's neighborhood. Be relevant to what is around that lot. It should have strong context connecting it to the neighborhood. Think of these 3 factors as a tripod supporting your design. That tripod needs to level to maintain a nice balanced design. When all these factors come together right your client can call that structure you designed a "home".