era | Parts YOUR PRODUCTS
STEP FIVE
IN THE PROCESS TO DESIGN + BUILD ARCHITECTURE SPECIFIC TO YOU.
the parts to build your architecture
Find the parts and their products – materials and finishes that will be part of your architecture and your every day moments.
Get to know your parts.
There are basically two parts to a building – the bones and the skin that wraps around them.
You can probably say that there are a limited number of materials to use for the bones, but there are so many more to choose from when it comes to the skin – these are the surfaces that you see and touch every day. So, let’s look more closely at them.
A Material Finishes Schedule or Parts Schedule is a great way to put all your parts and products that make up the skin in one place. You will use it all the way through the process.
What is a Parts Schedule?
Geez I love a schedule! And you can have a schedule for just about anything in architecture. This is one of the biggest schedules you will ever have the chance to make. Fun!!
A Parts Schedule is a schedule that puts all of the information about which materials each part of your architecture will be made out of and how you will finish each material in each space.
Every Parts Schedule is different, because it is specific to you and your circumstances.
The strategy to prepare a schedule is to make a list of every space, both inside and outside, and then take a look at every single surface within each space. You choose a material for it and how you’d like to finish it.
If you consider the materials and products you will use from the start it will help inform your decisions along the journey, including how you will build your architecture and whether the materials or products you would like to use fit within your budget. Imagine laying out a toilet room and already having an idea that you would like to use 300x600mm tiles. It means you will set the room to the optimum size to suit the tiles so there is less cutting, less waste and as a result, a lower cost while still meeting what you want in your architecture. So, start thinking about materials early.
If you are feeling excited, you can take it further and make a schedule for all the other parts as well:
Sanitary Fixtures – such as the taps, toilets, sinks, basins and the like.
Electrical Fixtures – such as light fittings, electrical outlets and the like.
Equipment – such as the cooker, fridge, television and the like.
Loose Furniture – such as your couch, beds, tables and the like.
Door Hardware – such as door handles, strikes, door stops, hinges and the like.
In short, if you have an idea of all the parts you would like to include, you can plan to include them.
Where to find information for how to choose your parts.
This is another one which may seem overwhelming, but again, you may be surprised by how much information you already have yourself. Look around where you are sitting at everything you see and everything you touch.
What do you like? What do you like to look at? What do you like to touch with your hands? What do you like to touch with your feet? What makes you feel comfortable? Do you know where it came from?
Start to put these parts in your schedule and see if you can find a place where you can purchase them.
There is so much information online, but looking at materials and product choices is best done one on one. Request samples be sent to you, or better yet, take an afternoon off and spend some time in a light industrial area checking out show rooms for bathrooms, kitchens, paint, tiles, paving and the like.
Your materials and products may be determined by someone else – such as someone you are working with. If you have employed a designer or specialist consultant such as an architect, they will likely put together schedules for the parts of your architecture in their own way. If you are working with a design and construction organisation or project home builder, they will likely already have prepared standard schedules with optional extras for you to choose from. If you are purchasing an ‘off-the-plan’ design from a designer or prefabricator they will likely have standard schedules that may have optional extras for you to choose from. If you are designing yourself, you will most likely need to organise your own schedules or employ someone to prepare them.
If you are purchasing any design ‘off-the-plan’, including a design and construction organisation or project home builder, then you should be able to ask them to send the information to you before you commit to purchasing from them. In some cases, there will already be information about material and product selections on their website. Take a look at what is included or not included in their package before purchasing to ensure it is right for you.
Regardless of whether you are working out the parts yourself or if you are working to someone elses product selections, get to know the materials that you will be living with in your every day.
Your parts in the process.
As you begin to gather more and more information about other steps in the process, these will feed into your parts and may influence your choices, which may change as a result, but that is ok.
The most important part in the process to link your parts into, is your program.
Each time you find a product which suits your ideal, find out as much as you can about its availability and cost. Then plug the figure into your program. Does it suit your budget? If not, have another try with another product until you find one that suits. Remember that when a tradesman is quoting for a job, their quotation should include both the materials and the labour or time it takes to install the materials. If you are not sure, ask them to clarify.
a little Template for you
If you would like a guide to help you clarify your program, I am in the process of making a little Template for you!
parts Parts Schedule | Your Products
Keep an eye out here for when it arrives in the new year.
These are your parts
You have learnt about your parts - your products! Great – now you can use your Parts Schedule to refer to for the duration of the Process and to communicate the information you have gathered to others.
THE NEXT STEP IN THE PROCESS IS TO Combine YOUR PAtterns - all of the little things that when combined create an architectural language unique to you.
THE PROCESS.
This is the fifth step in the process to design and build architecture.
If you would like to see how this part fits within the process, you may be interested in a little book I have written that sets out each step in the Process in one place. It is a guide and workbook to help you through each step in your architectural journey.
The process is summarised in this little Blog post - era | the Process to Design + Build Architecture.
Each step in the process will also be broken down into its individual steps right here in this little Blog - so keep checking in to see the whole set!
Have fun getting to know your parts!
Til next time!
Start the process to find your architectural language and make your little ideas a reality.
Click here to see the little things I have made for you, or click here if you would like to work with me one on one.