ROBERT CARDELLO DAVID LA PIERRE CARDELLOARCHITECTS.COM

AConnecticut couple with two kids recently hired Cardello Architects of Westport, CT, to build their dream home. They had seen Cardello-designed homes in their neighborhood and had always admired the firm’s work. So when they bought the waterfront property they had long desired, they called David LaPierre, principal architect at Cardello, to create their new residence. A derelict house on the property did not meet FEMA codes and required substantial updating. A remodel would have entailed lifting the house and moving all the mechanicals to update the structure, so it was decided that building a new home would be more financially sound.

The young family had an interesting and fun-loving lifestyle, which led to a few atypical requests.

They entertained a lot, and wanted to make that the focus of the house. They requested that the recreation room be on the main floor of the home, along with a smaller family room. The rec room would accommodate a wet bar, billiard table, stage, drop-down movie screen, skee-ball game and foosball table, among other activities. The recreation room would lead outside to an entertainer’s paradise of pool and waterfront sports.

As is typical, David, the project manager on the build, went to the site for an initial visit and started designing a week later. The Cardello design program entails a predesign stage, during which the team gathers all information relating to the site; the schematic design stage, which is all the hand sketching; and design development, which utilizes the computer and involves deep diving into the details. “With all our clients,” David explains, “we use a checklist and ask a lot of questions about each room and the adjoining spaces. This is often illustrated as a bubble diagram. We develop the bubble diagrams to see where we might position spaces on the site relative to each other. This process is helpful for the clients to understand how they would relate to each room, and how the rooms relate to each other and the property. We usually sit with the site plan and sketch on top of the site plan, deciding major points in the house.”

David does his first hand sketch in the office, with the help of a lot of brainstorming. “We first start with a massing model with boxes and forms, just to generally get the shape, and then sketch over the top of it,” he says. The first design schematics presentation to the clients are all hand drawn. Once the team gets the go-ahead on the design, they move to the computer to start focusing on the details.

The first sketch and the final result always differ, as adjust - ments need to be made throughout the design-build process. According to David, “In trying to achieve excellence, the design process never ends.” Cardello architects are constantly reviewing the design at every stage, making sure every decision improves the overall intent.

Resources:

Architect Cardello Architects

Robert A. Cardello

David La Pierre

60 Post Rd West Westport, CT 06880 203.853.2524 cardelloarchitects.com

Interior Design: Julie Nightingale Design

17 South Beach Drive Norwalk, CT julienightingaledesign.com

Kitchen: NuKitchens

132 Water Street South Norwalk, CT nukitchens.com

Doors & Windows: Marvin Glass Sliders: Weiland Sliding Doors weilandslidingdoors.com

GEORGE DUMITRU STUDIODUMITRU.COM

Studio Dumitru Architects has successfully relied on word-of-mouth advertising for more than two decades. “Our reputation is our marketing,” says the firm’s owner, architect George Dumitru. “We believe that the better you perform, the better your chance of getting the next job.” This was the case recently, when a couple sought out George after being referred to him by a previous client. The family had just moved to the Northeast, and they were having difficulty locating a house that fit their needs and style. They preferred a modern house to the traditional New England style, so they decided to buy a wooded lot with a deserted house, tear down the structure, and build their dream home.

George and his team’s first approach to this project was to gather the pertinent information about the land, codes, surveys, sunlight, water rights, topography and soil analysis, and understand how all these factors would affect the build and the homeowners. Only then did George see the property. He walked the land with the couple, listening to how they spoke about the views and how they saw themselves on the land. This was just one of a series of conversations that George would have with his clients to understand them. He then studied all this information before he started the design. “It all begins with a pencil and a paper,” he says. “Everything begins with a line.” George uses this method for everything he builds. He roughly sketches out his ideas, but doesn’t show the client any of his sketches until he knows the design is buildable on their land.

It’s not enough for George to start with a floor plan and build up, or to start with the exterior mold and insert the rooms. An architect must always think of the project as a whole. These clients had asked for a modern home, so George felt he had some leeway around his design. “On a traditional project, the rules were written many, many years ago, and you kind of have to respect certain patterns, profiles and details,” he explains. “In modern architecture, there are no rules. It all comes down to the sensitivities of the designer, size and proportion, and how the house will sit on the land.” In this project, the design has the pattern of a pinwheel, and every bedroom has its own view of the property. George also connected the master bedroom wing with the other bedroom wing via a hallway that is cantilevered outside the footprint of the house. Those are the types of nonstandard design elements that modern architecture allows.

George put together a report of both hand- and computerdriven drawings as the starting point to discuss changes the clients wanted to make. While most architects often go through many iterations of a build before the clients’ final approval, these homeowners loved George’s design and made only very small adjustments. This is a regular occurrence for George, who credits all the work he does before the pencil hits the paper. “You need to have many conversations with the clients before starting the design process,” he explains. “I’m always questioning them about different design elements and styles, slowly understanding their aesthetic. In the end, every project is a team effort, the sum of the work of many other designers, builders and the client, who has the desire for a unique house—one we can all be proud of.”

Resources Architect

Studio Dumitru Architects

George Dumitru

25 Sylvan Road South, Suite I Westport, CT 06880 203.226.5156 studiodumitru.com

Interior Design

Melanie Dennis

MJ Interiors New York, NY 212.988.2650

Landscape Design

Bruce Eckerson

Eckerson Design Assoc. South Norwalk, CT 203.212.3679

ALake Warmont property in Warren, CT, was due for a major overall. The property was owned by a middle-aged couple with grown children who had used the cottage as a vacation/summer home for the past several decades. The cottage had fallen into disrepair over the years, and the homeowners thought it was time to tear down the existing structure and replace it with a home that could be a multigenerational asset for their family. The residence would remain a vacation property, but the couple planned to spend more time there with their expanding and extended family.

Daniel Conlon was referred to the couple by previous clients of the architect. The clients wanted a timeless design appropriate for a lake property that looked like it had been there for a long time and could be enjoyed for decades to come.

Dan’s philosophy is that the characteristics of the site determine the build and should be respected. The first step in his design process is a site survey and planning. On this project, Dan chose to save a significant number of trees to frame the building site and make the property look timeless. Next, Dan hand sketched the site plan, and then quickly transitioned to the computer. As with most projects, there were too many details to include in a hand drawing—he had to handle these using the computer.

Another aspect of the design that Dan focused on was the visual connection between spaces. It was important that views were properly framed, and that the transition between exterior/interior space be seamless. The idea was to give every window an incredible view, and to give every interior room a sight line through to a second space to a view of a third space. Dan believes it’s cost- and time-prohibitive to communicate this idea through hand sketches—a realistic 3D model is much preferred and easier to accomplish. He may start with a sketch for a site plan or a simple design idea, but he very quickly moves onto the computer. “We have been using Archicad for over 20 years,” he says. “It’s such a powerful communication tool, because it doesn’t lie. A hand sketch can make you see what you want to see, but the computer forces you into reality.”

Dan tends to do the whole design process through computer-aided design (CAD) software. “It allows me to make design changes late in the design process—and it is a much better design communicator than a hand sketch.” Indeed, his clients expect him to use CAD software. Conlon often sends his clients a 3D interactive model of their project so they can walk through the home and see the building from all angles and at any time of day. His clients are usually computer savvy and want photo-realistic pictures of their new homes. Architects are constantly struggling for clarity in their designs, and the complexities of every build require incredible organization and precision. Dan believes he can accomplish this only by using CAD software.

Resources

Architect

Daniel Conlon Architects

Daniel Conlon

11 Grumman Hill Road, Suite 1B Wilton, CT 06897 203.544.7988 dconlonarchitects.com

Builder

Olson Development, LLC

Mark Olson

159 Brushy Hill Road Newtown, CT 06470 203.972.7722 olsondevelopmentllc.com

Landscape Architect

BYLA

Ben Young

323 North Lewis Street, Suite N P.O. Box 594 Ketcham, ID 83340 208.720.0215 byla.us/team

Interior Designer Havilande Whitcomb Design

Havilande Whitcomb 91 Franklin Street Westport, CT 06880 203.227.7902 hwdesignllc.com

Landscape Contractor

North Stone Landscaping 45 Legion Road New Milford, CT 860.210.1766 rchitect Chris Pagliaro has been in business long enough to appreciate how technology has influenced the industry. “The evolution of design has changed now that architects have access to sophisticated 3D software,” he says, “but the essence of design and my process are the same.”

The owners of a property in Westchester County, NY, hired Christopher Pagliaro Architects to build them a new home on the water, with their one request that it be monochromatic red. As always, Chris’ first step is to walk the property with the clients so he can get a sense of the space, seeing where the sun rises and sets. He asks the clients: Where do you want the rooms to be? Where do you want to wake up? Where do you want to be in the afternoon? Where do you want to place the outdoor living area in relation to the house, so the house doesn’t cast a shadow over the pool? Then he considers how people approach the property, and how they come home every day. Where do they park? How do they enter the house? Where do they put their things? All the time he is naturally sketching in his head, though he is hesitant to offer much thought while walking the site. He prefers, instead, to work with pencil and paper until he comes up with a workable design. Chris makes a lot of sketches before he hits on the winner.

The first design presentation to the client is hand drawn and scale accurate. With this presentation, Chris is not necessarily looking for a decision from the clients, but rather to generate a conversation. The presentation shows the design in terms of room relationships they expressed are important to them. The goal is for them to come back with com - ments and edits.

Once the clients agree on the concept and layout, the design goes into development and straight to the computer. The computergenerated documents and drawings help facilitate a deeper understanding of the build. As the software has improved, Chris heads to the computer more quickly than before. For a very long time, the quality of rendering software was poor and looked cheap, which was a turnoff to clients. Today, Chris and his team can even create virtual reality walkthroughs for their clients so they can feel the space around them. “Architecture is not what you see,” says Chris. “It’s about how you feel. It’s a subconscious experience.”

Rosource Architect Christopher Pagliaro Architects

Christopher Pagliaro

320 Post Road, Suite 160 Darien, CT 06820

203.838.5517 christopherpagliaroarchitects.com