Trade Secrets
from all disciplines from the very beginning of each project. /// If constant contention wears us down,
to insta on ll i t
Com pl
versigh eo t et
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constr uc om fr
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a static state in which nothing ever happens can send us running to retirement equally fast. Architect Michael T. Gray of Carpenter & MacNeille, based in Essex, Massachusetts, reminds us not to worry, because there is a new and welcome culture of clients offering their own ideas and feedback. “There’s definitely some pushback for smaller, more efficient design in the Gray 2,500-square-foot range, as opposed to the 4,000-to-6,000 square feet of not long ago” Gray says. “Whatever the size, they’re insisting that what we do is people-friendly and personal.” One of Gray’s clients just bought a 1740 colonial in Newbury, Massachusetts. There was considerable back and forth in the renovation process, a dance between historical accuracy and modern building codes. But the dialogue also proved fruitful in unexpected ways that make design dynamic and worth staying in as long as possible. The client had bought two leaded glass, decorative windows in the UK that she loved but had no idea how to use. Gray took a second look at a windowless water closet, and had an “aha!” moment. “We were able to use her windows to dramatic effect,” he reports. /// Now as we gather stones along the
beach, we can skip them to represent every option. How much will we miss engaging with clients if we retire? How much will we miss our hard-won skills, unless we take on some mentoring or volunteer work? And, if we are just starting out, how important to the well-designed life is making a lasting imprint, a unique statement, via the creation of public art, the authoring of a book, or helping to redefine the idea of home itself? Or is a well-designed life more about a series of relationships configured of small, but significant gestures, constellations of design inspirations and implementations, and a profound connecting to all things built and all things human? Either way, success is imminent. •
148 New England Home july–august 2015
JA15 Trade Secrets.indd 148
6/3/15 6:55 PM