Pencil it in
Architecture: a ‘dance for the eyes’
By Beth Anne Piehl
Photography by G. Randall Goss
Johann von Goethe, the 18th Century German novelist, poet and philosopher, called architecture “frozen music.”
Classical features of his time included structures with styles that sound familiar from history studies — Baroque, Neoclassical, Georgian — and conjure images of lots of stone and brick and pillars, some almost castle-like in design.
Architects today create their own castles for homeowners, particularly in the Northern Michigan region where large estates — first, second or even third houses in some cases — crest along rolling hills and fairways and atop cliffside perches where Lake Michigan is the front acreage.
Steve Werner and Mike Pattullo, business partners at Shoreline Architecture and Design in Petoskey, design those homes, throwing in their favorite touches — like round windows and outdoor kitchens — while they design what Werner describes as a form of sculpturing. Only instead of putty or clay, they use pencils, erasers and centuries of historic principals to fit modern-day families’ lifestyles.
Architecture has long been deemed an art form. Its students, both those who want to design homes and those who admire others’ creations as a travel hobby, are immersed with details that characterize certain styles and centuries.
For Werner, understanding human scale is the factor that defines a successful architect.
“When you’re in a space, does it feel appropriate? Are you cold because of the space, or is there a sense of coziness?” asked Werner, an architectural designer. “Without an architect, you’re going to have a difficult time achieving that.”
Which raises a follow-up question: Why not just Google “home design floor plans” — which brought up roughly 178 million hits on a recent morning — and find one that fits your style and budget?
Like Seinfeld famously noted, on a different subject altogether, “not that there’s anything wrong with that.”
But custom architects like those at Shoreline Design can sketch like mad on that thin tissue-like paper until your house doesn’t look like everybody else’s, and inside the rooms feel comfortable and in proportion even if visitors don’t know exactly why they feel so at home.
“It is hard to understand, to look on paper and understand that it’s just going to feel right,” said Pattullo, an architect.
While the business partners agree on the importance of proportion in design, they’re good-cop/bad-cop on style. Pattullo is more traditional, while Werner is more apt to push the envelope.
“He pulls me back and I pull him out,” said Werner.
Ask them where it makes more sense to splurge — on the exterior for curb-appeal or interior for living luxury — and they diverge again. Pattullo often starts his designs with the outside and works in, while Werner works in the opposite direction. (Editor’s note: he also said he used to get his sketch paper incredibly smeared in college because he didn’t follow the suggested pattern of drawing with pencil, from top left, across, then down.)
“We let them dream through the process,” said Werner, of the initial meeting with clients. Everything they envision can be drafted into a plan and whittled down later if the budget can’t budge. From exterior embellishments to high-end interior fixtures, millwork, cabinetry and flooring, choices are up to the homeowner depending on the look they want to achieve and how much they want to spend.
Homeowners should consider budgeting for three components in designing a home with an architect, Werner suggested: the raw materials, labor to build the house and the interior finishes.
As the process progresses — expect it to take about 3 to 7 months to perfect the design — many homeowners find they don’t want to skimp, especially when it comes to palatial porches, gourmet kitchens, wet bars and entertainment areas — big areas in home design currently.
One of Werner’s favorite recent projects involved a couple who offered him the reins, so he designed an outdoor fireplace area. A favorite job of Pattullo’s is set on a rooftop deck, where he designed a full kitchen with gas fireplace, grill, stainless appliances, sitting area and hot tub overlooking the harbor on Bay Street in Harbor Springs.
Outdoor spaces are garnering architect attention, and things are changing inside, too. Homeowners are toning down “great rooms” with smaller, more intimate functional spaces. Werner thinks the great-room trend was “way over done” over the last decade or so, because it stifles the design when cathedral ceilings soared 25 feet. Now they like to design ceilings up to about 14 feet.
“You lose human scale in those voluminous spaces,” Werner said.
Open flowing floor plans are achieved through “implied spaces,” where changes in ceiling height and paint delineate different rooms more often than actual walls. Butler pantries are finding their way back into homes, as are places to display art and literature collections.
Pattullo said their clients are often entertaining-oriented, and he recalled one area design where two bars were key components. Instead of having the bars back the walls (think of all those beer mirrors some people display), they were built so guests look out over Lake Michigan and the homeowner, while serving the cocktails, has the view into the room.
“Every design is unique to the site,” Pattullo said, noting that natural light on a forested or water-side plot of land plays a vital role in how a home is designed and how it is admired.
Goethe didn’t say it this time, but Werner did: Architecture can be a “dance for the eyes.”
“The one true thing through history is architecture,” Pattullo added. “Think of the pyramids and the cathedrals. That’s what’s left: Architecture.”
From Conception to Reality
Ken and Dawn Morris wanted to build a log home up north, where they plan to retire in coming years from their downstate Rochester residence. Once they found the site at the Country Club of Boyne at Boyne Highlands, a hybrid plan worked better, one that included log and other traditional features.
“That’s where we knew we really needed an architect, to incorporate those elements,” said Dawn.
The Morrises haven’t retired yet, but they’re enjoying their Northern home in the meantime. The 5,000-square-foot residence, with log beams inside and a walk-out basement, was a result of the design partnership between the Morrises and Werner at Shoreline Design.
Dawn said she arrived at Werner’s office with a file of magazine clippings and a wishlist of 10 elements, including a cupola and gas-starting, wood-burning fireplace in the screened porch.
“He did a really nice job,” Dawn added.
Architectural fees
Depending on the project type and the firm, an architect may charge for a project based on percentage of the cost of construction, a lump sum, or an hourly rate.
It is most common for a project that involves all five architectural phases of work (schematic, design development, construction document, bidding and construction administration) to be charged via a percentage of the construction total.
The American Institute of Architects recommends its members charge 5-10 percent of the cost of the project in fees. For a $1 million home, that fee would be between $50,000 and $100,000.
Source: American Institute of Architects
Back to the drawing board
When interviewing architects, ask:
How busy is the firm?
Does it have the capacity to take on your work in a timely fashion?
Who will handle the job? Insist on meeting the person who will actually design your project.
What is the firm’s design philosophy?
How does the architect intend to approach your project?
Ask how the fee is set, and be upfront with your budget. It is also proper to ask the architect for references from past clients.
Source: www.bobvila.com
HomeLife Magazine » Issues » September and October 2007 » Architecture - A Dance for the Eyes