New Oakley Home 2.0 Floor Plans Posted
I have found in my 4+ years as a Licensed Architect, that in order for me to be successful at my job, I really need to be a bi-lingual communicator. That doesn't mean speaking both English and Spanish (aunque yo hablo un poco español), but rather being able to speak and draw in ways that relate both to professionals in the building industry, as well as the general public. On the building professionals side of the spectrum, when communicating to contractors, engineers, plans examiners and construction lenders, I provide them with detailed drawings and specifications that show exactly what and how much materials are being used, how those materials are being assembled, and how they comply with applicable building codes. These are all described in the form of construction documents, sometimes referred to as contract documents for their legally binding status.
When it comes to communicating with the general public, my focus shifts from describing the details of material assemblies and spaces, to telling the story of what it is like to live, learn, work and play in the building. With regards to floor plans, this can be achieved through two simple modifications to the drawings, which are shown in the images below that have since been uploaded to the OakleyHome2.com website. The first of these modifications is adding furniture to the plans in order to convey a sense of human scale in the individual spaces and to get people thinking about how they might make use of the different arrangements themselves. The second modification to the drawings that help make them more real for the public is by using shadows to give the 2-D drawing some 3-Dimensional quality, which is a better representation of how we perceive our environment. A final plan modification I see often is adding color and texture to the floor finishes, which while helpful in some instances, is something that I typically rely on the renderings I produce to show.
