If its not obvious from the street, or difficult to see….does that mean its contribution to a design is not as important as that which is prominent…and based on that its ‘ok’ if its not quite resolved or finished off?

I remember a heated discussion with another student during my university degree when he said (about a component of his museum building) ‘thats alright if its not resolved, you don’t see that elevation from the street anyway’.

For some reason this really annoyed me! Perhaps its because I thought he was unable to resolve it, or perhaps I just thought that just isn’t good enough. My belief is that part of your role as an architect is to think about all of those little details that the client is unlikely to think about, or devote energy to, predominantly because they aren’t things that are front of their mind….in other words, they aren’t designers. They are charging you with the responsibility to address these items on their behalf, putting a great deal of trust in you in doing so to fully resolve their building.

Buildings are experienced from all different angles, by many different observers and users. You may not care what the cleaners cupboard looks like or how it functions as a student of a high school, but I would be almost certain the cleaner would be very interested. My point here is that details are important for different reasons depending on their function, you may not realise why at the time but they all serve contributing factors to the completeness of a design. Whether it be handles on a piece of joinery, insulation in a wall, or even the rib profile of a metal deck roof. They all play their part in telling the story of a complete, resolved and finished product at the end.

You never know who may be walking by, peering from your neighbours yard…. all wishing they lived in your house because it all just seems to work and look great! This is no accident.

Doesn’t that brick corbel look great on all four corners of that building! :)

Image of extension from the rear above, taking shape!