Process - Buffie Architect

A Home Designed to Tell Your Story

If you are like most people, your home is the single largest investment you will ever make, financially and emotionally. The architect you choose (and the decisions you make along the way) will determine what kind of home you get for your dollar and how much you enjoy the subtle nuances of the home long after the builders have gone.

Idea Lab: Case Studies

Use Of SunLight

Solar/Lunar

Ribbons of Light

Mathematics

Layers of Time

Design/Emotion

My Process

Programming

Before design work begins, it’s all about LISTENING. I listen to you and discover your story—how you live and what you love to do. We’ll obtain a survey, and I’ll walk your land, so I can listen to your site and understand the sunlight, air movement, where your design needs privacy, and where it yearns to be open and gregarious.

Schematic Design

Then the ball’s in my court. I’ll design alternatives for your project, each responding to your program in a different way, and then we’ll meet to discuss their merits. You’ll see preliminary sketches and diagrams that arrange the spaces into poetic and logical order. I may also build some loose models as we begin to explore the potential three-dimensional qualities of the proposed layouts. Together, we’ll select a favored diagram, or the favored characteristics of the diagrams, for further refinement. We will pause for the builder to generate preliminary construction costs to check our budget.

Design Development

Things get exciting as the design really starts to take shape! We’ll develop interior
details and make material selections for wood, tile, lighting, and plumbing fixtures, using the builder’s schematic design estimate to ensure we stay within budget. This is where my knowledge about home building is so helpful. Many architects can create a beautiful vision on paper, but the key is making it work on the site. When you work with me, you can be sure I will keep an eye on the vision and also effectively manage the effort to give you the home that you set out to create.

Construction Drawings

In this phase the emphasis shifts toward the constructability of the design, with the
builder and local building code officials becoming the primary audience. Your working drawings, or blueprints, will become your most important legal document in ensuring your project is built the way you want it. These drawings will document all the design decisions we have made and will instruct your builder on every specification of your home design.

Bidding and Construction Observation

Just as it is important to have your builder involved during the design phase, it is vital to have your architect’s input as your home is being built. During this final phase, I will advocate for you every step of the way. I will review your construction bid with you to make sure everything is as it should be before you sign the agreement with your builder. As your home or addition is built, I’ll visit the site to observe progress of the construction and to answer any questions you or your builder may have, working to ensure your team fully understands the design intent of the drawings.

“Randy is an extremely talented, creative, and multi-faceted Architect. He is definitely a leader and also is a great team player with Interior Designer, Client, and Builder. He is old school in a sense that he can sketch a concept or new idea is seconds rather than schedule the next meeting and hand the new idea to the CAD department. He keeps the creative process moving! We have hired him several times, including our Studio at International Market Square and my personal penthouse.” — Billy Beson, ASID

Design That Reflects You

People care about how much I know… and then they discover much I care!