Why Hire a Designer Early? San Francisco Architects Weigh In
Benefits of Building Your Team Early
As a high-end residential interior designer, we find that many of our clients are unsure about which stage of the architectural process to engage a design firm. We thought it was the perfect opportunity to open up a dialogue with two local San Francisco architects who we’re currently collaborating with. We spoke with Jim Westover, Partner and Principal of WDA | William Duff Architects, and Ari Gessler of Ariel Gessler Architects to get their insights into the benefits of assembling your team early and the pitfalls of waiting too long to engage an interior designer for your Bay Area home projects.
NI: When do you think is an ideal time to involve an interior designer on a ground up project? Why?
JW: It’s usually beneficial to involve the interior designer once the conceptual/schematic design is set. At that point it’s really helpful to have furniture plans from the designer to confirm that the plans work well and so that we can start thinking about lighting, AV and how they relate to the furniture layout.
NI: Does having a complete team (Architect, General Contractor, Interior Designer, and Landscape Architect) assembled during the early stages of a project prevent mistakes and missteps down the line?
JW: Definitely. Since the architecture, interior design and the landscape design all need to work in concert, it only makes sense that we work somewhat in parallel. We don’t want to be wandering off in different directions, so we like to establish the overall design first and then involve the other consultants shortly thereafter. Waiting too long to get valuable input from the Interior Designer, Landscape Designer and others (AV, MEP, etc ) can result in costly design changes and delays.
NI: Can you think of an example of an issue that arose on a project where a designer didn’t join until later in the project?
JW: The classic headaches are floor outlets that are not located in ideal locations, downlight locations that don’t work with the furniture layout or art locations, blocking not being provided for heavy artwork or decorative light fixture support. In a broader sense, you may end up with separate design visions that do not relate to one another.
“Teams that are brought together earlier tend to be more cohesive and maintain better communication and stronger bonds throughout the process”. – Ari Gessler
NI: When do you think is an ideal time to involve an interior designer on a ground up project? Why?
AG: At AGA, we like to engage Interior Designers at the very beginning during Schematic Design. This is the time when we define the significant aspects of the project, and we look to understand the relationships that individual spaces have to each other and to the site. Ideally, we want all of the initial input from the primary design decision-makers on the project during this phase. Since all of our work is custom tailored toward our clients, a good Interior Designer helps clarify their overall design direction, which we integrate as the process unfolds.
NI: What advice would you give to a client who is just starting to plan their ground up project or major remodel?
AG: In my 20+ years of practice, what I have found useful, is to promote the understanding that there are three critical elements that every project must face: speed, cost, and quality. Of course, we strive to provide the best of all three, but these three inherently conflict with each other. Rank them in order the importance to you, and communicate this clearly to your design and construction team early on. A good team will respect and respond to the owner’s project goals, and focus their efforts collectively to meet and exceed these prioritized expectations.
One thought on “Why Hire a Designer Early? San Francisco Architects Weigh In”