Origin of the Dwelling House
Residential work is a very special and precious type of design work for an Architect. The primal quality of creating shelter and defining living spaces is something all Architects feel deeply. Getting to know the specific needs and tastes of the family you are working for, and helping them to realize their dreams is exciting, fulfilling, and fun.
The visceral nature of creating spaces for human habitation has been part of the makeup of our profession for as long as humans have creatively looked at their surroundings. This “ancient” drive to design our built environment was probably first recorded in Vitruvius’s “Ten Books of Architecture”.
In his treatise, written in the first century B.C. Vitruvius describes for Emperor Augustus, an origin myth for the first architects.
“...they began in that first assembly to construct shelters. …by observing the shelters of others and adding new details to their own inceptions, they constructed better and better kinds of huts as time went on… And since they were of an imitative and teachable nature, they would daily point out to each other the results of their building, boasting of the novelties in it…”
This primal imperative to create remains a vital part of all Architectural Designers. The design process remains an “act of faith” as a program is discussed, the terror of the “blank page” is overcome, and the first design parti’ elements are developed. As a solution emerges the designer's initial faith is rewarded.
Each and every project has its own unique qualities that the designer gets to embrace, but residential projects remain a singular source of fascination and delight. The infinite diversity of the way each of us live our lives makes residential design “cool” as well as profoundly interesting.
Teitsch-Kent-Fay Architects, P.C. have been fortunate to work with many fantastic families over the years, and this trend continues with our current clients.
