A Tale Of Two Houses
A Tale of Two Houses
There once was a house, it started out as a dream - a dream home idea. The idea was plotted down, measured out, with every pedantic detail considered. A team of contractors, and other experts were retained to construct the dream and make it reality - a one of a kind. They were very excited and began acquiring materials, fasteners, and other experts to help on the project. A few weeks later, the first cement was laid and the first nails driven. The walls were framed out, the staircase built step by step, and the electrical and plumbing uniquely weaved within the walls. The dream was becoming real.
After a few months into the project, a few of the experts found another dream more compelling and couldn’t finish their part. The contractor had underestimated and under-measured a few times and now needed more materials and money to continue. One look at the large haul away dumpster almost full of unusable “trash” would wake the dead.
The dream had become a nightmare.
Across the street a different idea was taking shape, this one had 4 walls and a roof before the first dream even had a window. It seemed like everything just snapped together. In fact, that idea became real in a single month while the dream turned nightmare continued to get rained on and gain the ire of neighbors and its own craftsman alike.
Long Term Thinking Yields Principles
My brother showed me a Popular Science article on the idea across the street, Open_1. It is a home built under a new collaborative paradigm with some ground-breaking principles:
Design for Flexibility
The systems and components in Open_1 have been designed to accommodate changing uses and needs. This will be particularly important for the initial occupants of Open_1, some of whom will be recovering from brain injuries. As these occupants re-develop their physical and cognitive abilities, the home will evolve with them.
Disentanglement of Systems
Open Building views the home as a collection of layered systems. The layers we identify in the Open Prototype include the site, the structure, the skin, the space plan, the services, and the “stuff” within the home. By keeping these layers separate or “disentangled,” we can create these systems with materials appropriate to their expected lifespan, and we can provide access commensurate with the need for future modification.
Delivering Pre-built Systems to the Site
The Open Building principle of integrated systems is best expressed in a production process that involves off-site fabrication of finished components that are assembled quickly and efficiently on site.
Planning Inclusively and Building Virtually
Open Building maintains that everyone involved in the design and construction of a building is in a position to contribute to a successful outcome. By involving the major stakeholders and the key subcontractors in the planning process, we expect to optimize the performance, appearance, and value inherent in OPEN_1. We are also minimizing the potential for the kinds of conflicts that are common on a typical construction site–conflicts about time, space, and quality during the construction process.
Building Your “Home” On The Web
The Open Build paradigm has a few goals that are worth looking at:
- To develop a better design and building process
- To make high quality custom design more affordable
- To create a new paradigm for managing the home construction process
- To increase the predictability of cost, time and quality for the owner
- To create homes that are readily adaptable to changing needs over time
A web site can be a very complicated project not unlike a conventional dream home construction project. However, it doesn’t have to be. Software components can be combined to create a high quality experience for both managers and users without the need to build everything from scratch. Certainly there will always be a market for the one-of-a-kind custom home or web site. However, the majority would be very well served by a simplified and manageable roadmap to getting their needs met.
The major themes of quality, affordability, predictability, and agility are exactly what Enthusiast brings to a web site project. We have a goal oriented process that brings the involved parties together early, leverages the power of pre-built Site Director software as well as other add-ons when needed, and values the relationship and satisfaction above blueprints and project details.
Whether you need a new web site or just an addition or renovation, we would love to help you benefit from these goals and principles for your business.
>> More info on the Open_1 project.
– jc
