CONCEPT/PROCESS CONCEPT/PROCESS
CONCEPT CONCEPT
OUR APPROACH TO ARCHITECTURE
Our mission is to make your everyday life more enjoyable, beautiful and enriching through design.
We are inspired by the possibiities of architectural design and wish to integrate our client's identity to the plan, while incorporating the general principles of architectural space, thermal environment and seismic resistence through our supervisory method.
OUR APPROACH TO SPACE
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Keep it SIMPLE
Our belief is that simplicity is the key to creating space that is fun, and will be loved for years to come. If you look up simple in the dictionary, you will find words like "plain," "modest," or "easy." What we mean is "clarity of composition," "universal space to fit lifestyle," and "simplify all that is within view."
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Clarity of composition
When drawing a picture, you may first start by sketching outlines of an image and adjusting the thickness for contrast. In architectural design, we take a similar approach in that we start by focusing on the core space. Rather than approaching a project with elaborate and complicated concepts, "I can see this and feel that from here, so this is what I will do...", we start with a clear concept based on the site environment and the client's wish list.
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Universal space to fit lifestyle
Building a home that will be loved for years to come does not end when construction is complete. The home will evolve and grow over time with its occupants. For this reason, we prefer to use natural materials so that the wear that develops over the years blends with its surroundings, thus adds to the character of the home.
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Simplify all that is within view
Specifically, we "arrange" to find aesthetic balance. This includes colors, materials, flow lines, furniture, wall lines, window lines, and everything else that comes into view. Even storage serves a purpose. "To arrange" means to simplify, which will make space universally beautiful.
OUR APPROACH TO THE THERMAL ENVIRONMENT
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Insulation, Lighting, Ventilation
Our goal is to create a truly comfortable and pleasant space. We do so by incorporating the regularly updated laws on thermal environment, and in residential homes, we install the minimum standard grade 4 insulation and Low-E double paned windows. In addition to insulation, we may install eaves to block sunlight in the summer, or consider large openings to allow sunlight in the winter, or design gravity ventilation for air to circulate throughout the home. In this day and age, we rely heavily on cooling and heating devices to manage the thermal environment. Our approach to thermal comfort is to allow the natural environment to co-exist with cooling/heating devices. Homes must be designed to function in case of device malfunction.
OUR APPROACH TO BUILDING SAFETY
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Seismic Safety Plan
Buildings are not only structures that hold people, but they are meant to protect people. Safety is of paramount importance. Under the current Building Standard Law, a structural calculation is not compulsory when submitting an application for a two-story wooden house. However, our structural engineers take the extra step through structural calculations, especially in the case of irregularly shaped lots and cliffside terrain. We will obtain earthquake resistence certificates grades 2 and 3 upon request.
Supervision Services: Transparency of Information
Our approach is to work transparently.
Our firm not only designs, but also supervises construction to ensure that our clients are satisfied until completion.
Selection of the general contractor/construction company
TAADS teams with trusted construction companies. Our firm's mission is to focus on the architecture, to create a customized design in collaboration with the client. In this way, we differentiate ourselves from residential developers and design-builders, where personalization is not their business model.
We obtain competitive bids from two or three companies, carefully review each to determine the appropriate price for the project. Once the construction company is awarded the project, we proceed with a clear understanding of the construction company's values, its expertise, and efficiencies they bring to the project.
Supervision during construction
We independently verify that the structure is built according to the architectural drawings, concrete mix plans, conduct reinforcement inspections, and confirm hardware (wood shafts and steel bolted joints). Checks are made not only on the structure, but also on the design details, which prevents quality misses due to human error, such as "forgetting," "misunderstandings," and "shortcuts." We facilitate communication across owner, architect and general contractor, to ensure that all parties maintain respect for each other as the project progresses.