Susanka developed the concept of the Not So Big House with the philosophy of building better, not bigger, with an eye toward sustainability. I loved the whole concept, and it gave me a way to start organizing the way I was thinking about this house I was going to build. Her website www.notsobighouse.com also includes a home professionals directory of suppliers who subscribe to the not so big philosophy.
Since I didn't know anyone who had used an architect to build in my part of Georgia, getting a referral didn't seem practical. So I drew a radius of about 50 miles around St. Mary's and searched the web for residential architects on the AIA website. I combed through and eliminated those that featured mostly commercial structures on their own websites, further narrowing the search, but found that I ultimately had to increase the radius to about 100 miles. Another factor was the designs of the homes featured on the websites: they had to be esthetically appealing to me, and I was also looking for designers who featured smaller homes rather than the monster showplaces that were the rage.
Eventually I found three that seemed like good prospects, so, armed with my list of questions from the book, I contacted each one to set up a phone interview. One of the three didn't bother to return my call, so that was as good a reason as any to eliminate them. The second underwhelmed me and was difficult to talk to.
My conversation with the third, Jane Frederick, of Beaufort, S.C., was very fruitful. I had learned from Morosco that there are basically two ways architects charge: a percentage of the total cost of the house, or a fixed dollar amount per square foot. Jane explained that she uses the latter method, because "It shouldn't cost you more for me to design a bathroom with a $3000 toilet than with a $700 one." Made perfect sense to me. The fee structure is scaled, with the highest for finished interior spaces, somewhat less for outdoor living spaces, and a still lower charge for unfinished spaces like a garage.
One big concern I had was that this home would be under construction while I was living 1000 miles away. How would she help me be comfortable and feel in control of what was going on when I couldn't be there? Did she have any clients in similar circumstances? She explained that she would be my delegate, personally visiting the site, sending photos and videos, and in general doing her best to ensure that I was kept fully informed about what was going on. And she was able to give me several client references, whom I called. One of them had built three homes from a distance, one designed by a different architect and the last two by Jane and her husband. Her first, unsatisfactory, experience taught her a lot about how to manage a project from long distance next time around, and her experience with Jane was quite different -- so much so that she and her husband hired Jane to design yet another home far away. I was starting to feel very good about Jane.
Meanwhile, my friend Barbara from Savannah contacted me to suggest I meet her neighbor, who just happens to be an architect. Seemed like it was time for a trip south, so I scheduled meetings with Jane and the other architect, Dan. Dan has kind of a "boutique" practice, and a fascinating method of designing a home. The first steps include having the client draw a picture of his/her vision of a "higher power," however the person defines it. He uses exhaustive questionnaires to develop a good sense of the client's values and how they live, and even visits the client in their current home to get a feel for their environment. He conducts sun and wind studies on the property to determine the best places for windows and breezeways.
Dan's designs are as much about art as structure. That was a red flag for me, because I knew my design would have to conform to the architectural covenants of the Cumberland Harbour community. However, Dan was able to show me photos of homes he had designed smack in the middle of Savannah's historic district that, while unconventional, still complied with the city's strict requirements. We were able to visit a home he designed for a friend of Barbara's on Fripp Island, and it was a wonder. The owner talked about his involvement in the process and showed us the many unique touches resulting from Dan's creative approach.
Dan uses Skype for his clients that aren't local, and claims to have a number of them. I learned that his fees are based on the total cost of the project. Minus one big point for Dan, though his approach intrigued me and I felt that I would have a truly unique home if he designed it.
The next day I met Jane for the first time at my property, and immediately felt at ease with her. We talked long about what I wanted, and the next day I met her again at Palmetto Bluff, a planned community in SC, where she showed me two homes she and her husband had designed, one under construction and one finished and occupied. I could have moved into either one.
At the end of this weekend in September 2008 I still had a lot to think about, but I was leaning toward Jane. It would be more than another year till the economy started its slow turnaround, when I finally contacted her in early summer this year to tell her I was ready to get started.
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