As-Build Analysis for Residential Renovations

[TrickWithBricksnSticks]

Hello.

What methods of analysis do you use to provide you with design clues in residential renovation design projects?

[phansford]

Can you be more specific in your question? Are you talking about graphic analysis for proporations and so on - ala Clark and Pause (Precedents in Architecture)? Or are you talking about something as mundane as identifing load-bearing walls, plumbing walls and so on.

Quite honestly, most clients want any addition to look like it has been there forever - which can be troublesome at times. It is the unusal client who wants a white box attached to their tudor house (ala Michael Grave's Benacerraf House - which I like BTW) - but notice the original house is not shown in any photos.



So typically - it ends up trying to match existing proporations, textures, colors and so on. But its not something I formally do. After years of doing this type of work, its second nature. I know the proporational systems used in Villa Savoye and Villa Rotunda and don't need to formally draw it everytime I design. But quite honestly - many homes don't merit formal analysis. Remember something like 90% of the current housing stock was built after WW2 and did not have the benefit of an architect or a trained designer.

Am I addressing your question?

[ahmeds]

actually it depends on what need to be done, when you say "renovation',
that's almost like restoration. and hence there are many and different methods of analysis and it all relies on the structure that needs all that.
There are two questions also :-
1) do you want to renovate and maintain it's existing
archietctural form,styles and using same materials? or
2) you want to change all that?

For either of the two there are different ways of analysis to be applied.