What's new at Kreatif design?
Designer for designing houses and other structures
29/04/2019
First of all, the question arises, do you even need an architect? If you want to build smartly, save time and energy, and make the most of your space, then of course the answer is yes. Then clients face the following dilemma: who is the architect who will fulfill their wishes, guide them through the entire investment process, and solve all dilemmas so that investors are satisfied at the end of the project.
With these problems of investors in mind, architect Andrej Kregar founded the Kreatif Design studio, which helps clients realize their visions. From the very beginning, Kreatif Design has been designing buildings that meet the static, creative, or technological limitations known to us today, and has also moved these limitations over time. At the same time, we enable clients to complete the project within the agreed deadlines and within the set financial framework.
When designing buildings, we increasingly tend to use local resources and products that are not harmful to either users or the environment. In our opinion, passive houses, despite their low energy consumption, are not always a design that is also healthy for users, as they often favor the use of synthetic materials, and in addition, users have to adapt to life in them instead of the other way around. Our belief is that the user and their health come first, the usability of the building comes second, and then other aspects come, including energy saving. However, it is also necessary to look at the long-term usability of the building, as it is also necessary to anticipate possible future changes and adjustments to life changes, such as aging and the birth of new family members.
Architects are not only designers and aesthetes, but we also always focus on practical engineering issues, such as the price of the project, load-bearing capacity, the perfection of details and the intertwining of all engineering issues. The main task of an architect is to maintain the right ratio and give priority to some engineering issues over others. In any case, in the end, the most important thing is good cooperation between the client and the architect and mutual trust is the key to a top-notch project.
But what is the difference between a designer and an architect and why is it sometimes good to know this?
Designer for designing houses and other structures
A common question that clients ask us is: “Are you a designer or an architect?” Who should I contact if, for example, I want to renovate a house, and who should I contact if I want to build a business premises or add an extension? What are the duties of a designer and an architect? People confuse these two terms and sometimes they can mean the same thing, sometimes not, so we have prepared an explanation of who a designer is, who an architect is, what their duties are and why these two terms are used inappropriately.
Older Slovenian legislation stipulated that anyone with a license to practice the profession of designer could design, which included engineers of various professions and architects. There were certainly fewer architects, as there was not as much emphasis on good layout and architectural design, on the placement of objects in space, and there was no emphasis on examining all the social impacts that buildings have on a certain environment. Everyone focused only on the construction of the building or the statics of the building, everything else was less important. So years ago, only the wealthier social classes, the state and the best companies commissioned the design of buildings from architects, while the rest commissioned the design only from engineers, sometimes only technical draftsmen to the smallest permitted extent.
At that time, authorized designers were allowed to perform work such as drawing various construction plans, floor plans, plumbing installations, etc. With advances in technology and construction, the basic tasks have expanded so much (even for houses and other smaller buildings) that they can no longer be performed by just one designer or one designer, but by designers from different disciplines – that is, designers of electrical and mechanical installations, designers of building structures and architectural designers, who then together design a building that meets all the requirements of modern construction. With the introduction of more and more new laws and regulations, the word designer is used for the main designer of a building, but in the case of houses and other buildings it is an architectural designer. So today it makes sense to address the designer with a title that defines which designer it is.
On the other hand, the confusion also arose due to the past perception of architects, as they were very rare and built the most important buildings in Slovenia and are so famous that almost everyone knows them today, such as the well-known architect Plečnik, architect Ravnikar and others. Of course, most clients or investors did not build the most important buildings in Slovenia, such as the NUK and the Maxi Market building in Ljubljana, but wanted to solve their housing problem by building a house with the help of a designer, who in the past was only exceptionally an architect.
House design designer
According to the definition of the SSKJ (Dictionary of the Standard Slovene Language), an architect is an expert in architecture. He is a person who works in the field of architecture, is qualified and has a license to plan, design and supervise the construction of buildings. A designer, according to the definition of the SKKJ, is a planner and someone who designs or makes a plan for a building or area.
According to the definition of the Architectural and Engineering Activities Act, an architect is a person who is absolutely necessary for a house construction project, while a designer is a broader term for persons and companies who carry out the design of houses, utility facilities and engineering facilities, who are not necessarily architects by education. For the field of building houses and other less demanding buildings, it is stipulated that only a licensed architect can design and inspect buildings.
The understanding of some clients who are building a new house today is still based on past regulations, which are no longer in force today. Investors believe that they are looking for a designer, but today these clients are actually looking for an architectural designer or architect. If the project is larger or the client requires it, the latter can also coordinate other designers, so that the investor obtains the final documentation for the construction of the building from all designers involved in the project, which is coordinated between all designers. We will explain this in detail below.
Architectural designer
An architectural designer is someone who plans, conceives, studies, draws, and communicates with all the necessary designers for the construction of a building. Such a building can be anything – a house, a block of flats, a church, a factory, a company, a museum, etc.
An architect deals with the following professional areas:
- placement of the building in the space (a lot of planning is needed to ensure that the building is in harmony with the surroundings and all established regulations)
- regulations, obtaining all approvals
- environmental protection (here we mean nature conservation, water protection, cultural heritage protection, promotion of sustainable construction)
- spatial arrangement (it is very important for an architect to know how the spaces will be connected logically, sensibly and usefully, and to focus on arranging the space in the smallest possible area so that it is as functional as possible)
- room orientation (this determines the arrangement of rooms according to the direction of the sky)
- obtaining permits (for connection to municipal infrastructure, electricity and water supply systems during the phase of obtaining a building permit)
- design of facilities in accordance with regulations for the safe use of buildings (fire safety)
The work of an architectural designer is important if you want to obtain a building permit for the construction of a house or building. At this point, the architect will organize the preparation of the entire project or documentation for obtaining a building permit, which you later submit to the administrative unit or the architect, with your authorization, arranges this for you.
It consists of:
- house or building plan
- demonstration that the house or building complies with the spatial plan and any other such requirements
- location of the object on the geodetic image
- consents for connection to municipal infrastructure
- consent of the owners of neighboring plots
- static statement
According to today’s legislation
- fire safety studies, building physics, etc. have become part of the project documentation for implementation
An architect can prepare all this for you.
Despite the large amount of work done on the project, an architect alone is not enough to carry out a project. The various phases of the project are interconnected and interdependent. A basic understanding of the entire planning process is therefore crucial for the specialist, as well as cooperation with engineers, specialists in their specific fields, who must evaluate and, in cooperation with the architect, create new and better ideas for carrying out the project. These specialists are, for example, civil engineers, mechanical engineers (specialists in plumbing, sewage, gas, ventilation, etc.) and electrical installation designers, fire code designers.
An architect is therefore someone who has conceptual and organizational skills, extensive knowledge of presentation methods, is an expert in the field of architecture, is qualified and has a license to plan, design a house and supervise the construction of buildings.
Authorized architect designer
Some of our clients use the word “designer”, which is a very broad term and encompasses several different professions (architectural designer, electrical designer, municipal infrastructure designer, etc.) and sometimes avoid the word architect, as these two terminologies had different concepts and the architect may still be associated with a misconception from the past. However, today, prior architectural design of the house is essential for building a house. Some are convinced that a designer complicates the project less and will be faster than an architect. All of these are just prejudices that originate from the past and that are not true today. Today, architects are educated in the areas that take up the most time for all of us, which are knowledge of the legislation, coordination with other professions and obtaining a building permit and planning for harmonious implementation.
An authorized architect designer is just a specific term for someone who, in order to independently perform architectural design, must obtain a license to perform such services and will perform architectural design work for your facility or house. On a house construction project, he will be responsible for the preparation, editing and mutual coordination of all parts of the project documentation, which must be prepared in a way that enables high-quality construction of the house and a rational solution during the construction, use and maintenance of the facility.
Nowadays, however, due to the increased number of laws and regulations in the field of architectural and engineering work, which investors cannot be very familiar with, many illegal, seemingly cheaper and suspicious practices have emerged. Therefore, the best solution for the investor is if the entire project is carried out from start to finish by one design company and if the investor has this intention, the same company also carries out the interior design project.
It is important to know the difference between an architectural designer and another designer, because an educated architect will strive for the general improvement of the project, project documentation and plans, for the efficient use of space and for the coordination of the client’s wishes and the tasks of all participating engineers. The architect will contribute to the project the knowledge gained on the basis of acquired experience and education and strive to implement the project in accordance with all regulations and prescribed laws. The same, of course, applies to all other design engineers, specialists in their fields.
As we have already mentioned, a designer is a broader term for a person who is responsible for designing a house and editing the project documentation. When building a house, this will be an architect designer or an architectural designer
So regardless of which term you prefer, it is best for you as an investor to choose an educated architectural designer for building a house, who will devote himself with enthusiasm, professionally and meticulously to the implementation of your project, thereby ensuring a higher quality of life and saving unnecessary financial investment and complications in all subsequent phases of construction in the future.
We hope that with this article we have better explained and explained these two intertwined and sometimes inappropriately used concepts and that it will be easier for you to find an architectural designer for your new house. You can approach a designer full of creative solutions at this link.
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