Introduce elegance, style, tradition and comfort in your bedroom with antique furniture. Refurbish your old recliners and bed sets and use them in your bedroom. Wooden beds with intricate hand carvings add an old-world royal touch to the room. Silk bed sheets and pillow cases will complement antique furniture.
Introduce full length silk curtains in deep shades of maroon and blue to add an aura of mysticism to the room.
To make antique chairs and recliners more comfortable, equip them with soft decorative cushions lined with silk and lace.
Typically, antique furniture is made of mahogany, walnut, or oak wood. While they are classy to look at and comfortable to use, their dark colors may make a small bedroom look dingy. White antiques are preferable for smaller spaces. They will brighten up the room and create the illusion of space. Although it does not have a definitive style but it's truly unique. It will fit into any home with ease and give your bedroom a lighter feel. Team them up with airy linen curtains and pastel-colored bedspreads. Plush woolen carpets and rugs in white will complement this kind of furniture.
Contemporary
When it comes to furniture, contemporary translates to minimalist. Using contemporary furniture in your bedroom would require you to keep in mind both form and function. Opt for sleek functional furniture that allows maximum floor space. Designer metal furniture will serve your purpose to perfection. As a rule, your bed should not take up more than thirty percent of your bedroom space. Keep it centered in the room, with its headboard against the wall.
Sunday, March 25, 2012
Saturday, March 24, 2012
Interior Design Trends for Every Room in 2012
If you've recently bought your first home, you've moved into your first apartment, you've moved into a new space or you simply just want to update a room in your home, you're probably wondering what the current different interior design trends are. Here's a basic guide to the trendiest decor styles of 2012 for every room in your home, from the bedroom to the bathroom, the kitchen to the living room and everything in between.
Bedroom Designs
Bedroom designs in 2012 will be returning to clean, crisp lines and details. The style will be purely contemporary, as people are looking to de-stress from the recent economy issues and thus, they'll want to create bedroom designs that are spa-like. Spaces that you can retreat into after a long, hard day.
Be on the look out for clean, soft hues including cool blues, soft grays and creamy ivory whites, giving a soft and comfortable look with clean lines that compliment a comfortable, restful space.
Bathroom Designs
There are actually a number of different bathroom designs that are growing in popularity in 2012. This includes Moroccan inspired tile, natural or reclaimed materials, clean colors and unusual but organic looking fixtures. Of course, it doesn't end there. With bathroom designs, the opportunities are endless as more and more people are breaking away from the "what if I sell the house" mentality and looking more toward the "I want to enjoy my home" mentality.
For 2012, the best thing you can do for your bathroom space is to create a space that you love, rather than what might sell the best.
Living Room Designs
The living room is all about comfort and style blended together for a unique look. People are learning that they don't have to settle on a single interior design style, but that they can mix and match a number of styles and accept that no space is ever "perfect," despite what they may have been told previously.
For living room designs, don't be surprised to see a large surge of Moroccan inspired looks, global inspired looks, mid century modern, eclectic looks, vintage pieces, Americana and more.
Kitchen Designs
The kitchen is now the hub of the home, so it's no surprise that most people will be putting the majority of their focus into this space. When looking to create an updated kitchen design, you'll notice that much like with the bathroom and other spaces in the home, people are starting to become more comfortable with the "here and now" and less focused on the "what happens when I sell my home?"
Kitchen designs will include rustic and industrial touches, as well as clean, contemporary touches for a blend of updated and vintage styling. For materials, look for a lot of clean, contemporary materials over traditional and natural finishes. For example, stainless steel countertops are being preferred over natural stone countertops.
Other kitchen interior design trends include open shelving, stylish and colorful tile backsplashes such as mosaic tiles or Moroccan inspired tiles, dark warm cabinetry and of course, plenty of proper lighting.
Bedroom Designs
Bedroom designs in 2012 will be returning to clean, crisp lines and details. The style will be purely contemporary, as people are looking to de-stress from the recent economy issues and thus, they'll want to create bedroom designs that are spa-like. Spaces that you can retreat into after a long, hard day.
Be on the look out for clean, soft hues including cool blues, soft grays and creamy ivory whites, giving a soft and comfortable look with clean lines that compliment a comfortable, restful space.
Bathroom Designs
There are actually a number of different bathroom designs that are growing in popularity in 2012. This includes Moroccan inspired tile, natural or reclaimed materials, clean colors and unusual but organic looking fixtures. Of course, it doesn't end there. With bathroom designs, the opportunities are endless as more and more people are breaking away from the "what if I sell the house" mentality and looking more toward the "I want to enjoy my home" mentality.
For 2012, the best thing you can do for your bathroom space is to create a space that you love, rather than what might sell the best.
Living Room Designs
The living room is all about comfort and style blended together for a unique look. People are learning that they don't have to settle on a single interior design style, but that they can mix and match a number of styles and accept that no space is ever "perfect," despite what they may have been told previously.
For living room designs, don't be surprised to see a large surge of Moroccan inspired looks, global inspired looks, mid century modern, eclectic looks, vintage pieces, Americana and more.
Kitchen Designs
The kitchen is now the hub of the home, so it's no surprise that most people will be putting the majority of their focus into this space. When looking to create an updated kitchen design, you'll notice that much like with the bathroom and other spaces in the home, people are starting to become more comfortable with the "here and now" and less focused on the "what happens when I sell my home?"
Kitchen designs will include rustic and industrial touches, as well as clean, contemporary touches for a blend of updated and vintage styling. For materials, look for a lot of clean, contemporary materials over traditional and natural finishes. For example, stainless steel countertops are being preferred over natural stone countertops.
Other kitchen interior design trends include open shelving, stylish and colorful tile backsplashes such as mosaic tiles or Moroccan inspired tiles, dark warm cabinetry and of course, plenty of proper lighting.
Small Bedroom Interior Design
Your bedroom is the only arena in your home that helps you relax and transcend into a peaceful state, after a stressful and hectic day in your office. Therefore, it is absolutely imperative that each decorative, movable or immovable, contributes towards relieving you from your stress and tensions.
Your room ought to be clean and streamlined for an inviting and calm look. Below are some small bedroom interior design ideas to incorporate while planning to renovate your bedroom.
Choose the right hues: The colors and hues in your bedroom can render a vivid or a dull appeal to your room. Therefore, be very careful while selecting the right shade for your bedroom. Nowadays, muted / natural colors like beige, grey, and taupe are popularly picked by people planning their small bedroom interior design for a more subtle look. You can also opt from colors like brown, mauve's at all for a more composed appeal.
Be selective with your furniture: A room populated with large and too much of furniture crowds the room. For your small bedroom interior design, look for petite and small pieces of furniture that gives a spacious look to your room. Do away with large and garish wardrobes in wood along with huge dressing table and king sized bed. Instead look for bed pieces in queen sizes that have no headboard. Make an intelligent use of modular furniture to make the best use of the little space available.
The aesthetic touch: In your attempt to avoid clutters in your small bedroom, do not forget to add essentials that may enhance the appeal of your room. The secret to a successful small bedroom interior design lies in accessorizing your room to give it a modern appeal.
Funky lamp shades, mirrors, beautiful carved glass pieces make for a great interior decor. Jazzy wall art, like painting a unique canvas on the wall with one color at all, instills life in your other wise dull looking room. The key lies in striking the right cord between funky accessories and a simple design to give it the right aesthetic touch.
Your room ought to be clean and streamlined for an inviting and calm look. Below are some small bedroom interior design ideas to incorporate while planning to renovate your bedroom.
Choose the right hues: The colors and hues in your bedroom can render a vivid or a dull appeal to your room. Therefore, be very careful while selecting the right shade for your bedroom. Nowadays, muted / natural colors like beige, grey, and taupe are popularly picked by people planning their small bedroom interior design for a more subtle look. You can also opt from colors like brown, mauve's at all for a more composed appeal.
Be selective with your furniture: A room populated with large and too much of furniture crowds the room. For your small bedroom interior design, look for petite and small pieces of furniture that gives a spacious look to your room. Do away with large and garish wardrobes in wood along with huge dressing table and king sized bed. Instead look for bed pieces in queen sizes that have no headboard. Make an intelligent use of modular furniture to make the best use of the little space available.
The aesthetic touch: In your attempt to avoid clutters in your small bedroom, do not forget to add essentials that may enhance the appeal of your room. The secret to a successful small bedroom interior design lies in accessorizing your room to give it a modern appeal.
Funky lamp shades, mirrors, beautiful carved glass pieces make for a great interior decor. Jazzy wall art, like painting a unique canvas on the wall with one color at all, instills life in your other wise dull looking room. The key lies in striking the right cord between funky accessories and a simple design to give it the right aesthetic touch.
A Guide to Office Relocation Management
Office relocation projects provide exciting possibilities... it's an opportunity to provide the optimum business environment to achieve peak performance and improve profitability.
Moving your office is one of the largest investments your business will make. Few of today's organisations have the experience, time or resources on hand to manage this task effectively. There is no doubt that embarking on such a project is a serious business, which could have significant financial and non financial consequences to your business if not managed effectively.
A recent independent survey showed that 90% of companies overspent on their office relocation and fit out project. Many of these overspent by more than 20%.
The main reasons for this were lack of clarity in the original project brief.
Design detail incomplete when appointing a design and fit out contractor under contract.
Unable to retain control over the project costs through lack of experience and in house resource.
At the start of any project a client will be concerned about budget. Whether you are spending 50,000 or 500,000 you want the same things - good design, quality build, delivered on time and most importantly you want the project within the budget you set.
Will investing in independent project management and therefore having to pay management fees be a good use of your money?
Or should you hand the project over to a design and fit out contractor who will provide you a single point of contact throughout the project?
Design & Fit Out Contractor:It should be recognised that the design and fit out team will be employed by the same company who understandably are looking to maximise their profit on your project. Designs will influence project costs and the design resource will be based on a percentage of overall contract costs as will the project management costs. These companies are slick in their approach and extremely clever with smoke and mirrors.
Percentage mark up between 30% and 45% on contract fit out costs. Variation costs under the build contract can be higher.
Unless you have in house experience to manage this type of contractor how will you know if you are getting value for money throughout the project programme and costs are controlled to avoid surprises at final account?
Changes to any project are inevitable - some will be your choice and some unavoidable changes. Any variation works identified during the contract build period will incur costs difficult to quantify against the original scope of works produced by the fit out contractor - unit costs, profits and overheads are combined within the schedule of costs.
This approach to managing a project has its place clearly, in particular when short project timeframes restrict the opportunity to define the design detail and go to the market for tender. If this is the case consider appointing on a fixed fee contract a professional QS / Project Manager to monitor cost for you. You will more than recover the fees against the cost savings.
Project Management Consultant: An alternative approach if you start to plan your project early enough is to appoint your own professional management team under a fixed fee basis to oversee and value engineer the design process and manage your relocation project.
Once appointed the first thing your project manager will do is work with the selected designer and your internal managers to obtain a detailed brief and understanding of your organisation, how you work now and the opportunities for changing or improving working practices within the new office environment.
A realistic budget at the beginning of the project is critical. An accurate budget will develop as the space plans and designs are detailed and your project manager will also build in the correct amount of contingency funding, the "what if...." part of your budget. Remember 'change happens in projects' it's how you manage changes that will be critical.
All fit out projects have risks - before the project starts some risks will be known, some unknown. Part of what you're paying project management fees for is risk management - your project manager will know how much of a percentage to build into your budget (5% is general).
Designs will be agreed in detail and signed of by you the client prior to a final schedule of costs being prepared for tender packages.
A tender package of documents will be prepared by your project manager. A tender package based on detail designs and schedule of works means that each contractor will have the same information to price. Contractors will be required to break down each element of their price - this means that you will get like for like pricing and will iron out any potential financial surprises sooner rather than later.
An agreed overhead and profit (OHP) between 5 and 15% dependent on the project size and scope will be declared.
Price variations between contractors can run into thousands. If you are confident that everything that needs to be priced has been and contractors have been reference checked for financial stability and quality of work, the cost of your project management fees will be more than covered by the savings that can be made at this tender stage.
Once a main contractor has been selected a suitable professional JCT contract will be prepared by your project manager that ensures you and your contractor is fully protected.
You project manager will take responsibility for managing any changes within the construction programme. Changes within specifications will be managed against the agreed unit costs and original declared profit and overheads. It's not an opportunity for the contractor to overcharge or maximise profits.
Final accounting at the end of the project will identify all agreed variations and any savings made through the contract period. This is the opportunity for your project manager to demonstrate the value of his fee, the cost savings made through the programme and ensuring that you retain a sensible percentage of the total bill within the agreed contract defect period.
Moving your office is one of the largest investments your business will make. Few of today's organisations have the experience, time or resources on hand to manage this task effectively. There is no doubt that embarking on such a project is a serious business, which could have significant financial and non financial consequences to your business if not managed effectively.
A recent independent survey showed that 90% of companies overspent on their office relocation and fit out project. Many of these overspent by more than 20%.
The main reasons for this were lack of clarity in the original project brief.
Design detail incomplete when appointing a design and fit out contractor under contract.
Unable to retain control over the project costs through lack of experience and in house resource.
At the start of any project a client will be concerned about budget. Whether you are spending 50,000 or 500,000 you want the same things - good design, quality build, delivered on time and most importantly you want the project within the budget you set.
Will investing in independent project management and therefore having to pay management fees be a good use of your money?
Or should you hand the project over to a design and fit out contractor who will provide you a single point of contact throughout the project?
Design & Fit Out Contractor:It should be recognised that the design and fit out team will be employed by the same company who understandably are looking to maximise their profit on your project. Designs will influence project costs and the design resource will be based on a percentage of overall contract costs as will the project management costs. These companies are slick in their approach and extremely clever with smoke and mirrors.
Percentage mark up between 30% and 45% on contract fit out costs. Variation costs under the build contract can be higher.
Unless you have in house experience to manage this type of contractor how will you know if you are getting value for money throughout the project programme and costs are controlled to avoid surprises at final account?
Changes to any project are inevitable - some will be your choice and some unavoidable changes. Any variation works identified during the contract build period will incur costs difficult to quantify against the original scope of works produced by the fit out contractor - unit costs, profits and overheads are combined within the schedule of costs.
This approach to managing a project has its place clearly, in particular when short project timeframes restrict the opportunity to define the design detail and go to the market for tender. If this is the case consider appointing on a fixed fee contract a professional QS / Project Manager to monitor cost for you. You will more than recover the fees against the cost savings.
Project Management Consultant: An alternative approach if you start to plan your project early enough is to appoint your own professional management team under a fixed fee basis to oversee and value engineer the design process and manage your relocation project.
Once appointed the first thing your project manager will do is work with the selected designer and your internal managers to obtain a detailed brief and understanding of your organisation, how you work now and the opportunities for changing or improving working practices within the new office environment.
A realistic budget at the beginning of the project is critical. An accurate budget will develop as the space plans and designs are detailed and your project manager will also build in the correct amount of contingency funding, the "what if...." part of your budget. Remember 'change happens in projects' it's how you manage changes that will be critical.
All fit out projects have risks - before the project starts some risks will be known, some unknown. Part of what you're paying project management fees for is risk management - your project manager will know how much of a percentage to build into your budget (5% is general).
Designs will be agreed in detail and signed of by you the client prior to a final schedule of costs being prepared for tender packages.
A tender package of documents will be prepared by your project manager. A tender package based on detail designs and schedule of works means that each contractor will have the same information to price. Contractors will be required to break down each element of their price - this means that you will get like for like pricing and will iron out any potential financial surprises sooner rather than later.
An agreed overhead and profit (OHP) between 5 and 15% dependent on the project size and scope will be declared.
Price variations between contractors can run into thousands. If you are confident that everything that needs to be priced has been and contractors have been reference checked for financial stability and quality of work, the cost of your project management fees will be more than covered by the savings that can be made at this tender stage.
Once a main contractor has been selected a suitable professional JCT contract will be prepared by your project manager that ensures you and your contractor is fully protected.
You project manager will take responsibility for managing any changes within the construction programme. Changes within specifications will be managed against the agreed unit costs and original declared profit and overheads. It's not an opportunity for the contractor to overcharge or maximise profits.
Final accounting at the end of the project will identify all agreed variations and any savings made through the contract period. This is the opportunity for your project manager to demonstrate the value of his fee, the cost savings made through the programme and ensuring that you retain a sensible percentage of the total bill within the agreed contract defect period.
Hospitality Design Online - The New Trend in Interior Design Services
Summary- the core of hospitality design is thoughtful design. Nowadays, online services are taking over in the field of design due to the unique benefits and services that they can offer clients who wish to have a great design for their future place of business.
Creating a hotel, restaurant or establishment that is service based require a design that is ideal for your target market, budget, and functional requirements and space available. Nowadays, one might think that going to a design firm for a hospitality design is the only way to do it. During the design process, they already spend a considerable amount of money. Though; it is a tedious job that does not warrant extremely big expenses especially early on with the project. Hospitality design is not available for clients who like to use the internet as the primary communication tool. How does that happen? Let's take a look.
Hospitality design online is not as weird or impractical as it might sound. Nowadays, there are design companies who are making use of the internet in order to open the lines of communication and understanding between client and designer about the structure, layout and design of the establishment. Designers take their work closer to the clients since they focus the job on the requirements of the client. Normally, they would require the clients to fill out a comprehensive form in order to extract all details of the project, since the request is written, the designer has a more thorough understanding and a documentary proof of what the client has specified.
With hospitality design, it is important to always follow the latest requests and recommendations of the client as the design becomes more visible. Through online conferences, chat and video conversations, it is possible for the clients to actually see the project and discuss the changes in real time even if they are on both ends of the country, or even the world. Hospitality design done online shrinks the time the design is processed and revised since the design can be changed as the client communicates criticisms and suggestions. This makes it easier to ensure quality and customer specific output that is still structurally and functionally sound.
Designers who offer hospitality design online tend to focus on design and consultation services. They do not deal with contractors. However, if you want to, they can offer suggestions for the different materials that you need for the project. This is something that some clients find hard to discuss with and that is why choosing online design firms do offer something extra special without compromising the budget of the clients. They can offer possible suggestions for tiling, hardwood flooring, furniture and other important components.
Creating a hotel, restaurant or establishment that is service based require a design that is ideal for your target market, budget, and functional requirements and space available. Nowadays, one might think that going to a design firm for a hospitality design is the only way to do it. During the design process, they already spend a considerable amount of money. Though; it is a tedious job that does not warrant extremely big expenses especially early on with the project. Hospitality design is not available for clients who like to use the internet as the primary communication tool. How does that happen? Let's take a look.
Hospitality design online is not as weird or impractical as it might sound. Nowadays, there are design companies who are making use of the internet in order to open the lines of communication and understanding between client and designer about the structure, layout and design of the establishment. Designers take their work closer to the clients since they focus the job on the requirements of the client. Normally, they would require the clients to fill out a comprehensive form in order to extract all details of the project, since the request is written, the designer has a more thorough understanding and a documentary proof of what the client has specified.
With hospitality design, it is important to always follow the latest requests and recommendations of the client as the design becomes more visible. Through online conferences, chat and video conversations, it is possible for the clients to actually see the project and discuss the changes in real time even if they are on both ends of the country, or even the world. Hospitality design done online shrinks the time the design is processed and revised since the design can be changed as the client communicates criticisms and suggestions. This makes it easier to ensure quality and customer specific output that is still structurally and functionally sound.
Designers who offer hospitality design online tend to focus on design and consultation services. They do not deal with contractors. However, if you want to, they can offer suggestions for the different materials that you need for the project. This is something that some clients find hard to discuss with and that is why choosing online design firms do offer something extra special without compromising the budget of the clients. They can offer possible suggestions for tiling, hardwood flooring, furniture and other important components.
The Importance Of Architecture And Interior Design For Retail Businesses
Opening and running a retail business is more complicated than just buying or renting a space and opening for business. There is competition and the whim of the public to consider. there is also the proper display of merchandise and the safety of the shoppers who come. well designed businesses attract more customers and sell more of their goods. they also stay in business longer and make better profits. Taking the time and making the investment in a good architect or Interior designer is just good business.
Some things that must be considered in planning a retail business are location, store front design, traffic flow inside the business, customer safety, color scheme, ambiance, decor style, ease of maintenance and customer convenience. Location of different departments and display cases can make a big difference in the success or failure of a business. A professional store designer can put together floor plans that will work for each kind of business that take safety and traffic flow into consideration. Most businesses have one chance to impress the buying public. Waste that chance with bad ambiance or poor store design and the business will fail.
The first consideration, after location choice, is matching the design and decor to the product to be sold. A gourmet restaurant needs a different decor than a coffee shop or fast food place. A sea food restaurant needs different decor than an Irish pub and so on. The decor needs to match the product sold to be most effective. Most customers will be expecting certain decor for the product they are shopping for. An intimate apparel and lingerie shop will have a more feminine feel than a men's sportswear shop. An Interior Designer or an architect specializing in retail design can suggest decor and merchandise arrangement that will help customers shop with ease and purchase more.
Once the business has a design that matches the merchandise, it is important to pick a decor theme within that design. This theme can be ultra contemporary, European, glam or traditional and everything in between. this theme can be in different colors. It is important to pick a color scheme that is pleasing to customers and encourages them to buy. There are studies that show certain colors in restaurants work better than others to encourage customers to eat and drink more. The colors of walls, flooring and store furnishings should all go pleasantly together making customers comfortable and in a mood to buy more.
All the decor items in a business should be easy to maintain and safe for clientele. flooring choices should be considered with safety in mind. No one wants customers slipping and hurting themselves on a too shinny flooring. The floor plans should group related items together for customer convenience. Check out lanes should be conveniently located and manned. A well designed and implemented store will sell more merchandise.
Some things that must be considered in planning a retail business are location, store front design, traffic flow inside the business, customer safety, color scheme, ambiance, decor style, ease of maintenance and customer convenience. Location of different departments and display cases can make a big difference in the success or failure of a business. A professional store designer can put together floor plans that will work for each kind of business that take safety and traffic flow into consideration. Most businesses have one chance to impress the buying public. Waste that chance with bad ambiance or poor store design and the business will fail.
The first consideration, after location choice, is matching the design and decor to the product to be sold. A gourmet restaurant needs a different decor than a coffee shop or fast food place. A sea food restaurant needs different decor than an Irish pub and so on. The decor needs to match the product sold to be most effective. Most customers will be expecting certain decor for the product they are shopping for. An intimate apparel and lingerie shop will have a more feminine feel than a men's sportswear shop. An Interior Designer or an architect specializing in retail design can suggest decor and merchandise arrangement that will help customers shop with ease and purchase more.
Once the business has a design that matches the merchandise, it is important to pick a decor theme within that design. This theme can be ultra contemporary, European, glam or traditional and everything in between. this theme can be in different colors. It is important to pick a color scheme that is pleasing to customers and encourages them to buy. There are studies that show certain colors in restaurants work better than others to encourage customers to eat and drink more. The colors of walls, flooring and store furnishings should all go pleasantly together making customers comfortable and in a mood to buy more.
All the decor items in a business should be easy to maintain and safe for clientele. flooring choices should be considered with safety in mind. No one wants customers slipping and hurting themselves on a too shinny flooring. The floor plans should group related items together for customer convenience. Check out lanes should be conveniently located and manned. A well designed and implemented store will sell more merchandise.
Modern Architecture - The Imperfect Argument
"No architecture can be truly noble which is not imperfect." John Ruskin
From the moment a building is inaugurated and put into use it begins to age. Therefore it is decisive for it's success how it bears it's flaws - because the flaws will indeed come!
A brand new flawless building is beautiful and fascinating for sure, with the freshness that looks good on cover pages. However, when the novelty has worn off, and time has started to put its mark on it, the glossy magazines have turned their attention elsewhere! Like the fashion industry, the building industry idolizes the flawless, fresh and untried architecture, with no marks on it's surface.
The life-span of a building outlives that of it's makers by many centuries, if done right. Therefore we should keep in mind that, much as we build to meet present demands, we also build for the future, using materials, forms, structures, and planning solutions that endure the test of time. Otherwise our buildings may end up obsolete, unloved, and perhaps even demolished before long.
We cannot expect to be able to create such ageless beauties as the Pantheon of Rome or Hagia Sophia of Istanbul, just as we probably won't look as good as Sophia Loren when we turn 70. There are too many factors that are out of our control, such as the world economy, the power balance,... the gene lottery, etc.
But we can keep in mind that we build for fellow human beings, who are perfectly imperfect, and that the buildings will stimulate and comfort people for generations after they are built. Most people love the relaxed atmosphere that is created by old and worn architecture, that have survived the test of time and still looks beautiful! Walking through the Medieval towns of Italy, for instance, many will experience lower levels of stress, and feel safe and comfortable. Everything is worn, but still beautiful; we know it works; it is loved and well used.
A lot of the materials most commonly used in Modern Architecture today do not age gracefully. They are prefabricated in large units in huge quantities and put together on site. When they deteriorate it is difficult to maintain them without having to replace large parts of the building altogether. Good materials such as stone, brick, and tile are labour intensive, so they are not profitable in a short perspective.
Nobility may not come with the cradle, but if we are careful and considerate in our choices it may come with the rocking chair!
From the moment a building is inaugurated and put into use it begins to age. Therefore it is decisive for it's success how it bears it's flaws - because the flaws will indeed come!
A brand new flawless building is beautiful and fascinating for sure, with the freshness that looks good on cover pages. However, when the novelty has worn off, and time has started to put its mark on it, the glossy magazines have turned their attention elsewhere! Like the fashion industry, the building industry idolizes the flawless, fresh and untried architecture, with no marks on it's surface.
The life-span of a building outlives that of it's makers by many centuries, if done right. Therefore we should keep in mind that, much as we build to meet present demands, we also build for the future, using materials, forms, structures, and planning solutions that endure the test of time. Otherwise our buildings may end up obsolete, unloved, and perhaps even demolished before long.
We cannot expect to be able to create such ageless beauties as the Pantheon of Rome or Hagia Sophia of Istanbul, just as we probably won't look as good as Sophia Loren when we turn 70. There are too many factors that are out of our control, such as the world economy, the power balance,... the gene lottery, etc.
But we can keep in mind that we build for fellow human beings, who are perfectly imperfect, and that the buildings will stimulate and comfort people for generations after they are built. Most people love the relaxed atmosphere that is created by old and worn architecture, that have survived the test of time and still looks beautiful! Walking through the Medieval towns of Italy, for instance, many will experience lower levels of stress, and feel safe and comfortable. Everything is worn, but still beautiful; we know it works; it is loved and well used.
A lot of the materials most commonly used in Modern Architecture today do not age gracefully. They are prefabricated in large units in huge quantities and put together on site. When they deteriorate it is difficult to maintain them without having to replace large parts of the building altogether. Good materials such as stone, brick, and tile are labour intensive, so they are not profitable in a short perspective.
Nobility may not come with the cradle, but if we are careful and considerate in our choices it may come with the rocking chair!
