Architect Saves Clients Money: Common Materials Used In Creative Designs

Learn how a LEAP Architect saves clients construction dollars with creative design solutions. Picture above: Additional living space helps a husband, wife and their two children with more room for their growing family.

 

The husband designed some ideas with a Sketch-Up model, but they were not sure about what steps to take next.

 

When the family came to LEAP, the architect helped them prioritize their goals and then designed a living space to meet their needs, but with some extra bonuses. Read below to learn what these “extras” are, and get more insights into creative solutions provided by LEAP in other projects.

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Architect Designs Creative, Affordable Construction

 

The clients for this addition in Saratoga Springs, NY had a tight budget and were not sure how to spend their money wisely.

 

So, the architect used the LEAP Method to achieve their goals.

Solution: Concrete Floors

The floors in this Saratoga Springs addition were made of concrete. Why?

Research during the LEAP Method for this project showed it was less expensive to pour slab on grade construction rather than wood frame a crawl space.

So, LEAP architects added a whitener to the concrete mix, and hand-selected the aggregate so that when ground and polished, the concrete floor is one of the main features of a warm and cozy living space.

 

Here’s a bonus:

The clients of this modern addition in Saratoga Springs, NY have a noteworthy vinyl collection, and the desire for uncluttered space. The photo below shows floor-to-ceiling fabric wrapped over wood frames, on bi-passing sliding door tracks. The fabric is speaker cloth, so when the stereo system is hidden with the rest of the books and items on the shelves, the turn-table plays unmuffled, and clear as if it were out in the open.

 

 

 

LEAP Architects Use Low-Cost Materials in Chic Designs

Agricultural bi-products (straw, saw dust, wood chips, stems) make up this pressboard in the gallery pictured here.

 

Clean, green and modern at an affordable price

Inexpensive, durable, and clear-coated with a sealer allows the space to be clean, green and modern at an affordable price.

 

Architects Help You Make Money-Saving Decisions

LEAP architects design to a budget, and siding systems, like traditional clapboard, can be labor intensive. But there are alternatives….

 

 

This modern Saratoga Springs addition utilized panels, cut to fit, which resulted in much less labor (less cost) and a quicker protective finish system than other more traditional siding applications.

 

Affordable Modern Living

Corner windows and floor-to-ceiling glass are trademarks of architects modern designs. However, they do not have to be budget killers.

 

The glass corner shown here is achieved with common fiberglass sliding door units, installed next to each other to help open the dining area to the deck outside.

Fiberglass doors and windows are less expensive than their wood and clad counterparts, and are much more energy efficient to boot.

 

LEAP Architects Help You Enhance Your Quality of Life

While Maintaining Your Budget

This amazing kitchen was designed with Ikea cabinets, renowned for their inexpensive but modern design.

 

Along with the cabinets, LEAP designed the surrounds and island out of panels that are finished with the same material as the cabinet faces, for an affordable built-in feel. The counter and backsplash are not marble, but rather a resin poured to perform in kitchen environments at about a third of the cost of stone. This kitchen looks like a $50K effort; but all in all, the materials were only $12K. (excluding appliances and fixtures).

~ Eric Davenport, AIA, CPHC

 

[author] [author_image timthumb=’on’]http://www.leaparchitecture.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/eric_davenport-blog-profile.jpg[/author_image] [author_info]Eric Davenport, a native Up-State New Yorker, began LEAP Architecture in 2003 at age 23 while designing projects for Haitian education efforts and working to achieve efficient agricultural-based solutions for Haitian families. Eric’s projects in New York include both commercial and residential architecture specializing in energy efficient and net-zero buildings.

Questions about your next design project? Contact Eric.

[/author_info] [/author]

 

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