The saying goes, “The Devil is in the details” and the quote denotes that neglect or overlooking of details can cause greater problems as time progresses. I have been thinking lately of this quote and reflecting about how I obsess over details in my life and career. Architectural design is full of details, small and large, and it is the job of an architect to lay out a set of drawings so that clients and contractors can realize their vision. More on this in a moment…
On Saturday, some students and I made our way to Kiawah Island for some good ol’ dumpster diving. There are a couple of construction sites that the Dolphin Design Build Company is working on, and they have graciously allowed us to pick through their scrap. These two homes are both in the rough framing stage and are creating a lot of 2x waste (perfect for what the studio is designing for the Marion Square project). Although the reason for the trip was to acquire material, the highlight was a visit to a current project I have had the pleasure to work on that is nearing completion.
As a treat for the handful of students who eagerly volunteered themselves for a 7:30 am trip to get their hands dirty in Kiawah, we made a pit stop to visit my friend Joel Wenzel of Thomas and Denzinger Architects at the Tadler residence. Joel was courteous enough to give us a full tour of the house and grounds, and to explain their firms design process for it. When it comes to details it’s hard to beat the work of TDA, and that was obvious to the students as they walked through the project. Every inch of this house has been thoughtfully detailed by Joel and TDA, and rigorously directed to completion by Russ Cooper and Associates, the supervising contractor. There is no question that the success of this project stems from it’s overall design and scheme, but it’s the attention to detail that makes this home a masterpiece in my opinion. I hope that the students who had the opportunity to experience this project Saturday left as inspired as I, and can use that inspiration to help create something special themselves.
