iideas is the ECO-design.ca process for ideal design
Perhaps it's the wide range of clients we have served which causes us to search for a process of designing which is straightforward yet meaningful. We call it iideas.
We help our clients understand what they ideally want from our design, in the form of a list of ideal design ideas (idi's). idi's are statements of idealized outcome, for example:
"...ideally, I want to reduce
energy and maintenance costs to less than our best previous building..."
"...ideally, every staff member should have their own operable
window with a view..."
"...ideally, my home should be the healthiest place I know..."
idi's may be specific or general, technical or emotional. Each project's idi's become a unique checklist to evaluate the evolution of a project's design. When we present a design we rate it against the idi list, and expect our clients to do the same.
We seldom achieve 100% of a project's idi's. However, as one client noted, "if you hadn't helped us identify our ideal design ideas, we'd never have known what our priorities really were...and we certainly wouldn't have achieved most of them!"
The other defining aspect of our work is a process called
Integrated design is actually a trademarked phrase in some instances of usage, where it refers to a specific process for design evolution. Ironically, the trademarked process is very similar to what sensible Designers have been doing for eons - involving the Designers, Builders and Owners in the Design process.
Our co-design process engages all of the key players from the beginning in the development of a design which balances the needs and requirements of our client, the public, regulatory agencies, etc. it is the achievment of that balance which we refer to as building ecology.
We are experienced in helping
clients develop the vision of their design. We are not passive
about design, but in the spirit of ecology we look for a balance
between our own knowledge and experience with design and our
clients' intimate knowledge of their needs and desires.
Envisioning is a free form process which gives rise to a wide
range of thought. Consider:
It would be nice to move directly
from vision statements to a completed design, but it's seldom
that simple. Prior to synthesizing a design, it is usually necessary
to ingest a wide range of data in addition to vision statements.
Such data may include:
The design process is cyclical, with new ideal design ideas emerging throughout the project.
This leads to further layers of analysis, and eventually to the creative integration generally called
Design synthesis often seems more mysterious than it should be. The act of creation is unique to each Designer, but where the creation is architecture, an expensive product designed to endure for a long time, we believe that the iideas process, with its rigourous co-design, will result in a healthier, safer, sustainable environment
