What Means DESIGN BUILD

Design, Greenspeed, Home 5

What Means DESIGN BUILD

by Moneca Kaiser, November, 11 2011

This story was inspired by a query I’ve included the letter at the end.

Good morning!

I’m delighted to hear from you because I think you found me online while most of our work, like 98 percent, comes from flients (clients who become friends) telling others about us. It’s exciting for me that my website which is another design build feat my company is very proud of is starting to help people discover how unique mkdb is. And yup a Big Picture Consultation is a great place to start is the short answer.

If you’ll indulge me seeing how you are, “interested in all things eco and sustainable.” this gave me inspiration to write this week’s story for my beloved blog that I’d been procrastinating on.

MONECA KAISER DESIGN BUILD is all about Living in Harmony. We specialize in integrated design/builds. Always with a vision of taking care of you , our community & planet. Our foundation is listening to understand your needs and vision and translating that into Architectural Design and Building Construction and Interior Design as integrated arts to co create with with you that elusive ideal of home that nourishes you and our community.

We feel it’s essential to provide integrated and complete services because they’re not linear steps in reality although they are often compartmentalized in learning and business. YESTERMORROW Design Build school in Vermont is a delightful exception, I teach and learn there. There are also some architectural programs incorporating some hands on building but it’s still so rare. Sadly this serves the needs of the business and learning institution much more than the people who actually live in these houses.

There needs to be a fluidity and organic nature to renovating or building a new home. It’s almost like the home has to grow and growth involves a conflux of elements not an abc process. This is a fundamental principal of regenerative design. Regenerative design goes beyond mere sustainability to a vision that encompasses something that gives back and energizes as a home must. We need this nurturing.

Ideally this house’s transformation into your home evolves as a layered process where each emergent element of the designbuild informs and directs our next expression. Where the ultimate authority isn’t a definitive set of blue prints, they’re still just paper- the ultimate authority becomes the reality of the site itself and our experience and interaction with it.

Design and building needs to inform the each other continually so that sometimes the design happens while building and the building happens while designing. So that opportunities that emerge during the building process can be noticed and allowed to inform so that we end up with delightful and unexpected discoveries that elevate and vitalize the whole. We feel this is why our homes at mkdb, breathe. We honor the principles of emergent design and co- creation not an inanimate set of blue prints to inform everything we do and it’s why we rarely design for other builders or build things we didn’t design. When we do build other people’s designs we always tweak it, it’s just how our company is, we’re innovative it’s our very foundation.

We take the time to discover the overall style as you have begun to express in your email as “My partner likes modern & mid-century modern and I’m ok with both also but like a bit of ethnic patterns, moroccan tile, great textures also.” Our overriding value and goal is being in harmony and the tension that is present in; differing tastes, the design and build process, function verses esthetics…always with a vision of finding harmony cause it’s so lovely to live in.

All our energy needs to be focussed on realizing that unique union of function and beauty that reflects your very own vision and style. We get that, as you expressed so well, “We are having a hard time, identifying “our” style together.” And we’re really good at helping you to intuit, articulate and explore this till we have a sense of what will feel good for you. We do it real simple, old school even, we just listen.

It begins with our first step, the Big Picture Consultation. We listen to you, your site, your family, and we ask questions to get a deeper understanding and we observe. You, your site and your family:)… to explore the parameters of what your home can be and what you need to feel at home and build on that together.

I was reading a book that said a good contractor is like a good parent, responsive, predictable, protective, invested in your happiness and well being and can set boundaries. I like this analogy especially when it’s extended how often only a mother can understand a baby when it’s very little and we get how sometimes people don’t have the vocabulary or skills to fully express what they want their home to be cause it’s not their language . We have deep respect for our clients. My dear teacher taught me early on that I must cultivate deep respect for myself for how else will I be able to respect him and his teachings and again this is a fundamental value of mkdb. We would never think of our clients as children yet we take our duty and privilege as parents” of your home very seriously.

Renovating our homes leaves most of us feeling a little vulnerable especially cause there’s so much invested in trying to achieve this illusive ideal of a home that really meets your needs and pleases you. I love to be of service, and cultivate this in everyone who works with us as well as cultivating their innate talents so they can thrive and feel proud of their contributions.

We wanna make you feel at home and we do it by changing your home, not you.

Greenspeed,

Moneca

I invite you to visit Where the ♥ is for this weeks story & www.mkdb.ca to view our portfolio.

We’d love to hear how we can help you with your home! (613) 745-6627

Moneca Kaiser

And here’s the letter that inspired this weeks story.

Dear Moneca Kaiser,

We have a new house and we have some big plans and some smaller plans for the house. The bigger plans – large stairwell skylight, kitchen redesign, backyard design, retrofitting house as we can to be more energy efficient and renovations upstairs will be done when we can afford each project. We’re struggling a bit with what to do first – although kitchen reno is top of our list.

I’ve always had a hard time figuring out who to consult for what – where do the contractor, architect, designer, builder all fit in

We definitely want to talk to some professionals to figure out where to start. Would that be where your Big Picture Consultation come in?

We are also looking for recommendations on designers who can just help with our overall style of our home – we want to purchase items over time but we are having a hard time, identifying “our” style together. My partner likes modern & mid-century modern and I’m ok with both also but like a bit of ethnic patterns, moroccan tile, great textures also. We’ve purchased some pieces but are having a hard time with colours, finding balance. Does your company help with this also?

We’re hoping to have someone narrow things down for us, point us to some good key purchases, provide ideas and an image gallery to help us when we are out shopping.

And to top it all off I’m interested in all things eco and sustainable and would love some ideas for sources especially for the kitchen to start off.

I’d like to discuss the possibility for a Big Picture consultation. Thanks for your time!

Moneca Kaiser

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