Three of my designs have been nominated for the shortlist for the International Design & Architecture Awards. If you have a few minutes, please vote for my work on the International Design & Architecture Awards website.
Recently, one of our projects, Rasteau, was featured on Houzz. Also recently, I saw Elizabeth Taylor’s Cleopatra for the first time. Hollywood created a fantasy and circumvented accuracy despite all that is know about Ancient Egypt, while at Rasteau we peeled back the layers of inaccuracy in the restoration and renovation of the in-town home in the wine country of France.
A view from the pool terrace to a neighboring home and landscape. It is much more than just “charming.”
Elizabeth Taylor, arrestingly beautiful as Cleopatra in all-out Hollywood glamour, if not so much historically accurate attire.
The year was 1984 and fresh out of Cornell, I started my first job as an architect-in-training in Washington, DC. I was expected to be at work from 9:00 am to 6:00 pm, Monday through Friday, with a one hour lunch break from 12:30 pm to 1:30 pm. Coffee was provided by the firm, but we were expected to be at our desks working at 9:00 am, which meant arriving earlier to get settled at our desks to start on time. One day I walked in the door at 9:06 am and the receptionist, who sat on a mezzanine above the entry, conveyed a message from Mrs. M to remind me I was to arrive by 9:00 am. To my protest, she shrugged. Mrs. M was right, however, as the expectation was set and I had agreed to it.
Just about everything we do has an expectation attached to it. I expect the alarm clock to go off at the time I set it. I expect the coffee machine to brew. I expect the key will turn in the lock and another one will start the car and take me where I need to go. And so on and so forth throughout the day until for instance the ATM machine unexpectedly usurps my card and wreaks havoc on my lunch break and the delay makes me arrive 6 minutes late at the office.
The world of design is filled with many unknowns, starting with the fact that very rarely the final product is known at the time the parties agree to work together. Contracts are set in place to establish each of the parties’ rights and obligations, but even so, they are full of vagaries like “reasonable,” “industry standard,” and “acceptable practices,” which are terms subject to interpretation because design is a practice, not a science. Therefore client and design professional are cast in a situation where they must trust one another at the onset of the project and keep that trust alive through the duration of the project. By then, expectations are usually met, at times exceeded and much to everyone’s chagrin, occasionally shattered.
A Contractor once asked me what I thought was the most important thing to a client, to which I replied, “budget.” “No, it’s the schedule,” he replied. “Clients want to know the project will be completed on time.” True, once a commitment to spend the money has been made, the next question is “when will it be done?,” which is usually much longer than she/he/I want to hear, because I personally think construction of one’s own is a royal pain.
Of course there is the budget, which is what the client is comfortable spending. Everyone has a comfort zone and once reached, that’s it. In the case where all of the bases were covered under the budget, all is well. It’s when the cost to produce the design exceeds the funds available to produce it that everyone’s stress level skyrockets. The trick becomes how to keep the design concept of the project intact and reduce the cost to build it? In almost thirty years in the design industry, I cannot remember a single project without a substitution or a change to the design on the basis of cost. In fact, I counsel clients to do so when cost and effect are disproportionate.
Then there is the issue of professional fees. Good design is expensive no matter how much we’d like to sugarcoat the reality. The issue comes down to value. As a consumer, the question should be, where am I getting the best value for my investment? Not all design is made the same and it will reasonably cost the same amount to build a good design as it will to build mediocre. The difference lies in the value-added. Besides, spread out across the life of the project, the difference is usually negligible. I do, however, believe the fee should be commensurate to the project and at times a potential client should be informed they may not need a design professional for what they need.
I firmly believe you get what you pay for, and understanding the implications of this statement is at the essence of managing expectations; everyone’s.
Thanks for reading. Comments appreciated. Inquiries welcome.
Take a look at this kitchen. What’s wrong with it?
Nothing is wrong with it. We can reasonably assume there is a refrigerator to the right of the stove to complete the “cooking triangle,” so it appears it contains everything required to make it functional and even produce a great meal. Now look at it again.
There’s the refrigerator; and we can safely assume the doors are storage next to it. It looks dark in the ceiling, but the track lighting should take care of that. So my next question is, does this kitchen fit what the seller’s label of luxury apartment? Is there enough counter space? Hint: closets cost less to build than kitchen cabinets and granite countertops. Next clue; not all woods are made alike and this mahogany was not top of the heap. If you ask me, however much or little of it was used to make these cabinets was a waste of material. It’s an open kitchen; there is a large loft space with lots of natural light a few paces from the stove. There were no lights on when the photo was taken, but the space was unnecessarily dark. “Lots of storage,” said the real estate listing. Yes, so much so that there is not enough space to prep a meal.
Here’s what we did in this space.
Not all storage is made equal; remember this. Here we removed the closets, which were too deep to function well as pantry space and carefully planned the storage according to the client’s needs. We also moved the dining area to this location.
The wall on the right contains the refrigerator, ovens and storage; including a full-height, pull-out pantry.
So what was wrong with this kitchen? It wasn’t part of the open flow of the space. It was detached, dark and looked like an afterthought. The lesson we’ve learned is the whole is much more than the sum of the parts.
By a twist of fate, I’ve found myself without a car, which has been my primary means of transportation for the past twenty-two years. I’m actually not surprised I don’t miss it. In fact, the freedom I’ve experienced this past month has been a welcome change. What I’ve “given up” pales in comparison to what I’ve gained; connecting to Washington, DC through the transportation systems designed for the city and thereby connecting to the city in a way driving does not permit. I am now a man of means of public transportation.
Things happen when least expected, which was the case when a client called about a second home she and her spouse purchased in Rasteau, France. The most recent renovation had been completed four decades prior to their purchase, so their new ancient home needed 21st century attention. The request—would I come to see the property and work out some ideas on site for a quickie renovation?
A few weeks later they picked me up in Avignon and then on to Rasteau. The in-town home still habitable, we settled in for the next four days to figure this one out. Suffice it to say, what was originally envisioned as a simple renovation became a significant restoration project.
The purchase included what had appeared to be an abandoned lot, the proposed site of a new pool.
Before: “The Pit” separates the home from this unused, empty space
French architect and painter Le Corbusier or Corbu and Corb for short, said, and I paraphrase, the same principles that apply to the design of a chair apply to the design of aircraft. Over the years, I’ve come to understand and embrace this particular way of thinking. The other thought I identify with is that an architect is a generalist, meaning that we know a little about many things, rather than possess in-depth knowledge on any particular subject. There are, however, individuals who are specialists in a particular building type or knowledge area. At some point in my career I had to make a choice—Generalist or Specialist?
In the thirty five years since I started my training as an architect, I’ve made necessary migrations to related areas of involvement in the design industry. The first was graphic design, then interiors, and furniture and product design. I discovered fine art photography as a student and somewhere along the line, I took up writing. The result is a career of great richness, texture and complexity. It sounds like I’m describing a wine, but it’s fitting.
When I founded Studio Santalla, Inc. in 2001, we offered services in architecture, interior design and graphic design. A few years later, as suggested by a web designer, we dropped the graphics from our offering, but the reality is we didn’t stop producing graphic art. When working on projects for clients, we designed furniture for them. The day I realized my photographs were “that” good, I started selling them. I’ve been referred to as a Renaissance Man, a jack of all trades, multi-talented and met with resentment from design professionals who think I’m infringing upon their turf. I just think of myself as pursuing my interests while eschewing labels and taboos.
My journey has landed me in a place where I have clarity, and have embarked on what is generally known as “brand expansion” by creating new divisions to Studio Santalla. This is a snapshot of our current offering:
Graphic-SS
www.graphic-ss.com
Graphic-SS provides professional services in the areas of brand identity, marketing campaigns and environmental graphics
Ernesto Santalla Photography
www.ernestosantallaphotography.com
Highlights from 30 years producing images in three categories; black and white-all taken with a film camera; color and photo-collage. This website includes e-commerce.
Ernesto Santalla Home
I am working on the introduction of several furniture lines and textiles. Stay tuned for more as this is in various stages of development.
Part of the offering will be furniture we’ve designed previously that is already in our portfolio.
This image was on the cover of Home & Design magazine.
I tell clients that part of what makes Studio Santalla unique is we can provide solutions to a wide range of items ranging from technical issues to fine details. Does that mean we’re qualified to design research laboratories? No. Do I know the finer details of specifying gimp? No. Can I provide an excellent product within the realms of our design expertise? You can bet on it.
A pre-requisite to transform, recreate, re-do, renovate, remodel or reconfigure is the “before.” I think part of valuing where we are is to acknowledge where we’ve been and what was involved in getting there.
To kick off the Before and After series, one of my favorite “before” images.
This room is on the first level of a single family home. It has it’s own bathroom, so it could be used as a bedroom, but the owner wanted it to be a Study. When we got involved it sported a hunting theme in red and green with a hunting dog waiting patiently for the hunt to start.
What the client requested was a comfortable place to read or take an afternoon nap. Even though we have less and less of them, most of us still have books. Here, we framed the windows with bookcases, which elongate the proportions of the room.
I’m proud to say this project was done in the late ’90’s and still looks good.
Thanks for reading. Your comments are appreciated and encouraged. Stay tuned for the next installment of “Before and After.”
From time to time I’m asked, “where’s all the stuff,” “people don’t live like that? They are referring to photos I show them of Studio Santalla’s work, where items are out of sight, but definitely there. As such, the spaces we design are fully functional.
Kitchens, bathrooms and media centers are places where items collect and clutter ensues, taking up valuable space designated, or available for other uses. So let’s dim the lights and go over a few examples.
This kitchen was designed for a household of six, plus very frequent guests. Studies show the inefficiencies of “standard” kitchen cabinetry, which has led to the use of drawers in the bottom cabinets for many of the items typically stored in upper cabinets, which were eliminated. A “garage” cabinet was placed in between the two wall ovens for all hand held appliances. The island has storage on both sides. The pantry is located beyond the door on the right. The dishwasher has a panel to match the cabinets.
