A Dash of Beauty and a Sprinkle of Charm…

Today, we continue our journey of taking The Dechiro from a dream to a reality. We received a rendering of the building from the architect, so it seems logical to start with how we came up with the design and style.

One of the biggest challenges in the recipe of creating a place where people would actually want to live and call home is determining what people associate with downtown living. Generally, what attracts potential residents is the charm of downtown. That charm is revealed in the “old” and natural materials of exposed rafters, wood or concrete floors, brick walls, oversized wood or metal windows. The challenge with this is you cannot recreate old! There are 2 big reasons for this.

1. Building code won’t allow for it. The saying, “they just don’t build houses/buildings like they use too” is true. We have “building code”-ed our way right out of it. We can debate if that is good or bad, but for now I will just leave it as the reality within which we must operate.
2. Budget and dreams collide (This is a topic all of its own). Sure, I could scour the country for old magnificent buildings being demolished and reclaim the beautiful hardwood floors, brick, and architectural features. And trust me, I WANT TO! Unfortunately time, cost and reality do not align.

So that leads us to the question of how we came up with our design. We wanted (by the way when I say “we” I am referring to my mom and me. We are business partners and have been renovating and developing houses and buildings for about 10 years now. If you are interested, you can learn more about us on facebook, Youtube, or our website.) Now, back to our design…We wanted:

• a building that fits into a historic downtown setting without creating a “replica” that will never actually look old because of budget, building code limitations and the fact that IT IS NEW.
• something that will be timeless. A design that our grandkids will not look back on and say, “what were they thinking way back in the teen’s when they built that”.
• a project we would be proud of and want to show off when friends and family come to visit. They say you should not get emotionally involved in Real Estate, but that is not who we are. We are involved in real estate because we love creating and are passionate about what we create.

With those parameters identified, we began to independently scour the internet for features we love. We would screen shot images and mark what we did and didn’t like, and throw them in an “inspiration folder”. Here is a glimpse of what that file looked like.

Since we were not building on Main Street, we felt like we had more design style options. What became apparent as we were flipping through our inspiration photos is that we wanted large windows, depth to the building (verses a really flat facade) a mix of different materials, and unique architectural features.

Having done a few other developments, we knew what would be out of budget. For example, we knew that cast stone and huge floor to ceiling wood or metal windows would be out of our budget. Cast stone gives a building depth and amazing detail. It is what makes you fall in love with those old historic buildings as you walk the streets of your favorite European town.

Identifying what we liked and knowing what we couldn’t afford, we concluded that an industrial vibe was the direction that made the most sense.

What is Industrial Anyway?

Industrial is a term thrown around a lot, much like “farmhouse”, but can mean many different things. For example, this IS industrial.

However this goes against just about everything we wanted. This is what I would call “modern industrial”. Huge tilt up concrete buildings with flat fronts, limited windows and ZERO character. Not something future generations will look back on fondly for architectural genius. This, in my humble opinion, is when the pendulum swing of economies of scale and mass efficiencies swung to an all new extreme. I am not picking on just this building. There are thousands of them all over the country, just like it.

When we think of “Industrial” we are referring to a different time period, when there was a better balance between over the top elaborate buildings that took decades to build utilizing more manpower than one could muster up these days, versus super efficient and style-less buildings like the one above.

There was a period of time when industrial buildings were beautiful, yet simple. Warm and cozy but still sizable. Think West End in Downtown Dallas. Or here are a couple of examples I came across.

It was at this point, that my limited vision kicked in. Equipped with an “architectural style” in mind and characteristics that I know I like, I am stymied on how to turn that into an end product I will love AND will still be economically feasible (i.e. make money and create wealth). I suspect many people could get to this point…an opinion of what beauty is (whether you chose industrial or not) and a desire to own or build something that you would be proud to own and would create wealth. It is the next step that is a huge one.

The key to taking the next step is to surround yourself with people who have already successfully taken that step.

For us it meant setting up an appointment with our favorite architects, PACT Design. I know that sounds simple and not like a huge step, and now that we have found them, it isn’t a huge step. But before that, we couldn’t see what the other side looked like. It was like driving in dense fog and unsure if we were going to hit something we couldn’t see. Success is often found somewhere between the dream and the details of reality.

For our project, I cannot emphasize enough how critical the right architect was in determining how much we would love our project. Architects vary wildly in talents and strengths, from amazing technicians that will add very little in creative design, to off-the-chart creativity missing a dose of reality. I have worked with both ends of the spectrum.

When looking for the right architect, we assessed your own strengths, limitations, budget and end goal. Knowing that I am limited by creative vision, I am looking for someone who listens well to what we want and then is cable of taking our dream to the next level. What I love about PACT is that each time we have used them, they have come back with a design that was even better than we envisioned. And we are NOT EASY to please!

As a quick side note on the cost of an architect. It varies just as wildly as their talents, and the two are often not correlated. A good architect is not cheap, but an expensive architect is not always good.

We shared with our architect team what we have laid out here for you, and here is what they came back with. It was the first and only try. It hit the nail on the head for us.

Now that you have heard the journey about how we came up with the design of this building, what do you think? Does it look like a building that will fit into our Downtown. Is the design and look timeless? Is it warm and cozy? Do you feel like it hit what we were after? Notice, I didn’t ask, “do you like it”. We want you too because we do, but we know that design and preferences are truly personal. Regardless if you like it, we do hope you can appreciate it. Now, each time you drive by it, you will be reminded of how our big dream turned into this building!

There is so much more to explore! Like, what does it look like on the inside? Is the risk worth taking? Is there a secret question and answer that makes us know we are making the right decision? Next time, we will try and answer the question…”Do people really want to live downtown? If so, who?”

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