During the process, the owners realized that there was much more availability and trust put in Paolo Volpis Architects than the original designer, and in not too long our firm was the main advisor and resource in this design build project.
The main concerns that the ownership had was the entry that looked awkward and unbalanced, but in not too long we helped them to pinpoint many other issues in that design that included -believe it or not- door swings that hit each other.
One of the main and most noticeable flaws in the construction drawings was a huge error made the original designer who did not take in account for mechanical space plenum thickness that are required, and since the design intent did foresee a continuous ceiling going from inside to the outdoor cantilevers, the exterior fascia turned to be of a thickness that when the Owners saw it, they thought it was “ridiculous”. This was thanks to a mockup that we insisted the GC would produce and place on top of the framed roof for a better sense of scale. Furthermore, the owners were already unsure about he looks of the building and their concern was that they did not want their investment to look like dozens of buildings in the neighborhood.
As a result of a long process, the most notable modification to the exterior of the residence was the change for a more neutral and updated design for the fascia to be combined with warm textured stone in lieu of outdated marble. The application of wood fins placed strategically in specific locations to filter light and provide privacy was also adopted. This feature was also adopted to add more warmth to the residence and make it more welcoming rather than a dry museum experience. The wood fins were unfortunately removed at a later stage of construction because the project ran out of funds and needed an aggressive value engineering.
The involvement was also to design and visualize the interior spaces and outdoor spaces with new concepts. The Project did not have a trained Interior Designer in the team and therefore the tasks were covered by the owners themselves. This required a lot of advice and visualization to help them reach the finish line. As a result, we produce hundreds of renderings with multiple variations for each room.
