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This is the first of several posts describing how to use 3D tools, such as SketchUp Pro, to show clients and design review boards alternative designs for a proposed project. This is particularly useful when a client has difficulty visualizing how two dimensional drawings will result in a finished three dimensional project.

Later posts will show how design alternatives were created and presented to the client and how interior design and finishes may be incorporated into presentations.

The project described in this post calls for an addition to an existing house in Watercolor, FL with a new two-story carriage house to the rear of the main house.  The carriage house has a two car garage with a studio apartment above. The images are paired to first show a view of the final design in SketchUp contrasted with a photograph of the completed project.

The overall design intent was to make the family room addition and the two story carriage house appear to be part of the initial design and not as add-ons.  Below is an example using SketchUp Pro to help a client understand a proposed design as well as alternatives.  Because the designs can be viewed from any vantage point, the exterior and interior may be viewed with close to real-life perspective.

The first pair of images  above, shows an exterior view of the design with the main two story house to the left rear and the new carriage house in front to the right.  The site faces a street to the rear of this image and an alley runs along the visible facades turning off to the right of the images.  Because the site is fairly small, it was necessary to find ways to develop as large a floor area as possible.   The facades facing to the left are stepped back from each other in response to the very tight side yard setback requirements yet still permit a two car garage.  The stepped facades are facing west.

As built, there were very few changes from the final design and none of them are visible in this view.  The design was developed to maintain the front facade with open porch that extends across the entire front of the house.  This view of the design is looking down the alley towards the new carriage house.  The existing front porch and existing two story portion of the house are on the left.  The new one story family room addition is in the middle.

This is a detailed view of the new deck design.  The new family room addition is to the rear and an existing one story master bedroom to the right.  The room was stepped in from the two story portion of the house with a sloping roof that was similar in pitch to the front porch roof. The design shows the close approximation of the the SketchUp drawing and the final constructed design.

The new deck receives afternoon and early evening sunlight.  Breaking up the facades reduces the scale of the building elements as does the existing and new landscaping.

Watercolor has very strict controls on materials, colors and the overall design. All landscaping must be sustainable native materials.  No sod is used, pine straw is used instead to retain soil moisture, reducing watering requirements.

Part of the design challenge was to provide for new outside space and a private exterior stair to the carriage house.  The image on the right shows the final revised design with the stair rising from the right to the left.  The second floor door is now at the edge of the wall giving a longer wall space for the living area.

Here is the end view of the new carriage house, with the carriage house bathroom above a small storage area off of the garage.

Here you see another view of the completed project showing the eastern side of the carriage house with a central door leading into the garage.

In my next post I will will show how 3D rendering may be used to quickly show the affect of alternative designs in the design process.

Seaside, located on the panhandle of Florida’s Emerald Coast, is frequently referred to as the first authentic new town to be built in the United States in fifty years and, as the first ”New Urbanism” development in the country.  It was conceived in 1981 by Robert and Daryl Davis.  They selected Andres Duany and Elizabeth Plater-Zyberk, (co-founders of the Congress for the New Urbanism), of Duany Plater-Zyberk & Company (DPZ, www.dpz.com) to design Seaside from scratch as a small town that embodied the principles of the new urbanism movement.  The ideas promote walkable and human-scaled neighborhoods and towns.  Using models from Savannah, Charleston, S.C. and vernacular Florida cottages, they developed simple rules for how the town should develop, focusing on narrow streets, native plant materials, open porches, wood siding, pitched roofs, and no large picture windows.  This allowed individual owners to create their own vision of Seaside with considerable flexibility and variety while still being part of a unified larger community.

Growing, Evolving

Seaside is a continually evolving town of year-round residents and summer vacationers with a central town square with grass amphitheater and a variety of restaurants, shops, offices, condos and residences, all in a compact 80 acres.

Seaside includes buildings by notable architects such as Steven Badanes, Deborah Berke, Walter Chatham, David Coleman, Michael McDonough, Alex Gorlin, Steven Holl, Leon Krier, Machado and Silvetti, Sam Mockbee, David Mohney, Robert Orr, Aldo Rossi, Daniel Solomon, Robert A.M. Stern, and Melanie Taylor.

Seaside has been featured in over 800 articles and books and was described by Time Magazine in 1989 as one of the 10 “Best of the Decade” achievements in the field of design.
This year, Frommer Travel recognized the Florida Panhandle beaches, including Seaside,  as a “top 10 destination” for 2010 and it is the only continental U.S. destination included in the list. Travel & Leisure magazine named Seaside in its 100 Greatest Trips issue in 2009 and one of their Five Favorite Summer towns in 2005

Christmas in the small towns along the the Florida panhandle is a very special time of year. This is particularly true in the area centered on Seaside where everyone seems to know each other and ride bikes or walk to restaurants, shops, and the many seasonal events: the annual Christmas parade, Christmas tree lighting ceremony, winter festivals and of course the arrival of Santa in a carriage. Seaside, located on the panhandle of Florida’s Emerald Coast, is frequently referred to as the first authentic new town to be built in the United States in fifty years and, as the first ”New Urbanism” development in the country.  And Christmas is a time when the many benefits of the urban design come to life.  The events along State Route 30-A, the main road in this part of the panhandle can be easily reached by walking or riding a bike.  In addition, the weather is balmy and Christmas lights glisten in the night sky. Enjoy!

Santa Arriving at the Winter Festival parade and smores for the kids.

The parade.

The Winter Festival.

Perspicacity and the Airstream food delivery systems at night.