JOHN COONEY RANDALL STOFT STOFFT.COM

Stofft Cooney Architects partnered with a resident and developer in Naples, FL, to design a premier residential Gulf-front property. The developer owns multiple high-profile properties in Naples and has successfully completed several projects with Stofft Cooney. He chose the architectural firm because it designs most of the luxury custom houses on the Gulf, so its team is fully aware of what a potential homeowner wants and requires in a custom home. The home is in the documentation stage, but when he is ready to build, the developer will choose one of several local companies he has worked with before.

In starting the design process and parti, firm partners Randall Stofft and John Cooney first walk the property with their client, listening to what he wants and thinks is important. In this case, the client was very familiar with the property, near Gordon’s Pass, and wanted to make sure John and Randall took advantage of the views and orientation. Neither partner is sketching at this stage, just taking notes and photographs.

Back at the office, the partners collect site studies showing the setbacks, sun angles, height criteria, and grade changes. Just by looking at the site, John and Randall get a general idea of the organization of the house based on views and sunlight. So, even before sketching, they start the design process by imagining bubble diagrams. Then they do hundreds of sketches on an overlay of the site plan, trying all iterations and alternatives. At first the sketches are vague and general, but quickly become more refined.

Stofft Cooney’s first presentation of schematics to the clients are all hand drawn and colored. The drawings include a site plan, a floor/furniture plan for each level, and a front elevation. The goal of the presentation is to communicate the design concept without too much distracting detail. The furniture is added to the floor plan just to show scale, not as a design element. Once the clients sign off on the basic concept, the project enters the primary design stage, which is also all hand drawn. Successive presentations of hand-drawn schematics are given until the client signs off on the design. Then the drawing is input to the computer for more fine-tuning, material selection, and 3D renderings. Randall and John do all the designs for the firm, and then assign a project architect for development.

Stofft Cooney Architects has noticed a change in the architectural industry, with many practitioners now preferring computer-aided design (CAD) software to hand-drawn work. Indeed, some young architects use only computers and haven’t been taught how to draw. The prevailing reliance on technology and the need to stay current have overshadowed the basics of drawing. CAD software has had a profound impact on the profession by streamlining the documentation and revision process. It takes the same time to design on the computer as it does by hand, but the revisions have become incredibly easy and quick to make. John and Randall believe it is important that the design process be done by hand, however. “The computer is a great drafting tool and 3D rendering tool, but not a design tool at all,” says John. “The creative part of the process should be drawing multiple renditions and tweaking and massaging the designs.”

Resource:

Stofft Cooney

John Cooney

Randall Stofft

111 10th Street South, Suite 308 Naples, FL 34102 239.262.7677

100 North Washington Boulevard Sarasota, FL 34236 941.316.0936

42 North Swinton Avenue

Delray Beach, FL 33444 561.243.0799 stofft.com