Any property construction is not complete and ready for occupation or sale until it has an aesthetic appeal added to it. Assembling the perfect design team during the initial stages is essential. It is also necessary when a property owner wants to enhance the value of a new project or renovate an old area.
The best projects spring from the excellent synergy and collaboration between the architects and interior designers or contractors. They should ideally respect one another’s roles and complement each other functionally to create something exceptional.
Interior contractor-architect symbiosis :
An interior contractor is one who undertakes the contract for designing or execution of the interior spaces of a client’s building project. But the job is easier said than done. It is not just the decoration and adorning of rooms they are concerned with; their expertise lies in the ability to visualize space, manipulate that space and thereby provide custom solutions based on the client’s requirement. This process is strenuous as after listening to the client’s requirements; the interior contractor sets up a time-frame in which the project is expected to be completed and thereafter starts working with elements of an interior space like colors, furniture, lighting, and other modalities.
An architect’s role is to plan, design, and review the construction of buildings. The architect provides the layout for the design of a building as well as the entire project, which might consist of spaces and sites around the building meant for human occupancy too. Therefore, the role of an architect predates the role of an interior contractor. They both work towards refining the design and provide customized solutions to property owners by creating and designing spaces meant for specific actions.
The primary way to achieve the above is by spatial design and planning. The architecture and design fields are an amalgamation of art and science, aesthetics, and technology. The spaces created by these professionals need not only be artistically astute or aesthetically pleasing; they also need to be safe, sound, and functional.
Roles that both architects and interior designers need to adhere to :
- They should both possess a penchant for space planning and possess crossover skills
- They should both be updated with the building codes and principles of the concerned state in which the project is being done
- They should have their own unique specialties
- Should have experiences of past projects from where relevant knowledge or information can be acquired
- Should be creative, artistic and innovative in their approach
- Should try to understand the requirements of the client and should be clear about the lifestyle of the client and the contextual look of the home that he needs
- Should recommend the use of cutting edge technology to be incorporated in the design
- Should cautiously and carefully analyze materials, finishes, furnishings, cabinetry, furniture, etc. To ensure that they are perfectly fitted to the client’s specifications
Theoretically, architects and interior designers are both highly dextrous individuals with huge knowledge of their concerned subject and architectural design principles. The two fields are very different in actuation as the architect’s prime focus is the safety of the occupants for whom the construction is happening. Architects deal with the main structure of the building and are authorized to make necessary changes in the structure that would facilitate the design and augment safety. Interior contractors take the contract to design, renew, and renovate those parts of a space that do not interfere with the main structure.
Roles of interior contractors :
Interior designing is basically a specialized subset of the entire architectural domain. Interior contractors take the contract for the design of various things. They can be enumerated below.
- The look and style of the house’s interiors; basically all the rooms
- The lighting plan design of each room
- The selection of art and accessories
- Backsplash design, choice of all tiles, flooring, and lighting fixtures and placements
- Interior materials, finishes, hardware, furnishings, textiles, drapery/window treatments, paint color, wallpaper, accents, etc.
- Overall management of the interior project from inception to the culmination
Architects are basically involved with :
- Design of the whole interior and exterior structure of a home
- Design of electrical and plumbing requirements
- Design of the exterior elements as well as the interior architecture, trim, millwork and ceiling finishes
- Design the lighting plan, flooring, and tiles in special cases.
Thus it can be clearly understood that after the architect lays out the initial basic designs on which the civil engineers, the builders, the laborers work and finally comes the role of the interior designers. Though it can be seen that an architect can handle the role of both exterior as well as interior design and finishes in particular cases; whereas this is also true that in some cases an interior contractor takes up the contract for the design and planning of spaces with great architectural detailing and safety measures.
But selecting the general contractor for the project is an important step for it is he who procures his architects and interior contractors and fits them in roles in which one augments the performance of the other. Therefore the skilled general contractor should be the person showing the way and paving the path for the perfect project completion involving skilled architects and dextrous interior designers.
ROI :
Though good interior designing is valuable from an emotional standpoint as it affects the wellness and the feel-good factors of the occupants. As the ambiance becomes aesthetically marvelous, be it residential space or workplace, it actually boosts the mental state of being for those who are present there.
In addition to this, having a good interior contractor ensures the quality of interior designing and management of spaces to be tremendously efficient. As a result, this increases the value of the property and hence earns good ROI (return on investment).
All of these significantly reinforce the fact that no matter how brilliant an architect is and no matter how efficiently the construction has been done, having a good interior contractor on board is definitely a boost in the project work as they complement the architectural processes and also bring in their own uniqueness that helps in the project culmination on time.