Feng-Shui-

I am often asked about this, as it is currently a big fad, and has a lot of history in Chinese culture. I have looked into it somewhat, but claim absolutely no expertise in this area.  Personally, I do not lean towards mysticism in design or anything else, which is a lot of what drives many Feng Shui principles. But there are also a lot of very pragmatic concepts that I think do have very practical applications, many of which are covered in The Timeless Way of Building, mentioned previously.

"Green"/ Sustainable Building-

This is the next big wave in building design and is really just in its infancy. I will be addressing an entire new article on this soon. As of this writing, I am studying for me LEED AP, and a very good source to start with is the U.S. Green Building Council.  There are also countless resources about this subject already available on the web.

Long term thinking and sustainable building and building practices is really what this is all about. One of the big items here, mentioned already, is daylight. The more you can make use of daylight and passive and active-solar heating and cooling, the less impact you will have on the environment. There are many ways to accomplish this for very little up-front cost, look into it. Sustainable building materials are also one of the cornerstones of this movement. Question every material and manufactured item that goes into your project. You can make many simple choices that will cost little, if any, more money up front and will save you a lot in the long term use of your project, as well as not deplete future renewable resources.

Another major factor is square footage.  You can use all of the latest "green" products out there, but if you are building a 6000 sq.ft. house for two people to live in, then it's pretty hard to justify that the house is truly "green".  These products have to come from somewhere and a major part of any material's effect on the environment is shipping.  Don't build more than you need and be efficient in your design with your spaces, don't waste space.

That said, even just meeting the minimum standards that are required of any new building or addition or significant renovation of a building by California Title 24, goes a long ways toward this. New buildings these days, especially residences, are already remarkably efficient in energy use even if just these requirements are applied as mandated. Make sure your contractor meets all of these requirements, as my experience is that many times they are not comprehensively verified by building inspectors in the field. This is changing but there is still a long way to go.  And don't be afraid to exceed the Title 24 standards, some building departments are offering incentives for these efforts.

Insist your contractor meets these requirements, beef up the insulation values wherever you can, exceed the minimums. Better insulation than the minimum requirements will cost you very little up front. Insist on Energy Star appliances. Spend a little extra on good windows.

Accessible Design-

In part due to the advent of the Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA) and also in part to an increasingly aged and aging population, interest in accessible design has come on strong and will no doubt continue to be of great interest.  The requirements of the ADA, and subsequently of California Title 24, are not required in private residential buildings but this does not mean that many clients aren't interested in applying these concepts to their home.  Quite the opposite, I get a great deal of inquiries and interest in this area.

Too large a subject to cover in this brief article, but I do and have been applying these accessible principles in many of my private residential projects.  The main concept, just paying attention to unobstructed paths through spaces and applying accessible concepts more specifically to the use of spaces such as kitchens and bathrooms, is a growing field. 

Summary-

I think many people are intimidated by trying to design their own project themselves.  If it's so easy, why are there architects?  Well,  while it is not so much the individual concepts and ideas that are difficult to grasp, or even implement.  The trick is really bringing it all together in a workable, affordable way.  It's the overall synthesis of the many different parts and aspects that is challenging and experience is invaluable to this. 

But a great deal of my time is spent educating clients about all of these things as an enormous part of the design process.  The more you can educate yourself prior to approaching an architect, or other design professional, about your project, the better off you will be.  You will save yourself both time and money in the long run by not having to "re-invent the wheel" once you are ready to proceed with your project.  This is the main purposed of this entire website.

To get you started in the right direction on these, and all of the other issues surrounding your building project, I offer a low-cost feasibility analysis, free of further obligations.