The Vision - "Three C's"
Community | Conservation | Character
Community
We strive to create community “organically”, particularly through the land design. We believe that it is a series of small interactions between residents that develops an area into a cohesive community. Therefore we consciously seek to create a series of informal and spontaneous interactions between community inhabitants.
While this emphasis on community may sound beyond the realm of investor return, the fact is that the land plan and placement of the homes is of primary importance in managing the buyer’s perception and positive response. Without necessarily realizing why they prefer it, when given a choice people will typically prefer a community oriented layout over standard suburban offerings.
We avoid several now-familiar elements that take away from the appeal of a subdivision - specifically, the “garage-scapes” that have become so prevalent, particularly for town home projects. Subdivisions that predominantly present garages as their main view have a tendency to appear cold and uninviting. We place strong emphasis on entries because they contribute so greatly to a home’s appeal. Views, and the subtle interaction between private and public space are primary considerations and part of our emphasis on physical planning.
Because of our careful attention to the interactions of home dwellers with each other even visitors that have no interest in “community” will generally prefer our projects. They look and feel better.
Conservation
As we create the land plan and the architectural plans unfold, we work to incorporate conservation techniques both on the land and in the homes. In this way we enrich the home-dweller’s lifestyle as well as benefiting the larger community. This makes sense and in our view is a good thing to do.
From a financial point of view, conservation efforts are often not only the most physically attractive option – they are often among the more economical of available options. For example, using a land plan that clusters homes instead of dividing all the buildable land mass into large lots allows for more open space within the subdivision. There are several significant benefits:
Character
What is a community’s “character”? It is the hard-to-pin-down “feel” of an area, that derives from, but is more than, the appearance. It could be called the “aesthetic” of the area.
It develops from the design. And elements we refer to as providing character / charm tend to evolve naturally from designs created to enhance comfortable living. It flows naturally when a concern for people is given paramount importance. When the design flows from good sense, comfort, geniality, and shared wellbeing, it tends to be good for a mix of people both older and younger, neighbors and family alike. Then design becomes graceful and unforced.
These are not necessarily elements that are “extra” or that cost more. However, creation of character does call for more thought and effort during the design phase.
It may be as subtle and simple as extending a hand rail all the way down a stair that serves to support both the very young and the very old. It may be the attention to the subtle but substantial differences yielded through balancing the public vs. private needs that are inherent in balcony and patio space. Those needs are typically not understood or are misunderstood and poorly addressed. IDEAL Design Corporation excels at creating character, meaning we are consistently attuned to the elements that enhance the project’s aesthetic appeal and ease of enjoyment of the location.
We make an effort to create places you fall in love with. We fall in love, occasionally, with places and try to incorporate the elements of places you love to be. We avoid being the “standard suburban subdivision”.
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