Most of Bradford’s work is in San Francisco, where an architect’s involvement isn’t optional. “The building department won’t let you slide,” he explains. But occasionally a client will suggest skimping on architectural services. “I’ve had clients try to do that,” he says, “and I strongly steer them away from it. A good architect will make or break the project. I say, ‘Skip the high-end stove and hire a good architect.’ You can always buy a new stove, but once your house is built you’re stuck with it.”
Builder Ted Peterson, of Washington, D.C., views willingness to spend on architecture as a client characteristic rather than an effect of the market. “People who are committed to the high-end product, they’re still committed to it,” he says. “Those who don’t have the stomach for the project never had the stomach for it.” A high-end builder in a high-visibility urban market, Peterson reads client skepticism about hiring an architect as a red flag. “Those people,” he says matter-of-factly, “are inappropriate for us. People who don’t appreciate good architecture will never see the value in it. Astute buyers are going to buy design, because they understand that, in the end, that’s what’s going to differentiate the project.”
That principle goes double for Peterson, who hired the firm Robert M. Gurney, FAIA to design his own CHDA-winning house. Located in a quiet in-town neighborhood in Chevy Chase, Md., where it stands in full view from the sidewalk, the radically remade Colonial is a demonstration piece for both Peterson’s capabilities and the power of custom design. Because it’s his own family’s home, “we’re able to show it all the time,” he says. “People appreciate the level of care in the final product, and they appreciate it even more when it’s your own home and they see that you care about it.” By showcasing architecture in his private residence, Peterson sends a signal to his natural clientele, which views working with an architect as central to the experience of creating a new home.
By the time this issue goes to press, Peterson projects, his crews will be at work on four or five major projects—all of them designed by top local architects. “The people doing these homes are discerning, and that’s why they’re doing them,” he says. “They want to be part of the process.”
What’s on your mind? The editors of CUSTOM HOME want to hear from you. Send your comments and questions to Bruce D. Snider at bsnider@hanleywood.com.
