What Your Building Must Offer You.

It's wonderful to have your own home. It's even much better if it looks really fascinating and enticing to the eyes. Innovative advancements in design have heralded our entry into the age of architectural sophistication. In a chat with an architect friend of mine sometime ago, he made a  very simple statement that is worth noting and for which reason this article is being written: " People just want to build, build, build!!! Some of my clients see something in one part of the world and want the same thing in a completely different place irrespective of the cost, climatic differences, social implications, topography, etc. The beauty of what they have seen often clouds out all of their other judgements. All they want is the fashion and beauty. They seem to throw away function."

In short, all he was trying to say was that buildings needn't be simply fashionable. They must be functional. Indeed, functionality is primary. Fashion may occasionally be primary too. But often it is secondary. So take your time to ask yourself if the property you wish to put up or are renting meets the following functional requirements of buildings.

• SHELTER : Does the style and nature of the building offer protection to you from the inclemency of the hot sun and the mercy of the thunderous storms? Or has the design rendered your bedroom a water reservoir collecting water from a leaking roof every rainy season?
• SECURITY : Every good building must provide some sort of optimal security. Safety from bad weather, buglars/thiefs, wild animals, etc.
• SAFETY : Security is much different from safety. We talk of security with respect to the property itself and it's how resilient it is. But when we talk of safety, the focus is taken off the property to the occupant of the property. Does the building offer you a sense of peace when you enter it. Does it make you feel comfortable. If you have ever walked into a structure that is so dilapidated and almost looking like it will break down the next second if you do not mind your step, you surely can imagine with ease the distinction we're trying to draw here.
• EASE OF MAINTENANCE & PERIODIC REPAIRS: There are clients who struggle with paying for the cost of maintenance of their building, consequently leading to a loss of value to the property because they failed to look at the ease of maintenance during the stages of design. Are your choice of building materials, building type, property size, etc compatible with your present and future financial position? Are you going to be able to make enough from the property to continue replacing some of the more expensive materials you are using today?

The list is much longer than this. We cannot fully exhaust all these and the countless other unnamed issues to be considered in one day. So just think about functionality also when you start thinking about functionality when developing or acquiring your property. See you soon with more property related stuff. Have a delightfully powered week!!!

Regards.