ARCHITECTS AND INTERIOR DESIGNERS

Architects and Interior Designers play an important role in determining the needs of every project. 

Whether you are remodeling a kitchen, creating your dream home, or planning a hotel or commercial building, working with an architect or professional interior designer can save time and money by making your new spaces more functional with a greater level of comfort, a higher level of efficiency and environmentally responsible.  Architects and interior designers are there to help in solving problems by producing a custom design that meets individual needs and lifestyles through research and development, bringing a sense of wellness, good design and beautiful aesthetics.

Architects can play a pivotal role in reducing the overall environmental impact and energy needed to create and operate buildings, the single biggest consumer of fossil fuels. (producing 70 percent of GHG emissions) The result is a project that produce beautiful, distinctive, efficient, and healthy buildings for a sustainable planet.

Interior Designers, in the legislative arena, the public's confusion about the difference between an interior designer and an interior decorator is one of the biggest hurdles to protecting the public through legally defining the profession of interior design and setting standards of education, experience, and examination. 

Like doctors, hiring architects and designers examines your overall protection of the health, safety and welfare of building occupants and users. 

HEALTH - Aspects of architecture have wholesome, beneficial, and healthful effects among the users of buildings or sites and address environmental issues, and health concerns in design of buildings. Examples include: building climate, HVAC, humidity control, natural day lighting, indoor air quality and nontoxic materials and finishes, green building and landscaping.  SAFETY - Aspects of architecture intended to limit or prevent accidental injury or among users of buildings or sites, and promote public safety.

“Green “or sustainable design refers to the increasingly popular and important practice of creating architecture that is friendly to both the environment and the end user and the inhabitants. The concepts of sustainable design include:

• Maximization of site potential

• Reduction of non-renewable energy consumption

• Conservation of water

• Reduction of waste

• Use of environmentally friendly products

• Improvement of indoor environmental quality

Using sustainable design strategies may be as simple as using recycled, non-toxic materials or may involve a more comprehensive program incorporating such elements as green roofs, photovoltaic cells that capture sunlight, and

air and water treatment systems. Although many firms are generally familiar with green design, you will want to question prospective architects closely about their level of experience in this regard and examine past projects that incorporated sustainable strategies. (For more information, visit www.aia.org/walkthewalk and the U.S. Green Building Council, USGBC at www.usgbc.org.)

Every architecture and design firm brings its own combination of skills, design expertise, interests, concepts, and values to its projects. 

CHEERS to all those amazing architects and designers who have made a great impact in the history of architecture and design.

AIA - The American Institute of Architects, founded in 1857, is the professional organization for 83,500 licensed architects and associated professionals. With headquarters in Washington, D.C., and some 300 state and local chapters worldwide, the AIA helps to build public awareness of architects and supports the practice of architecture. AIA is the founding member of the U. S. Green Building Council, USGBC, and producer of ARCHITECT magazine.

For more information, please visit: http://www.aiachicago.org/

ASID - The American Society of Interior Designers is a community of people driven by a common love for design and committed to the belief that interior design, as a service to people, is a powerful, multi-faceted profession that can positively change people's lives. Through education, knowledge sharing, advocacy, community building and outreach, the Society strives to advance the interior design profession and, in the process, to demonstrate and celebrate the power of design to positively change people's lives. Founded in 1975, the American Society of Interior Designers is the oldest, largest, and leading professional organization for interior designers.  ASID inspires and enriches its members by promoting the value of interior design, while providing indispensable knowledge and experiences that build relationships. ASID is the forefront in every major progression in the design profession, founder of CIDA, NCIDQ, and founding member of the U.S. Green Building Council, USGBC.  For more information, please visit: http://www.asid.org/

IIDA - International Interior Design Association with respect for past accomplishments of Interior Design leaders strives to create a strong niche for the most talented and visionary Interior Design professionals, to elevate the profession to the level it warrants, and to lead the way for the next generation of Interior Design innovators. The Association provides a forum to demonstrate design professionals’ impact on the health, safety, well being, and virtual soul of the public, balancing passion for good design and strategy for best business practices. IIDA stands at the intersection of passion and strategy where designers create extraordinary interiors and experiences. For more information, please visit: http://www.iida.org/

M. Grace Sielaff, Principal, M. Grace Designs, Inc.
Jason Holtzman, Architect, Jason Holtzman Design, Inc.