Our projects are “cross border”, we design a Spanish building in Bahrain, a Brazilian building in Morocco, an Italian building in Uruguay or a contemporary building anywhere… Our network of in-house architects & engineers makes it safe and easy to build globally. We understand the different languages, the different cultures, building methods, climates etc. – i.e. we know what works where.
Find here some of our contemporary designs where sunlight is controlled and exploited by a series of layers that constitute the outer “wood & white” envelope system designed by RODRIGUEZ PONS & PARTNERS architects and engineers, which include balconies as sunshades, interior blinds, dark aluminum carpentry, gray walls, large glazed envelopes, plus other natural and/or artificial elements on the terraces, all of which help achieve maximum energy efficiency and gives the houses our characteristically “wood & white” look.
HOW WE WORK THOUGH THE DESIGN PHASES
1 – THE DESIGN: THE FUN PART
This is the fun, creative, architectural “design” phase, where together we create the design of your dreams! Within weeks, we’ll come to you with a design proposal, shown with sketches, watercolors and in 3D with some interior/exterior visualizations, the “renderings”. Based on your comments, we then change, adapt, tweak and try out alternatives, until we’ve found just the perfect design for you. Each of these iterations usually takes just a few days, and we can make many of tweaks until everything is just perfect. At the end, you and us know exactly know what the house will look like. In other words, this is the fun part, where we decide “what” we have to build.
2 – THE ENGINEERING
In this second phase, we’re deciding and designing how the house can best be built. What building techniques will we use? What foundation, structure and insulation do we need? Are there any specific local regulations? What materials are available, which ones are worth importing? Where and how do we best put heating, ventilation, air-conditioning, electrical, lighting, plumbing, home automation, insulation? A XXI st century house is more complicated than a car – every part has to be custom designed by specialized engineers. This is the more “serious” phase – utterly important – and here we collaborate with our local, technically skilled, thorough engineers and architects. At RODRIGUEZ PONS & PARTNERS, we insist on extreme detailing building documentation and co-ordination between all the engineering disciplines, so nothing – literally nothing – needs to be sorted out on site!
Note – part of the work can be done while we’re waiting for the approval of building permits by the local authorities. Permits can usually be applied for with less detailed plans than what we’re producing here. Also the budget can be fine-tuned by tweaking materials and features until the desired number is reached.
3. TENDERING THE BUILD
Now that everything is totally detailed, we usually tender the construction to a handful of building companies. Every constructor has his pros and cons. We’ll analyze their real strengths and weaknesses. Some are faster, some are cheaper, some are more perfectionists … In some markets, it’s safer to use “turnkey” builders – who may have their own engineers taking care of the engineering phase. The advantage is that there’s only one party responsible for the end result and that fixed prices can be absolutely guaranteed.
4. PROJECT MANAGEMENT
RODRIGUEZ PONS & PARTNERS, Architects will follow up progress and communication with the chosen building company, making sure everything goes as planned. Our fees for this are lower than most project managers – because if the engineering and selection of the builder are properly done, there should be relatively little work. Clients get bi-weekly or monthly reports; including status of work done, certification by third party quantity surveyors, pictures or videos. In most cases, there’s no real need for clients to travel and visit the site during construction until finally home is ready.