Testimonial from Rich and Judy Scheck, Oak Brook

Michael,

Judy and I would like to sincerely thank you and your staff at Michael Buss Architects, Ltd, for doing an outstanding job designing our home and watching over the construction for our best interests.  As you know, I have been in the construction industry for over 47 years and I feel that I am a pretty good judge of talent in my business and you are extremely good at what you do.  Your creativity was very apparent to Judy and me from the first time we met with you and now that we approach the completion of our home we can see what you saw in the beginning.   We love our home and you made our dreams come true.  Your attention to detail shows throughout the whole house, interior and exterior.  We would wholeheartedly encourage you to have any future clients contact us so that we could explain the outstanding job you did for us.  You are truly an idea person that is very gifted and we thank you very much.

Sincerely,
Rich and Judy Scheck

Testimonial Maggy and John, Downers Grove, Il

...His style of exploring what we wanted, what our needs were, and what ideas we had was impressive. As we talked he sketched out our ideas, asked more questions……

His firm does not just draw plans for houses; they bring you through a process, a process of designing your dream home. It is a gift that Michael has; to listen, understand, and interpret what his clients want. His work is outstanding.

Maggy and John, Downers Grove, Il

Testimonial from LLW Builders, Inc.

Robert,

I appreciate your's and Mike's time and expertize throughout the Atrium commercial build out. I found it very rewarding and educating to have been given the pleasure to work with yourselves. The both of you are very professional and courteous and your prompt attention to my questions again speaks to the quality of architects that represent your company.

Sincerely,
Leo Wilczek
President
LLW Builders Inc.
http://www.llwbuilder.com/

Bubble Diagrams...

During the time we spent discussing various styles I was creating sketches. Bubble diagrams to be more accurate. Bubble diagrams show the relationship of the rooms. The kitchen needs access to the dining room, and we need a powder room on the first floor. Simple bubbles. Two of the diagrams sparked interest, and I ended the meeting with client homework. Their homework is to think about the diagrams, decide what they like or dislike about each one. We will discuss them at our next meeting.

Design a 2400 s.f. home on a 50’X125’ lot in a historic section of town.

The votes are in. Chosen is the small home on the small lot. Here is the challenge. Design a 2400 s.f. home on a 50’X125’ lot in a historic section of town. The floor area ration (FAR) lot is 2400 sf. There will be a detached garage due to the zoning codes in place. We can only cover 25% of the lot with the house and garage, as well as impervious surface ratios, etc….. The client wants a farm house. The rest are common requests. A living, dining, kitchen, family, mud, and powder room on the first floor. Three bedrooms, a hall bath (due to size) and a master ensuite to include a walk in closet, full bath with 2 vanities, tub, and separate shower.

The lot has a large elm tree in the parkway as well as an existing curb cut for the driveway. The house on the left (north side) is a center gabled farm house. Not much for detail, just simple geometric forms, and built about 1920. The house on the right (south side) is a folk Victorian house, more commonly called a 4 square. Not a bad looking survivor, since it was built in 1909. Our lot is host to a split level from the mid 1950’s. Poorly maintained, it is unfortunately a tear down. Paul Rudolph commented when his Christian Sciences building in Champaign, IL was slated to be razed, “that when a building has outlived its usefulness, tear it down.” I have to admit he is correct and to that extent we are tearing it down. Still it is a sad occasion.

Interesting day. Jim and Gloria spent the afternoon here, and not much was decided. Gloria can’t decide what her farm house should look like. I have to determine this to get an understanding of the interior placement of rooms, and she is uncertain. The function and the amount of rooms we know but the placement is up in the air. So we discuss various styles of homes.

The farm house is an interesting choice, because it compromises many substyles. It could be Victorian, a colonial, or bungalow. So here’s the question. Does the average person really know what a Victorian is? Or a bungalow for that matter? I believe that if a designer is going to design within a style for a client, he better have an understanding of what the client thinks the style is. So with that I am discovering what the farm house style is in context to this project.

What does luck and an evening shooting pool have to do with architecture?

Thanks for the question about how I chose to be an architect. The answer is being in the right place, a little bit of luck, and recognizing a chance to make a life changing decision.
I always wanted to be an architect. I wanted to build things: houses, churches, bridges. Cool stuff. I was good with my hands, could build or fix just about anything and had a knack for seeing things in ways other people didn’t. In high school a guidance counselor encouraged me to pursue engineering a more lucrative option.

So while engineering was not my first choice, it was the choice I followed. This wasn’t a great match. Not that I didn’t have the ability, I did. Not seeing eye-to-eye with the college Dean regarding GPA’s or lack there of it was decided that engineering wasn’t the right choice.

No more classes, I was going into carpentry. I went to shoot pool to pass some time and as luck would have it, the place was empty, except for one man. He offered to teach me billiards and I accepted. Over the course of the next 2 hours, we talked. We talked about college. We talked about billiards. We talked about carpentry. We talked about buildings. His name was Dr. Kim. I figured he was a surgeon. As we were leaving he handed me his card and asked that I come see him in the next few days. Later when I really looked at his card I discovered he was not a medical doctor but held a PhD in Architecture. By the time I visited him, he had pulled all my transcripts, filled out the paperwork, and wrote a letter of recommendation for my transfer into the College of Fine and Applied Arts, School of Architecture. Based on his recommendation I would be admitted… if I wanted. I accepted.

Here are the 3 projects chosen for starters.
1. Small house on narrow 50’ wide lot. Maximum size 2300 sf.
2. Large addition on a narrow 52’ wide lot.
3. Office building fitting into a traditional neighborhood with some historic significance.
I will be taking votes on which project to follow.

That's the fun part...

Without a party, without breaking any champaign bottles I have flipped the switch for my blog. This is how so many events have started in my life. A simple idea, nothing more. A simple idea and the desire to follow it. See where it goes. I design for a living, homes mostly, but also offices, furniture, and whatever else I can get my hands into. I love what I do. My intent is to introduce you to my work. To show you what goes into the design of a home. The clients are real, the projects are real, the decisions they make are real. Some solutions will be liked, some won’t. Lets see where it goes. As Jimmy has told me many a late night, “some navigators aren’t really sure where they are, and when they get there they're still not sure.” That’s the fun part, not knowing.

mbussarchitects.com