The Role of the Modern Architect
When it comes to modern house design, an architect’s role involves engineering the appearance of a house while taking into consideration all of the benefits and goals of Sustainable Design. The Designer, Cynthia Leif, creates beautiful classic modern structures with the apparent introduction of useful modern design elements. The architectural massing is akin to sculptural art using geometric shapes - sometimes a mixture of cubes, angles, and curves. The architectural creation sits on the land like a sculpture, yet blends harmoniously with the surrounding environment. Most modern architecture convey a sense of simplicity. Some modern buildings simply look like cubes made of concrete and steel. While Cynthia Leif aims to create an air of simplistic elegance in her modern designs, her residential creations are never devoid of character and personality. Her architectural structures are intelligently designed and harmoniously organic. She uses and combines materials such as wood, glass, concrete, and stone.
Cynthia Leif also integrates other design elements that do not only enhance the aesthetic looks of the building, but also contribute a lot in energy efficiency, such as - the use of clerestory windows or openable vents below the ceiling for natural lighting and passive ventilation; the use of modern awnings or canopies above glass windows for seasonal shading; the addition of trellises or pergolas as patio coverings; the design of openings in the upper level to allow cross ventilation in the entire building; the design of roof eaves or overhangs to provide summer shading; the use of specific roof angles to bounce off solar heat; the use of low-E glazing for windows, and many more.
She is also now advocating the concept of constructing homes using Modular Building, which is not only economical, strong, healthy, and environmenatlly-friendly, but also time-efficient which translates to faster return on investment.
“Everything we have is based on the choices we’ve made. The choices we make today that affects the environment will also affect our children, for they will inherit the world we leave behind.”