Info-to-Build-On Flexible Design by Raoul Hennin June 30, 2005 Design for the long run means balancing immediate goals with a vision of the future.

There are few opportunities in life to create the lasting, tangible value that we expect to enjoy in our own home. The decisions of the design process define the experience of living in the home through time and renovation, as well as the actual resale value. As the relative cost of housing has risen in recent years, wise design adds an invaluable dimension. A flexible design allows residents to easily adapt the house to ever-changing lifestyles.

My wife and I built our home ten years ago as a young couple on a budget. Today, our house and our budget must accommodate two young children, and now an au pair living in our home. There are some decisions we made 10 years ago that make us smile, and a few that make us grimace. Our 2-1/2 story home provides adequate space and privacy for our expanded family. We did not think through the bathroom scheme to its logical conclusion and will have to share a 3/4 bath with our children on the third level, until we build an addition, or shoe-horn a small bath into a tight space.

At the time, it was not hard for me to envision the inevitable scenario of a family in our house. Why didn't I make provisions for a second (even a third) bath on the top floor? "I'll figure that out when the time comes." Now the time is here and I only wish I had paused for 15 minutes one day 10 years ago...it would have made my life so much easier today.

That's not to say we were bad designers. In the early days, our drive-in, daylight basement functioned as my messy, dusty workshop, sealed off from the living spaces by interior doors. In recent years, I realized the days of my heated workshop were coming to an end, as I built a barn behind the house. The open basement space is now our music romper room, gym and library. The sink, very useful in the workshop, now functions as a mini-kitchen with refrigerator and counter. There is a separate guest bedroom on this level as well.

Timber framing is particularly amenable to changes in layout through time because of the inherent spans and open spacing between structural supports. Exterior walls of a timber frame house open easily to additions. Windows can be added or repositioned because the SIP envelope is what supports windows and doors in a modern timber frame house, not the frame itself. For these practical reasons, the decision to timber frame a house is an excellent investment through time.

As our lifestyle changes through the normal pattern of life, so must our house. The long term success of our design hinges on the adaptability of our house to changes in use. With this critical concept in mind, house design becomes a process of keeping future options open as well as defining immediate uses. At Shelter Institute, we have worked hard to facilitate the process of wise design for our timber framing clients, by breaking the process down into a logical step-by-step dialogue.

As timber framers, our core strength has always been structural design and engineering of the actual structure. Gaius Hennin, Professional Engineer, analyzes and designs our structures to suit the particular needs of each client. This work builds on the architectural layout. A resilient layout may even, on occasion, make a concession to structure in the interest of budget.

As many of our clients seek help with the initial design, Amber Dorcus has joined Shelter Institute's design staff to provide architectural guidance as part of our design service. Several years ago, Amber took a class at Shelter Institute and came to work with our timber framing crew on site. Later, as a student of architecture at University of Maine, Amber began working with some of our timber frame clients to translate their design ideas to the language of timber framing. This spring, Amber completed her architectural degree and is able to work more fully with our clients. Because of her education in architecture and her experiences at Shelter Institute, Amber is a passionate, capable guide to the unique opportunities of design in a timber frame home.

Shelter Institute Design Staff: Gaius Hennin, P.E., and Amber Dorcus, architect in training.

In addition to our design/construction services, Shelter Institute offers house Design/Build classes throughout the year. You can view our entire schedule online at: