Building as a Team
The early mornings this time of year are refreshing and surprisingly cool, even before the sun makes its certain appearance.
A myriad of activities erupt, mostly unnoticed by the late riser. On my way to an early meeting, there are people washing their cars, running or simply discussing the days events with their friends and anyone who cares to listen.
We suggested that we would all meet on the new site for our collective client’s new home. A short flight and ferry ride across the pond got us there at the time that our client was most likely to begin his early morning stretch. This would give us the best insight to what we could build for him.
The team was hand picked by the project’s director, a relatively young but seasoned construction professional who would represent the homeowner; his seemingly ungrateful job was to assure that the rest of us, the “design team” would not go overboard. An acclaimed architect with a passion for environmentally sound design led this design team—a landscape designer with a desire to let nature do the talking and me, the pool boy, thinking about efficiency and moving water. The client immediately felt the enthusiasm that reverberated from the team. The passion and desire to create excellence exuded from each specialist. The client had brought his entire family for this all-important meeting of the minds. The project director had seen the value of these meetings, and a great general discussion ensued, and within a matter of four hours the entire concept for the house, the landscaping and the pool was visualized, saving the client valuable time.
Naturally, some further details of the home and pool design needed to be ironed out, but this meeting saved the client several months of emailing, sending pictures, taking movies and tearing up concept drawings as well as a significant chunk of change. Perhaps the most important aspect was that construction would be able to start sooner which meant that the client, who was in his late sixties, would certainly be able to enjoy his 70th birthday in his new home.
Working with hands-on, dedicated professionals in their specific field gives every project an edge, and since the collective experience is there to be drawn upon at a moment’s notice, changes can be effected and rationalized from each point of view. Changing the layout and levels of the pool could affect a plethora of issues, such as drainage, choice of grass species, visibility issues from the ground floor bedroom and even ventilation. Having the right disciplines al together in one spot, even just for that one meeting is, well, not exactly priceless but certainly saves a lot of money.
Creating personalized homes, gardens, water features takes a team, and while to the novice developer it may seem an unnecessary expense, speak to people whom have done without. Constructing your dream home is like bringing up a child—it takes unfaltering dedication and strong teamwork. In the BVI, we have a growing group of professionals that genuinely work well together and are able to use their most creative thinking as a team. Building strong liaisons and being called to other islands for projects is a feather in our collective caps and a great way to promote our industry abroad.
