Thursday December 1, 2011

Seasons Greetings

2011 - what did this year bring for you?  A great year, a not so great year, a year where you hoped to achieve so much more or perhaps a year that you have been amazed by all that has happened.

This is a great time of year to reflect, be honest with yourself and think about what you would like in 2012.  It is interesting that from a young age we set small goals like when you started school learning to identify/read your first 20 words and what a great feeling of achievement that resulted in.  Yet, as we get older we often forget to set the goals and then wonder why we feel like we have accomplished little and can feel a little flat. 

So I challenge you to think about the life you want and record your goals.  There are some fantastic online tools and templates to help you in this process.  One of the keys to achieving your goals is to write them down - enjoy your successes!

For myself 2011 has been a year of learning.  I have learnt the importance of good leadership, to always keep your eyes open for new opportunities and most of all to listen to your customers.  We can learn so much from them as to how to improve and the direction to take.  Learning to find a work/life balance continues to be a struggle which I am sure everyone can relate too!

I will write to you again in February.  Until then, wishing you a wonderful festive season and time with your loved ones, Heidi

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Windowmakers Offers Top Architectural Designer Windows of Opportunity

Like humans, buildings have personalities, much of which comes from the design of their windows and doors, and the way they blend with the personalities of the dwellers.
 

Award winning New Zealand designer Chris Tate believes in capturing the feel of “blending with the surroundings” when designing, which means selecting the right doors and windows to retain a natural indoor-outdoor flow.
 

“Since joinery plays a huge role in the design of a house, it needs to be right every time in terms of shape, design and strength,” Chris says.
 

“I like to specify the best and most suitable joinery profiles to complement my design style of ‘modernist’ and ‘friendly for New Zealand conditions’. Windowmakers offers me all that as well as great service support.”
 

Having recommended and used Windowmakers joinery in more than five of his recent projects, Chris looked for options with the company in the design of a twin gable beach house north of Auckland, a project that’s nearing completion. The house consists of black joinery to the gable forms, with white joinery to the connecting pavilion.
 

One of the challenges was deciding on the joinery to the angled gable windows, over height at 40 degrees pitch. Another demanding task was an 8m four-track sliding unit which needed careful attention to create a seamless look both inside and out.

“The exposed site offered additional resistance in the design conception. Besides, the weather proofing details for the raking windows and large sliders always seem to be a bit tricky.

“Also, I always need joinery to be as thin as possible from a visual perspective, as I like to hide all of the structural side of things,” Chris adds.

Faced with such a stringent set of challenges, Chris decided to rely on Windowmakers for possible suggestions and the right solutions.

“At the design stage we bounced ideas off one another. Windowmakers provided me with different options for the raking windows. We went through discussing a transition of different materials with the client, evaluating how they would work while retaining the crucial negative details.”

Chris is particularly pleased that all the advice from Windowmakers was backed up by the technical department at APL, which also assisted with custom raking flashings for the gables.

“Windowmakers also advised us on the different ways to manufacture the sliders to suit the site and the design. “The finished design looks stunning. It’s evolved exactly how I imagined it to be. Seamless, functional and an outstanding result,” Chris says.
 

Though aluminium joinery technology is crucial in terms of the finished product, Chris says it’s the profile, quality and precision of its use in a house that’s equally important and makes a design stand out and valued. In this respect, Chris says it is cruicial to work with a joinery manufacturer which can supply robust products and services.

“Working with Windowmakers offers the assurance of great customer service support and technical back-up. This isolates any potential hassles if things go wrong at the design or project management stage.”

To see some of Chris' fantastic projects or to contact him, visit http://christate.co.nz/

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A little thought to take away....

Now and then it's good to pause in our pursuit of happiness and just be happy - Guillaume Apollinaire

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