Architrist of Phychiatecture

Once upon a time, I was sitting with my client at her glass kitchen table situated in front of a sliding glass door flanked by two sidelights, watching as dusk was approaching and the scenery and picturesque lake behind her home was fading from view.

I had designed a second-story home-office addition above the garage and a new entry addition to her previous home a few years back. From that perch above the garage, she enjoyed a panoramic view up and down the street.

The project this time, as my client explained, was to design a room to the back of their new home so that she and her husband could have a comfortable place within which to sit and enjoy the view of the lake. She shared with me her observation that the builder had missed the boat, so to speak, by building such a large home without attending to this detail.

This was our programming meeting, so I was probing and asking questions to better know her and her expectations in this new environment. Such as, what time of day would she tend to use the room? Would she mind being seen from those on or across the lake? What activity(s) would she like to undertake in this room? Also, ideally, how would she like to feel when in this room?

Her adult daughter, who happened to be at her mother's house this evening, was making busy work about the kitchen, being careful not to create too much commotion so that she could not eavesdrop on our conversation. At one point, she paused what she was doing and exclaimed rather excitedly, "You are asking questions like a psychiatrist in a therapy session!"

We all had a good belly laugh, as indeed almost all that was missing was a goatee and a chaise lounge. But then again, how else would you go about designing something truly special for someone that was meant only for them without probing into their particular interests, mannerisms, and yes, psyche!?

Back in the office the next day, I was curious and looked up the average annual salary of psychiatrists in the United States, and my thoughts meandered through the possibilities that could have been.

As Freud said, "One day, in retrospect, the years of struggle will strike you as the most beautiful." I'm still waiting. ;-)