Design in residential architecture need not be about making homes bigger and more luxurious. Barrington-based solleydesign focuses on adapting existing space to reflect the social, cultural and economic needs of the user.
The philosophy is called user- or human-centered-design, and it’s something that is employed greatly in Europe and Japan, where space is often more limited than in the United States, said Sean Solley, designer and co-owner of solleydesign with his wife, Katrin Boening-Solley.
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The couple applies the philosophy in redesigning residential space for families with young children, for example, who need a space that can be adapted as the children get older.
Boening-Solley said people often think adding a lot of space is the solution, but solleydesign’s objective is to make the best use of the existing space first. The firm also considers a family’s budget and will adjust the design if the project exceeds what was allotted, she said.
So far, the two have completed mostly extensions, additions and interior redesigns for homes in the East Bay area and some in southeastern Massachusetts. They also have completed design work for commercial spaces, such as Tazza, a bar/caf? in downtown Providence.
But the market for solleydesign’s specialty “isn’t really defined,” Solley said, and that has created some challenges in building the business. “We have a reputation now, but had to develop that through a long process of proving by example.”
The couple moved to Rhode Island from London eight years ago, after Solley was offered a five-year full-time teaching contract with Rhode Island School of Design. They incorporated solleydesign about two and a half years ago.
Both of them have degrees in interior design – Solley from Kingston Polytechnic, now Kingston University in England, and Boening-Solley from the Fachhochschule Rosenheim, an applied-sciences university in Germany. Both also worked with architecture firms on jobs in Germany and Singapore.
Having an international background has become instrumental in developing their design firm in the United States because it gives the couple a different perspective, Solley said.
“We found a steady run of consultancy work because of people looking for other perspectives,” he said.
About half of solleydesign’s business involves consulting on schematic planning, spatial analysis and interior detailing. The rest comes from coordination of building projects.
“We are collaborators now,” Solley said. “We collaborate with builders to propose schemes and drawings.”
Now the firm is looking to do more design of office space, Solley said. It is interesting to design for the connection between office space and its function, especially within the hierarchy existing in most companies.
Solley said human-centered design also fits with the growing interest in green design, because it “seeks to eliminate excessive use of raw material.” As he sees it, it’s a “common-sense” approach, and he and his wife hope to promote it in Rhode Island.
