Seth A Leeb Architect

During the rainy season, New Jersey homeowners are faced with the risk of their home flooding, causing structural damage and the loss of their belongings. According to National Flood Insurance program statistics for 2016, New Jersey homeowners accounted for over 232,000 policies worth $56 billion in flood insurance and received over $6.1 billion in claims payments between 1978 and 2015. With this in mind, it makes sense to incorporate strategies for flood prevention into your home’s architecture. Here are some tips from a  leading architect in NJ . Know if you’re in a high-risk zone:  A great source for information about flooding in your area are the FEMA Flood Zone Maps, which you can access online. These maps use aqua markers to indicate if an area is below the flood marker. Ask your architect to determine your BFE (base flood elevation) and DFE (design flood elevation) to ensure that your house is set at the correct height and according to building codes. Ask f...

Architecture and interior design is constantly changing, keeping homes looking fresh, innovative and exciting. Here are some of this year’s biggest trends, according to leading  residential architects . Outdoor living space:  More than ever, homeowners want to break down the barriers between indoor and outdoor living, allowing them to have a much greater flow between the house and garden. Large patios that can be enclosed, sun rooms and outdoor kitchens are just some of the ways of incorporating the outdoors into your home. Natural light:  There’s a big demand for designs that maximize natural light through large windows, wider door openings and skylights. This is popular even in colder climates thanks to advances in glass technology that allows for huge windows without compromising insulation or increasing your spending on energy bills. Large folding glass doors are also popular, allowing homeowners to choose how open or closed they’d like their space to be. E...

When you’re building a home, you often have to make dozens of decisions in a single week – or even a day – on your home’s features, fixtures and fittings, including your home’s lighting. Here are three principals to use while considering how to light your home, from a leading  residential architect in NJ. When it Comes to Natural Light, Balance is Best Making the most of natural light is a great trend in residential architecture, bringing beauty and warmth into your space as well as reducing energy bills. Creating a balance with natural light means designing a home and rooms to have just the right amount of sunlight – ensuring they are warm and light in cool months, and gently shaded in the summer heat. To achieve this, architects position a home to face with its yard to the west and street side to the east. Landscaping, skylights, eaves, dormers and porticos all help to filter and control the flow of light into your home. Colors and Surfaces  The effect of ligh...

One of the services offered by commercial and  residential architects  is a feasibility assessment or feasibility study. This is a full evaluation that takes place in the early stages of a project that looks at every aspect of the build and is ideal for larger or more complex projects, or where the site itself may be more challenging. What is the Purpose of a Feasibility Study?  Firstly, this evaluation will determine if the project is viable. It will also lay out different options for the build to manage any challenges the project presents, and develop project documentation (if needed) including: Planning permission Determining the need for an Environmental Impact Study Assessment of the budget Site appraisals including geotechnical studies, water egress, easements, services on the land, restrictions, etc. Examination of existing buildings for use in the project, access to the site, and operational/maintenance challenges Development of different strate...

Building a home is usually a project that our clients have thought about and planned for over many years – even their entire lives – and your initial meeting with your architect is the first step towards bringing that dream to life. Here’s how to prepare for it to ensure you have all the information you need to go forward. Create a project brief:  This might sound intimidating, but it’s a very useful way of ensuring you are expressing your vision accurately to your architect and making sure you don’t miss anything out. Ask yourself what you want your home to be – think about the size of rooms, how many bedrooms or living areas, how many bathrooms, etc. Also include anything of particular importance, for example, if your site has any challenges, if you have a view you want to get the most of, or if you want your home to be single or double story. Know your style:  It is important to be ready to express what style of home appeals to you, whether it’s a steel-and-glass m...