04/20/2001
original homeIn the past, if you wanted to build a new house you had two basic options:
1. You could hire an architect to design the plans for you (which can be expensive)
2.
You could wade through large books of blueprints to find the one that
most closely matched your dream house (and then hire an architect to
customize the design before ordering the plan).
That's all
changed with OriginalHome.com. This unique web site lets users choose
from a wide selection of features to easily design a new house. Once
happy with their design, customers can order structurally sound,
ready-to-build blueprints right online. With Original Home, designing a
new home and acquiring blueprints takes less time and costs
signigicantly less money than would be possible with traditional
methods.
The brainchild of Connecticut architect David
Moore, OriginalHome.com is the realization of Moore's vision to combine
interactive web technology with sound home design concepts. Working in
partnership with Gravity Switch, a Northampton, MA interactive media
firm, the result is nothing short of revolutionary!
According to
Moore "Anyone planning to build a new home needs a home design
alternative which combines the flexibility and options of a custom
design with the convenience and affordability of a stock plan. Thanks
to the Internet and our creative partnership with Gravity Switch, this
is now possible. OriginalHome.com provides an exceptional resource for
creating original home designs and ordering customized blueprints for
constructing those designs."
One of the most compelling features
of the web site is the "Design Your Own" tool, which allows users to
select from a myriad of architectural options and see instantaneous
changes to interior and exterior plans. Since this tool offers
literally millions of possible feature combinations, Moore and Gravity
Switch worked together to devise a patent-pending methodology so the
tool "knows" how to draw the house based on selected options. Every
design feature on OriginalHome.com has been reviewed by an architect
for attractiveness and functionality (the tool will disallow
non-functional designs, warning users during the process).
Other interesting features of OriginalHome.com include:
1. The Design Gallery where customers can view homes that other customers have designed.
2.
The option to order "study plans," which are limited versions of actual
Construction Plans and can be used to evaluate a design or obtain
preliminary cost estimates.
3. The option to save and email your designs to friends, family and contractors.
4. A listing of valuable architecture and design resources.
5. The ability to order a complete set of technical drawings that are accurate, detailed and ready to build.
The
site is fully integrated with an internal back-end system so that
OriginalHome.com can receive online orders and mail structurally sound,
architecturally approved blueprints directly to the customer. The Site
currently allows users to design Colonial type houses, with plans to
expand home types to include Victorian, Contemporary, Cape, and Ranch
among others.
OriginalHome.com is currently exploring
strategic partnerships with several national home design and home
construction companies. The company is also seeking promotional
alliances with building material manufacturers to generate advertising
revenue and further enhance the site's features. In addition, they are
inviting feedback on the site from those within and outside the
building community.
As a complement to their on-line designs,
Original Home offers complete custom design services. Any design you
create on-line can be further customized off-line to suit your
individual needs.
ABOUT ORIGINAL HOME:
David Moore and Sara
Warner-Phillips founded Original Home, LLC in 1999 to explore and
develop interactive home design technology. Moore is president of the
company and has been a designer and builder of new single-family houses
for the past twenty years. He holds a graduate architectural degree
from Harvard University, is a licensed architect, and is a member of
the American Institute of Architects and the American Institute of
Building Design. Ms. Warner-Phillips, Internet Technology director for
the company, has been instrumental in envisioning the transfer of
architectural ideas to the Internet environment. She holds a Master of
Science degree in Internet Strategy Management from Marlboro College,
and has extensive experience in small business management and marketing.
Visit their website.
ABOUT GRAVITY SWITCH:
Founded
in 1996, Gravity Switch, Inc. is an award-winning web and new media
firm that designs, builds and maintains sophisticated web sites,
interactive CD-ROMs and Kiosks. Our core competencies include:
Internet strategy consulting, design and development, database
integration, e-commerce, graphic design and visual branding. Gravity
Switch specializes in technology strategies based on deep
understandings of interactive media, user experience and client
business needs.
For more information about Gravity Switch visit our website.
Press Contact:
Original Home LLC
David Moore
President
David@originalhome.com
[203] 389-8999