ENCINITAS — Things are developing in the right way for architect Soheil Nakhshab. The 33-year-old, who grew up in Encinitas with a passion for art and mathematics, has been fortunate enough to combine the two subjects and turn them into a successful career.
As CEO/principal of Nakhshab Development Design, Inc. Nakhshab has 10 new contracts for projects in San Diego, including one slated for Cape Town, South Africa later this year.
Four of his homes will be part of the 2014 Modern Home Tour Sept. 27. The tour, hosted by the Texas-based Modern Home Tours, LLC, will be showcasing Modern architecture-influenced homes in San Diego County, including the Lahaye house in Olivenhain, which Nakhshab designed.
Nakhshab said the Modern concepts he employs have all existed since the 1950s and ‘60s.
But for people in the industry —the designers, the developers — it’s their responsibility to make sure they show people what true living is, he said.
“At the end of the day, we’re still animals. We need to have that connection with nature. It gives us a better lifestyle,” he said.
First off, what makes modern, modern?
Lifestyles play a big factor as far as lifestyle is concerned. But aesthetically, my style is based on aesthetics that were established 50 or 60 years ago, which were far superior to what you see in today’s marketplace. It was a shame a lot of those styles and ideas were kind of forgotten after the late ‘70s and ‘80s just as the industry went downhill and you started seeing more mass production and it was about the bottom line versus putting something out there that would last the test of time and would actually be a piece of art – that was not just a piece of art that was form, but also function.
Have you noticed if how people use their homes has changed as times change?
Absolutely. Let’s just look back in time a little bit where things were a lot more compartmentalized. Society has evolved where women before were looked at playing the homemaker role, where ‘Hey you just stay in the kitchen and do the cooking and then come out here and serve me,’ versus today, home life has changed where people want to interact. It’s not just a household where it’s a husband and a wife. It could be a husband and a husband, or a wife and a wife. And it’s more acceptable in today’s society.
What does that mean for home design in the 21st century?
I think people are going to start being more conscientious about the initial thoughts on how the home should be designed and it should be set up.
How do you see the environment and home design interacting together?
We really take into consideration our surroundings, our neighborhoods — where the wind is coming in, where the sun is rising, where it’s setting in order to make the home as passively functioning as possible where we’re not running our air conditioning system or turning on the lights 24/7. We’re creating a space where we still feel like we’re blending with the existing environment.
For people touring the residences, what should they be looking for?
I think some of the key features in the home are just the minimalist details. People have this tendency to think more is better, but I think beauty is minimalism. So it’s key for people to see the natural materials that were used, the flow of the floor plan, the natural light of the space. Every time I go there, when I visit my clients, I sit back and I just watch them live in the space, and it’s just really fascinating.
When a home, say not cut from the same cloth, is built, what kind of impact can that have on the surrounding neighborhood and community?
It’s like the old idea of keeping up with the Joneses. Most people are visual, they have to physically see something to understand it. When you can put something out there for people to physically experience and see and understand, I think it opens their minds and creates the level of expectations for themselves. So, for the future, whoever that mass producing developer is, they’ll have expectations from the consumer that they have to factor in.
What: Modern Home Tours
When: Sept. 27; 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Tickets: $30 in advance, $40 day of
Info: Modernhometours.com
