The Design Process - Carpenter's and Builder's Math, Plans, and Specifications - page 234

The owner may insist that there be a well-equipped laundry
in the basement. The person who does the laundry may have
some ideas on this subject.
The owner will probably insist that there be adequate clos-
ets for each bedroom. The owner may have some ideas as to
exactly what “adequate” consists of.
The owner will want the kitchen to be convenient, with or
without a garbage-disposal unit, probably with a dishwasher
in a convenient location, possibly with room for a home
freezer. Although saving steps is important, sufficient room
in the kitchen may be more important. Few cooks appreciate
a small kitchen—it greatly inhibits style.
The owner may want a dining room, and not just dining space
in one end of the living room, and may think that a counter
or bar and no partition between the kitchen and dining room
is not sufficiently odor-resisting when cooking fish or corned
beef and cabbage.
The owner (or perhaps the designer) may have some ideas
concerning privacy in the home. There may be some objec-
tions to so-called window walls that are supposed to “bring
the outdoors indoors,” and a preference may be expressed for
baseball-proof walls instead. Perhaps the idea of keeping large
areas of glass clean is not appealing, and the owner would
be quite content to leave the “outdoors” outdoors, if there is
plenty of living space indoors.
Then, there is the constant problem of sound resistance.
Modern homes are often noisy, with air-conditioning, forced
air heating, laundry, and dishwashing equipment, attic fans,
kitchen fans, bathroom fans, radio and television, and many
other noise-generating sources. It is the designer's duty and
obligation to see that such noises are isolated insofar as is pos-
sible. Partitions should be noise-resistant.
The designer must understand these and many other problems.
They are with us and will be with us for many years to come. The
owner probably does not (possibly cannot) understand how to han-
dle such problems. The designer can, and should. It is the designer's
function to guide the owner's ideas or simple notions so that the
home environment will be satisfactory as far as the owner's means
will permit. The designer will probably be blamed for any serious
discrepancy, no matter if the owner did insist on it.