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Maui-based Rick Ryniak has made a name for himself designing and building unique and luxurious residential properties that "intrigue, invite and surprise." Established in 1989, his firm -- Ryniak Architects -- has designed the Hawaiian homes of celebrities, from Santana to Kelsey Grammar, the latter which was prominently featured in Architectural Digest. In addition, the firm is also known for its commercial and medical designs. With increased prominence, the rest of the world has found Rick. His firm now takes on projects in other parts of the world. Rick explains why eZ has become an indispensable tool for more effectively communicating with clients and consultants across a distance.
How were you introduced to eZ?
I've been using Sigma's architectural ARRIS software for years. In fact, I designed my first home with it! So when Sigma introduced eZ for communicating and collaborating over a distance, I took a hard look.
With any software, I have always chosen those aligned with "how I like to work" rather than those that force me to shift the way I work to the way that the software works. One of the reasons that I've always been a die-hard ARRIS user is because it seemed so intuitive to me; it was aligned with how I thought.
eZ is the same way. It's very easy for me to teach to my clients and consultants. I recently had one client with a self-described C+ computer proficiency, but he had no problem downloading eZ. By the end of our session, he was shouting, "WOW!" Another client in Tokyo just kept repeating the words, "Cool, cool, cool!" People love eZ once they experience how it dramatically enhances communication, increases personal productivity, and helps take the stress out of build-design projects.
Why is eZ so indispensable for you?
Architects convey ideas and communicate through visuals -- drawings, sketches, computer modeling, etc. It's vitally important that after my initial in-person meetings with clients, when they've flown back to Tokyo, New York, Montreal or wherever, that I'm able to continue to do that. I want my clients to understand my ideas, concepts, what I have in mind as we get into the process (anywhere from 18 months to two years) of designing and building their home. They may say they know, but I've got to feel they understand it. In this way, eZ is indispensable.
It very closely replicates the effectiveness of the "around the table" experience only on your computer screen. The drawings are in front of everyone simultaneously, and each person is able to not only talk about them, but also to mark-up. I can see my clients point to something and vice-versa. They can move the whole drawing. I can move the whole drawing. Anyone at any point can introduce other documents onto the screen, so if a client has a particular look in mind he can throw up a JPEG photo or capture the image from a website, and presto we are all looking at it. Clearer communication and much better understanding occur seeing and sharing it all on the screen LIVE where we are pointing, sketching, and marking things up.
And what I really like is that after a design is marked up, I can save those mark-ups and then e-mail it to my draftsman in San Diego, my mechanical engineer in Honolulu, or my structural engineer across the bay. In effect, they have redline drawings that they can go over with me in eZ, or simply incorporate themselves. I don't have to call another meeting, drive or fly to locations, or spend time with others to pass on the information from clients. eZ really saves considerable time and money.
What makes eZ unique?
Universal viewing, speed, flexibility, and convenience.
As a universal viewer, eZ allows you to look at virtually any type of file. You don't need the application that created the file to view or share anything. For example, even though my consultants use different CAD systems and my clients don't have CAD software on their computers, we can still look at any CAD drawing.
Speed because it works fast even on slow dial-up connections and I can have spontaneous, ad hoc meetings from anywhere.
I like eZ's flexibility. You can throw as many documents and images that you want up on the screen at once, and they can be introduced from any computer. Recently, I was explaining how I arrived at the design of a master suite, and I tossed up three sketches that showed how I got from point A to B. Suddenly, it became much clearer to my client. Another time, I was showing the site plan for a particular outdoor area. Alongside it I introduced a photo that the client had sent to me in our initial discussions to give me a feel for what they were looking for. Viewing the two side-by-side it was easier to see how I was translating he and his wife's desires into my plans. It worked for everyone.
I also like the convenience of using eZ when I want. I can review and markup drawings in eZ on my own time, and when I am ready, discuss it live on the screen where we all can see it.
And do I have say to say it? It's easy.
How have you used eZ to resolve problems with your consultants?
With my consultants, it's different. They understand the concepts of what we are trying to do; it's more about putting together the pieces, taking information from an owner and saying we need to move this over for these reasons, or let's work out how this change affects the structural system. Just last week we had a discrepancy between the structural engineer's foundation plan and the architectural floor plan. There was a complicated area involving pocket doors and where the actual foundation had to carry certain roof loads. I asked my structural engineer to jump on the Internet for eZ. With eZ, I took his drawing and overlaid it with my drawing, and I opaqued the area of concern. Immediately it became apparent to both of us what the problem was and we marked up the design to resolve the problem. It sure beat trying to describe it over the phone or faxing or e-mailing documents back and forth.
To top it off, I saved our work and e-mailed a copy to my draftsman in San Diego so that he could incorporate the changes. That saved me another phone call!
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