Residential Projects Approach

Pre-Design

• Meeting and Proposal for Architectural Services:
  • If it is an addition and/or renovation, we will set a meeting at the home in order to get a feel for scope of our services needed, and to be able to offer a fee and a timeline. If it is new construction, we will want to see the project site in addition to sitting down to talk. For either additions/renovations or new construction, we will ask a series of questions that will help us understand the following:
    • Whether or not we are a good fit for your project.
    • How much you already know about what you want in the design vs how much exploration is ahead.
    • What your approach is for hiring a contractor.
    • What your construction budget is.
    • Whether or not you will need a site survey, or any other consultants such as a structural engineer.
    • If you want us to provide any services in addition to basic services – interior finish selections, lighting design, placement of electrical outlets, etc.
  • We will send you a proposal for our fee and schedule. Fees may be on an hourly basis or a lump sum amount, depending on your preference. Once everyone is in agreement on the terms of service and are clear about what is included, we will sign the agreement and get started.
• Programming and Documentation:
  • We will move into more detailed discussion so we can hear your preferences, ideas, and needs for the big picture scheme of the project, and for detailed needs of each space.
  • We will measure and photograph any existing conditions so we can document them.

Schematic Design

• Using the parameters that we learned in the previous phase, we start to put marks on paper to explore options to achieve your goals. We typically develop three options, depending on the complexity of the project. For example, if your parameter is that you need an additional bedroom, we may present two options as an addition, and one option as an interior renovation without adding on. We will:
  • Develop options.
  • Meet with you to discuss options.
  • Modify one option based on your feedback.
  • Present the modified option, gain approval of the design.

Design Development / Construction Documents

• Once we have agreed on the design, we hit the ground running to get the detailed drawings in order. In this phase, we will be asking you many questions to make sure that the specifications are in line with your expectations. This set of drawings is the communication vehicle between you and your contractor, so we place high importance on making the drawings clear and accurate to minimize confusion during construction. A typical set of drawings for a home includes:
  • Site plan
  • Floor plans
  • Building elevations
  • Building sections details of key elements
  • Structural information
  • Interior finish information (if requested)
  • Mechanical, electrical, and plumbing information (if requested)

Construction Administration

• If you would like our recommendations, we are happy to facilitate communication with contractors so you can find the right match and build your relationship with them.
• After that, we offer services to keep our eyes on the progress to make sure the documents are properly understood, and to make sure you are happy with the results along the way.

Commercial Projects Approach

Pre-Design

• Meeting and Proposal for Architectural Services:
  • We will set a meeting to talk with you and see any existing building or site conditions. We will ask a series of questions that will help us understand the following:
    • Whether or not we are a good fit for your project.
    • How much you already know about what you want in the design vs how much exploration is ahead.
    • What your approach is for hiring a contractor.
    • What your construction budget is.
    • What your needs are for structural, mechanical, electrical, civil, and any other specialty engineering services, and if you have engineers in mind that you would like to use.
  • We will send you a proposal for our fee and schedule. Once we are in agreement on the terms of service, and are clear about what is included, we will sign the agreement and get started.
• Programming and Documentation:
  • Program analysis and verification: Following initial research and discussion with the Owner, we will produce a document for the purposes of verifying that our understood scope of work and the Owner-provided scope of work are in agreement. We will establish functional and aesthetic design goals, budget limits, energy efficiency benchmarks, and schedule requirements. We will discuss priorities that will guide decision-making when we find a need to balance concepts that can often be in opposition, such as budget and quality.
  • Verification of Existing Conditions: We will study existing spaces and visit the site to gain familiarity with the unique qualities of the location. Solar orientation, topography, location of site utilities, pedestrian and vehicular traffic patterns, adjacencies, existing landscaping, and parking conditions will be observed.

Schematic Design

Using the parameters that we learned in the previous phase, we begin designing on a large scale. Through studying several alternate approaches in collaboration with Owner and Contractor input (if a contractor is on board at this time), we will arrive at a Schematic Design that establishes a general scope, conceptual design, scale, and relationships among project components.

Design Development

In this phase, we move into refined decision-making and coordination. In a design-build project, we will collaborate with the Contractor and Owner to establish preferred construction methods.

In design development, concepts that were established during schematic design are worked out at a scale to minimize the possibility of major modifications during production of construction documents. Design development documents will describe all important aspects of the project.

Construction Documents

Once we arrive at this phase, major decisions have been made and we are compiling the written and graphic documents that serve as detailed instructions for the Contractor. We place high importance on making the drawings clear, concise, and accurate to minimize confusion during construction.

Bidding / Negotiations

We are happy to suggest potential contractors, and to assist during bidding or negotiations by answering contractor questions, and facilitating the bidding process.

Construction Administration

During construction, we make regular visits to the construction site to observe and document progress. We review contractors’ submittals and applications for payment, and we are available for general questions.