Communication
Good communication is the key to successful design. We begin with something that's a bit of a lost art: listening. We listen to you as our client, our partner, and as a team member. We foster respect among project stakeholders, focus on opportunities to agree, and work hard to resolve differences of opinion with a win-win mindset.
Communication isn't just a verbal endeavor; it includes capturing and tracking information throughout the entire project. We've developed tools proven to successfully gather and track owner/building requirements throughout the design and construction process. Our means and methods of information tracking are easily accessible and transparent to all project team members. Examples include:
Needs Assessment Database:
This Microsoft® Access-based tool captures, tracks, and links improvements, spatial attributes, and costs into a central database for new or existing spaces. An extremely flexible tool, it enables you to determine the degree of analysis and scope by campus, individual building, or specific floor. We evaluate building system and spatial needs together with your facility staff and then develop conceptual planning solutions. Recorded comments can be linked per design option, discipline, or building. Information can be filtered to provide any type of report at the push of a button. From an executive summary to a full item-by-item cost breakdown by discipline, this tool does it all.
Open Design Items Matrix:
During each meeting, we capture a progressive list of open design items and assign an owner and a date for resolution. After an item is resolved, it remains part of the matrix, and becomes a checklist item for subsequent review packages to ensure its inclusion into the design documents.
Multidisciplinary Team Spaces:
Our architects and engineers sit in team spaces organized by project. These unique multidisciplinary design studio environments encourage informal, frequent dialogue among all project team members, resulting in unparalleled coordination.
Wall Meetings:
Design teams hold weekly "wall meetings" in dedicated project pin-up spaces where all disciplines and client representatives share their week's work for information and review. Coordination issues are discussed within the group, resulting in highly coordinated design documents that minimize changes during construction and maximize your project's quality.