WE DESIGN BUILDINGS

Commercial construction projects are brutal and risky undertakings. Vision, determination and perseverance are required of every member of the project team - the owner, the architect and engineers, the general contractor and each trade subcontractor - if all are to achieve the reward of a profitable and satisfying project. At Symmetry First Architects, we are often in the best position to define the owner’s goals for the engineers and the general contractor, and to translate the engineers’ and general contractor’s challenges in meeting those goals to the owner. Toward this end, we have many practical tasks to accomplish:

• Establishing a “program” – a detailed, narrative plan of the owner’s functional and aesthetic needs for the project.
• Hiring and managing a team of engineers to design the civil, structural, mechanical, electrical and plumbing aspects of the project.
• Producing a set of construction documents suited to the particular permitting, bidding and construction processes of the project.
• Offering assistance to the owner and general contractor throughout the construction phase.

Whether the project is structured as a traditional design-bid-build, where the architect and general contractor each have their own contract with the owner, or as a design-build, where the general contractor has the contract with the owner, and the architect is under contract to the general contractor, we find our tasks and our process remain essentially the same.

WE BUILD RELATIONSHIPS

Beyond the practical tasks, we bring to each project a drive to make the best of the opportunity each project presents– the best and most economical design, the best and most enduring relationships with the entire project team - the owner, the engineering disciplines, the general contractor and all trade subcontractors.

Ask the Architect