“What will it be like to work with RB+B?”
“Will you listen to us when we tell you what we want?”
“How will you respond to and interact with us?”
“Will we enjoy the design experience?”
The answers to these questions are a critical part of selecting the right architectural team for your project. RB+B’s approach is built on the foundation of quality relationships, education and dialogue to clarify your goals and find the solutions to meet them. We view each client as a partner and encourage respect for everyone at the table—from architect to contractor, design team to end user, and owner to owner’s representative. When everyone has a voice, the resulting solutions will serve you better.
Our approach to design can be summarized into three distinct phases:
Discover, Design, Deliver.
Here’s what you can expect while working with our team.
All projects begin with kickoff meetings to help our team develop a working knowledge of the history of your project. During this stage, we ask a lot of questions to understand where you’ve been and what you need in your future facility. Our team will explore the types and scales of spaces you have in your program and what activities take place in them. If designing a school, we’ll look at how the kids learn and your curriculum delivery. In a brewery, we’ll talk about goals for merging your brand into your building, as well as logistical issues. If a commercial space, we’ll dive into understanding how your departments function and work together. These ideas (and many others) will be explored throughout the Discover stage.
Our team will also develop a roadmap for the project—outlining who is involved, how often we will meet, and educating you on what milestones you can expect. Prioritizing goals, clearly defining responsibilities, and setting expectations is a critical part of this phase. Budget and schedule will also be clarified and both will be reviewed at regular intervals throughout design.
The charrette—or “design workshop”—is the jumping off point for design as we begin visioning and move into schematic design. We’ll explore concepts, examine opportunities and constraints, and evaluate the effects of different design choices with you. Our Design Team will develop a big idea. Hand-sketched and digital diagrams and imagery will be used to communicate those ideas. Building massing, orientation, and MEP systems will inform the design and ensure the building is high performance. Our consultant team will be involved throughout design.
Design development takes the concept and tests it to verify the design meets your needs. Materials and finishes are explored, elevations take shape, and documents begin development.
The benefit of RB+B’s Discover and Design phases is that you’ll have a high level of Design Confidence during the Deliver portion of the project. During this phase, drawings are completed and reviewed, and the building comes to life in three-dimensional renderings. During construction, our partnership with you continues and it begins with the contractor, if they are just coming on board.
As closeout nears, our team maintains availability, leadership and guidance to answer questions and ensure the communication remains open between design team, contractor, and client. As you celebrate the opening of your new space, our team remains hard at work making sure you get the most out of your new facility through our post-occupancy evaluation process.
Architectural projects can span months and often years. We are pleased that we have developed long-term relationships with our clients and they come back to us because of the service we provide and the positive experience they have when working with our team. We’d love to share that same experience with you.
One thing that sets us apart is that we challenge our clients in equal ways that they challenge us, always seeking out the best design solution possible – even when it’s beyond what was originally planned. We would love to start a conversation with you about the facility challenges you face and how RB+B Architects can help you discover a solution.
