design teams - ROIDESIGN

Can’t Live with Them, Can’t Live without Them: The Design Team

by Mary | Sep 6, 2015 | Construction, Hospitality Design, Interior Design, Restaurant Design, Retail Design

Northern Michigan Pediatric Dentistry. A design build team- r.o.i. Design was the interior designer.

Who is the design team?

The building architect, interior designer, site engineer, landscape architect, structural engineer, civil engineer, casegood designer, furniture designer, and art consultant all make up the design team.

Construction managers are dealing with a variety of team types:

One Stop Shopping

Large architect and engineering firms who offer “one stop shopping”, everything in one company, linear accountability. Convenient but not always transparent. When a design team has a bundle of work with a contractor, it is easier for the GM to negotiate changes since they are funneling a quantity of work to a firm.

The Inn at Harbor Shores, r.o.i. Design was recommended by contractor as an industry specialist.

Industry Specialist

A key player (designer or architect) who offers unique experience in a construction type: charter schools, national retail chains, senior care, mid-scale hotels, higher education, specialty medical, etc. , who recommends a group of independents they or the contractor manages to fill out the roster of all the professional design requirements.

GVSU Laker Store, a customer directed design team. r.o.i. Design worked as planners and interior designerds.

GVSU Laker Store, a customer directed design team. r.o.i. Design worked as planners and interior designers.

Customer Team

When there are pre-existing relationships that have to be managed and the contractor works with the customer to fill out the professional needs of the project with a variety of firms.

Design-Build

The “design-build” team is assembled by the contractor and the customer directs all design criteria to the contractor who then works with their choice of professionals to support planning, produce design, architecture, engineering and all it’s documentation.

So what is the ideal “design team”? It’s the one that works best for the project.

Experienced construction professionals understand that they can’t have just one process that will deliver the design on all their projects (unless the contractor only works with one building type). Experienced construction professionals know they have to have a variety of firms in their contact list and stay informed of changes in those firms, understanding their emerging strengths and successes on new projects.

r.o.i. Design works on several teams and team types. We understand the “R’s”: rates, relationships and relevance. We see successful design companies prosper when they can collaborate and adjust to changing criteria. We also see the importance of the construction manager who realizes the need for customers to be connected to the design process and their designers, and still be sure their budget and timeline are prioritized.

Making Sure Customers Love Their New Spaces – The Design-Build Experience

by Mary | Aug 17, 2015 | Design News, Interior Design, Project Management

GVSU Marketplace Designers and Owners

r.o.i. Design knows that the customers experience of the design-build process will predict whether or not they will love their new space. It is so much more than having the perfect design or the “expert consultant” on the job.

When there is a great design-build team the outcome has a much greater chance of meeting and exceeding customer expectation of the finished product. There aren’t layers of concern and stress laid on top of the customer-team relationship, making the customer suspect and wary if they are going to get what was promised them or not.

A great design team also means efficiency which saves everyone budget dollars.

When there is trust between team members it accelerates the customer’s confidence in all recommendations where ever they come from.
When simple oversights are managed before they become a crisis or trigger change orders, customers are saved the awkward experience of finger pointing between team members.
Real time communication is ongoing and a shared responsibility between owners, designers and contractors that is supported by protocol documentation verses solely relying on “the system”.
Trust creates an attitude of flexibility in the process which allows great ideas and solutions to surface anytime in the process. When a design criteria is well understood and all parties buy in, it is only ego that keeps good ideas from being executed.

r.o.i. Design strives to be part of great design-build teams. For us that has happened when:

Jobs we share could have started with any one of the groups, whether it is the contractor’s customer, the architect’s customer or our customer, we communicate to the customer early in the process who the team is and how we would like to work with them.
Roles on a job are defined and respected, even when the customer challenges the structure, we represent the team.
Building and maintaining relationships is everyone’s priority.

This week a manufacturing customer, remodeling a floor in their facility to create an innovation center commented to r.o.i. Design, “So you guys actually get along with this construction company. Our last remodeling project was a nightmare – the designer, architect and contractor kept blaming each other. They won’t ever be back.”