It's Official
Welcome aboard. We're genuinely glad you're here.
Signing an agreement for a project like this takes a certain amount of nerve, and we don't take lightly that you chose us to do it with. From here the weight of this project moves off your shoulders and onto ours. You stay in control of the decisions that shape the outcome. We carry the coordination, the drawings, the consultants, and the chasing.
What Happens Next
The first few weeks
Here's the honest sequence, so nothing catches you off guard. Timing varies with the size of the project, but the order rarely does.
We set your project up on our end
Your project gets a number, a folder structure, and a place in our schedule. You'll get an introduction to everyone who will be working on it, so you know who to call and about what. If there's anything we still need from you to open the file, we'll ask for it in that first note rather than letting it sit.
Your initial invoice
This arrives shortly after setup and covers the first phase of work. Nothing in it will be a surprise, since it follows the agreement you just signed. Once it's settled, design begins.
We get in a room together
The first working meeting is the fun one. We go through how you actually use a space, what's driving the project, what you love, what you're worried about, and the constraints we already know about. Come with images, links, sketches on napkins, anything that shows us what you're drawn to. You don't need to arrive organized. That's our job.
Depending On Your Project
A few things some projects need and others don't
Not every project requires all of these. We'll tell you early which ones yours does, so you can budget the time and the cost rather than discovering them mid-stream.
3D laser scanning
For renovations, additions, and tenant work, we often scan the existing structure. It captures the building exactly as it stands rather than as the old drawings claim it stands, which is usually a different building. We'll coordinate scheduling and access with you.
Boundary and topographic survey
New construction and most site work needs a current survey showing property lines, easements, grades, and existing trees. If you already have one, send it over and we'll tell you whether it's still usable.
Geotechnical investigation
Soil borings tell the structural engineer what they're founding the building on. Florida soils vary enormously across short distances, so this is one place where guessing gets expensive.
Other consultants, as the project calls for it
Depending on scope, that can mean civil engineering, an arborist, an environmental assessment, or a specialty consultant for equipment or acoustics. We'll tell you what's needed and why before anything is engaged, never after.
What Helps Us Most
Two things, and neither is homework
Send us anything you already have. Old drawings, surveys, reports, lease documents, inspection reports, photos, listing sheets. Even outdated material tells us something, and it's cheaper for us to read it than to rediscover it.
Tell us when something changes. A shift in budget, timeline, program, or who is involved in decisions. None of those are problems if we hear about them early. They only become problems when they surface after the drawings are done. There is no such thing as calling us too soon.
While You Wait
A few things worth reading
None of this is required. But clients who understand why we work the way we do tend to get more out of the process, and these are the pieces that come up most often in conversation.
Why the Lowest Bid Is Rarely the Cheapest
Worth reading before you go out to bid. A builder who underbids by a wide margin has to recover it somewhere.
Read itWhy the Architect Should Be There Until the End
Drawings are half the job. Making sure the building matches them is the other half.
Read itThe Mistake Allowance the Federal Government Wrote Down
There is an accepted industry tolerance for errors that become your change orders. We build our documents to beat it.
Read itWhere the Industry's Money Actually Leaks
Nearly half of all construction rework traces back to poor project information. This is the whole reason we document the way we do.
Read it
One last thing. If at any point you're unsure about something, or you've got a question you think might be too small to bother us with, ask it anyway. The questions clients hesitate to ask are usually the ones worth answering, and I would much rather spend ten minutes on the phone now than fix something later.
Looking forward to getting started.
Nathan Aleskovsky
AIA · Principal Architect & Founder