One of the curses of being an architect – besides being annoyingly opinionated much of the time, is that it’s difficult for us to conceptualize a residential or commercial design solution without also immediately putting our minds to work on how to get that solution permitted and built.
The number of considerations involved in turning an idea into a “permit-able” and then “build-able” structure is almost always immense. From deciding on a site and how the building might best sit on that site, to selecting finishes and plumbing fixtures – there are a lot of details to attend to.
Fortunately, there are people to help turn our “sometimes-unconventional” ideas into workable things that can actually get built. These people we call “Engineers & Project Consultants”. Whether they are soil engineers – who help us understand the most appropriate foundation solution, structural engineers who let us know the most appropriate beam sizes and fasteners, electrical engineers – who help us meet energy conservation targets while making sure there is enough power, or interior designers who help us select appropriate finishes and fixtures; we rely on these and others to help us navigate the complex and constantly changing world of building code compliance. Through their knowledge and experience, these engineers and consultants can save clients’ cost by identifying inefficiencies during the planning stages of the building and can help to accelerate the review phase by their thorough understanding of what the plan checker wants to see.
Not every type of engineer or consultant is required on every project. For example, most residential projects only require architectural and structural engineering (though recently there is an increasing need for energy efficiency compliance engineers), while many of our commercial interior tenant improvement projects require all the engineers EXCEPT for structural.
Based upon your budget, needs and extent of your project, we can help you to understand which engineers would be most appropriate for a particular project. Fortunately, we have assembled a team of these professionals who will use their knowledge and experience to help us move your project quickly and efficiently through the design, approval and construction processes.
