Services

As a Full Service Architectural Firm, we offer many services including:

The traditional services associated with a design and construction project often include:

  • Programming
  • Schematic And Preliminary Designs For:
    • New Buildings
    • Additions
    • Adaptive Reuse
    • Historic Preservation
    • Modernization
    • Façade Improvements
  • Construction Document Preparation, Drawings and Specifications
  • Renderings
  • Cost Estimates
  • Consultant Integration
  • Project Management
  • Sustainable Design and Documentation for Certification
  • Contractor Bidding Phase Management
  • Contract Administration
  • Post Construction Visits

What do you have and what do you need? What can you do and where can it go? How much will it cost and how long will it take? These are questions that can be answered by completing pre-design tasks such as:

  • Site Assessment
  • Facility Evaluation
  • Conceptual Design
  • Existing Building Documentation
  • Feasibility Studies
  • Building Code Review
  • Accessibility Review
  • Financing Application Documents
  • Zoning Review
  • Historic Documentation
  • Master Plans
  • Phasing Options
  • Preliminary Soft and Hard Cost Estimates
  • Timeline

Whether managing consultants during design or contractors during construction, we regularly provide these services to our clients:

  • Build Relationships with Owners, Facility Personnel and Reviewing Agencies to facilitate communication and maintain schedules
  • Understand Priorities and Goals and create the path to achieve them
  • Serve as the Primary Point of Communication to the Owner, Contractor and Design Team
  • Solicit and Engage Qualified Consultants necessary for the Completion of the Task
  • Negotiate Contracts and Price Proposals
  • Prepare Meeting Minutes During Design and Construction
  • Collect and Distribute Documents and Communications
  • Provide Construction Document QA and QC
  • Manage Timelines, Critical Path Items and Schedule Of Deliverables
  • Maintain Flexibility To Address New Information
  • Revisit Budgets At Milestones
  • Respond To Reviewer Questions and Comments
  • Solicit Contractor Bids, Evaluate and Make Recommendations
  • Prepare Construction Contracts
  • Review Progress and Quality of the Constructed Work
  • Recommend Approval of Payouts During Construction
  • Review Change Orders During Construction

Integrating fixed assets such as the shell and systems with function and aesthetics to create a desired flow, efficiency and atmosphere may consist of:

  • Equipment Inventory Documentation
  • Existing Building Documentation
  • Adjacency and Space Planning
  • Building Code and Accessibility Review
  • Ceiling Sculpting
  • Floor Patterns
  • Material, Finish and Color Selections
  • Mechanical, Electrical, Plumbing System Integration
  • Lighting
  • Signage
  • Casework Layout
  • Renderings

Creating Spaces and Places in the Exterior Environment including:

  • Hard and Soft-Scape Design
  • Pedestrian and Vehicular Paths
  • Site Sculpting
  • Rainwater and Stormwater Management
  • Lighting and Signage
  • Street Furniture
  • Public Spaces
  • Recreation Facilities
  • Trails and Walks
  • Play Equipment Selection
  • Plant Material Selection
  • Arborist Consulting

The scope of each application is specific to the financing agency’s requirements. There are many fluid aspects as a project is developed, and the goal is to complete the application with the best design and the highest possible score in the most efficient method.

While many agencies are similar, we have extensive and specific experience with the application process for:

  • Pennsylvania Housing Finance Agency
  • West Virginia Housing Development Fund
  • Federal Home Loan Bank

Team members are involved early in the process and may include:

  • Owner/Developer
  • Development Consultant
  • Architect
  • Civil Engineer
  • Contractor
  • Attorney
  • HERS Rater
  • Supportive Services Coordinator
  • Management Agent

The following services are often required:

  • Coordinate with the Team Members to develop the Program and Budget
  • Site Test Fits
  • Zoning Analysis
  • Review of Reports Including Environmental, P/CNA, Energy Audit, Structural Report, Section 504 Self-Evaluation to give as much up-front scope and cost information as possible
  • Schematic Design
  • Incorporate:
    • Management and Maintenance Preferences
    • Green Building Programs and Energy Efficiency Requirements
    • Supportive Service Program Requirements
    • Accessibility Regulations such as ANSI A117.1, UFAS and Fair Housing
    • Community and Historic Factors
    • Contractor Preferences
    • Budget Considerations
  • Advise on options to comply with Ranking Criteria
  • Provide Certifications and Narratives
  • Provide Utility Analysis and Estimates
  • Coordinate with the team on the most efficient method of procuring documentation
  • Recommend necessary soft cost reports and/or provide information to the preparer
  • Create Renderings
  • Attend Agency site visits and answer follow-up questions

Our Team regularly attends continuing education seminars to stay informed of current interpretations and updates. Our standard CAD details are updated continually for clarity and communication to the contractors, reviewers and code officials. We have a working knowledge of the myriad of regulations which may apply to your project including:

  • ICC Building Codes
  • Pennsylvania Uniform Construction Code
  • Pennsylvania Department of Health Regulations and Life Safety Codes
  • Energy And Sustainability Programs
    • LEED
    • Energy Star
    • ICC 700 National Green Building Standard
    • Enterprise Green Communities
    • Passive House
  • Accessibility
    • ANSI A117.1
    • UFAS and Section 504
    • ADAAG
    • Fair Housing
  • Historic
    • The Secretary of the Interior’s Standards for the Treatment of Historic Properties
    • The National Park Service
    • Section 106 Reviews by the Pennsylvania Historic and Museum Commission

There are many disciplines needed for a construction project. Each building type is unique with its own requirements. We regularly partner with other professionals such as civil and structural engineers; mechanical, electrical, plumbing, and fire protection engineers; and energy, acoustic, roofing and elevator consultants, etc. to provide additional expertise and services to our clients.

Markets

With many years of experience, our firm and our staff have completed a variety of diverse project types, but have also developed areas of specialized expertise in the following markets:

  • Affordable Multi-Family Housing (LIHTC, HOME, HUD, DCED, FmHA)
    • Seniors
    • Families
    • Special Needs
    • Modernization
  • Mixed Use Developments
  • Manufacturing and Industrial
  • Medical and Healthcare
  • Community and Civic Assembly Buildings
  • Government Installations
  • Recreational Facilities
  • Adaptive Reuse
  • Historic Preservation
  • Commercial Offices and Tenant Fit-Out
  • Financial and Banking Facilities
  • Religious Additions and Modifications
  • Specialty Educational Facilities
  • Single Family Residential

Involvement

Memberships:

  • American Institute of Architects, including AIA PA and AIA Middle PA Chapter
  • International Code Council
  • US Green Building Council
  • Energy Star Partner
  • Housing Alliance of PA
  • Women in Housing & Finance Pennsylvania
  • Pennsylvania Association of Housing and Redevelopment Authorities
  • Pennsylvania Builders Association
  • Pennsylvania Housing Research Center
  • National Association of Home Builders
  • Society of Registered Architects
  • Pennsylvania Society of Architects, Pittsburgh Chapter
  • American Society of Landscape Architects
  • National Council of Architectural Registration Boards
  • Historical & Genealogical Society of Indiana County
  • Indiana Chamber of Commerce
  • Cambria Regional Chamber