The definitive resource for designer-led projects The Architect's Guide to Design-Build Services offers authoritative knowledge and industry insight to architects considering entry into the burgeoning practice of design-build project delivery. Written by architects and other professionals with expertise in risk management, law, ethics, finance, and contracts, this instructive guide addresses the roles architects can assume during a design-build project, including leading the project, acting as subcontractor, and forming a joint venture with a contractor. Developed by the AIA Design-Build Professional Interest Area, this book offers the real-world expertise of thirty industry leaders from the United States, Canada, and Mexico, who share their experience and know-how on such topics as: Starting out in design-build Risks and rewards of design-build delivery Succeeding in a design-build practice Design-build education Essential practice information Ethics and licensing laws State laws regulating both architects and contractors are summarized to help busy firms bring design-build projects through to successful completion in a variety of jurisdictions. The Architect's Guide to Design-Build Services is the most complete, definitive resource for architects, contractors, and attorneys involved in designer-led projects.

Definitive guide to mastering Design-Build Design-Build (D-B) -- the project delivery system in which one firm contracts to provide all of the architectural, engineering, and construction services on a project -- is expected to dominate the market by the year 2005. Studded with illustrative case histories, Design-Build: Planning Through Development, by Jeffrey Beard, Michael Loulakis, Esq., and Edward Wundram, is the first book to cover every legal, technical, and administrative aspect of Design-Build. Whether you’re a design or construction professional or an owner, this authoritative and up-to-date manual gives you the across-the-board, real-world answers you need for timely, glitch-free, and cost-effective projects. You get expert architectural and engineering advice on: *Procuring services *Developing RFQs and RFPs *Organizing and managing contracts *Estimating *Allocating risks * Obtaining insurance and bonding * Much more

This is your essential one stop shop for information on starting and running a practice. Case studies and advice from practitioners, big and small, run alongside outlines of all the key topics, to give you an insight into the problems and challenges others have faced when setting up a design business. Accessible and informative, this handbook is the ideal first point of reference when starting a practice. Architects have many different reasons for setting up in practice; equally, there are many ways of running your own business. This handbook helps you consider whether or not you should set up on your own, examining issues such as financing, office space, recruitment, IT and workingo ut a business plan. Some architects want to stay small, while others have ambitions to grow into large businesses. Some grow big accidentally. And then there are those who pick and choose their work carefully, and even turn down undesirable contracts, while others will grab at everything possible. This book woudl explore these different models and illustrate how different kinds of practice develop into successful businesses. Importantly, the book will stress that these issues are crucial - you may be the best designer in the world, but unless your business is well managed you will fail. On the other hand, some successful architects spend a lot of time looking for new work and attending to management issues, rarely finding the time for design work. This book would illustrate how architects have struck a balance between these two extremes.

Part narrative, part business book; Architect + Entrepreneur is filled with contemporary, relevant, fresh tips and advice, from a seasoned professional architect building a new business. The guide advocates novel strategies and tools that merge entrepreneurship with the practice of architecture and interior design. The Problem:Embarking on a new business venture is intimidating; you have questions. But many of the resources available to help entrepreneur architects and interior designers start their design business lack timeliness and relevance. Most are geared toward building colossal firms like SOM and Gensler using outdated methods and old business models. If you're an individual or small team contemplating starting a design business, this is your field guide; crafted to inspire action. The Solution:Using the lean startup methodology to create a minimum viable product, the handbook encourages successive small wins that support a broader vision enabling one to, "think big, start small, and learn fast." It's a unique take on design practice viewed through the lens of entrepreneurship and is designed to answer the questions all new business owners face, from the rote to the existential. Questions about: - Startup costs - Business models (old and new) - Marriage of business and design - Mindset - Branding & naming (exercises and ideas) - Internet marketing strategies - Passive income ideas - Setting your fee - Taxes - Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) - Securing the work - Client relations - Software - Billing rates - Contracts Building a business isn't a singular act; it's a series of small steps. Using the outline found in Architect + Entrepreneur you can start today. The chapters are organized to guide you from idea to action. Rather than write a business plan you'll be challenged to craft a brand and you'll sell it using new technologies. Follow the guide sequentially and you'll have both the tools and a profitable small business.

The definitive guide to management success for sole practitioners and leaders of small design firms Owning and operating a small architectural design firm can be challenging, with tight project deadlines, on-the-fly meetings, rush proposals, and fluctuating workloads as part of the firm’s day-to-day activities. To help small firm owners cope with the chaos and prepare for the unexpected, here is The Architect’s Guide to Small Firm Management, a no-nonsense guide to repurposing daily demands into workable, goal-directed solutions. Crucial topics such as self-aware leadership, people management, technology, financial health, scenario planning, sustainable practice, and future trends are examined using real-life case studies and business model paradigms. This definitive text explores the whole system experience of a small firm practice to deliver organizational strategies proven to keep a firm’s creative mission on a steady, productive path. The Architect’s Guide to Small Firm Management addresses how small firm owners can: Deal effectively with unexpected circumstances and shifting work requirements Meet the demands of the marketplace while creating a satisfying workplace Set and achieve goals in an environment of constant change This book is a must-have for those facing the often harsh reality of managing small design firms in a difficult and changing economy. Entrepreneurial architects and designers will discover how to define their own personal and professional meanings of success, as well as how to refocus their business approach to replace long, unrewarding hours with manageable, satisfying ones.

Best practice is the concern of this book. An architect has to be an administrator as well as designer, and smooth economical administration will provide the conditions under which client relations can be constructive and good design can be acheived. The book is divided into 76 short sections covering the entire process, from preliminary enquiries to final fees, each with a small flow chart showing who is involved and when. This sixth revised edition updates the contents in line with present day practice, bearing in mind the changes in terminology, technology, environmental demands and the legislative background. Ronald Green and Professor Ross Jamieson who writes the foreword to this edition, are both examiners for Part Three.

A PRACTICAL GUIDE TO RESIDENTIAL DESIGN FOR ARCHITECTS AND CLIENTS Written by a successful practitioner of both residential and commercial architecture, this hands-on resource enables you to transfer and expand your architectural design skills and successfully integrate single-family residential design into your professional practice. The Architect's Guide to Residential Design discusses typical residential design issues, such as budgets and construction schedules, and offers guidelines for interacting with design-conscious clients. This detailed handbook presents a comprehensive methodology for the process of designing, pricing, and constructing single-family homes. Six real-world case studies, each featuring a unique site, budget, program, and set of circumstances, are included. The Architect's Guide to Residential Design covers: Houses as an architectural practice How houses differ from commercial and institutional architectural projects Design and documentation for architect-designed houses Bidding and negotiating with contractors Cutting the contract with both owners and contractors Construction administration and the building process

What you need to know to protect your designs and get them built as you envision them; how to get and keep clients and become their trusted advisor and professional—every architect needs the answers in this concise, thorough, and readable guide. Who are the parties in architecture, engineering, and construction? How do you market architectural services (get the project)? What are the basic project delivery methods? What are the forms of owner/architect and owner/contractor agreements and what services do they cover? How should you charge for your services? How do you set up an office? What insurance, legal, and accounting issues must you consider? What is project management and who should do it? What are zoning and building codes about?

The Design-Build Studio examines sixteen international community driven design-build case studies through process and product, with preceding chapters on community involvement, digital and handcraft methodologies and a graphic Time Map. Together these projects serve as a field guide to the current trends in academic design-build studios, a window into the different processes and methodologies being taught and realized today. Design-build supports the idea that building, making and designing are intrinsic to each other: knowledge of one strengthens and informs the expression of the other. Hands-on learning through the act of building what you design translates theories and ideas into real world experience. The work chronicled in this book reveals how this type of applied knowledge grounds us in the physicality of the world in which we live.

You are a great designer, but no-one knows. Now what? This indispensable book, written by one of the most influential marketers in architecture, will demystify Public Relations and marketing for all architects, whether in large practices or practicing as sole practitioners. It bridges the distance between architects and marketing by giving practical tips, best practice and anecdotes from an author with 20 years’ experience in architecture marketing. It explains all aspects of PR and Business Development for architects: for example, how to write a good press release; how to make a fee proposal; how to prepare for a pitch. It gives examples of how others do it well, and the pitfalls to avoid. In addition, it discusses more general aspects which are linked to PR and BD, such as being a good employer, ethics for architects and the challenges when working abroad. Featuring vital insights from a wide variety of architects, from multinational practices to small offices, this book is an essential companion to any architectural office.