Looking for an Architect for your meaningful home remodel in Boston?

Well there are some key educational points I would like to share that may be of value to you and your family.

I graduated from Tufts Architectural and have worked in in the industry designing and creating the built environment across Boston now for twenty years.  I’ve often had clients and friends ask for help and guidance on the best way to proceed when approaching a whole-home or major home remodel of their own.

As this is a meaningful and major investment its not uncommon for homeowners to have been through this experience only a handful of times–if ever.  There’s not guidebook or clearly charted path to tell one how to intelligently approach the process to safeguard and maximize one’s investment.

Usually folks begin by looking for an Architect.  This could be someone whose design aesthetic and resonates with their own, or who shares a similar sustainable approach to design.  Then there are the factors of interior design, landscape design, construction management…and of course the actual builder or contractor.

In today’s artificially fragmented industry, this can swiftly become both confusing and inefficient for the homeowner and client.  He in essence becomes the coordinating hub and the individual fully responsible for each piece and ensuring they fit together correctly for a successful project. No one professional is fully accountable.

Architectural Design Build offers a different experience.

Here are some of the homeowner / client benefits of Architectural Design Build:

• Save Money: Typically, homeowners hire an architect to create plans, pay the architect, and then take those plans to a builder. Unfortunately, it’s all too common for there to be disconnects between architects and builders. Architects tend to have a more theoretical knowledge of your project, whereas builders have an “on the ground” understanding of practical considerations like which materials are on backorder or which designs will require specialty contractors who may not be available until months down the road. Because of this, “finalized” designs may need to be taken back to the architect and reworked. And the homeowner pays. In a design-build model, on the other hand, the architect and the builder are both involved in your remodeling project from the very beginning. Each design element the architect introduces is checked by the project manager in real-time, preventing you as the homeowner from unwittingly making costly mistakes.
• Save Time: This is also why hiring a separate architect and builder can cost you in time as well as in money. When architects design without input from project managers, they may not be aware of potential project delays due to zoning laws, permitting issues, material shortages, and complex designs that require specialty contractors. On the other hand, design-build firms like NEDC have fine-tuned formalized steps to take the project from ideation to completion with clear communication between all parties at all stages. This increases clarity and allows you as the homeowner to make well-informed decisions and thus have greater control over your project.
• A Single Source of Accountability: Another reason homeowners prefer the design-build model is that there’s a single source of accountability. Architects and builders are on the same team, so instead of ambiguous answers and blame games, you get clear communication and collaborative problem-solving.

What is Architectural Design Build?

There are two primary approaches to a major home design and remodel. While this can be made very complex as a subject, the natural creative process is fundamentally simple. I will cover both here: 

Design-Bid-Build is the process that has been introduced over the past 150 years or so whereby you as the client directly hire an architect to draft plans and design your project — to then have it bid out to multiple contractors seeking to win the bid and perform the project. This approach has been generalized as mainstream over the past decades and sold to homeowners, often creating client stress and potential loss of both client funds and time. This approach has many liabilities for the client due in no small part to the fragmented spheres of responsibilities which this system and method creates. 

 There is no single person or entity fully accountable to the client for the entire project’s success. 

This single factor alone can create a host of problems for the client. 

By default the client is ultimately responsible for both Architect and Builder as well as the ultimate success of the project. Thus one can have impractical and expensive design work, impractical planning, numerous change orders, shoddy craftsmanship, and projects which are off timeline and over budget. In the end, the client can be left damaged. You or a family member or friend may have experienced this in the past. We have many clients come to us after poor experiences with this approach. 

Architectural Design-Build (also Design Build) is the natural approach to creation of the built environment and has been used for thousands of years to create many of the beautiful structures of earth. Architectural Design Build is the route of choice if one desires to save on time and money, reduce stress, and eliminate a fragmented sense of project responsibility in the people working for you.  

Architectural Design Build is a model that stresses single-source accountability with the creative design, planning, and remodel executed start to finish by one firm. 

Architectural Design-Build in Boston is currently being turned to by professionals, families, and individuals as the cutting edge of efficiency, aesthetics, practicality, and accountability when it comes to designing and remodeling a home. This approach packages architectural design and interior design services with artisan-level building and remodeling services. This natural synthesis makes for a simple, efficient, and accountable creative process followed by a streamlined and responsible build phase, reducing cost, time of execution, and client stress throughout. With the Architectural Design Build approach, the client is dealing solely with one fully accountable firm. 

New England Design and Construction specializes in Architectural Design Build with a specific focus on sustainable luxury homes. We are extremely mindful of environmental impact and passionate about project efficiency and client comfort. 

At NEDC we do high end and luxury Architectural Design Build across Boston with a focus on sustainable home design and remodels.  I founded NEDC to forward the time-honored legacy of the Architect as Master Builder–a subject I am deeply passionate about.  We are a vibrant and creative team of 25 Architects, Interior Designers and Project Managers dedicated to a white-glove experience for our clients.  We handle everything–from conceptual design through architectural planning, interior design and full artisan build.  Our work is followed by a five-year warranty which we stand by and are extremely proud of.

This is a beautiful Architectural Design Build project we completed in Wayland, MA with interior designer Kate Maloney which was featured in Modern Luxury Interiors:

https://modernluxuryinteriors.com/nedc-home-design-wayland

NEW ENGLAND DESIGN AND CONSTRUCTION (NEDC): WHERE WE WORK: 

We offer turnkey Architectural Design Build services across Arlington, Cambridge, Somerville, Back Bay, Beacon Hill, the South End, South Boston, Jamaica Plain, Milton, Newton, Brookline, Chestnut Hill, Wayland, Wellesley, Weston, Westwood, Winchester, Waban, Sudbury, Lexington, Lincoln, Roxbury, Watertown, Charlestown, Belmont, Arlington, Boston’s Seaport, the North End, Greater Boston Area and Boston’s Metrowest. 

DOWNLOAD OUR FREE BOSTON HOME REMODELING COST GUIDE HERE:

https://www.nedesignbuild.com/boston-remodeling-cost-guide/

I hope this of help and value.

Bring us your dreams!  We’d love to work with you.

David Muniz Supple

www.nedesignbuild.com

e. dave@nedesignbuild.com