Architecture

Barnes Design Group

Who We Are

Barnes Design Group has been providing architectural services for over 25 years and has been commissioned on over 500 projects.  Our architectural firm’s experience includes churches,  shopping centers, funeral homes, beauty salons, restaurants and a number of other religious, commercial and industrial building types. 

At Barnes Design Group, we understand that there are a number of variables that are required to facilitate a successful project.  How a building fits on a site, engineering coordination, working with contractors and other factors can have a positive or negative impact on project delivery.  We take pride in using our God-given talents and passions to provide solutions that our clients can be proud of. 

Every architectural project is unique to us.  That’s why we don’t have a specific “architectural style”.   Our approach is for the design to become a signature of our clients’ vision.  We aim to provide designs that meet the owner’s needs, fits in their budget and exceeds their expectations, all at the same time.

Design Approach 

At the core of our design are people. Our goal is that people  can have a positive experience as the interact with the spaces we create.  A well designed facility demonstrates positive results that come from intentional planning.  The users of a new facility may not notice a well arranged design, but more often than not they will take real notice when a building is poorly arranged.

An important aspect of our design approach is our collaboration with our team of architects and engineers, as well as researching new and innovative ways that we can achieve the highest level of creativity at its lowest cost. We challenge each other in ways that each project advances our knowledge in design, innovation problem solving, new technique and the practice of architecture as a whole.

Both our corporate clients as well as our church clients deal with the changing times. They are always developing needs and other growing and expanding challenges.  We understand the importance of creating architecture that transforms how one interacts with it’s environment.   Every architectural project starts with a vision.  Our team has immense expertise in capturing one’s vision and transforming it to reality. 

Master Planning

At Barnes Design Group, creativity and innovation comes at the forefront of our approach to design.  Architecture is never static nor does it stand alone unrelated to space and time.  Architectural programming  is created to provide for spatial needs and to respond to a client’s dreams and desires.

Successful master planning understands the past, embraces the present and adequately projects for the future.  It is always our task at Barnes Design Group to embrace the client’s present needs within our design solutions while also providing design guidance addressing the future.

The first step of any master plan is a current assessment of the client’s existing circumstances, which may include an assessment of their needs, goals, buildings or new land purchases. Some examples are as follows:

• Study of the client’s existing physical facilities
• Consideration of the existing client’s properties
• Examination of the client’s newly purchased properties
• Evaluation of the client’s needs, goals, dreams or aspirations

A thorough understanding of the client’s current conditions will often, in itself, begin to suggest some master planning solutions to a client’s predicament.

 We at Barnes Design Group know that listening to the client is an important first step.

It’s Time to Build

After the master planning is complete, and the design and construction documents are finished, a contractor is needed to construct the building.  There are multiple forms of project delivery methods involving the owner, architect and contractor.  A variety of factors such as cost, risk, quality and schedule, come into play in selecting which project delivery method an owner should choose.  Listed below (in no specific order of importance) are common delivery methods currently utilized in the design and construction industry:

• Design-Bid-Build:

The architect, who has a separate contract with the owner, produces construction drawings.  The construction drawings are bid out to multiple contractors.  The contractor with the lowest price is often awarded the bid.  The contractor has a separate contract with the owner.

• Design-Build: A single source delivery system where the owner has a single contract with one entity to have the drawings produced and the building constructed.  The design-build entity may be led by the architect or the contractor.  For the owner, there are pros and cons to this system depending on which entity leads.

• Construction Management (CM) - Advisor: The owner hires a consultant early in the design process for guidance only.  The consultant does not erect the building.

• Construction Management-Agent: This role is similar to CM-Advisor.   The consultant provides guidance and may sign contracts for the owner.

• Construction Management-Constructor: Commonly known as “CM-at-Risk”, this delivery method has the contractor advising the owner early in design, where a price is established before the construction drawings are complete.  The contractor is “at risk” for pricing from finished design documents to completed construction drawings.

• Partnering: The project team of owner, architect and contractor is established from the beginning before any design has taken place.  The owner has separate contracts with each entity.  The architect and contractor have opportunities to collaborate on design and construction drawings for a more defined cost as the general contractor (GC) will not be bidding against other GCs.

• Single Source: The client contracts with a single entity to have the construction drawings produced and the building erected.  The architect and contractor work together to construct the building with the owner only needing to go to one party for contracts and communication.

The design and construction industry is evolving with various forms of the project deliveries listed above.  Regardless of the delivery method chosen, good collaboration amongst all parties is critical for a beneficial result.

Barnes Design Group and Partnering

In the typical building delivery system process, the architect designs a building around the anticipated budget of the owner.  Throughout the design process, construction cost can go up, budgets can be underestimated, the square footage of the building can grow, expensive details can be designed into a building that drive the cost up, and often the size of a project will grow causing the ultimate construction cost to exceed the original estimate.  At that point, the construction documents are complete and are bid amongst several contractors.  It is not uncommon to hear of construction cost at bid day coming in well over and above the original preliminary estimate which was analyzed months earlier.  This causes delays, increased design cost, and owner anxiety.

The significant difference between partnering and a typical construction delivery system is the opportunity for the complete team to establish a guaranteed maximum price during the design phase of a project.  The contractor playing his part on the team is allowed the opportunity to share his expertise in the area of costing at an early stage.  In the event that needs or wishes of the owner exceed his initial budget, design changes can be implemented at an early stage avoiding additional cost and delays.  This will assure the owner that he will ultimately get the building he wants, as defined by the goals and objectives at an agreed-upon cost. 

Partnering Benefits to the owner:

*          Reduced fees to the architect and engineering team

*          Reduced exposure to litigation and disputes

*          Reduced risk of cost overruns and delays

*          Value engineering

*          Increased opportunity for successful project

Benefits to the architect and engineer:

*          Reduce liability for document deficiencies

*          Enhanced roll in decision making process

*          Reduced administrative cost

*          Lower risk of re-design due to cost overruns

*          Increase opportunity for a successful project

Benefits to the contractor:

*          Expedited decision making

*          Opportunity to provide value engineering at an early stage

*          Improved time management and cost control

*          Less overhead and administrative costs

*          Lower risk of re-design due to cost overruns

In the standard building delivery construction method, the contractor will bid out 90 to 95% of the construction of the project to various subcontractors throughout the city.  In an attempt to keep costs low in order to receive the low bid award on the project, occasionally contractors will utilize extremely low bids from incompetent subcontractors.  It only takes one incompetent major sub-contractor on the project to destroy the quality of the project, the timely delivery of the project, and the faith and trust of the owner with the architect and contractor team.

Many owners have only been exposed to the concept of bidding a project to several contractors for competitive pricing.  However, in today’s market the general contractor is many times not involved in the actual hands on building during construction.  He has become a specialized manager of construction and operates his business as a brokerage company with subcontractors supplying approximately 90 to 95% of the labor force of all trades on the project.  Therefore, the successful completion of any project many times depends upon the subcontractors selected on a project during the bid phase.  Contractors in any geographical area often will utilize similar subs for pricing on various projects. 

The major variables between the low bid and other bids on any particular project are primarily found in only two areas:

1. The actual subcontractors utilized on the project
2. Overhead and profit percentage

The overhead and profit on any particular job is negotiable with the contractor at hand.  The wrong subcontractor can produce catastrophic results on the construction site.  It is because of this, that partnering often will provide a better delivery system than the typical bid and build.

As the owner is looking for a contractor to become part of the team, it is important that the contractor be familiar with partnering.  An overhead and profit will be established for the project prior to design.  The contractor will be submitting his subcontract lists and bids for the original estimating of the building  during the design phase.  It is at this phase that trust between a contractor and the team is critically important.  Decisions can be made to include or to eliminate subcontractors from the preliminary design estimate in order to insure the quality of the building.  With an open book policy, the sharing of precise line item costing and a fixed overhead and profit on the project established early, the owner has complete flexibility in identifying construction costs and seeing where the money is going.  This often results in a trust factor that continues throughout the entire project.

Barnes Design Group as Your Single Source

If our clients do not already have a contractor on their team, Barnes Design Group is able to provide a single point of contact for their building design and construction needs.  As an Architect-led construction management delivery team, Barnes Design Group works in tandem with it’s contractor to provide a single source and superior service of quality design and construction. 

Personal one-on-one interviews with our clients ensure a custom design that meets their specific requirements.  Complete architectural and building services are provided from one source. 

The single source construction management delivery system has many advantages over other traditional building delivery systems.  An analysis of a couple of other building delivery systems:

1. Design/Bid/Build

1. a) Architect is supposed to control the low bid contractor – Can’t be done!
2. b) Good architect + bad general contractor (subs) is not equal to a good building.  The same   

         can be said about a bad architect.

1. c)  Old outdated systems.  Government agencies no longer prefer this system as in the past.

2. Design Build (Contractor-Led)
3. a) General Contractor (GC) will often use low-ball subs costs.
4. b) GC will often use low-ball cheap architect.
5. c) A false perception by some that the architect or construction plans are not needed.

The single source process from Barnes Design Group is built on:

• Single-source accountability

• No pointing of fingers

• Transparent bidding and pricing

• Owner involvement and control of finances

• Trust

• Cost and budget accounting

In summary, partnering with a single entity provider that offers the highest quality of design coupled with high quality construction is the best of both worlds.  The owner’s goals and objectives are of extreme importance to both our architectural staff and partnering contractor staff. 

Because Barnes Design Group is able to partner with a contractor, a budget is able to be established early in the process.  A complete project team is then formed that consists of the owner, architect, contractor, consultants, interior designers, engineers, subcontractors and even material suppliers.  All are dedicated from the very beginning to the successful completion of the church project.

As a client, your project deserves the very best.  You deserve to partner with a winning combination that offers the highest quality of design coupled with high-quality construction methods.  Our design and building strategy embraces a single-source company for all of your building needs.  Partnering, trust and a commitment to quality will always result in a project of excellence that will provide you with a new facility of value and worth.