Give & Take

We have done several projects with a specific client over the years. When they decided to move out of the building they were leasing several years ago and buy a building of their own, they hired us to do the interior renovation of the new building. At the time, the building that they purchased was a bit smaller than they wanted, but they knew they could make it work for a period of time. About 6 months after purchasing the building, they called us and said that they had truly outgrown the space and wanted to build an addition that would meet all of their needs with room for growth. We did a preliminary schematic design of an addition consisting of open office space, ample conference rooms and private offices, all connected to their existing building.

Shortly after we completed the preliminary drawings for the building addition, an existing building down the street came up for sale that wasn’t exactly a perfect fit. They knew they would need to make some minor modifications to the interior flow, but felt that it was move in ready and could work for them. Purchasing the building down the street would cost about 60% of what they would have in new construction. The lower price as well as immediate availability were the main factors that prompted them to even consider purchasing another building that didn’t fully meet their needs.

We talk a lot here at PDMi about compromise, or give & take, when it comes to our projects. This is a prime example of compromising on a building that is not your dream solution, but in the end it may be a “good enough” fit for the time being. The money saved on purchasing a smaller existing building rather than the nice big new construction may be better used to grow their current business and be further ahead at the end of the day.    

Give & take is not always a bad situation to be in, you just have to be aware of what you are giving and what you are taking. PDMi can help you work through the pros and cons of your next expansion or building purchase. Give us a call, we’d love to help.

PDMi – How We Can Help You

Earlier this week, I took a trip to southern Indiana to do a jobsite inspection for a project we designed last year. It is a large multi-unit apartment complex and the contractor has recently begun the construction phase of the project. I will be taking monthly trips to the site over the next 12-15 months, as the bank that financed the project requires monthly site visits by the architectural firm to verify and approve progress payments. I’m excited to see the vibrant colors of the fall foliage during my October and November site visits, but I’m a bit less excited about snow covered roads in the winter!  

I tell you the story above to illustrate that PDMi wears a lot of hats. Many people think that Architects simply design buildings. Here at PDMi, we do a lot more than just design buildings for our clients. A few things that we do here on a day to day basis are:

• We perform upfront code research and planning for all types of projects.

• We work with clients on process flow and layouts inside the facility to help maximize the return on investment.

• We help clients during construction by answering technical questions, attending jobsite meetings, doing onsite inspections and helping clients understand what their budget dollars are being spent on.

• We also design buildings, but I think you already knew that!

Here at PDMi, we pride ourselves on being a “one stop shop” for all of your building planning, designing and implementing needs. We can do all or some of the items above and help you get the most out of your new building project or existing renovation. If you need help on your next project, give us a call – we’d love to jump in and help.

Planning is Important

We recently connected with a new client that is looking to move one of his manufacturing businesses from overseas back to the states. He is not local to Fort Wayne, but chose this area due to the positive economic environment of northeast Indiana. They purchased a piece of industrial land and started to experiment with what size building would fit on the site. They started by looking at doing a “campus” setting with multiple buildings that could be owner occupied and also leased out to other tenants. That idea didn’t fit so well on their land, so they dropped back to one larger building that could house their manufacturing business along with future tenants. PDMi entered the conversation around this time to lend expertise on how to get the project off the ground and how to look at the project in multiple phases.

We are now working with the client to help them with the process flow of their manufacturing company, the timing of when they will add the future addition for leased tenant spaces and what the future addition will look like (size, functionality, etc.). This is all called “planning” in the architectural design world. Planning is extremely important in all walks of life and we see it daily here at PDMi. I am glad that this particular client had the foresight to engage us early in his process, so that correct decisions can be made on paper prior to dirt being moved, concrete in the ground and steel in the air.

We have a long list of clients that we have helped in their upfront planning stages. If you are looking to build, renovate or just want to “kick the tires” on a building project; give us a call.