Unique Architecture 2.0

Back in March of 2024, I sent out an e-bits titled “Unique Architecture”. If you don’t recall that specific e-bits, it talked about a unique building in downtown Louisville, KY where they saved the front façade of a building and tore down the inside to create an outdoor park. It caught my eye, as it was different than anything I’d seen in the past.

A few weeks ago we traveled to visit family in Oklahoma and they happen to live about 2 miles from historic Route 66. Along Route 66 is an iconic gas station and convenience store called “Pops 66” where they sell hundreds of different bottles of soda pop. The soda pop was cool, but the architecture of the building was a real show stopper. The picture doesn’t do justice to how impressive the steel canopy in real life. You don’t see that too often, especially not in suburban Oklahoma!

The main point of this e-bits wasn’t just to show you another cool building (I’ll do some more unique architecture e-bits over the coming years), but to remind you that interesting buildings are everywhere, you just have to keep an eye out for them.

If you are looking to build a unique building or maybe a more conventional building, give us a call.

Keep it Simple

I met with a client this past week at one of his existing buildings. He and his wife are great people and we have done multiple building renovation projects with them over the years. As we stood there trying to figure out the best use of an existing space that they no longer needed, we started down a rabbit hole of ideas that were becoming quite complex and expensive. The plan was to remove a load bearing wall and move it about 3 feet to enlarge a smaller space, which seemed like a costly solution. As we talked further, his wife suggested that the adjacent room was actually large enough to simply split in half and create two new treatment rooms with very minimal disruption to their current space. It was like a light bulb went on and we saw a clear path to their end goal with much less effort, much less cost and much less intrusiveness on their existing day to day business operations.

Here’s the deal with this entire e-bits, sometimes the best solution is the simplest solution. As Architects and designers, we often want to propose the perfect solution, when a much simpler compromise is right there in front of you. Many times getting together with the client, in their space, points you in the right direction. The solution to simply split the adjacent larger room into two treatment rooms will accomplish their goal with very minimal cost involved. All three of us left the meeting feeling great about the outcome.

Here at PDMi, we pride ourselves on being solution providers. The funny part is, we aren’t always the one that comes up with the best solution! In this case the client had the idea and now we will draw up a much simpler set of plans for them to present to their contractor. As my 11 year old daughter tells me all the time “think smarter dad, not harder”. If we can help you think smarter, give us a call.

Peanut Butter & Jelly

Peanut Butter & Jelly – Hammer & Nails – Pen & Paper, these are all things that go together. They fit. One complements the other. It is the same with Design & Build, one completes the other. Much of the time, design and build are regarded as adversaries, as they separately compete for the approval of the owner and/or the success of the project. This should not be! Just like Batman was not complete without Robin, the design of a project is not complete until it is built. 

There are many benefits to the Owner when Design and Build are combined on a project. They include:

• A Team Relationship is established between the Design Professional and the Contractor which is built on trust and confidence.

• The Scope of the project is identified through the contract documents so that Cost and Schedule can be identified/verified/modified early in the process.

• The Design Professional becomes a Valuable Resource to the Builder during the construction process as the Builder was to the Designer during the document phase.

The old days of adversarial relationships which were formed by Architects/Engineers drawing blueprints for the Contractor to competitively bid must be reevaluated. If we, as Professionals and Contractors, desire to bring the best product to our clients then we must learn that Design and Build fit together.

Contact me about how PDMi can be an integral part of the Design Build team on your next project.