DESIGN GUIDANCE™

• Process as important as design. Jones Pierce has developed a process called Design Guidance that ensures a client of keeping control of project costs and not being overwhelmed with the multitude of decisions. We employ a sequential process that guides decision-making in a controlled manner. The client benefits not only from a creative approach to design, but a defined means of getting to the end result that is predictable and productive.
• Trust between and among all parties involved. Many architects discuss collaborating with their clients, but Jones Pierce takes this concept a step further. We’ve learned that the key to a successful project is having clear communication and trust between the client, the architect and the contractor. We initiate the selection of builders early in the projects to include them in the design development as an integral partner. This early involvement allows them to provide input for construction costs as well as materials and methods recommendations for specifications and details. The three-part interaction allows for exchange of ideas as the client expresses the vision and we describe our design intent, which deepens the builder’s understanding of the project and ultimately results in better construction and fewer of those misunderstandings that can inflate cost.
• Assuring a positive, productive experience. Design Guidance is about providing knowledge to the client throughout the design process. Jones Pierce has developed the process so that from the beginning there are steps in which the project cost is first proposed and then verified as more detail is developed to the point of a final construction budget. A contingency is carried through construction to offset any unforeseen conditions. Design Guidance assures the best of both worlds—quality design and a process for assuring in-budget realization of the vision.