Seven Steps in the Bush Construction Design Process
Taking on a construction project can feel overwhelming. Outlining your scope. Securing financing. Selecting partners (sometimes multiple partners). Designing. Building. Ribbon Cutting. Is your head spinning?
Bush Construction takes the complication out of construction by bringing all the critical services under one roof: real estate buying/planning, architectural design, and construction build. Read more about that here.
In today’s blog, we’re focusing on the design process and the seven fundamental steps that the des
1. Pre-Design
The pre-design phase is all about forming a vision and analyzing the project space. As one of the more client-involved stages, we’ll closely collaborate with your team to capture your vision, understand your values, and plan for optimized functionality.
Our team will conduct a series of exploratory meetings which include listening, questioning, and ideating. We’ll take a deep dive with your team to build the foundation of your design:
Function: How will the space be used, organized, and arranged?
Style: Your personality, lifestyle, and design style preferences.
Space: How much space is needed now and in the future?
The other vital part of the pre-design phase is observing and documenting the existing conditions of the project site including surveying the land/existing building (property lines, measuring structures etc.) and doing background research on surrounding areas (contextuality, zoning, etc.).
2. Schematic Design
In this phase, we’ll start translating the pre-design program into a real building design – your vision is beginning to take shape! The schematic design phase is also about capturing a general look and feel.
We’ll work together to discover what inspires us through hand sketches, models, and examples of past projects. We’ll develop preliminary site and floor plans as well as 3D renderings to visualize the size, shape, and relationship of the spaces to each other.
3. Design Development
Using the approved preliminary site and floor plans, we’ll start making more concrete decisions about your space. These include the development of detailed drawings and specifications documents while keeping an eye on code compliance. Things are starting to come to life!
A rigorous coordination effort with all applicable disciplines will ensure fine-tuning and solidifying the design. You’ll be asked to review and approve these documents to confirm we’re on the right track. This is a great time to ensure the project scope is in line with the project budget – refining early on will save the most cost during construction. Construction costs have been varying widely in the past couple of years, our team collaborates to account for changes and conducts an exercise in value engineering.
Once approved, the deliverable will be a more detailed set of drawings that communicates the overall layout and volume of the building or space, all significant equipment, and the type of material or finish for every surface of the project.
4. Construction Documents
It’s critical we communicate with the construction team in a way that creates clarity and accuracy. In this phase, the established design plans will be translated into precise construction documents. This step ensures that the vision is precisely and completely communicated to the construction team. (While we will handle this, check out these 12 terms to make yourself more familiar with the lingo.) Construction documents define:
a. Details, dimensions, and notes necessary to communicate the entire design intent
b. Specify all materials, finishes, and fixtures
c. Specify and place all required equipment with connectivity
5. Building Permitting
In this phase, we’ll take the load off you, identifying and acquiring all required building permits so you can enter construction with peace of mind.
Permits show your project complies with the applicable guidelines and regulations required by your city or jurisdiction including but not limited to land use, building, and energy codes. We’ll manage this process from start to finish including submitting all required plans and forms, monitoring progress during the review process, and providing additional information or clarification as requested.
6. Bidding and Negotiation
Bush Construction has a fully integrated team that can provide a seamless experience from concept to completion. Depending on the complexity of the project, subcontractors may need to be engaged. Our team of experts can lead the bidding and negotiation process to qualify and hire the best fit for you while remaining completely transparent.
We’ll engage pre-qualified and reputable subcontractors we know and trust, including those you may prefer. With a wide range of providers, we’ll ensure we’re weighing all options to best fit your needs and budget.
7. Ongoing oversight and site walkthroughs
Much of the design work will be complete at this point, but we’ll stay involved until project completion to ensure the results are delivered with the quality and intent you expect.
The beautiful part about working with Bush is that our integrated approach brings expertise in all aspects of the design-build process.
Through construction, we’ll be your eyes and ears on the job site to answer questions from our construction team and proactively address potential issues. As one team under one roof, we can easily address the natural inefficiencies and waste that occur through a typical multi-firm-led process. At substantial completion, we develop a punch list and guide the construction team to wrap up the project to your satisfaction.
Why Bush?
One vision. One team. Concept to completion.
When you choose Bush Construction, expect a seamless experience from concept to completion. With development, design, pre-construction, and construction services under one roof, our integrated team works together to make your project stress-free and fun.
Ready to get started?
Get started with a no-obligation discovery meeting with Sameer Kulkarni, our Director of Design.
563-549-2115
