WHAT WE DO
Can we read your mind? No. But with a comprehensive understanding of your business and your expectations, Shelden Architecture can translate your vision into distinctive architecture.
Distinctive architecture is more than roofs and walls. It tells the world who you are. It motivates your people and enhances your ability to do business and live.
Distinctive architecture is what we do, inspired by you.
Shelden Architecture is a full service architectural firm providing services ranging from Pre-Design through Construction. Since 2002 we have designed distinctive buildings for scores of clients from the fields of business, health care, finance, retail, education, religion, housing, and more.
Shelden Architecture can oversee your entire project, from initial idea to completion. Or we can provide our services à la carte. Please contact us today for a “Needs and Options Review.” Let’s get started!
Our Services
Do you have other questions about how this whole process works?
Please feel free to email us with any questions or if you would like more information on how to get started.
Why Us?
We believe ours is a service-driven profession in which we play an interpretive role, listening to our client’s needs, hopes and dreams, being inspired by them. Along with a selected builder (General Contractor) we translate, as design partners, our clients’ words to meet their architectural objectives.
Because of this, we commit ourselves to a set of values that benefit our clients and reminds each of us the pursue excellence:
- Make the Client’s project our project.
- Understand the Client’s intent
- Respect the Client’s budget
- Honor the Client’s trust
- Dream the Client’s dream
- Do work we all can be proud of.
- Accept our responsibility to the Client, the Company and the Community.
You do not need firm or complete answers at this point. Rather, these questions will help to ensure that your initial communications will be clear and productive and enable you to move forward in a way that best suits your needs.
- How will your project be used: Do you have specific ideas on how to translate these activities into spaces and square footage?
- Do you have a site? Or will this also be a subject of discussion with our team?
- Have you decided upon a schedule and budget?
- Do you have a builder or General Contractor in mind for the project? And how soon do we involve them in the process?
- What are your overall aspirations for the project – aesthetic and emotional as well as practical?
- Who will be making the critical decisions – you alone, business partners or stakeholders, or a broader committee of some sort?
- Where will the resources come from to create and operate your project?
- Do you have a banker and financing in place to move forward?
- Are you willing to pay a little extra up front on systems that will bring operational savings and payback over time? Or another way to ask this question might be: How important are “green” technologies and strategies to you?
- Do you have previous experience with design and construction? If so, in what ways were you successful, and was the experience in any way disappointing?
Our team will listen closely to your answers, help you solidify your goals and desires, and translate them into an effective building.
We understand that any building project can be overwhelming, and that you will have questions and concerns about the process; in fact you should. We are available and anxious to answer any questions you may have.
In a word: COLLABORATION.
Collaboration is at the heart of what we do here at Shelden Architecture.
Here are some key principles that drive our collaborations:
- You and your project are the hub of the collaboration with the rest of the team rounding out the wheel.
- Early on in the planning process, we assemble a team that includes a contractor and other consultants which allows us to troubleshoot problems that might arise during construction. The result is a well-designed, well-run project that meets your objectives.
- Time spent with the team on the front end of the process will pay dividends down the road for your schedule, your budget, and the overall quality of your project. Through collaborative planning in the initial phase of the project we can provide better cost control, reduce and almost eliminate change orders, create better quality control, and make the entire process more understandable because of open communication.
Phases of a Successful Project
Shelden Architecture skillfully guides you through every phase, from pre-design through construction.
During the Pre-Design Phase we set the agenda, including specific goals and anticipated hurdles, for the overall design effort. We research codes and uncover problems that may influence budgets and schedules down the road. Most importantly, we work with our client to define the project program. A clearly defined program serves as a roadmap to the entire process and helps bridge between theories, ideas, drawings and built forms. We also call this a “Needs and Options Review.”
The Schematic Design Phase establishes the conceptual design of the project and illustrates the scales and relationships between project components. SA provides conceptual site plans, preliminary building plans, sections, elevations and/or other drawings required to communicate the design intent.
City planning or building officials, land surveyors, engineers, arborists and/or ecologists may also be consulted.
Prior to submitting the project to the planning department, we recommend meeting with the City Planner and other pertinent officials or stakeholders (such as historical societies or neighborhood groups) to check for conformance with applicable zoning ordinances and community/special interest concerns.
During the Design Development Phase, we establish the building’s relationships, forms, size and overall appearance through further development of the floor plans, sections, elevations, typical construction details, and equipment layouts. Preliminary specifications, which identify major building materials and systems and establish quality standards, are also introduced during this phase.
Building design is enriched with input from engineers and contractors. The structural system is elaborated, as are other building systems such as electrical sources and heating and cooling strategies-particularly if they are of alternate means, such as photovoltaic cells or radiant floor heating.
We strongly recommend hiring a contractor at this time (or earlier, if possible). Your contractor can provide valuable “pre-construction” services such as establishing a schedule, cost estimating/budget management, and generally allowing you to make educated decisions about quality of materials and products.
The Construction Documentation Phase sets forth in detail the requirements for construction of the project. Floor plans, enlarged plans, wall sections, ceiling plans, power/communication plans, finish plans, elevations, details, and written specifications are added or refined to further establish the quality levels of materials and systems required for the project. Mechanical, electrical, plumbing, fire protection, and other building systems are carefully integrated into the architectural envelope. Communication with the system designers and engineers is expanded to insure a comfortable fit within the building, request an equipment layout revision, or modify the building design if necessary.
Upon completion of approximately 75% of the Construction Documentation Phase, the drawing package, including specifications, engineering drawings and structural calculations, along with permit application fees, should be submitted to the Building Department for Building Permit Review. After a period of time (often 4-6 weeks, but ultimately unpredictable), the Building Official will respond to SA with either notification of project approval or a request for plan revisions. In the latter case, revised drawings are resubmitted for review.
Occasionally, this process will repeat, but more often, the building official will approve the plans and make a building permit available for pickup by the building owner or the contractor.
We will assist the owner in bidding the project to multiple general contractors or finalize negotiations of the construction scope and contract with a selected general contractor.
During the Construction Administration Phase, SA oversees the contract between you and the contractor. This contract is based on our drawings and specifications. As he or she builds, we act as your representative by observing the progress of construction for conformance with our drawings and specifications, by providing clarifications to our drawings, or with your approval, making modifications to the design, which may impact the Contractor’s work. We also review the contractor’s Requests for Payment to verify they are billing you correctly, and review general construction progress for conformance to budget and schedule.
Typically, we recommend weekly/bi-weekly site meetings between you, the contractor, and SA to review the work and discuss any issues.
When the contractor is almost finished with construction, we can also perform a “punch list” to direct their work towards completion prior to your final payment to them. Throughout this process we represent your interests to the contractor as defined in our drawings and specifications.
What Our Clients Say
“I wanted customers to have a ‘wow’ impression from the moment they drove into the parking lot. I wanted them to feel something special when they stepped through the door, to be drawn in and explore the entire facility…Shelden Architecture articulated my vision and made it come to life.”
“SA is a dedicated, creative and determined firm, whose character and skill stand out among their peers.”
“As a Builder I have enjoyed working with the Shelden Team and appreciate their design skills, and I am equally impressed with their collaborative nature with the construction agenda.”
“Shelden Architecture has done an excellent job of listening to us and implementing Grene Vision Group’s building design needs and requests, as well as suggesting improvements that both enhance the work flow and aesthetics of our clinics.”
“Not only did Shelden Architecture do an excellent job in overseeing the work to make sure it was done well, completed on schedule and on budget, Stan and his staff went above & beyond the call of duty to serve our church in every way possible. The staff worked hard to gather input from our congregation; patiently listening and asking questions to make sure that they understood exactly what we wanted as a church before they even started the project. Their communication was great! However, their excellent communication did not end there; they continued to walk us through each step of the process and were available to listen and answer questions along the way.”
“From the initial conceptual discussions to the opening of the branch, SA was truly our advocate in building a branch that makes a statement about who we are as a bank.
The SA team was able to take our vision and turn it into what we feel is a forward-looking, contemporary, and even technologically advanced building. This vision would not have been possible without their gift for being able to take our broad brush ideas and turn them into final drawings, which ultimately led to the spectacular building we have today.”