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Doug Harr P.C. ARCHITECTURE is dedicated to architecture of the highest quality with a focus on client service and design excellence. We use a collaborative approach with our clients by listening to their desires and needs, then with a clear understanding, use our expertise to develop their ideas into a beautiful, cost efficient, technically modern, sustainable, and solid architectural projects. Our firm has a genuine curiosity about architecture and combined with our love to travel we have a worldwide diversity of experience to draw from. Traditional buildings are meant to raise people’s awareness of historical precedents while creating an appropriate functional and technological bridge to updated lifestyle requirements. Our non-traditional buildings are meant to investigate new ideas within a contemporary context and expand on creative possibilities. While adapting to specific architectural languages, our approach allows us to explore the subtleties of spatial organization, scale, material, texture, light and energy efficient factors related to the project and client. We handle a wide spectrum of sizes and architectural styles that fit in to context. The smallest, most simple project can have good design with out extra cost. Craftsmanship starts on the drawing board. I believe architects have the responsibility to interpret their client’s dream, give it the proper foundation, and make it a reality. With proper research and sensitivity, Doug Harr P.C. Architecture has been able to create a portfolio as diverse as its clientele. Creating efficient and functional floor plans that are not jeopardized by the exterior aesthetic of a stylistic approach is our trademark. The quality of natural light, the dramatic organization of space, the sense of discovery, ambiance, comfort, energy conservation, and attention to detail are all key subjects for our firm. The sunburst in our logo represents our basic belief that architectural issues and environmental issues are intertwined and buildings need to be easy to heat/cool and earth-friendly. Doug Harr P.C. ARCHITECTURE buildings are more resource-efficient and are sited and designed with regard for local climate. Sustainability lends itself to planning as well, making appropriate use of land by stopping leapfrogging, sprawling developments that erode existing communities, converts prime farmland to housing, and requires expensive new highways for commuters. The time commuters spend on the highway and away from their family and neighbors is a serious consideration as well. All the office/retail buildings that our firm has designed have had residential units. Our goal is to produce buildings that take less from the environment and give more to people. We want to protect agricultural, cultural, historical, and human resources. Sustainable design is not a style, but a goal to use the best of vernacular building approaches in logical combination with the best of new technological advances. The principles of sustainable design are simple, most buildings are climate and functionally dominated; the amount of energy it takes to heat or cool them is controlled by heat loss or gain through the parameter, the design effects resale value, utility bills, human health, and the environment. Within ten years sustainable design will be standard practice. It is important to have the right professional support and maintain equilibrium between workload and the ability to deliver. Quality and service are top priorities. In the twelve years we have had the firm in Glenwood we have been fortunate to form a network of knowledgeable engineers, consultants, and contractors. When we accept a project we want the principal to be able to dedicate a lot of his personnel time to it and properly service the clients until its completion. We believe in the small office and with Computer Aided Design, the Internet, and our network of consultants, we can handle all projects, large and small, in an efficient manner and on time. We welcome clients as collaborators in the design process; together we work to give the building its soul. Doug Harr P.C. ARCHITECTURE designs buildings that can tell their own stories, why they were built, who built them, who lives in them, and what they mean to these people. It is our philosophy to represent the best interests of our client. Going after projects based on price, architects are primarily representing their own best interests and not those of the client. One’s professional approach to a project changes when fee becomes a criterion for selection. If an architect submits a low fee in order to get a job, it leads to architects finding ways of cutting their time on the project, minimizing the level of service by:
This list could go on and on. While we all need to be conscientious as to how we spend our dollars, doing so by methods indicated in this list is, in our opinion, foolhardy, does not serve the interest of the client, and leads to a building costing more than necessary. We recognize the need to be responsive to our clients needs and provide documents that are complete, clear, and which will lead to more competitive pricing and also minimize the time spent by people to interpret and work from them. It has been our feeling that we should first be selected on the basis of our qualifications, our ability to do the job, and how we can fit in and be a viable member of the team. If we meet these criteria, we should then discuss everyone’s expectations. |
