Design-Build Redefined by Portland Remodeling Contractor Hammer and Hand

Design-build is a model of project development that brings designer and builder

together in ongoing collaboration. Portland remodeling contractor Hammer and Han
d advocates a process that invites the client back into the design-build process
.
Portland, OR - October 20, 2010 -- Design-build remodels, or new design-build ho
mes, can be the most successful and cost effective construction projects, becaus
e they benefit from close ongoing collaboration between architect and contractor
. Unfortunately, conventional design-build often devolves to a model in which co
ntractors handle all design work in-house, leading to lopsided relationships tha
t serve clients poorly. Hammer and Hand offers a design-build process that bucks
this trend, by basing project development on a stable, three-legged stool: the
designer-builder-client structure of strong, independent "advocacies".
"The contractor that handles all design functions in-house actually represents a
weaker version of design-build," says Daniel Thomas, CEO of Hammer and Hand. "D
esign-build should bring designer, builder and client together in collaboration,
but it's a collaboration of equals. A good design-build process facilitates mea
ningful and empowered input by all three members of the project development team
."
Successful design-build processes (http://HammerAndHand.com/design-build) set th
e conditions for effective advocacies from all three partners in project develop
ment:
* The designer, who advocates for the way a project's spaces work and interact w
ith one another, its volumetrics, and its aesthetics.
* The builder, who advocates for safety, efficiency, cost containment, and longe
vity of the building envelope.
* The client, who advocates for their own needs, now and in the future, their fi
nancial realities, and for all the ways they want the building to serve them.
Effective project development brings all three of these advocacies around one ta
ble to work together, advocate for what is important, explore and negotiate join
t solutions, and ultimately craft a plan that is greater than the sum of its par
ts.
"We're not talking about the first and easy solution here," says Thomas. "It's t
he hard-fought one that finally emerges, stronger in every way for the creative
and dynamic process that the three advocacies have fostered and undergone. True
collaboration."
The problem with conventional design-build processes that tuck the design functi
on behind the builder's walls is that they short-circuit the three-way conversat
ion. The weighing of designer and builder concerns still happens, but behind clo
sed doors, hidden from the client. In essence, this brand of design-build contra
ctor absorbs the design advocacy, digests it, and then communicates a simplified
version for the client that embodies that firm's self-interest.
For smaller, simpler projects, that can be okay. But with more complex projects
like full kitchen ( http://HammerAndHand.com/portfolio/kitchens ) and bathroom r
emodels, additions, basement renovations and whole house remodels ( http://Hamme
rAndHand.com/residential-remodel ), the client deserves strong, independent voic
es to fully represent the designer and builder advocacies.
That is why Hammer and Hand has developed close, ongoing relationships with a ca
dre of independent designers, each of whom offers unique skills and expertise to
match the needs of each client. Because the firm does not hire designers or arc
hitects as in-house employees, it is able to draw on a diverse range of talent t
o match specific client needs with the appropriate designer's schedule, budget,
design sense, and personality.
Is Hammer and Hand design-build? Absolutely. The firm guides clients through the
entire project development process, from dreaming to construction completion. B
ut the firm is committed to doing so on a stable, three-legged collaborative str
ucture, because clients deserve nothing less. For more information on Hammer and
Hand's design-build capabilities, visit http://HammerAndHand.com/design-build
About Hammer and Hand:
Design-build remodeling contractor Hammer and Hand honors both the embodied ener
gy and embodied narrative within every building. As a steward of Portland's buil
t environment since 1995, the firm's state-of-the-art remodels, historically acc
urate restorations and new homes of lasting craft and beauty give physical expre
ssion to that ethos of stewardship. The firm specializes in remodels, new homes
and commercial spaces, handyman repairs, home energy audits, Passive House homes
, and upcycled furniture. Visit http://www.HammerAndHand.com for more informatio
n, or e-mail zack@hammerandhand.com
Contact:
Zack Semke
Hammer and Hand
1020 SE Harrison Street
Portland, OR 97214
503-232-2447
zack@hammerandhand.com
http://www.HammerAndHand.com