Value Engineering in Construction: Our Approach to Project Design
Value Engineering in Construction When applied to the construction process, value engineering has enormous benefits for developers. The multi-step process is an integral part of the design stage of new development and aimed at increasing value. In value engineering, value is defined as a function divided by cost. Concentrating on the maximizing the project’s function …
Predicting Soft and Hard Costs: Conceptual Budgeting and Risk Assessment
Any construction project comes with its own unique set of risks — but the better and more thorough the estimate, the more likely the project is to succeed. Conceptual estimating and budgeting help to assess the costs and risks of a project. This is important as it allows your team to understand how expensive a …
Rising Construction Costs: What Your Company Should Do Next
The construction industry is built with a strategy in mind: assembling anything from the ground up takes time, foresight, and a reliance on tried-and-true methods. But recent increases in material costs have required construction companies to reconsider the building blocks of their business. In the Bay Area especially, where there is a high demand for …
The TI Race: From ROM to Market Ready
Planning a renovation is kind of like a puzzle, especially when it comes to scheduling different companies and contractors. If you’re trying to plan your own Tenant Improvement construction project, it may seem easy to call designers, carpenters, and plumbers and schedule everything yourself. But when plans start to go awry, it can be hard …
Local TI Leader: What We’ve Learned in 40 Years of Commercial Build Outs
The Bay Area is home to many of the most dynamic and innovative businesses in the world. It’s the nexus where new ideas, technologies, and companies are constantly coming together, launching the next big enterprises, and taking established firms and brands into the future. As companies change and evolve, so do the spaces where their …
Early TI ROI: 8 Reasons to Choose an Open Book/Design Build for TI Projects
People often throw around the phrase “I’m an open book,” when talking about themselves, but rarely do they follow through on the level of transparency it suggests. But when it comes to construction, having an “open-book” pricing method requires complete transparency between the owner of a project and their design-builder or contractor. When pricing out …
Sci-Fi Now a Reality in Tenant Improvement Space
When it comes to tenant improvement (TI) projects, the more you take advantage of emerging technology in your design, the more you can improve and advance the workspace. From deploying remote controlled lighting and using unified communications to adopting new techniques, such as augmented reality and automated construction, you have more options than ever before …
Managing the 85 Million Dollar Client: How to Approach Client Management in Construction
Whether you’re a project manager or developer with lots of experience working on smaller build projects or an architect looking to enhance your portfolio, making the leap to larger scale projects can be intimidating. With the right tools and mindset, though, the transition can be smooth, rewarding, and satisfying. Below, you’ll find the information you …
Choosing the Right General Contractor for Your New Build
Finding the right general contractor for a new project doesn’t need to be a time-consuming or challenging process. Of course, you need a combination of reliable teamwork, strategic onsite management and straightforward budgeting to ensure your project is successful. But to streamline your decision-making process, ask the following questions when you’re researching firms: 1. What …
The Story Behind Construction Planning: Preparing a Construction Project for Launch
Chances are great you’ve seen a ceremonial photograph from a ribbon cutting ceremony. Smiling people don hard hats, cut the ceremonial ribbon, or overturn a symbolic shovelful of dirt in front of key stakeholders to mark the beginning of a project. In reality, this ceremony is far from the beginning. Interested parties have been working …