The success of Weber Group has been built on the creativity of our designs and mutual respect for the all-important paradigm of cost, quality and schedule. Excellent management is vital. We believe that not only should the final product be exceptional, but that the process used to get there is enjoyable and rewarding. We take pride in this intensity of purpose. And fortunately for us, since we were born designers, the process is great fun.
OUR PHILOSOPHY: THE WEBER WAY
Design is a process. Good design takes real effort and a high degree of contact with you, our client. We listen — which allows us to develop strong design concepts while being adaptive and responsive to your needs and desires.
We believe that you should claim as much credit for the design as we do. That happens because we place you in a participatory role during the design process. Working through a series of charettes or work sessions, you will tell “the story” and define the program and we will be the “pencil” that illustrates. This immediacy is very effective in communicating design ideas as they are discovered and discussed. In the end it’s our job to make it all work, but it is ultimately a collaborative partnership that yields the best results.
OUR PROCESS
In a traditional design-bid-build process, basic design services occur in five standard phases. Each phase includes work sessions or meetings with clients, responding to and incorporating input obtained in these meetings, co-ordination of engineering and specialty consultants, and budget and schedule evaluations with our construction division. The five phases are:
Phase 1: Schematic Design — “Narrative” development, concept design and space planning.
Phase 2: Design Development — Further concept development, material, finishes and detail design
Phase 3: Construction Documents — Permit and construction drawings and specifications
Phase 4: Bidding/Negotiation — Obtaining final pricing with contractors and fabricators
Phase 5: Construction Contract Administration — Monitoring the progress and quality of construction, solving on-site design problems, evaluating/preparing payments to contractors.
The design-build process is somewhat different. It involves a greater participation with our construction division. The four phases are:
Phase 1: Schematic Design/Project Budgeting — “Narrative” development, concept design, space planning. Develop a detailed project budget based on preliminary pricing with contractors.
Phase 2: Design Development/Construction Documents — Further concept development, material, finishes and detail design; review meetings during the progress of the work; permit and construction drawings and specifications.
Phase 3: Bidding/Negotiation — Obtaining final pricing with contractors and fabricators, negotiation of final construction contract.
Phase 4: Construction Contract Administration — Construction of the project, monitoring the progress and quality of construction by the design team, solving on-site design/construction problems, collaborative completion of the project.
While Weber Group can deliver projects using either methodology, we believe that the design-build process offers distinct advantages: Single source responsibility, early discovery of budgetary issues, faster project delivery, reduced change orders and in the end, reduced overall cost.