What Is Archistruction?
A Different Way to Approach Construction and Building Design
When the decision to build a new space is made by the leaders of a commercial business, a government building, a medical facility, or even a music venue, the first questions are usually “who is going to design this space?” and “who is going to build this space?” This is the way things have been done in construction since time immemorial — you have your design contractor on one side, and your building contractor on the other, and you do your best to make the two function together, hopefully resulting in a building that operates close to the way that you imagined it would.
The Neenan Company saw the disconnect between the three parties — the client, the architect, and the builder — and knew there was a better way to accomplish the visions of all parties involved. In 1997, Neenan trademarked the term Archistruction™ as a way to denote that we were going to approach this whole process differently. We knew that it had to be more than a process, it needed to be an entirely new experience — a different way to build reality out of visions. Archistruction is more than simply a clever portmanteau of “architecture” and “construction”; it is an entirely unique, collaborative approach to building creation that results in final constructions that truly capture our clients’ intentions and accomplishes those goals responsibly and intelligently. Neenan Archistruction™ is a holistic approach to building design and construction, making your vision a reality from conception all the way to the ribbon cutting ceremony.
Common Beginnings
When a client comes to Neenan with an interest in our Archistruction process, they usually fall somewhere along a spectrum of early building development, and are eager to bring on a collaborative team that can take their vision and run with it. It is not uncommon for project beginnings to be very vague, in fact, starting from square one. Our team can begin with a dream and an idea, and sculpt it into something feasible, functional, effective, and aesthetically consistent with a vision for excellence. For decades, Neenan has helped businesses with their building projects, beginning with many of these starting points:
- Finding a building site
- Assessing their current space to determine what its needs are
- Assessing an existing building that they’re seeking to buy
- Creating an exhaustive budget and design for a loan
- Finding dependable sources of capital
- The total formulation of a plan for a building project
- Assistance with city and legal entitlements
Every dream and project begins somewhere. Neenan has had monumental success with hundreds of builds over our decades serving as archistruction experts, both locally in Colorado, and nationally across America.
Collaborative Design Process
We get really excited about how our collaborative design process functions. It is unlike any other collaborative building effort that you’ve ever seen in the real estate industry. During the collaborative design process, or the “CDP,” new ideas and design concepts are presented and tested, alongside budgets and schedules. This process includes your entire staff community and all of your board members, the main objective being to answer the following questions:
- How do you want your building space to feel when it’s completed?
- If we’re designing a medical facility for you, what feelings do you want communicated to your patients as they inhabit the patient suites?
- What do you imagine the flow or traffic of customers to be like in and around your building?
- How are we able to streamline the maintenance of your space with different systems we can implement or materials we can use?
Answering these and other questions will take place over the course of several meetings and check-ins so that we can effectively establish the character of the building that you envision. When we can determine what major systems need to be implemented early on in the process, we can much more easily anticipate all of the factors involved in your build.
Collaborative Construction Process
Rather than having separate design and construction firms vying for your attention and seeking out their own personal best interests, Neenan’s collaborative construction and design team start working together for you the day that you sign with us.This collaborative process continues on until your doors open for business! When we say that our Archistruction design, preconstruction and project managers work together for you, we mean that very literally. They not only work under the same roof, they sit together in a single group unit during your project, which makes the interaction between disciplines natural and inevitable. This is unique to Neenan’s archistruction process.
What you may also find fascinating is that our designers are not two separate teams that are contractually obligated to work together; rather, they are two arms on the same body. Our teams work together as a true partnership, making sure that in the end, you, our client, are having your best interests served. Members of our design team communicate with the construction superintendents on a daily basis, being present to help our construction team develop options that better serve your build and maximize its value.
The Neenan Archistruction™ Difference
We at the Neenan Company believe that using our Archistruction™ process will deliver an end result that would be impossible through other avenues. From our collaborative teams working together in unprecedented ways, to the high standard of construction quality that we adhere to, and the level of open communication between the owner of a building project and the professionals at Neenan, Archistruction really is an experience, not just a process. If you would like to learn more about the way that Neenan does business, and how we can serve you by turning your building visions into a reality, please start by contacting us! We’d love to discuss the possibilities that Neenan can help manifest for you. We love enriching the communities where we build by providing spaces that promote growth and a higher standard of excellence. Contact us today to get started on your Archistruction journey! We can’t wait to work with and for you.