Budget

From the initial meeting, we try to understand Owner goals and expectations for budgets and through the course of design, confirm costs and ensure that the design and expectations are synchronized. Utilizing our own cost data from the area as well as industry standard estimating tools, we provide Owners with cost updates through the course of their project.

Integrated Design  /  Modeling  /  Life Cycle Cost Analysis

Using energy modeling to reinforce and prove these strategies has been successful in helping building owners make choices that are sustainable and based on outcomes of the modeling results. Often ideas or hunches about how systems, envelopes or concerns over initial cost can be clarified and the best strategy implemented that has short and long-term rewards in terms of comfort, durability, and cost savings.  Life Cycle cost analysis can also inform owners on choices for systems and building materials. Material and system choices that cost similar amounts or more can be weighed out over their predicted useful life to determine if initial costs, maintenance and eventual replacement are the right choice for a project element. Implementation of these tools for clients utilizes in house expertise, bringing appropriate consultants to the project and computerized building modeling, simulation and analysis of results. Past projects have realized over 55% reduction in energy costs with appropriate orientation, envelope and fairly simple mechanical and electrical systems.

Sustainability

The sustainability approach of the firm is to look first toward simple and common-sense strategies.  Building orientation, placement of entries and windows as well as the exterior envelope are elements that make significant improvements if located appropriately.  These elements have minimal budget effect and can be implemented on most projects.

Simonsen Architect puts energy efficiency at the forefront of each project-whether preserving historic structures or designing a new building. We seek to exceed minimum building requirements, yielding Owners utility savings and maximizing occupant comfort. An Integrated design approach is utilized to explore possible project synergies between the given site conditions, input of the full design team and requirements and desires of the Owner. Through coordinated strategies, energy and daylight modeling, innovative sourcing of local available materials and optimizing passive design to minimize impacts on active systems, we seek to quantifiably reduced the environmental impacts and operational costs of projects designed.