SPECIFIC ABILITIES AND QUALIFICATIONS

Since Jeff Smies, the owner of the firm, will be the architect for your project, you will want to know about his specific abilities and qualifications for your project. They are as follows:

Jeff is particularly gifted in working with and through diverse opinions to reach a consensus. This skill is invaluable in meetings with all the individual committees as well as with the members of the building committee. Jeff is able to hear, acknowledge, and validate all ideas while directing the discussion toward the decisions that must be made. This is often a delicate process, but critical to maintaining the unity and commitment of your client while moving the building process forward.

Jeff has been working through project design for almost three decades. He has learned a great deal about the process and has developed a system that assists committees in identifying and articulating their unique vision for their project.

Typically, a building project requires the involvement of the architect for 2-3 years. Consequently, it is extremely important that you enjoy working with your architect. If you contact Jeff’s references, they will tell you that working with Jeff is a pleasure. Many of our clients will tell you that their respect and admiration for Jeff continued to grow throughout their project.

Continuity is important in every building project. Many architectural firms assign one of the architects they employ to a project. The owner and principal of the firms very rarely is the project architect. Since employees tend to switch employers or quit to open their own firms, your original contact may not be with the firm for the duration of your project. Since Jeff owns his own firm AND is your project architect, you can be sure he will not hand off your project to someone else who is unfamiliar with the work already done.

Smies & Associates will not design any building type like many architects; we prefer to focus our energy and attention on a select number of projects that require our particular expertise and experience. In limiting our projects, we are able to provide excellent service at all times in all phases of the project. When you speak with our references, you will find that each one believed they were our most important client throughout the duration of their project. Even after the final punch list was completed, Jeff’s continued follow-up assured them that his interest in their project did not end merely because the building was finished. His commitment to them and their goals is a long-term commitment that is highly unusual in the typical architectural firm.

The coordination of any building project requires excellent communication skills. In the world of architecture, the most critical form of communication is the set of plans and specifications prepared for the project. These documents are the vehicle which transmits all the requirements of the project to the contractors, sub-contractors, consultants, vendors and anyone else who needs information on the project. Any contractor will tell you that an excellent set of plans is imperative for a successful building project. If sufficient details are not included, there are two probable outcomes. First, the bids for your project are inflated. If contractors are not able to determine exactly what is required, they are forced to “pad” their bid to be sure their costs will be covered. Second, in the absence of clear and concise instruction, contractors are forced to make their own decisions how to handle certain issues. Those decisions affect other parts of the project which are performed by other vendors. If the decisions are not communicated properly, mistakes and costly errors occur. The employees of Smies & Associates, Architects, pride themselves in the accuracy and attention to detail included in every set of plans they generate. The many contractors they have worked with will tell you that these thorough plans and specifications make everyone’s job easier and eliminate the cost overruns that are typical for large projects. (We do however recommend that every project included contingency money to cover the cost of unforeseen conditions or items that were not covered during the bidding process).

Finally, as a service company, we are dedicated to our clients. We hope that each client will feel that we have helped them achieve their goals of creating a building that will meet their needs for many years to come. We also want to “build relationships through design” as our company motto says.

Contact Information

Telephone 920-458-0771

FAX 920-458-0337

Postal address 635 Mayflower Ave. Sheboygan, WI 53083

General Information: E-mail

Copyright © 2003 Smies & Associates, Architects LLC