Facility Planning
Paul Brailsford leading a design charette at University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
B&D's facility planning services include:
- Strategic Planning
- Market Analysis
- Financial Analysis
- Real Estate Consulting
- Architectural Programming
- Site Analysis
- Economic Impact Analysis
- Referendum Assistance
- Design Consultation
- Business Planning
To see all of B&D's facility planning assignments, click here.
The following provides more details on B&D's facility planning services:
Strategic Planning
Where do you want your facility to take your community? What are the criteria to be applied to determine a project's feasibility? B&D has refined its methodologies for building consensus among diverse constituencies around a project's "Destination Value" -- the combination of specific objectives whose achievement will enable a building project to contribute to your overriding strategic goals. By defining these measures of project success early in the planning process, all subsequent planning decisions are made without repetition or unnecessary debate.
Market Analysis
Every building project or master plan should be unique, because every market is unique. Through focus group interviews, statistically valid surveys, demographic analyses, and research on our client's competition, B&D defines the specific facility requirements and overall qualitative features which respond to market demand, determines what it takes to beat the competition, finds out what a project must include for voters to approve it in referendum, sets price points and defines marketing strategy, and projects revenues from all services relevant of the building type.
Financial Analysis
B&D engineers highly sophisticated financial models which put control over the vast puzzle of financial variables at the fingertips of our clients' decision-makers. These computer models-the most highly refined in the industry-comprehensively integrate projected revenues, capital costs, operating costs, and financing strategy to determine the optimal balance between facility program and funding capacity.
Architectural Programming
B&D incorporates an extensive knowledge of specialized building technology and standards with a propriety process named "Demand-Based-Programming," which identifies the priority of space allocations most supportable by the market. This process provides framework for evaluating the unique characteristics of each project's needs and arriving at a clear consensus on a facility program. B&D produces detailed program documents which provide all of the conceptual and technical information necessary to convey an owner's requirements for a project to the design and construction team.
Site Analysis
B&D provides formalized comparison of site alternatives for a project with regard to their market responsiveness, impact on facility program, political acceptability, and cost implications in order to recommend the optimal project location and orientation. We create conceptual designs for proposed facilities or renovations, identifying prototypical layouts, developing "blocking and stacking" studies, and testing floor-by-floor configurations.
B&D served as program managers for St. Christopher's School in Richmond, Virginia
Economic Impact Analysis
Where appropriate, B&D extends our analysis beyond the impacts of a proposed project on our clients and their customers to evaluate the benefits and costs to the surrounding community. Both the direct, non-recurring impacts of construction and the recurring impacts of operation, as well as the indirect "spin-off" economic activity stimulated by each, are measured by precise quantitative methodologies. Beyond that, and perhaps more importantly, the intangible impacts, in terms of quality of life, market perception, and competitive position, are defined and included in our decision-making process.
Referendum Support
Where facility financing requires a referendum, B&D helps to plan and manage successful campaigns. B&D assists in assembling a campaign committee, building a campaign strategy based on the unique sensitivities and key constituent groups identified by our market analysis, and communicating the information about the project to all voters. To date, B&D has helped manage over 30 building referenda, compiling over a 90% success rate.
Jason Thompson and Ann Drummie review building designs
Design Consultation
All architects appreciate clear direction on a project's requirements, whether related to the owner's mission, market responsiveness, or technical needs of a specialized facility type. B&D has developed databases of the key planning and design standards, materials, and finishes required by "quality of life" buildings. Our staff members are well-versed in the operating, marketing, and maintenance needs of the sports, housing, and college union facilities, and our firm has frequently served both owners and architects as the "second set of eyes" throughout design.
Business Planning
B&D's depth of experience with testing the markets and establishing strategies for "quality of life" buildings has familiarized our staff with the full spectrum of management approaches, staffing structures, operational costs, and market positioning strategies for such facilities. Our business plans integrate client mission objectives and market responsiveness with an eye toward efficiency and customer service.
