That is an important question.  For many years we at Stearns Design Build (Stearns Construction at the time) insisted on only remodeling, or, as we like to put it, recycling homes.  We have since justified designing and building new homes.  The justification is that new building stock is necessary.  The fact is that we just love designing and building new homes that save energy and create happiness. But we still love restoration and modernization of older homes too.

Here is a great blog post on this topic from Christopher Davis at the USGBC.

I have posted in the past about Sawmill Hollow Farm.  This is more than just a family farm, though these days that in and of itself is pretty cool.  This farm is owned and managed by the Pittz family who are agricultural pioneers.  They have returned the aronia berry, a native, super high antioxidant fruit to production in America. In addition to growing aronia berries they have also worked tirelessly to develop honest, high quality supplements and other happy health products that do not seek to deceive the consumer.  Turns out that is a pretty rare commodity.

I am proud that Sawmill Hollow Farm has been recognized as one of the 51 companies shaping the future of natural and organic products.  Given that this is an organization run by just three people and they are introducing entirely new product that is pretty amazing.  I encourage you to join me in voting for Sawmill Hollow Farms as a stand out in this group of extraordinary companies, which you can do here.

To learn more about this exceptional farm and Family you can visit their website.

We’re proud of Stearns Design-Build for any number of reasons.  We have an excellent client rating. We have our own articulation of a design theory which allows us to create spaces that make our clients happy.  We study and have a deep knowledge of building science, allowing us to create projects that work well and are healthy for our clients and the environment.

These things are all made possible by our outstanding team of people, one of which we’d like to spotlight today:

Rod Robinson is one of our lead carpenters, and he is the embodiment of responsibility and care. He sincerely and deeply cares about the people around him.  He is quick to take new team members under his wing, to help them feel welcome, and to help them understand what is expected of them. He also cares deeply about the quality of his work.

Rod’s passions include riding his Harley, doing volunteer work and spending time with his wife Lisa and his kids Shanell and Barron.  At Christmas time, we always look forward to the Robinson’s elaborate light display.

Thanks Rod, for all you do!

For this project, we removed a rotted fence, rotted deck, and unused hot tub, replacing them with a new concrete patio, fence, and gate.

The patio directly adjoins our clients’ master bedroom via existing french doors. Now, in place of their unusable deck area which collected leaves and critters, they have a private courtyard retreat which they are excited to use. In fact, they’ve already picked out some furniture for it!

Below are some pictures– The fence and gate materials are red cedar and treated lumber, which look beautiful now and will weather beautifully as well.

As you may know, April is National Poetry Month. And this is National Architecture Week.  To celebrate this greenbuilding.com is holding a haiku contest.

When I formed Stearns Design Build, I read business books that suggested creating a “mission statement.” This sort of sterile distillation of a complex system seemed antithetical to much of what I sought to do.  Creating a company was about more than crude causal statements intended only to direct action at driving profit.  I sought nuance and relationship.  So, rather than a mission statement, I wrote a mission Haiku that applies equally to our theories of business and design.

Human Potential

Creating Relationship

Building Sacred Space

We have a tradition at Stearns Design Build called the “Way To Go”, which is recognition for a team member who has gone above and beyond the call of duty. In fact this is a tradition that I have a hard time following. That is not for a lack of great effort on the part of our team. To the contrary, it is because of the difficulty in narrowing the list. It is for this reason (and personality type) the I generally procrastinate, which is what I did recently. So, I ended up giving out two “Way To Goes”at one time. These went to Joe, our cabinet-maker and Eleazar, our painter and resident artist, for their efforts in developing our Home Show booth.

Joe built two really fine pieces of furniture that were in the booth and are now used in our office. His craftsmanship is always stellar.

Eleazar did all of the lettering on the booth by hand!

Both of these guys worked long and diligently to ensure that we had the most attractive booth at the home show.

Hugh

I really like the Stearns Design Build Blog. You may think that I am bragging on myself, but I am not. For the last several months the excellent work on our blog has been done by Elizabeth, who also happens to be our design manager and all around great person.

In fact, I am so bad at blogging that I have been meaning to introduce Elizabeth since she started working on the blog. Luckily, she is far more diligent than I am. Elizabeth ends up doing a lot of tasks around here. No matter what we put on her plate, she does an excellent job and never complains.

She is a graduate of TAMU’s Environmental Design program. And – sorry boys – she is engaged to be married in June. Elizabeth is a great designer and a wonderful team member.

- Hugh

What is the Design-Build process? How does it work?

The design-build process creates a single source of responsibility to take a project from concept to completion.  This not only removes the frustration of shifting blame between the design and construction phases of a project, but it also allows for a team approach to problem solving.

Once a basic concept has been developed, we arrange a charrette which is a design meeting that pulls together all of the major stakeholders in a project.  Typically this meeting will include the homeowner, the design team, the production manager, the carpenters, the electrician, the HVAC contractor, the plumber, the landscaper, and others.  This meeting allows us to identify possible problems early in the process. It also allows us to design with more detail by bringing together and harvesting the knowledge base of each trade.

What are advantages of the Design-Build process?

1. Reduced Problems – By bringing everyone into the process to work together, problems are more easily identified and solved in the design phase.
2. Reduced Frustration – In the traditional approach in which one company does the design and another does the construction, there is an ongoing ping-pong match of blame. In the design-build approach, the designer and the contractor work together as a team, resulting in a cohesive and cooperative process.
3. Reduced Resistance – With shared responsibility comes a shared motivation to solve problems. In the traditional approach, more effort goes into denying responsibility than taking it. The design-build approach allows for increased team work, reduced stress, and an easier path to problem solving.
4. Improved Designs – Designers are not construction experts. When a contractor is placed on the design team with shared responsibility, you can bet that design is going to be mindful of difficulties that can arise in construction. The design-build process allows for very detailed designs that consider fine details.
5. Cost Savings – If handled properly, savings do not come in the design phase. In fact, as designs become more detailed they can also become more expensive. The return comes from improved cost engineering and reduced problems during construction.  A designer cannot be expected to understand material and labor considerations of the construction process, much less each trade in the process.  When asked to be a part of value-engineering in the design-phase, trade contractors are often able to make recommendations that cut costs without compromising quality.