Small firms have the same design challenges as larger firms, but their resources differ, and projects may be different in scale and budget. I am curious to learn how other small and smaller mid-size firms address certain issues in their design efforts for faith-based communities. I would love to hear your answers to the following questions to inform an upcoming article.
- Often smaller or start-up faith-based projects come with small budgets. How do you strategize with church representatives to align funds with design priorities?
- Though each faith-based project is unique, perhaps there is a common approach to the design process. Do you have a process template or outline that you reference at the beginning of each project? If so, please share a summary of this outline.
- What challenges have you faced working with committees versus having a staff member be your main point of contact? How does that affect your process?
- What is your experience designing for non-denominational churches? How does designing for these communities differ from traditional churches?
- Part of the process of working with clients is learning who they are and what is important to them. Once that focus or priority is discovered, how does that knowledge guide both your design process and the design itself?
- Do you have some kind of process template that you use as a guide for faith-based projects?
- Sometimes one simple design move can have a lot of impact ("more bang for the buck!). Can you provide an example of such a design move or feature that helped bring success to a faith-based project?
- Please post your answers here to develop a discussion. As mentioned above, the answers to these questions are to inform an article on this topic and you will be credited (if you wish). If you are interested in speaking with me directly, please let me know and we can set up a time to visit.
Eva Read-Warden, AIA
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Eva Read-Warden AIA
The Arkitex Studio Inc
Bryan TX
eva@arkitex.com------------------------------