In this episode of Laying the Foundation, we sit down with Lee Beukelman, a Principal Architect at CMBA Architects, to discuss the importance of using an architect throughout the entire project process. Lee shares insights into the value architects bring to projects, from the initial design phase to construction completion. Listen to learn more about how architects can help you achieve your project goals.
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Episode Transcript
(Skyler): Welcome to another episode of Laying the Foundation.
(Skyler): All right, everybody, welcome back to another episode of the Laying the Foundation podcast. We are back for another episode of our mini-series leading the way. And today, joining me for that miniseries is Lee Beukelman, who we all know and love, has been on the podcast many times. Lee, welcome back. Thanks. Skyler.
(Lee): Always surprised you bring me back, you know.
(Skyler): I know, know. See, you know, it's not my choice, it's, you know, k. Christie's choice. No, I'm totally kidding. No, it's good to have you back. we'll see how many times biophilic design gets brought up today.
(Lee): That's right.
(Skyler): But today you wanted to talk about. Because each of the principals, over here at cba, this is their opportunity to kind of talk about something in particular, something really specific that they're really passionate or really want to emphasize or maybe a misconception that they want to highlight on. And I think that's kind of the direction you were going with this discussion, which is why hire an architect as opposed to not hiring an architect. Right. Just telling don't what is the alternative? Because I don't even know. Like, let's say you have a big project. What do you just. We'll probably get into that.
(Lee): Yeah, that's a great question.
(Skyler): Yeah. but, but to kick things off, I guess I'm going to ask you just the broad question and then we'll kind of break it down from there. So why, what does an architect do? How do they help us? Why do we need one?
(Lee): Yeah. So we'll go back and answer your first question.
(Skyler): Oh, sure.
(Lee): As to like, what projects, require an architect and each state a little bit different. But ultimately you don't need an architect for every project.
(Skyler): Okay.
(Lee): Right. There are certain thresholds and certain project types, that states require to have an architect like education requires or an architect. Healthcare, higher education. smaller buildings down to. I think the rule is like the thresholds like 10,000 square feet and single story or something like that. So, you know, homes don't require a licensed architect. Definitely, small single businesses, you know, single story businesses don't require architects, things like that. But I'm not saying you shouldn't. Right.
(Skyler): Yeah.
(Lee): I'm going to sell, sell that. But I think, you know, there's a value that architects bring and there's reasons why states do require architects to be involved.
(Skyler): Absolutely, absolutely. Yeah. Why would we put that on the rulebook if. Right. they didn't Feel like it was necessary. Which is interesting. So does that mean if I do a two-story house, I'm going to need no.
(Lee): Residential.
(Skyler): Residential.
(Lee): It's its own beast.
(Skyler): Got it. So residential is kind of a free for all.
(Lee): Right.
(Skyler): Okay. So awesome. Glad we got that out of the way because I was really. I didn't even think about that before looking at some of the questions we had. But yeah, that's kind of one of those questions that popped in my head and that would have really bugged me if we had made it. By the end of the episode, I hadn't got an answer.
(Lee): That's right.
(Skyler): I would have to ask you outside. And then people who are listening would have been like, wait, I want to know.
(Lee): I still don't know whether or not I need one.
(Skyler): Yeah, do I need. Yeah, exactly. So, in with that being said, when do I need one? What do they do? How do they help me in a situation where I might need one?
(Lee): So I think what I like to compare architects to is a little bit, you know, is the innovation of the cell phone and the camera.
(Skyler): Oh, right, okay.
(Lee): Once the cell phone and the iPhone got that great camera on there.
(Skyler): Sure.
(Lee): Everybody became a photographer.
(Skyler): Sure.
(Lee): Right. Everybody thought they could take pictures because they had a good camera.
(Skyler): Oh, I know that, you know, situation.
(Lee): before that people hired photographers because they were good at their trade, and they were experienced and they were professionals.
(Lee): And I think that the architecture field is somewhat shifting that way too. You know, like AI, you can tell AI to design you building. You can have these programs that do it. You can download your own, software to do these things.
(Skyler): And you can watch a bunch of YouTube tutorials to figure out how to use them exactly.
(Lee): But there's still a piece to architecture, that gets overlooked. And that is, you know, just the, the education that goes behind it and the thought processes behind it. Like anybody can snap a photo on, you know, that doesn't make it a good photo.
(Skyler): Sure, right. Absolutely.
(Lee): There's still composition, there's color balance, there's white balance, there's all of those depths of field. There's all that stuff that goes into a photo that makes it a good photo. Absolutely.
(Skyler): Yes. The rules. A third. Yeah.
(Lee): And so that applies to architecture too.
(Skyler): Right.
(Lee): There's codes, there's regulations, there's just general aesthetics and size and color and balance and asymmetry, lack of, you know, there's all of that, that goes into a well-designed space.
(Skyler): Right.
(Lee): So let's make that practical, then.
(Skyler): Sounds good. Let's do it.
(Lee): Been house shopping?
(Skyler): Yes, I own a house now, but, yeah, I've been, like, a couple of years spent leading up to that, doing some looking.
(Lee): How long was that process for you to find a home?
(Skyler): I mean, with COVID that kind of threw things off. But I digress. Like, I mean, we spent, like, about, two actual years kind of, like, going to different houses and checking out what was available.
(Lee): So how did you determine, other than costs?
(Skyler): Sure.
(Lee): How did you determine whether or not you like that house or didn't like that house?
(Skyler): Oh, man. I mean, really, it was just a matter of, like, we walk in and we're like, there's elements of this house. There are features of this house that threw us off. Whether it be we went into one house that was literally tilting. It felt like you were walking through a fun house.
(Lee): Is that at Arnold's Park?
(Skyler): Ye. I know. It should have been. Yeah. They could have picked that house up and moved it there. It would have been a great feature. No, there were houses where, you know, the bathroom was weird and, like, crowded. Like, there wasn't enough space. Like, I could barely sit down on a toilet, and, like, my knees would be hitting the wall. There were times when, you'd go down in the unfinished bas. Unfinished basements always got me. Those were always a frustration. You'd see, you know, the cracking in the walls, which suggests maybe there's some mess with the foundation. there were. There were times where you would just see, like, something really weird, like a toilet that was installed in the middle of just open space.
(Lee): Ah.
(Skyler): In the basement is like, the weirdest thing ever. So, yeah, just, like, odd things like that that definitely turn you off to a house versus some of them where it's like, wow, this bathroom that they have in here is beautiful. Looks like they just redid it recently. You know, things like those lines that definitely contrast, for sure.
(Lee): Yeah. And I think that's a. That's a living example of, how an architect can help. Now, I'm not saying they have to lay out a house, but, like, you can tell when someone knew what they were doing when laying out a house versus someone who thought they knew how to lay out a house just because they could draw it. You know what I mean? I think I was. When I was looking for a house quite a few years ago now, I think I was my realtor's worst nightmare.
(Skyler): You were.
(Lee): It took us multiple years to find a home, and you know, I would get in the shower. Right. And there would be shower heads hitting me the, in the chest. Right. Really things are too low. A lot of similar experiences you had.
(Skyler): Yeah.
(Lee): But it goes to kind of the first thing of why do you hire an architect? And it's that, it's that idea of, you know, looking ahead.
(Skyler): Yeah.
(Lee): Right. Understanding what an owner wants, you know, not just the immediate need, but how do we, how can we ask the questions and bring, bring to light probably their bigger vision.
(Skyler): Right.
(Lee): For what they're after. You know those, those homes that we're talking about. Try. Okay. Yeah. We just need an extra bathroom because we're outgrowing it.
(Skyler): Right.
(Lee): Well so then you, we've all been in those and two of those homes where they just become these compiled messes. Right. You, you transition. You didn't think about how that the grade or whatever took into play, and you ended up with these cobbled messes of homes. Right. Re walking through rooms to get to the next room. You know, it's because they, the sight on those was this is what we need, therefore that's what we're going to do. Not thinking about the long-term effects maybe of what they're after.
(Skyler): Absolutely.
(Lee): So really trying to. One of the biggest benefits I think of hiring an architect is that ability to look forward and truly understand your needs. understand your goals and then make that, make that practical.
(Skyler): Yeah.
(Lee): Does that make sense?
(Skyler): Yeah.
(Lee): Imagine an issue like that on a residential home.
(Lee): And now put that on a 180,000 square foot school. How, how quickly a problem can compound. You know, bedrooms are undersized. You know, they didn't think about king size beds, and you know, whether or not they just, they just put a standard bedroom in or something, you know, under sizing classrooms, understanding medical rooms have huge ramifications to the bigger goals and visions, for people. So I'd say that's probably one of the biggest values that we can bring is really helping you understand your future and what you're truly after.
(Skyler): Absolutely.
(Lee): Rather than getting stuck in kind of the immediate need.
(Skyler): What do I need? What do I need in the moment. Yeah, exactly. And a lot of those things, once you install them, you know, it's a big like lock in, locked in and, and down the way when you want to like change it or fix it or adjust it or whatever the case, it's going to be that much more expensive to have to basically overhaul what's already been Done to change things. And so yeah, being able to look ahead. And I know you guys talk about it all the time, especially when it comes to things like K12, what if this school district grows? How are we going to be able to fit students in here? Like that's probably one of the biggest things I hear about. where are we going to put them? how are we going to have the space for them if we start putting in new programs? What are we going to do? So and you guys are always talking about like how can we sort of plan ahead for that? What are the different phases and so on and so forth.
(Lee): So I think that really kind of brings us to the point of maybe a second option is maximizing your investment.
(Skyler): Yes. Yes.
(Lee): Because you don't want to have to be doing construction projects all the time.
(Skyler): Right.
(Lee): You want to figure out okay, what is that long term goal and then how do we maximize our investment now you know, they, a lot of people think well an architect, I can do this on my own, I can, I can design my house, I can do whatever it may be and they just bring, they just cost m money, you know. But if we can help you maximize that investment and really think through the, the flexibility yeah. Of what your future looks like and maybe we can figure out how to help you use spaces, so they're not just become a one-use type of space.
(Skyler): Absolutely.
(Lee): Schools today, every space in the school is a learning space.
(Skyler): Right.
(Lee): They cannot afford to have one purpose spaces anymore.
(Skyler): Right. Right.
(Lee): They are getting used for multiple types of classes. Multiple teachers are in there, multiple levels of students are in there. Right. So it's the idea of really trying to help them maximize the dollars they have and make sure that this thing can grow for many years before they have to do another. Right. Campaign to put on additional space.
(Skyler): It's expensive.
(Lee): It’s expensive they're working with a lot of money of money and it's honestly for schools, you know, it's your tax dol it's tax dollars, right?
(Skyler): That's right.
(Lee): You don't want to be taxing your public like that. You know, for hospitals it's time could be timed down. It could be you. Yeah. I don't even know. It could be a plethora of things.
(Skyler): Right? Absolutely.
(Lee): So maximizing your investment and your current time right now is another big benefit that architects can just by taking one step back and asking the questions.
(Skyler): Right.
(Lee): You know what I mean? Can really help build that efficiency.
(Skyler): Absolutely. What about like because you keep bringing up the fact that like you know, all these, everybody thinks they can, like you mentioned photography, everybody thinks they can take a good picture and, in your case, everyone thinks that they can make, maybe design, DIY, whatever their own projects. But when it comes down to the reality, the fact, I mean the architects are very well versed in not only managing the project but like working with the construction, working with you know, the city regulations, things along those lines. I mean that's all part of the project as a whole and as an individual. Yeah, I can look up how to put a wall into something or maybe re pipe some things in my bathroom, but I don't think I'm going to know how to fill out like the proper paperwork and get the proper licensure for things.
(Lee): Yeah, we have been called in, I personally have been called in to try to help, you know, get that through a city or through the state or something like that because someone didn't realize it. Yeah, there are many regulations in place with the state, especially on those projects that we, we talked about that requiring schools hire it basically big assembly spaces where a lot of life is on the line.
(Skyler): Yeah.
(Lee): You know what I mean, if something were to go wrong. So yeah, you know the, the state requires we go by the International Building Code, which is about a 2-inch-thick book, you know, of how to, of all the requirements within a building. then you got the, the nfpa, which is a fire code, you know, then you've got ADA codes, and then you have just your basic mechanical codes, your electrical codes.
(Skyler): A lot of codes.
(Lee): Then the cities ah, will even put regulations on top of those regulations, you know, or, or alter those regulations. They have the ability to adopt or whatever, whatever they want from the state side of it. But yeah, there's a, there's a lot of back work to, to work a building through to make sure it's compliant with the state. And any of those individuals that manage or work in those facilities that we've talked about, they understand the complexity because you know they have, they have regular and routine fire marshal checks most of the time.
(Skyler): Right.
(Lee): They will come in, they'll check the building, make sure that it's functioning and doing what it needs to do. and if you don't want to get in trouble, you don't. And if, because if you don't do those, you may not get your occupancy to, or your certificate to occupy right that building.
(Skyler): Nobody gets to come in and what's the point.
(Lee): So for sure.
(Skyler): Yeah, definitely.
(Lee): So that is a, that is a big piece. And then that just comes down to probably a third reason to hire an architect is they manage the process right from. Start from where your dreams. Yep. All the way to where we're cutting the ribbon to let you in the building. Also hand key and even past that and pass that. Yeah, exactly.
(Skyler): Checking in and making sure everything's the way that it's supposed to be.
(Lee): Yep, exactly. I've been done with the project for three months now and honestly, right before this podcast, I just got a phone call asking me some questions about, hey, this isn't doing something right. Right. And I was like, I'll put you in contact with the contractor or whoever was responsible for that. We'll get figured out. Right. We're always here from that until. It's kind of what CMBA is about. Right. It's about long-term relationships.
(Skyler): Absolutely.
(Lee): We don't want to be in and out and just, here's your keys, goodbye. Goodbye. We want, we want to be a partner, through it all.
(Skyler): Absolutely. And that's awesome. To be able to have that kind of relationship with people and to be that. Not. I don't want to say the word middleman because. But to some extent there are elements of that for sure. to be able to put people in contact with the right people and find the right contractors that you want to put on a project and find the right material. So, and then, so in kind of going along with what you said, there, you know, there's going to be things that you're going to experience along the way in any given project, no matter whether you have an architect or not, that are going to kind of like create some roadblocks and stuff like that. And I'm guessing that you put this point on there about solving problems. Another reason why. And there's sort of that situation of either I have to, as the client, as the person building it myself, the DIYer, I have to figure out the solution for that problem, or I have a professional architect who's probably dealt with this problem before and knows exactly what to do.
(Lee): Right. Yeah. Problem solving. Another good reason, I would say, if you ask most architects why they got into architecture, problem solving. A love for problem solving is in that story somewhere.
(Skyler): Yes.
(Lee): And, it is, it is a big part of what we do. Right. Not just because there's maybe a literal problem.
(Skyler): Right.
(Lee): But the problem ends up being, okay, they have all of these needs, all These functions that they want to come and put under one roof.
(Skyler): Right.
(Lee): It's a massive game of Tetris. Who gets to be next to who, who. Who wants to see who. Who can't have, you know, the acoustical openness or whatever it may be.
(Skyler): Right.
(Lee): It becomes this because when we sit down with clients, we ask them those questions.
(Lee): Right. What is, what are, what is everybody needing to do in the building? What is their level of security and all this transparency, all these things. Right. And so there's that level of problem solving.
(Skyler): Right.
(Lee): Putting a building together that functions the way they want it to.
(Skyler): Yeah.
(Lee): But then there is the level of problem solving that you're getting to as well. Okay. When, when an actual issue does come up.
(Skyler): Right.
.
(Lee): How can we help you through that? You know, and the kind of the knowledge to go behind and bringing teams together to solve those physical problems as well. Absolutely.
(Skyler): Yeah.
(Lee): Yeah.
(Skyler): All right.
(Lee): So at the beginning on four is.
(Skyler): Yeah, that was like five.
(Lee): Four or five.
(Skyler): One, two, three, four, five. Yeah, five. I think. Different points. let me ask you this because I do see this on the page and at the beginning of this you had kind of said, you know, obviously an architect. Oh, it's just some person that's going to cost you extra money and so on and so forth. But in the reality of things, based on what I'm hearing, it sounds almost like an architect. And technically, and I don't mean to sound like too cheesy, like I'm trying to promote this or anything, which I mean, I guess technically I am. but I mean architects can technically save you money if you think about the long term of things. Yep.
(Lee): If you put it into a long-term value. I do believe architects can save, clients’ money in the end. So if we just want to kind of run through a few of those.
(Skyler): Yeah.
(Lee): You know, a well-planned building. I don't know if you've ever tried to solve a problem, how much it costs to actually solve problems. Like you frame up a wall. Wrong. Or whatever. Maybe. Or you realize it wasn't big enough. Now you have to change things. Right?
(Skyler): Right.
(Lee): So now you're doing work twice. So y. A well-planned building and efficiently planned building. So things can go up once and be done once.
(Lee): And you're not oversizing, you're not under sizing, you're not having to redo things. That, that right there I think can solve time and money ably. That contractors have clear plans. U. so they know what to build and there's easy coordination there.
(Skyler): Yep.
(Lee): saving you money there and saving you time that people can just go and without worry that, has this been coordinated? Are you sure this can go here? Yes, we can. We're sure it could go here because we've taken the time to design it correctly.
(Skyler): Absolutely.
(Lee): Or think it through and bring those trades together once. So.
(Skyler): Right.
(Lee): You can save money just because it's efficient and economical. And we've chosen materials.
(Skyler): Right.
(Lee): We've worked through the products to make sure that we hit your budget. So we try to be economical.
(Skyler): Absolutely.
(Lee): As we make those decisions. Yeah. I'd say another one, you know, if designed and thought through correctly. Energy efficiency.
(Skyler): Sure. Okay.
(Lee): There's, there's no time like, before it's like. So renovations are hard to make energy efficient because everything's in place. So you got to somehow figure out how to retrofit it. And you can never get it as perfect as you would a new building. Right. So if you're designing a new building, what an opportunity to have an impact on being energy efficient. Right. Put the right amount of insulation in, put the right kind of windows, input everything, plan that out so you can hit your energy goals and, and things like that. So doing that correctly, making sure you're building sealed, making sure it's all those. And that has, payback for the lifetime of that building. Absolutely. Energy is not getting cheaper. Right. You know, everybody's using it and it's, it's not going anywhere. So absolutely, you know, why not think through some of those things and make sure you're setting yourself up for long term savings.
(Skyler): Absolutely, absolutely. Save a lot of money on that energy. That's. I mean, why wouldn't you? If you can, you know, if you can. Sure. And you don't know that necessarily. And I don't think most like contractors are going to be like, oh, did you know that you could save a whole bunch of money if you did things this. They're just like, all right, give me the plans, let me put it up. And that's not to say anything against the contractors that we work with, but I mean, they're trying to follow the plan that was given to them.
(Lee): So time is money for them too. You know, they're putting them up fast and they're putting up quick and, and they. There's a lot of great ones out there.
(Skyler): Oh, absolutely.
(Lee): I'm not saying that one bit.
(Skyler): Yeah.
(Lee): But the other piece of that I had is electric. Yeah, electrical engineer. I don't want people to think that this has to be like, you have to do solar panels, or you have to do all these fancy renewable energies.
(Skyler): Right, right.
(Lee): The first question to ask yourself is, how do I just conserve energy Right. Before I start trying to make my own energy?
(Skyler): Yes.
(Lee): You know, I mean, let's start there. Let's start with the simple thing. Sure. Because those don't have to be expensive.
(Skyler): No.
(Lee): Right. Those will pay themselves back quicker than, you know, putting solar and all those things. Great ideas, but not everybody can afford to do it.
(Skyler): Or you're not in the right area.
(Lee): Right area. Yeah. You're in. You're in a forest and probably not good place.
(Skyler): Got too much tree cover for solar and probably for wind. Honestly too. Yeah.
(Lee): And.
(Skyler): And it's exactly what you said before. Right. Like even something as simple is just let's appropriately and correctly insulate the walls. Let's make sure we got good insulation that keeps heat inside, keeps heat from escaping. my house isn't working twice as hard to keep me warm through the winter, so on and so forth. Right. Like, even something like that is, is what I assume kind of like what you're talking about there.
(Lee): Yep.
(Skyler): Awesome.
(Lee): So I would say another way that architects can save you money depending on what kind of owner you are. If you're a public owner, if you're a private owner, you, is really working with you, your budget, knowing your budget and knowing your goals early.
(Skyler): Right.
(Lee): We can design to them. Right. You. You eliminate that scope creep.
(Skyler): Right.
(Lee): Is what we call it. Right. Okay. Oh, I need to ask you the right questions. Early allows us to set the correct scale and size of the project rather than as the project progresses. And now you're building, you're like, you know what, I want more of that material or I want that color. And now, now your prices are going ah, right there on fly. Right. You, but also helping, owners through the bidding process, getting people to bid their projects.
(Skyler): Right.
(Lee): You know what, contractors being out there to put a little competitive edge, you know, so people sharpen their pencils and they're not just putting a big fat number out there.
(Skyler): That's right.
(Lee): We Walk. We walk clients through that process. We help them put their documents out there. So everybody may. Not every public project, everybody needs to see it. Right. They take little bit. But yeah, competition is healthy for that to an extent. Right. It doesn't allow people to go too crazy with their numbers. So helping owners through that bidding negotiating process is another way to save money.
(Skyler): Yeah. Because it's not hard to. Yeah. End up paying way more than you necessarily needed to.
(Lee): Holds people accountable to their numbers.
(Skyler): Absolutely, absolutely. You don't want anybody getting scammed or anything like that. And I would also argue too kind of going on top of that, as you mentioned, like the bond process and the. And everything like that. I mean the bond process is an element of it too. If, if it's that kind of a project. Yeah. And architects, you guys are very much involved. In fact, we've got a video we're going to be recording today to help out with, with the project that's coming up. Yeah. So.
(Lee): Yeah, and those are. Yeah, those are getting more and more challenging as. As the days go by. But setting. Doing the work early and setting the correct budget.
(Skyler): Right.
(Lee): For your community and things allows you to dial in a lower tax value, potentially that it may impact them. Absolutely. You know, so again, doing the planning and the thinking through and the asking of the hard questions so you don't inflate that number and cost your taxpayers more, which they may then say no. And now you lost the project altogether.
(Skyler): Right.
(Lee): So. And that plan. I can't stress early planning any more than I probably already have on this.
(Skyler): I know. Right.
(Lee): Please, maybe instead of why hire an architect, just plan earlier.
(Skyler): Earlier. But use an architect. Do it because they know what they're doing.
(Lee): going back to materials, probably another way we can save money is there's a. Similar to this podcast. Right. You talk to any material supplier, they're going to say theirs is the best. Use mine. Use mine. Why hire an architect? Because I'm architect. You should hire an architect. Right. That. So I know. Understand. I'm kind of, you know, probably talking about both sides of my mouth here, but understanding materials and the durability and the longevity of materials and where and when to use them.
(Skyler): Right.
(Lee): You can save money that way. So you're not ripping off your sighting.
(Skyler): Yeah.
(Lee): You know, because it got wet. Because you put it in the dirt. You know what? I don't know. I'm just throwing out something.
(Skyler): Yeah.
(Lee): Crazy.
(Skyler): Yeah. those. The suppliers are trying to sell products. It's what they do. It's like a car salesman. Right. He wants to sell car. Doesn't necessarily mean it's the ideal thing for your project. Right. And with suppliers, especially for that kind of stuff, there's nobody. It's not like going on Amazon and finding reviews and saying, oh, people don't like this Product. It's got a lot of one star. I'm not going to buy it. You get. They don't do that. So you need an expert who's worked with those products and says hey, I don't have any contract with these people. Just to clarify like these are people that come to me and try to sell me the product. I look it over; I say we had it. I don't. This is quite what we're looking for for this. Thanks but goodbye.
(Lee): Yeah.
(Skyler): So yeah, keeping that again the accountability which you mentioned before as well.
(Lee): So for sure that's a big piece.
(Skyler): Of it as well.
(Lee): And we're just exposed to a lot.
(Skyler): Yeah.
(Lee): And we've seen what fails and we've seen what works. Absolutely another way I think we can save money goes back to our original Go full circle here.
(Skyler): All right. Perfect.
(Lee): It's a good way purchasing that house. Yep. Why didn't you sell Bad design. Why didn't they sell that house? Bad design.
(Skyler): Sure. So why did I walk away from that particular one? Didn’t like it was bad design.
(Lee): So good design helps your resale so if you need to sell that building. If you need a well-designed People know what they don't like. Right. it's usually they're very just got critical spirits. Right. People will tell you what they don't like.
(Skyler): That's right.
(Lee): But when there is something they like, there's not much to say. They just know when it feels right.
(Skyler): It feels good.
(Lee): You know. so that's good design sellls.
(Skyler): Yes.
(Lee): Now I can sell in resale. Why? Good design can sell in experience.
(Lee): Right. I feel more comfortable in this bank because I feel safer. I want to choose this school because it feels our looks and functions, and this set up well. Right. It looks want to be a part of that.
(Skyler): Yes.
(Lee): Good design in whatever industry you're at. Good design for hospitals. I feel it’s clean, it's. It's welcoming. I can. It's a healing environment. Good daylight. All of those things.
(Skyler): Absolutely.
(Lee): Right. So not only does it resale but I think it you know what draws people in.
(Skyler): Right.
(Lee): Because they want to be. They feel good there. They feel like this is a place they want to be.
(Skyler): Absolutely.
(Lee): I think we all do that on a smaller scale. We want our living rooms to feel that. We want our bedrooms to feel that.
(Skyler): Right.
(Lee): We're all doing that. So we know that that's importantly to us as people. They should put more biophilia in. Yeah.
(Skyler): I Was going to say, this is it, this is it. This is that moment. We want our spaces to feel good. One of those elements can be, of course, biophilia. Got to have that in there.
(Lee): A lot of reasons to hire an architect, and those are. That's just a tip of an iceberg.
(Skyler): Absolutely. We could have gotten really detailed, but I think that's a good overview of things and, hopefully that really drives home the point about how important it is and why architects are so necessary. So awesome. Well, thank you so much, Lee, for sharing that, with us. Like I said, big misconception that I think a lot of people have been, you know, I don't really need an architect. So it's important that we, as architects, and again, we have a bias. Yes, we are the architects. We want you to hire us, but at the same time, look at the facts, look at what we presented. You do some research if you need to but just know that there are a lot of elements that are really necessary when it comes to having an architect, for sure.
(Lee): So protect your investment.
(Skyler): Yeah.
(Lee): Do it right.
(Skyler): Do it right the first time, hopefully. And, yeah, absolutely know that somebody's got your back throughout the whole process who knows what they're doing. So, again, Lee, thank you so much for being on the podcast.
(Lee): Thanks for having me.
(Skyler): Absolutely. This has been another episode of Laying the Foundation.
(Skyler): If you'd like to find out more about the Laying the Foundation podcast, you can head over to any podcast streaming platform such as Spotify, iTunes, Google podcasts and others. You can also find out more about CMBA Architects through social media such as Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, and Instagram. Additionally, you can head over to the CMBA website at, ah, cmbaarchitects.com. if you're an architecture or design professional or an intern looking for an internship within those fields, please be sure to check out our website and click on the Careers tab to find out more about what opportunities we offer. This has been another episode of the Laying the Foundation podcast. We'll see you next time.
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March 20, 2025