About
Established in 1993, Grinham Architects maintains a core group of talented design professionals under the guidance and leadership of sole proprietor, Lloyd Grinham. Our knowledgeable complement of staff has a reputation for delivering small to large-scale projects within time sensitive schedules on budget and on time. We specialize in efficiency, accountability and open communication that guarantees individual attention to our Clients and utilizes the expertise of each member of our total project team to ensure seamless and comprehensive Consulting Services.
Our Goal
Our goal is to create buildings that are aesthetically satisfying, environmentally sustainable and financially responsible. We accomplish this by fostering relationships that allow us to fully understand the needs and aspirations of our Clients. As a firm, we recognize the responsibility associated with this engagement and are committed to investing the effort and diligence required to create buildings that meet and surpass each Client’s expectations.
Philosophy
Since 1993, our relatively small firm has been commissioned to design a number of extremely diverse projects, encompassing a wide spectrum of building types and sizes. In doing so, we have effectively avoided any tendency towards a singular area of specialization; preferring instead to continuously explore and expand our collective interests and expertise through the successful design and delivery of a range of projects.
Client Service
In support of the philosophy of our practice, we have developed a number of successful strategies for appropriately adapting our experience to the specific design task and challenges at hand, whether for a modest renovation addition or a multi-million complex large scale mixed-use facility. We have necessarily identified numerous techniques for the careful assessment of functional programming, total project cost control, construction scheduling and delivery, and long-term operational costing. More importantly, our understanding of which of these tasks can be appropriately carried out “in house” and when additional consulting expertise is appropriate or required to supplement our immediate capacities is the key to successfully responding to the needs of even the largest projects, without compromising our core Client Service philosophy.
Sustainability
“No phenomenon can be isolated, but has repercussions through every aspect of our lives. We are learning that we are a fundamental part of nature’s ecosystem.” -Arthur Erickson
At Grinham Architects we are not only practitioners of sustainable design, but truly believe in it and the difference it can make on the planet. We are very proud of our proven record in the field of sustainable design, having successfully delivered several projects incorporating ‘green’ innovations throughout our firm’s history. Our collective interest in sustainable design is rooted in a deep-seated awareness that as Architects we are in a unique position to shape the built and natural world, and a resultant sense of responsibility to act as stewards of the environment.
Over the years, sustainability has increasingly become a priority of many of our Clients and as a result characterizes much of our firm’s recent work. In our capacity as Architectural Consultants we act as an expert resource to our Clients in the selection and facilitation of practical and appropriate sustainable design techniques and technologies. Our portfolio of realized past work includes several projects in which we have successfully implemented energy and waste conservation strategies including advanced performance building envelopes, high efficiency mechanical and electrical systems and controls, solar domestic hot water and power systems, grey-water capture and re-use, vegetated (green) roofs, and an array of passive heating, cooling and lighting techniques. Further, we have worked extensively in the field of heritage building conservation and adaptive reuse, and in doing so have assisted in extending the life of numerous structures which may otherwise have been demolished thereby preventing the unnecessary creation of waste. Our firm has consequently come to be recognized locally as a leader in the discipline of sustainable design.
We endeavour to consistently deliver creative design solutions that balance aesthetic, environmental and economic priorities, adapting to the demands of deadlines, budgets and site conditions, towards the realization of buildings that fulfill our Client’s requirements and surpass their expectations.
Cost & Schedule Management
Throughout our history, we have placed significant emphasis on the initial establishment of realistic project budgets, and the subsequent efforts needed to maintain and succeed within these financial parameters on behalf of our Clients. Our Sub-Consultant affiliations we have established over the years similarly reflect this priority as it relates to the overall design development and execution of each project. We and our Sub-Consultants make every effort to stay up-to-date with current construction trends and related cost implications in the interest of improved, technically-informed designs and effective construction contract support and administration thereafter.
Occasionally we have employed the services of specialist Cost Consultant firms, and continue to make such specialist Consultant services available, if so requested by the Client. Typically in such instances we have also invited local General Contractors to provide preliminary construction cost estimates, based on the earliest available and sufficiently complete documentation to adequately reflect the proposed project scope and complexity. We can cite numerous built examples of this successful approach which were tendered well within our estimated construction budgets provided.
While it is crucial that appropriate initial budgets be established for any project, a key factor in the preservation of these throughout the tender and subsequent construction phases is the quality of the bidding and construction documentation. Without complete and accurate bid materials being provided for the tender itself, cost control during construction becomes an impossible task. Therefore it is essential that the necessary time and effort be allocated for the complete preparation of these critical documents prior to tender. In conjunction with this responsibility, we consistently recommend the undertaking of a comprehensive General Contractor Pre-Qualification process, between us and the Client, in order to invite an appropriate number of demonstrably qualified construction professionals to competitively bid the project. This approach has further contributed to significant cost control and scheduling successes on behalf of past Clients, and has also been met with consistent and widespread support from the larger construction industry itself.
Finally, the maintenance of an approved budget after the award of contract relies largely upon the abilities of the entire Consultant team to competently administer all aspects of the construction contract in a fair and timely manner. This is particularly relevant in the case of projects with limited schedules or timeframe flexibility. It is essential that all parties to the contract fully and professionally respond to issues that arise during construction in a timely and consistently fair manner in order to achieve the maximum degree and optimal balance of project delivery schedule, construction quality and cost control.