Design Process
Every building or remodeling project needs a Plan.
The Plan provides the exact instructions and the many details for the construction team to build the Design.
The Design – inspired by your vision and goals and created by my partnership with you – is what informs the Plan.
My step-by-step design process has been refined over decades and hundreds of successful projects. I start by fully understanding your goals and lifestyle, and then I use this knowledge to create a design that's as unique as you are. From there, I provide detailed instructions that ensure your construction team delivers the exact results you're looking for.
Any Questions? Contact Rexford Design.
step 1: DESIGN Discovery
We'll discuss your project in detail and schedule a site visit with all the people involved in the decision making process. Our aim is to understand the current situation, have an open dialogue to understand your vision and goals for the project, and ascertain any problems or issues that are driving the need for the project. We'll also have an honest, upfront conversation about what you're willing and able to invest in the design and construction of the project. We'll draft an agreement for you to review and, once you're happy with it and have made the first payment, we can move forward.
STEP 2: Preliminary study / Existing Conditions
Project is added to the schedule; property data gathering and code research begins.
Site visit to measure the existing conditions and take photographs. Completion of the existing conditions with site plan. Design meeting(s) to further develop goals and potential design solutions. At least two schematic solutions are drawn for client’s review. These designs are three-dimensional computer-generated preliminary models.
step 3: from Model to Construction Docs
Once the preliminary schematic model has been agreed to, it is further developed and converted from a 3-D model to the Preliminary Construction Documents (the Plan).
During this process, communication is key and we take it seriously. We’ll have multiple online meetings during this critical development stage. Each meeting provides an opportunity to focus the design and make any necessary adjustments. This streamlined design-process keeps everyone in the loop and ensures everyone is aligned.
step 4: Finalizing Construction Docs
Construction Documents (the Plan) are the instructions on how to build the design. These documents hold a vast amount of data for the permit process and construction team. During this phase, engineering reports and technical drawings may include civil, soils, structural and energy calculations.
Preliminary construction costs of the current design can now be done.
If necessary, this is also the time to value engineer the design to align with the target investment.
The permit process is complicated and lengthy. Rexford Design has decades of experience with the building departments of most of the cities and counties of the San Francisco Bay Area region, including the city of San Francisco, the East Bay and the North Bay. Our services include the Permit Submittal process, responding in a timely manner to Building Department comments, and permit issuance. We partner with you and your contractor to navigate the bureaucratic twists and turns of today’s ever-changing permit processes and regulations.
step 5: Permit submittals / issuance
STEP 6: Construction Begins
Construction begins. As your Principal Designer, Jeffrey Rexford is available for Project Supervision during construction.