ESP Architects

09/10/2026

Who should be on your project team?

Architect. Engineer. Contractor. Owner.

That's usually how we start answering the question.

I think we're starting with the wrong question.

Before deciding **who** needs to be on the team, we need to understand **what the team needs to accomplish.**

What is the purpose of the project?

What decisions need to be made?

What don't we know yet?

And whose experience could change one of those decisions?

The answer isn't going to be the same for every project.

A development evaluating a piece of land may need civil and zoning expertise very early.

A renovation may need structural or MEP input before anyone seriously considers a design direction.

An operationally complex building may need the people who actually run the facility involved before rooms start appearing on a floor plan.

And sometimes the person we need isn't a traditional design consultant at all.

Maybe it's finance.

Operations.

Maintenance.

A contractor.

A user.

The purpose should tell us what questions need to be answered.

Those questions should tell us what expertise we need.

**And the expertise should determine the team.**

Not the other way around.

Because before we put a line on paper, somebody has already made a decision.

**Every line on paper represents a decision.**

09/08/2026

Funny how expensive “cheaper today” can become.

09/07/2026

Do architects start designing too soon?

09/07/2026

09/05/2026

“Can’t we just move that wall?”

Absolutely, How much money do you want to spend?

Because…

Unless it’s structural.

Or has plumbing in it.

Or electrical.

Or ductwork.

Or fire protection.

Or moving it creates three other problems we didn’t have five minutes ago.

**Then we should probably talk.**

Renovations have a funny way of making simple ideas complicated.

But that doesn’t mean the idea is wrong.

Sometimes moving the wall really is the answer.

Sometimes there’s a better solution hiding two rooms over.

And sometimes the smartest thing we can do is leave the wall exactly where it is.

That’s why understanding an existing building matters before deciding what should change.

Renovation isn’t about making an old building new.

It’s about figuring out what’s worth changing, what’s worth keeping, and where the investment actually makes a difference.

And yes…

sometimes we can just move the wall.

09/03/2026

An older building isn't automatically an obsolete building.

Sometimes the building really has reached the end of its useful life.

But sometimes what's outdated isn't the building.

**It's the assumptions we're making about it.**

Operations change.
Technology changes.
People work differently.
Expectations change.
The way we use space changes.

A building designed 30 years ago doesn't necessarily need to be replaced because it's 30 years old.

It needs to be evaluated against what you need it to do **today — and what you'll need it to do tomorrow.**

Can the existing structure adapt?

Can circulation be improved?

Can underused space become productive space?

Can an addition solve the problem without replacing the entire asset?

And perhaps most importantly:

**What value is already sitting there that we shouldn't throw away?**

Sometimes the right investment is a new building.

Sometimes it's breathing another 30 years of life into the one you already own.

**The question isn't how old the building is.
The question is whether it can still serve the purpose.**

09/01/2026

I’m sure everyone at the table will agree..

08/31/2026

“We need more space.”

Maybe.

But before we start drawing an addition, there’s a more important question:

**Do you actually need more space?**

Maybe circulation is wasting the space you already have.

Maybe operations have changed while the building hasn’t.

Maybe departments that need to work together are on opposite ends of the building.

Maybe the program is based on assumptions that haven’t been questioned in years.

Or maybe you really do need another 20,000 square feet.

That’s okay too.

But more building means more money to build, operate, maintain, heat, cool, insure, and eventually replace.

Before investing in more building, it’s worth understanding whether the building is actually the problem.

Sometimes the answer is renovation.
Sometimes it’s an addition.
Sometimes it’s a new building.

**The goal isn’t to build more.
It’s to make the building work better.**

Before solving the problem, make sure you’ve found it.

08/28/2026

“Measure twice. Cut once.”

Pretty good advice for a $20 piece of lumber.

Turns out, it’s even better advice for a $20 million building.

The measurements are just different.

Why are we building it?
Who needs it to work?
What does success actually look like?
What can we afford?
What could go wrong?

Answer those questions early.

Because there’s no return counter for a building.

**Better questions. Better decisions. Better outcomes.**

08/27/2026

On every project, expect the plan to change — **not the strategy.**

Conditions change.
Information changes.
Resources change.
The unexpected happens.

Military leadership understands this well: you don't just communicate the plan.

**You communicate the purpose behind it.**

Because when the plan stops working, people still need to understand what they're trying to accomplish.

Building projects aren't all that different.

Budgets change. Sites surprise us. Operations evolve. New information appears. The design itself will change dozens — sometimes hundreds — of times.

If everyone only understands the plan, every change becomes a problem.

If everyone understands the purpose and the strategy behind it, the team can adapt without losing the objective.

**The plan will change.
The strategy keeps us pointed toward the purpose.**

That's leadership.