Page 58 - BusinessWest August 22, 2022

building projects. That, combined with move- ment on a glut of backlogged projects from 2021, is raising optimism, as the first-quarter Confindex survey showed 64% of respondent firms reported a greater backlog of revenue relative to a year ago.
From the Ground Up
Jim Hanifan, another principal at Caolo & Bie- niek, said the firm’s diversity of projects has been a hedge against economic cycles, but so has its expanding geographic diversity, with recent proj- ects spanning the entire state, from Richmond to Marshfield. “It’s nice — we do quality work in our immediate area, and it starts to grow, and people further out appreciate it.”
The past couple years saw a slight slowdown in the pace of projects, he added, but things have picked up since.
“We definitely saw some supply-chain issues; lead times for a lot of equipment, especially elec- trical and metal, mechanical units, things like that, used to be one or two months, and now it’s six months and even a year on some components.
“That’s forced everyone to look at schedules,” he went on. “The public schools now have to think way ahead. They’re not planning for this summer; they’re planning for the following one. You can’t get the product this summer, so you have to push it off to the following year. With questions about budgeting and cost estimates, where will it be 12 months from now? That’s a challenge.”
There’s no good answer to when — or whether — the more complicated equipment needed to build projects once architectural designs are com- plete will start to become more accessible, Hani- fan added, and keep projects from being pushed
off too far. “No one knows whether this will be the new normal.”
While the pace of business can cycle, so do design trends, said Bartini, whose firm collabo- rates with Bradley Architects Inc., led by principal Robert Harrison, under the combined name of Berkshire Bradley.
For example, in the resi- dential realm, “it used to be that, in the primary bath- room, everyone wanted a tub and shower separate. Now, nobody wants the bathtub
— as long as there’s a bath- tub somewhere in the house, nobody wants a bathtub in the primary bathroom, which gives us greater flexibility of space.”
In kitchens, walk-in pan-
tries and oversized working
islands are in, while water-
fall countertops are on the
wane. Task lighting is popular
throughout the home as well. On the exterior of the home, black windows are in, black and white color schemes dominate, and modern farmhouse design continues to be hugely popular in the region.
“For siding, for a lot of people, board and bat- ten is back, and people are mixing up horizontal and vertical siding on the same house,” Bartini said, “which is a really smart thing to do as it gives the house a little character without breaking the budget.”
And, of course, “more clients are coming to us looking for their homes to be green. Unfortu-
nately, though, that’s usually the first thing that gets cut when you start talking numbers. When building prices are through the roof, they might not do the $40,000 solar panels. They’re getting savvy thinking about sustainability, but we’re not at a place in the market where those items always make it through to construction.”
“
still have the same kind of mix — maybe three new houses go up a year, and the rest is additions, renovations, or a combination of both. We’ve had a
We’re always pretty busy, and we
KERRY BARTINI
lot of new construction despite the fact that building prices are through the roof.”
Edgin agreed, reporting the same conflict between growing interest in sustainability in com- mercial and public properties and the realities of budgeting.
“The sustainable aspect is a given these days. The question is, how far do they want to go with that? How much are they willing to invest?”
Clients should consider the long-term cost savings of sustainable systems, he added, but they don’t always act on that.
“There are a number of things people can do
Architects
Continued on page 70
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