Blue Collar Architect

I would consider myself a ‘blue collar architect’ with years of experience working in and around the construction industry and an insatiable desire to build and create with my own hands. My experience in production and custom furniture has lead to a strong understanding of process and efficiency. I am always looking for a better and faster way to accomplish the task at hand, leading to cost savings for my clients through reduced architectural service costs or efficient construction details. This knowledge of construction and ability to design accordingly leads to what I have been commended on often, Buildable Designs

Continuing Education

My continuing education goes beyond what is required. A never ending desire to build things keeps me busy in the hours I am away from the drawing board. Weather I am maintaining my 5+ acre homestead, always with improvements, or building new infrastructure I tend to keep my hands busy. In 2012 I tested for and received a General Contractors License from North Carolina so as to make some of my efforts more legal. This licensure I plan to use to open doors to further interests in alternative construction techniques.

Designing Within Budget

I believe in designing within a budget. With the first schematic design I offer an in depth budget analysis for the project. Though often hard to hear for the client, I believe that getting the wish list balanced against the budget early is critical to a projects overall health. Throwing around generalities like ‘cost per square foot’ numbers often can disguise the realistic costs of a project and lead to added architectural service costs much later when legitimate estimates are obtained and design changes have to be made. I will also revise the budget analysis often during the design process to keep the project on track. Often after balancing the budget early and making those hard decisions, nickels and dimes can slowly creep back in and get ignored later on if no one is watching. I make every effort to watch.

Architectural Service levels

At Scott W Bartholomew Architecture we provide varying levels of design services. They run from a minimal permit package of drawings to full architectural services. Each Client and project can have differing needs. I believe that a complete design package, including all details and selections, can be very helpful to the project as a whole. Providing additional design on paper allows for more efficient decision making, more accurate construction quotes, and more efficient construction process. All these more than offset the additional costs for the architectural services. That being said, my greatest interest is in providing the client what they most want in their project and if limited architectural services are desired I am willing and able to provide the services that are required at a good value.

I hope you find my outlook, experience and portfolio of interest. Please contact me via the telephone or contact page so that we may discuss your needs.