Unlike some other architectural design offices, we do not sponsor the "atelier" system, a term left over from the Beaux Arts past that means that separate design teams are set up within the office to take one project at a time and carry it through from the very beginning to the end. Our office is much more reponsive and simply structured. At fournier:arquitectura csp, we promote the interaction of specialists in each stage of design and production that move in and out pretty much in the way films are made. Just one person stays with a job all the way, and that is the Integrated Project Team Leader, responsible overall for everything, and who is the one person, aside from the principal, authorized to deal directly with the Client.
This way, we can avail the best talent posible for each Project. We promote the value of open collaboration, producing innovative products for our Clients, avoiding copycat buildings and tired solutions. This approach not only fosters innovation but does it at warp speeds, understanding our Clients’ needs for completing projects sooner than projected and anticipated. We have learned how to assemble top-notch teams of specialists, inspire them to work together in extremely productive ways, only to disband them when the Project is over and reconfigure those same teams for the next exciting job. So far, this model has worked extremely well
Design is not merely the art of making things…No, it is the occupation of straining our ears and eyes to discover new questions from the midst of everyday life. People create their environments by living. Beyond the rational observation of this fact, lie the future of technology and the future of design. Somewhere near their loose intersection, we’ll find the future of modernism. Kenya Hara (Excerpt from Designing Design 2007)
A lot of people talk about it. Yet very few people understand it. Even fewer know how to manage it. Still, everyone wants it. What is it? Branding, of course – arguably the most powerful business tool since the spreadsheet. Marty Neumeier (Excerpt from The Brand Gap 2006)
