2002 Pacesetter Awards: Excellence in Design

Luis Jauregui

When architect Luis Jauregui opened his design/build practice in 1981, he was not exactly met with open arms. “Back then it was really looked down on from the architectural industry,” he says. The establishment view among architects held that combining design and construction constituted a conflict of interest. Others were skeptical too. Due to the high failure rate among architects who did venture across the divide into construction, suppliers were reluctant to extend credit. But Jauregui was so convinced of the efficacy of design/build that he became his own first client — in a four-unit spec project — even with interim financing at a dizzying 18 percent. “That’s how badly I wanted to do it.”

Twenty years later the world seems to have come around to Jauregui’s way of thinking. Increasingly popular with construction professionals and clients, the design/build model now even enjoys the AIA stamp of approval. And Jauregui Architect-Builder keeps 32 employees busy designing and building custom homes for clients at the very top of the Austin, Texas, market. Combining design and construction shortens the communication chain. “You can be lighter on your feet,” he says.

It also lets Jauregui put his work in front of the clientele he wants to serve. His company is a perennial standout on the local Parade of Homes circuit. “It gives me a great opportunity for people to see our product. They see the architecture — and they see the pricetag.” The architecture, whose Spanish, American Southwest, and Mexican influences reflect Austin’s natural and cultural environment, finds a receptive audience here. And as avidly as Jauregui sells the design/build process, it is his design that sells the jobs. As Jauregui readily admits, while clients are buying both a process and a product, it’s the product that they keep. “It’s not because it’s design/build; it’s because of the finished product.”

Jauregui Architect-Builder, Austin, Texas. Type of business: design/build custom home builder; Years in business: 22; Employees: 32; 2001 volume: $10 million; 2001 starts: 10 homes

Dave Reese

Dave Reese approaches his design/build business like Phil Jackson or Bill Walsh — it’s all about the team. His buyers work with one of about 10 architects and interior designers he recommends, but Reese hires and pays the professionals. “It’s a sports team concept,” the builder explains. “The buyer is like the team owner, I’m the coach/manager, and the architect and interior designer are the star players.”

There are benefits for everyone in this arrangement. Platinum Homes does all the process work, relieving the architect of paper work, permits and approvals, and budget monitoring. The architect’s work is detailed in Platinum’s master schedule, so he or she has a better sense of work flow and documentation deadlines, which prevents items like subdivision approvals from falling through the cracks. Reese also brings the interior designer on the team early in the process, so that interior items will be incorporated into the architectural work from the beginning.

This system gives the owners a quicker, and thus less costly, process. “The designers can do whatever they want aesthetically,” Reese says, “but they must stick with my timeline.” It also gives the owners a design they want that is within their budget, because Reese can monitor costs throughout the design phase.

For Reese, the big benefit is the relationship he builds with clients. He performs the design process work at no charge — it’s an overhead item. While there’s risk that he could lose a job he’s invested time and effort in, this process gives him a very high closure rate because of the trust it engenders in clients. And that results in a smoother project down the road.

“We build trust by building the team and earning the right to build the clients’ house,” he says.

Platinum Homes, Scottsdale, Ariz. Type of business: design/build; Years in business: 3; Employees: 7; 2001 volume: $4.15 million; 2001 starts: 3

Bryan Whittington

It is not every custom builder who launches his company with a $3.3 million project, as Bryan Whittington did only two years ago. But then again, Whittington had already spent decades becoming an overnight success. “I’ve been in the business basically my whole life,” says Whittington, who worked first as a youngster alongside his carpenter father.

In college, he studied architecture on the way to a degree in residential development. He earned his organizational stripes working for one of the Washington, D.C., area’s best established custom builders. He learned leadership and efficiency as head of production for a condominium builder. “We were building something like 360 townhomes a year,” he says. So when Whittington ventured out on his own, he was more than prepared. “Right out of the chute I was able to do the job that took up the first year and a half of my business.”

Whittington’s business model is as sharp as his production capabilities. It centers on partnerships with a select group of design pros who share Whittington’s interest in offering clients an integrated design/build process. As the job requires, Whittington assembles a complete design team including architect, engineer, interior designer, and landscape architect. In the conventional design/bid/build approach, Whittington observes, “There’s always something missing, and it’s usually the cost issue. You’ve got your dream house on paper, but you can’t build it because it’s over your budget.”

Value engineering and solid feedback from Whittington allow his design partners to work with a clearer focus on project cost. “They can basically concentrate on designing,” he says. As a result, “They can usually give me a better price, because we’re taking care of some of that stuff for them.” Clients enjoy a streamlined process that helps them zero in on their budget and design targets without the cost and frustration of redesigns.

Along with custom homes, Whittington accepts a limited number of extensive renovation projects, which add complexity to his production schedule but balance out his cash flow. Having worked for big builders, Whittington doesn’t rule out growth for his own company. But for now he intends to stay small and give each client his direct attention. From the results so far, it looks like a sound approach. Not bad for a rookie.

Whittington Design/Build, Bethesda, Md. Type of business: design/build custom home builder and remodeler; Years in business: 2; Employees: 4; 2001 volume: $2.6 million; 2001 starts: 2 homes, 5 remodels

John Witt

Many’s the contractor, self-taught with drafting pencil or mouse, who offers cut-rate design services to his custom home clients. And many’s the unfortunate client who gets exactly what he’s paid for. It’s easy to call yourself a design/build contractor; designing a first-class custom home is another matter entirely. Doing so without the benefit of architectural training is not impossible, but it is improbable.

Meet John Witt, improbable guy. “I’m not an architect,” Witt says, “but I do 90 percent of our designs.” It is a practice that goes back to the first house Witt built, which he drew, down to the last stud and rafter, as a dry run for construction. “Every house has grown more complicated since then,” he says, up to a current project that will top 20,000 square feet and $5.5 million. To develop design expertise commensurate with the increasing scale and complexity of his projects, Witt has relied on natural talent and keen observation, especially at home in Saratoga Springs, N.Y., which boasts a trove of picturesque buildings.

Witt has been equally attentive to making design pay for his company. After establishing project feasibility, Witt presents clients with an agreement under which he provides preliminary design services for a fee of $15,000. Working drawings are outsourced to a CAD service. Comparing his fee with that of local architects, Witt says, “I give away the service, basically.” But the system pays dividends. “We don’t lose control of the client. With an architect it’s sometimes two, four, five years before the plans are finished, and even then they’re not finished.”

Working with the client from day one also gives Witt a jump on product selection and ordering. “As we go through the design process, they’re making decisions on all the big-ticket items. It makes for a much less stressful buildout for the customer.”

Witt Construction, Saratoga Springs, N.Y. Type of business: design/build custom home builder; Years in business: 15; Employees: 35; 2001 volume: $6.5 million; 2001 starts: 14 homes